Parati, Brazil
The charming port of Parati lies on Brazil’s Costa Verde – what Brazilians consider their most beautiful stretch of coastline. We arrived in the early morning mist, anchoring amid an archipelago of small, wooded islands, a Zodiac ride from town. The jetty was crowded with multi-colored fishing craft and day-trip schooners. A small but energetic group of “cirandeiros” - musical, local fishermen, welcomed us with their songs. We split into groups for a guided tour of the town, wandering through traffic-free, cobbled-stone streets between well-restored colonial houses. Since 1966 Parati has been a UNESCO-designated national historic monument. It saw its height of glory during the 18th century when much of the gold and diamonds of Minas Gerais State was shipped from here. Now it is a favorite resort for city-weary “Paulistas”. Since today is a holiday, there were plenty of people to share the streets, cafes and handicraft shops with us.
A short hike brought some of us to part of the defenses of the town: the ruins of a hilltop fort. It boasted several 12-pounder canons, dated late 18th – early 19th century and evidently from a British man-o-war. Their origin and story made for much speculation: which ship? What happened? What year? Time did not permit us to obtain the answers before we left, but an intriguing question to research.
The charming port of Parati lies on Brazil’s Costa Verde – what Brazilians consider their most beautiful stretch of coastline. We arrived in the early morning mist, anchoring amid an archipelago of small, wooded islands, a Zodiac ride from town. The jetty was crowded with multi-colored fishing craft and day-trip schooners. A small but energetic group of “cirandeiros” - musical, local fishermen, welcomed us with their songs. We split into groups for a guided tour of the town, wandering through traffic-free, cobbled-stone streets between well-restored colonial houses. Since 1966 Parati has been a UNESCO-designated national historic monument. It saw its height of glory during the 18th century when much of the gold and diamonds of Minas Gerais State was shipped from here. Now it is a favorite resort for city-weary “Paulistas”. Since today is a holiday, there were plenty of people to share the streets, cafes and handicraft shops with us.
A short hike brought some of us to part of the defenses of the town: the ruins of a hilltop fort. It boasted several 12-pounder canons, dated late 18th – early 19th century and evidently from a British man-o-war. Their origin and story made for much speculation: which ship? What happened? What year? Time did not permit us to obtain the answers before we left, but an intriguing question to research.
