Ilha Grande

For months during the cold Antarctic winter at Palmer Station, I dreamt about an island off the coast of Brasil. An island that was an ecological reserve with no cars, one village, a myriad of hiking trails and 102 beaches. I did my research online so I was worried that this place would prove to be less cool than the pictures I saw and the reviews I read. However, on day 3, I feel I'm ready to make this place my home for the next week or two or three.

The waters here are calm, clean and a good temperature. The village is small and mostly caters to tourists with a few mercados, many restaurants and souvenir shops and a few dive centers. There's a whole culture here among the locals which I have yet to figure out. There is probably one dog for every two people here. I don't believe they are strays. Most have collars. I've seen puppies being hand carried or sitting in bicycle baskets. The older dogs walk around town seemingly with purpose, swim with their owners and will occasionally accompany you on the trails or lay with you on the beach. I've only seen one cat.

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My personal escort hiking through the forest back to town from a nearby beach