🇧🇷 Florianópolis | My First Solo Trip in South America

I love traveling alone—seriously, does anyone else get it? Total freedom! 😭✨ They say southern Brazil is safer than the north, but if you don’t speak Portuguese, it’s better to go with friends. This time, I chose Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina state, and it was stunning!! (Lady Gaga’s concert in Rio reportedly drew 2.5 million people—thank god I didn’t go, that crowd sounds insane.) The only bummer? I planned to explore downtown on May 1st, Google said shops were open, but surprise—it was Labor Day, so everything was closed. 😅 Brazilians really don’t work on holidays, even during New Year’s… Saw on Xiaohongshu that the seafood here is amazing! Tried oysters at Rancho and Freguesia Oyster Bar e Restaurante—both were 🔥. Rancho’s seafood rice was also great! Since the city’s a peninsula, public transport isn’t the best—buses come every 30 mins to an hour and only take cash (there’s a tourist transit card, but I couldn’t be bothered). If you’re mainly here for beaches, don’t stay downtown. Uber’s cheaper than in São Paulo, though—I even tried a motorbike Uber 🏍️… not for the faint-hearted, they speed like crazy! 🏖️ My plan? Eat seafood + beach bumming. So I spent two days roasting at Praia da Mole and Praia da Joaquina—flipped like a pancake, now several shades darker 🤣. Caught a surf competition too! 🏄 There’s also snorkeling, speedboats, parasailing 🪂, but I skipped those. Saw people kayaking on Lagoa da Conceição—so tempting, next time for sure! 🤔 Is it normal to want to retire here at 20 and just… live forever? #SouthAmerica #Brazil #StudyAbroad #BeachLife #Surfing #TravelMemories #SoloTravel #Wanderlust #WishYouWereHere