Paraty

Our way to Paraty is by bus and we must reach Rio's Rodoviaria, the main bus terminal (named Novo Rio) which is quite far from the "heart" of the city - that is Copacabana and Ipanema beaches - where everybody wants to be.
Other than expensive cab rides, two bus lines connect to and from the bus terminal. Two of these are operated by Real company - maybe there are more - and are line numbers 126 and 127. Both start from Avenida Nossa Senhora de Copacabana near Ipanema. Our choice was the 126 line with the comfort of air conditioning for a price. One-way fare is 4.40 Reais, more appealing than the crowded 127 bus line which has a one-way fare of 2.70 Reais.

Paraty, or Parati, is a typical Potuguese colonial town. It was in fact the old port used to ship the gold mined around Ouro Preto, some 800 miles away, which was connected to Paraty by the "Caminho do Ouro" (Gold Trail) road built for the purpose. Continuous pirate attacks to the ships suggested the use of a new port in Rio de Janeiro - and a new road - which dictated the decline of Paraty during the late 1700. This has somehow preserved the city from development and kept it as an historical jewel. Its cobbled streets are regularly tide-flooded for about half of their network extent. During such occurrence it's possible to walk on some elevated sidewalks although not everywhere. The low tide exposes the streets which remain coated with extremely slippery substance. I personally experienced it by suddenly finding myself horizontal, luckily without injuries but just dirty from head to toe on my left side. The pavement is made with large and rough cobblestones, always be alert although it's hard to keep your nose down for the general architecture and local handcraft stores are quite attractive.

Tour GPS tracklog available here:

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=786591