Florianópolis, the magic island!

Florianópolis is the capital of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. Half the town is located on the mainland, while the other half is on the island of Santa Catarina. Three bridges connect the island to the mainland, including the Hercílio Light, the postcard city. Florianópolis and its surrounding areas have some of the most beautiful beaches of Brazil. The city is quite modern, with large shopping malls, specialty restaurants, many bars, clubs and glamorous animations.

Florianopolis has a population of more or less 800,000 inhabitants, half of the island and the other on the continent. The city has 42 beaches and is considered as the center of surfing activity. Newsweek placed Florianópolis enters the "ten most dynamic cities in the world" while some Brazilian publications named as "the best place to live in Brazil."

Ribeirão da Ilha, a famous oyster fishing village.

The Ribeirão da Ilha was one of the first communities in the state and the first to be inhabited in Florianópolis, in the sixteenth century by the Indians Carijós. The name given to the beach comes from a small river or stream, the on-site (ribeiracô in Indian language).

According to historians, the first Spanish and Portuguese explorers arrived around 1506. Twenty years later, the navigator Sebastian Cabot crossed the Atlantic and came here, and reportedly was in the Port of Ribeirão that Cabot had anchored. Between 1748 and 1756 there was the effective colonization of the island, landing about six thousand Azorean. Some authors say that fifty couples settled in Ribeirão da Ilha.

Located 27 km from the center and 10 km from the airport of Florianopolis, Ribeirão da Ilha is composed of several small beaches, calm waters and coarse sand. It is considered one of the few places in the southern coast of Brazil that preserves well the traces of Portuguese colonization. A walk to the beach is a throwback to the Azorean customs and culture.