June 14-June 20, 2010
The rest of my week in Floripa included a great mix of beaches, hikes, and spending time with people I met at the hostel. Even though I only planned on staying on the island for a day or two, there was always something new to explore and I just kept pushing back my departure. Besides, once you get to the paradise that is Floripa, why would you actually want to leave? (If you need convincing, see exhibit A: pictures below...disclaimer: they aren't mine, but since my camera broke, I still want to leave you guys with some visuals)
Monday, June 14th
My leg was still a little out of commission from my sand-boarding fall the previous day, but I spent a beautiful afternoon at Praia Mole with Sergio (who took me and Luis sandboarding) and Hadas (from Israel). If you can make out the rocks in the picture below, Hadas and I actually clambered over to reach the tip of the stony enclave to be greeted by the sight of the waves smashing against the smoothed boulders and blowing mist onto our faces. Definitely worth the awkward climb up!
Praia Mole
That night was another great time of cooking and conversing with people from the hostel. After a great meal of seco verde (another delectable Peruvian dish thanks to the master chef Sergio), Luis, Sergio, Hadas, and Elena (who went to the samba) and I all played salsa and merengue and we had a mini-dance party right there in the hostel. I'm a big fan of samba, but it just can't compare to salsa dancing for me :)
Tuesday, June 15
Hadas, Luis, and I all decided to take advantage of Floripa's beautiful trails and go on a hike to Lagoinha do Leste, a completely isolated beach that can only be reached by an hour and a half hike over a mountain (as you can see there in the picture below). Once we emerged from the rocky, tree-covered trail to arrive on the beach itself, we could really appreciate the fact that we were so surrounded by nature - the only signs of human life were some half-washed away footprints and a couple fisherman on the rocks. It was so peaceful and beautiful that I could have stayed there for hours, but we were in a rush to get back to civilization in order to watch the Brasil vs. North Korea futebol (soccer) game for the World Cup. As we got closer to the town, I could literally feel the atmosphere of anticipation in the air, as fire crackers and car horns started going off as kickoff time approached. It's definitely a great time to be in Brazil!
Lagoinha do Leste
Wednesday, June 16
Wednesday Luis, Sergio, and I paid a visit to the center of Florianópolis, whose old alfândega (customs house) still serves as an active marketplace (see picture below). After walking around to appreciate the old architecture, busy commerical streets, and a pretty little park, Luis and I split ways for a couple days so he could visit Iguazu Falls (Foz de Iguaçu). Since I had already visited last year while I was in Argentina (note: see old blog entries) and found a cheap airplane ticket to our next destination, Salvador, we decided to meet up on Sunday, leaving me with three more days to explore Floripa. Later that night, Sergio and I hiked up to the Mirador (overlook)for an awesome view of Lagoa de Conceição.
Well, this post is getting super long, so I´ll try and be a bit more concise...Thursday and Friday were spent exploring the north part of the island and a little bit more of Lagoa de Conceição. At night on Friday, I went to a bar where they had a live band playing "Samba-Rock" - basically a mix between samba music and rock music. It was not a combination I would have expected, but I definitely had a great time dancing.
Saturday June 19
Sergio, three other friends from the hostel and I spent all day hiking around the Costa da Lagoa (translated literally as the Lagoon Coast), which ranks up there on most beautiful trails I've ever taken. The trail wound along the edge of the coast, so we were constantly dipping in and out of sight of the water and various docks as we made our way along the path. We also passed some historic sites, including an old mill and church. The interesting part about the trail was that it wasn't just for nature-lovers - a lot of people lived along the coast and used the path to access their colorful little houses that we passed along the way. Even the haphazard mixture of plant life we passed reminded me of how diverse Brazil itself is...Ive never seen massive stalks of bamboo neighbored by evergreens, jungle vines, oaks, and small wildflowers. It was as if the plants were brought from their native habitats around the world to cohabitat here, much like Brazilians themselves.
The group on the Costa da Lagoa trail
One of the many docks along the hike
After several hours of hiking (and battling vicious blood-sucking mosquitos), we arrived at a small little town and decided to have a late lunch at a local restaurant. Our table was set right on a large dock, and it felt so good to take off my sneakers and slip my feet into the cool water while we waited for our food. Surrounded by green mountains and long docks that extended out into the Lagoa, it was definitely one of the prettiest dining locations I've ever eaten at. After a nice big meal, we caught a boat back to the Lagoa de Conceição right as sunset transformed the natural scenary into misty hues of pink and purple, adding a whole new dimension to the coast.
Me, Angela, Victor, Patricio, and Sergio having lunch on the dock
Boat ride back to Lagoa de Conceição
And that sums up my wonderful week in Floripa. Sunday I flew up to Salvador da Bahia and met up with Luis to begin our Bahian adventures...which you'll hear about in the next post!
Boat ride back to Lagoa de Conceição
Coli
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