Sandsurfing

      

Right ... erm ... haven't got round updating the blog for a while, so what was the last thing we were talking about ... um ... yes ... here it is ... Ilho do Mel! Ye gods that was a long time ago. Right - after that came Florianopolis. Here's what I remember about that:

Rain. It was rainy. Very rainy.

We arrived on a Saturday. A Saturday in summer - a time especially recommended by our guidebook to be avoided at all costs due to the vast numbers of Brazilian tourists that supposedly descend on the place at that time. Needless to say it was deserted. Nothing was open, save for a pizza place that served a staggering variety of pizzas (including some with chips on top), that ended up saving our lives on a couple of hungry occassions.

We had a feeling that the Lonely Planet didn't much like Florianopolis (or Ilha Santa Catarina where it is located), as almost all of the information it gave was either derogatory or incorrect. We still made a damn good go of having a good time though: visiting gorgeous beaches (in the rain), trying acai (a peculiar yet tasty half-frozen purple concoction made from a fruit found in the Amazon rainforest - in the rain), and when all else failed - going to the cinema and eating lots of popcorn.

A notable highlight was sandboarding down some sand dunes (in the wind and rain). It's just like snowboarding with no technique required. Just point the board down the slope and go! Guaranteed fun. Snowboarding has the edge in one respect though: it has chairlifts to take you back to the top. After 30 minutes of lugging that board back up the slopes I was totally shattered.

After that (& one more pizza) we left for Uruguay. Sun here we come?

PS. At the risk of ruining the next post, I'm afraid we got a bus to Uruguay rather than a donkey, despite the readers vote that took place. I will put another voting opportunity up shortly, and I promise we will do our best to conform to it ...