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Florianopilis (Floripa)
"Life's a Beach, then you marry one"
So after the hustle and bustle of Sao Paulo we thought we would hit the beach town island of Florianopilis for some respite. It is split between the mainland town and an island nature reserve with idilic beaches (42 to be precise) and gd times to be had.
After checking into a bit of a crappy hostel with a miserable Italian owner who spent most of his time checking the CCTV on the computer perving on the guests, gave us terrible directions and overcharged us for our stay, we got our ownback by being savy backpackers and stealing the breakfasts every morning to make our lunches!
The first day after unsuccessfully trying to rent scooters we bussed it to one of the main attractions of Floripa "Sandsurfing". Whizzing down 100ft sand dunes on surf boards and bum boards "Legal". It was lots of fun! There was even time in the evening to watch Palace Vs Liverpool in the English pub. The American Liverpool fan and Laura weren't too happy with the result (But not as unhappy as the crying Luis Suarez LOL).
Next was a bike trip to the southern beaches and fishing villages. We biked down the beach on the sand and through colorful little hamlets ending up at the southern most tip of the island, Pantano do Sul. We ate at Bar Do Arante established in 19...something... it was old. It overlooked the beach and fishing boats and served massive portions of fresh fish and the speciality of gooey potato fish soup stuff (Buenissimo). The bar was covered in over 14,000 pieces of paper with notes from the customers all around the world. It was like someone went a bit crazy with post-it notes! After losing track of time we biked back 20km in the dark, along main roads with buses trying to knock us off the road leaving us shattered but rushing on the addrenaline!
At this point I would like to say that whoever invented the bike seat must be a sadist. Why design something which is the perfect shape to tear your arse in two?
After getting fed up of the Mussolini hostel owner we moved to the much more fun Backpacker hostel where there were better travelers and staff, drinking games (we ruled at flip cup!) and much closer to the beaches!
Whilst Laura sunbathed I went surfing and even managed to stand up and surf down the wave. Whilst I was paddling out a fish jumped out the sea and slapped me in the face! I told my Brazilian surfing pal and he replied "Just slap him back!"
We finished off our time in Floripa with a traditional all you can eat Brazilian BBQ. Steak, chicken, sausage and loads of salad. Food is becoming a bit of a running theme in our travels... maybe we need some more excercise.
Nicks Final thoughts:
- Add "O" to the end of anything English to make it Spanish or Portuguese
- Free Caprinhas es mucho bueno.
- Meeting a south Londoner greet me with "Awight Mate" was music to my ears
Next stop some big ol waterfalls...
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