Not for publication or wider distribution!
Before we could say 'tango' - John found himself set upon by two 'ladies of the street' in La Boca - who then charged him 20 pesos for the privilege!

What can a man do but smile and think of England!

La Boca
This is a unique, colourful and unforgettable place. It is a portside neighborhood in the south side of Buenos Aires, which was originally populated by immigrant Italians from Genoa. It is one of the Buenos Aires birthplaces of tangos and its streets are lined with brothels, cafes and tango dancers.

The buildings are cladded with corrugated iron sheeting painted in bright colours. The story goes that when the immigrant population wanted to brighten up their poor housing, they stole pots of paint from the dockside. When they ran out of one colour they went and stole a different colour. Hence the mulitcoloured facades.

There are also curious large colourful statues of figures outside many of the buildings (see photos in Gallery).

La Boca is situated on one of the most polluted rivers in the world - the Riachuelo River - which has been described as being a slow discharge of black slime. The Argentinians joke that a jar of water from the Riachuelo is a good present for a difficult mother in law!

Buenos Aires Bairros
'Bairros' is a portuguese word for districts. (I had to look up the English translation in the dictionary and now find myself, more and more, not being able to remember all the words I need in English!)

We managed to visit almost all the most most significant 'bairros' - so I have decided to write a 'postcard' about each 'bairro' for this blog and post photos as I go on the website. I will also try and add information about Buenos Aires to the website.

Buenos Aires is split into north and south 'bairros', with the north 'bairros' being for the rich and the south 'bairros' being where the poorer people live.

Of course the language in Argentina is Spanish. Evidently the Spanish word for district is 'barrios' which is very similar to the Portuguese word. We just about managed with our Portuguese and English, picked up a bit of Spanish and returned to Brazil saying 'gracias' instead of 'obrigada' and finding it a little difficult to readjust!

Anyhow - La Boca was the first district that we visited so that is where my first blog postcard will come from. See next blog.

Porto Alegre
On our return from Buenos Aires we stopped off in Porto Alegre to attend the launch ceremony of a book to which John has contributed a chapter. The title of the book is 'Pensamento Sistemico' - systems thinking.

We were only in Porto Alegre for one night but it was another rich experience - not least because it is the first time I have sat down for a meal in a restaurant at 11.30 at night! More of this in later 'postcards'.

Buenos Aires
A fabulous place. Having just got back it is difficult to know how to capture this experience in print - or even in photos (I have 100 of these!). I think the best way will be to write a series of 'postcards' over the next few days.

It is not possible to think of Buenos Aires without thinking of 'Tango'! It is everwhere. This is a photo taken on our first day. Tourists can tango with dancers in the street if they wish - or at least have their photo taken with a tango dancer. Here is an example.

Cooler weather

We have had a weekend of rain and cooler weather - still not as cold as England though. But the problem here is that the apartments are designed solely for the hot weather - so the verandas are shaded, which means that very little if any sunlight reaches the main rooms of the apartment and the floors are tiled and cold to touch.

We are lucky as the bedrooms, one of which we have converted into a study, both have air conditioning which also serves as heating. The main sitting area has no heating and not having, as yet, bought an electric fire or equivalent, we have resorted to lighting the gas oven and leaving the door open. I remember doing this 30 years ago!

You wouldn't believe this was necessary in Brazil, would you!

Catarinense perceptions of Britain

In today's local Sunday paper - Diario Catarinense - a headline reads

Sexo e politica, a paixao britanica (sex and politics, the British passion).

The article then goes on to relate all the scandals associated with the current government and the last, but principally those in respect of John Prescott and John Major.

The only other news relating to Great Britain in the paper is an account of the gaff made by the BBC in the live interview of Guy Goma.

So it is not only me in Florianopolis who presents a one-sided view!

Brazilian Music and Chico Buarque

It has occurred to us the we have not heard as much Brazilian music as we would have expected - but last night in a bar we heard a singer that we recognised - Chico Buarque. The waiter was surprised that we recognised him correctly.

Singer and composer of popular music, he is probably one of the best known musicians in the country. We used to enjoy listening to his music (Brazilian jazz) because the lyrics of his songs provide powerful and penetrating insights into the social, economic and cultural reality of Brazil. We have quite a lot of his music at home (Burton).

