After the previous day of Brazilian hospitality, on Weds I cycled 96km to reach pretty Paraty. I checked into the Lonely Planet recommended hostel and went for a stroll around town to see the historic sights:
Later on I ate a big Italian pizza and got a good night’s sleep in the dorm room that I had to myself. The next morning I took another stroll, this time along the river:
All in all a relaxing time!
Then it was back on the road to cycle 30km north east to a beautiful beach called São Goncalinho where I met a journalist named Douglas and his mate/assistant Allan who wanted to film me cycling along the coast, but not until we’d had a swim and lunch!
After cycle filming we stopped in a village to do an interview, then put my bags in their car boot, strapped my bike on a rack, with me in the back seat, and drove the final 150km into Rio, kindly dropping me off in Copacabana at 10pm.
My host Mirela helped me bring my stuff into her apartment, where I met Niki and Max, a German couple who are also Couchsurfing here, then we all went to the beach for a nighttime dip in the sea! I reckon Rio’s gonna be great fun.
PS. for anyone who still thinks Brazil is not a cycling country, let me tell you that the World Cycling Forum is currently taking place in Curitiba. Cicloativismo!
