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| Brazil (Rio de Janeiro State) |
| Parati |
| About 300km from Rio on the BR-101 is the Costa Verde’s main attraction, the town of PARATI. Inhabited since 1650, Parati (or more correctly, Vila de Nossa Senhora dos Remédios de Paraty) has remained fundamentally unaltered since its heyday as a staging post for the eighteenth-century trade in Brazilian gold, passing from Minas Gerais to Portugal. | |
| Before white settlement,
the land had been occupied by the Guaianá Indians, and the gold
routes followed the old Indian trails down to Parati and its sheltered
harbour. Inland raids and pirate attacks necessitated the establishment of
a new route linking Minas Gerais directly with Rio de Janeiro, and, as
trade was diverted to Rio, Parati’s fortunes declined. Apart from a
short-lived coffee-shipping boom in the nineteenth century, Parati
remained hidden away off the beaten track, quietly stagnating but intact.
Nowadays, though, UNESCO considers Parati to represent one of the
world’s most important examples of Portuguese colonial architecture, and
the entire city has been elevated to the status of a national monument.
Today, Parati is very much alive, with its population of 15,000 involved in fishing, farming and tourism. The town centre was one of Brazil’s first planned urban projects, and its narrow cobbled streets, out of bounds to motorized transport, are bordered by houses built around courtyards, adorned with brightly coloured flowers and alive with hummingbirds. The cobbles of the streets are arranged in channels to drain off storm water and allow the sea to enter and wash the streets at high tides and full moon. There’s an air of prosperity in Parati, as there is in Búzios, yet it has a much more democratic feel to it, and by and large provides a more satisfying experience than its chic counterpart on the Costa do Sol. The Town |
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| Parati is a perfect place
simply to wander aimlessly, each turn of the corner bringing another
picturesque view. The town’s small enough that there’s no danger of
getting lost and, no matter what time of day or night, you can feel pretty
confident that you won’t be a victim of an assault. There are, however,
several buildings worth seeking out if you don’t happen to come across
them anyway.
As with most small colonial towns in Brazil, Parati’s churches traditionally each served a different sector of the population. Dating back to 1646, Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (daily 9am–5pm) on the Praça da Matriz is Parati’s main church and the town’s most imposing building. During the late eighteenth century, the church – built for Parati’s bourgeoisie – underwent major structural reforms and the exterior, at least, has remained unchanged since then. Parati’s aristocracy had their own church built in 1800, the particularly graceful Igreja das Dores (daily 1–5pm) with its own small cemetery, three blocks from the main church by the sea. Along Rua do Comércio is the smallest church, the Igreja do Rosário (Mon–Fri 9am–noon), built in 1725 and used by the slaves. Finally, at the southern edge of the town is the Igreja de Santa Rita (Wed–Sun 10am–noon & 2–5pm), the oldest and architecturally most significant of the town’s churches. Built in 1722 for the freed mulatto population, the facade is the most elaborate, in Portuguese Baroque style. Attached to the church is the small Museu de Arte Sacra with a collection of religious artefacts from Parati’s churches. Next to Santa Rita you’ll find the late eighteenth-century jail, the Antiga Cadeia, now the main tourist information office and a handicraft centre. Opposite is the lively fish market. To the north of the old town, across the Rio Perequé-Açu on the Morro de Vilha Velha, is the Forte Defensor Perpétuo, constructed in 1703 to defend Parati from pirates seeking to plunder gold ships leaving the port. The fort underwent restoration in 1822 and today the simple structure houses the Museu de Artes e Tradições Populares (Tues–Sun 10am–5pm), with a permanent display of fishing tools and basket ware, and handicrafts for sale. Around Parati |
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| Another good way to see a
bit of the landscape is to catch a bus from the Rodoviária, heading
inland towards Cunha, and get off after about 8km at the Cachoeira das
Penhas, a waterfall up in the mountains that offers a chance to bake
on the sun-scorched rocks of the river gully and then cool off in the
river. From here you can descend from rock to rock for a few hundred
metres before scrambling up to the road above you, which, after 2km,
crosses a small bridge into PONTE BRANCA. At the end of the
village, overlooking the river, is a restaurant, the Ponte Branca,
where you can take a break and have a cold beer. The walk from the
waterfall takes you amongst the hills, up and down dale, and past tropical
fruit plantations, all very pleasant. You’ll probably manage to get a
lift back to Parati from the restaurant when you’re sufficiently
refreshed.