Remembering him has prompted me to change the front page of my website to include the first 6 lines of one of his songs, describing a beautiful island. He may not have written this with Florianopolis in mind, but it fits my perceptions of Florianopolis.

Website comments

It has been great to receive feedback and comments on my website from friends and family. Each time I receive a comment it sets me thinking and prompts me to re-evaluate what I am doing and why.

I am increasingly conscious of the very one-sided picture I am painting of Florianopolis, so I have added a section on Society to the website. I have also added a section on Cuture and a bit more about the city in the Location section.

The more I add to the website, the more I feel overwhelmed by the size and diversity of Brazil, it's culture and people. So I can only paint a very small and personal picture of life in Florianopolis.

I will try and add to the website as time goes on but I do find this very time consuming and believe it or not - I am actually working here as well!

Friends from the past

On a trip to the city centre this week, I was amazed to bump into three friends from the past, not together but separately and each one of them recognised me! The chance of meeting old friends in such a large city and them recognising me, must be very small! The Brazilian friend I was with was as amazed as I was!

Florianopolis Market

This is a real treat. Housed in an old colonial building it sells anything and everything and is a hive of activity. The atmosphere is fantastic. I have added a bit to the website about the market and I know I will be making many visits.

Driving and Parking in the City

I am just about getting used to the crazy driving in the city centre now and am finding my way about more easily. A wide and very fast highway circles the edge of the city on the coast. If possible, I try and avoid this at peak times. As yet I haven't plucked up enough courage to stop on this coast road to take photos of Beira Mar Norte, which would really show what the city is like. This photo was taken from an overpass. What I have to keep reminding myself is that Florianopolis is a very large city in comparison to Lancaster and its surrounding areas.

We have discovered that there is no provision for disabled parking in the city centre.

Surfers

It was interesting to watch the surfers on Praia Mole. Clearly it can be dangerous and so they take their warm up time very seriously, doing lots of exercises on the beach before entering the water.

Most interesting to watch were those doing Yoga and Capoeira. This prompted me to add something about Capoeira to the website (in the Culture section).

Praia Mole

I managed a long walk along Praia Mole and Praia Galheta this week, which was a real trip down memory lane. We have photos at home (Burton) of us with the children under the age of 5, all walking on Praia Mole. It was really strange to climb on the rocks and know that I had climbed on exactly the same rocks 30 years ago.

Praia Mole is so called because the sand (even when wet) is so soft that its difficult to walk on. Like walking through treacle. Praia Galheta, on the other hand, which is the adjoining beach, reached by a small rocky path, has a hard sandy beach. There must be a geological explanation for this, but I don't know what it is.

These beaches on the Atlantic coast are very popular with surfers. Florianopolis is a well-known surfing centre and an international championship is held annually on Joaquina beach.

Praia Mole is a photographer's dream, so I will post a few photos in the gallery.

Cooking class

We finally made it to the cooking class. It was cancelled the week before last and put back to this week. It was fun - but also interesting to talk to the girl who took the class. An interesting woman. At the age of 17 she went and lived in Kent for 6 months on her own to learn English. Quite something! Then returned here to do a psychology degree and then this January opened a restaurant with her husband in Jurere. She works about 16 hours every day of the week and we think her restaurant really has potential to develop. It is already very popular. How she has time to give cooking classes in the evening as well I don't know.

We made quiche which was interesting because the recipe for the pastry was so different and also empadao. These are very popular here - small meat pies (in our case chicken) with a very short pastry.

John is very proud of his certificate and insisted that I take a photo of it! I will also post some more photos in the gallery.

Blogging

My friend Nigel has suggested that blogging may be just an excuse to hear the sound of your own voice - in which case this is all a bit of an ego-trip. This thought is a bit disconcerting. I'm not sure exactly what I am getting out of this (never mind anyone else) - but I am enjoying it.

Together with the website, blogging feels like a creative process. In my last year at St. Martin's College I felt as though my potential to be creative was being completely stifled - so it's great to have this opportunity to explore new ideas and ways of working.

It may be a while before I can articulate exactly what I have learned from all this.

Sunday lunch

This is such a treat here - as is Saturday lunch and any other lunch you care to mention!

This weekend we have discovered a fabulous beach bar at Praia do Forte. Really good food and wonderful atmosphere. The menu is all fish and sea food, so it's a bit tough if you don't like it or are vegetarian. Oysters and mussels are also very cheap.

