Brazilian Road Trip: Iguazu Falls, Curitiba, Morretes & Honey Island

During our summer vacation (December - February in this hemisphere), we took our first Brazilian road trip. My parents, who have visited us everywhere we've ever lived -- good and not-as-good, far away and even farther -- made their way from Idaho to join us on the road in between touring around lovely Florianopolis. 

We traveled for almost two weeks, first heading to Iguazu Falls (second only to Victoria Falls in southern Africa), then to the largest southern Brazilian city called Curitiba, and finally to the car-less and completely tranquil Honey Island.

Highlights!:

Picking up Nana and Gramps at the
Florianopolis airport. Let the fun begin!

In total, we logged more than 1,000 miles on the road (some of them dirt), more than
20 hours driving, and countless loading and unloading of the Subaru.

First Stop: Iguazu Falls

Impressive, to say the least, beating out Niagara Falls in volume and wow-factor. There are 275 drops, with the largest in height being 269 feet. 

The waterfalls of the Iguazu River are on the Brazilian-Argentinian border, so each country gets a portion (think Canada and the U.S. splitting Niagara). We visited both sides, and on the Brazilian side, we stayed at the only hotel inside the national park, giving us before- and after-hours access to the trails. And it had a pool (it was incredibly hot). Another highlight was the boat ride we took on the Brazilian side through the base of some of the falls. 

What a view.

And another.

And another.
(There's the constant sound
of rushing water and NO public bathrooms.)

Eri spent most of the vacation like this.

Paradise, with a really good food.

Second Stop: Curitiba

Curitiba is the capital of the Brazilian state of Parana, north of where we are in the state of Santa Catarina. It's the most populous city in the South and a nice big city to visit. We toured around, stopping at the Botanic Gardens, Oscar Niemeyer Museum, Opera House, etc. We took a day tip to the small, historic and cute city of Morretes by train. 

Botanic Gardens.

Famous Brazilian art (inside).

Nana, Gramps and the City.

Did I mention the heat?

Downtown.

On the train. Morretes or bust.

The Serra Verde Express, or as Eri called it, Thomas.

Adorable Morretes.

Surprisingly, this is not Geoff.

Third Stop: Honey Island

This little island is just off the coast of the state of Parana. Ferries shuttle visitors to and from the island, where there is no traffic or McDonald's, but just complete relaxation. We stayed in little beach cabanas, just steps from the ocean, and spent the days hiking around, playing in the sand and swimming. 

Life is good ...

Our First Carnaval

The famous Carnaval is an annual celebration, held throughout Brazil the weekend before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent (the 40-day period before Easter). So, it's pretty much a religious party.

The biggest cities organize huge parades, led by samba schools, at public arenas called Sambodromes. They are open to the public, but you have to buy tickets to enter. Neighborhoods and smaller cities host smaller parties called Blocos, where it's basically a free-for-all. 

Disappointingly, this year's big Sambodrome event in Florianopolis was canceled due to lack of funding (read: corruption), but there were tons of street parties daily along with dedicated events just for kids. 

We ended up at the "Bloco dos Sujos" event, where it is tradition for the men to dress like women, and the women to dress like women. So, Geoff stretched out one of my dresses and, along with my parents who were in town visiting, we experienced our first Brazilian Carnaval:

Lots of live music, dancing, food booths and drinking.
This particular party started in the afternoon and
went on well into the night.

Translation: "If you want a kiss from the fat fairy, laugh!"

We don't know these people, but everyone is friends at Carnaval.

Normally a fan, Eri didn't like this particular Minnie.

My mom. Definitely the most attractive lady of the bunch.

Eri and Gramps taking in the craziness from the vantage point of the ice truck.

Street dancing.

More street dancing.

Uh oh. Girls needing their hair held by their BFF is universal...

... as is a lot of drinking-related behavior.

Kids' Carnaval. (Thanks for the par-tay dress, Cousin Macyn!)

Making a mask.
In Brazil, there is no such thing as too
much bedazzling, and that's why we love it here.

Whoa, somethin's cookin'

He will be done around Sept. 6!

Eri's 3rd Birthday

Eri recently celebrated her third birthday with a rainbow-themed party with a dozen or so friends and guests of honor from the states, Nana and Grandpa, which was by far Eri's favorite part of the festivities. 

As far as we can tell, children's birthday parties here differ in two ways: they are a really, really big deal (think My Super Sweet 16) with activity and/or entertainment rentals for the kids and catered food and beer for the adults, and they are long in duration, usually starting shortly after lunch and ending at the dinner hour (likely because guests have no problem rolling in a couple hours late, which to them is not late or rude.)

Below are also a few pix from Eri's second birthday, where we are all noticeably more pale, that I meant to send to my aunts last year, but forgot. So, disclaimer: this post may not be of much interest to non-blood, non-female relatives.

Eri Steeves: 3 years old in Florianopolis, Brazil!

Eri's ladybug birthday last year at Nana and Grandpa's house in Eagle, Idaho. 

New Year's in Brazil

New Year's Eve in Brazil is full up, with lots of unique traditions. No ball dropping at midnight, no crazy party hats and confetti, no throwing up. Here, everyone dresses in white. (Unless you wear some other color, each of which represents your hopes for new year, e.g., love, luck, wealth, the list goes on and on. We stuck with white.) Another tradition is to head to the beach and jump over seven waves. And to eat lentils as the clock strikes 12 (so no kissing). Brazilians also say you should eat pork and then chicken, because the former scratch back and the latter scratch forward, symbolizing out with the old and in the new. Or something along those lines. Florianopolis has a fireworks display  -- the largest we've ever seen -- over the ocean just around the corner from our apartment that attracts thousands of people, including us!

Us with Seher, Drew and Cody Judkins. We look like locals, right?

Hi five. 

No lentils. 

Tailgating before the big show. 

Wave jumping. Looks like that was only six times, though.