The Boa Vista distillery is worth a visit, too (boats from the quay; $15). Home of the famous Quero Esse brand of cachaça, the old colonial house here was once the residence of Thomas Mann’s grandfather, Johan Ludwig Brown, before he returned to Germany in around 1850. The caretaker, and master distiller, will give guided tours of the alambique before plying you with a liquor that has distinctly invigorating properties. Beaches and islands |
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| Keeping yourself amused
should be no problem, even if you quickly exhaust the possibilities of the
town itself. From the Praia do Pontal on the other side of the
Perequé-Açu River from town, and from the port quay, baleiras
and saveiros (whaling and fishing boats) leave for the beaches of
Paraty-Mirim, Jurumirim, Lula and Picinguaba. In fact, there are 65
islands and about 200 beaches to choose from, and anyone can tell you
which are the current favourites. Hotels and travel agents sell tickets
for trips out to the islands, typically at a cost of $15 per person,
leaving Parati at noon, stopping at three or four islands for a swim and
returning at 6pm.
You can reach some of the mainland beaches by road – ask at the tourist office for details of bus times or, if you have a car, check the condition of the local roads which often get washed away after heavy rains. Paraty-Mirim is a popular choice, but the beaches are dirty, the sea very shallow and utterly calm. Better places to head for are the fishing village of Tarituba, or Trinidade, where there are several beaches with a couple of simple pousadas – the Luar de Prata (tel 024/371-1327; $20–35) and the Trinidade (tel 024/371-2897; $20–35). If you’re really feeling energetic, you can hire a mountain bike for $18 a day from Paraty Tours at Av. Roberto Silveira 11, who also supply maps marked with suggested itineraries covering beaches, mountains or forests. They can also arrange car rental for around $50 a day. Getting there & around |
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| The Rodoviária is
about half a kilometre from the old town; turn right out of the station
and walk straight ahead. The best way to orientate yourself is to head for
the tourist information kiosk (daily 8am–11pm), on the way to the
old town on Avenida Roberto Silveiro at the corner with Rua Patitiba. The main
tourist office (daily 8am–7pm; tel 024/371-2266) is next to Igreja
de Santa Rita in a former jail, the Antiga Cadeia. The office supplies a
guidebook in Portuguese with a map of the town, local bus times and a
complete list of hotels and restaurants.
Eating, drinking and entertainment |
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| The town has plenty of
good restaurants, but prices vary enormously, and often restaurants
that look expensive prove to be surprisingly reasonable. Most restaurants
make a point of letting you know that their dishes are suitable for two
people. Predictably, fish is the local speciality, but there are quite a
few pizzerias around, too. There are plenty of watering holes to keep you
amused into the evening, but out of season the town is extremely quiet.
In May, June and July festivals celebrating local holidays are frequent occasions, and in the square the folk dances – cerandis, congadas and xibas – demonstrate the European and African influences on Brazilian culture. Accommodation |
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| You might well be offered accommodation
by people waiting at the bus station, but it’s easy to track down
yourself; the standard is high, and rooms are not particularly expensive.
Most of the best pousadas are in the old Portuguese colonial
centre, five minutes’ walk from the bus station, and often young lads
will guide you to the ones with vacancies. Between late December and
March, however, this entire area is packed, and hotel space becomes hard
to find: if you are without a reservation try to arrive by noon, when you
can hope to get a room from people leaving Parati earlier than planned. At
other times, expect discounts of around fifty percent from the high-season
prices given below.
There’s a campsite on the road into town from the coastal highway, and another on the Praia do Pontal, on the other side of the Rio Perequé-Açu river from the town centre.
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