Florianópolis - weekend getaway

I spent my first 3 day week on a small island a few hours north of Porto Alegre called Florianopolis in the state of Santa Catarina. Our hostel was in the small village of Barra da Lagoa on a high overlooking the ocean. What a relaxing feeling to wake up to the sound and view of the ocean.

 
We checked out some of the shops in the town on Friday and met a friendly shop owner who served us a variety of flavors of Cachaça (Brazilian rum) from the behind his counter. Cachaça is a liquor made from fermented sugarcane juice. I'm not a fan of liquor and so I only had a small sip! We probably stayed there for an hour talking (our friend was translating) and drinking while people shopped around his store.

We were lucky that it stopped raining on Saturday and the sun actually came out. We took a boat ride around the small lake and had lunch at a restaurant. The restaurants and homes around this lake are only accessible by boat. We ate outside in a small glass room.


It was a much needed relaxing get-away! I can't wait to go back again when it is hot, the sun is shining and I can go into the water! :)

Here are some more pictures from my trip:

Views of our hostel: 


 
This was the walk up to our hostel: 

 



 







 
 
 




 
 After making friends with a shop owner, he invited us into his friend's small bar next door:
 
 Live samba music back at the restaurant near our hostel:

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