Our second destination is Florianópolis or Floripa for short. It’s a relatively small island, 54km long off the coast of southern Brazil. It’s also the capital city of Santa Catarina state.

It’s also known as the magical island and noted for its spectacular beach’s and lagoons.

The central area of the island is away from the main beaches and lagoons but is still well worth a visit, it’s also close to a bridge that connects to the mainland although the island has a modern airport with good connections too.

There are a few well maintained colonial buildings in the old town, including the market buildings too.

The building below came up on my Google map as a colonial public toilet!

Having spent a couple of days in the central area we moved to a Pousada near to one of the lagoons and the beaches.

We joined a trek to Lagoinha do Leste which involved a fairly sweaty walk up a trail through the forest up to the top of a cliff above a beautiful beach where there are rock ledges stretching outwards providing great photo opportunities.

Getting down to the beach is via a rocky and boulder strewn informal path which was a bit of a challenge but we made it down to the beautiful beach and a small lagoon below where we spent a few hours recovering before taking a boat back to where we started the trek. Well worth doing but be prepared!

Below is a view towards Lagoa Da Conceição where we spent a few days enjoying trips to the nearby beaches.

Our final beach was Joaquina which was quite stunning, complete with surfers and a surfer statue by the beach path.

A beautiful island, well worth a visit, next stop is the Manaus and the Amazon rainforest.