From the falls to the coast

After seeing the beautiful waterfalls at Iguazu (or Iguacu as they are known in Brazil), we made our way towards the coast. In Curitiba, we swapped bus for train to enjoy what apparently is one of the most scenic train rides in South America, after which we changed into a bus again, followed by a boat ride – all of this in a single very long day….After all this travelling we reached a small island off the Brazilian coast called Ilha do Mel. We enjoyed two great days on the island, which was delightfully quiet as this is still a low season (and winter!) here.

We have met some really nice people here, both Brazilians and fellow travellers. The local people are very nice and friendly, always willing to help a stranded foreigner These included a very nice local guide and the owner of the pousada ‘Cabanas do Curupira’ near Morretes who advised us on the options for getting to Ilha do Mel and where to base ourselves there, and Fabio, a delightful custodian of the old fort on the island who gave us heaps of informaton about local fauna and history and who runs a blog where he uploads pictures of visitors to the fortress, check it out here!: fabioilhadomel.blogspot.com

Another quirky local character, Charles, who runs Ilha do Mel Cafe, let us use his personal computer, thanks to which we could publish our last post about Iguazu Falls.

Of the visitors to Brazil, we spent a lovely evening with a great French couple, Audrey and David, who have been travelling around South America for the last three months; and had a nice long chat with, Altug, a friendly guy from Turkey who by now should already be back in his hometown, Ankara.

More updates from the Brazilian coast coming up soon! Got to go to the beach now…