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At this very moment, Justine and I are on a 19 hour bus journey from Florianopolis to Montevideo, Uruguay. Once there we will head north to a gaucho property. Will be a lot of driving the next 24 hours. That being said - the buses are pretty comfortable for the longer journeys. Then again... The couple in front of us just put their chairs back and are practically on our laps. I think that means we are the big spoons...
We got to Florianopolis on Friday the 12th. It is set on a little island off the east coast of Brazil. We headed to our hostel and were stoked with the location. It was in Lagoa da Conceição. Right next to the lake, and a short bus ride (or longer walk) to the Mole beach. After Justine and I were ill advised about the distance to the beach in Tulum, we learnt our lesson and didn't try the walk again, instead we chose to take the bus.
Where we were located was a perfect little hippie section of the island. Nothing appeared to happen before 10 and nothing also appeared to happen between 12 and 4. Shops would open at 4pm and stay open until 1am. Justine was keen to stay as the lifestyle suits her sleeping patterns.
After a couple of beach/shopping days, we decided to have a few bevs with some of the crew from our hostel. We were basically in Melbourne, because there was a food truck park a short walk from our hostel. Which had some delish food and beers available! So the Norwegian lads and our new English pal, Alice joined us for a few drinks. After which we headed back to the hostel. I did the Houdini and went to bed because I didn't want to catch another Zika flu and am still recovering from tonsillitis. Justine on the other hand was the life of the party! She headed out with a bunch of the lads and tried to find a place to go. Unfortunately, nothing proved to be open, and they opted for buying a litre of champagne and sitting on the lakeside until Clay decided to try and fight a bloke and proceed to spew.
The following day, Alice and I were keen for some outdoor activities, and full credit to Justine, after only a few hours sleep and a pretty good hangover - she joined in!
A morning of paddle boarding to start. We had to make sure Alice was lathered up. That English skin can burn pretty quick and we set off in the surprisingly rough waters of the lake. I am proud to say, I didn't fall in. But I think the owner of the company could see I was a bit of a clutz and gave me the sturdier paddle board. Justine and Alice took it in turns to fall off for most of the paddle. Justine has an excuse though, she still had champagne legs. But we did manage a couple of standing selfies to prove we had some success!
Following on from this, Diego (one of the guys who works at the hostel) took those able and willing on a hike. No one knows the name of the mountain/steep hill we climbed. So we christened it "Tropicalia" after our hostel. It was a humid and sweaty climb up but the views were incredible at the top making it completely worth it. I even managed to be okay with my fear of heights. Even when Clay fell into me and nearly pushed me off the rock! Totally a-okay. Though, I wasn't so okay when I was climbing back down and fell into a cactus. Totally downplayed it and acted cool though... Didn't even realise I was bleeding from three places until Alice pointed it out.
Our last night was hanging out having dinner with the gang again. Was a brilliantly fun group at this hostel and we are hoping to cross paths with some of them again. Would totally recommend Florianopolis to anyone who makes it to Brazil. There was even vegemite on the menu at one place! But he was sold out... Hoping Kim might be able to bring some over when she joins us soon. I'm getting cravings.
Also - new business plan. Acai bars. Patent pending.
Now, we are on the bus to Montevideo. Then we will grab another bus north to Tacuarembó. Here, we will meet Juan who is taking us to his farm where we can do the real gaucho thing. I hope he's not as grumpy a farmer as my Dad... Just kidding Franky - I know you're not THAT grumpy...
I also am looking forward to see Justine have her famous winged eyeliner and red lipstick on while doing some form of physical labour. I'll take pictures...
Anyway - better get back to watching the movie. Justine is watching me watch the movie because I am not good with the intense thrillers they decide to continue playing. I've nearly jumped out of my seat into her lap a few times. Luckily the bloke in the seat in front of me is lying so far back, he's pinned my legs down.
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Brian Kelly Love it Sam . I now have the link .K athleen didn't like sharing . Good to see my daughter is keeping the Kelly name high and not so dry . Good work Justine . Have a safe trip in the next leg . Love to you both Brian xxx