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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-
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,
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 photo
© 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.
October/November 2002 www.WaveLengthMagazine.com
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