Floripa (8) - Dunes of Joaquina beach

Florianópolis (8) - Dunes of Joaquina beach

The dunes at Joaquina beach at Floripa

Joaquina beach, in the east side of Santa Catarina Island, is loved by surfers. But its dunes, just some meters before, are an extra spectacle.

The dunes at Joaquina beach at Floripa

You can climb then and take wonderful pictures of the Atlantic, the Lagoa da Conceição in the middle of the island, and also of the mountains around.  

The dunes at Joaquina beach at Floripa

Joaquina is conected with Campeche beach by the same sandstrip, but getting there demands a longer walking. The part of the beach closer to the dunes have snack bars and people selling food and drinks on the beach, but going south towards Campeche is a good option for staying away from the crowds and getting a quiet view of the scenery. During holidays, speacially new year´s eve and carnival, it may be hard to park close to the beach, since the parking areas are very small. 

The dunes at Joaquina beach at Floripa

The dunes at Joaquina beach at Floripa

The dunes at Joaquina beach at Floripa

The dunes at Joaquina beach at Floripa

The dunes at Joaquina beach at Floripa

The dunes at Joaquina beach at Floripa

The dunes at Joaquina beach at Floripa

Floripa (7) - Santo Antônio de Lisboa

Floripa (7) - Santo Antônio de Lisboa

Santo Antonio de Lisboa, historic building

In the northwest part of Santa Catarina Island, another (once) fischermen´s village is now becoming a trending touristic destination, specially for restaurant lovers. 

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

The coastal street at this neighborhood turned out to be a very nice spot for eating with great views of downtown Floripa and Hercilio Luz bridge. Plus, historical buildings remembering the azorean portuguese heritage.   

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

In fact, oister seafarms, fishing boats, historic buildings and new mansions share this hidden beach amongst downtown and the famous beaches at the north side of the island. All without loosing the air of a small beachtown.

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

Since there are no signals at the main road leading to the north of the island, it is not very easy to locate Santo Antônio. One must pass down the main road to get there, at a U turn, and then enter at some of the roads leading to the coastal street. Some GPS maps may be not up-to-date, beware.

Nevertheless, once in the village, the coastal street is close from the main road, and there is a parking spot by the church. 

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

   

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

The place is not that far away from downtown, if compared to the beaches at the south or east side of the island, so a cab or taxi will be less expensive, though never a bargain. 

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

Pricy restaurants and some more affordable share the beach view alongside with many craftsmanship stores that can be found in the area, if starting a walk from the church to the north. The beach is very calm and few people take a bath at the very calm waters. 

Santo Antonio de Lisboa, nice view from one of the restaurants

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

Santo Antonio de Lisboa, a delicious chocolate coffee

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

After lunch or dinner, a very nice cafe located one block from the church is my suggestion for saying goodbye.  

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

Santo Antonio de Lisboa

Floripa (6) - Ribeirão da Ilha

Floripa (6) - Ribeirão da Ilha

The church at Ribeirão da Ilha village, in the southwest side of Santa Catarina Island

One of the colored old homes, at Ribeirão da Ilha village, in the southwest side of Santa Catarina Island

 In the southwest of Santa Catarina Island, there´s this small fishermen´s village, called Ribeirão da Ilha. The most famous and maybe traditional oister restaurant is located there, and it is called Ostradamus, among many others in the same region. 

The beach at Ribeirão da Ilha village, in the southwest side of Santa Catarina Island

The restaurant has a pier over the beach, where you can eat all their seafood plates, from many kinds of fish and shrimps to lots of oister, made in various ways. 

The Ostradamus Pier at Ribeirão da Ilha village, in the southwest side of Santa Catarina Island

The beautiful blue tiles, remembering the portughese colonization, adorn the walls outside the restaurant. Inside, just behind the bar, you can see the oister treatment system, after they´re taken from the sea. 

The Ostradamus wall, full of blue tiles, at Ribeirão da Ilha village, in the southwest side of Santa Catarina Island

Besides, Ribeirão da Ilha has old and colorful houses, built years ago, giving a nostalgic atmosphere to the place.

The oisters are grown on calm seawater farms facing the mountains of Serra do Mar, the mountain chain which separate the coast of the Brazillian highlands, from Santa Catarina up north to Espírito Santo states.   

One of the colored old homes, at Ribeirão da Ilha village, in the southwest side of Santa Catarina Island

One of the colored old homes, at Ribeirão da Ilha village, in the southwest side of Santa Catarina Island

After eating, you can go to some coffee place or buy some souvenir at a local craftsman shop. 

One of the colored old homes, at Ribeirão da Ilha village, in the southwest side of Santa Catarina Island

I really recommend to take the sunset at this place and having dinner there, speacially for couples and groups of friends. Also, if you want to escape from the parties up in the north side of the island, it is a very nice place to chill out. 

To get there, the best option is to rent a car, or take a cab. There are city buses too, but it can take a long time to arrive there, in spite of being the less expensive option. 

Florianópolis (5) - Barra da Lagoa

Floripa (5) - Barra da Lagoa

The Barra da Lagoa beach is where the channel linking the Lagoa da Conceição (see previous post) meets the sea. It hosts a fishermen village, but also many hostels and b&b´s, specially closer to the road leading to Praia Mole and the Lagoa itself. 

The beach continues north, becoming the Moçambique beach, a vast and almost unhabited beach. Some seabirds can be seen at Barra da Lagoa beach.

