That Island is Haunted
It’s a paradisical island of powder-fine white sand beaches, located 70 miles (as the crow flies) from one of the largest conurbations on earth,
and absolutely draped in some of the lushest, most pristine stretches of Atlantic Rainforest in the southern hemisphere. Believed to haunted by the Tamois indigenous group that inhabited the coastline prior to the arrival of the Portuguese at the turn of the 16th century, the island subsequently became a slave smuggling port, a pirate haven, a leper colony, a penal colony and (most infamously) the birthplace of Comando Vermelho, one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for both its cultural and natural contributions to humanity—the only such Site in Brazil.
Today, Ilha Grande is a tourist attraction. Or at least, that’s the idea. The reality is that roughly one-fifth of the island is a holiday community for Rio’s elite—a spiritual & cultural extension of the stunning archipelago that surrounds it; another fifth is home to caicara community; another is empty (& stunning; but not all pristine) State Biological Preserve coastline; another is mountainous National Park land; and a final fifth is based around Vila do Abraão’s burgeoning tourism scene.
Ilha Grande is a visually stunning, historically unique & culturally compelling place of national importance. In other words, it’s a place that lends itself to a compelling telling of the Story of Brazil.
Between 2020-2021, renown Costa Verde explorer, Everton Polo, and I made multiple expeditions to Ilha Grande & the surrounding coastline (including Ponta Joatinga, Paraty-Mirim, the Serra da Bocaina, and further inland) to explore the possibility of creating a future GoGo Collection in southern Rio.
Here are some photos & musings from those trips.
- Eddie
Everton has been trekking, kayaking, diving, & guiding in the Costa Verde region (between Sao Paulo & Rio) for almost 3 decades. I’d spent 6 months on the northern coast of São Paulo and had been to the Costa Verde just enough to know how compelling it was as a place. Everton really wanted to show me what I’d been missing (laughs), so we talked for years about doing a trip there together. In 2020, the pandemic unexpectedly gave us that opportunity.
We did our first 12-day exploratory trip to the island in 2020, at the height of the pandemic. Economic activity in Brazil was heavily restricted during COVID, and Everton suddenly found himself client-free. I was in between R&D trips (in the Serra do Espinhaço) for D/WT+LT. We trekked for 9 days, and then the weather turned awful and Everton wanted to go home (laughs). We compromised by staying on the island for the next couple of days, but the trek itself was put on pause.
We followed that up shortly afterwards with a 10-day trip (also mostly a trek, but with some fairly serious & unexpected off-roading thrown in the middle) in the Serra da Bocaina. Later that year, Elisa & I went back to Ilha Grande for another 14-day trip.
All in all, the 3 of us spent about a month in 2020 exploring the region’s trails, and another month brainstorming & mapping the logistics for what a potential GOGO trip might look like. I also spent quite a bit of time researching the island & learning about its history. It pretty much had me at pirates, to be honest.
Everton mapping out trails the night before our first expedition. he turned in at some point, but i spent the whole night responding to an online interview. We ended up hitting the road at around 4:30am. It was brutal.
Boat scene in Angra dos Reis, the standard poRt of departure for ilha grande. Angra is a gritty town in a super pretty place—the kind of setting that has potential to stick with you, but only if you hang around long enough.
Our first expdition was during the height of the pandemic, so the ferry we took to/from the island was the first time I’d been around this many people for at least a couple of months.
Trekking the eastern side of the island. During 15 or so trail days across 2 expeditions, I didn’t see another person on the trail. What a privilege.
And to think, most wanted criminals used to hide right here. Parnaioca, ilha grande.
ilha grande is a place with so many layers to it. its history alone is mesmerizing. When you add the unique culture (of caiçaras) and the network of trails. slave smugglers, Pirates, thieves & murderers, comando vermelho.
former federal maximum security prison, ilha Grande. If you’ve never heard of comando vermelho…
There are Just two vehicles on Ilha Grande. One is the garbage truck in Vila do Abraão. The other is the National Park Service vehicle stationed in Dois Rios. Both are Toyota BAndeirantes.
Everton & longtime-friend/local legend Tony Montana. Aventureiro, Ilha grande.
Nestled in a beautiful bay between the State Biological preserve & Marine state Park, Aventureiro is one of the most scenic spots on the island. That said, i wouldn’t want to be there during carnaval (or non-pandemic weekends).
Near Dois Rios, Ilha Grande.
If there is one thing—one thing—I remember as clear as day it’s this prato feito (blue-collar plate) at the restaurant (there’s only one) in dois rios. it’s literally a top 5-all-time meal for me. the first time i had it, i couldn’t believe my tastebuds. the crispy, juicy fried fish, the fresh chips. insane farofa, awesome rice, awesome beans, the little salad & blazing fresh hot sauce. It was orgasmic (laughs). but it’s also more than that, because the restaurant itself is so cool, and the patrons are so colorful. it’s just a complete travel-eating experience. when elisa came back for the 2nd expedition, we actually walked 6 hours round-trip just so I could take her there. i was worried it wouldn’t be as good, but it was. we talk about it to this day.
ilha grande is amazing, and as an experience designer, it’s incredibly complete: it is imminently brazilian, yet has a culture, history, and nature that are all its own. (together with the bocaina & Ponta Joatinga) it made our final list of places for our second collection, but we ultimately opted to go outside of brazil for this one.
I don’t know if we’ll ever end up doing a full collection anywhere in rio—as many amazing undiscovered spots as there are, I can’t help but feel a bit of the international presence (the espinhaco has spoiled us in this regard)—but i can see travelers wanting to do bespoke trips in the region. There’s just so much goodness & uniqueness to take in, and it also lends itself so well to sharing the story of brazil.
proof of life (and beer! and wifi!) in Aventureiro.
