Due to a cheap flight in the wrong direction versus an expensive bus ride in the right direction, we ended up flying to Florianapolis and completely changing our route for the next 4 weeks.


Florianapolis is the city that connects the large island of Santa Catarina to the mainland of Brazil. This was our last stop in Brazil (for now) before we planned to head down the coast into Uruguay.


The island of Santa Catarina has 42 beaches, and all are apparently worth visiting. We started off in the little non tourist town of Campeche. We checked out the local beach there which was lovely. The next day though we decided to hike to what was allegedly the most beautiful beach on the island - Lagoinha do Leste. This beach was made all the more fascinating because there are no roads to reach it and it is only by hiking a trail that takes you through thick jungle and along the tops of high cliffs that you can get there. As it was a proper hike we asked for a bit of advice from the local hostel owner before we set off. She listed the usual things; stick to the paths, let people know where we are heading, set off with plenty of time to get back, carry a phone, take plenty of water, oh and don't stand on the poisonous snakes... WHAT?


About 10 tourists every year do this trek and accidentally stand on a snake, get bit, get poisoned, die... etc etc.


"But", the lady explained, "the chances are relatively small. Just be careful and maybe wear some trousers".


Oh sure, a pair of trousers always stops a snake biting you. Nevertheless, we carried on and set off on the trek to the beach. It took about three hours to get there and would have been a lot quicker if we weren't carefully inspecting every single branch and tree root that was in our path to ensure that it wasn't a sneaky snake in disguise. The walk itself was great, starting from Armacao on the South East corner of the island. It was mostly through the jungle, but occasionally we would reach a break in the trees that would offer a fantastic view along the cliff tops to sunny beach beyond.


We assumed that the snakes, if any, would be in the jungle area, just like they are in the jungle book, thus we dropped our guard a bit once we reached a clearing that would lead us to our descent to the famous hidden beach. Unfortunately it was in this clearing that we finally encountered a snake. More unfortunate was when Claire stood on it. The snake quickly turned and dug it's fangs right into Claire's leg before wriggling away...


Claire fell to the floor clutching her leg, screaming in pain and turned a deathly white colour. The snakes venom was shutting her body down and it would only be minutes before the poison stopped Claire's respiratory muscles. Fortunately, back on the 4th May 2014 Claire decided to marry a paramedic named David Wheeler. Having been trained by the fine NHS in all emergency matters, David rapidly whipped off his belt (not for that!), tied it around Claire's leg and sucked out the poison directly from her wound. Because that **** works! Claire, you will be happy to know instantly recovered and we continued on with the trek to the beach.


Only joking!


We really did see a deadly snake though, but thankfully it slithered away before it could do us any real damage. We looked it up afterwards and it was the fatally poisonous Coral Snake - Yikes!


Once we got to the beach it was as beautiful as promised. A completely untouched, pristine beach with 2km of squeeky sand that barely even had any footprints across it. We had the beach almost to ourselves, sharing it with just a couple of other backpackers who had made the trek earlier. And a dog. A very annoying dog that liked to steal walking shoes and then run away whilst David chased after him shouting. (We have a video but it takes about a day to upload)


Following the dog fight and some sunbathing we made our way back over a different path towards Pantano do Sol. This was a shorter route than getting there but much steeper. Steeper up and steeper down. So steep on the way down that David managed to fall.


David says his foot got caught when a snake attacked from the side. In the process he had to dive out of the way of an attempted bite by the snake. He then commando rolled into a reflexive prone position with a few cuts to his knees. Better than a deadly snake bite.


Claire says (who witnessed the entire thing) that he slipped on a rock and fell head over heels, like a tit. He skinned both knees like a little child. Only little children tend to cry less.


We also spent a night further North on the island by Lagoa de Conceico. This was a bit busier and a bit more touristy but as it was only one day/night it's hard to give it any justice. We did manage to share our dorm room with a disgusting fat bloke who ****** all night and spent most of the time slobbing in his bed on his laptop no doubt looking at porn. We have been lucky so far in our dorm room experiences but this bloke confirmed that in our next hostel we would be booking a private room.

Things we have learned.
1. When not wishing to view people in bed or be viewed in bed towels can be hung from the bunk above to provide a curtain
2. After walking a hostel's Golden Retriever, we want a Golden Retriever when we return.
3. After chasing a wild dog around a beach for ten minutes, we don't want a wild dog when we return.



Planes used - 11 (+1)
Buses/coaches used - 34 (+5)
Trains used - 24
Metros/subways used - 39
Cars used - 9 (+1)
Minivans - 10
Russian Campervans used -1
Horses used - 1
Camels used - 1
Taxis used - 13
Cable cars used - 1
Bicycles used- 2
Tuk tuks/autorickshaw used - 31
Scooters used - 6
Elephants used - 0
Ferrys used - 4
CycleRickshaw - 1
Bamboo HouseBoat - 1
Tour Boat - 1
Combi Van - 2