We are in Florianopolis, Brazil on the southeastern coast and the beach is our only escape from the heat. Its about 30 degrees here, but the humidex must be busting through the roof because my hair is curly, skin is moist and thong bikini spotting's have become second nature. Floripa is definitely leaving a great first impression of Brazil for us, as we have already seen two fantastic beaches, eaten delicious seafood, slurped back papaya/mango/banana smoothies that were made right in front of us on the beach and went to a pre-carnival pool party in the ritziest part of the island. We have a rental car and GPS that Aaron bought before we left home, so we have been flying around the island checking out the lifestyle of the locals. Our hostel is right by Barra da Lagoa which is apparently the most popular beach here and we went for a walk down to the shore side the night we arrived and caught an outdoor soccer match on sand between two local teams. We have wanted to see a futbol (soccer) match since BA, but the time schedules never work with our travel plans so it was cool to bump into this live, outdoor match. The way of life here is really interesting because all the locals are so family oriented. Down on the beach that night everyone was out with their kids, either playing games or fishing. Fishing is very prevalent here and my first indication of this was when we were driving to our hostel and I looked out into the water and girls in their bikinis had nets in the water trying to make a catch. You don´t see that everyday! We have already discovered which beaches have warm water and which side of the island to go to for freezing water when we just cant handle sweating anymore. We can´t seek refuge in either our hostel (our room has 12 beds and only 3 fans and all the doors are open all night) or our rental car because neither have ac! Today however, we woke up to overcast skies and maybe 4 per cent less humidity than the days prior. We drove to the south of the island and hiked 90 minutes over a mountain to a beautiful and what I am told is the most secluded beach in Floripa. There were only about 15 other people their which is miraculous when trying to fathom the hundreds on the other beaches we had visited. I´m not complaining about the crowds though because the beach vibe is the best way to experience Brazilian culture in my opinion. You get an experience for all the senses, between the waves, the people and the vendors selling exotic fruits, snacks and goods.
The hike into Praia da Lagoinha do Leste was another jungle-like experience with its unfamiliar plant-life and the incessant bird squawking. We ran into a massive spider that gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. If we haden´t ran into as many passing hikers along the trail as we did I would have totally chickened out because this mountain seemed like something you would see on an African safari trek. I sang songs and talked to myself (as Aaron just walked along unphased) as if I was back in bear country, where the more noise you make means the less of a chance a bear will come upon you. Apparently that was my piece of mind and solution in case we ran into a jaguar, snake, monkey or poisonous spider. Eek! I may be being dramatic, but we are in a foreign country where a little bug dope and our scrawny Canadian legs might not protect us. Getting to the clearing made the jaunt well worth it because we had a great view and pretty much the whole beach to ourselves. Did I mention how nice the sand on the beaches is here! We made it in just enough time to take in the views and head back up the trail before thunder, lightening and rainfall began. Imagine walking through the wilderness in Brazil with the echo of thunder coming at you from ever pocket in the trees as rainfall beads down. Exhilarating. Not too long after the hike, Aaron caught the stomach flu and was horribly ill for about 6 hours. A kiwi staying at our hostel supplied him with nausea and stomach cramp pills that act as an antihistamine and it seemed to help. By today he is feeling much better and I think we are going to go to the market and enjoy the rest of our time in Floripa before we head north tomorrow.
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