Ilha do Mel

Just going to backtrack a bit here first….I realized that I didn’t really mention anything about Morretes and Paranagua. Morretes is a really small town and there wasn’t much there to see between the train and bus station. Paranagua is a slightly larger town than Morretes and it is southern Brasil’s largest port. We found a great little buffet restaurant where we had lunch for $7.90R per person. Cheap, cheap, cheap especially once you factor in the exchange rate and this lunch turns into about $4.50CAD per person. Paranagua seems like a nice little town, they have a large grassy park at the waterfront, where we hung out for a bit waiting for our ferry. And now, onto Ilha do Mel….

We arrived on Ilha do Mel around 5:30pm and right away noticed the white sand beaches. The island is somewhat off the beaten track with very basic services. It is very tranquil, a place for you to forget all your worries. There are no cars and only got electricity some years ago. In fact, it would recommended that one bring a flashlight when travelling here because when it gets dark at night, the pathways are not lit. Most of the pathways are all sand and there is a lovely fragrance in the air from all the flora. This is definitely a place for star gazing considering the limited lighting at night. There are millions of stars you can see as well as some galaxies. I saw the little dipper the first night here.

We stayed at the Hostel Ilha do Mel which is a small hostel and we were the only guests during our stay. Our hosts were Simone and Charlie, though Charlie had gone to the mainland during our stay. Simone recommended a restaurant about 100 yards from the hostel called Mar e Sol as a place for dinner. We took her up on this recommendation and had no regrets. The food was great and as we've found out during our time in Brasil, the portions are quite large. We've had a hard time finishing meals thus far, so this time we decided to order differently. Ziad ordered a full meal, while I ordered a smaller meal and we decided we'd share. Ziad wanted to satisfy his seafood craving and ordered the shrimp and fish dish which also came with french fries and a salad, while I chose a chicken dish that came with a salad. I still don't have a huge taste for seafood, but I did try the shrimp. The meal price was very reasonable at $40R, which also included a bottle of Skol, which is another local Brasilian beer. Skol comes in rather large 600mL bottles. They serve it with a bottle cooler so the beer doesn't get warm while you drink out of smaller glasses. We ended up eating dinner there again our second night because the food was that good.

Our second day on the island started with a simplistic, yet lovely breakfast on the patio. The coffee in Brasil thus far has been delightful. They appear to serve coffee here a little differently in that they use hot milk instead of the cold milk we are accustomed to. I have definitely been able to satisfy my coffee addiction here. Simone showed us how she feeds the local birds by putting out a partly peeled banana for them. We got to see a bunch of beautifully coloured birds and butterflies. There was a brilliant red bird in particular that I wish we had the camera ready for. After breakfast we set out for the day to explore the island and get some beach and sun time in. Yes, we were finally getting some much wanted and needed sun. Along one of the pathways we encountered several armies of ants busy carrying pieces of leaves to their ant farm. I was amused at how strong these little insects are. The nature here is absolutely amazing.

On our walk to the lighthouse, which has some amazing views of the island, we made a pit stop at Praia de Fora and there we saw a little owl eating a crab. Ziad actually saw it first and approached it slowly and ended up getting rather close to takes some pictures and a video. Coming back down from the lighthouse, we saw some locals surfing and decided it would be fun to head down towards the beach for a dip in the Atlantic. The water was not warm, but once in, wasn’t cold either. It was windy, so the surf was a little rough with a pretty good under toe.

We ended up walking along the shoreline and eventually ended up back at the pier where the ferry dropped us off the day before. The sand here is so fine, soft and when dry very white. I would have to say that until this trip I thought that Cuba had the best sand, but I’m thinking that Brasil has just taken over that spot.

There isn’t a lot to do on the island outside of relaxing, so after this walk we determined we still had about four hours before we’d be ready for dinner, so we kept on walking towards Praia Grande (large beach). This walk took some time and by the time we got there, I realized that I should not have done it in my flops. No big deal, nothing a little band-aid won’t take care of. The water was really choppy and I didn’t really want to go in, so we found a bench and lay in the sun for awhile before heading back towards our hostel when the wind picked up and brought in the clouds.

Ilha do Mel is definitely worth a visit, but be prepared to just relax and unwind. While the introduction of electricity has brought satellite TV and internet to the island, there really isn’t much else to do except enjoy the beaches and scenery, read a book, sit around in a hammock and watch the birds. And all of that is worth coming here for. It’s a great escape from the city and provides an opportunity to appreciate the simpler things in life and nature at its best.