Always Go With Your Instinct – One Rescue Team and Minor Injury Later

Ilha Grande is a beautiful island located 45 minutes off the coast of Brasil.  As it has only been inhabited for a short period of time, it is known as having one of the richest ecosystems in the world.  Full of pristine beaches, lush rain forests, natural pools, and waterfalls, it truly is a place that should not be missed when visiting Brasil.

Always Go With Your Instinct

I arrived in the middle of a sunny afternoon with two friends (we’ll call them “Jack” and “Jill” to avoid embarrassment), that I met in a hostel along my journey.  Since it was about 3:30 PM when we arrived, we quickly checked into a hostel and decided to grab a bite to eat.  After lunch I assumed we’d be heading back to the hostel to relax for a bit, but Jill wanted to walk to a waterfall she had heard about.  We made our way along the coast to the first hiking trail and entrance of the rainforest, and I was already getting an interesting feeling in my gut.  Maybe it was because I didn’t have my phone (my lifeline), maybe it was because the sun was already beginning to go down, or maybe it was from the cheeseburger I just ate at lunch; I wasn’t really sure.

There was a sign pointing in the direction of a natural pool and waterfall, so we took that trail.  After a lengthy hike up a hill, we stumbled upon what Jack and Jill believed to be the waterfall.  There were indeed some big rocks and water trickling down a stream into a pool, but in my opinion, this was no waterfall.  They immediately ripped their clothes off down to their bathing suits and jumped in, but I decided to refrain from doing so.  While they began playing in the water, I decided to check out the other side of the pool and go up the trail a little further.  After about 50 meters or so, I found another sign that pointed down a different trail to the waterfall.  I knew I was right!  I called back to Jack and Jill regarding the sign, and they jumped out of the water and began making their way towards me.

The sign we found had an interesting message, “WATERFALL – 3 KM – 1H30M”.  As there was only a little bit of light remaining, I told them this was not a good idea.  They began hiking up the hill and joked that I was being lame for not wanting to go.  I caved into peer pressure for a fleeting moment and began walking up the hill behind them, but then asked if either of them had their phones to act as flashlights because I did not.  They both replied no and Jack joked that we would navigate by stars to find our way back.  This was the point I decided to go with my natural instinct and retreat back to the beach.  I’ve seen too many movies about people getting lost in forests and on hiking trails to know what was going to happen next.  (Most likely, flesh-eating zombies were about to rise from the dead and eat us alive.)  I repeatedly told them to follow my lead, but they refused and moved forward.

On my way back, I could barely see in front of me and decided I needed to kick it up a notch if I was going to make it out of the forest by the time it became too dark to see.  I began jogging in my flip-flops (admitted mistake) and just when I was about to get to the natural pool, I rolled my ankle on a tree branch and was in pretty severe pain.  After catching my breath, I knew that I had to hobble along and make it out of there as quick as possible.  By the time I reached the exit, it was completely dark and night time had fallen.  I could only imagine what Jack and Jill were experiencing.  And from what Jack recounted to me later that night, it wasn’t far off from what I imagined…

Jack and Jill had kept walking up the trail until night had fallen.  At that point, they said they could hear the waterfall, but could not even see two feet in front of their faces.  They both agreed they needed to head back and attempted to make their way back down the hill.  Jack attempted to use his lighter to guide their way, but it was useless.  They made it back to the area of the natural pool, but that was where they hit a wall. They were able to cross the pool, but did not know the direction of which way to go as they could not see any of the natural landmarks.  With the sounds of thousands of insects and animals surrounding them, panic began to set in.  Jack tried to keep his cool and told Jill they would just sleep there until morning, but she immediately started to cry and was overcome with fear.  (It didn’t help that Jill is also naturally afraid of the dark and has to sleep with a light on.)  Jack admitted to me that he was quite fearful as well, but didn’t want to give up his guard and show any fear to Jill.  He began screaming for help, but there was no response.  Jill continued to cry and the night only began to get darker.  Jack kept screaming over and over again, but still – no response. Finally, a short while later, Jack spotted a brief flash of light and began to scream the loudest he physically could.  The light began to make its way toward them and a small sigh of relief began to set in.  A Portuguese couple had heard their screams and aided them in getting back down the trail and out of the forest safely.

Sprained Ankle – Rest and Recuperation

Travel is full of adventures.  No matter where you are across the world, there is always a place for an adventure.  Cliff jumping into oceans, hiking into rain forests, traversing across deserts, climbing up mountains, exploring cityscapes – the list goes on.  But you have to have your wits about you and play your cards right.  You have to go with your instinct and let your gut do the walking and talking.  While swimming under a waterfall might sound like fun in the moment, you have to think about all of the consequences of your actions before you begin your adventure.  In order to have more adventures later on, you have to survive the first one.  While my sprained ankle may have put me out of commission the next day and prevented me from hiking while on Ilha Grande, I had no real panic that night and felt comfortable nearly the entire time.  Jack and Jill had a much different experience than me, but they learned the real lesson that night.  Nomadder What, always go with your instinct and you’ll never go wrong.