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Day 5

Up early (well... kind of!), from Florianópolis, we will drive up into the breathtaking mountain range, Serra Geral, along the winding road atop the mountains to our base camp, the Pousada Morro Grande. We will stop along the way to view some natural wonders and experience some local drinks of "coco verde", coconut milk, and "caldo de cana", sugar cane juice. Arrive to an abundant and tasty lunch prepared by Dona Vera, the Matron of the house. You will not go hungry when Vera's cooking, that's a fact!

After lunch, get your horse riding clothes on and convene in the barn for a lesson on how to saddle up and a few pointers on riding. Bring something to swim in because we are riding to the largest river in the region, the Pelotas , to play in the largest waterfalls on the river, the Salto das Pelotas . For the fearless of heights, various rocks provide great places to lunge oneself off into an enormous pool waiting below. Otherwise, we can hike down and experience any number of hundreds of pools and falls to relax in. There is no need to rush back from this natural wonder.

When we are good and ready, we'll remount and head back to the pousada and catch the sunset with a cocktail on the veranda featuring cachaça. Local lore has it that a few swallows of cachaça calms the nerves after a horseback ride and cures just about anything else, physical or mental, that ails you. We don't know about that but people do tend to feel pretty good after a few belts of the stuff.

Tonight will be a feast on a variety of meats and vegetables cooked together on an enormous flat pan on a wood burning stove. The secret ingredient in this flavorful dish is the seeds of the Araucaria trees that dominate the landscape in this region. Fire and music in the barn anyone?

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