Bahia da Ilha Grande - A Brazilian Paradise

I arrived in the bay, Bahia da Ilha Grande, on my boat in 2006 after a 50 mile afternoon sail down from Rio de Janeiro. After crossing the Atlantic from Europe, of course.

It’s breathtaking!

The Bay

On the south coast of Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, along the lush Costa Verde lies the Bahia de Ilha Grande, a large bay about 80 miles southwest of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The bay is home to more than 365 islands, as well as the cities of Parati and Angra dos Reis (‘bay of kings’). The bay is known for its beautiful scenery and its many beaches.

Ilha Grande (Portuguese for “Big Island”), protects the Bay from the South Atlantic Ocean. The island, which is part of Angra dos Reis municipality, has yet to be developed, thankfully.

For nearly a century, the Brazilian government prevented entry or settlement at the island since it was first used as a leper colony and then as a high-security penitentiary. It was permanently closed in 1994 then opened again. The island’s largest village is Vila do Abraão, with about 1900 people.

The island, which covers 75 square kilometers (29 square miles), is now a popular tourist destination noted for its beautiful scenery, unspoiled tropical beaches, lush vegetation, and rugged terrain.

The Pico da Pedra D’Água (“Water Stone Peak”) is the highest point on the island at 1,031 meters (3,383 feet). The Ilha Grande State Park covers the majority of the island’s territory. Development restrictions apply to the remainder of the island.

How did I get there?

I’d sailed across the Atlantic in early 2006 following the old sailing ship route from the Canary Islands to the Cape Verde Islands and then 1800 miles through the Doldrums, across the Equator and down to Recife to formally enter Brazil. From Recife we sailed to Salvador for Carnevale.

After that hedonistic two week feast of music and rum I changed crew and then we sailed two handed, 5 days, down to Rio. After visits to Copacabana and Ipanema my crew flew home; I was on my own for a month or so. A local diver, Carlos Moraes Portugal Jnr, was going to pick up his newly acquired boat in Angra dos Reis and offered to accompany me.

It was a Friday and as we sailed down the coast I asked him about all the helicopters flying south above us, heading the same way. There were just so many of them.

‘That’s all the wealthy people flying down to Bahia de Ilha Grande for the weekend”. I was speechless. Brazil is certainly a country of huge contrasts.

Where did I anchor?

We entered the main bay (Bahia Grande) in the evening and then anchored in a small bay for the night. Next morning Carlos offered to give my bottom a scrub (the bottoms of boats get fouled). He was a superb diver having worked at great depths on oil pipelines, but this time he just used a snorkel. There were no sharks and he came back aboard intact.

There is a vast iron ore export terminal at one end of the bay but it's not really intrusive.

Next day we moved on to Angra dos Reis and checked out Carlos’s new (pre-loved) boat and met a couple of his friends for cachaça, what else?

I was presented with the remaining half bottle, older than the illustration below (no affiliation link, I just drink it). And no, it was not mixed in a caipirinha, we drank it straight.

After a few days we moved my boat, soberly, to a rickety marina a few miles away at Brachuy where I spent the next month while Carlos headed north back to Rio with his new boat.

I went out on occasional weekend trips and one occasion I anchored in a sheltered bay without realising that just 1000m away, over the peninsula, was Brazil’s only nuclear power station.

The cities in the bahia

Parati / Paraty

The city was founded in 1667 by the Portuguese and developed as a trading post to connect Europe and South America. It is a preserved Portuguese colonial (1500–1822) and Brazilian Imperial (1822–1889) municipality.

Paraty is famous for its colonial architecture and many of the city’s buildings date back hundreds of years. The city is prone to flooding on the highest spring tides.

It is a centre of culture and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city is home to a number of museums and galleries, including the Paraty Cultural Centre, the Museu de Arte Sacra, and the Casa do Conto.

As befits a tourist destination — and the Brazilian love of life — Paraty has a vibrant nightlife, with many bars and restaurants located in the old town area.

Angra dos Reis

The city of Angra dos Reis was founded in 1575 by the Portuguese and was an important harbour for the arrival of European immigrants as well as for the export of minerals as gold and diamonds, together with coffee from São Paulo further south.

In those days Parati was at the end of the trail up from the south and the communication from Parati to Angra was by boat.

Moving on

After a very hot and relaxing month in Brachuy I was joined by another crew member and we sailed back to Rio, stopping again at Ilha Grande, this time anchoring in an enclosed bay known as Saco do Ceu (roughly translated I believe as ‘bag of the sky’). It was a stunning location, and the noises of the forest surrounded us — howler monkeys and parrots. Unfortunately my pictures of the bay as a whole are not very good.

The link below is worth a look for some stunning images.

After a couple of days we sailed out from Bahia da Isla Grande into the South Atlantic and headed north for Rio.

The only sad memory for me is that I never got to see Parati — the tides were not right for my boat. I’d need to be there on the higher tides. Still, I might get there another time, but first I’ve got to cross the Indian Ocean, and then the South Atlantic…

Just to see you off, here’s a favourite of mine from Brazil, expressing the joy of the people. The band is Kaleidoscopio. The display image is crappy but the video is better and very vibrant!

And yes, I walked the beach at Ipanema, on a quiet day. Copacaba too, but that's another story. I’ve got a couple more tales of my Brazilian adventures lined up, so be sure to follow me and you’ll not miss them.

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Canonical link: This story was first published in Medium on 31 March 2022