Joinville, Brazil: A Budget Student's Sticky Sweatfest
okay so i'm in joinville right now. this whole brazil trip is basically me trying to survive on less than $10 a day while pretending i'm doing 'research'. spoiler: i'm mostly just sweating. peeked at the weather app and it's... 28.57°C with 76% humidity that feels like 32.83°C, so if you enjoy breathing soup and having your clothes stick to your body like a second skin, you'll love this place. and when the humidity gets too thick to breathe, blumenau's just a short drive away for some german pretties to pretend you're not melting.
got here with literally zero plan except 'find cheap food'. turns out joinville's got this weird energy - part german colony, part industrial zone, and part 'why is my hostel room 30°C at midnight'. someone told me the street food near the market is fire, but when i got there it was just a guy aggressively selling questionable-looking deep-fried mystery items. then a local warned me that the riverfront restaurants are tourist traps unless you want to pay $15 for a fish that tastes like regret. found this tiny spot run by a grandma that charges $3 for plates that could feed two people and actually taste like real food instead of regret. score.
heard some drunk dude at the hostel bar ranting about how the bus system is 'organized chaos' - turns out he was right. the buses are like a contact sport where you try to board while locals stare at you like you're stealing their oxygen. also discovered this free botanical garden that's basically just trees and mosquitoes pretending to be a nature preserve. worth it for the shade though. if you're gonna stay here, bring a fan and maybe a snorkel because you'll need both. this hostel doesn't have AC but has a pool that looks suspiciously green - judge for yourself. here's the food options i didn't get food poisoning at. and this is where i'm currently paying too much for a room that's basically a sauna with a bed.
the whole place feels like someone took a german village and stuck it in a jungle with no instructions. old buildings next to factories next to stray dogs looking at you like they know you're broke. yesterday this guy tried to sell me a 'handcrafted' bracelet that was clearly made in china for triple the price. told him i'd give him $1 if he could name five brazilian presidents. he walked away. not sure if it was insult or just hot. either way, win for me. anyway, off to find more cheap eats before my phone dies in this humidity. peace out.
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