Sun, storms and animals (Florianopolis – Jaguaruna)
Posted on | October 16, 2009 | 2 Comments
What a nice time in Florianopolis.
And really: Friendly people, amazing beautiful girls and for sure the beaches are nice, too. Unfortunately I saw only 2 of them. The sky was cloudy almost all week long.
Me and Juliana were hosted mainly by Luiz, who is an excellent person and who became a good friend as well. A very relaxing time.
Luiz and Juliana in Florianopolis
Florianopolis
We went for a walk in a park, and the animals I saw there made me laugh a lot of times. One example:
Chicken on tree
I never saw chicken, hanging out on high trees before. There were also funny turtles, giant-rabbits, ducks and other strange birds, mixed together.
After a nice week and a disappointing message at the federal police (no Visa extended), I continued walking and decided to do the only thing I can so: Walk as much as I can, and the day my visa expires, continue from Uruguay on.
The first day I went to Palhoça. It was rainy, but it was very nice anyway. The grey weather and the silent water gave the ocean an amazing view:
On the way to Palhoça
On the way to Palhoça
I passed a village which was smelling fish. All the time. I expected to see some fishermen, but there was nothing and no one. Everything silent. I needed a coffee, but all stores and bars were closed and actually they looked like they have never been open. The rain got stronger and I got more tired. I sat down under a roof of a closed bar and smoked a cigarette. I started to play the harmonica. The music was the only hearable sound. And still no people, no movements, not even wind. Only the rain and the ocean… and my harmonica.
In Palhoça I slept at the Policia Civil, outside in my tent and the next day I walked along the highway towards Paulo Lopes. Distance: 37 Km if I remember correct. After the first kilometer I note, that my camera was gone. I freezed. Impossible. I tried to remember when I used it the last time. And that was last night in my tent, before I went to sleep. When I left, I packed all my things, put everything into my pockets and at last the tent was empty, and there was no camera.
I got very frustrated. I left my bagpack in a restaurant and ran back to the police. No camera. Nowhere. What a nice day: The sun is shining, it´s warm, people are smiling, but I don´t care and I hate the day, because my new(!) camera is gone, and there will be no pictures on the website again. I was so angry that I walked very, very fast and very far without a break. After 15 Km I was finished and sat down at a bar, located at the highway. I asked for a beer and wanted to take some new socks from my bagpack. I grabbed into the bagpack and found the camera, lying there besides the socks. Finally the day was good again. I was so happy and drank my beer within a minute. I wanted to check if it´s still working and looked for something to photograph. In this moment something flew from the other side of the highway, directly in front of my face:
Kolibri
I was so glad that I got my camera that I walked very fast and very far (again) for another 15 Km, singing songs and enjoying the sun. Until my feet started to hurt like hell. It has been more that 30 Km now and still no city close. It got night.
I walked and got really tired. I hoped to reach the city soon, because the highway was very dangerous at that part. So I walked and walked and the street seemed to be endless. Suddenly I heared a voice behind me…..
“Hey man, wait a sec”, I turned around. There was a cyclist appearing from the darkness. He was black so I had difficulties to recognize his face. But the few things I saw were really not sympathetic to me. He got off the bike and started walking besides me.
“Are you going to Porto Alegre? I am also going to Porto Alegre. It´s still long way, but I don´t want to go alone. You know there is a friend of mine living close to here at the border of Paulo Lopes, you can sleep there and tomorrow morning we continue together to Porto Alegre. I will join you from now on until there. Let´s go together!”
I couldn´t believe it… The same thing like on the BR 116. The guy started to talk and didn´t stop anymore. It was very scary. There is a dark shadow at night walking besides you and talking to you in a language you almost don´t understand. The only things I understood were:
“You go to my place today. We are almost there. You stay there and then I go with you. I am your friend. I stay with you…” and so on. He looked like a psycho. This time there was no Lan-House or something, which could rescue me, so I had to try something different. I told him that I don´t speak Portuguese and stopped looking at him and walked fast straight forward. He followed me and kept asking me questions, without even waiting for the answers. I ignored him for one hour and anyway he didn´t go away and kept following me and talking. I got a headache. I was thinking, how to get rid of him…
After one, when it got really annoying hour I got slower and stared serious into his face. Suddenly he was quite. I looked around, pretending to get sure that there are no eye witnesses and then I gave him a “now-it´s-over-with-you-look”. I coulndn´t believe it: It really worked. He changed the side of the street and even hide in bushes.
30 more minutes I had to walk to the police-station of this little city, which seemed pretty dangerous to me. I slept in a tend behind the police-station. An was glad to leave this place the next day.
The positive things about this day, were the amazing view, and the very friendly people, feeding me with really good food and drinks on the way.
On the way to Imbituba
But after a 7-hour-walk, even the amazing view gets boring. The battery of the MP3-player was low and all songs I know were sung (In 6 languages). I started to count my steps, to count the cars passing by and the birds in the sky. Nothing robs so much energy, than boredom. And finally I decided to sleep half an hour at the side of the highway.
A break on the BR101
I was glad to be relieved when I arrived in Imbituba at the Bombeiros, who gave me fantastic food and a document, telling the other Fire-Brigade-Stations to receive me.
