House sitting for a month in Florianopolis

So what do you do house sitting for a month in Florianopolis!?

Download download download... The main reason we came to Florianopolis, to have access to power and space so that Andrew could download the tapes we had shot so far. And that is what he spent his time doing for the entire month. All the film footage that we have been filming while we have been away needed to be downloaded from the tapes onto hard drives. Not as simple as it sounds - about 30 hours of film, which needs to watched as it is downloading. Andrew needs to 1) see what we have actually shot 2) start to get to know the footage 3) watch that the download process actually happens successfully; i.e. that the connection does not get dropped 4) when completed, he needs to then get rid of the complete rubbish. Quite a process for starters, on average per 1 hour tape, it takes about 3 hours. Andrew also had to deal with the added challenge of working with a Mac as opposed to a PC, which is what he is used to. Oh yes and not to mention getting to grips with Final Cut Pro after not laying hands on it for about a year! SO, all in all Andrew had a lot on his plate, and managed very successfully to achieve all he wanted in the time we were in Floripa (the local name for Florianopolis).

Grocery shopping and being delivered in Lagoa, Floripa

I have been writing some short pieces about fun moments for http://www.trazzler.com/users/abigail-tunstall

This is a bit that I wrote about grocery shopping while in Floripa -

Just out to get the groceries, at the quaint little village of Lagoa. Had a good mooch around the shops, typical arts and crafts - t-shirts, crystals, haviannas interspersed with sushi bars and restaurants. Nice holiday mood village feel. Refuelled with a blast of caffeine and a sweet treat at one of the plentiful coffee shops. Ready to brave the Supermercado Magia and lug all our loot back home. Oh - they deliver, that's good - what about us? - oh they will take us too, hey, things are looking up - what, you'll take us in that?? And so we got our lift home in a 30 year old volkwagen bus with only 2 gears- brilliant!


Surf, surf surf...

Rupert was very happy with the location of the house sit, just off one of the good surfing beaches. He was up every morning, waxing his surfboard to head off to catch the morning waves. Lucy quickly developed an addiction to the surf wax, loving the smell and texture of it! Rupe's challenge for the morning was to get out of the gate without Lucy having running away with the wax!

Lucy enjoying the dogs and the horses and dressing up!


Climbing Morro da Limpiao
There is a hill behind the house where we are staying, and what else are hills for if not to climb!
Andrew of course was working, so Rupert, Lucy, Mum and me made our way up the hill.
We had a few false starts, as it is not very clearly signposted, and a very kind local directed us through his back yard and then gave us a guided tour up half the hill with his 6 year old daughter in tow!
We eventually made it to the top, a lovely view of Campeche island and the beach all the way to Joaquina and beyond.

A trip to Costa da Lagoa
Andrew took a day off and we took a boat to the small village of Costa da Lagoa.

Only reachable by boat, Costa de Lagoa is a vibrant, well maintained little community, supported by fishing and tourism. We ate a most delicious meal at one of the colourful restaurants on the waterfront and Lucy found a playschool ground where she entertained herself for ages.


Floripa General
Some other interesting bits and pieces from our month in Floripa.

Collecting wood with a horse and cart. The horse is very definitively still a work animal here in Brazil, many families having a horse that is used to help with manual labour.


Lucy at the amazing Clinica Tio Cecim, a private clinic where I took her for some of her vaccinations. Not the cheap option, that was for sure, but under recommendation from a friend that the state vaccinations in Brazil do not all adhere to the allowed levels of metals in some of their vaccines, we were taking no chances. The clinic was extraordinary, with every detail perfect for a children's clinic. Toys in every room and rocking horses in every reception area.
Colouring tables, stickers and fish tanks - Lucy thought she had arrived in heaven, not arrived for jabs! The whole experience was completely unexpected, and Lucy only cried a very little bit when the needles where administered! I am not sure who hates Lucy's vaccinations more, Lucy or me!

A walk around the local Lagoinha (literally little lake) after the rain encountered some additional obstacles, flooded paths and piles of rubble used to fill holes in the roads. Mom negotiating the path with the pram!

Wash day after the rains
The local fishmonger trying to understand my broken Portenol (Portuguese and Spanish mix)
Lucy loving the swing, with Rupe loving the hammock at the house
Random dog on top of a wall while walking en route somewhere!
The city centre Plaza Quinze (Fifteen) is full of beautiful old trees, vines and people enjoying the shade.
And lastly another Trazzler trip to SANTO ANTÔNIO DE LISBOA....
It's a balmy Tuesday afternoon in the quaint old Azorian quarter of Florianopolis. Artisans peddle their wares, while oysters grow fat and tasty in the nutrient rich lagoon. A speciality in Florianopolis, their rich taste is a result of being farmed in a lagoon thriving off of a continuous feed of tropical vegetation deposits. A dozen of these beauties enjoyed with fine company and a glass of golden Brazilian chardonnay in the afternoon sun—hhmmmmnnnn, where's that hammock?
We enjoyed our time in Floripa, it was great to have some space and normal facilities to enjoy for a month. When we left the house sit, we took a road trip to Foz do Iguacu to see some of the most impressive waterfalls in the world before getting back on the boat and heading North, more about the waterfalls in the next blog.