JUSTIN YOUNG

We were having drinks at a little bar in Guarda do Embau (map), when we saw lightning out over the ocean. The storm intensified and the lightning was lighting up the sky about every 20 seconds. I was able to snap these 6 photos with a hand held after about 100 tries.

Jan 25 was a brutal travel day, the kind you might expect when traveling overseas during Christmas in a snow storm. What we thought was going to be an easy flight with one connection from Salvador to Florianopolis (wiki), turned into a turbulent 4 city tour tour that lasted over 15 hours. We were diverted from Rio to Victoria because of bad weather and sat on a runway there until heading back to Rio. Our original flight had left so they put us on another carrier whose flight was delayed by 2 hours. We stopped in another city then finally landed in Florianopolis at 2 am. Wow! Someone told me before we left that when you ask how long it will take to drive somewhere, it’s common for Brazilians to say “it takes 6-12 hours to get there.” I didn’t think that would apply to air travel.

We finally arrived at the Hotel São Sebastião in Campeche (map) at 3am. The place is a little private oasis with two story brick cottages scattered about the property. It’s a short walk from the beach and our travel woes were long forgotten when we woke up to a perfect sunny day.

We walked down the beach a ways and saw a lady selling boat rides out to the lush little island about a half mile offshore. We gave her $R30 each and they packed our stuff up in a plastic bag and shuttled us out in zodiac style rubber boats. The island is called Ihla do Campeche (map), and when we arrived, they told us that it was an ecological preserve and we had to have a guide take us on hikes if we wanted to go. They also told us not to feed the little children that lived in the woods. When the guy finished his welcome spiel, Bella made sure we got the translation right and what he actually said was do not feed the little animals that live in the woods. No one on the island obeyed this order. As you can see, these little animals are very cute and they want your food!

These little Brazilian aardvarks are called Quati (wiki) and they are part of the raccoon family Procyonidae. We were contemplating taking one home because they seemed so friendly, but the waiter at the beach bar said they will bite on occasion, and that most dogs are no match for them. They also have rabies, and fairly large, razor sharp teeth. No one seem to care about this fact though, they kept eating out of peoples hands. Many of them were taking food back into this little opening in the forest, this went on for a couple hours until they all disappeared for a while. I kept picturing 20 Quati sitting at long table in the jungle, with a huge pile of food having thanksgiving. Meanwhile we were having our own feast, we ordered a huge anchovy cooked right there on the beach!

We spent all day at this picture perfect beach and at 4:30 they came to pick us up and shuttle us back to the main island. Here’s the post card…