There are some walking tracks for a few hardy ‘walkers’, but most relaxed by the beach, with some opting to test the water. Anna Maria told me that when she and Roberto were first married, they walked from the other side, over the steep hill and down to the beach - there was no defined track - her summary was that she would never do it again and would not advise anyone else to attempt the trek.

The launch returned at 4.00 pm (approx.!) - my hosts were at work and could not meet the launch. After a stroll around the area, an ice-cream and time spent on a park bench, at 6.00 pm Joan's host, Helena, became a little concerned and made the necessary telephone contacts to take us in her car, via a very interesting lookout which overlooked the whole lake system - then off to the city to collect a box of grapes, being her contribution to an evening meal (to which we were invited) at the home of Sonia and Rafael. Their 3 Aussie guests, plus a few more Aussies with their hosting families made up a “fun” night. My host father, Roberto plays the guitar well (plus a number of other instruments - all by ear). He provided the after dinner music - Brazilians love to sing - and dance!

Jo held up the flag for the Aussies with some very nifty foot work on the dance floor plus an Aussie CD which we could all sing along to - as the night progressed the Brazilians all joined in with “A Home among the Gum Trees”, with typical Brazilian gusto !!! Tomorrow seems to come too quickly - I am sure the South American nights only have 5 or 6 hours in them - they must have a different time clock, or is it they don't want us to wear out our hosts' sheets. Tomorrow is another day...

Saturday, 2nd April - Day 4 (Margaret & Peter J.)
We slept in after our late night (bed at 1 am) and enjoyed a breakfast of fruit (watermelon, papaya, plus the bowl of other fruits, bananas, oranges, etc.). Other foods on the table were ham, cheese, 3 different breads, panettone, delicious coffee. We went outside to see the small monkeys in the trees. Eduardo and Ana own over 3 hectares here, part of which goes to the top of the nearby mountain that is densely treed. There is a creek at the bottom with a pool for the kids to swim in. This must have been a paradise for their children to grow up in. There are 2 dogs here, Barolo, a huge Brazilian mastiff, and Rinha, a much smaller dog. They are guard dogs and I definitely don't try to pat them. Barolo barks furiously and wags his tail but I have decided to believe the bark, not the tail wagging!

Eduardo and Ana Helena's son, Andre and his wife, Letitia, came to lunch, as did Susannah and her boyfriend, Enrique. We had veal parmagiana with black beans, rice and polenta, followed by stewed guava, which Marcia and I had helped prepare in the morning. We had a quiet afternoon during which Peter and Eduardo climbed up the mountain at the back of the house. Later on Eduardo took Peter and I for a drive to the beach and to a restaurant with a magnificent view over Lago Conciercea. The lighting was just starting to come on in houses and this gave a lovely atmosphere to the view with a hint of mist over to the right. We came home and had a light meal. It has been a very relaxing and pleasant day.

Marcia's leg does not look good unfortunately. The news on the TV tonight was that Pope Jean Paul II had died at 4.30 pm Brazil time. Ana says that it is very traditional to have black beans and rice with a meal in Brazil. The rain is very heavy tonight with some thunder and lightning. Next-door let off some fireworks, which set off the dogs in no uncertain way. I think it will be an early bed tonight.

Sunday, 3rd April - Day 5 (Robin & Marie C.)
Place: Casa De Cavallazzi - Armacao do Pantano do Sul - temperature forecast 20-21 degrees Celsius, cloudy, possibility of rain!
Late start to morning - breakfast at approximately 0930 with Marie and Hostess Mariangela who is a Pediatrician for children 0-15 years old.

Breakfast consists of cereal and laranjas juice, (orange), uma melancia (watermelon) uvas (grapes) abacaxis (pineapple) paw-paw, queijo (cheese) comprar pa'o (bread rolls) and eu gostaria de leite no meu cafe' (coffee with milk) and cha com leite (tea with milk). The late start was caused by a long day (yesterday, Saturday) with day host Marcos, wife Eda and family, and hostess Mariangela, and luncheon of the traditional feija'o (Brazilian beans). Then a quick visit to the picturesque Fortaleza Sao Jose' da Pointa Grossa. This Portuguese fort was originally built between 1740 and 1744 and has been rebuilt by local authorities to encourage tourism in the area. Unfortunately, it was at the north end of the Island and we are hosted approximately one and a half hours drive south! A late night return.

