Going Tropo in Brazil – Oceanside3 min read time

I mentioned in last week’s blog I’d done my yoga teacher training in Garopaba Brazil. Until that point I had never traveled anywhere south of the equator. I’m not one for cramming a bunch of new sights into short time periods when traveling, and Brazil is a HUGE country. So I spent the majority of my month in the southern part of Brazil, in tiny surf towns on the island of Santa Catarina, and a little further south on the mainland in Garopaba, also a fine little surfing/fishing town.

My training was at a yoga eco resort just outside of Garopaba, Enchanted Mountain. I was indeed enchanted. This place was built by Joseph and Lillian LePage and the locals, all by hand, and all with recycled building materials. They did a beautiful job. This was my “bungalow” and it’s lush, green view. The deck and hammock (in which I spent a LOT of time), is in the front.

And speaking of lush green, the rains had just ended and it was full-on springtime (I had left fall behind me in the states!). The yellow blooming trees covered the hillsides. What a sight that was!

Everywhere along this part of the coast are public trails overlooking the ocean:

Often leading to beaches that have NOBODY on them because the only way to get there is to hike or boat in.

Armacao was another beach town we spent some time in on the Isle de Santa Catarina. Mostly a fishing village, it also was very popular with the surfers.

I was struck with this culture’s norm of family, relaxed living, and synergy with nature’s rhythms. I remember Joseph telling me the story of his frustrations (he’s American) with local (Brazilian) staff and getting them to understand the pool needs to be cleaned EVERY day, not just when they got around to it, after getting their fill of this….

And this…

And so much color! Color in their boats, color in their homes, color in their clothing. Soooo much fun to photograph.

Brazil is such a happy place to spend some relaxing time. I recommend going in their spring, before Christmas. It’s kind of the shoulder tourist season, so less gringo effect, much more local effect. Did you know Santa climbs ladders into their homes to leave his presents? I kept seeing these little rope ladders hanging out of house windows & wondering, whaaat? Ha ha! Not a soul would know what a chimney is down there.

Here’s a tropo version of the Nativity, made with all natural, local plants:

Hope you enjoyed a little Brazilian culture, and maybe you even feel a little more laid back? As always, there’s more to see in my Gallery…

(I think I like our snowy version of Christmas with Santa coming properly down through the chimney though…  ;<)