One month of travelling through Brazil has come to an end, millions of pictures were taken, countless acquaintances with amazing people and unforgettable memories have been made and, though I am excited about what’s waiting for me in Buenos Aires, I’m leaving Brazil with a heavy heart. How will I manage without the tremendous hospitality of these people, who went above and beyond to make my stay in this country as unforgettable as possible? How will I ever find something that could replace my beloved Açaí for breakfast, Tapioca for lunch or Mandioca in any form at any time of the day? How will I not get bored without the constant excitement of visiting places such as Rio de Janeiro, Ilha Grande, Parati, or São Paulo? Buenos Aires sure will have a tough time reaching the bar that this country set so incredibly high.

The last days of my journey through Brazil I spent in Florianópolis, a small city with an island part in the south of the country, Campinas, a city about 1.5h from São Paulo – with my amazing host Guilherme and his family – and São Paulo, with my host Fernanda from my very first days in Brazil. Once again, I got really lucky with the weather and got to enjoy my last days with a lot of sunshine and wearing my flipflops. However, one has to keep in mind that it’s currently winter here in South America, and the 17 degrees Celsius and rainy skies of SP reminded me of that fact – luckily, only when I left for Buenos Aires, though.

Campinas as a city does not have a whole lot to offer and would probably not appear on anybody’s travel agenda when visiting Brazil. However, staying with Guilherme (who is a friend of a friend of my mom) and his family was yet another heartwarming experience with the Brazilian people. I felt as if I was part of the family, and gratefully accepted home-cooked food by Guilherme’s dad Rodolfo, a manicure & pedicure on the house in his mom Zu’s salon, a gym session with his aunt Fran and lots of great experiences with Guilherme himself, including a dip into the Afro-Brazilian culture, a visit of his former workplace, an orphanage for teenagers, amazing all-you-can-eat sushi, an excursion to Parque Taquaral, a Rap concert by a gay Brazilian artist, and a little free Portuguese lesson with Matheus, one of his English students. On top of that, I discovered Goiaba as my new favourite fruit, became best friends with the family’s Maine Coon cat, Kira, saw some real capivaras (a cute Brazilian pig-like animal) and got to try the famous Pão com mortadela – something you would rather call Mortadella with bread in Germany – and Pamonha, a delicious cooked corn creation.

Florianópolis is simply a marvellous place. While the centre of the actual city has not much to offer, the beaches of Santa Catarina Island are even more breathtaking. I wish I could’ve explored the island and beaches during the summer, to actually be able to swim, but even just enjoying the views and landscapes of the island now, was already enough to convince me that I’ll have to come back. My great couch surfing acquaintances Rafael, José and Jean only added to my wonderful experience on this little piece of paradise, and, once again, made my stay so unspeakably wonderful that I don’t even know where to start to thank them.

Last typical Brazilian lunch, feat. Feijoada (beans & meat/sausage), Mandioca Frita, Chickpeas, Farofa and Quinoa Salad

Night out at the Teatro Municipal with f.l. Fernanda’s brother Sergio, her girlfriend Gabriela, Fernanda and Sergio’s girlfriend Liliana

Classical music concert in SP – since cultural activities are not valued that much in the city, tickets cost us less than €2

Brazil is such an amazing country and I completely fell in love with it. I can’t wait to return to travel the north of the country, and experience even more of its beautiful people, culture, nature and food