Florianapolis- Day 1

Florianapolis- the internet and everything I heard suggested this place is some kind of paradise, full of beautiful women everywhere. The internet somewhat overstated it- Floripa is a nice island, good scenery but it is not idyllic, I am afraid. The traffic is bad and all this stuff about women everywhere- well its not really any different to anywhere else- so the internet guides could have a dose of realism. Having said that the beaches are nice, and they have different facing directions making the place flexible.

Day 1

I arrived at Floripa after and early morning flight from Sao Paulo most of which I slept through. The rental car agent I booked through never responded- so if your are reading this never book a car through Auto Escape- they are a useless French company. I wasted 9reals in the airport to check wifi to see if they sent a confirmation, but no response.  So in the end I rented a car from the airport for 750 R$ quite a luxury.  Only problem is doesn't seem to have the excess covered.  On the way I clipped a cyclist.  He was going mental making gun signs towards me and trying to chase me on his bike.  As he looked irrational I decided to shake him off, before turning back.  He was a prik.  There is not really a dent in the car fortunately

 

I got to the hostel in Barra da Lagoa fairly straightforwardly.  Had a chat with the guy on the desk.  The boards at the hostel were pretty terrible as expected.  I decided to make an investment in a board for the rest of the trip- after all I have a car and I like to surf.  They pointed me in the direction of the surf shop.  This could be a post in itself- I was in there for one hour chatting to the owner and then the guy who's board I had picked off the shelf.  Basically when I walked in  I saw this 5'10 (turns out to be a board from the Basque country).  Liked the shape but agonised over the size- a drop down from 6'4.  There was a brand new board for less at 6'2, but to be honest I did not like the shape.  So I took a gamble and went for the board. 

 

Got back to the hostel and toom it out at the local break at Barra da Lagoa.  I had seen the waves were fast and closing out although quite hollow.  They were not of great quality.  Caught a few and smahed.  Went for a second session later after chatting to Whitney an attractive American girl who was showing me bruises from when she was robbed on Rio for wearing jewellery.  The night on the hostel was not so social.  I was tired from getting up early so went to bed at 10:30- was woken up by the mother of all thunderstorms.  Eventually slept well- and woke up the next day.