Florianópolis, Brazil

It took a couple of buses to get to my first stop in Floripa - a small fishing village called Barra da Lagoa. The hostel was pretty basic, but the people there were nice and over the next couple of days I went with Marcos and Molly on some trips to Praia Brava and Praia Mole. The trek to Praia Mole in particular gave us a stunning panorama of parts of Florianópolis.

After a couple of nights, I’d had enough of the hostel and wanted to stay in a bit more lively area, so I moved to a hostel in Lagoa de Conceição. The streets here were buzzing with Brasileiros and foreigners on holiday.

On Friday I signed up to a group tour to a beach called Guarda do Embaú - one of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil we were told! I was a bit skeptical of the whole tour guide “sell”, but it turned out to be beautiful. We played football on the beach, then took a small trek to the end of the beach which again provided some more amazing scenery. Unfortunately we got stuck in traffic on the way home for a couple of hours, but I made some good friends in Bruno and Ayelen who I hung out with for the next few days.

Bruno and I went on the trek to Lagoinha do Leste on Saturday - a popular 45 minute trek to one of the more isolated beaches here. The trek was a little tough, but was split up nicely by a fresh waterfall where we stopped for a drink.

For our last day Ayelen, Bruno and I took a bus to Santo Antônio de Lisboa - a Portuguese fishing village full of artisan restaurants, gift shops and cafes. We had a fresh seafood lunch then sat down for a coffee and took in the peaceful atmosphere. We then walked for a couple of hours around the neighbourhoods and into the farming area, then made our way back to the village via hitchhiking and buses. It was a nice change of pace from the trekking and beaches of previous days, and a great way to end our time in Floripa.