La daabacay: 20.01.2019
We only booked a bus to Campo Grande because we weren't sure if the bus would be on time, so we preferred to buy a ticket to Bonito on the spot. However, we didn't know that the bus to Bonito had no air conditioning, so we had to sit sweating for 6 hours at 35 degrees Celsius on the bus.
Arriving on the bus, we had to walk 1.5 km in the heat with our backpack. It turned out that our hostel was not a hostel at all, but rather a type of campsite with a pool. We quickly realized that the idea of going to Bonito was a bad idea and a disappointment, as all the tours for the next three days were fully booked. Judith only had 2.5 weeks of vacation, so we didn't want to spend 4 days by the pool in the middle of nowhere.
So we decided to take a bus to Campo Grande the next day and from there, travel to Florianopolis with Blablacar.
Our bus to Campo Grande was scheduled for 6:30 PM. The plan was to cook and eat by 4:30 PM, hang up the laundry, take a shower, pay, buy water, and walk to the bus terminal. We were aware that we had to walk at least 20 minutes with our heavy backpacks.
As planned, we cooked comfortably, ate, washed the dishes, and hung up the laundry. While Judith was taking a shower, I packed my things and went to shower after her. When I came out of the bathroom, I calmly combed my hair while Judith was talking on the phone outside. When she came in, I asked her what time it was and she casually replied, "6:00 PM." So I decided to go and pay so that Judith could pack her backpack.
By 6:07 PM, the guy at the reception was completely relaxed and couldn't manage to print the bill. After I started to panic a bit, Judith got my things from the room and I asked if there was a way someone could drive us to the bus. The only response we got was that a taxi could take us. Instead of finishing the bill first, he unsuccessfully tried to call a taxi. By then, with a very panicked voice, I tried to make it clear to the guy that he should finish our bill and we would still get there. Meanwhile, Judith and I were undecided whether one of us should start running or not.
After we finally paid, we ran. Judith with 18 kg on her back and a pineapple in her hand, and me with flip-flops on my feet. Panicked, we tried to stop any cars. They either smiled, waved, or looked at us in confusion. One by one, my flip-flops ripped, so I continued running barefoot. Judith managed to stop a car, even though I had given up long ago.
A woman with her 5-year-old child stopped and didn't understand at all what our problem was, but we didn't say much besides "por favor" and "Rodoviário." 😂
All of a sudden, we were in the car. The woman was quite angry and tried to lecture us that you can't travel in Brazil without speaking Portuguese. However, we didn't care at all because we caught our bus to Campo Grande on time, which was air-conditioned this time.