Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Tarituba
About 60km from Angra, TARITUBA , a charming little fishing village just off the coast
road, is still relatively untouched by tourism. Any bus going along the coast will let you
off at the side road that leads to the village, and there are buses several times a day from
Paraty, 35km further west.
There's not much to the village - a pier along which fishing boats land their catches, a
pretty church and a few barracas on the beach serving fried fish and cold drinks - and
it's simply a place to relax in, away from the often brash commercialism of Angra and
Paraty. Bear in mind that here, as right along the coast, the borachudos and mosquitoes
are murder, so bring plenty of insect repellent and mosquito coils with you.
ACCOMMODATION
1
TARITUBA
Pousada de Carminha T 24 9991 8668, W pousada
dacarminha.blogspot.com.br. Simple but very friendly,
and right on the beach, offer ing rus tic chalets with either
private or shared bathrooms. R$150
Pousada Tarituba T 24 3371 6614, W pousada
tarituba.com.br. The most comfortable place in town,
where large rooms with private vera ndas a nd hammocks
overlook the pool and beach beyond. R$160
Paraty and around
About 300km from Rio on the BR-101 is the Costa Verde's main attraction, the town
of PA R AT Y . The town centre's narrow cobbled streets (closed to cars) are bordered by
houses with inner courtyards full of brightly coloured flowers and hummingbirds. The
cobbles of the streets are arranged in channels to drain off storm water, allowing the sea
to enter and wash the streets at high spring tides. Although businesses in the historic
centre are overwhelmingly geared to tourists, the wider community has not been totally
engulfed by wealthy outsiders. It's a great place to wander around, each corner bringing
another picturesque view, small enough that there's no danger of getting lost, and safe
at any hour of the day or night.
Brief history
Inhabited since 1650, the centre of Paraty (or, of cially, Vila de Nossa Senhora dos
Remédios de Paraty) has remained fundamentally unaltered since its heyday as a port
for the export of gold from Minas Gerais to Portugal. Before Portuguese settlement,
the land had been occupied by the Guaianá Indians , whose old trails the Portuguese
gold routes now followed. But inland raids and pirate attacks at sea forced the
Portuguese to switch to a direct route from Minas Gerais to Rio, bypassing Paraty,
whose fortunes declined. Apart from a short nineteenth-century boom in coffee
shipping and cachaça production, Paraty remained off the beaten track. Because it
therefore remained unchanged, however, UNESCO now considers Paraty one of the
world's most important examples of Portuguese colonial architecture, and the old city
has the status of a national monument.
Nossa Senhora dos Remédios
Praça da Matriz • Daily 9am-5pm • Free
Dating back to 1646, Nossa Senhora dos Remédios is Paraty's main church and the
town's largest building. As in most small colonial towns in Brazil, each of Paraty's
churches traditionally served a different sector of the population, and this was built
for the local bourgeoisie. It underwent major structural reforms in the late eighteenth
century, but the exterior, at least, has since remained unchanged.
Igreja das Dores
Rua Fresca • Sat & Sun 1.30-6pm • Free
The graceful Igreja das Dores , with its small cemetery, located by the sea, three blocks
from Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, was founded in 1800 for Paraty's aristocracy, who
 
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