Traveling - Reality vs expectations part 1 [Lopes Mendes Ilha Grande]
When I travel I like to do some research about interesting places nearby my destination. Most of the time I am using travel magazines or the internet. When I see beautiful photos of a place and I decide to go there, this sometimes ends up being a big dissapointment. Not because all the photos are photoshopped, but because I am not so good in timing to be on the right place at the right moment. Especially when I am traveling around in tropical places I just keep picking the wrong moments. But I have to say that even when I pick the wrong moment I enjoy every single experience.
Last year I was visiting the island 'Ilha Grande' in Brazil. I was told that this island has beautiful beaches and the photos on the internet were looking incredible beautiful. One of the 'gems' of the island is Mendes Lopes beach. This beach has very clear water, at least that was what I had seen on many photos. On the day that I visit the beach it was windy and the sea was very restless. Also the sky wasn't looking clear. There were no clouds, but it looked like there was some kind of fog in the air.
[my own picture]
VS
[How it looks in magazines. Source: http://www.guiadasemana.com.br/turismo/galeria/7-praias-imperdiveis-no-rio-da-janeiro-para-conhecer-nas-ferias]
Then there was the water that looked clear blue on many pictures. In reality the water wasn't that clear, because the sand mixed up with the water. The sea was restless, so it was not allowed to go deep into the water.
[my own picture]
VS
[How it looks like on the internet. Source: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/30719491]
Even when the expectations don't match the reality I always try to enjoy the moment. But it would be nice if I learn myself to get better in timing the right moments :)
Great pics though (yours) the "fog" is prolly sea salt that get´s carried when is very windy I guess, Lopes is on the open sea side of the island so it´s usually windier than other beaches in Ilha Grande. Four months ago when you posted this, was March/April which are rainy/windy months on the island. Best months to visit September through February, get´s very hot (38-40C) but I really love April-September, specially May-June-July when the island get´s less visitors. Cheers!