1 Island, 86 Beaches

In the late 1800's, Ilha Grande served as a quarantine stop for cholera infected Europeans migrating to Brazil, and then later functioned as a high security federal prison. For us, the island with no cars, daily power outages and tons of hiking was the change of pace we were looking for after five days in the hustle and bustle of Rio.

Each morning, we'd rise from our hostel bunks to the sound of the Adele cd blasting from the kitchen into our window. Over ham and cheese, mango and banana and plenty of coffee, we mapped out each day's adventure that involved some combination of wandering into the jungle, dosing on a beach, or scaling a mountain .

Lopes Mendes is said to be one of the most splendid beaches in all of Brazil. In an enormous country with seemingly countless beautiful beaches, this is quite the impressive title, and Zach and I decided it was something we should see for ourselves. To reach the beach from town you either can take a boat for R$15 (about US$7 ) or you can hike into the jungle, and up and over to the other side of the island. Obviously we kept those purse strings tight and set off for the three hour trek to this legend of a beach.

While I cannot speak for all of Brazil, I can assert that Lopes Mendes is the most breathtaking beach I've ever sunk my feet into. The sand is hard packed, yet velvety and white like baker's flour, and seems to stretch forever before reaching crystal clear, aqua blue water. This powder sand is untainted of leaves, shells and, for the most part, people. It was absolute paradise, and neither words nor pictures can do it justice.

Both infatuated by LM beach, we'd planned to return and spend our last day on the island soaking in sunshine. However, the overcast weather had other plans, so we decided to climb Pico de Papagaio or Parrot's Peak. While only a 1000m elevation change, the trail (marked on the map with a skull and crossbones) to the top of Ilha Grande's highest point did not have switchbacks, rather it shot you straight up the mountain face and gave my legs a run for their money. After two and a half hours of reaching for dangling braided vines, enormous tree roots and moss covered rocks to hoist ourselves up the overgrown trail, we stumbled to the top. Over bananas and fresh bread, we enjoyed the view high above the jungle canopy, the circling vultures, the sweeping clouds and endless ocean.

Off to catch the ferry, back to the mainland for us.