É a Ilha da Magia, não é a Ilha do Amor…
Florianópolis — better known as “Floripa” — is the most developed summer tourist destination in Brazil. Uncoincidentally, it is full of digital nomads and English-speakers. Imagine the south zone of Rio on an island without favelas (Floripa does have small favelas, but they don’t compare). Every part of the city has access to a local beach, and every part of the city caters to tourists.
Pretty awesome, right?
I left Pipa on Sunday, 5 December on an evening flight that would traverse over 2000 miles and 21 degrees south along Brazil’s enormous coastline. I was sad to be leaving a place I could call home with new friends and a lifestyle I dream of, but I had already decided that Pipa would be the place I would spend my last days of vacation whereas Floripa would be where I’d get work done for the 2 weeks before Christmas.
The first hostel both impressed and left me with something to desire. Selina Floripa is a compound, almost like a stylized senior living facility for digital nomads. The breakfast was superb and included in my R$ 125 nightly rate ($25 USD), but this was a dramatic increase in price from when I stayed at Selina Copacabana for R$ 75 per night to economize during a bachelor party, and 3.5 times more than “Casa de Jack” in Pipa for R$ 35 per night. At the compound in Floripa, there’s a combined brewery and skatepark, a full-service Billabong surf shop, a co-working space (R$25 per day extra for guests), a giant pool, a kitchen with seating for 40 people and an aconchegante (cozy) reading room. Here’s the problem, I paid double the usual price of a hostel in Brazil for a bed in a shelf in a room shared by 10 people, a limited social atmosphere and the worst showers I’d ever encountered. It may sound like I’m complaining, but just wait until I describe the next accommodation.
The pluses? For a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday resuming work after a 3 week vacation, it was perfect. And I was able to walk to the cheapest surf shop on the island (Swell - Casa de Surf), buy a performance board for R$250 ($50 USD) and see the waves at Praia Mole from my shared desk.
One particularly interesting thing about surfing at Praia Mole is the way the waves break. In order to paddle out, you first plop down into the water where the sand drops 2 feet at the shoreline (I went at high tide), wade out for almost 100 meters through the backwash zone — where the drop-off creates waves that bounce back into the whitewash — and then, 30 meters further out, the waves break cleanly. When I bought my board, the swell had built up to 5 feet and I gave Praia Mole a try. With 19°C (66°F) water temps and a setting sun, I used a wetsuit shirt to stay out without getting shivers. And the waves were clean. Just myself and 3 other surfers had decided to paddle out after work, but I was instantly humbled by a 40-year-old-looking guy landing an aerial (getting the board airborne over the breaking part of the wave) on the first wave I was in position for. Not only that, he paddled back to catch the last wave of the same set and try it again. Naturally, I fell trying to catch my first wave in between the aerialist’s two, but I was happy with one really good wave before sunset. The wave was like a stretched out canvas as I cruised on my new board down the line, and I kept riding it into the backwash zone. The whitewash collided with backwash giving me a chance for an aerial of my own… ka-boom! Stu overboard.
Floripa really is the surf capital of Brazil. There are over 100 beaches in the municipality, 42 with names, and each one that faces the open ocean has been surfed. So let’s skip ahead to the next beach: Barra da Lagoa.
Situated just 3 kilometers north of Praia Mole is the quaint, tourist village of Barra da Lagoa. If anywhere in Floripa resembles Pipa, in terms of natural beauty, friendly locals or magical energy — it’s Barra da Lagoa in the summertime. Everything in Floripa is at least double the price from the Nordeste due to the elevated standard of living. Of all state capitals in Brazil, it has the highest income per inhabitant. But I managed to find the deals: my used surfboard and R$ 15 marmita (a complete meal of rice, beans, spaghetti, cooked veggies, salad and protein of your choice piled on a plate or taken to-go).
Barra da Lagoa faces directly North, with a curvature that leads into Praia Moçambique. The predominant South swells wrap around Morro da Galheta, losing power, but generating nicely sculpted waves for beginners and longboarders. I first visited Barra da Lagoa to chase waves that were forecasted to be the best on the island due to a strong wind from the South. It wasn’t nearly as exhilarating as Mole, but I enjoyed the fact I could wrap up my board in a towel, ride the bus 5 minutes and then arrive at a white sand beach with surf. What’s more? I was able to leave the board at the next hostel, which was conveniently located in front of the beach. I would check-in the next day and was already getting excited.
To arrive back at Selina Floripa, I decided to take a trail that accesses one of the best viewpoints on the island — Mirante da Boa Vista.
Taking the trail all the way back to Praia Mole took about an hour, which was perfect because I arrived as the sun had finished setting. This was a great way to start getting accustomed to the island’s magic.
Wednesday came, I packed up my bags, checked out after an enormous breakfast and stayed at the co-working for the day. Then I grabbed the bus, and boom, I was welcomed into what can be considered the best hostel in the world: The Search House.
