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Florianópolis/Nexussurf.com
Trip
If you haven’t heard of the island of Florianopolis,
Brazil yet, you should look into this place and
get yourself familiar. Locals call the place “Floripa”
(pronounced flor-ree-pah) and those who have been
there know it as “Ilha Magica”, or
“Magic Island”. With high quality
consistent surf year round, great weather, tropical
temps, some of the best beaches in the world,
natural Brazilian beauty everywhere you look,
the best parties, the best food anywhere, and
some of the best looking people in the world,
it’s hard to argue for a better place to
take your next surf trip. Just about 100% of the
people that travel to the Magic Island come back
totally stoked and if you’ve been there
before then you’re probably used to hearing
the same thing from everyone that is on their
way home after the trip…”I’m
bailing SoCal and moving to this place”.
I’ve spent about one year total in Floripa
over the last 5 years. When one of my closest
friends called me from down there 5 years ago
in February and said “It’s overhead
every day and going off here. Just pack some trunks,
flip-flops, shorts and t-shirts and forget your
board. Brand new boards are $150 US here so just
pick one up down here, and get on the plane”.
I gave the typical response of “I can’t
get off of work and where is this place again?”
Two days later he mailed me a ticket and instructions
for me to easily get my Brazil Visa in L.A. I
bailed from work for a week, got on the flight,
and ended up staying an entire month. My work
had to send someone down there to bring me back
home…and then he stayed a week too.
Floripa is a free standing island located just
off the coast of Southern Brazil. It’s connected
by a one mile freeway bridge to the continent.
The easiest way to get there is to book flights
on Varig Airlines (www.varig.com). All US Airlines
fly to Brazil. The most popular Varig route is
LAX to Sao Paulo (GRU) to Floripa (FLN). It takes
11 hours from LA to Sao Paulo and then just a
quick 45 minute flight to Floripa from there.
The flights run about $800 - $1200 US depending
upon when you go and all the planes are totally
comfortable full sized jets. Here are a few travel
tips. Fly midweek to save money and get more open
seats on the plane to stretch out. Also, get a
window seat on the left side of the plane from
Sao Paulo to Floripa. As you’re on approach
and you look out the window, you’ll already
know you chose the right place to go to.
One of the first things I quickly learned on my
first trip there was the gift to all Americans
that is the “currency exchange rate”.
Bars are open all night there so my first night
out we went at it pretty hard at this killer ocean
view indoor/outdoor nightclub called Latitude.
When I woke up the next morning, I had the $35
receipt that covered the ENTIRE tab for 4 people
all night long. Cut your wallet in half down there
because one US dollar gets you 2 to 3 Brazilian
dollars. You get higher quality food, killer entertainment,
the same quality clothing, and more for 50 to
65% off what we pay here at home. You cannot beat
that deal anywhere. You can exchange your US dollars
at the airport when you get there.
The island is deceivingly big but also totally
peaceful. It’s only 20 miles wide by 50
miles long but 350,000 laid back and insanely
good looking people call it their permanent home
Everything in Floripa stimulates your senses and
is visually overwhelming. You’re going to
find yourself pretty hypnotized on a daily basis
by the endless surf, the natural beauty, the clean
beaches, the clean sand, the water color, and
most of all, pretty much all Brazilian women…in
small clothing…everywhere. I mean everywhere.
You don’t need to hit the beach or the clubs
to check out this scenery. Just walk outside of
where you’re staying and take in the show…bus
stops, gas stations, malls, restaurants…they’re
just walking the streets all day long, every day.
It helps that there are 7 girls for every 3 guys
in Floripa. Of those 7 girls, 75% or more of them
are your type. Trust me on this. It’s 100%
guaranteed.
Floripa is a rare and unique combination of modern
sophistication and tropical tranquility. Think
the island of Oahu and replace the reefs with
beach breaks. There’s a large downtown area
like Honolulu with tall buildings, modern apartments,
killer views of water everywhere and big shopping
centers with all the modern stores and movie theatres.
