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Published: August 6th 2012
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After an anxious wait at the ANCAP (service station) on highway 9 we boarded our bus for the overnight ride to Florianopolis. Floripa, the local abbreviation for Florianopolis, is a substantial island just off the coast of Brazil and it is connected by a bridge to the mainland.
We enjoyed the beach environment at Campeche Beach on the eastern side of the island and, despite the autumn season, we had some lovely days with temperatures in the mid 20’s. I enjoyed swimming and body surfing and we both enjoyed long walks on the beach.
We holed up at Floripa Surf Hostel; more like an apartment with a kitchenette and bathroom. The very short walk to the beach was at the end of the street, just two houses away, but other amenities required more of a walk.
Juan, the 28 year old hostel manager, very generously helped Eileen find a Chiropractor and then he drove us to the clinic and back showing us the sights on the way. While Eileen was getting her back adjusted, Juan and I had a coffee in a Brazilian owned cafe and surprisingly, our flat whites were prepared by a local who learnt his
trade in Ponsonby Road, Auckland. Apparently a lot of Floripa people, including Juan, have spent time in New Zealand. We stayed in Floripa longer than originally planned in order to give Eileen’s back a chance to mend. Luckily this gave us time to find a cheap flight to Rio – less than the bus fare!
The central area of Florianopolis is quite attractive. The market is right outside the local bus station and the most fascinating part is the fish market. We purchased lunch at one of the stalls and ate it in the central court yard. We strolled down to Praça XV de Novembro, or 15 November Square which is actually a long narrow trapezoid shape, where there is a massive sprawling centuries old fig tree.
On Saturday we travelled to Cafe Saint Germain where we enjoyed Feijoada Completo for lunch. Feijoada Completo is a black bean stew with bacon and choritzo sausage. Ours was served with rice, coleslaw and orange slices. It was a delicious meal complimented by a Caipirinha, Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça (sugar cane rum), sugar (preferably raw sugar) and lime. We ate on the deck, a lovely setting under a large
tree. A large nut fell from the tree and landed with a loud “clunk” just inches from Eileen. It was amusing to see those on surrounding tables making gestures of wanting umbrellas.
We enjoyed our time in Floripa but recommend that if you are staying on an outlying beach that you hire a car. Taking the buses is very time consuming.
Floripa is enjoying a bit of a property boom currently with a large number of apartments under construction. This will lead to even more congestion on the busy roads. Juan put it down to Floripa being a relatively safe place with a beach lifestyle. He said most people are moving in from the more dangerous cities further north. I observed that most properties have high, very substantial fences, mostly with pointy tops and more than a few being topped by electric fences. There are also a number of gated communities. Having said this, we felt safe walking the main street to Campeche in the early evening.
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