Calling the Search House a hostel is like calling the White House a house. There are simply many more functions of the place. For example, the Search House has a covered skate ramp which doubles as a main stage for some seriously big names in music . There are surf lessons, boat trips, yoga, spontaneous games of altinha and futmesa, plentiful spaces for co-working, a poolside bar, incredible food and capacity for around 50 guests who share the vibe.
So, let me talk about the friends I made there — to whom I’d like to dedicate this post. First, were Wyll and André. Later, Patrick, Vitor, Vanessa, Tiliê, Clara, Tati, Stav, Maíra, Pedro and so many more.
I had reserved a mixed dormitory, which has 6 bunk beds, but feels surprisingly roomy. When I arrived in the room I met Wyll, who was just chilling in a nearby bunk, but had a great outgoing energy. We chatted and he welcomed me jovially, in a way that put me at ease. When I finished dropping off my stuff, I headed downstairs to the common area and saw a few people talking around a ping pong table but no one playing. So, naturally, I invited one of them to a round — this was André. He had a unique and sweet-sounding sotaque (regional dialect of Portuguese) and told me he was from Belo Horizonte. An instant friendship was created since I told him I just had a best friend get married there, he spoke some English and he was impressed with my Portuguese. We also look alike with our glasses and were a good match in ping-pong.
With the sun setting and waves still surfable, I decided to head out after the game and suggested to André vamos combinar (let’s combine) for the parties later. I was getting into a rhythm with the Search House.
The sunset surf session reminded me of so many good times I had in Tofino, British Columbia due to the natural surroundings of Barra da Lagoa, long stretches of beach and similar summer temperatures. I was just missing some buddies in the water to get psyched with. It turns out that most of the travelers at the Search House are more interested in partying, which was fine by me. I was getting very accustomed to nonstop partying after 3 and a half weeks of traveling in Brazil.
One of the longer-term residents at the time, also a digital nomad from the U.S., was Patrick. He is Brazilian-American and we got along well being some of the few bilingual guests at the Search House. On my second day, we got introduced and then on separate whims ended up at the same spot after work, at Dunas da Joaquina. Probably my favorite spot I went on the island, the dunes were where I felt most alive, looking over a 30-kilometer expanse of sand, an equally long coastline and being fully exposed to the sun and wind. I borrowed Patrick’s sandboard and went for a few exhilarating rides. These were priceless moments.
The next day I took my lunch break on the beach. With a full hostel, there was a group assembled taking in the sun and some even playing altinha. I joined in, knowing André and Wyll already, the third member was Vitor — another gente boa pra caralho (awesome person, if you pronounce it right). Fast friends emerged like that, people you vibe with, spend a few moments to juggle a soccer ball with, converse with. I think everyone who has been to the Search House would agree, it’s just so well designed to be a social experience in a beautiful part of Brazil.
And then comes 7 more friends to introduce. Vanessa, Tiliê and Clara — three lawyers who could not be kinder human beings. Stav, the freest spirit I’ve ever met who had come from Itacaré — one of my dream surf destinations in Brazil. Tati, a pure energy on all occasions who outlasted me at the Search House. Maíra, another bilingual friend from Belo Horizonte who had been doing an estágio (co-op program) in Floripa before she took a vacation and surprised us all as the life of the party. And, of all the folks I still interact with, Pedro — um cara diferente (a funny, creative dude) — who shared my passion for skateboarding and, later, surfing and hilarious Instagram accounts, like @pablo.rochat. These 7 and the 4 before ensured that my second week on the “Island of Magic” was even more filled with good energy and after-work activities. Just to give a sense of how much I enjoyed myself, I finally applied for a CPF (Brazil’s social security number, needed for all sorts of purchases and services) and turned one-step closer to becoming Brazilian.
Florianópolis, as it turned out, was full of magic. It wasn’t the place to fall in love — like Pipa, but it was a mecca for spirituality, “yo pro” nightlife and surf with endless passeios (excursions) on offer.
My first medium post about my journey to falling in love with Brazil was missing this transformative, solo-travel experience that put an exclamation point on my first trip. I left Canada feeling isolated, after a drawn-out break-up and the re-opening of the country’s borders, and I completely changed in the matter of 38 days.
What’s even better? My monthly expenses while travelling and eating out in Brazil were on par with what I was paying to share an apartment and live in Vancouver. Airfare included, thanks to skiplagged.com.
The takeaway I want to leave others from my time in Floripa is this: if you feel stuck and can work remotely, just book that trip you’ve been thinking about. You’ve probably earned a stay-cation somewhere else if you been continuing to work remotely after the pandemic. The research of where to stay once you’ve got flights is the fun part. Otherwise, if you can take a two-week vacation in November/December, go visit Brazil and get to a fun hostel by the beach. It’s cheaper than two-weeks of therapy or any organized retreat, and you might just come away with a dozen new friends.
More to come soon on my second trip to Brazil. Thanks for reading!
