Small Speedboat

It's late and I'm tired, but when I TAM Flight Heathrow to Sao Paulo, it's as if I am already. The atmosphere on the plane oozed "Brazil": everyone was standing, people were talking loudly and hostesses have been entertaining young children. I always find the best way to begin a journey to a new country is to fly the national carrier - it allows you to familiarize yourself with the language and culture of your destination before you land. This flight was no different.

Landing at Guarulhos International Airport, I had time for a quick Cafezinho before boarding another flight to Rio de Janeiro, probably the best place to begin my search for villas truly embodies the Brazilian Rio rest of the world image of Brazil. I was welcomed and taken to Santa Teresa, characteristics of the city's old town, which has nothing to do with the beach of Ipanema and Copacabana, even if they are not far away. Here, the villas are either private homes or have already been converted into cottages in fashion.

Mama Ruiz, a brand new boutique hotel in Santa Teresa, I drove in Angra dos Reis, where I spent the next few days. The first villa was Ponta do swerved, owned by Dona Leila who has lived here for forty years. I stayed for four days, sailing day on the small speedboats and water taxis to visit other houses on the surrounding islands. Some islands have been spectacular, especially since they were private property and with one on them - your very own island! A few I selected for the portfolio Steppes Villas Ponta do with pitching the continent.

The next step, an incredibly scenic drive later is Paraty, a colorful, well-preserved Portuguese colonial and Brazilian imperial city, located on the Costa Verde in the lush Bay of Ilha Grande, which is dotted with many tropical islands. Rising behind the town are the tropical forests, mountains and waterfalls. Paraty is equidistant from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, but still nearly five hours drive from both cities. For this reason, wealthy Brazilians who travel here for the weekend to fly helicopters or even small planes. Fortunately, I went around by professionals who can easily arrange this type of transfer for customers Steppes.

Apart from visiting some houses, we were also able to rent a small boat for the day for 80 reais (a‚¬ 20), many bottles of water and a few caipirinhas included! This is a must when visiting Paraty is the only way for one to realize how special this huge bay. There are too many islands for a beginning, and many of them have been established seafood restaurant accessible only by boat. We had a delicious fish Vermelho grilled on an island called Catimbao. One of rental houses from the historic center of charming cobbled even has his own schooner, which you can take each day, but it is easy to obtain fast boats for private excursions and organized. I cried leaving Paraty.

Next stop: the Trancoso, the landing of the Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral to Brazil in 1500 and later settled by Jesuit priests. It has a beautiful main square called Quadrado and three main beaches. People in this part of Brazil are different from those in the south, the population is full of African influence, which permeates the culture on these shores.

Trancoso is another fantastic experience, and as another in Angra and Paraty. The villas I visited here are mostly modern, but built and decorated with taste. Most of them were spacious and easy access to white sandy beaches of the region. As was the case in Paraty, and perhaps surprising that the owners' attention to detail in the selection of furniture and staff, all the houses I saw were preferable in the style and service to hotels region.

The two regions of Brazil W.