Buying petrol

Serve yourself doesn't exist here in Florianopolis. Your tank is filled for you, your oil and water are checked and your windscreen is washed. This is all done with very friendly service and probably a bit of 'bate-papo' as well - i.e. chat.

Today, buying petrol included a chat with two young men who wanted to talk to me about the good money you can earn in England, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand. Evidently they have three friends who left this beautiful place to go and earn their fortunes abroad and seem to be doing just that. They said that their friends were able to send money home to their relatives and would never return to Brazil. I found this sad. There is still a big gap between the 'haves' and 'have-nots' here in Brazil.

Sitios

Despite the fact that Florianopolis is dominated by beaches and beach life, there is an interior to the island which is very rural. This is very beautiful in a completely different sort of way.

Some Brazilians, rather than buy a beach house, have instead moved into the interior and bought land on which to establish small farms (sitios) - although this is not common. We saw a sitio with ostriches today!

Of course, there are local people who have always lived in the interior and worked the land. I have not experienced life in the interior, but I should imagine that in the summer it is unbearably hot and that all the year round it is mosquito ridden. I only have to go for a short walk in the interior and even at this time of year I get bitten to death.

Fishing

It is very evident that the tainha season has started. I have mentioned this before. Tainha is grey mullet, which the Brazilians like to bar-b-que and it is delicious. There seem to be fishermen and fishing nets everywhere at the moment. Tainha is being sold on the roadside (12 reais for 3 kilos - about 50p per pound - if my maths is right). I do wonder how it stays fresh since it is not kept on ice. Fishermen are out at 'lusco - fusco' (isn't that a great word - it means 'dusk' ) and 'madrugada' (dawn). They fish in teams and boats with large circular nets, or individually from the shore with a rod and line. The culmination of all this is 'Festa da Tainha' - a festival which takes place in June to celebrate the catches.

Rodrigo de Haro

It was interesting to come across this name again after so many years. Rodrigo de Haro is a famous Florianopolis artist, who is well know for his mosaic murals, which are spectacular. For the uninitiated, a lot of Brazilian art takes some getting used to. A lot of it is naive and for me, the most interesting art is that which doesn't try to imitate art of the 'West', but is rooted in Brazilian culture. Rodrigo de Haro is such an artist. His work is lively and animated, full of stories and poetry and rich in colour. He has done a wonderful mural for the University on the outside wall of the Reitoria (University House), which is so long that my camera could not take one photo of it all - so I took a series of close up photos, some of which I have posted in the gallery.

Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina

The weekend is a good time to go anywhere in the city and that includes the university. John gives lectures there each week, but during the week it is too busy to be able to wander round. On Saturday, we had a chance to look round the campus, while it was quiet and I have took some photos which I have posted in the gallery.

Wheelchair Tennis

By chance, we stopped to talk to a man fishing on the beach and he turned out to be responsible for sport for the disabled at the University and invited John to play wheelchair tennis on Saturday morning - so we went.

The actual gymnasiums were very spartan and in need of a coat of paint, but they were very well kitted out with special sports wheel chairs and plenty of tennis rackets and balls. In the next gym, there were a group of blind people playing a type of football with a ball with a bell inside it, so that they could track it by sound.

There were three other men playing tennis, and a coach, who was really helpful. It was free and everyone was very friendly. Given that access for wheelchairs is not, on the whole, good here, the arrangements for wheelchair sports was impressive. They also have wheelchair basket ball.

Objectivity

Just to note that everything written in this blog is definitely from a personal perspective. Someone else visiting Florianopolis would see different things and have different reactions.

Blackpool in Florianopolis

There is an equivalent to Blackpool or Morecambe in Florianopolis and that is Canasvieiras. It doesn't have all the amusement parks - but it is definitely seedy. The interesting thing is that it was possible to predict this 30 years ago. The beach was then ripe for development, as it has miles of white sand and the sea is calm - ideal for families. Unfortunately, nothing has been done to control development and keep the beauty of the place. I just couldn't bring myself to take a photo of it and we won't be going there again!

The Light

There is something very special about the light here in Florianopolis. It doesn't seem to matter what time of day it is, or what kind of day it is - it never seems 'grey' like it does in England.

This is the evening sky, just before rain, on Jurere beach.

Lagao da Conceicao

The centre of Lagao has really been spoiled with over-development - but the path to Costa da Lagoa is as magical as ever.

