The day before Christmas, we arrived at Praia de Canasvieiras, one of the 42 beaches on the island of Florianopolis. The island is actually part of the state of Santa Catarina, just north of Rio Grande do Sul, where we live. We checked into our pousada and hit the beach. This was Emma's first time to the ocean, so I wondered how she would react to the waves and salt water. I was a little afraid she wouldn't want to play in the sand because she doesn't really like to get dirty. No problem - within an hour of being on the beach, she was rolling around in the sand like a puppy in the grass!
The sand was so soft and the water was incredibly warm! We relaxed under the shade of an umbrella and found it very strange to be doing so on the day before Christmas!
This man dug a three-foot hole for his boys to crawl in to. When he was finished covering them up, his wife said she actually liked the boys in the hole because she could keep track of them!
We celebrated Christmas Day by reading the Christmas story to Emma in our pousada. We talked about the birth of Jesus and what that means to us and then we talked about the people who we gave gifts to and how fun it was to give. Then she opened a few gifts of her own. We were thankful that our internet connection worked long enough to call the grandparents. Again, strange that they were in the cold of Kansas as we were preparing to sit on the beach! I was actually surprised at the number of people on the beach early Christmas morning. Such a different way of life! Overall we had a really great day, but we both missed family and were a little bummed to be alone.
Another day at the beach. . . my two favorite people!
Our pousada was located about fifty feet from the beach, which was wonderful! Within a few more feet, there was a dock where the ships were coming and going. These ships reminded me of a scene from a pirate movie. Each afternoon, people would embark on a passeio, or little tour, around the island. We thought it looked fun, so the day after Christmas, we decided to go.
I was so thankful for the shaded area on the upper deck of the ship. Emma and I spent most of our time under there. She was very content to sit in the middle of the boat, in the shade. I was content to let her do so. . . and so happy she didn't want to stay by the edge. We were moving pretty quickly, and were very close to another tour ship!
We toured the northern tip of the island and stopped at an old fort on a small island, Fortaleza de Santa Cruz de Anhatomirim. The fort was built along with two other forts to protect the island during Portuguese rule. People began cleaning up the island in the '70s and now it's open to the public. The tour guide seemed to be incredibly knowledgable about the history of the island, but I only caught bits and pieces of what he was saying.
One of the coasts of the small island was lined with cannons. I imagine I would have appreciated the tour so much more had it been in English, but I'm so glad we went!
We ate lunch along the mainland coast and then headed back toward our beach. About half an hour before the tour was over, the ship stopped and all the crazy people jumped from the edge into the water! The air had cooled off quite a bit and the wind was strong. That didn't deter many. We were happy onlookers:) Emma took the helm while nobody was looking!
Looking toward the mainland, Santa Catarina State
The part of the tour that made me laugh the most. . .
It wasn't so much the fact that the big man was wearing a quasi-speedo (although that was funny too), it was more the joy of watching him dance around just inches from where Kevin was sitting! More than once, he came too close for comfort! (Speedos are for another post, by the way.)
For the last few minutes of the tour, an acrobatic pirate took the stage on the other ship. He twisted and turned and flipped and flew through the air for our entertainment! His acrobatics were amazing to watch!
That evening we went to eat with some Brazilian friends who are living in the US. Diego and Barbara just happened to be visiting the island also and were staying a few minutes from our pousada. Because we are in Brazil, we met for dinner after 9pm. By the time we sat down at the restaurant and ordered, it was close to 10pm! After we ordered, I was talking to the mother of our friend who was sitting to my right. When I turned to say something to Emma on my left, I found her asleep in her chair! She had not made a sound!
The waiter brought us a mat for her to lay down on and she slept until we left the restaurant after 11:30pm!! Both Kevin and I were shocked at how accommodating everyone was. The restaurant was prepared and nobody was bothered by the sleeping child on the floor next to our table. I felt a little awkward, but we had great conversation with our friends and their parents and Emma was able to sleep. I enjoyed hearing our friends' perspectives on living in the U.S. and we shared some stories from our time here. We had a very fun, very long day and crawled into bed exhausted and happy!
