Florianapolis
After the Iguazu Falls, we definitely leave Argentina to get to the Santa Catarina Island, in the South of Brazil. The sun is shining and the air is fresh, we are happy to be back in Brazil. We love everything here, the kindness of the people, the landscapes, the tropical fruits, the musical and lively language, the sun !
We will decide to settle down in Barra de Lagoa, in the middle of the island, next to the beach and the ocaen. After 1h30 of bus from Florianopolis, we finally get to the camp site which is eventually very expensive! We then walk away and find a few hundred meters away a typical 'casa familial'. We rent a little house for 9€ a day for two, with bathroom, kitchen, fridge and TV! What a treat! We are happy to have a kitchen and be able to cook for ourselves! Pizzas, chicken with ginger, my favorite desert, a sweetcorn soup with sweetcorn and cinammon... These are little things but we feel like in heaven!
We will visit Morretes the following afternoon. The city dates from the 18th century and preserved all its charm. Streets in paved stones, the large Nhundiaquara river (formerly known for its gold), the church, and the giant palm trees. Small shops, lanchonetes, and with at our great surprise, home made ice creams. We do not cross many tourists (it is the low season), but only locals. These generally live in small houses with multiple colors, some of which made of wood planks. It is pretty, authentic, but it looks very fragile!! We also seen houses built and elevated on poles, although far from the water. Seeing some Thai sculptures in the stores, we conclude that there is a small Buddhist community there. Why not.
For our second day, due to a lack of information on the walking trails, we decide to rent bicycles. Direction Antonina, a small colonial town on the Atlantic coast about 15km away. Through fields and tropical forest we ride through the main road. It goes up and down, and up and down, it feels good to sweat a bit!
also
Despite of a contrasted weather, we love the village of Antonina. On both sides of the paved stone streets, we find old buildings and colonial houses which are particularly charming with their multiple colors. We also notice the speciality of the region, these typical black women, Bahian like, who laid on the window sills are looking at far with a melancholic gaze. Intrigued, we enter a small artist shop yo see more of these women and find out who they are. They are in fact from Paraná, the region here, and like the Bahian women, arrived from Africa to work as slaves.
We leave the shop happy, with two Parana women dolls made of plaster and fabric, one of which we will offer to our friends in Curitiba, Mark and Jessica.
We return to Morretes under the rain, pedaling hard for an hour and a half. Delphine is tired, falls down, but very brave she carries on and pedal until the end.
The following day, we leave Morretes by train to get back to Curitiba. We take the famous `Serra verde express', a tourist train resulting from the colonialism which crosses mountains, rivers and tropical forests. A pleasant voyage, with nice sensations when we passe under tunnels and on bridges built above the void. We recommend to the future travellers the economic class, less expensive but relatively comfortable. It should be said that after our 3 day trip on the `the Express train Bamako Dakar' in Africa, we are well prepared for any kind of comfort!!
The most interesting and strategic place on the island for the inhabitants is the place of the village which that is directly in front of the sea, where the fishermen boats leave and return with thousands of fish.
The main economical activity in the village is fishing. Young fishermen leave at on the sea for the day, older ones stay on the port casting their nets, and both usally get loads of fishes.
Towards 4-5pm after the nap and a quick stroll onto the beach, the men all meet on this place, sitting down under the shade of almond trees, playing cards and dominos until supper time. While the children are having fun pushing one another over the water and jumping from the pontoon, the older watch amused.
The life is beautiful, calm, without concern, it is the first time that we live with the locals, without too many tourists around. We are plunged into their daily lives and will finish by adapting well to this new life of a week.
Curitiba
Curitiba is THE big city of Southern Brazil. To take a break from the islands and the coastline, we decided to stop in Curitiba for a few days.
We are glad to go back to a big city, where there is energy, life, movement. Our week in Florianópolis was so relaxed that we kind of softened dow, not to say became a bit like vegetables. Delphine had to endiure a little spleen there, a loss of motivation, feeling guilty of not having anything special to do. It is true that in Europe we both come from a world where our brains are sollicitated every second, where we are always in movement thinking about the next things to do. We both need to nourish ourselves intellectually, whether it is by action or simply by absorbing the activity of our surroundings. In Florianopolis, during the low season, the life is very slow, and between hanging around, trailing our feet between beaches, house and supermarket, there is not a lot of things to do! Personally I started to run, run and run (new personal record: 2h12).
It is thus with a certain sadness that we left Curitiba 3 days later, under the rain. Marc and Jessica were more than a couch surfing experience, they also became our friends. We hope to see them again soon !!
Although chuffed about our week end, we left Curitiba physically and emotionally exhausted! Too much sensations !!
On this island long of 80km, we feel far, very far from the city and its activity. There we wonder whether people actually work, the majority seem retired but others doing nothing are definitely young !
The wind is fresh, the sun is hitting hard, we could be like in July in France! From 12am to 3pm, there is an intense silence in the village, it is napping time!!
