A Private Villa in a Tropical Paradise

I must say, I have had an excellent birthday week and certainly one of the most memorable ones ever.  Just being in another country for my birthday was one thing, but spending time with friends in an ocean-front villa and then partying it up in Sao Paulo must be what they call living in style. 

 

I really have to thank João Paulo, one of the guys Sean and Chris met in Floripa during Carnival, for all the work he did in making the past week so amazing.  He lives in São Paulo so we were able to meet up with him over the weekend after returning from Rio.  After a weekend of clubbing in the city, it was time for a few days of recovery and relaxation.  J.P. convinced us to check out Ihlabela, an island off the coast of Brazil just a few hours east of São Paulo.  He has a friend who owns a series of private villas on the island and his friend offered to let us stay there at a really great rate.  J.P. seems to have lots of connections by the way and everywhere we go, he runs into people he knows.  He's an amazing guy with a great personality, a healthy ego, and great charisma. The whole experience of Ihlabela would have been completely different had we booked something on our own.  It was also nice to sit back and let someone else take care of all the logistics and planning. 

 

Anyway, the four of us took a bus to São Sebastian Monday afternoon, then took a short ferry ride to the island, a tropical paradise covered in lush vegetation.  The island is stunningly beautiful, with mountains that seem to just rise from the sea, coconut trees and banana plants everywhere you turn, all surrounded by a blue-green ocean that was clear enough to see the clown fish swimming around near the shore.  I've never seen clown fish outside of an aquarium.  The villa was amazing and probably one of the nicest places I've ever stayed.  We had a three-bedroom, three-bath place set on a hill above the ocean.  It had a big kitchen stocked with all the necessary utensils, a huge outdoor deck overlooking the water, and the natural, tropical, landscape provided enough privacy to feel like you were far away from anything and anyone else.

 

Since it was already late by the time we arrived, we just ate dinner in town the first night at a really nice restaurant right on the water where there was a fireworks show going on when we arrived.  After dinner, we stopped and picked up beers on the way home.  The next day, we went grocery shopping and J.P. made an amazing pasta dinner, which we enjoyed over candlelight on the balcony of our villa overlooking the water.  Add in a couple bottles of wine and some music and we all had a great evening.  J.P. is a great cook and it was so nice of him to make dinner.

 

We went for a hike on a Wednesday to see a waterfall on a different part of the island.  The hike turned out to be much longer than what we were told: 40-60 minutes turned out to be more like an hour and a half and it's not like we were going that slow or stopping to see too much.  Nevertheless, the hike turned out to be worth it once we reached the waterfall.  There were a few people there when we arrived, but they left soon after and we were then all alone.  Since it was late in the afternoon, we didn't even have to worry about others coming in and invading our space since most people, including us, would prefer to hike back out of the park before nightfall, so we had the place to ourselves for a good hour or so.  The waterfall was small, but quite beautiful, with a series of pools at different levels for wading or swimming and even a natural rock water slide, which everyone except me tried out a few times.  I admit, even though the water in the pool at the base of the slide was not that deep and one could easily stand up in it, I still have a certain fear and hesitancy with such things so I was content waiting at the bottom and watching everyone else bruise their coccyx bones. 

 

After the hike back, which went much faster since the sun was going down and the mosquitoes were coming out, we stopped and had a couple beers at a little bar/restaurant near the bus stop, then took the bus back to our villa.  J.P cooked dinner again, which we enjoyed to more music while just relaxing and enjoying the view.  We even spent some time that night discussing different styles of music and giving each other dance lessons.  J.P. may have the Latin in his blood, but I think I can confidently say I can keep up with him in the hips department.  It was one of the best nights of our time here in Brazil and it wouldn't have been the same without the company of friends.  The only bad thing about Ihlabela was the mosquitoes.  By far, the worst bites I have had in my life, complete with swelling and oozing and itching beyond belief.  Luckily the bites were limited to my calves and back rather than my forehead.  And this time, I wasn't the only one to be eaten alive.  Chris and Sean had their fair share of bites also, although I think I have the worst reaction to them by far. 

 

We woke up early on Thursday to leave Ihlabela and make our way back to Sao Paulo.  The funny thing about the day was, I got up at 8:30 a.m., we showered and packed up, cleaned the place, then J.P.'s friend, the owner of the villa, gave us a ride to the ferry terminal.  We took the ferry back to the mainland and had to wait about an hour for the bus back to Sao Paulo.  It wasn't until I got my ticket from the bus driver and looked at the date on it and realized, a full three hours after waking up, "Oh, today is my birthday!"  I guess that's what happens when you get old.  Even though I had thought about it the night before, I had completely forgotten when I woke up in the morning, probably because of the rush to get things together and get moving.   

 

Once we arrived back in Sao Paulo, we checked back into the same hotel and relaxed for while.  That night, we went out to A Loca, the club that's only a block away from our hotel.  Thursday is supposed to be their busiest night and it was certainly packed with people and had decent music.  I don't quite remember what time I came home but the sun was up.  I definitely had my share of drinks that night and eventually got lost in the darkroom, although dark hallway would be a more accurate description.  I have learned not to even worry about the time when you're out in Brazil because the party never stops.  I had a great night for the 10th anniversary of my 21st birthday and that's all that matters.  I guess I do still know how to party!

 

Cheers,

Ozell