Barra da Lagoa also hosts the TAMAR project in Floripa, a seaturtle´s national conservation project in Brazil. TAMAR takes injured turtles for treatment there but they´re specially focused on environmental education. Their visitor´s centre charge 12 reais (about 3 dollars) for a tour, where tourists can see the 4 most common seaturtle species in brazillian waters. 

They highlight the dangers of illegal fishing and plastic waste in the oceans, which can be very harmful to turtles. A very advisable tour for families, but I don´t think they have tours in other languages than portuguese.   

TAMAR´s website: http://www.tamar.org.br/centros_visitantes.php?cod=8

Floripa (4) - Lagoa da Conceição - eating out

Floripa (4) - Lagoa da Conceição - eating out

Avenida das Rendeiras, which is a strip surrounding the Lagoa, has lots of restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. The best shrimps can be eaten there, as they offer its sequência in a fixed price, generally for 2, 3 or even 4 people. 

You can just walk by the Rendeiras avenue and see prices fixed at the easels in front of each restaurant - and choose also by its atmosphere and its looking. Some have air con, some don´t, some have music, some are at the open air etc. You´ll clearly see some simple places and some fancy ones, some with brazillian music and others with a more intimate air. 

The sequência de camarões - literally translating, the shrimp sequency - consists of three or four plates containing, each, about a dozen of shrimps, made fried, steamed or with a garlic or lemon sauce, accompained by salads, french fries, rice or other side dishes. 

Shrimps prices are a real bargain if compared to other places, and you can eat them so much!

A nice discovery for me, in 2016´s carnival, was the Beijú Tapiocaria, located at Avenida das Rendeiras, 1590: they do delicious Tapiocas, a tipical plate from brazillian northeast, which can be described as a cassava flour pastel, filled with savory or sweet fillings. Also, their caipirinhas are the best in the Island of Santa Catarina. Here´s their site at facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Beij%C3%BA-Tapiocas-Caipirinhas-1571755029759548/

But there are lots of bars you can choose too at Avenida das Rendeiras, as well some nightclubs that may operate only during summer time. 

Floripa (3) - Lagoa da Conceição

Floripa (4) - Lagoa da Conceição

View of the Lagoa da Conceição and the dunes of Joaquina beach, at the other side 

In the middle of Santa Catarina Island, just opposite downtown Floripa, in the East part of the Island, there is the scenic Lagoa da Conceição.

View of the Lagoa da Conceição and the dunes of Joaquina beach, at the other side 

The Lagoa is linked to the sea by a channel, which ends in the Barra da Lagoa beach. 

The Lagoa da Conceição

Actually there are two main lagoons, separated by the Avenida da Rendeiras (rendeiras avenue). This neighbourhood has a small centre with some banks, restaurantes, b&b´s, ATM machines, clothes´ and beachwear stores and somme other kinds of commerce. There´s a very nice Havaianas store there, with different kinds of products from this brand to buy. 

This small town locally known as centrinho da Lagoa works as a basis for tourists visiting the Lagoa and its surrounding beaches, Joaquina, Mole and Barra da Lagoa. Local buses and taxis generally go to the bus depot located in this "centrinho da Lagoa" (downtown Lagoa). 

The Lagoa offers Stand Up Paddles and Scuna tours. The water is very hot and isn´t very clean, compared to the seawater surrounding the Island. It is advisable to mind for excessive jellyfishes which may occur during hotter summers.

It is a nice spot to stay, because it is in the middle of the Island and surrounded by the most beautiful beaches, in my opinion. Lagoa has good options of hostels, bed&breafasts, hotels, pousadas and even camping.  There you can stay outside the city, feeling to be truly having vacations and at the same time having some urban ammenities. 

Between Christmas and New Year´s Eve, as well during carnival, the place gets really crowded, with traffic jams; sometimes black-outs can occur, speacially when temperatures rise too much and everybody is using aircon. At those times of the year, it is important to check googlemaps about trafic and estimated times, and be mindful that, in the morning, there will be lots of people trying to get to the beaches and, in the afternoon, the contrary. People may also leave the beaches earlier if there´s rain, what is quite common, by the end of the day, during summer in south Brazil. 

Floripa (3) - The Santinho beach

The Ingleses and the Santinho beaches

The Dunes at Ingleses beach, to the left. To the right, passing over the Dunes,
you can arrive at Santinho beach. But both are accesible by car or bus. 

Still in the north side of Santa Catarina´s island, there are the Ingleses and the Santinho beach.

Ingleses is a very urbanized beach, with a small sandlane. 

Facing the Atlantic Ocean, Santinho is a windy beach, perfect for windsurfing and kite-surfing. Some surfers also enjoy the south side of the beach, close to the rocks. The north side is separated from Ingleses beach by tall dunes, from where nice pics can be taken. 

If you walk from Ingleses to Santinho, this is the scenery you´ll get

The most famous and expensive resort of the island is located at Santinho, the Costão do Santinho resort, built over the stones at the south side.

The dunes hidding the Santinho beach

Alongside the hotel, over the rocks, there´s a path open to the public where some rock art, made thousands of years ago, can be seen in the stones. It is not clear what the paintings in the rocks mean, as they were done by the first humans to settle in the island, much before the Europeans got there. From atop the rocks, nice pics of the beach can be taken.

The path linking Santinho´s beach (in the centre) to Moçambique beach, to the south

The rock art at the rocks of Santinho

For the brave and in good shape tourists, it is possible to continue this path untill the next beach, Moçambique beach. It takes about 2 hours in a 2 km hard trail (1,6 miles). The problem is, if your transportation is at Santinho, you´ll have to come back. Another option is to climb more 1,2 km (about 800mi) uphill to the peak of the mountain. 

More rock art