Brazilian Beaches

October-November 2002

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Guido Botto

Life is lived outdoors in Brazil. Warm water, sandy beaches, and great scenery all make for an ideal winter paddling getaway. Photo: Guido Botto

Brazil is a country of contrasts - wealth and poverty; densely packed cities and untouched wilderness; great sophistication and absolute simplicity; endless sandy beaches and rugged forested mountain ranges. Sao Paulo, with a population of 24 million, is the world's largest city south of the equator, yet just a 3-hour drive south is the 500-year-old colonial port town of Cananeia and the gateway to undeveloped tropical paradise.

Nestled on the island of the same name, in the coastal belt along the largest untouched stretch of Tropical Atlantic Rainforest of the Serra do Mar coast mountain range, this little fishing town is the gateway to the Lagamar region. Extending 110 km along the coast, this region is a UNESCO world heritage site, and has been declared a natural sanctuary by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

With the exception of Cananeia and Ilha Comprida, this area is sparsely populated and none of the other islands have electricity or cars. It is also the largest natural nursery of marine species in the South Atlantic. There are over 20 islands, some surrounded by large natural canals fed by torrential rivers, others exposed to the powerful surf of the South Atlantic on one side with the other fringed by a brackish canal of tidal mangrove swamps sometimes reaching 800 meters wide. Constantly looming in the background is the coastal range with peaks up to 900 meters high.One of the jewels of this collection of islands is Cardoso, a favorite of biologists for its rich and great variety of plant and animal life, with 436 species of birds, the largest diversity of birds on the Brazilian coast. Of 986 species of plants, the island has 118 species of orchids and 41 species of bromeliads.

Several species on the verge of extinction exist here, like the prized purplecheeked parrot, the Scarlet Ibis, the Golden Maned Sagui monkey, the spotted jaguar, the spotted leopard cat, the peregrine falcon, the tapir and others still thriving, like the yellow-bellied alligators and the famous 'pink' dolphin, which has pearly rose sides and belly. It is also home to many migrating birds, and even penguins and sea lions from the Antarctic.

The jungle is full of ferns, lianas, large leaved creepers hanging from flowering trees and shrubs, and colourful plants like the bird of paradise and bromeliads attached to branches or deadfalls, with large red, pink and blue flowers.

On the Atlantic side of the islands, big surf crashes onto white sandy beaches, and the sea and weather are warm year round. Here the frigate birds constantly wheel overhead, while seagulls, cormorants and other smaller birds forage the beaches for food.

Photo: Guido Botto

On the inside, the mangroves are full of brightly red and orange coloured tree crabs, the much larger dark mud crabs - 'caramuns' as they are called - and several gold-coloured, non-poisonous snakes which feed on fish. Also seen are white herons, and plump, dark-plumed, long-legged mangrove feeders and spoonbills, as well as kingfishers - both the smaller dull brown ones and the larger, brighter ones in hues of cream and blue. The eerie echoes of the seldom seen mangrove warblers are also heard.

With its ten beaches, most of them deserted, this is a great region for paddling adventures. Circumnavigating Cardoso, Superagui or Pecas islands offers paddlers the greatest variety of scenic views and challenging seas. Big surf is encountered all along the ocean side of populated Ilha Comprida, a long, low island, along Ilha Cardoso and Superagui. Setting out to sea or making surf landings here always poses a challenge, since it means running the gauntlet through surf from 6- 10 feet high, extending a few hundred yards.

But on Cardoso you can get home cooking and seafoods at inexpensive prices from the simple, gentle people here who still cling to their centuries' old lifestyles, fishing and planting, with few modern devices or electricity.

About 500km further south, in the State of Santa Catarina, the beautiful island of Florianopolis beckons with its 100 sandy beaches, many of which are a surfer's paradise. This area has had a great Portuguese influence on its culture, architecture, festivities, fishing and agriculture, by people coming from the Azores islands in the Atlantic (originally colonized by the Portuguese), who settled on this Island in the south of Brazil centuries ago.