30 years ago there were virtually no houses along this path apart from the odd fisherman's house, but now there are many. But even so - because they have not managed to push a road through - the houses along here are simple and on the whole in keeping with their surroundings. Only people who really like the wild choose to live out here. And you really have to be immune to mosquitos and worse!

It is still a fantastic walk. Wonderful vegetation, views of Lagoa, butterflies, birds etc. (See Photo Gallery)

Florianopolis City Centre

Sunday seemed a good day to go the the centre. No traffic. Driving in the centre is seriously scary! We were there a bit too early (11.00 am) and nothing was open - but it did give us a chance to see some parts more easily.

It still has a magic about it. It's quite unlike any other place I have been to. BUT...

It is definitely looking jaded. I think they must have spent all their money doing up the beaches and not thought about maintaining the beautiful old colonial buildings. Such a pity.

Will definitely go again on a Sunday and explore a bit more.

Safety at Work

This doesn't seem to be of much importance. I have seen a man lower himself over the side of a block of flats on a rope to paint the outside of the building. No hard hat and flip flops! Here is a picture (taken on Sunday - so no workmen) of the walkways between the construction of two blocks of flats being worked on at the same time. I have seen the workmen walking across these. Again no hard hats or any sort of safety procedures.

What is fluency?

This is interesting. I have no problem in conversing in portuguese, but I am increasingly aware that I am very adept at using a fairly narrow vocabulary to express exactly what I want to say. I suppose this is a bit like how children speak.

To increase my vocabulary I have bought 'Harry Potter' in portuguese. This is ideal as I have never read these books. Since J.K Rowling is an English writer, I don't have to try and understand cultural nuances (as I would with a Brazilian author) as well as the vocabulary and story. So this is proving to be a good choice. I never particularly wanted to read this in English, but I'm enjoying it in portuguese and learning a lot.

Whether I'll be able to use the vocabulary in conversation is another matter. I can't see a lot of demand for talking about owls - but we did see one the other night!

Praia Daniela

We discovered Daniela beach this morning - miles and miles of white sand and a fantastic view of the mainland ( Florianopolis is an island off the coast of Brasil).

Daniela is less sophisticated than Jurere. You can see the original old beach houses of more than 30 years ago. The beach is not quite as clean, but we met residents who were out on their morning walk collecting the litter to make sure their beach was clean.

A really beautiful beach. I think we will be walking there again.

Cooking again

We have signed up for a 'cooking' evening class next Tuesday. Yes - both of us - and we were both quite sober at the time! Watch this space!

Camarao a milanesa and caipirinha

This is our favourite food and drink at the moment. So cheap and we can sit in the open air at a beach bar for an evening meal which costs a fraction of what it would at home. It's not the most slimming of combinations, but after a 4 mile walk down the beach and back - it is a wonderful way to spend an evening!

Cooking

This is something I don't seem to do much of nowadays. It is possible to have a fantastic lunch at a little beach bar round the corner for £2.50 each. This consists of a help yourself buffet of all kinds of meat, fish and salads and is delicious. The cost of your lunch depends on the weight of the food you put on your plate. The service is wonderful - so why cook!

Stephen Downes

Stephen Downes is back online. As someone who is just starting as a 'blogger', I am curious as to what it was that caused the temporary 'blip' in his daily outpourings online. I have always been amazed at how he has managed to keep his blog going - full of 'serious' and meaningful stuff. Not just a diary!

It is incredible what he manages to write about in a week. See http://www.downes.ca/. How does he keep it up? Does he have another life or is his life solely online?

Anyhow - he seems to have a lot of support around the world - and I for one enjoy his blog.

Clean beaches

The beaches are incredibly clean. They are cleaned weekly by a group of men all in uniform - picking up litter etc.

Also - dogs are not allowed on the beach. In fact, although packs of dogs seem to roam free and bark all night, there is very little other evidence of them anywhere (if you catch my drift!).

Safety in Brazil

Brazil has a reputation for muggings etc. - but Jurere is supposed to be extremely safe. There are security guards patrolling the streets and cameras everywhere.

This notice - outside a private house - says 'Smile - you are being filmed!' There was a camera at the top of the pole.

One month gone.......

.... and 5 to go!

Time flies when you are having fun! There are even a couple of posts in the Archive! Amazing! And the sun is still shining!