I found an Enchanted Place in Brazil (Part I)

Praia do Sono, Paraty, Brazil. Photo by the author.
Praia do Sono, Paraty, Brazil. Photo by the author.

Dear reader,

I was consumed by an overwhelming desire to feel my knees in the sand, the seawater on my skin, and the salty air on a sunny day. At the same time, I was looking for opportunities to gain field experience and work in contact with nature. Then, something amazing happened: I was selected for a volunteer position at the Paraty Management Nucleus of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), located in the state of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil.

Besides that, my experience as a volunteer will be a story for another time. I want to tell you about one of the most enchanting destinations in the state of Rio de Janeiro: a beach called Praia do Sono. I had always wanted to visit that slice of paradise, so, since I was already going to Paraty, I decided to spend two days camping at Praia do Sono, which is located in the municipality of Paraty.

I bought a ticket on the FlixBus app from Campinas Bus Station, São Paulo, to Paraty Bus Station (RJ), departing at 8:45 p.m. on February 25th, 2025. Aisle seat number 34 was available, and it cost me 57.99 reais. Before that, I took a BlaBlaCar from the city where I live and arrived a little bit early at the Campinas Bus Station. I waited for the next bus for one hour or more. I was really lost because I didn't know which platform the bus would stop at, so I kept watching the bus destination displays all the time. My whole body was really tense from constantly being on alert. Then I saw a girl I knew was also going to Paraty because we followed each other on Instagram. That made me feel more comfortable because I used her as a reference for where the bus might stop.

The bus arrived, and I was prepared to have a good trip by sleeping until I reached my destination. Would my peaceful journey unfold just as I'd imagined? Well, for starters, the bus felt like the smallest in the world. To my surprise, the driver refused to let me bring Astrid on board. At that moment, I realized Astrid wasn't just a travel companion; she was a massive mountain of a backpack blocking the way. And the next eight hours felt like pure torture as a bitter chill settled in, and I spent the whole time shivering and drifting in and out of a restless, uneasy sleep. Wouldn't my sleeping bag have been very useful in that situation? Well, to my delight, it was with Astrid in the luggage compartment.

The beginning of the trail to Praia do Sono, in Vila Oratório. Photo by the author.

Fortunately, I arrived alive in Paraty at 5:00 a.m. It was still dark, and all the stores at the bus station were closed. That meant there wasn't anywhere to have a nice breakfast or drink a truly excellent cup of coffee, which I call, in Brazilian Portuguese, "o digníssimo." I started looking for information about how to get to Vila Oratório. It is a neighborhood close to Praia do Sono, and it is where I could find the trail that leads to the beach. Then, I got the information I needed. It was 5:22 a.m., and bus 24 was going to Vila Oratório at 5:45. However, I didn't take that bus because I needed to buy some food at the supermarket. So, I waited for the first signs of daylight and decided to walk around and explore the historical center of Paraty.

Morning in the historic center of Paraty. Photo by the author.

And this was only the beginning of my journey to that slice of paradise.

Yours from Brazil,

The Brazilian Guy

Location: Praia do Sono, Rio de Janeiro, 23970-000, Brasil

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