Back to reality, after humorous breakfast with Mariangela, Marie and I went for a walk on the pristine, Praia da Armacao beach, approximately 100 metres from our host's home. Here the sand is white, light and soft! (An old Brazilian saying). Enjoyed the walk along the beach, then onto the beach promontory, and watched the small fishing boats coming and going in the small harbour. Many young parents were out walking with children along the beach. Returned home about 11.30am as we are attending a family luncheon at the home of Mariangela's brother, thankfully close to home.

PM - In company with Host Mariangela, walked to her brother's home close by for family luncheon. Luncheon hosts were Brother Marcio, commonly known as Antonio, and his beautiful wife, Maristella. Also at luncheon were family friends, Viviene and Roberto.

Roberto proclaimed himself chef for the day and commenced to cook a feast of beef, lamb, and pork sausages, and chicken on the barbecue. These meats were complemented by vegetable and potato salads, hot and cold assorted local vegetables.

During our “feast”, after a disastrous start with local Brazilian wine (de vinos), we quickly moved onto a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon - La Cruz, Montgras, from the Colchagua valley, Chile, plus an Italian Frascate, complemented by an icy cold Chilean Conta Vieja, Sauvignon Blanc. Marie of course had soft drinks!!!

Marie and I were welcomed like we were 'one of the family'. To say we had an enjoyable day would be an understatement.

As all good things come to and end at about 4.30pm, we decided to head home to the Casa Mariangela and have a little siesta.

The rain did come and it helped bring peace and tranquillity to a perfect day.

What else can I write, Ola Ola?

Sunday, 3rd April - Day 5 - Free Day (Margaret & Peter J.)
It is overcast again this morning. We ate a lovely breakfast, which included persimmon, cooking banana (plantain), plus toast, cheese, ham, honey, etc.

After breakfast we went for a drive. Among the places we visited was the Parque da Lagoa do Peri. Lagoa do Peri is a freshwater lake perched slightly above sea level. The sweet water in the lake is used for domestic purposes, although care has to be exercised not to take too much out in case salt water comes in. The lake overflows into the ocean at Armacao do Pantano do Sul (which means Swamp of the South which doesn't sound nearly as romantic!). There used to be a whaling station here.

We drove up a steep hill called Morro das Petras to a retreat to look at a great view along the coast and out to Campeche Island. On this island there are inscriptions on the rocks that have been carved by ancient peoples.

We finished our trip at a place called Pantano do Sol where we took photos of seagulls and vultures on the beach. This is an authentic fishing village where we saw a traditional fishing boat made from one piece of wood. Apparently, some people living there believe they are witches. Marie and Robin are staying at Pantano with Mariangelo, a paediatrician who believes she is a witch!

Our hosts' son, Andre, and daughter-in-law, Letitia, daughter Suzanne and her friend Enrique came to lunch, making it a real family affair. We ate outdoors with Eduardo doing the cooking using a very interesting heavy iron shallow pan with 2 handles to make it easier to lift. He is definitely a good cook! We had a delicious lunch.

Monday, 4th April - Day 6 (Dolly H.)
Highlight - Country Bus-tour

Today is a rather grey day - it had rained all night but stopped in the morning. We all met in town to take the bus to AGUAS MORNAS.

Motel on way to Aguas Mornas
(much laughter...!)

It was a pleasant drive out there, the bus taking us through a lovely valley, very lush and green with high mountains around. It looked like a vegetable-growing area.

On arrival at the PALACE HOTEL, we were met by a nice young lady who invited us to use all the facilities of the hotel. It's a place to get absolutely pampered. On a sunny day it would be a fabulous spot but, even without the sun, it wasn't half bad! We made use of the hotel’s swimming pool including a long swim and a little water aerobics with Mickey and Mini Mouse.

