Some 200 or so kilometres south of Rio de Janeiro is the old port town of Paraty, which today has become an important tourist destination close to the major population centres of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Paraty sits in a large bay with many headlands and islands and first became important as a relatively safe port from which the gold and and other mineral wealth from Orou Preto and the broader mines of Minas Gerais could be safely shipped to Europe and other markets. With the number of bays and inlets, the harbour was relatively hard to locate from the sea and thus offered an important protection from pirates and other dangers.
The coastline around Paraty is particularly unique with semi tropical forests coming down to the coast line and pristine waters and beaches.
The old historical town of Paraty is well preserved and largely closed to traffic. The streets are made up of large irregular boulders and uniquely in high tide, the sea comes in and floods the streets, and a low tide a natural street cleaning operation occurs. Small hermit crabs live in the sand between the boulders and are very visible as the tide flows in and out, scurrying in and outs of their holes.
The buildings in the town are typically just two or three floors and are largely all painted white, with colour in the windows and doors. This is quite unlike the multicoloured effect of other Brazilian colonial towns where the walls of the buildings are all multicoloured, with the colour being an important determinant of the buildings address. The windows all have a distinctive curve at the top and have multiple panes of glass.
In common with all Brazilian towns there are several churches each supporting a distinctive part of the community and various Catholic Saints. However, surprisingly given the amount of gold and other mineral wealth that must have flowed through Paraty in its heyday the churches are much more modest than those in Mina Gerais and other major Brazilian population centres.
The surrounding bay is very beautiful and one of the standard trips to do is to take a boat trip around a number of the bays. These boats often take on a pirate theme and operate a pretty standard route that takes in swimming both off a number of isolated beaches and directly off the boat. With lunch and a local guitarist come guide and plenty of drink, these can be quite loud affairs, but nevertheless a good way to appreciate the beauty of the bay and surrounding coastline.
Today much of Paraty’s economy is geared around the tourism industry, with many of the old buildings in the historical centre either being restaurants, bars or shops selling tourist souvenirs. Also there are many pousadas in both the old historical centre or streets nearby. Most of the tourists are from Brazil or nearby South American countries, but there is also a noticeable amount of European tourists on the broader gringo trail through Brazil that are also pretty visible given the small size of Paraty.
Date: 26/11/2018 to 29/11/2018