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airport, I found a flight departing shortly to Florianopolis. So, I caught it. It was either flying or a 6 hour bus ride.
From the Florianopolis airport, I caught a cab to my hotel in the middle of the main town/small city (called Centro)
on Florianopolis Island. The hotel was/is called Hotel Porto Da Ilha. This evening, I walked down to the Public
Market area where they had the streets blocked off to auto traffic and samba troops with musical accompaniment
were going by. There was also a large stage set-up with music groups playing local music and Brazilian flavored
rock’n’roll. The whole scene was very festive and strange (another culture, strange). The rhythm of the drums in
the marching bands gets you bopping to the beat whether you like it or not. After my first Carnival experience, I
unwound by walking next to the water on my way to some local bars. At Golden Café, I surfed the internet. Then
I went to Café Cancun which was filled with young partiers, dancing to popular contemporary, mostly American
(U.S.) music. (I felt old here)
Saturday, February 21: I walked to the local mall to have lunch. There were many beautiful women here, but
mostly too young. I saw the movie “Lost in Translation” staring Bill Murray – V.G. This movie is about a man
who is a movie star past his prime in Tokyo doing commercials. He meets a girl just out of college and recently
married, who is looking for direction in her life. They find comfort and happiness with one another if only for a
brief time (3-4 days).
Sunday, February 22: I walked to the Public Market looking for a Parade. I didn’t find one – was misinformed
about the time of the parade. I had lunch then took a taxi back to the Mall. Most of the shops were closed this
Sunday. There were no good movies showing that were timely. I bought some supplies then walked back to my
hotel, where I rested a little. I walked back to the Public Market about 6:30pm – misinformed again. This time I
was told that the Parade will start around 9-10pm. I had my complimentary dinner back at my hotel. I walked
down to the Parade area for the third time around 9:30pm. I guess the third time is the charm - communication
definitely part of the problem. I watched as the Parade got ready, then I was fortunate to be able to scalp a ticket
minutes before the start. I walked up into the bleachers and it so happened that my section was the closest to
where the Parade comes in to the viewing area. It was quite a spectacle with all the music, dancing, floats,
thousands of participants and colorful costumes. There seemed to be nearly as many people in the Parade as
watching it. I will not soon forget the excitement and all the pomp and pageantry. I watched most of the Parade
standing along the rail next to an African American family, one woman in a wheelchair, a little boy and a little girl,
amongst others.
After, I walked back to the Public Market area. I found a different area where a band was playing and some
lively music. Some of the young boys started bouncing off each other rather violently in the middle of the crowd. I
saw one young girl crying, presumably from being hit by one of the rowdy boys. After about five minutes of this,
the police came in force and broke it up. In general, I felt really pretty safe the entire time I was there.
Florianopolis puts on a very nice, upbeat and safe (if not a little dirty) Carnival.
Monday, February 23: I moved from the city to one of the main vacation beaches on the island. I caught a cab
to Canasvieiras Beach on the northern end of the island. I got a room at the Canasvieiras Praia Hotel, one block
from the beach. I settled in then headed to the beach. The beach here is long and narrow with many Latin
people. I walked, had lunch then napped on the beach. I awoke to some live music, a man singing and playing
guitar – very good. I had a little work-out on some gym equipment by the beach then headed back. I walked
some of the streets, mostly tourist shops then rested before dinner. The complimentary dinner at the hotel was
pretty good. I walked the main streets, which were closed to auto traffic for carnival. There was a large stage at
one end with a fun, upbeat band playing Brazilian party music. People were dancing in the streets, literally. Many
people had foam spray cans and were spraying the crowd randomly or individuals which they presumably knew.
People were having raucous, good, clean fun. I was enjoying taking it all in. Around midnight, I walked 5-6
blocks to the local bar, disco district. I had a beer at an outdoor bar. When I left at 1:15am, the disco across the
street still had not started letting the people that were waiting in line in. South America is truly a late night party
place.
Tuesday, February 24: I went to the beach, had a light lunch on the beach, took a dip in the ocean - which was
a little chilly but very nice, met a local Brazilian girl, napped, and worked out on the beach. This was a good
relaxing day. I had my complimentary dinner at the hotel, then walked back to where the band was playing.
There were many people in the streets, similar to the night before.
