That Island is Haunted

2021

It’s a paradisical island of powder-fine white sand beaches, located just 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. The Tamois indigenous peoples, who inhabited the coastline prior to the arrival of the Portuguese at the turn of the 16th century, believed that the island was haunted. In the centuries that followed, it 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. The island is 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; yet 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 photographs & 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 in the early 2000’s, and had been to the Costa Verde enough to know how compelling it was.

I’d never been to Ilha Grande, though, and Everton wanted to show me what I’d been missing. We talked for years about doing a trip there together, but the dates never aligned. Then, 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 field trips in the Serra do Espinhaço (for D/WT+LT). We trekked for 9 days before the weather turned pretty bad. Everton wanted to go home, but we compromised by remaining on the island for the next couple of days, but putting the remainder of our trek on hold.

We followed that up shortly afterwards with a 10-day trip (also mostly a trek, but with some unexpected off-roading thrown in the middle) in the nearby Serra da Bocaina. Later that year, Elisa & I went back to Ilha Grande for yet another 14-day trip.

All in all, the 3 of us spent about a month in 2020 exploring & documenting the region’s trails, and another month brainstorming & mapping the logistics for what a potential GOGO trip might look like. I spent quite a bit of time researching the island & learning about its history. It had had me at pirates, to be honest.

Everton mapping out trails the night before our first expedition, in 2020. 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 setting—the kind of Place that has potential to stick with you, but only if you hang around long enough.

Our first expedition came during the height of the pandemic. the ferry we took to/from the island was the first time I’d been around so many people for at least a couple of months.

Trekking the eastern side of the island. we didn’t come across A single person during 15 trail days across 2 expeditions. Such a privilege.

And to think, most wanted criminals used to hide right here. Parnaioca, ilha grande.

ilha grande Has so many layers. its history is mesmerizing, and When you add in the caiçara culture and the island’s network of historic trails, it becomes pretty complete. slave smugglers, Pirates, thieves & murderers, comando vermelho, LosT Trails…

The former federal maximum security prison on ilha Grande. If you’ve never heard of comando vermelho…

There are Only two vehicles on Ilha Grande. One is The Island’s Lone garbage truck (in Vila do Abraão). The other is the National Park Service vehicle, stationed in Dois Rios (pictured below). Both are Toyota BAndeirantes.

Everton & longtime-friend/local legend Tony Montana. “Hey, hey, Hey, hey!” Araçatiba, 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’s one thing—one thing—I remember as clear as day, it’s The prato feito (blue-collar plate) at the lone restaurant in dois rios. literally a top 5-all-time meal for me. crispy, juicy fried fish, fresh chips. farofa, rice, beans, A tangy Saladinha & a bowl of blazing (and fresh!) hot sauce. It was… orgasmic. it somehow manages to be Even more than that, because the restaurant itself is so compelling, and the patrons so colorful. it’s just a complete travel-eating experience.

when elisa & I visited the island in 2021, we made the 6-hour round-trip hike just to eat. i was worried it wouldn’t be as good, but it was. we talk about it to this day.

ilha grande is amazing and 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 Initial list of places for our (future) second collection, but I believe we’ve opted to go outside of brazil for thE next 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 espinhaço has spoiled us!)—but i can see Plenty of appeal in bespoke trips in the region. There’s So much goodness & uniqueness to take in, and the island lends itself so well to sharing the story of brazil.