The next day was very stormy. I walked along the beach, which looked very normal at the beginning, but the more I walked the more it turned to a stormy desert. The wind was extremly strong. It would blow away a small dog.
Beach between Imbituba and Laguna
After 3 hours of walk (15 Km nothing but sand and wind) I arrived in a little village. I entered. I was very hungry but I had no money at all in my pocket. And there were also no bars or markets open. Actually it looked like the village, which I passed when I left from Florianopolis: There was nothing and no one. Absolute silence everywhere. I walked through the streets and found an open restaurant. There was an old man sitting outside and smiling. He had very warm eyes. I sat down to rest a bit.
“Traveller?”, he asked, smiling.
“Yes”, I answered and a little chat started. We talked about 15 minutes. I told him a bit about me and he told me a bit about him. It was a nice moment and I even forgot abou my walk.
“I am from Blumenau”, he said “but nowerdays I live here… it´s very quite and peacefull here, isn´t it?”
I nod.
He continued: “I travelled a lot, like you do it now. Now I am making a little break… ” and he kept still for some seconds.
“But soon I am going to travel again…” he looked at me “I am still young. I am 68.” and his smile got lighter. “This is nothing”…
Another silence for a minute. Just the wind and the silent radio-music in the background.
“I would like to invite you for lunch.”, he said.
And the lunch was fantastic. Very delicious. We didn´t talk. We just ate and enjoyed the silence.
And later, when I was ready to continue my walk, with the bagpack on my shoulders, he said:
“Go your way… Go always your own way. And listen only to your inner voice. Never to the other voices. It is necessary! … It is really necessary!” and a little tear appeared in his right eye, followed by another moment of silence. “People are so confused nowerdays… Very confused”.
“I wish you a good way and a good life. It´s still 17 Km through the sand to Laguna. All the best”. And he got into his car, smiled and waved his hand. I waved back and continued my way happy, with a little touch of sadness.
The stormy way to Laguna
Dead Pinguin
I felt like in a desert. The sand was flying into my face and most of the time I had to close my eyes. It was almost sunset and there was still nothing but sand. I got a bit desperated. And in this moment I saw something very strange:
Dog in the middle of nowhere
The dog was sitting there between the dunes and relaxing in the storm. He didn´t move. First I thought, I am seeing something like a Fatamorgana, an illusion. I start getting mad. But when I came closer he looked at me. I sat down and rested a bit. I started talking to the dog, but he didn´t speak English, so I left after 5 minutes, wondering where he comes from and why he´s sitting there. Maybe after 30 minutes I saw Laguna. I arrived at night.
In Laguna I slept at the Bombeiros again. I even had my own room (with my own computer), a good dinner and a warm bed. Nothing to complain about.
Next day: 34 Km to Jaguaruna.
The route was very annoying. The road to Jaguaruna was like that:
Way to Jaguaruna
And it was endless. The people living in the little houses located at this path upset me most at this day:
Me: “Excuse me, how many kilometers are left to Jaguaruna?”
Man: “12″
“Oh, great”, I thought. After one hour walking I asked the same question again. The answer “15″.
After another hour I asked again and the man said “20″ and I asked him, if I am going to the wrong direction. “No, no, you are going correct”, he said. I felt like kicking him and all the other habbitants of this village. I was finished and there were still 20 km to go (if the information of the man was correct… But very probably it wasn´t).
And indeed it wasn`t. 23 more kilometers were missing. When 5 km in front of Jaguaruna, I note that there was a man following me by motorbike slowly and staring at me smiling. He stopped in front of me and started a small talk. I wondered what he actually wanted. I didn`t take long to find out. He was Jehovah’s Witness, started a monolog about the bible for the next 30 minutes and every try to explain him that I was in a hurry failed. Finaly I got rid of him. It was almost sunset when I arrived. I had a meeting with Gustavo from CS at the entrance in Jaguaruna between 5 and 6 pm. I had no idea what time it was but probably it was too late. In addition to that I wasn`t really sure where the official entrance to Jaguaruna was and of course I got lost in the streets. I was about to drop the hope that I gonna meet him. Probably I was too late and I was walking in the middle of no-where anyway. I was about to look for the bombeiros when somebody waved his hand, greeting me. It was Gustavo. “Good timing. it`s 5:30 pm”…
Gustavo and his family welcomed me very friendly. We had very good lunch and I could sleep in a coasy bed. The day was very relaxing and I decided to enjoy the next day in Jaguaruna as well.
I got to know Gustavos friends
In Jaguaruna
and some funny anymals of the house, like the talking parrot.
Parrot
Jaguaruna is located at the beach, which has a lot of dunes.
Sandboarding
And the fantastic day ended with an extraordinary Pizza-dinner in Tubarão, where I ate things like Icecream-pizza and Chickenheart-Pizza.
In Tubarão
When I left the next day, I was enriched with a lot of nice experiences and memories. Thanks a lot, Gustavo!
Me and Gustavo
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2 Responses to “Sun, storms and animals (Florianopolis – Jaguaruna)”
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October 19th, 2009 @ %I:%M %p
Hi Abdrej,
are you still in Floripa?
If you need something, just let us know…
Grüße
Willy
October 29th, 2009 @ %I:%M %p
How many stories! What a life experience!