Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
and multilingual staff can assist with booking activities.
R$90
NOVA BRASÍLIA AND PRAIA DO FAROL
In Nova Brasília porters will carry your luggage to your
hotel for around R$25.
Ilha do Mel Café & Hostel
Praia do Farol
T
41 3426
8065,
W
ilhadomelonline.com.br.
Laidback café (great
espressos and crêpes) and budget hotel, with two double
rooms in rustic surroundings with small librar
y. Great
source
of local information.
Café daily 9am-10pm.
R$170
Pousada Enseada das Conchas
Praia do Farol
T
41
3426 8040,
W
pousadaenseada.com.br.
Towards the
lighthouse, at the quieter end of the beach (800m from the
dock), with just four cosy a/c rooms, arranged according to
the principles of Feng Shui, with free wi-fi.
fi. The
beach is
accessed via a short path across the marsh.
R$227
★
PRAIA GRANDE
Grajagan Surf Resort
T
41 3426 8043,
W
grajagan
.com.br.
On Praia Grande directly facing the Atlantic, this is
the island's largest and most expensive place to stay. The
rooms are very simple but a little more chic than usual for
the island, and most have a terrace with wo
nderful
views
of the beach.
Restaurant: daily noon-late.
R$310
ENCANTADAS
Éphira Pousada
T
41 3426 9056,
W
www.ephira
.com.br.
Well-appointed rustic cabins (all with private
bathrooms) that sleep up to five people, and th
ere's al
so a
swimming pool, pool table and communal grill.
R$500
Fim da Trilha
T
41 3426 9052,
W
fimdatrilha.com.br.
Relatively luxurious and tranquil choice, 180m from the
pier, with an eco-friendly ethos and very comfy a/c units
(with free wi-fi and
cable TV
). The breakfast (included) is
especially good here.
R$200
Pousada Marimar
T
41 3426 9052,
W
pousada
marimar.com.br.
Right on the beach, with spacious
common area (where you get free wi-fi), great breakfasts
and friendly staff.
Room
s are basi
c but a
dequate, with TVs
and fridge. Dorms
R$60
; doubles
R$175
Pousada das Meninas
Praia do Farol
T
41 3426
8023,
W
pousadadasmeninas.com.br.
Simple but chic
accommodation built from driftwood, local stone and
recycled materials, ranging from individual a/c bungalows
to more basic options. There's a lovely tree-filled garden,
satellite TV and free wi-fi, plu
s a café
(
Café das Meninas
) on
site.
Café daily 7am-11pm.
R$170
Pousadinha
Caminho do Farol
T
41 3426 8026,
W
pousadinha.com.br.
Popular backpacker hangout (180m
inland from the dock) with leafy gardens and relaxing
hammocks for chilling out. Rooms are simple but good value,
ON THE UKRAINIAN TRAIL IN PARANÁ
The hilly - and in places almost mountainous - region of
south-central Paraná
makes a good
stopover between Curitiba and the Iguaçu Falls for anyone interested in
Ukrainian
culture
and history. Between 1895 and 1914 thousands of Ukrainians came to southern Brazil, most
to Paraná; many houses here are still made of wood and sometimes feature intricately carved
details, typically painted in bright colours and usually surrounded by flower-filled gardens.
Prudentópolis
, 210km west of Curitiba, is heralded as the capital city of Ukrainian Brazil,
though it's typically Brazilian in appearance: visit the
Museu do Milênio
, Rua Cândido de
Abreu in Praça Ucrânia (Mon-Fri 8.30-11.30am & 1.30-5.30pm; free;
T
42 3446 3327), for the
background on Ukrainian settlement in Brazil. To see some of the rural environs, take a local
bus or drive around 10km northwest to the villages of
Nova Galicia
, sporting a beautiful, old
domed wooden church, and
Esperança
, where there's a school staffed by Ukrainian nuns. If
you're really keen, you could then turn off the road and head north for 6km to
Barra Bonita
,
another poor and overwhelmingly Ukrainian settlement. Without a car, however, these and
other villages are awkward and time-consuming to reach.
About 45km southeast of Prudentópolis, the small village of
Gonçalves Júnior
is well
worth a visit if you want to get an idea of local rural traditions. Of the village's four churches
(Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox), the only one that
merits much attention is the Orthodox one, which serves 24 local families. The small church,
built in 1934, has an extremely beautiful interior featuring Orthodox icons, and a ceiling and
walls bearing intricately painted traditional frescoes.
Without any doubt, the most interesting and most eye-catching Ukrainian church in Paraná
is in
Serra do Tigre
, a small settlement another 70km south of Gonçalves Júnior that still
retains much of its Ukrainian character. Built in 1904, the Igreja de São Miguel Arcanjo,
spectacularly positioned high upon a mountain top near the heart of the village, is the oldest
Ukrainian Catholic church in Paraná. In traditional fashion, the church was constructed totally
of wood - including, even, the roof tiles - and both the exterior and the elaborately painted
interior frescoes are carefully maintained as a state monument.
