The Trip 2013 - Mercedes to Itacare

Note: This is a condensed version of the pictures I took with some added narrative. The rest of the pics can be viewed in the album Trip 2013 - Mercedes to Itacare. Each picture can be clicked to see a larger version and comment / like.

After chilling out at the ranch in Mercedes for a few days we were ready for the next spectacle. So what could be more spectacular than the Iguazu falls.

We spent two days at the falls, first exploring the Brazilian side when we first arrived then the Argentinian side on the second day.

Both sides were absolutely spectacular, the sheer volume of water that cascades from one section of it just boggles the mind..

On the second day we all hopped in a speedboat and headed up the river right into the maw of the falls itself

While we were there some of us took the opportunity to visit a bird sanctuary.

Definitely well worth the visit for the sheer number and variety of feathery (and some not so feathery) creatures on show

All in all the Iguazu falls was an incredible place and one of the (many) highlights of South America for me!

After the two days we had to move on. An early flight and bus found us in Paraty an old Portuguese colonial town on the southern coast of Brazil.

Its a quaint little place that I really enjoyed for the two days we were there. On the second day we took a cruze out around the coast to a number of beaches and snorkelling spots.

Unfortunately the water wasnt particularly clear for swimming but the booze on the boat was free so it wasnt all bad ;)

The following day we took a short bus ride then ferry across to the island Ilha Grande.

The first day we spent walking around the island exploring the jungle, beaches and waterfalls

Despite it raining hard that evening we had a good time bonding with our GAdventures tour group

Next up was a long drive up to Rio de Janerio where we had just one day to see the city before saying goodbye to our GAdventures tour group for the last time :(

Im going to miss most of this bunch of awesome people, they made everything so much more interesting, thanks guys!

Kelsie and I didnt explore the city too much while we were we would be back again in a few weeks for NYE and then a further 14 days so we would have plenty of time to see the sights then. Instead we hopped on a flight he following day and headed north on a taxi then two planes then another taxi and bus and taxi until we eventully reached our Northern Brazil beach destination of Itacare.

We had three awesome days there soaking up the sun sand and Caipirinhas

On the second day we decided to go on a hike in search of "one of the best beaches in Brazil". To get there we had to hike along several beaches, then through dense jungle..

.. past several waterfalls which I had a lot of fun cooling off in ..

.. until we finally reached the beautiful, remote beach ..

On the way back we stopped for a beer and relax as the sun went down..

All in all it was a great start to our Brazilian beach adventure and the start of the end for trip!