The remainder of the island is spread out just
like Oahu with 42 killer clean beaches with most
all sand bottom breaks, and year round peaky swells
out of the Atlantic. Because it’s an island,
it can be blowing onshore at one spot and then
it’s offshore at another spot just 20 minutes
away. You can surf a different spot, virtually
un-crowded, every day of your trip. Water temps
average 65 to 70 in the winter and 70 to 80 in
summer. I’ve put on the 3/2 only one time
there and it wasn’t even a full. A cold
summer day at Porto is their winter water temp
with some rare isolated exceptions during big
storms. On or close to most breaks on the island
there are little towns nearby where you can stay
in Pousadas (tropical island hotels), rent houses,
or just grab some of the best healthy seafood
and a glass of almost freezing Skol (one of the
best beers in Brazil). Even if you stay in a Pousada
or rent a house in a small town at a break, you’re
never even more than 20 minutes from nightlife.
Restaurants and bars are spread out really well
all over the island so you can get that rare combination
of a killer day at the beach where it’s
pretty secluded and peaceful, you get to have
a normal shower and siesta and then it’s
just a quick ride to go out at night. This is
a rare combo to find when leaving town for waves.
Usually, if you get the surf, you don’t
get the modern conveniences and if you get the
modern conveniences, you usually sacrifice the
surf. In Floripa, you get it all.
In the US, ESPN shows daily highlights of the
NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. In Southern Brazil and
more specifically Floripa, the main sports are
Soccer, Surfing, and UFC and not in that particular
order. The surf gets as much coverage there on
the radio and news as we get here in L.A. when
Kobe drains over 50 against the Heat. In Floripa,
most of the guys rip and rightfully so. They get
to surf year round beach break peaks with many
beaches that have some punch and get consistently
hollow over constantly shifting sandbars due to
quick weather changes. Floripa hosts a ton of
surf competitions each year, including the only
WCT stop in all of South America at the end of
October each year. It’s common to see Slater,
Irons and other tour vets out at the club at night
after a long day of surf during October.
Some popular spots on the island include Praia
Mole, Galheta, Mocambique, Santinho, Brava, and
Joaquina. Size is very similar to SoCal at all
the spots. Praia Mole is home to WCT events and
it’s by far the place to be seen. Like on
many Floripa beaches, there’s a few kickback
bars on the beach to grab some really good food
and drinks and watch all the action. There’s
about 1⁄2 mile of powerful peaks up and
down the beach, endless visuals of Brazilian girls
hanging out all day long, and the most festive
vibe in Floripa when on vacation. It can get crowded
here on weekends but if you hit it during the
week just after the Brazilian summer, you’ve
got a great shot at un-crowded barrels to yourself.
Next to Mole is Galheta. You take a quick 10 minute
hike on a path around a small point just north
and you’ll get super long lefts and rights
that break into the middle of a big bay, totally
un-crowded. Aside from the short hike, you’ve
also got a little of the Blacks element there
in San Diego hanging out in seclusion if you get
my drift. They don’t go in the water so
you’re ok to drop in on 200 yard rides in
safety. Mocambique is a place that has every element
of the perfect surf experience. It’s 2 miles
of white sand beach without buildings or paved
roads, see through water, photo ops everywhere,
and waves so far down the beach that the entire
island can find their own peak if they wanted.
Santinho and Brava are 2 more pristine beach breaks
20 minutes toward the north side of the island,
they can easily hold up to double overhead with
shape and juice, and they are rarely crowded during
the non summer months. Santinho has a killer vacation
resort there and both places have good accommodations,
close to nightlife, and great places to eat. As
always on every beach, there is the Brazilian
scenery. Joaquina is a popular left peak that
bowls and breaks off of rock formations and is
one of the more crowded spots on the island. Locals
prefer this spot. But, like most of Floripa, there’s
always a good thing to every beach. Start walking
south of this peak and you’ve got 2 more
miles of un inhabited beach break with more rights
and lefts. Aside from surf specifically on the
island, there are a dozen other quick surf destinations
on the continent, just a short drive of less than
an hour to all the spots. Each spot has its own
character, nightlife, typical Brazilian scenery,
and good accommodations.
For the rare days that you’re surfed out,
have to entertain the sand you brought to the
beach, or you’re just into culture, there’s
tons of other stuff to do on the island. The city
happens to be an action sports capital and there’s
3 large lagoas (lakes) on the island. You can
rent motorcycles, you can go kite surfing, sand
dune boarding, paragliding, kayaking, wind surfing,
and snorkeling. You can also take a river rafting
trip and there’s horseback riding on the
beach too. For those of you that didn’t
bring the sand to the beach, another great thing
to do is grab a bunch of the Brasilieras (Brazilian
girls) you met the night before at the bar and
rent a boat that takes quick 30 minute trips to
little deserted islands off the coast of the main
island. You can chill on white sand beaches there,
hike to waterfalls, swim in crystal clear water,
or just bring some cervejas (Brazilian beer) and
your IPOD and have your own little festa (party).
