Florianopolis

After a night sleeping under the influence of a narcotic pain pill, we have a supply prescribed for tooth pain in Peru, I awoke able to function and drive which was as well as we had a two hour journey already planned.  We hastened away from a lovely beach, wave free and perfect for swimming and made for the city of  Florianopolis.

It’s not an ideal campground to look at but it has cold showers at the beach, toilets in the restaurant which is the main business and water and electricity at the sites. For us a sandy beach and easy ocean swimming mean we want to come back. Preferably when my backs not out and Layne doesn’t have an infected wound on her leg. Our idea is to come back next year and drive this coast on our way back to Colombia, most likely by way of Peru as Venezuela remains closed to US passport holders. 

Meanwhile we are exploring likely beach stops and next up was the famously tourist approved city of Florianopolis. If you meet a Brazilian on the road they will tell you you must visit Florianopolis…which usually leads me to wonder will it be worth while? Yes it is as we shall see. Meanwhile we took a windy scenic coast road to get to the freeway. 

It was maddening driving past these gorgeous strands with no chance of getting in the water. 

If you want a beach vacation fly to Florianopolis, rent a car and drive two hours north to the village of Praia de Taquaras. You will thank me. And if we are wild camping up a side street feel free to say hello. This time next year after summer season is over. 

Enough of that. Back to reality on BR (Brazil Rodavia -Highway) 101. 

If you see a cyclist riding on the freeway and your first inclination is to call the highway patrol (Policia Rodoviaria Federal) you are not ready to drive Brazil.  Your job is to relax and not run her over, the rest is none of your business. 

You might notice the odd skyscraper in the following pictures as we approached Floripo, as the locals call the city. Do not be alarmed as this area is enjoying a slight boom. For about $40,000 US you can buy an apartment and join in the beach life spending six months a year here as a tourist. Mexico is so passé, especially as here they really like Americans. We get honks, thumbs up and friendly waves all the time on the roads. It surprises me but we wave back. Brazil’s energy minister says there will be no fuel shortages or price rises as Brazil is fuel self sufficient. So far so good, the Iran war is barely noticed.

Florianopolis sits on Santa Catarina island mostly with part of the city on the mainland and is the capital of Santa Catarina state. It has a population of about half a million, smaller than Joinville (which urban agglomeration we skirted) but the whole urban sprawl has more than a million people. 

The island is about 30 miles long and six wide at its widest but it is a hugely varied topography, with beaches inlets wooded hills fishing villages and modern sophisticated urban centers. 

It’s a hopping city too, one of the most economically advanced in Brazil with a low crime rate, tons of tourists chasing its reputation as a party town while the other major industry is technology development. Oh, and wind surfing. 

As you can see the approaches are being developed massively. 

There is one main bridge to the mainland and I was surprised to see no traffic jams as it has a reputation for getting clogged. 

I’ve never been to Singapore but this puts me in mind of that crowded city state. This island has large areas of protected forests covering its hills. 

We drove into downtown with the usual abundance of bars and eateries and neat tidy sidewalks as you would expect of a metropolis eager to attract visitors.

We had been looking at iOverlander to find a suitable campsite and we thought we had a winner on the shore of Lagoa da Conceicão (pronunciation uncertain in my head possibly conception, suitably Catholic).

It looks like a lake but it is open to the sea and is tidal. It produces a lovely afternoon sea breeze cooling the shoreline and giving windsurfers much joy. 

As well as other water sports enthusiasts. I did spot a solitary sail on the far horizon as well. 

Interestingly as we drove out of the downtown metropolis we found ourselves on a rural drive through the forest before descending to the central lagoon. There has been an effort not to over develop the island at least. 

“Have you talked to Jesus today?” My Portuguese is improving by leaps and bounds though I’m pretty sure it’s not nearly good enough to have a conversation discussing my salvation. 

Then over a bridge at the head of the lagoon…

… into the land of small fishing villages, hippies and beach bums. Lovely.  It feels like the good old days here. Matlacha outside Fort Myers forty years ago kind of thing. 

First we spotted then drove past our planned stop for the night:

We kept driving because my back was still hurting after my failed attempt to lift Rusty on the bed. It was much better but I could feel it and fear of more spasms drove us to find someone to fix it. Last year in Arequipa in Peru we met Sean from Tennessee with his girlfriend Isabela from…Floripo who Layne contacted on WhatsApp and she just happened to know a guy…and it so happens his studio was five minutes from our campground. Whew! What a string of coincidences. 

