The Island Experience Adventure Spa at Ilha Grande, Brazil
In the midst of shifting into a totally new career path plus moving to a new city, my husband and I decided to take a 2-month trip to South and Central America this past February and March. This type of opportunity where the both of us could take time off doesn't come often so we took advantage of it and visited Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Panama. Why do I blog about this so many months after the fact? I can definitely say that travel has impacted my life greatly and has made me appreciate different cultures, cuisines, ingredients, and styles of cooking. It is my hope to continue blogging about past trips that have influenced me in many ways, especially gastronomically.
We planned to visit Marcelo's family in Uruguay and that meant A LOT of eating so we thought that a bit of hiking on this trip would help to balance it all out. Ok, I'll admit, even if we weren't visiting family we would still be consuming more than usual; isn't that the number one activity while on vacation? Between my husband and I, we have visited many countries and the cuisine is what excites us most, rather than visiting yet another church, monument, or museum. So with the guarantee of adding some extra weight, my husband began researching planned activities on the net and discovered
The Island Experience Adventure Spa.
The "adventure spa" sounded incredible. Situated on stunning Ilha Grande, Brazil (an island southeast of Rio de Janeiro) is a beautiful, privately-owned lodge that offered a week long program full of hiking, yoga, kayaking and other activities. On top of that, it was a detox week - no caffeine and no alcohol - fresh food, all vegetarian (with the exception of fish served twice), and everything calculated to give you the exact amount of calories that your body needed. At the end of each day, everyone received an hour-long massage. We decided to sign up for a week near the end of our vacation. Nicole, the travel administrator, is fantastic. Her travel support is unsurpassed. She is extremely friendly and answered every question that we had to ensure a smooth arrival and departure.
The first day, our small group (there is a maximum of 10 people) met and was transported by boat to the island. Everyone at The Island Experience was very welcoming and kind.
Adriana, the on-site nutritionist explained the meal plan to us and we could choose to be on the low-calorie option (1500 calories per day) if we wanted. 8 out of 10 people opted for the low-calorie plan. I, proudly, WAS NOT one of them (although I did discover that the only difference between the regular meal plan and the low-calorie plan was that I received a vegetarian sandwich for lunch, in addition to the salad that everyone had). Anyone could also ask for seconds at dinner if they wanted.
The first night at dinner was the only time that my "non low-calorie meal" was different from everyone else's meals. I felt like I was on Survivor at one of those challenges where someone wins a food reward and has to eat it in front of the others. Boy, was that ever uncomfortable! But I didn't care too much as panic set in for me that first night, thinking I was going to starve and cursed myself for not sneaking some sort of food contraband in my suitcase...but surprisingly, I was not hungry and I will be the first to admit that I do not eat like a bird. I never have been that "I'll just have a salad" sort of girl.
I don't think that either of us realized how intense the week would be. Each day began by receiving a knock on our door at 6:00 a.m. By 6:30 a.m., we were on the pier doing an intense one-hour yoga session with Juliana, the incredible yoga instructor. Our bodies definitely woke up! The view and the sound of the waves was a beautiful way to start the day.
At 7:30 a.m., we were eating one of Adriana's nutritional breakfasts, which consisted of fruit, freshly squeezed tropical juice, and usually granola. By the way, the regular soy milk in Brazil naturally tastes like our "vanilla flavored" soy and it is delicious.
By 8:30 a.m., we were on our way to hike or kayak or do a combination of both. And this wasn't a sort of hike where you whistle as you stroll along. These hikes were intense and immediately got your heart rate up. Kayaking wasn't a short paddle either; it was usually for 1.5-3 hours. There were times throughout the week that I thought I was going to cry because it was so tough but I stuck it out as best as I could.
The incredible scenery rewarded each challenge. We would hike to glorious beaches and revive ourselves in cool waterfalls and swimming holes. Both my husband and I agree that we have never sweated that much in one week. Without our camel backs full of water, lots of sun screen, and the well-timed snack or
suco (blended tropical drink), I'm sure we would have croaked.
