Ilha Grande - March 10th

Today was one of our more stressful days so far.  It all started in Paraty where after we paid for our B&B we needed to get out some money.  But having tried 3 bank cards in two different banks none would connect with our banks to authorise the transactions (despite one of them having previously given us money).  As we had a bus to catch, and just enough money to pay for it, we got the bus to Angra dos Reis.

We had another spectacular bus journey, although this time some of the wonders out the window were man-made, as we passed Brazil's only nuclear power plant on the trip.  However my mind was on the money issue and so I didn’t notice my camera had fallen out of my bag until after we got off the bus.  Which meant I had to run to catch up with the bus and get it back.  Luckily the conductor had noticed it and still had it.

In Angra we tried even more machines and card combinations but to no avail.  Our problem was that we are going to Ilha Grande, which is an island with no ATMs.  So we need cash, and we need it before the ferry departs.  With increasing desperation (and no sign of a cambio to change our emergency dollars either) I try one of the machines again, and it works for one of the cards.  Whatever faults there must have been must have been fixed, and just in time.

After that we are able to get on the ferry to the island, which is a nice pleasant crossing of about 80 minutes.  Its long, but it is cheap.  The ferry brings us right into the main town on the island, Abraao, and we walk through it to our hostel.  Like Ilha do Mel, this is another no car island, so the streets are narrow sandy paths.  But unlike Ilha do Mel, this is a proper tourist town with all the facilities you would expect, pharmacy, tour companies, lots of bars and restaurants, but strangely no Wi-Fi.  We struggle to find a place to give us Wi-Fi, and even when we do find one bar which has it, it doesn’t really work properly.  Visiting Ilha Grande is like being back in my 2008 travels in the pre Wi-Fi days, as it looks like internet cafes are the only way for us to get internet.