Our "4th of July" in Paraty, Brazil!!

Since being here, we have learned  that you have to leave São Paulo to see "Brazil".

For a few weeks in July we found ourselves with the "legal department" car for our unlimited use.  So we, along with our good friends, Mark and Carolyn Zaugg, took a long weekend and drove about 4 hours northeast to a small beautiful coastal town called Paraty.

It is about half way from São Paulo to Rio.  It was settled by the Portuguese in 1667. 
 It was used as a port to export gold back to Portugal.  
It has been well preserved and is now a popular tourist destination.


Please, join us as we visit this incredible place!

Just before entering Paraty we stopped to see this church

and a little "strip mall" across the street.

For "Twilight" movie fans, Paraty was the set for Isle Esme (honeymoon).

Probably somewhere along this secluded seashore......?

Paraty is known for its quaint architecture  but they have more than 

their fair share of beaches to brag about, some accessible only by boat.

There are many colorful, colonial houses (refurbished in most cases), many of which have been transformed into shops, pousadas (Brazilian bed and breakfasts), restaurants and bars.

Elders Hall and Zaugg
(and the FLOWERS!!)

several small churches

The weather forecast was steady rain.  But thankfully it was only a

little cool.  Winter here.  It rained only on our way home on Saturday :)

Once a month when there is a Full Moon and the tide is high, seawater rises from its normal levels, and pours into the Historic Center District through special openings in the seawalls that separate the city from the harbor. The streets are only flooded for a short time, until the tide recedes. The water is usually only six to ten inches deep and a few merchants near the seawall put out small bridges to span the flooded streets for the benefit of pedestrians.

The streets are "cobbled" with huge stones to withstand the frequent flooding 
from storms and the monthly high tide.

One of the first things we did was take a horse carriage ride through town. 

 Many of the streets are for pedestrians, bikes and the horse "buggies" only.

 Along the streets, local merchants hawk handicrafts and Brazilian cuisine.

These cute little girls are wooden lamps with the bulb in the skirt.
I wish now, that I would have bought one :(

some sights from our buggy ride

Imagine having these flowers growing from your balcony and roof!

 and pink flowers growing out of the tree trunks!

It was only luck that brought us to Paraty during their biggest festival of the year.

Festa Literária Internacional de Paraty
or "FLIP"

Of course we didn't attend any event or lecture. 
Almost all the books etc. were in Portuguese.
But having lots of people there who were so excited 
made the whole town feel very "festive"!

 lots of activities for kids of all ages

This contraption is a missionary tool for some Christian organization.

Everyone is curious so you want to take a listen and
he is inviting all to come and learn more about their church.
Clever idea!

 These children's books are hanging or

"growing on trees"  :)

fun even after dark

This made us feel better about missing fireworks on July 4th :)

 We watched while this mosaic was created with little colored stones,
 in the likeness of a popular Brazilian author.

Pretty impressive~

Favorite shop shots ~

Carolyn is "shopper extraordinaire"!

We stayed a long time in this big "boat shop".
Boats of every size, type and color. 
Delicious candy for the eyes.

We kept thinking about our friend Phil Gowans who built his own real sailboat.
Being a sailor, he would LOVE this store.

Textile Art

T-shirt painting
and appliqué wall-hangings
feature local images

After exploring the shops and restaurants, we knew we had 

to take a boat tour of this extraordinary port area.

different views of our boat

our cute driver

and views from our boat

various other boaters

waterfront castle~

 The boats are as colorful in the water as they are in that boat shop!

all waiting for prospective lucky passengers 

Carolyn and Mark

he could not resist the Titanic pose  :)

nothing like sea air to clear the mind :)

sunset on our last night in Paraty
- sigh -

The next morning we saw these crab or clam diggers

on the beach by our hotel.

We just relaxed for a bit before we had to leave  :(

Then heading back to São Paulo:

It rained all the way home and we were further slowed down by
these frequent "lombada's" (speed bumps)
In England these are called "sleeping policeman".
Glad I wasn't doing the driving.   :)

So, luckily we (and gps)

 found a great restaurant!

decorated so cute!

Elder and Sister Zaugg showing off their matching "FLIP" T-shirts!

There are some weeks you hate to see come to an end~