Between the life around the school, the little corner shops, such as Tom roasting chicken and beef on the streetm the atmosphere is very familial and relaxed, we almost feel like in our beloved Island of Noirmoutier in France.
We spent there a very relaxing week, nice while trying to work a bit for the ravel guide (our last attempt, it did not work out well).
During our days at the beach, watching surfers, tanning and tanning, I sometimes struggle in releasing myself, resting, and simply enjoying the sun, I have the impression to be on overstretched holidays where many others are actually at work.
Anyway. Our weekend in Curitiba definitively re- energised us. Thanks to the site Couch Surfing, we became acquainted with Mark and Jessica, a Canadian + Brazilian couple who accomodated us in their home for an entire week end. For us, it was extra comfort: queen size bed, private bedroom, large living room with screen TV and giant sofas, high band Internet… and especially the welcoming and the generosity of our hosts.
During 3 days and 3 nights we got along very well and spent all of our time together. Restaurants (the best churascaria I have ever been to), strolls in parks and the city, wine and chocolate tasting, nightclub, and relaxing at the house... For our last evening, we enjoyed a home made churascaria, one of our best meal since the beginning of our travel 7 months ago: more than 1.5 kg of picanha and filet mignon braised by Marc, and accompanied with typical Brazilian dishes prepared by Jessica. Del took care of the desert making her specials: French crepes.
We have shot a special THANK YOU video for Mark & Jessica. To watch it and have a laugh, click here ...
Morretes
After an hour and a half drowsing in the bus, our minds still on the good moments of the weekend, we arrive in Morretes at the small town's bus station. It rains, the colors are grim, we are in total contrast with our past week in Santa Catarina and Curitiba where the sun was shining hard!
We find out that the camp-sites are more than 8km away, and that the buses that can drive us there do not leave before dark. Good start. We try to leave our bags to get more information in the city centre lighter, but put aside the toilet attendent who offered us to keep our backpacks under a wash-hand basin, there is no official locker room. We then put ourselves in 'bad time' mode, and without balking we arm ourselves with our backpacks, which with tiredness and the bad weather seem to weigh 100kg or more. Delphine holds only 50 meters, cracks up and wants to stop eating. Despite of a one hour break and a quite dietetic meal (burger with fried chicken), the weather does not change. We can not find accomodation, the `tips' of our guidebook prove to be non-existent, and it continues to rain. We go through a nice argument and split our ways for some time...
We finally find a small hotel room without shower nor WC but in the historic area, and straight away fall asleep until the evening.
Ilha Grande
This day, we were on the road towards the town of Barra Mossa, our connection before heading to our final destination, Paraty...
But as it only needs a few unexpected things to spice our voyage, we realize that from Barra Massa, the only possibility is to go to Angra Dos Reis first, and then to (re)take a bus for Paraty. Our informant in Curitiba did mistake us well. Surely she wanted to sell her tickets quickly.
Angra dos Reis is the gate to the paradise island Ilha Grande. So on the road to Angra, I suggest to Laurent to go to Ilha Grande, which I had already seen and loved when I came to Brazil in 2006. Laurent decides to take the boat to the island rather than the bus to Paraty. Here we go!
Angra Dos Reis, small colonial town full of charm, is about 3hrs away from Rio by car. It is there that the boats leave for Ilha Grande.
This small island of about thirty km long does not have a very beautiful story. Indeed, it was initially a refuge for pirates, then a colony for leprous who once lived on the island, and finally until 1994, a prison which had been built to accomodate the most dangerous criminals of Brazil.
Despite of this, Ilha Grande remains in the TOP list of my preferred islands. Its small village of fishermen, Abraõ is full of charm, thanks its port, share its port, its paradise beaches, its small white church, and its sand pedestrians streets. No vehicle is accepted on the island.
For the tropical forest trek lovers, this island is perfect. Each trek leads to paradise beaches, empty, or to natural swimming pools, water falls, it is a pure wonder!
Fauna and flora are now protected on the island. We can admire many multicoloured birds on your way, butterflies and hundreds of flowers of many varieties, all as beautiful as the others.
Finally if you like undersea life, it is nice enough for you to take your mask and tuba and discover superb fish and sea tortoises.
Our day trekking to the village and beach of Dois Rios :
The beach of Dois Rios is one of the most beautiful beaches of the island, because it is seldome empty, as it requires either a boat or 2hrs30 of walk through the tropical forest. The walk is very beautiful as we are surrounded by a very beautiful vegetation, multicoloured birds and very beautiful flowers throughout the way. Before arriving on the beach Laurent could refresh himself in a natural pool where the former soldiers supervising the island would bath. In the middle of the forest, this place is magic.
Lastly, before arriving at the beach we crossed an almost abandoned village. The village of the former soldiers and their families. There is a school, a church, a football pitch and the famous prison at far, falling in ruins. Some inhabitants still live here, and thanks to them we can be eat a quick lunch. The site is protected and kept by the army.