I survived Ilha Grande!

אאאאאאאאאאאאאאאאאאאאאאאההההההההההההההההההההההההההה!!!

עכשיו יותר טוב.

אני יודע שקוראים רבים הצטרפו ומצטרפים לקריאת הבלוג רק עכשיו אולם לטובת חבריי שאינם קוראי עברית אני אכתוב את הבלוג הזה באנגלית.
ישנו סיכוי לא קטן שאכתוב אותו בימים הקרובים גם בעברית...

ולפני הכל, תודה רבה לכל מי שעזר, השתתף, דאג וחשב עלי בתקופה האחרונה.

Monday, March 08, 2010. I am sitting in the Yes Pousada, my hotel in the island, writing about what happened to me in the last few days…
my last post was written in Hebrew, so I am not sure how many of you could have followed my track, but to make things short – I’ve left the island of Morro de Sao Paulo in order to get to Ilha Grande (next to Rio) which is supposed to have beautiful beaches and a great jungle (now, I could actually confirm there’s a mighty jungle in here!).

When we got to Rio (Miri, Kobi & Sunny – my friends) we decided to stay for 3 days – especially as I didn’t want to travel the next day.
The next day – my birthday – we walked & hanged around in the cloudy city of Rio de Janeiro day and night.

The next day we went for an excellent football game in the Maracana (5:1 to Fluminense) and following that, a concert of Coldplay (in the rain).

Another day has passed and we took a bus to Angra Dos Reis (the small village in front of Ilha Grande). We stayed in a small hotel and looked for a boat in order to tour the area (there are more than 300 small islands around. Locals say an island per day). As we were not able to get one, we went directly to Ilha Grande.

(HEY! Don’t fall asleep, I am getting to the interesting stuff soon!!!)

Ilha Grande is a beautiful island. From the boat on the way there you can see how big it is (it is called ‘Grande’ after all) and how green it is. You could also notice the beautiful sandy beaches all around.

On the island, after settling down, Sunny and I decided to tour around the village. And so we did.
We followed a trail (in the forest) leading to the most (supposedly) beautiful beach on the island – but after a few minutes, as it started getting dark – we decided to get back. On the way back, sunny fell from the road and from this moment she decided the jungle is not for her. Beaches only from now on.

So I wanted to check also for the option to dive around the island. In a few place they told me that the next day is not a good day to dive, as the weather is not going to be too good. But the following day should be great for that. At that moment, I decided I wanted to have a hike the next day and a dive on the following day.

Next morning, after breakfast, we went around looking for the different possibilities – what could be done that day. Seeing the cloudy weather I decided I am not going to the beach on that day, and therefore a jungle trip could be an excellent choice. Sunny thought it might become sunny after all and wanted to stay on the beach.

At about that moment, I told Sunny – ok, I am going to the jungle. Going to climb to the top, to Pico do Papagaio. I should be back at about 5-6.

And there we departed.

I went to the pousada to take my already prepared bag & walking stick and headed toward the trail leading to the mountain’s top.
The peak is about 1km high, but there’s a long walk to get there, most of it by climbing up the hill (mountain).

First part of the road (about 30 minutes walk) is a road made for cars, quite a wide one. Then at some point there’s an entrance on the right, into the woods with a sign saying Pico Do Papagaio - 12Km (both ways). And so I entered the jungle.

About 76 hours later I came out to the same road (but about 8 km further) with much less force but with many new things on my mind and many new scratches on my body.

I got to the top after about 3 hours. I stayed there for about 45 minutes, when half of the time it was covered with a cloud. But when it moved, the view was amazing!!
You could see the whole island below you and you could even see the clouds below you.

When I decided it was time to go back, I packed my things and started heading down.
At the base of the ‘pico’, I started following the trail back, but after some time I noticed it was not the right trail. So I tried to look for the way back to the right trail. That was not an easy job to do and so I decided I will try to go in a way that might lead to the right trail, with the general direction of DOWN.
so there I was trying to get off the mountain thinking 3 hours (until dawn) would be sufficient to get off the mountain, but this was a wrong conclusion by me….
at about 18:30 when it was almost dark I decided I should stop where I am and not continue anymore. I found a big rock with grass on it and set my ‘camp’ there. I was hoping maybe sometime during the night a search & rescue team might show up and find me there, so I tried to stay up and light the sky with a flash light once in a while. I let the time pass by listening to music from my MP3 player…
in the morning I decided that I’ve spent enough time on the mountain and it is time to go down now, so I followed some river (as they all flow to the sea) but the road was blocked in a way I couldn’t bypass….

As the sky were grey and cloudy and the sun was hiding and in addition to that I didn’t have a compass I didn’t know in which direction to go….

I decided to climb up the mountain – and maybe see a way out. And so I did.

On the way, another rainy night has passed which I spent in a cave made of big rocks.

Next morning I saw that my phone (which had no reception so far) was totally dead now. I continued the journey and got quite high on the mountain where I could see the valley below me leading to the sea. This day was sunny and I could clearly see that the easiest direction to go to was east – I also remembered which beach was supposed to be in front of me – so I know where I was going to end the trek.
I was going down the mountain in that direction when I started hearing helicopters over my head. I had no way of letting them know I was there, especially as I was inside the jungle, covered by tree-tops.
I continued following the ‘valley’ and rivers which I’ve seen from above… on the way, another night has passed. This time I slept on a not so comfortable rock.
Another morning has come in which I said I am going to reach my target and get to the village. It took me all day long with many new scratches and bruises until I was finally able to get out to the initial road where I started the trip.
On this road, I met 3 young Brazilians whom I’ve asked for directions and as I understood we are both going to the village I joined them.
At the first moment they saw me getting out of the trees into the road they started laughing. I could understand them. I know I would too… but they were very nice and helped me get across most of the road (they took my pace and even carried my bag). When a car has passed, they stopped it and asked the driver to take to the village. He brought me to the local fire-department. When I got out of the car – they were all looking at me and asking “Itay? Itay?”. They were very surprised to see me there, but very happy as well. They gave me something to eat (FINALLLLLLLY) and when they wanted to take me to the clinic – a huge group of Israelis has come – the Israeli consul, the search & rescue team and I was very surprised to see with them four of my best friends – Dani, Efi Omid & Paz!

I was taken to the clinic where I got a few hours treatment in parallel to questions about the roads I made, where I went, what happened etc. I also got a lot of information from Hilik, head of the search&rescure team, explaining what I have done right and what was wrong and I should have done instead.
Sunny came there and was SHOCKED to see me back alive. She couldn’t believe I made it.
The time was about 17:00, so I told her I was back right on time.

A bit later I was released back to the pousada, where I met everyone once again.
I got myself lots of antibiotics – both in pills and crème for the next week plus a daily treatment by a Brazilian nurse (so far, a different one every day).

Getting back here, I started hearing all the stories of what happened since the first evening – how the police and fire-department were called and started searching, how the Israeli teams prepared and got here and how my friends just left everything, went to the airport, took a plane and came to Brazil in order to help in any way they could.

At this moment, when I am writing these lines, everyone has already left the island, and only Sunny and I are still here. I need a few more days to recover, though all the wounds and scratches are much better.

Now, I am a celebrity in Ilha Grande. Everyone says hello to me on the street, asks how I am and how was my adventure… It is quite funny…

I decided I am going on with my trip. No need to stop it because of one ‘small’ adventure. Adventure that stopped the hearts of many people around the globe (and especially in Israel). But still - it was MY adventure.

Some photos from the trip (and the jungle) could be found in here…
http://picasaweb.google.com/itayb2/LatinAmericanExperience
I promise to upload more soon!!