Paraty...where the mountains meet the ocean

I arrived to Paraty late on a bus from Sao Paulo. It was a spectacular bus ride that snaked through mountains through the lush green subtropical forest and onto the spectacular coastline dotted with tropical islands. On the sign coming into town it says "Paraty...where the mountains meet the ocean".

Paraty has everything and is almost too beautiful for words! It is a small town surrounded by lush green mountains with cobblestone streets, old colonial architecture, cute little shops, outdoor patio restaurants with great live music, friendly people and spectacular white sand beaches.

This location gets my vote for a future Planeterra office!

The next morning I was met by Wado, a freelance Gap Adventures tour leader who was the best guide I could ask for considering he was born & raised in Paraty and knows everyone! We jumped on a local bus arriving 25 mins later at the nearby Afro-brazilian community of Quilombo. We met with four young people from the community association for tourism - Daniele, Sinei, Ronaldo & Vaguinho. They began the meeting by explaining the history of the community and I'm really not much of a history buff but their story was fascinating...

Sign at the entrance of the community "Artisan House of Quilombo - maintaining tradition with Art"

In the late 17th century when gold was discovered deep in the mountains, Paraty became the main port for exporting gold to Portugal. This resulted in the construction of the "Gold Trail" a 1200 km stone road that was used by African slaves brought from Angola to mule the gold through steep mountains to the port of Paraty. Due to pirate raids and the eventual decline of gold Paraty was soon forgotten. Next large land owners using slave labour tried to cultivate plantations of coffee and
sugarcane but due to the mountainous topography and poor soil, the land owners left, the slaves were left to fend for themselves and Paraty was forgotten. Considering it's beauty and the fact that today it is a thriving tourist destination, that is pretty hard to believe.

This particular Quilombo community located a short distance from Paraty was founded by 3 women
who were well respected in their community. These women rounded up former slaves from all around to join them. Now 7 generations later this community is home to descendants of the original slaves who are striving to maintain their rich heritage which is a unique blend of African tradition and Brazilian culture.