This region of Brazil is very beautiful but far more populated, with sophisticated tourist resorts and first world-class hotels and restaurants. The coast on the inside is densely populated, while the external south side is far less so. Here too are the Three Sister Islands, a little cluster of islands an hour's paddling off the coast.

On this ocean side of the island, just north of Santinho beach, is a rocky stretch with Indian rock paintings over 5,000 years old. Further south is the island's famed Galhetas nudist beach.

In the middle of the island are two large fresh-water lagoons, surrounded by mountains. The island also has some very large sand dunes, which are the delight of 'sand boarders' or 'dune surfers', who imitate the antics of snowboarders in colder climes.

Further north off the coast, a little south of Rio de Janeiro, is a region of over 370 islands. The largest, Ilha Grande, offers great paddling adventures. Here too the ocean side of the island is the least inhabited, in fact almost totally deserted except for a few small fishing settlements on two beaches. The island has many historic sites and ruins. Freguesia de Santana Leste beach has a church dating from 1796 with pirates buried in its cemetery as well as a house which used to belong to a famous Spanish pirate called Juan Lorenzo. At Cachadao beach there is a road built by slaves of rock which goes 3km to the next beach, Dois Rios, where there are ruins of a penitentiary. At Proveta beach there is a secluded evangelidoors,cal community which decries music, where the womenfolk wear dresses down to their feet and their hair to their waists.

There are many old shipwrecks all along the coast, which is a draw for divers. On the ocean side of this island too, beach landings are often tricky due to the steep slopes of the beach and the big surf.

BRAZIL IN GENERAL

Brazil is is a huge country, largely covered in lush tropical rainforests. The Amazon basin alone has one-fifth of all the earth's fresh water reserves. With a coastline of almost 8,000 kilometers of sandy beaches, and boasting a warm climate year round, Brazil offers some of the most pleasant leisure spots in the world. Bathed by the warm waters of the southern Atlantic Ocean, it's perfect all year round for diving, swimming, snorkeling, surfing and kayaking.

Brazil has a Portuguese-speaking population of 170 million, of which 70% are Roman Catholic. It is a peaceful, economically stable democracy, the 9th largest economy of the world. In many coastal areas there are lots of excellent 4 and 5 star hotel resorts and sophisticated little inns.

Brazilians are an extremely friendly, warm, extroverted people. The hot climate allows them to spend most of the time out-evangelidoors, often just chatting with friends or people watching. They have an incredible sense of humour, and are extremely irreverent - any incident, good or bad, immediately sets off an enormous number of jokes.

What Brazilians love most is their outdoors, especially their beaches, around which everything seems to revolve. If you look at a map of Brazil you will see that the great majority of the cities have developed along the coastline, due to the great coastal mountain range going all the way north.Even still, there are many uninhabited areas with deserted beaches along the coast. Check this site for some beaches: http://www.uol.com.br/guiadolitoral/index.htm. The site is in Portuguese but the views are beautiful.

It is important to note that there are some very interesting cultural differences as you travel throughout Brazil. In the south, a great European influence is easily seen. In Parana state there are towns you would imagine finding in the Ukraine or Poland. In other parts of the same state, there are strong Italian and German influences. In the State of Sao Paulo, strong Portuguese, Japanese and other cultural traits can be found. In the north, in the State of Bahia, the influence of the former Afican slaves of the sugar-cane plantations is very strong.

It's a country of strong contrasts and wonderful blends.

© Guido Botto, a Canadian, has lived almost 30 years in Brazil. Fluent in English, Portuguese, Italian and Spanish, he runs a translation and interpretation agency. In 1999 he won Brazil's non-stop 5-day, 5-night Eco Challenge Adventure Race. He is now developing an ecoadventure tourism business to guide Canadians on kayak trips in Brazil, and to bring Brazilians to Canada for kayaking. Ph: 250-714-5609, gbotto@shaw.ca, www.kayakingbrazil.com.