Florianopolis is a beautiful beachside town in Santa Catarina, Brazil. There are gorgeous colorful mansions along the water in all hues of the rainbow. The people have an easy smile and a laid back attitude. Surfer-types wander the streets and tourist shops full of shiny trinkets, gems and amethyst necklaces line the streets. The ocean is a beautiful azure blue and the sea gulls are as friendly as you'll find them anywhere.
Of course, not everyone in Brazil lives in one of those colorful mansions. Outside the back window of the hotel, I had a glimpse of the middle class housing, stacked onto hilsides, tight as herd of cows. Some were new with fresh gleaming coats of paint and tidy, unmarred roofs. Others, as you can see in the lower part of the picture, showed old, weather worn stucco and tin ceilings. There were no yards. I've also glimpsed the edges of the favelas or slums where people build bonfires in the middle of the street to keep warm and the houses are tin and cardboard.
Coming from our neat, planned American communities, there is a whole different air to these places. These people are not rich nor fancy by any means. Still, they smile at those crazy Americans in a friendly and almost shy, childish sort of way; in a way that we used to smile when we were kids looking at a stranger before strangers became taboo in America. I can't help but think that they seem happier than the average Yuppie in the our great States of America and that perhaps they have found something in routine and simplicity that we have lost in our immaculate houses full of curios and nick-knacks and our rushed, high pressure jobs. Could it be that we lost something?
1 comment:
Hey Gabi. I live in San Diego but loved Floripa. It's a gorgeous wonderful place with the kindest people.
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