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Today, 8th May 2016 I’m sat on a Rio de Janeiro beach at Paraty.  I hadn’t heard of it or thought of it but my jungle lodge tour peers told me to come ad its lovely – an old town kept in the colonial style.  And its lovely, colourful buildings, old churches, squares and a cobble of rocks cobbled streets (so uneven and big I find them hard to walk on!).

It’s by the sea, so close as the tide rises some streets flood as I found on my way to Pinol beach this afternoon, after walking to it this morning via the harbour of many and colourful charter boats!

(I am currently watching three English girls, sitting with some Americans, doing the Macarena on the beach by the sea!!)

It’s nice to be back on a beach, relaxing, listening to the waves, now gentle at 3.30 pm whilst I drink my (large) beer at a table under a brolly.  Not that we need brollies, as its sunny but not too hot to lie out which I did earlier, but in my shorts as I moved rooms this morning and await my room to be fixed up for me.  

Last night I had a fun time drinking and dancing, sort of chatting, with locals listening or part of an impromptu 8-9 piece band of guitars, ukulele, drums, tambourines, maracas and an odd machine like tin drum sounds?!

I heard it across from my room, so went to investigate, at a kiosk at the edge of the park square.   I ordered a large beer (only $9 real here, not 12!) and I sat with a an afro Caribbean looking woman on her own but who turned out to be with the afro-Caribbean looking guy on tambourine, who was really into the music. 

In the end she new lots of people, her daughter came over and was dancing very provocatively for an Isreali guy, and his wife, who came to sit down to and I chatted briefly but we all got up and danced.  I danced with a guy whose birthday it was and he got me up (and did the tango end move both times with me!) – I knew as the band played happy birthday for him (you can recognise the tune in every country which is odd!) and a guy my age who apparently liked me, and a hot dark guy who could really move when he danced with another woman sat on her own that my friend seemed to know a bit.  He got frustrated trying to get me to move with him, though!  Then hotel hunting at 8.30 am today we met on the street and hugged, and I think said we’d see each other there tonight too!

But I left about 10 pm, a bit tipsy from the several bottles we shared, and popped over the road to Aloha Hostel.  I woke at 3.30 am to loud, loud funky music, then Michael Jackson, the others …until 6 am!!  At 6.15 the first of three noisy vans pulled up outside my room to unload or collect bottles!!   I gave up, got up and went hotel hunting after checking some online before breakfast at 8am!   I found one, same price but much nicer, and host said it was quiet, even though we didn’t speak each other’s language –  you can make yourself understood with patience and effort!!!

120 realia is quite expensive; the last mice one in Santa Teresa was only £15 or 75 real fir a lovely home, lovely room, huge varied breakfast and a lovely host!! The one I left for there was horrid for £12 or 120 real for two nights – it was dark dirty and cramped, I had to use the tiny towel they left to cover the pillow to sleep on!  A dirty fridge and cooker, water leaks and wet towels in the bathroom, a water tap for the shower and a slide window that didn’t close properly so the barking dogs late on or early morning didn’t allow much sleep!!!  Accommodation really varies and you can’t always trust the reviews on Booking.com it seems!