lopes mendes beach, ilha grande, brazil

After a two and a half hour walk through the rainforest of ilha grande, we emerged to see what is said to be one of the top ten beaches in Brazil. It's certainly the top one beach in my experience. The sand was white, the sea was all sorts of blue and green and significantly warmer than in Rio, and the people were hidden in the shade of the palm trees giving the impression that you had it all to yourself. There was even a man selling ice cold fanta (very welcome). The walk had been great but we headed along to the next beach to take a boat back.