Then it was off to lunch - a well-presented buffet that catered for everyone's taste.

Oh - I forgot the photo session and visit to the STILL where they produce GRAPPA and CACHACA - the national spirit. These are the main ingredients to make CAIPRINHA, my favorite drink.

Fermentation Vat for Crushed Syrup
Old Part of Plantation
Agues Mornas Hotel

After lunch it was time for a walk, but some of us opted for a carriage ride.

On return from the country excursion, we had to rush to be ready for dinner - courtesy of the Mayor. This was held at a first-class Seafood Restaurant on the beachfront, in a heritage village all lit up and with very clean narrow streets - it looks very old Portuguese or Mediteranian style. The food was never-ending, starting with oysters (very big), natural and cooked in many different styles. Then came King Prawns, huge and scrumptious, and fish cooked in many different ways. Salmon is very popular here and the vino is quite good too.

Hosts Entertain at Mayor's Dinner

All in all a very delightful day and evening - one could get used to the good life. I am very impressed with the FFI members. They are a great bunch and go out of their way to make us welcome. So far I have had a wonderful time.

Tuesday, 5th April - Day 7 (Margaret & Peter J.)
Today we went by bus to Camborioú and then Ipatema Beach for the Farewell Lunch.

We all met once again outside the Coral Dubia shop (Don's wife Coral should have been with us!) to catch the bus at 9 am. There were a few difficulties in getting some to the appointed place at the appointed time. Some of our hosts are working people and not as free to do some of the driving, etc. However, all was sorted out and we collected Joan and Don outside the HAVAN supermarket somewhere along the way. Our trip lasted 2 hours and took us north through lush pasture with cattle grazing contentedly. Along one section of the road we were told that both sides of the road was the property of Portobello, the largest tile producer in Brazil. The property had once been sugar cane but has now been converted to grazing land, which extended along 12 kms of the road.

Our destination was Itapema Beach, which is only accessible by cable car (which wasn't working that day!) or by boat from Camborioú. Camborioú proved to be very densely built up with high rises thick to the water's edge. We were told one million people come here to holiday in summer.

We saw a golf course on the outskirts of town, much to Peter's pleasure. Apparently, golf is not a big sport in Brazil with very few courses in the whole country. At Camborioú, we all went on board a "pirate ship", Capitaine Guachho (Captain Hook), for a really pleasant sail around the waters off Camborioú and ended at Ipatema Beach for the Farewell Lunch at Restaurante Lago da Sereia.

This is a fairly isolated little beach with lots of restaurants. A couple of people in our group had thought to bring their swimming costumes and had a brief swim in the lovely bay. We sat under cover on the beach and had pre-lunch nibbles: toast and dip, mussels (sweeter than I had ever had); fish balls, oysters; etc. We all thought this was lunch! But no, we moved inside to a beautiful lunch of two different types of fish stew, fish, rice and manioc cooked in another different way. Dessert was a half banana cooked in a delicious sauce and was accompanied by clove-flavoured ice cream. I couldn't eat the ice cream but would have liked to try it another time when my stomach felt more settled. We all sang our songs, gave speeches, and presented our Club gifts as well as the boomerang for the Florianópolis FF Club to pass on at their next exchange.

After lunch we went for a short walk to look at the shops, and some bought some real bargains. Jan bought a beautiful linen tablecloth, which had LA RANTEIRAS embroidery. We were all back on board our pirate ship by 3 pm to return to the bus at Camborioú. There were many people inspecting the insides of their eyelids on the way home.

We were all conscious that this was our last day with the Florianópolis Club. What a wonderful experience it has been spent with wonderful hosts!

Those of our group who are first-time ambassadors have all really enjoyed themselves. Tomorrow we leave for Curitiba and a whole new experience. We were invited to the home of Mariangela (Where Robin and Marie were staying) for dinner. Mariangela had cooked a fabulous lasagne having first made the pasta. This was followed by tiramisu and coffee (accompanied by wine!). It was a very pleasant evening. Present also were Marcos and Ida who had sometimes driven Robin and Marie around.

Looking forward to our second week - click to go to Curitiba page.