Wednesday, February 25: I picked up a couple of empanadas and headed to the beach. I walked the beach,
picked a spot and ate lunch again on the beach. It was hot out today. I laid out, relaxed, napped on the beach,
took a dip in the ocean, tried to work-out again, but I was still too sore. I headed back to my hotel. I surfed the
net, checked and sent some e-mails. I rested in my room, showered, had my complimentary dinner – pretty good,
walked around a bit, then went to bed. (*Florianopolis – Canasvieiras beach – mostly families, many touristy
shops, not very sophisticated surprisingly)
Thursday, February 26: I awoke early, packed and took a taxi to the airport. I took a flight to Rio, which had
a stop-over in Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo is supposedly the 3rd largest city in the world with approximately 17 million
people. The City from the air appeared huge, sporadically laid out and somewhat dirty with older buildings.
Directly from the Rio airport, I caught a bus to the bus central terminal. From there, I caught a bus to Buzios, a
beach resort area approximately 3 hours drive from Rio. I arrived late, around 9pm and it was raining. A nice taxi
driver helped me find a hotel in the center of town. Once I settled in to my new digs (name?), I headed out. The
rain really started to come down hard, so the town wasn’t too active. The main street here has some nice boutique
shops, good architecture (Mediterranean style) and cobblestone streets. All in all, a very nice, comfortable
atmosphere. If it wasn’t so muggy and hot, it would be great.
Friday, February 27: I walked from town to a couple of nearby beaches, Praia da Armorao (sp?) and Azeda.
They were pretty nice, but a little small and crowded. I caught a boat taxi back to town then walked to a larger
beach, Praia da Ferradura on the other side of this peninsula of land. The beach is/was in a beautiful setting, a
large harbor 70% enclosed. The beach was large enough that the people were spread out. But, the water had
small organic particles floating in it and the beach had ants and flies, hard to relax. I walked back, had a snack – a
grilled crepe on a stick with beef inside – different. This reminded me of the Ben Stiller movie, _______, when he
is talking to Carmen Diaz about meat on a stick or in a cone, … Then I went back to my hotel to rest and clean
up. I found a restaurant on the main street, pedestrian only, and got a table with a view. I caught eyes and got a
smile from a good looking woman who happened to know my waitress. After dinner, I walked the busy streets
then found a bench to relax and enjoy people watching. I struck up a conversation with a couple young girls who
sat down next to me. They were very sweet and attractive but too young. A little later I saw the same young
woman from the restaurant and approached her. Her name was/is Aetna (ala the mountain in Italy or the insurance
company). She was with a girlfriend. She invited me to join them. We bar hopped a little, had a couple of drinks
and got to know one another. So, I was surprised when she asked me of I wanted to go back to my place and
then added for money. I had no idea. Why didn’t she say so earlier in the evening and not waste so much of both
our time. I went back to my hotel – alone obviously.
Saturday, February 28: I took a bus back to Rio. I got a hotel near the beach. In the afternoon, I walked
down to Ipanema Beach, near famous Guard Post #9. It was very crowded with post Mardi Gras tourists and
locals, mostly very young. I approached one hot, young woman. She was very sweet, but turned out to be
another prostitute. At least this time I found out within 10 minutes. After 5 minutes or so, I asked her what she
did for a living. Her friend answered, saying in a joking manner that she is a doctor and can cure what ales me. I
got the message. This is the one place I’ve been that prostitution almost seems socially acceptable for better or
worse. I stayed in this evening and relaxed. (*Rio - I am not much of a Rio fan. I find the city dirty, corrupt, with
prostitution, theft, …)
Sunday, February 29 (leap year): I took a cab to the airport. I got there at 10:30am. I had just missed the 10:
50 flight. So, I had to wait until the next flight, which wasn’t until 10pm that evening. I had to spend the entire day
in the airport. But, I was determined because I was ready to get back to the States, especially after being in Rio.
This morning I had started to feel sick. I believe that it was either the peanuts I ate the night before or from the
Brazilian bottled water. Regardless, I felt awful. (I was in the bathroom every 10 minutes to an hour for a nearly
two days.) I used my time in the airport reading, writing, napping and the toilet. The 8 hour night flight was rough
due to constant trips to the bathroom combined with my fear of flying. I survived it, but only managed a couple
hours of sleep.
The flight landed around 6am. About 9am, I retrieved my car from storage in Ft. Lauderdale then started looking
for a place to stay. I drove for a while along Hwy #1 and A1A. I finally settled at a Best Western in Surf Side,
right on the beach. I had been wanting to become more familiar with Surf Side for a while, so this was my chance.