Google Maps told us to park here and walk toward the beach which looked daft but we did as we were told. 

And sure enough next to the beach bar and restaurant  there he was Doctor Paulo Gama chiropractor and massage therapist to the water sports enthusiasts crowding the beach. He’s been here for decades apparently. 

Fifty dollars well spent let me tell you. I got pummeled and pulled and rolled with what felt like a rolling pin, my spine got adjusted and vacuumed and at the end of the hour I was healed. I really was. I’ve not had a spasm of pain since. I was surprised or possibly even stunned. 

The beach bum doctor. Absolutely fantastic. 

And the view from his office isn’t terrible either. 

Theres a cold water shower up the trail and two bucks gets you permission to park. Apparently it’s common practice to wild camp here to enjoy the beach. Duly noted and added to our list. When I compare how easy waterfront access  is in Brazil to the convoluted state of affairs in Florida…well never mind. There is no van life rage here.

I imagine these rental apartments and camping ground are packed in summer but vacation season ends in February and we are heading into Fall so it’s almost empty. 

Layne has plans to visit wine country inland while her leg heals but Rusty and I outvoted her…

…and we’re staying here a second night. 

We have enough sunlight to charge our batteries and the campground Internet is strong so we don’t need to plug Starlink in. There’s a fish restaurant at the entrance, what’s not to like? 

This is the view in the street, a bit crowded at rush  hour. 

The men carrying placards step out to induce you to park at their restaurants. 

But you can just stare at the lagoon instead. 

The campground has strong internet clean modern bathrooms hot showers communal kitchens with fridges for all to use, covered sitting areas, dump stations, potable water and 220 volt electricity (if we had a charger). All for $16 a night. 

And last night we went out for drinks with Sean and Isabela which is why, after caipirinhas (sugar cane liquor mojitos) and fried shrimp and calamari all evening…

… this post was disgracefully late in publishing. Their story tomorrow.

The Road To Buenos Aires

Friday we have rented an Airbnb in the capital city of Argentina. We will share it with friends from the States until next Wednesday morning and because the city has a terrible reputation for theft and vehicle break ins we are doing what lots of overlanders do and we are parking GANNET2 safely in the suburbs.

It was an uneventful drive from our street camp by the river in the town with the unpronounceable name. 

We had some shopping to do owing to the strip down our fridge got at the border and this supermarket chain is familiar to us from Peru oddly enough. 

The odd thing was when Layne returned to the bat cave bearing two shopping bags she didn’t start moaning immediately about the prices.

Our memories of Argentine Patagonia last year were colored by high prices and poor quality in the supermarkets. 

In this northern area of Argentina especially of course being close to the capital, we’re finding more reasonable prices abc better selection and it’s a relief. Imagine visiting Alaska and thinking what you find there is mainstream America so we were a bit naive. 

Our drive was estimated at two and a half hours by Google Maps, mercifully bypassing downtown Buenos Aires (“pleasant breezes”) to get to the rv storage and camping site. It was the usual flatland drive. The gringo butcher (!):

The classic Argentine gaucho beret. 

A military base: 

Our route took us over two rivers on two suspension bridges in the style of the Sunshine Skyway. 

One river is the Paraná Guazú…

While the other is simply the Paraná the biggest river in the south of the continent. It’s been suffering from historic low levels attributed to climate ate change which has been making commercial navigation more difficult. 

There is a railroad bridge alongside at a slightly less steep angle. However it was soon apparent the rails are abandoned. 

We took a lunch break and had a salami and cheese sandwich. Rusty sat outside enjoying the grass and the view and took his well earned rest 

There were a few roadside stands selling local products. 

Layne went shopping again while Rusty and I enjoyed the day. 

It was northern she expected but it was a wild ride through dust catcher heaven. She always asks for a photo and the sales people almost always say yes with a smile. 

She found a nice hard cheese and an aged salami and they were good, surprisingly. 

We also started seeing lots of assorted RVs on the road. Argentine families love to go camping and the country is littered with cheap municipal campgrounds. Below we see “the little old grandparents” presumably  dissipating the grandkids’ inheritance. 

Need a Buddha? 

Need a “burga”? 100% beef…

The left hand lane was much smoother than the lane on the right which takes most of the abuse from the 18 wheelers. I didn’t a lot of time digging in and out of the left lane to  spare us the bumps. 

We skirted the capital city on the freeway and at last turned off and found ourselves in a wooded suburb.

It was an odd area to have an RV business but sure enough it exists and we found it. GANNET2 will be secure while we are in Buenos Aires.