Ilha Boipeba - Paradise Island

Moreré beach, Boipeba island

All of this is covered at high tide

This is our taxi to the other side of the island

If Paradise exists then this is it! I am not easily impressed when it comes to beaches, coconut trees and lagoons but this island struck a chord in me. And one must earn it too: a ferry from Salvador da Bahia to Bom Despacho, followed by a 2-hour bus journey to Valenca, a taxi to the river port where you catch a speed boat. After one hour of battering you get to Moreré Island and it’s not over. You need to ride 20 minutes in a tractor (I kid you not) to get to the other side of the island where our Pousada was.

There we were welcomed by Gary, a very nice South African, who has lived in England and Spain before buying this superb estate on this island. It is an orchard rather than an estate, filled with mango, jambo (zamalac for the Mauritians), papaya and banana trees and all kinds of orchids, hibiscus, and bougainvillea.

Deserted beaches

All alone for kilometres

This calls for laziness

Apart from Gary’s house, there were 4 villas hidden amongst the trees. Each villa could accommodate a family of 4. The living space outside was amazing, there were reading areas, 2 dining tables, 3 hammocks, a couple of long-chairs and another bed outside! We definitely loved this bed sitting outside filled with cushions and pillows. We would just lie there and listen to the birds singing.

The island was extremely safe and everyone greeted you with a big smile. We soon visited our first beach and it was magical. White sandy beaches and beautiful coconut trees slanting forward as if trying to reach for the warm water of the lagoon: it was a postcard picture. On top of that there were so few people on the island, you could look either way on a 2 km stretch of beautiful beach and see no-one for hours.

We also made a short list of the restaurants we wanted to eat at and what we were going to have in each. The Alizée restaurant had a different choice on the menu every day so we would go up there around 5pm to see if we fancied anything on the board.

Delicious Robalo fish at Samburá - a local favourite

Yummie

The breakfast at the Pousada was incredible: fruits from the garden, along with fresh fruit juice, homemade jams (the jambo jam was excellent), tea, coffee, bread, rice cooked in milk, cooked bananas, cakes, and eggs (omelets, scrambled, sunny side up or boiled). That was the best breakfast we’ve had thus far.

Enjoying the quiet life of the island

Brazil = Football ... anywhere

There were very few things open after 9.30pm and that suited us perfectly. We have not slept that well in a very long time and we needed it. Our big problem there was: what kind of egg to choose in the morning, to which beach to go to during the day and at which restaurant to eat at in the evening! After a hearty breakfast, a long day at the beach and after dining on exquisite sea food we would generally return home exhausted.

A visit to the natural pools at low tide

The only regret we had is to have to leave after 4 days. We would have gladly stayed longer had we not already planned our next move. But who knows …

For more photos of Ilha Moreré

Ripe, sweet and juicy jambos (zamalac)

The view from Pousada Alizée 

Full moon rising on the bay

Having some fun on the beach

Lost in thoughts - we hope we can come back some day