Ilha Grande: Day 2

After clear, blue, fabulous, sunny skies on Friday, we woke up to a rather gloomy and overcast Saturday. Since it wasn't exactly beach weather, we decided to take a boat ride up to Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon in English) with stops also at Japariz and Freguesia de Santana.

This was the boat we took. After spending the day on board, we decided they really shouldn't be allowed to have boats with long pointy things coming out the front of them. After first trying to back away from the dock while still tied up to another boat that was docked and causing quite a ruckus, the captain later almost took out a couple other boats, a tree onshore, and a couple people standing on docks with the bow!

After about a forty minute ride to the North point of the island, we arrived at Lagoa Azul, along with about a gazillion other people. Although it was nice, in the future, we will only take the trip to Lagoa Azul on a non-holiday (and preferably when it is sunny!) The water wasn't nearly as pretty to look at being so overcast.

This is what it looks like on a nice day!But, just the same, we hopped out of the boat and did a little snorkeling. Between the cloudy sky, sixty-two boats, and gazillion people in the water, it wasn't really the best day for it. We still saw some pretty coral and awesome fish though.

I love this picture. My camera and my husband were working together well Saturday! (And wasn't he having a great hair day?)

Of course, nobody in the history of the world has ever looked cool while wearing a mask and snorkel. Eric wasn't too fond of the picture above, so I had to post one of me also looking a bit dorkish to make things fair. :)
After our time playing in the water, we stopped at Japariz to have some lunch. One of the most impressive parts of the boat ride was when a guy from the restaurant we were going to stop at came on board our ship to take our orders. (That way when we arrived, we wouldn't have to wait so long for our food.) It was during our ride to Lagoa Azul. This little tiny boat with a great big engine came right up beside our big boat. And then, in a MacGyver or Miami Vice sort of move, the guy jumps from his boat to ours all while moving at top speed. Impressive.

Anyway, after lunch we went up to Freguesia de Santana for about an hour. This was actually the first settlement on Ilha Grande, but today there is not too much there other than the church that was built in 1802.

We thought the rooster wind vane on top was a nice touch!

The beach on this part of the island was pretty narrow, but the water was clear and gorgeous.

See, he was just being extra photogenic that day!

Just trying to display how clear the water was here. I was in calf deep water, and yet you can still make out the perfectly manicured (or would it be pedicured?) pink toenails which match the color of my skirt almost exactly!

And these are just a few shots of the island we took while cruising back to Abraão.

This was an especially angry-looking crab we came across on the street while walking back to our pousada. He was none to happy when I took his picture either! (Seriously, look at his eyes, doesn't he look mad at the world?)

We went out to supper Saturday night and then did more walking/wandering around Abraão. (And we may have sneaked in some ice cream somewhere in the schedule too.)

These guys were especially entertaining to us: riding really tall unicycles on uneven ground while throwing around 6 lit torches. The people sitting at the tables near them were a little weary, but we enjoyed the show!

Up next is our final day, day 3. You won't want to miss it...that's when we visited the most beautiful of all the beaches and witnessed the sailor fight on our boat!