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On leaving Paraty we took a local bus to Sao Sebastiao where we arrived at around 11pm and headed to our hostel. The hostel was a stones throw away from a pretty plaza which looked even prettier the next morning when we awoke to clear blue skies!
That morning we took a ferry to an island called Ilhabela, which could be seen from the mainland. The island had a number of beautiful beaches and waterfalls to visit so while Jess and Elle decided to head to the beach, Lee and Steve headed to `Cachoeira das Tocas` which held 3 impressive waterfalls as well as a natural waterslide - a moment during the trip which Steve may like to forget!!
Once the boys arrived at the entrance to the falls (and had been sprayed from head to toe in insect repellent) they wasted no time in exploring the place. The waterfalls were very impressive (as you can see by the pictures) and the surrounding area was beautiful. After sliding down the waterslide head first a few times, Steve decided to go one better! After watching a local guy slide down standing up (bearing in mind the water was flowing fast and you couldn`t make out the rocks that well) Steve tried his luck! He started off standing up with the intention of sliding onto his bum for the main bit of the slide. However, after a few baby steps forward he somehow tripped over his foot and ended up going down on his front before turning, ending up sliding down backwards and into the water at the bottom. Fortunately for him he didn`t hit his head on any of the rocks but he cut his shin badly, to the point where you could see the bone! Not nice, poor Steve! Lee also had a bad experience at the falls! When being sprayed with insect repellent, he had missed one of his feet, and it got so badly bitten by mosquitos that his foot swelled up to the size of a football! (see pic)
Meanwhile at the beach, Jess and Elle were enjoying a peaceful afternoon without the boys, reading, relaxing and enjoying the sun. It was only once they met up with the boys later that afternoon that they found out all the drama they had missed out on!
Once we had all met back at the ferry port, we caught the boat back to Sao Sebastiao to collect our bags and catch our overnight bus to a small surfing town further south called Florianopolis.
We arrived in Florianopolis and booked in to the Tucan Hostel, a really nice, friendly hostel with a very chilled out vibe to it, just what we all needed especially Steve with his leg!! Once we had settled down and put our bags in our dorm, we went went for a walk along side a very pretty lake called Lagao Conceicao. We stopped off and got some lunch in a nice little cafe overlooking the lake - the food was amazing, so good that we went back on our last day for lunch too! We had planned to walk beside the lake and on to a supposedly nearby beach. However, after a long walk, wind, rain and still no sign of our destination, we headed back to the hostel, very wet and freezing cold! That evening we stayed in, had dinner at the hostel and watched a film - a lovely relaxing and cosy night in!
The next day we went into town to do some shopping and ended up finding a lovely little bakery which sold every type of baked good, savoury or sweet, you could ever imagine!! We were all in our element, surprise surprise!! That evening Jess, Lee and Elle went out with a group of people from the hostel to an electro night at a local club. The club was a bit expensive, but had a fun atmosphere and a good night was had by all!
On Saturday, the weather was brilliant (trust us that we would get the best weather the day we were leaving)! So we borrowed some bikes from the hostel and cycled round the lake again. The boys stopped at the nice little cafe while Jess and Elle cycled to the beach we never made it to the first day. The beach was lovely, with some surfers waiting for waves, and sand dunes providing a nice backdrop. We didnt`t have long there though, so headed back to meet the boys at the cafe, grabbed some lunch and cycled back, so we could head off to catch the bus to our next stop... Iguazu Falls.
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