I have done so many things it´s hard to remember them all, but I´ll give it a try...
From the begining. Ricardo and Loiva dropped us off at the bus station in Novo Hamburgo, after we had hamburgers at McDondals- I found it hilariously ironic. I won´t lie, I came very close to crying when I hugged Loiva goodbye. We developed a good friendship and I hope that I can remain in contact with the family. Anyway, I gave the Ricardo and Loiva this painting:
This is the stairs leading to the front yard and the house. They told me they were going to frame it and hang it in the house, similar to this fine piece of art:
Anyway, the bus took about ten hours complete with a stop at the a slightly scary roadside resturant made only for buses. I counted and there were 13 buses at the resturant. I bet you´re thinking city bus, 10 hours on a city bus, that sounds like hell on earth. No, it´s not a city bus. It´s a super cushy, air conditioned, reclining seat bus- well it was a cold hell for me as I wore shorts and a tee-shirt only, not making that mistake again!
Arrived in Florianopolis in the morning and felt too overwhelmed to navigate the buses to where we were staying, so opted for a taxi- another first. We´re staying with the most awesome people! There is a wonderful website called couchsurfing.com and we found a great gal, Fran, who was willing to have us in her home for the entirety of our stay in Floripa. I know what you´re thinking... Megan you´re crazy, stay with a stranger... but we talked quite a bit through email (I´m honing my portuguese grammar) and she had many good refrences from people she had hosted previously. I also spoke with her on the phone, that was difficult.
Turns our it was a great decision! I have a bed and instant brazilian friends! Fran studies art and is finishing her masters and lives with seven other students near a university here in Floripa. We talk a lot about politics, art, movies and music. All the housemates are really friendly and have been helping with things to do and navigation of the city. Last night we watched an incredible movie "Trope de Elite", it is a brazilian film about Rio de Janiero's special police force in the favelas, BOPE. It was told from the perspective of a sargent and highlights police corruption, ineffective policies, violence from the police and drug lords, and how innocent people can become wrapped up in favela politics very easily. It was a shocking account but is based off of true stories and is a history that must be shared. Afterward, to lift our spirits, we played UNO with some wine.
Thus far I have gotten lost; I got off at the wrong bus terminal and wandered around for a few hours. Then, thinking I failed tried to go back to the house and found what I was looking for, the city center. When I arrived they was a huge street party going on. Live music, vendors, transvestites in sparkly wigs- it was a precarnival festa! I wandered around, took pictures, bought a brazilian bikini and postcards (coming to a mail box near you), and generally soaked up and observed the happenings. I have been to two beaches, Molae and Jouaquin, they were both gorgeous with turquoise water, white sand, and good waves for the surfers. There were vendors wandering around selling jewlery, roased cheese on a stick, sarongs, and coconuts for drinking.
I have mostly done a lot of wanderng and observing, it is very entertaining.
All of Floripa has incredible colonial architecture, pink and yellow buildings with ornate white trim. Beautiful. There is very much a european influence in this city, it was originally settled by portuguese fishermen. Tomorrow it is off to the foz, I'm excited to see this natural wonder, not so excited about the 12 hour bus ride.
Beijos!
No comments:
Post a Comment