Brazilians live for parties, food and music. If
you’ve brought your significant other, take
her on a tour the historical city center, take
a Portuguese lesson or two, and of course, take
her shopping at one of the huge US-like malls
to remind you of home.
I’m fortunate enough to be dialed in when
I’m in Floripa. My girlfriend was born and
raised there, I’ve learned to speak Portuguese,
and it’s another world down there that’s
become my second home away from all the things
many of us don’t like about having to paddle
out at Porto on any given day of slop after watching
any recent surf DVD to get fired up to get wet.
I say toss the DVD’s, check out Floripa,
and get the real thing.
Since most of you probably aren’t fortunate
enough to have had the “in” that I
have to Floripa, there’s a great way for
you to get the total experience that I have from
a short trip down there. There are two US native
SoCal guys that live full time in Floripa and
run a first class, top of the line travel experience
called NEXUS SURF (www.nexussurf.com). Both guys
and their entire Nexus English speaking staff
are super cool locals and surfers, professional
and detail oriented, and basically do everything
they can to make sure you get everything you want
out of the trip to Floripa and you walk away planning
to come back. So far, 100% of their clients have
said they’re coming back.
Nexus has set up a Floripa trip the right way.
Unlike many other surf-travel vacations that promise
“paradise” and give you “survivor”,
this is the real thing. We all know that getting
surf is all timing and luck so if you save your
dough, roll the dice on a “surf adventure”
and you get skunked, it's not very cool if you
took time off work to roll the dice. With Nexus
Surf in Floripa, you’re GOING to get waves,
and there’s nothing “survivor”
about it. Whether you want to stay in a 5 star
modern high rise or a tropical beachfront paradise
with plenty of hammocks, Nexus will set you up.
The Nexus guides take you to all the best spots
that have the best conditions for that day. The
guides will take beginners to the right spots
and for the rest of us “experienced”
guys, Nexus offers daily guided surf trips to
every break on or around the island, including
boat trips to the lesser known and hard to find
breaks only reachable by boat where it’s
never crowded.
Nexus also has connections locally with the organizers
and operators of the WCT, WQS and other local
surf competitions, so any time there’s a
surf event, Nexus clients can be backstage in
the booth or out at the victory after parties.
Finally, Nexus can setup other details for you
that you won’t find on other trips such
as surf photographers to come out in the water
with you and take shots. Nexus also has a deal
to get you new boards at discounts from Tropical
Brasil, Brazil’s version of Channel Islands.
Because Nexus offers a complete vacation package,
they don’t just finish with you after a
long day of surf. Nexus continues to host the
trip at night for you. Every night on the island,
usually one or two different nightly spots go
off year round. Nexus takes you through the night,
all VIP. Transportation, no lines, no cover charges,
reserved tables, introductions to locals and Nexus
guides hang with you during the night.
Aside from taking you to great surf, hosting great
nightlife, and providing great accommodations,
Nexus can get you setup with a few more cool things
including wireless internet, U.S. phone lines,
big screen TV’s, houses with pools, and
more. They can hook you up with rental cars if
you want to be more independent and check things
out on your own, breakfast service delivery in
your house each morning, and local cell phones
to stay in touch with people you meet on the island
and the Nexus staff.
All the info you need can be found at www.nexussurf.com.
They can even help you with finding low cost and
fast itinerary flights to Brazil. If you want
to be more independent and just cruise down to
explore on your own, check out www.floripavacationhomes.com
for really good and reliable accommodation packages
run by one of the same SoCal guys.
MD, www.swellmagnet.com ‘s own surf doctor
gets regular updates on Floripa from me so talk
to him about the experience as he’s on his
way down there with Nexus for his next trip out
of Porto. You simply will not have a bad time
on a Nexus trip to Floripa. Bring your digital
camera and the biggest memory card you can find.
You’re going to blow up the memory on that
thing from the minute you look out the window
on the left side of the plane as you’re
on approach to FLN airport. And if you end up
bringing a Brazilian girlfriend back to the US
with you, I’m gonna say I told you so.
Boas Ondas!
(Good Surf)
Article by Michael Roth pictures courtesey of
nexussurf.com
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