Go to Brazil.

There it is. That's my post. Go to Brazil. Actually, go to Florianopolis, it's beautiful. Here's a little back story on Brazil for everyone. The last 6 months I lived in Huntington Beach I lived with my friends Rafa, Jessica and Eduardo. Rafa and Eduardo are Brazilian and some of the funniest people I know. Before I left they were both saying, "You have to go to Brazil, you have to visit." To be honest, before I met them I really had no desire to visit Brazil. Then I ate some Brazilian barbeque, chicken hearts...amazing, and I knew what I had to do. Brazil, here I come! Daniela has been to Brazil before, to Rio and Sao Paulo, and she didn't have the burning desire that I had. But after a little talking she came around. Especially after people told her that Floripa had crystal clear water and white sand beaches.
Now the fun part begins. I'm an American, therefore I needed to get a visa to enter Brazil. Did I have to jump through hoops and put up colateral? No. I had to fill out a stupid little form and wait 2 hours in the Brazilian Consulate here in Montevideo after which I pay them $170. Why did I have to do this? It used to be free, they would just stamp your passport at the border for 90 days and off you go. I have to do this because it is called a reciprocity fee. The US charges Brazilian citizens $170 to process their visas. Thanks, Uncle Sam! I guess it could have been worse. The US also requires people to provide proof of stability in their home country so they won't over stay their visas (house, job, kids) Oh, and here's why it took two hours.... When we arrived at the consulate there was only one person in front of us so we thought, this will be fast! NO NO NO, the guy in front of us whipped out 20 passports for visas!!! We looked at eachother and know we should of brought a book. Well, the guy was Julio Inglesias P.A. and he was getting VISAS for the crew. Julio Inglesias was performing in Punta del Este and after the weekend he needed to be in Brazil. At the end of two hours one of the 20 VISAS was denied! Julios passport didn't have anymore pages so he couldn't get the VISA!!! As Dani said " good job P.A., that's a good way to get fired!" I'm just glad it wasn't mine!
Back to the trip, Floripa. Just a short 18 hour bus ride away. It was beautiful. We stayed in a town at the top of Santa Catarina island called Canasvieiras which had what all beaches should have, people selling booze and chorizos from carts. Our tour guide was named Pretty, well his name was John Angel, but he was to suavamente for us so his named changed on day two. The rest of the people on the bus were Uruguayans including two from Solymar, where we are staying, who know Daniela's family and ate at her aunts restaurant (again, small country), and I picked up the nickname "USA" about halfway through the trip. I could go on and on about how pretty and green it all was but I'll let the pictures do the talking. Here's what you need to know: Bring good sunscreen, stay away from the buffets, if you see black beans and rice, the beans go on top of the rice. Cachaca is pronounced Ca-SHA-sa, and bring a pair of goggles in your back pack because every beach is different. Now I can't wait to go to Rio!