Siega's Casa de Bocce

In about 20 minutes I am heading for the Florianopolis airport, saying goodbye to Garopaba for the last time during this Brasilian adventure. I still need to catch up on past happenings, but I'll continue to backfill posts as I have time.

My last days here have been quite pleasant. Some nice days surfing alone in extremely clean and calm waters until the sun set and the ocean and sky melted together. It was practically hallucinatory at times. Also some nice times hanging out with Alex, a neighbor who I discovered much too late during my stay here, as he lived in Miami so speaks great english, and is also the system admin for the local ISP! We traded many gigs of MP3s in the service of cultural exchange.

But I'd like to dedicate my final post from Garopaba to Senhor Siega's bocce court.

My landlord here in Garopaba, Senhor Siega, has his own personal indoor bocce court behind the house. Bocce (or "bocha" in Brasilian) is a sport which originated in Italy. Siega seems fond of all things Italian, but especially Marconi and Bocce. Every day as I sat here typing away on my laptop I could hear the frequent eruption of cheers from the long narrow blue building just outside my door, and the occasional crashing racket of the wooden balls colliding at high speed.

Siega and his friends gather every afternoon for a few hours of rousing bocce. The skill level possessed by this group of sportsmen is breathtaking. The touch they exhibit with delicate precision blows me away. A couple of times I tried playing with them, but it was just too embarrassing.

Saude! Viva de Bocha