Cyber Cafes Are Rare

Saturday, Feb. 26

It´s cloudy and has been raining off and on. I made it to the bus station during a break in the rain. Occasionally, a break also shows in the clouds, but the sky doesn´t look promising.

I am heading further northward to Florinopolis. It is a state capital and an island resort. It is small, and this is considered the last weekend of the summer here, so i may have a problem finding a room. In my favor are two factors--the poor weather and the fact that Carnival coming early this year means that school has already started back.
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Well, it is the high season whether anyone is here or not. I checked 3 hotels. They all seemed rather empty, but the employees expressed higher rates than justified by the facilities. None would come down if I paid cash (vs. using a credit card). I am here, but since it has continued raining and the hotel rates are high, I will leave tomorrow.

I have actually seen all of the center of town anyway. All that is left that I could see is the island, and I don´t have transportation for that. The city is nice, however. Actually, it is the cleanest city I have visited anywhere in South America. I am impressed. The streets and sidewalks are in great condition, the new buildings are well constructed, and the old buildings are beautifully restored. I would like to come back here during the off season and stay long enough to enjoy the city and the island at reasonable rates.

I had trouble getting dinner. I finally found a calzone place open, and they closed while I was waiting for my food. I got to eat, though.

I forgot to tell about my problem on the bus. A woman had gone to the back of the bus to get a cup of coffee. On her way back to her seat, the bus made a hard curve. She spilled hot coffee down my back. I automatically jumped and yelled. I could feel that my skin was burned. Several passengers showed concern. Fortunately, it wasn´t a severe burn and didn´t need any treatment.

Sunday, Feb. 27

It is sunny and the air is fresh today. I am still happy I am leaving Florinopolis. I am just not a beach resort person. If I am with someone, I don´t mind it. But alone, I find beach resorts rather borning--especially ones like this with hotels spread around the island rather than concentrated near town. The only way to explore it would be with a car.
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It was a beautiful trip to Curitiba. it is so easy to forget how especially lush and pretty Brazil is. We traveled along the coast to Joinville with the water on one side of us and mountains on the other. Then we climbed through the mountains inland to Curitiba. There were palm trees, green trees with balls of leaves at the ends of the branches, trees with purple blossoms, and trees with yellow blossoms. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy the view.

I decided to splurge on my room. As a result, I am living in luxury. I am in a flats hotel. It is a modern highrise, and I have a REAL apartment. There is a complete kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, a bath, and a laundry room (with a sink with a built-in scrub board for handwashing). It is very contemporary--mingled charcoal marble countertops and tabletops, black leather sofa, modern black light fixtures, contemporary artwork, glass enclosed shower stall, glass-topped gass range, etc. All of this, plus breakfast comes to about $26 per night. Oh, and it includes a free membership to a gym with exercise equipment and a pool. I feel like staying here forever. I probably will stay for 4 days.

I ate Chinese food for lunch. It was a buffet that was far better than what I got in Buenos Aires, but it still was lacking. The best part was dessert. They had banana and pineapple fritters that had a crispy sugar glaze (like on candied apples, but not as thick). As I was leaving, a man asked if I was from the U.S. He was surprised to find an American here. He is an American software developer who probably lost his job a couple of years ago when American companies started outsourcing. His explanation was that he made a trip to Brazil and fell in love with it and moved down here. I am sure part of the the reason was that he could live more cheaply (and longer) on his savings. He apparently does freelance software development here. He has married a Brazilian woman. It was interesting visiting with them, but there was something a little weird about him.

I bought ingredients for caipirinhas and made them in my kitchen. That´s the national drink of Brazil and is made with caçasha (sugar cane liquor), lime juice, and sugar. Mixed a batch and relaxed and watched the Academy Awards which didn´t end here until 1:30 a.m.!