Here we are again, and this time it is back to Rio, the city. I found some photos from a tiny island located in the Guanabara Bay - Ilha de Paqueta. It was not even a full day that we were day, but we had a great time and I would love to share that here!

The island is really small, but there is quite a bit to do - and the big upside is that you can see it all really quickly. You can hike a tiny hill, see some older buildings, take in the ocean breeze, as well as simply enjoy the beautiful views, like everywhere in Rio! Let's get into it with a slightly shorter post - but I assure you it's still full of fun!

Getting There

In order to get to the Paqueta Island, you need to take a boat from Rio mainland. Being on a boat is always a pleasant experience and it was in no way different this time. On the picture above, you can see one of the pretty sights that you see on the way and that you apparently can visit, although this isn't something we managed to do during our stay. It is a tiny island called Ilha Fiscal, with only a castle on it. It is known for being the hosting place of the last royal party before the famous coup d'etat took place.

Getting Around

In order to get around the island, we rented a little vehicle that we could use. This proved to be fun for the first hour or so, but then.. well, let's just say it became more of a chore to have to ride it! Not that we minded it too much, as in the end we enjoy physical activities, but it definitely surprised us with how difficult it was to ride. In the end though, this trusty vehicle let us get to every place we wanted to. Here's a little video:

The Sights

It is a tiny island, so there isn't a huge abundance of things to see - it is more of a way to spend the day away from the crowds, as very few people know about it and come here.

Some of the cooler things we have seen is this pink house! We also took pictures of the church, as my girlfriend's mom loves to see churches from around the world. So does my aunt, who happens to be a nun! On top of seeing those, we also spent some time in a restaurant in the centre of the island, in which we were served by the sweetest grandpa - despite the fact we didn't speak each other's languages well, we still managed to feel very welcome!

Most of our time was actually spend riding and getting off to take pictures or sit down somewhere! It was tons of fun to do it and we really enjoyed this day away from the city!

The final pictures is after a tiny 10 minutes hike through a forest and up some rocks - can't really call it a hill even! Across the whole island, once we left the center, we have seen very few people. While we are very social, I have to say that at the time, it was extremely refreshing! This was a shorter post, as our stay on the island was short.. But stay tuned! Next up is my favourite part of our entire stay in Brazil - Arraial do Cabo, also called "Caribe Brasileiro". You'll find out why on Saturday!