Island...back to land...back to Island....perfic!!

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  Florianopolis, Brazil
Thursday, December 15, 2005

Departing Ilha Grande we stayed the night in Angra dos Reis once again and decided to catch a bus the following day to a town to the South called Parati. We werenīt very lucky with the weather there but had a look around the interesting town anyway. The day we arrived (11th)was the start of school holidays and it seemed like the place was getting ready to party. That night we went down in to the old section of the city which is really beautiful with cobbled stone streets and historic buildings and churches. Most of the old buildings now hold bars, restaurants and shops and it seemed like we were heading in the right direction. We just decided to follow the music. Whenever we reached an intersection and werenīt really sure which way to go we just went in the direction of the loudest music. Eventually this led us to a large square which was quite busy with a youngish crowd (Apparently weīre getting on a bit!!). In the square was a large circus like tent set up to keep the weather off and shortly after we arrived a lively band started....as did the dancing. Not by us though. To partake it appeared you really needed to know what you where doing with all the twirling and partner swapping and so forth. We enjoyed watching though. During the gig there were four guys cruising about the dance floor in huge, elaborate papier mache costumes of monsters and strange animals of sorts. It was a real sight and experience for us. (Mental note - must learn to dance in order to get in the thick of things next time,..hehe).

After Paraty we decided we should head straight to Florianopolis where we had planned to spend Christmas with my buddies John and Amanda. In order to do this we had to take a bus to Sao Paulo (6 hours) and then change buses there to get to Florianopolis. We arrived in Sao Paulo at about 6.30pm and fortunately there was a bus leaving for Florip at 7.40pm. While we were waiting for the bus a guy came up and asked me something in Portuguese which I didnīt catch. I apologised and started to explain that I couldnīt speak the language when he asked `Can I borrow a pen?ī. We chatted a bit and made introductions. It turns out Davi is a super friendly local of Florianopolis who offered to take us to his house and put us up for the night before helping to find somewhere else to stay on the Island. We couldnīt possibly refuse! After the 11 hour bus ride from Sao Paulo to Florip, Daviīs father, Daniel, picked us up near the bus station (6.40am) and took us all home. We met his mother and one of his sisters. Davi confessed that he has a habit of helping wandering tourists. Apparently once he brought home 15 British backpackers so I think his folks were glad that there were only the two of us!! His family are just wonderful and have been incredibly generous to us. Davi has an old VW Combi van (There are no shortage of VWīs here - new and old) and he immediately took us around to see the sights of the island. We went down to Praia Mole, which is the beach to see and be seen. Apparently only really ridiculously good looking, fashion conscious people head there so they had to make an exception for my scruffy self. Not only does this beach have beautiful people but it is also lined with funky bars and cafes and has a handy left hander and good waves breaking all along the beach. I went for surf before receiving a warning about the local surfers. I found it pretty much the same as Australia, the etiquette is standard. Davi also took us to Praia Joaquina which is where Brazilīs national surfing championships are held. Very very good waves here and Iīm looking forward to giving it a go!!
That evening we were invited out to dinner with Davi and his family to a sushi restaurant. It was the first time Iīve eaten sushi since I left Japan and it was really good!!! Considering we were paying a set price for as much as you could eat I was a happy boy!! Aside from sushi, so far Iīve found the cuisine over here excellent. No complaints. Yesterday Daviīs uncle took us to his house, which is a one minute walk to the beach (Praia do Campeche), to see if weīd be interested in renting it for our time here. We were and thatīs where we are staying now and for Christmas. Florianopolis is such a beautiful island with plenty to do so we are thinking about staying longer than initially planned. We were going to head back to Rio for new years but now we are thinking that itīs here that weīd like to be. Will keep you informed! Love to you all and thanks for the messages! Itīs great to hear from you guys. Keep it up! Until next time...Have a merry merry Christmas and a super New Years. Love from us both!!!

ps- we are having technical problems with the photo uploading. Sorry, weīll try to get this sorted out ASAP!

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