Ilha grande boat tour
My mate Tom and I decided to go on a boat tour today. They do a tour once every day, which takes you around the island — on a cool little motorboat — to several different bays and beaches, and which includes a spot of snorkelling as well. We set off at 10:30am this morning, from the dock at Aquario, and there were six of us in all (plus our captain / tourguide): three Argentinean girls; a girl from Bermuda (an island in the North Atlantic, still a British colony); and Tom and myself. We had a very fun day, and the weather was sensational. Lots of cool colourful fishies to see under the water around here!
View of Abraão as we set off this morning.
We set off from the dock at full throttle, and our crazy Brazilian captain kept us at that speed for pretty much the rest of the day. The morning ride consisted of everyone lying sprawled on the front deck, the boat roaring along through the gentle waves, and our on-board stereo blaring out some seriously soothing reggae tunes. Of course, where there be reggae, there be weed — and several of the passengers on today's tour (as well as the captain!) came well-equipped, believe you me.
Our boat stopped at two bays in the morning, both of which had very nice beaches. At each bay, we stopped for a little while, to have a swim and a sunbake (as we respectively fancied). By the time we got to the third bay, where we did the snorkelling, it was the afternoon.
The snorkelling wasn't world-class where we did it — but there were some pretty cool sights to behold. Rocks covered in algae and little ferns, all of which were swinging lazily in the current. A tad bit of coral and shells to check out. And best of all, quite a few large schools of stripy, brightly coloured fish, swimming around mere inches from your eyes, and tickling your legs as they brush past. Just a pity that there were so many boats and so many snorkellers in this one spot, that there was quite a lot of dirt getting shaken up under the water, which made the view of the subterranean marvels rather cloudy and obscured at times.
In the snorkelling area.
We were fairly worn out from all that (*cough* *cough*) hard work, swimming and snorkelling and sunbaking — so we drove over to another bay, where we found a nice restaurant, and had a beautiful seafood lunch. Great local fish, and deliciously cooked — along with copious accompaniments of beans, rice, farofa and salad. A bit pricey: but hey, it's my last week in South America, and I'm on a tropical island; so I couldn't really bring myself to give a f$#% about the price.
Gourmet seafood lunch on the beach.
The weather turned a little less radiant after lunch: a lot of clouds rolled in, the temperature dropped, and the wind and the waves got a bit more aggressive. It didn't go so sour that it ruined our trip — but it did make things a bit uncomfortable. Anyway, it was still enjoyable cruising past a few more bays, and zooming along the open waters that surround the island. All up, a fantastic day out on the boat, and a fun group of people that made it what it was.