Sampa!

Well writing from a very rainy beautiful Florianopolis, Santa Catarina Island in Brazil!! Its been a while since I wrote, and from my last blogpost I have been spending some quality time with my family back in Port Elizabeth South Africa!My first Christmas home in 7 years and it was absolutely delightful.
Anyway - I am off again and I arrived in Sao Paulo on the 29th Dec. I arrived in the afternoon after a very comfortable flight from Johannesburg. The aeroplane wasnt full at all and I had a whole row of seats to stretch over. Was supposed to make my way to Rio for NYE but after looking at the expense of it, and realizing I might not actually be able to find buses going through, I decided to just stay put in Sao Paulo for a few days before heading off.
From the airport I got a bus to my hostel. Not many people speak English at all - so my universal sign language skills are definitely coming in handy. People seem to be pretty friendly though, and the bus driver very nicely dropped me quite close to the hostel, which was a little out of his normal route. As soon as I got off the bus too, there was a guy asking me if I needed help, judging by the backpack on me and the map in my hand I think its kind of obvious I am a gringa!
Hostel I was staying in is a nice recently renovated house. Its pretty funky and the people working there are lovely too. Randomly there was another South African guy staying at the hostel, but there were mostly Brazilians staying there. Its conveniently located in a central place, and the neighborhood is probably one of the nicer ones in Sao Paulo. On my second day in the hostel some more girls checked in, 2 Welsh lasses, and a Brit and I landed up befriending them. We all spent NYE together and had a real laugh. There was a BBQ, or Churrasco as they say in Portuguese, at the hostel and really close to the hostel, there was a massive street party on a famous stret in Sao Paulo called Avenida Paulista. So we stayed at the hostel, where there was a load of others also, had quite a few drinks (read: got plastered) then headed out to the street party. It was pouring with rain, but the atmosphere was pretty festive. There was a massive stage with Brazilian bands playing, everyone dancing in the street etc. After getting completely drenched for a while, we decided to head back to the hostel where we watched the fireworks and festivities from the roof terrace. We all then jumped in a cab and headed off to a huge club. The queue to get in was MASSIVE, and although 2 of the girls were determined to get in, and decided to fight it out, myself and one of the other girls couldnt stomach the thought of having to wait for like an hour to get it. It was about 3am by this stage anyway, so we called it a night. I was probably not in the best state to go clubbing so it was definitely a blessing in disguise that I didn't go in!! The 2 girls that did go out, came back at 11am the next day so kudos to them for being bloody crazy!
Spent the 1st of Jan, mooching around the hostel very hungover. Watched movies, ate like a pig...normal hungover activities.
Following day, we were all planning on leaving Sao Paulo, and all planning on heading the same way. Decided to get a night bus to Florianopolis, which was leaving at like 11pm on the 2nd Jan. Not wanting to waste a day doing nothing, we set off to do a walk through the city centre and some sights... Well we can definitely confirm that Sao Paulo is not the most touristy destination in the world. Basically saw some churches, monuments, beggars and graffiti and buildings..hahahahah amazing.
We went out for a few beers that eve, and made our way to the station. The bus station is huge, but quite easy to navigate. Managed to get on the right bus, with some asking around, and set off on a very comfortable luxury bus. We all took sleeping tabs, and woke up the following morning in my current destination.
We booked into a very cool looking hostel on the island of Santa Catarina, a nicely the weather was fantastic when we arrived, a nice change to Sao Paulo.
Got a cab to hostel and literally as we arrived we were invited to a beach party. Spent yesterday on a gorgeous beach, in front of this huge outdoor pool/beachy nightclub, and as the sun set - we all headed into the club. The club is called P12 and its super awesome, its basically a marquee set up, with pools, loungers and decks all over the place. Reminded me of being in Vegas, at the pool parties we had there...
There were loads of buff men, and scantily clad amazing looking woman dancing around - everyone in bikinis etc. Being blonde, I dont really stand out as there is a huge German population here down South, so only when I open my mouth do I get found out! We were in quite a large group and had a fantastic time. Spent a major part of the evening fending off some very eager Brazilian men - who were pawing at me like needy kittens... I tell you, they get 20 points for effort. Of course when I say I am from South Africa, it seems to encourage them so its really just a case of calling upon some of the men in our group to come save me occasionally. Its all pretty harmless though, and of course very flattering, so paw away men! We came back late last night and went for a bite before heading to bed. The hostel is really amazing, the people I met are awesome, its super fun here and I love the beach....
I think I might be here for a while..
Gypsy Regdelp signing out...