Florianopolis

01/01/2023

Our journey started on 01/01/2023. We left from my house in Ciudad del Este. I am currently in Ciudad del Este in Paraguay for a voluntary service for a year.

After a short night (New Year's Eve), we were picked up in the afternoon by our trusted taxi driver, Jorge. We like him a lot because he has a large car and can take 6 people. Our travel group consisted of 4 people: Ariane, Johanna, Sina, and me.

Jorge took us to the bus terminal in the Brazilian neighboring city of Foz do Iguaçu. We were way too early, so we had a few hours to spare at the terminal. Luckily, there was a Subway at the terminal. The waiting time passed quickly thanks to delicious food and nice conversations. The bus left in the evening, and we arrived in Florianópolis in the morning.

02/01/2023

From the terminal, we took a taxi to the hostel. Even though I slept on the bus, I was still a bit tired. We stayed at the Floripa Hostel (https://www.floripahostel.com.br/). Fortunately, the reception staff spoke English. Since we have all been living in South America for several months, we all have knowledge of Spanish. Portuguese is similar to Spanish, but it is not possible to communicate with Brazilians without them having knowledge of Spanish.

The rooms were separated by gender. There was a floor for the girls and one for the boys. The bathrooms were in the hallway. After a short nap in the room, we headed to the nearby beach. This beach was not for swimming. But since the weather was a bit cooler and cloudy, it was perfect for taking a walk and enjoying the view of the mainland.

Florianópolis is a city with around 421,000 inhabitants and is located on the island of Santa Catarina on the Atlantic coast in southern Brazil. From the beach, we had a beautiful view of the city of São José and got a first impression of where we were.

What do you naturally do on your first night in Brazil? Of course, go to a Mexican restaurant xD. But it was very delicious and there was live music. We finished the evening in a bar near our hostel. They even had Becks beer, which tasted very good to me after 5 months with South American beer.

03/01/2023

We started our first real day with breakfast at the hostel. The breakfast was simple but filling. There were baguettes with butter and dulce de leche. And to drink, coffee or tea.

I tried to speak Spanish with Brazilians again and failed once more. We wanted to explore the city a bit first. The city center offers many smaller and larger shops for shopping, as well as interesting parks and churches. We also went to a museum, where there was a free tour in the afternoon. After a midday snack, we went to the museum. There we stood and listened to a lady who didn't stop babbling in Portuguese. We didn't understand anything. So we quietly sneaked out through the back door after a few minutes. We spent the rest of the day walking around the city (the girls wanted to go shopping more 😅).

For dinner, we went to an Arabic restaurant. And without joking, it was one of the best meals I have ever had. It was amazing. A Lebanese family business that has been living in Florianópolis for three generations. The staff was also super friendly (https://marina-comida-arabe.negocio.site/).

04/01/2023

Already on the evening of the 03rd, we discovered that Florianópolis has a very well-developed cycling network. So we wanted to go on a bike tour. We went to the bike rental near our hostel to rent a bike. Unfortunately, they didn't have any available. But it didn't matter, we set off to another bike rental. For that, we took the bus. Luckily, the next bike rental had bicycles, and what bicycles they were; super fancy mountain bikes. It had started to rain by now. But that didn't stop us. While many Latinos don't leave the house in the rain, our motto was: There is no bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. So we set off.

The well-developed bike paths didn't exist throughout the entire island, so we were a bit lost in the beginning and got off track. We wandered around the beach and decided to stop at a supermarket with a buffet and take a break. So far, our bike tour had been a bit disillusioning.

After lunch, one person from our group had enough. We returned to the bike rental and returned her bike. Then we continued our tour with a smaller group. The weather hadn't improved, but it turned out to be really good. We got along better and saw beautiful places on the island. We saw a river and rode along the sea. We took a break and had some Açaí. Açaí is a typical Brazilian ice cream that is super delicious and made from the Açaí fruit. However, I still prefer the one here in Ciudad del Este. One highlight of our tour was the beach. We walked through the dunes and saw a white sandy beach, like in a dream.

Eventually, it was getting dark, so we made our way back. The fastest route seemed to be over a mountain. But this mountain was tough. It seemed never-ending, and there was always one more curve. But the climb was definitely worth it. From the top, we had a breathtaking view.

We didn't arrive at the hostel until late in the evening. We cooked something and just wanted to sleep. We were exhausted but had seen a lot.

05/01/2023

The next day promised 27 degrees, blue skies, and sunshine. So we decided to go to the beach. In the morning, we returned our bikes and then took the bus from the center to the Atlantic coast. The beach we found there was beautiful. There were many people, but since the beach is very large, there was still enough space. We rented a parasol and enjoyed ourselves.

We spent the whole day at the beach and swam in the sea. Even though it was calm that day, the Atlantic waves should not be underestimated and can really knock you over. But it's also a lot of fun to frolic around in the sea. Açaí was also available at the beach, and you could enjoy drinking from a coconut. I don't know why, but there were noticeably many beautiful people on the beach, sunbathing. You won't believe it. But it was really crazy.

In the evening, we took the bus back to the city. Due to heavy traffic, it took us more than 2 hours. Since we were on vacation in January, we were in the peak South American travel season.

We had decided to eat out less in the following weeks of our vacation because it was quite expensive. So we cooked something at the hostel again.

But that wasn't all. It was our last evening, and we wanted to experience a bit of Florianópolis' nightlife. One person from our group knew someone through friends. We met him and his friends.

Florianópolis has many students and a street with many bars that resemble the Wohnzimmer (http://www.wohnzimmer-hildesheim.de/) in Hildesheim (a little insider for all Hildesheimers from my hometown xD). They are bars that, at first glance, appear a bit run-down. With graffiti on the walls and such. But upon closer inspection, you can feel the pleasant atmosphere. Many people we spoke to were very happy, and there was a festive mood. It was the first week that Lula took over as the new President of Brazil, so everyone was excited. I really liked the neighborhood. Therefore, we went to bed late.

 06/01/2023

The next day, it was time to say goodbye. We took the bus to Gualeguaychú in Argentina in the morning. To be continued...

Conclusion

Florianópolis is a very beautiful city and offers a breathtaking landscape. The city is suitable for people who want to go on a beach vacation but still want to be active. You can go hiking or cycling. I just wish I had had a bit more time in Florianópolis. So the beginning of the trip was a bit stressful.