Being a cliche, naked beaches, climbing sand dunes, hiking in paradise…
Day 42 Sunday 10/10/10 Lagoa da Conceicao
As soon as I checked in at the hostel (30-odd minute bus ride from the bus station to Lagoa through a scenice route), I headed out to hike to Costa da Lagoa, a fishing village north of Lagoa Conceicao. It wasnt as much fun as hiking in Ilha Grande, because most of the trail goes past houses. Most of the houses I passed were big and rich. Santa Catarina is one of the richest states in Brasil.
After about 45 minutes, I ran into into Bruno, a Brasilian history teacher out with his family. His grasp of English, while better than my grasp of Portuguese isnt quite enough to carry on a conversation. We spoke in Spanish. We talked a lot about India. He brought up Caminos de India, which was a tele novela in Brasil. Brasilian actors and actresses played Indians in the soap opera. He asked how reality matched the portrayal of Indians in the series; he especially wanted to know about the caste system, arranged marriages, the poverty. While I was talking to him, it struck me that I am a cliche! An Indian engineer working in the US in IT. We said our goodbyes when we got to the village and I headed back, after a snack.
There was some festival at the city centre and I was lucky enough to catch a performance by the local orchestra for free. Followed that with dinner (moqueca de peixe).
Day 43 Monday 11/10 Barra da Lagoa, Hike to Praia Galheta and Mole
It was a beautiful sunny day and I, of course, headed to the beach. After about 30 minutes on the beach, I headed on a hike to Praia Galheta. It was extremely windy and I was all alone on the trail. I looked down at my shirt a while later and found it was inside out. My first thought was the wind managed to turn my shirt inside out! Beautiful views from the top of the mountain made braving the wind well worthwhile!
Galheta is a clothing optional beach. I didnt know that till I ran into a nude guy. I was quite taken back. The enquiry “How’s it hanging, dude” would have been taken as quite literally and superflous. However, the women on the beach apparently hadnt read the notice which said that Galheta was a clothing-optional beach. Sigh!
Day 44 Tuesday 12/10 Lagoinha do Leste
Another beautiful sunny day and I headed out on another hike. 3 days, 3 scenic hikes, 5 beaches. Dinner was acai com banana. The night found me tired and in bed early.
Day 45 Wednesday 13/10 Florianapolis
Since it was a cloudy day, I was lazy to get started and spent quite some time chatting with the folks at breakfast. The weather wasnt that great, with looming clouds and overcast conditions. I decided to spend the day in the city centre, which is 40 minutes away. Walked around city centre and booked my ticket to Foz. A delicious Japanese dinner at the hostel, followed by jazz concert at a local cafe. Enjoyable company, pleasant music wrapped up quite a lazy day.
Day 46 Thursday 14/10 Eating in Lagoa
My luck with the weather came to an abrupt and rainy end! I spent a restful day reading “The bishop’s man” and eatig a lot! Had lunch at a fantastic vegetarian restaurant. Dinner was acai, followed by a concert at the same cafe (Emporio Mineiro) where I devoured a torta de maca.
Day 47 Friday 15/10 Joaquina
The weather was much better and I spent about 4 hours walking – an hour hiking to Praia Joaquina over sand dunes. Climbing up sand dunes is a lot more work than it looks! I got back to the Lagoa in time for another tasty lunch at the vegetarian restaurant. Followed that by a chocolate cake at the Emporio Organico.
Floripa was the first place in Brasil that I found veg-friendly and had so many organic stores! I am sure Rio and Sao Paulo have their share, but I didnt run across them. It helps that Lagoa is so small!
Tags: Travel
Damu