It´s hot. Very hot. And stuffy.
I look at the other girls, almost fed up with this trip that hasnt yet started.
There are people crowding around us, pushing past with cold drinks and we there is a smell of freshly cooked fish wafting around.
We walk up some stairs and peer around, hoping to find a nice spot in the shade but there is nothing left. Too many people!
Back downstairs we go and use our lack of language skills to pretend we´re a bit dim. We climb onto the small pillow-covered deck, there are more than twenty people laying on it already.
We squeeze in to the middle where there is a little bit of space left, and we sit cross-legged, giving the people around us apologetic we-dont-speak-portugese-and-there-really-is-nowhere-else-to-sit smiles.
For a few minutes, we sit in uncomfortable heat, our legs sticking to the plastic pillows covering the deck.
Music fills the air around us, and we peer back to see a man sitting down the back, guitar in hand. Instantly the trip got better.
As we relax into our small stolen spot, the engine roars to life and we are relieved from the heat by the cool ocean breeze.
The tourist boat pulls out of the dock and we are on our way to our first stop.
Everyone starts to move around and the boat feels less crowded. We claim our spot up the front, wind in our hair and sun on our bikini-clad, sunscreen-lathered bodies.
For the next few hours, we are mesmerised by the Brazilian jungle, the many islands and the brilliantly clear, warm water.
We snorkel, swim, dive and jump – becoming affectionately (or annoyingly) known as the Australian Diving Team.
We dock back at the beautiful port of Paraty and make our way through market stalls and bustling crowds of people, all the while stepping carefully to avoid tripping on the uneven cobblestones.
We arrive back at the hostel and book an extra two nights accomodation for Paraty.
Bye bye Australia, I think we´re all in love.
Especially Jess.
