still getting there....

The travel to Brazil was long and tested my patience, of which I have little.

When we arrived in Rio, we expected to take a connecting flight to Florianopolis, then a bus from Floripa (as locals call it) to Praia do Rosa. Well, we arrive in Rio and are informed by Gol airlines that our flight has been cancelled due to mechanical difficulties. BULLSHIT. The next flight out would be hours later and hours longer. We were also informed that the cat who had to go in with the cargo needed a hard carrier (not the soft like I have). I asked why their website didn~t specify and they said the soft carrier doesn~t exist in Brazil. Apparently nor do hours of business or speed. They called the pet shops and of course they were closed because guess what? It~s their labor day. Banks were also closed. It was Friday so we are stranded in Rio until Monday with little cash.

We ended up, after 3 hours of negotiating, cancelling the flight they automatically booked us and got a confirmation number for a refund, and decided to stay in Rio for the night and leave the next day on a bus.
The bext day, we went online and were not able to find any info on ticket reservations. We took a cab to the bus station with all our suitcases, bags, and cat, hoping to find a red eye. Well, after standing in line watching the attendants flirt with each other, I got to the front of the line and was told the only bus to Floripa left 2 mintues ago. TWO MINUTES!! So we cabbed it back to the same small hotel where we were laughed at. We spent another night in Rio and ended up in Floripa the next day after 18 hours on a bus.

After Floripa, we took a bus to a small town and transfered to another bus to get to Prais do Rosa. Then we were picked up in a car by our lovely landlord~s neighbor, Verona.

Finally, a real person with smiles!!!

and that is wher our time in Prais do Rosa begins.