Trip to the Beach...Florianopolis; Viagaem a praia - Floripa!

A few weeks ago I needed to get out of town and to the ocean/beach! Now, the ocean is about 700km or roughly a 8 to 10 hour drive away from Horizontina. It was the end of summer and I wanted to hit one of my favorite places during the low season (temporada baixa). I did a search on Tripadvisor.com for a little pousada or bed/breakfast and found one with a good rate. Checked flights from Porto Alegre to Floripa and found a decent rate. I decided to book it and I did. It was Monday and I was leaving that same Friday...nothing like last minute trips!! I tried to get some friends to go, but no one was as crazy as I was to travel 8 or 10 hours for just 2 days. So, I decided to go alone! No worries...I'm a seasoned traveller.

I hitched a ride with some friends Friday afternoon after work and made it to Porto Alegre around 11 pm. Caught my flight at midnight and was at the beach by 1:30 am! Went to my pousada and the next morning around 10 am, I was on the beach.

Here are some photos of Praia do Santinho and a few other beaches I visited on the island. I really enjoyed my time there to just relax, do what I want and re-charge my batteries.

Abraco,
Mollie

Praia do Santinho

Praia da Mole (sounds like Mollie)

A small hike I took above the beach

Lagoa or lake. The ocean is on one side and the lagoon on the other. 

Carnival in Horizontina

Carnival in Brazil is a very, very big event. The whole country closes down for 4 days. Even shops/restaurants are closed for the big feriado. From Friday until Wednesday (Ash Wednesday), don't expect any work to get done or be able to contact people or businesses by phone. Everyone is on vacation. It's kind of annoying, especially since all of Brazil is on vacation, except for Horizontina. I had to work today, but the rest of the country had a day off. What benefit is there with this ex-pat stuff anyway?!!

Here are some pictures from Carnival (12 Feb) in Horizontina. It's a big street party with some presentations by the different carnival groups (sororities & fraternities). They compete for money on best dance, best costume and best all around. 

    Nedge, Mollie, Cris and Carmen

One of the male carnival groups. They are in skirts.

Katia from my team. She is dressed up like a gladiator and participated in one of the female carnival groups. Her group won first place.

Katia's carnival group getting ready for their performance. Their name is Enkblatas. No idea what it means....

Me and my friend, Cristiano. He's a really great friend!

One of the carnival groups. They had drums, fireworks and a lot of adult beverages....too much, in fact. It was entertaining!!