Homeward Bound

Howdy from Florianopolis, Brazil, where we are killing some time in advance of some epic travelling. I have really mixed emotions right now - excited to be heading back to new adventures in the USA and to catch up with family and friends, but sad to be ending the South American journey and to be leaving the ocean and waves after my surfing is just starting to click (I´ve been learning to ride a shortboard at last - a whole new adventure). Not to mention deeply depressed because I am in an internet cafe in a shopping mall with lots of fluorescent lighting.

We had a great stay here on Ihla Santa Catarina. It felt so good to have a house and a kitchen for a while, to eat a bunch of fresh fish, and to be able to spend so much time in the water. We saw the whole range of surf conditions, from nice friendly small wave days when you could paddle out without getting your hair wet, to some pretty monstrous double overhead days when we were lucky to get outside at all - much less make it back to the beach in one piece. Almost all the breaks on the island are beachbreaks and they get downright nasty when the swell gets big. We lucked out and were able to sell our bikes yesterday, and surfboards this morning, so we are travelling light with just our panniers (not the most convenient luggage, really). At least until Buenos Aires where we pick up the rest of our stuff...

Tonight we take an overnight bus to Sao Paulo, lay over for a day, then fly to Buenos Aires, pick up the rest of our stuff, and fly to Lima. After 24 hours in Lima we take a redeye to Houston, then a quick jaunt to Denver, a few lovely hours at DIA, then Alaska!

All the best,

Ty