07/02/2020 – Lopes Mendez, Ihla Grande, Brasil

Pancake breakfast a la Dom! Then suncream, bags, and into town. We bought boat tickets from a tour agency and went to the pier and waited for our boat. Bright hot sunny day today. We got a motorised wooden boat with about 40 others across to a beach called Lopes Mendez, which took about 40 minutes. Managed to get best seats at the bow to sprawl across and tan on the way. We were dropped off at a bay and had to walk about half an hour through the jungle to the beach, which according to the lonely planet guide is one of the best beaches in Brasil! It didn’t disappoint - white sand, turquoise shallow waters, and some beach vendors selling beers. We found our beach spot, shade for the boys and sun for the girls. We intermittently swam, napped, and read our books and reapplied suncream. By about 15:00 we saw thick clouds rolling through, and with the other three starting to pink up, decided to head back to the boat for our return trip. We spotted little monkeys in the trees on the walk back, such a nice bonus! Then we got on the boat for the journey back, which was much less smooth than earlier. The captain navigated very skilfully through some huge rolling waves and although we all got pretty wet, we didn’t quite get to the point of putting a lifejacket on. Definitely one of my scarier moments on a boat though! We got home, refreshed, and went into town in need of food. We found a little restaurant with tables outside and filled our boots. After eating and with a bit more energy we wandered through the town, and stumbled across a beer festival. It is a Friday night and the island feels vibey! Josh started to feel a bit ill with his tummy, so after a little cocktail pit stop in a pretty beach bar we headed home, played some games and to bed.