Campeche, Brazil

After five weeks of intense traveling through six countries and predominately cooler weather Campeche, Brazil brought us some much needed relaxation under warm blue skies. Situated on the east coast of Ilha de Santa Catarina and near the vibrant coastal city of Florianopolis, Brazil, the town of Campeche is part of a larger resort area that covers the entire island. It is also one of the premier surfing destinations in South America and ranked as one of the best places to live in the country. Thanks to booking.com and traveling during low-season we scored a private apartment-style room complete with two rooms and two balconies at a ridiculously low rate and took the time there to recharge our weary bodies while enjoying the nearby beach and resort amenities.

The resort was quite beautiful with countless tropical plants, gardens and outdoor pool. There were banana and lime trees bearing fruit and much to our delight a family of 12 or so very tiny monkeys living in a nearby tree. We spotted them from our balcony and rushed down to greet their curious smiling faces. They appeared to be aware of our presence but not intimidated by us so we watched from a distance as they playfully chased one another across the interconnected tree branches and trunks. It was great!

On our first day we put on some summer clothing (finally) and headed down to the beach. The beach stretched for kilometres in both directions with soft white wind-blown sand. There were sand dunes protecting the shoreline and offshore was the smaller island of Ilha do Campeche. The water was cold but still being enjoyed by three kite surfers who were regaling in the large waves and strong winds. We strolled for a good kilometre watching the kite surfers and basking in the warm sun. We did not venture deep into the water to go swimming or try surfing because of the cold water and strong waves but nonetheless enjoyed our first taste of “summer.”

Our second day in Campeche was very relaxing as we caught up on sleep, blog and journal entries, laundry and Olympic TV coverage. We tried a Brazilian lunch buffet, sampled some Brazilian Skol beer, and played a few games of foosball and gin rummy with each of us excelling in one of the disciplines (Carolyn with rummy; Tom with foosball).

On our final day in the area we toured downtown Florianopolis and stumbled across a great little park where there was a Capoeira demonstration taking place. It was awesome to watch the group of twenty or so participants take turns battling one another in mixed martial arts all the while to the sounds of beating drums and chanting singers. There were high leg kicks, handstands and flips but never any contact between the fighters. It was like a simulated fight mixed with a dance and we loved every minute of it. When it unfortunately ended we headed back to the main bus terminal where we waited for the bus to our next destination: one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the South America – Iguaçu Falls.