Ilhabela

Our last official stop was on the island of Ilhabela, Brazil. After a day of bussing around the south of Brazil, we arrived at Sao Sebastiao for a twenty minute ferry ride to the island where we stayed at Pousada dos Hibiscos (The Hibiscus Inn). Right away we could smell the fragrant hibiscus flowers that made the courtyard of the inn feel like a botanic garden. After all of our hard work and traveling, we were excited to arrive for some rest and relaxation in the sun! Right across the street from the Pousada was pizza place that had some of the best pizza. We also had several dinners in the nearby Vila (town center), which was within walking distance along the waterfront. On one walk to the Vila, a stray dog decided to follow us the whole way and then all around town once we got there. The whole trip in South America, we (and particularly Derek!) were very careful of strange dogs. This one really took a liking to D for some reason. It was wasn't until we arrived to dinner and the restaurant owner's dog (a very fat basset hound) scared off D's new friend. The dogs really know where to find the food though. Our last night out, a cute golden retriever showed up in the restaurant looking for scraps. He couldn't find too much on the floor, and Derek wouldn't let me give him anything off of our table. But he was lucky that another fellow was willing to feed him. He proceeded to give him french fry after french fry straight from his plate! The weirdest part was that the restaurant staff didn't seem to mind. Not bad for the dogs!

Some highlights of our stay on the island included renting bikes to ride to the north end of the island to relax at one of the less inhabited beaches. But our favorite adventure on the island was definitely on the last day when we hiked to Cachoeira Toka (The Toka Waterfalls). After slapping on some very greasy citronella bug repellent that everyone was using, we headed to three different parts of the falls. Two of the three had tobagones naturales (natural slides). The rocks of the riverbeds were so smooth from years of water running over them that we could shoot right down the falls. It was so much fun!

It was a great way to finish off our three and a half month honeymoon. We were sad for it to all end, but excited to get back for the holidays and seeing everyone in Chicago. It was just the right amount of time for celebrating our wedding, and we got in all three parts that we wanted: hiking, volunteering, and relaxing. It was just perfect!