Beaches and Buses

Alyece says:

After our stay in Foz do Iguacu, Erin, Elron, and I decided to head for the coast to kick back on the beach. We took an overnight bus to a little island off the southern coast of Brazil, Ilha de Santa Catarina, better known by its capital city, Florianopolos. After being crowded-out at the touristy waterfalls, we opted out of the big city and took a bus to the very southern tip of the island to a little laid-back fishing village with beautiful beaches.

There was an interesting mix of people in the town from local fishermen, to surfers, to bongo-playing hippies with mullets. Some of the beaches even had Baywatch-style lifeguard stations where at any given time you could see about 5 or 6 Brazilian men in red speedos and tight, bright yellow tank tops hanging out on the tower, stretching, and checking out each others´muscles. (I´m deeply sorry we have no photos of this).

One day the three of us went on a jungle hike over a little mountain to get to a more isolated beach. We played in the waves, had a picnic, and got our tan on. (red and sweaty from the hike... not our finest moment) (it seems every time we go into a grocery store we feel the need to purchase a pineapple)To fully experience the coastal culture, we dined at one of the seafood joints right on the beach where the fishing boats literally pull right up to the restaurant to unload their catch. The place was super funky, decorated with the clutter of past customers´ messages or artwork; they give you a pen, paper, and tape with your bill. (I think Erin´s note is hanging somewhere above my head)

With the ¨go big or go home¨ philosophy guiding our menu choice, we split what was supposed to be a dinner for two, which actually could have fed 8 or 9. One by one, they brought us bowls and plates of every animal in the ocean. (I think this is the mussel round)

The seafood was delicious and so fresh that some of the shellfish actually still had green seaweed attached to it. As a semi-vegetarian, this was Erin´s first (and probably last?) time eating most types of seafood. She was a trooper though; as long as the eyes weren´t staring directly at her she gave it a whirl. And Elron grew scales the next morning... With the rest of our time we explored a few more beaches in the area and relaxed. We bussed back up the island to Florianopolis to check out the city before we caught another loooonnngg bus ride back to Rio de Janeiro, where we are now. (a gigantic fig tree in the Florianopolis city center; the branches were so massive they needed supports)

Which brings me to my little rant: One of the many stark differences between Central and South America is the bus system. We became accustomed to crazy, unorganized, unplanned, unsafe, uncomfortable, cheap, sardine-packed, relatively short, ¨always room for one more¨ kind of bus rides in Central America. In Brazil (and we´re told also in the rest of South America), you actually have to plan ahead and book tickets in advance (which is a foreign idea to us), there´s actually a set number of tickets per bus (one person for one seat maximum), they are very long (bigger continent I suppose...), very expensive, run by credible bus companies, fully equiped with safety features, air-conditioning, blankets, and ¨fun packs¨ of various treats (think childrens´ birthday goodie bags), they make scheduled stops (rather than sporatically stopping in the middle of the road so the farmer, who´s carrying his chickens under one arm and a sack of tomatoes in the other, can jump out the back - oh Nicaragua) at extravagant restaurants/mini-malls for decent food. Two totally different worlds, although I also understand, two totally different levels of development. But I just had to throw that out there.