“You’re gonna jump off that?!”

We eat breakfast, steal lunch and are told about a trail to a beach called Lopez mendes. The beach is described as one of the most beautiful on the island so we pack our daybags and set off. At the very first turn we go in the wrong direction (whilst gawking at the incredible scenery) and end up being directed back on track by a Danish couple, Line (pronounced Leener) and Jacob (pronounced yacob) who are in the room next to us at the Aquario poussada. The trail is challenging with neither me or Lucy admitting the difficulty until after we arrive at the beach of Lopez mendes. At times the terrain feels like we are participating in a stage of Total Wipeout, jumping from boulder to boulder, hopping through cool river streams and scrabbling up steep densely populated dust tracks. Richard Hammond’s voice riccochets around the forest. We hear animals cavorting and catch glimpses of some very cute mini-monkeys who inquisitively check us out. I think they look a little like mogwai but don’t mention this to Lucy. After discarding two very nice beaches, we arrive at the opening to Lopez mendes. The trees form to make a natural tunnel which accentuates the incredible blueness of the beach. Large choral choirs sing Hallelujah! The sound of waves pours forward and we dump our bags and run into the sea. A true paradise with crystal clear waters which had to be earned. Not a single boat or car can be seen with only a smattering of Brazillian dialogue as people walk on by. Professional tans are displayed alongside tiny thongs and the guarde vidas cook Brazillian barbecue food with very little to do on such a quiet beach. We spend a couple of hours frolicking, sunbathing and swimming and take a taxiboat back to Abbrao for quinze reais.

Over the next few days we hang with the Danes, Jacob and Line who prove to be great fun and coincidentally board the same boat back to Angra dos reis, stay in Paraty the same amount of time as us and then as a further coincidence board the same semi cama bus to São Paulo.

Whilst in Paraty we go to the famous waterfalls and taste the local Cachasa, which ranges from strong to really strong (Really really strong). Cachasa is a celebrated variation of moonshine cooked up in copper distillation equipment. Our guide explains everything entirely in Portuguese, slightly limiting what we can learn about Cachasa production. Not really knowing anything about Cachasa (except for its kick in the chest flavour), we jump in the back of a jeep and stop at a deep point in the river. We take turns on the rope swing throwing ourselves into the cold mountain water as one of our guides shows off by hanging upside down and jumping off high stuff, oblivious to danger.

We reach the next point in the tour and watch open jawed as a group of aerobatic kids insanely slide, jump and fly down large flat rock formations that have naturally been smoothed by the constant flow of the fast flowing river. The rock formations lead the water into a deep plunge pool at the bottom. The twist is, when the Brazillian kids go down the natural rock waterslide, they stand up. Fearless and very young, the kids make it look easy. Too easy. A slightly chubby european looking fella from one of the other groups tries to emulate the insanity and ends up smashing his chin on the rock, blood quickly dispersing into the cool waters of Paraty. We all (semi-sensibly) slide down on our fronts and backs and receive little in the way of injury. A slightly scary fast descent later we all laugh and applaud as our small group comes down one by one. Insanely fun but mostly insane.

We cross a small indiana jones style rope bridge over the river before arriving at the restaurant and our crazy show off guide runs up a large rock formation and jumps off the twelve meter height into the water. We realise he is demonstrating what is possible with the landscape and is actually encouraging us to have a go.
Jacob smiles and says “I’m gonna do it!”
Out of character and to my amazement, Lucy then said:
“Yeh, I think I will do it too”.
I double take and as the words sink in.
“You’re gonna jump off that?” I said.
“Yeh, I think so” said Lucy.
Lucy then removed her T-Shirt and denim shorts and followed Jacob to the top of the twelve meter rock. I remember thinking: If something goes wrong, how am I going to explain this to Lucy’s dad?
I watch a couple of other Irish guys do the jump and the second jumper lands badly making a sickening slapping noise whilst sending a huge splash skywards.
“Ow” he said as he paddled/limped back to the dry rocks.
This intensified the tension and as I set up the camera I really hoped Lucy would make a good landing. It was difficult to see when she was about to jump because of the dense undergrowth on the high platform. I watched a blue polka dot bikini flash horizontally as Lucy launched herself from the rock. She had to jump a distance not to injure herself on the way down. She fell fast and hit the water at a dodgy angle. She surfaced quickly, visibly reeling from the experience. We all applauded and Lucy gained my utmost respect alongside one of the biggest, most purple bruises I have ever seen. My hero.