Florianopolis - Brazil

Keegan Tudehope
Feb 9, 2017
5 min read

After our stint in Rio we flew into Florianopolis after receiving a few recommendations about this beautiful island from some friends. Flying took around 1 hour from the Galileo Airport just outside of Rio to the small airport on the island off the east coast of Brazil in the state of Santa Caterina. We took an Uber to our hostel 200m from Campeche Praia or Campeche Beach. Praia is the Portuguese word for Beach as we have learnt along the way. The Uber cost 21 real, which is about 8 Australian dollars and was easy to order to the airport pick up and drop off zone.

Day 5

After arriving around 10am we had the day ahead of us, so we left our luggage in reception and geared up for a 4-hour hike. This meant some 'active wear', hats, sunscreen, camera, togs, travel towel and thongs (flip flops or jandals). We also stopped at a Mercado (market) on the way to the bus stop and got something for lunch, a snack for later, some treats for now and later and 3L of water. This set us back about 25 real (10aud), which could have been cheaper from a bigger supermarket. We then waited for a bus. And waited. Then waited some more before finally a bus came and took us to a small station that links with other buses to head to the southern part of Florianopolis. The bus cost 3.40real (1.5aud) and took around 10 mins before we waited for a second bus to take us to Lagoinha de Leste, or at least as close as we could in a vehicle. The rest was the hiking over a big hill and down to the beach, then up a mountain or even bigger hill to the top to get an awesome few photos overlooking the Praia and the South Atlantic Ocean.

It was a relief to have made the top until we had to head back down. It was another relief to make it back down to the beach until we had to go back over the original hill for what felt like an age. We restocked with some water from a shop, perfectly placed at the base of the hill and then took another Uber home with a Dutch couple we met along the trail. The traffic was bad on the way home as everyone was retiring from the nice beaches to the south and Florianopolis has limited road options. This made the Uber slightly more expensive but still only 35real (16aud). When we got home it was close to 6:30pm but the sun was still lightening the now cloudy sky. We had some showers and relaxed before heading out to get some food. We decided to try some street food from a food van near Campeche Beach. It was easily the strangest combination of food options I had seen before, equally as strange as the duck and waffle in London. The friendly teacher by day, food van operator by night, sold both hamburgers and yakisoba noodles. Ellie and I tried one of each dish and were quite impressed with our 32real dinner (12.50aud). We then returned to our hostel to relax and get ready for bed, chatting with the friendly people around the relaxed surf huts. Our hostel is the Floripa Surf Hostel, as mentioned it's 200m from the beach and is very relaxed for 100real per night.

Day 6

Our second day in Florianopolis was much more relaxed after a hectic start to our South American journey. We enjoyed a sleep in at our hostel, again despite there only being a fan we woke around 10am. After a slow start, we strolled down to the Campeche beach for a swim and returned not long after. We had to walk over a small sand dune to get there from the hostel and found a long beach relatively busy, but nothing like the beaches in Rio. When we returned, we showered, packed bags and were prepared for our afternoon departure to Foz do Iguacu or Iguacu falls.

In the time between, Ellie and I went down to the main entrance to Campeche Beach for a stroll and then some lunch at one of the restaurants overlooking the beach. Today we had crumbed chicken for two, served with rice, fries and a choice of Brazilian beans or fish soup. This was the same for a range of options like fish, other meats and seafood. It appears that a part of the dining culture is to share food, as our food was served on platters I wanted to stay in Florianopolis longer also, but we had to be in Iguacu tomorrow for a tour and a subsequent tour the following day. This meant a little bit of panic on someone's behalf and we were quickly off to the bus terminal to make amends for the booking error.to then put onto our plates. I have noticed it at several places now, beginning with our first meal in Rio with hamburgers and fries coming on just one plate. The portions where huge on each platter so I wasn't complaining, not just because I love food, but because it was our breakfast as well. Part of the budgeting... I mean the sleep in. When we finished lunch, we ate a delicious Acai bowl and then returned to the surf hostel where we enjoyed lounging around in the shade of the outdoors, with a cool breeze and time to relax. We caught up on some diary entries, blogs and checking departure times. Departure times; oh no we booked for tomorrow not today, I don't blame El for that. I wanted to stay in Florianopolis longer also, but we had to be in Iguacu tomorrow for a tour and a subsequent tour the following day. This meant a little bit of panic on someone's behalf but we were quickly off to the bus terminal to make amends for the booking error.

When we arrived at the terminal, you guessed it, via Uber, we appealed for a change of date for our ticket, only to find no options today with this company so Ellie worked on a refund and I sought another bus company travelling to our desired destination. Enter, Nordeste. Stress saving, life savers with a cheaper trip then the previous we were booked on a new overnight bus to the waterfalls of Iguacu. Much relieved and happy with the result we farewelled Florianopolis, the relaxing, laid back island town (at least in the south and east of the island) we enjoyed so much. It would be very easy to stay a long time there and we nearly did, but we now say: seeya later Florianopolis.