July 16th 2019
Renata arrives in the middle of the night and we waste no time having a delicious breakfast with Vania, having a long discussion about how much Value we should or should not give the opinion of other people.
Breakfast done I head out, get the car key system perfectly replaced in the main city and then head back to pick up my family. We waste no time in heading out to explore, since Renata is on a very short visit. Together we drive along the north coast of the island and then down the east coast again, though not nearly as far as we did the day before. Just like yesterday though, our first stop is a very impressive, if largely unknown beach: Praia do Mocambique.
We drive through a short passage of forest and emerge to a sand parking lot, piling out of the car, hurrying over the last of the trees and onto the seemingly endless white sand beach. We walk along, I swim as much as I can, and then we head back to the car, blown away by how many incredible beaches this single island might hold.
From the beach we’re getting hungry already so we decide to head into one of the more touristy towns that I visited on my first time through here: Lago de Conceicao. On the way there though we do stop at the look out point, which has a small charge to it but is well worth it for the incredible views of the lakes and little city below.
We head in and snap some photos before heading back towards the car, stopping in the giftshop and buying some delicious specialty jams as well as a small gift for our hostess and then hopping back in the car and heading into town.
From here we grab lunch in town at an irish bar of all things and then head back to Jurere. Tonight we leave for Curitiba. About a 5 hour drive. From there Reanta will hop on to a bus for Sao Paulo to go back to work. (Boo work). The boys and I will sleep in Curitiba and then head on to one of my favourite places in the whole word. Foz De Iguacu, a place where the boys have never been before. And we’ve got plans to get to know those incredible waterfalls very very well.
Back in Jurere we realize we have a few hours before we really have to leave and so head to another beach nearby that Vania recommends. The drive down is a bit scary but the beach itself is beautiful and we walk to the very end of it, playing football and swimming as we go. Vinny enjoys climbing onto some boulders at the edge of the beach and we enjoy the last rays of afternoon sun before deciding it’s time to head back.
The slick sandy uphill road to get back to town almost proves too much for our car but some creative steering and acceleration helps us eventually get to the top. We stop by Vania’s house to say goodbye and grab our bags and then we hit the road for another long evening of driving. Luckily Renata has volunteered to do at least a part of this stretch, which is ideal for me as it frees up my hands to snap some stunning sunset photos from the boardwalk along the sea in the main city of florianopolis while we sit, stuck in the early evening traffic heading to the mainland.
The sun now set we drive on, encountering a ton of traffic and only arrive at Curitiba around 10:30 Pm. Luckily Renata’s bus is 11:30 pm so she stays with us while we check in at the Ibis Budget, and then we run to the nearby bus station to see her off. We’re all sad to see her go, but excited to see what awaits us in Iguacu. I can’t wait to go back, it’s one place I’m sure I’ll never get sick of visiting.
