Another Day in Paradise

one of the girls in the hostel has advised us to take a 40 minute bus ride to Trinidade. They have a natural pool here and very beautiful beaches and we are keen to explore the local area. After a late breafast(Mark sleeps in for a change) we head to catch the 11 o'clock bus . We arrive at the station which is packed with people still trying to get out of here. The bus pulls in on time and the orderly queue turns to chaos. Even though we are well in time people push and shove and if you haven't got a seat the bus driver won't take you. So we return to the said queue (much closer to the front this time) and stay there for an hour awaiting the next bus. We are able to board this bus and make our way to Trinidade. There is a guy on a disability scooter who asks me to pull the cord to ask the driver to stop , we pull up on the side of the hill but the ramp has stopped working so they spend ages pushing butttons trying to get it to work, I honestly think at this rate it would be quicer to just lift him off, however noone in Brasil is in a rush and eventually the ramp comes to life . we eject the nice gentleman off the bus and we're on our way again.
The bus drops us off and whne we arrive on the first beach its not as beautiful as I was expaecting,( I know I really need to be more grateful) but as we make our way around the coast of beaches , It becomes very apparent why people rave about it. It was so beautiful and really reminded me of Thailand 10 years ago we slowly head towards the Natural pool , dipping in and out of the sea as we dip in and out of the sea. We trek through the first part of the forest and once again take in the awe inspiring views. I really can't tell you how much you must come here to South America, the people the nature and the amazing views and beaches are all unspoilt and this is how it should be. The second part of the trek to the "piscina Natural" is a little heavier , climbing through the root straddled muddy paths that took a hammering from last nights storm, its very slippy but we push on and the practice is standing us in good stead for Macchu Pichu. We arrive and i honestly cant beleive the beauty, it really is breathtaking. I take a moment to breath it in and head straight for the pool in the midddle. We chiil here for about an hour then enquire about taking the boat. Its 15 reals each so we decide to hike back and pick up a Caiphirina on the beach on the way back. They are so expensive at the first bar so we opt for an ice cold beer and I pick up a pineapple caiprinha on the beach before we head for the bus. Yet again we miss the 5 oclock bus because of the amount of people but were in the front to catch the next one. We take it in turns to fetch the refreshments and cannot believe our eyes when a bus pulls up at !17:15 we jump aboard and within minutes the bus is full, What a stroke of luck (or so we think ) because as we drive out of the town locals are unable to get on. We have to stop to let a woman off and as we do so a whole group of locals storm the bus refusing to get off. The driver turns off the engine and says every one must get off and he's calling the Police !!!! Mark and I stay put as at least we have a seat, but I am very aware of the disgruntlement surrounding us. I can understand that if these people don't benefit from the tourism that floods Paraty then why should it affect their lives. Eventually another empty bus pulls up and the standing people all make a run for it. The driver starts the engine and within 20 minutes we are back in Paraty. We eat a quick kofte at a Turkish Restaurant(the first international restaurant we,ve found since being here) and head back to the hostel ....Another day in paradise xxRead more