Paraty is a small colonial town on a bay of the Costa Verde, where the Serra do Mar mountains drop in green folds to a sea scattered with islands. It was a port of the gold rush in the eighteenth century, when gold from Minas Gerais came down a mule trail through the forest, the Caminho do Ouro, and was loaded here for the voyage to Rio and then Lisbon. The town is remarkably well preserved, with whitewashed houses with coloured door frames, a handful of churches, and streets paved with big uneven stones that are laid, so they say, to let the sea flush them clean at the highest tides.
The cobbles are a real consideration for a rider. The old centre is closed to most motor traffic, and where it is open the stones are rounded, slick when wet and hard on tyres and ankles, so leave the bike at a guarded parking spot and walk. The town is at its best at night, when the lamps come on, the streets are full of music and the smell of grilled fish drifts from the courtyards. Paraty is also famous for cachaça, the cane spirit, with several small distilleries nearby, and for its literary festival, held each year.
The Rio-Santos highway, BR-101, is the reason the bikes come. Following the coast between Rio and São Paulo, it curves around bays and headlands, climbs over spurs of forest and drops to beaches again, with a surface that is generally good but patched, and traffic that can be heavy on weekends and holidays. Rain is frequent, particularly in summer, and on wet days the road can be slippery and the mountains hidden in cloud. Dawn rides give better light and fewer trucks.
Paraty has fuel stations along the main road outside the old town, banks, supermarkets and plenty of places to eat. Try the local fish stews, banana dishes and sweet coconut desserts. Mosquitoes can be annoying in the evening, and the sun is strong, so carry repellent and sunscreen. If you plan to stay overnight, book in high season, from December to February and in July, when prices rise and rooms fill. A short boat trip to one of the islands is a good way to rest your arms after a day on the highway.