WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE !

After a week in Mato Grosso do Sul for Adventure NEXT it was time to explore Florianópolis in the State of Santa Catarina.

Santa Catarina is in the far South of Brazil. Although it’s the 7th smallest state , it’s the size of Hungary. The climate is less tropical than much of Brazil, with colder winters, sometimes with snow in the mountains in the winter months of July and August. The population is mainly of German ancestry.

Florianópolis , or Floripa, as it is known to Brazilians is a surfer’s paradise. While I did not have a board with me, I did quite a bit of bodysurfing. May – mid autumn in the Southern Hemisphere is mild with daily highs of about 24 C and lows of 16. The water was quite pleasant about 21.

Sunset view from my balcony.

Brahma Bulls provide succulent Brazilian beef.

Picanha.

Ice cold choppe.

Cold water Santa Catarina oysters are plump and tasty. This dish of a dozen cost 40 Reai or about US $ 7.20. As mentioned in the Mato Grosso do Sul article, the real, at about 5.5 to the dollar makes for overall costs to be moderately lower in Brazil than in the USA or Western Europe.

Southern Hemisphere pines over the South Atlantic. BE SURE TO WATCH THE VIDEO AT THE TOP OF THE ARTICLE !

Floripa also has large lakes not connected to the Ocean.

An odd local seagull.

TotalAdventure flew LATAM roundtrip from São Paulo Garulhos. One can also fly from Congonhas.

11000 KM South To Antarctica ! See the video above !

On November 29,2022 TotalAdventure and a colleague boarded an Aerolineas jet for Buenos Aires arriving in Ezezia that evening. The next morning , from Aeroparque, we boarded a smaller jet for the 4 hour flight to Ushuaia. Please see the Ushuaia article above, if you have not already.

Above is the dock at Ushuaia, where our ship, the MV Hondius departed to and arrived from, Antarctica.

Buenos Aires By Night.

Dining At The World’s Top Rated Steakhouse – Don Julio ! The 95 degree summer weather was welcome on our return from Antarctica.

Ushuaia – Time to board the ship to cross the Drake ! Read on in the series below !

Good Fortune Ahead From Ushuaia Across The Drake !

A Long Way From Miami !

TotalAdventure Is Currently En Route To Antarctica. We arrived here on Wednesday , November 30th after flying from Miami through Buenos Aries.

It is 600 Miles Across And Will Take 2 Days.

The MV Hondius Is An Icebreaker Class 6 Polar Ship. Built in 2019,It carries 112 Passengers. You can track our voyage HERE

Glaciar Martial. At ehe end of the 12000 mile Rockies and Andes chain that begins in Alaska.

Argentina is 5000 km North To South. A long beautiful drive.

The Malvinas Are An Important Situation Here.

Ushuaia Is Far From Everywhere !

Southernmost Commercial Airport In The World.

Don Bosco Cathedral.

Glacial Stream.

Looking South TO Chile. TotalAdventure will depart tomorrow afternoon throught the Beagle Channel and past Cape Horn.

TotalAdventure returns to Ushuaia Argentina on December 13 . We are extremely unlikely to have any internet or cellular contact while on the expedition, but perhaps a sporadic link. TotalAdventure looks forward to sharing the adventure with everyone !

On the night of October 3, 2015 –  TotalAdventure boarded  LAN’s 787 Dreamliner from Miami to Santiago. It was the start of a two week journey,  with the main focus on the Adventure Travel World Summit in Puerto Varas Chile.

The trip covered a huge range – from the snowy Andes to the steamy Amazon.

After clearing customs in Santiago, TotalAdventure boarded a 90 minute flight to Puerto Montt, which was near Puerto Varas.

It was a cold misty day – especially for someone who had just flown from the 95 degree heat of Miami.

TotalAdventure warmed up with a  piping hot bowl of Parihuela – a fresh spicy seafood stew. For TotalAdventure’s Chilean adventures – CLICK HERE !

One week in Namibia barely scratches the surface. ArcticTropic was there in October, 2013 for the Adventure Travel Trade Association annual conferences in the capital city of Windhoek and the small seaside city of Swakopmund. At least weeks is needed to see the country properly.

For adventures in Namibia, CLICK HERE

Long Beach at Kommetjie is just south of Hout’s Bay – that often has the biggest surf in the world – 25 meters in the winter. On this day it was tranquil, with only 1 to 2 meters. While the water looks tropical – it is not, only about 15 C ( 59 F ). Lots more edited footage to follow.

For adventures in South Africa, CLICK HERE

Coming down 1050m ( 4000 ft) Table Mountain in Cape Town on a beautiful spring morning n November,2013. Cape Town had just exited a long cold winter that saw snow on top of the mountain for the first time in many years Edited footage will soon be available.

For adventures in South Africa, CLICK HERE

During the first week of November, ArcticTropic took a road trip from Cape Town to Johannesburg,South Africa. . Here is some unedited footage in the mountains about 150 Km North of Cape Town. Huge quantities of wine grapes are produced in the region.

For adventures in South Africa, CLICK HERE

Looking slightly out of place Swakopmund is thoroughly German town that looks as if it could be a neighborhood in Hamburg or Bremen, but instead is one of the remotest ” cities ” in the world perched between the barren sand dunes of the Kalahari and the frigid South Atlantic Ocean. Along with nearby Walvis Bay it is 200 miles from the next town and is one of the only settlements between Angola and South Africa.

Der Kaiser is fondly remembered.

German Southwest Africa was taken over by the British Empire after World War !, but German is still spoken today all throughout Namibia in additoin to English , Afrikaans and many local languages.

A lighthouse warns ships away from the treacherous Skeleton Coast.

Just past the town line. Truly one of the Ends of the Earth.

For adventures in South Africa, CLICK HERE

ArcticTropic may venture to Angola this coming October, on the way to the ATTA Conference in Windhoek,Namibia. Though the 30 year war ended several years ago, toursim in any form is almost non-existent. These photos are courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Luanda, the capital, is about 7 hours across the South Atlantic from São Paulo via TAAG Airlines. There are also direct flights from Lisbon,Johannesburg and Windhoek – by air Angola is not difficult to get to. Visas, however,must be applied for several weeks in advance.

The difficult part begins once you are on the ground. Transportation is very difficult with few paved roads. Hotels in Luanda are amongst the most expensive in the world – yet of very poor quality.

ArcticTropic is open to having fellow ATTA delegates join us for this exploratory visit. Please
Contact us if interested.