Florianopolis–Phil and his buddies–Friday – Sep 15, 2006
From Porto Belo, we make our way in still inclement weather to the famous island of Santa Catarina and its principal city of Florianopolis, called Floripa by the locals. As we have moved south, the economies of the states and towns have grown ever more wealthy, the streets cleaner and less pot-holed. Floripa, and just to the north, Ilhabela, are at the top of this list. Fine homes, shops stocked with expensive consumer items, great restaurants abound. Here there are none of the favelas, or Brazilian ghettos, so common to the north and, as a result, there is little crime. You can walk anywhere at night without, as in the big cities, the near certainty of being robbed.
The three amigos and I, along with Jorges (about whom more in a moment), descend on the island for taxi tours, bars and restaurants, testing the capacity of our livers to cleanse toxins. We eat fine meals at beachfront restaurants and local cafes, take in a few bars, and try not to get into serious trouble. At one lunch, we meet a very nice couple from Sao Paulo, here for the weekend staying at their condo just down the road from the restaurant. Oswald is an engineer whose specialty is the giant boring machines that grind rock to make tunnels for subways. He has worked on projects all over the world, speaks good English, and is a delightful guide to all things local. I invite him to the coming birthday party, now set for Sunday night, September 17, a day before my actual birthday, but who wants to have a party on a Monday night!!
My friend of many years, John Rood, a successful real estate developer in Jacksonville, and most recently the U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas, arrives today from Nassau to join in the fun for a long weekend. It’s great to see him again after a long time, and I’m honored to have him here. Phil