Paraty

I have been many times to Paraty and it always takes my breath away. It is a colonial town founded in 1667. 

Despite its rich history, in this blog, however, I will only show you a few things one can do or see in a quick visit.

 This is the way it looks like. No cars are allowed in the historical center. The streets are paved with round stones that are covered with sea water depending on the tides. Because of this the best thing you can wear there is tennis shoes.

 There is a great range of unique shops and artists' ateliers. This shop below had wonderful works done by Brazilian indians. The baskets on the left are used by them to fish. I think they would work as a wall lamp as well. The round things on the right are "coités" , a kind of gourd that grows in trees. The drawings on them were made with animal's teeth.

 Paraty promotes cultural events during the whole year, a fact that attracts tourists from the whole world. Because of that, some of the artists from there became world famous.

 The Pedro Malvao's studio is also worth a visit. Praça da Bandeira, 1.

 Other artists that I have visited there and unfortunately don't remember their names.

Exclusive lampshades by Cida Stofel. They are all handmade and very creative.

 There are all kinds of Pousadas (Inns) and Hotels. One of the nicest is Pousada do Sandi in the historical center. I went in there to take pictures of the flower arrangements. 

 These beautiful arrangements are done with local flowers by this artist Amarildo.

 It is hard to decide where to eat. Most of the restaurants are very charming and cozy.

 I had dinner (make a reservation!) at Margarida Cafe  . Very typical decor, nice food, acclimatized wine cellar, live music. The dish below is a  very typical Brazilian meal, here nicely presented. Rice, black beans, farofa (toasted manioc flour), beef, fried egg, and a banana pastry on top. Note the door hanging from the ceiling!

 Don't miss a schooner trip through the islands. 

 Or take one of these cute, colourful boats. They all serve lunch, drinks, some have live music and they all make at least three stops for snorkling.

 This pic was taken during the trip. This cute island used to have a restaurant and some rooms. Now it is closed.

I saw these monkeys in one of the islands and was told they were  "mico leão dourado", an endangered species but I am not sure. I had the opportunity to use my underwater camera for the first time. This kind of fish is very commom in our coast.