After a full day of activity and stopping to have our packed lunch, we would make our way back to the lodge. You had just enough time to have a quick shower and change before an optional relaxing one-hour yoga session that stretched those tired muscles. We then proceeded to get those muscles beautifully massaged for another full hour by the local massage therapists. I love getting massages and I can say that they were some of the best that I have ever had. We strained our bodies quite a lot on those hikes and kayaks and what surprised us most was with the combination of yoga and massage, we never woke up stiff where we couldn't move.
Every day the hikes and the places we would kayak to would become more intense. The last day was the best and also the most challenging. We knew we were in for it when even the guides decided to put on hiking boots (their feet are so accustomed to the trails that every other day, they would hike wearing flip flops or go barefoot).
We hiked up to Papagaio, known in English as "Parrot's Peak", a 3000 ft elevation on one of the hottest and most humid days that week. The fast ones made it to the top in 2 hours of straight climbing - every step went up! My group did it in a little over 3 hours but I should stress that it's not a competition.
There are always 3 guides on the hikes which works really well as there are usually fast, medium, and slower-paced people so you aren't pressured to keep up with the entire group. The view at the top was beautiful but I also knew up there that we still had to go down. My legs were very tired and downhill feels even harder when the trails are that steep. Ok, I had a mini-breakdown but I made it. The views, as the guides promised, were spectacular. Above is a picture of one of our guides named Bob. His comment was "Can you believe this is my office"?
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. If you are up for a really difficult challenge and you want to cleanse your body, beat it up, and get it pampered - definitely. All of the staff are fantastic people and it was a pleasure to meet them all. Everyone was well educated on the areas, the flora and fauna, and the food. If you want to personally challenge yourself, it is a wonderful experience. I should also mention that activities in the evening included Samba dancing, Capoeria, and painting.
Is it for couples? Well, it wasn't really a "couples getaway". It is a week to challenge yourself at your own pace and discover your own personal strengths and weaknesses. You hike and kayak at your own pace, yoga is an individual activity, the massage is on your own, and so by the time the day is over, you are so tired that there isn't much time for anything else. I'm actually surprised that there weren't more men that signed up because it is such a tough challenge. (For all the guys out there - go! You'll meet a lot of single women!) We are both really grateful that we did it. It was a very memorable island experience and has
inspired us to continue exploring yoga.
So, you might be asking: how has this influenced me gastronomically? Well my husband and I both learned that we can survive by consuming a lot less while still remaining extremely active. Also, the ingredients Adriana used were simple, mostly vegetarian, tasty, and put together in ways that gave your body a lot of needed fuel. She didn't rely on heavy sauces or my husband's favorite - butter! She used herbs and fresh, local ingredients. Oh, and by the way, we actually lost those dreaded few pounds of vacation weight in one week!
Tagged as: [
brazil
hiking
ilhagrande
islandexperience
kayaking
massage
meditation
travel
yoga
]
Posted by Kimberley Slobodian on July 17, 2006
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Once Marcelo and I discovered these gems, we quickly planned to fit in every remaining meal at the Kampa restaurants. I still remember the delectable wild mushroom papardelle at Square. The asparagus risotto was also gorgeous and tasted just like freshly picked asparagus. And the coffee was to die for! I often wish I had a bottomless pit of a stomach where I could just eat and eat and eat and never get full or gain weight. Square was an elegant but casual restaurant that paid attention to detail, provided snappy service, and presented its food beautifully. At Bazaar, now called Cowboys, Marcelo ordered an incredible sole dish bathed in the most delicious butter sauce. And at Hergetova Cihelna the view of the Charles Bridge was remarkable as was the food. 
On the last night, I purchased their "Park Life - Kampa Park Cookbook". It explains the journey of opening the different restaurants and the destruction that they had to deal with when the "Thousand Year Flood" of 2002 ruined Hergetova Cihelna. After six months of renovations, it re-opened to be better than ever. This guy has done admirable work and gives entrepreneurs something to aspire to. The cookbook contains amazing recipes and he advises novices to refrain from getting ahead of themselves. He stresses mise-en-place (have all ingredients in order before executing a dish) and after testing the recipes a few times to send Kampa an invitation for dinner. I'm not at that stage yet but one day I may extend the invitation ;) 
