'Tour de Brazil'

The journey north from Foz do Iguacu to the city of Curitiba was a watershed moment in our trip.  As we wearily stepped off of the bus we had completed our final overnight bus of the year- thank god! With check- in not for another five hours we managed to muster enough energy to head off for breakfast and try and organise the train towards the coast for the next leg of our journey to Rio. 

Curitiba 

Curitiba is the capital of Parana state and along with Sao Paulo it arguably has Brazil’s highest living standards. A former mayor in the 1970’s defied the government and took a series of progressive initiatives bypassing the usual South American paper chase and pay offs to develop a modern city unlike any other in Brazil. We ate breakfast, bought train tickets for the following morning and caught the metrobus to the botanical gardens to enjoy the sun and pass the time until we could wash and sleep.  The gardens were nice enough and people were milling about enjoying the unusual 30ᵒC temperatures around a giant glass greenhouse, the centre piece of the gardens.  We were eventually allowed to check in and after recovering from the bus we were contemplating heading out when we realised black clouds had rolled in and a huge thunderstorm suddenly broke out, bringing with it monsoon rains.  With few options we took refuge for the evening but the lightening was still crashing down the next morning and the local news showed severe flooding across the region.  With our train tickets already booked however we had little choice but to start our tour of Parana state and hope for the best!

The  Serra Verde Express travels through the remains of Brazil's Atlantic Forest to the colonial village of Morretes at the bottom of the Serra do Mar mountain range.  Despite being told by European experts that the proposed line was impossible in the 1860s 9000 men built the tracks in the 1880s to connect the coast with Brazil’s grain producing region in the south.  The remaining 100km of track includes 13 tunnels and 30 bridges (one at 55m high!) and is an incredible feet of engineering as it clings to the side of the mountains.  Unfortunately due to the weather and possibly because we have been so spoilt with mountain journeys this year we were a little underwhelmed after the 5* reviews the journey received.  It may also have been due to the three hour journey taking over six as the storm seemed to have affected the tracks and we spent a lot of time waiting.  When we did eventually make some progress however there were some spectacular views across the forest canopy and through the occasional gap in the clouds we could see the plains below that stretched to the Atlantic Ocean.

The views from the Serra Verde Express

Morretes

We spent the first day and a half in Morretes trying to explore whenever there was a break in the rain which unfortunately was not very often.  Fortunately we had a nice room with a balcony looking on to the Rio Nhundi and when we did get out the town was one of the most picturesque we had seen all year. Set alongside the river were cobbled streets and beautiful buildings and the town is surrounded by lush green jungle with a back drop of the mountains we had travelled through.   We kept warm by eating the local dish barreado, a thick meat stew cooked in a clay pot with a sauce made from bananas – it was better than it sounds!  When the weather finally held for the day I left Hannah at home and inspired by the Tour de France I set off on a bike ride around the local area with a Brazilian couple that spoke some English and were able to translate the info from our friendly guide.   The scenery was beautiful as we passed through the forest but the path was sodden and heavy going.  At one point we had to wade through a waist high river and cross another via a 30m bridge made from chicken wire and rotten wooden planks.  We were rewarded with a stop at the Ouro de Morretes brewery where we recovered whilst sampling Cachaças (a strong liquor) made from sugar cane that had been crowned Brazil’s best drink. On the outskirts of the town there was a more sinister story behind the sugar cane however as we passed a colonial building with chains still on the walls and information about the former slaves that worked in the area.  

The 'Tour de Brazil'

The beach at Encantadas - our small village on Ilha do Mel

From Morretes we finished our journey towards the coast catching a short boat ride to Ilha do Mel, an hour glass shaped island set at the mouth of the Baia de Paranagua.  Again we arrived in the rain but hoping the weather forecast was accurate in its prediction of better things to come we waited out the afternoon with a beer overlooking the wild beach and ecological preserve that covers the interior of the island.  We stayed in what was effectively a homestay with a lovely family although sadly they kept some pet birds in cages for the children.  One of the parakeets was aptly named Elvis and he insisted on waking me up every morning singing.  Our food options were limited on the island and after consulting our rucksack we discovered a somewhat pitiful supply of alternatives which consisted of some teabags pinched from the buffet breakfast; one small potato, 3 sweets; 3 pieces of bread; old crushed biscuits; an orange; half a bag of rice and cloves of garlic.  We ate quite basic meals for the next three days! Unfortunately another thunderstorm arrived and the following day was largely a washout but thankfully it turned out the forecast had only been out by a day and our patience was rewarded the following morning with cloudless blue skies.

Looking out across The Atlantic Ocean

Fortaleza de Barra

I set off for a day of exploring whilst Hannah rested her ankle and headed off to the far side of the island on a 20km hike to find an abandoned Portuguese fort.  With no cars and only sandy trails the walk followed the long empty beaches to a small hamlet in the jungle. On a slight detour I climbed up to a lighthouse to get a panoramic of the island before finishing the walk, only just making it as the beach disappeared behind me with the high tide.  The fortress was built by the Portuguese between 1767 and 1769 to protect the Baia de Paranagua but was only used once when a British ship took three Brazilian slave boats.  As the British stayed for a few months to rest it would appear that it was not particularly effective!  Built against a hill covered in jungle and looking out into the Atlantic it was a very cool place to stop for lunch and shelter from the midday sun.  I just abut made it back along the beach which had disappeared under a few foot of water and after some bouldering finally made it back to our village for a well deserved beer.

Sunset over the Serra do Mar

We left the island the following evening on the two hour boat back to Parangua with a beautiful sunset over the Serra do Mar mountains and dolphins swimming around the boat as we crossed the bay.  The connecting bus brought us back to Curitiba to complete our tour around the beautiful Parana state giving us a second chance to see the city minus the rain before travelling on to Sao Paulo.