Monkey Calls

With all of the monkeys that we’ve seen up close and personal these last few months, our time on Ilha Grande felt like the first time to really see them in the wild. All of the other times have been at big tourist areas, and the monkeys there have learned that if they stick around, they’ll get fed.

But last week on Ilha Grande, we listened to monkeys calling on shore at dusk and dawn, and when we hiked over the island to reach Praia Lopes Mendes, we saw marmoset monkeys in the trees.

The Costa Verde / Angra dos Reis area southwest of Rio de Janeiro has over 300 islands to explore. Some, like Las Botinas, are small but beautiful day anchorages for swimming.

The largest of the islands (appropriately named) is Ilha Grande. We anchored a couple of nights in Saco do Ceu; the water is so still in this protected inlet that the sky is perfectly reflected.

Our favorite place on Ilha Grande was Enseada das Palmas, an anchorage on the northeast side of the island.

The bay itself is beautiful, but it was the 2.5km (1.5 mile) hike across Ilha Grande through jungle to the southeast end, that made it memorable. The trail ends on an unbelievably gorgeous white sand beach, Lopes Mendes, accessible only by that trail.  The girls played in the teal-turquoise water before hiking back to Ohana and enjoying a peaceful trip back to Saco do Ceu for the night.