Southern Brazil

We ventured to the southern areas of Brazil in the state of Santa Catarina. This is one of the most beautiful areas we have seen living in Brazil. I'm posting some of the photos here. There were numerous beaches, historical cities, huge sand dunes, and other numerous activities. Where we went was the areas surrounding Imbituba, about a 10 hour drive from Sao Paulo. This is a little off the beaten path as the people that normally travel to this area are Brazilians. It's less likely you will encouter any tourists besides the occasional Argentinian coming up from the south.
The city shown here is the city of Laguna. It is known for dolphin viewing, whale watching, and of course its beaches. We didn't realize that whales are sited in this region quite often during their stop in November.

We visited a fresh water lake that is on the other side of the highway from the city. Not only is there salt water fishing, but there is also fresh water as you can see the docks below (left). The children posed for us in front of a tree pretending to be little tarzans.

We saw the beach house (below left) and thought this was the true ecotourist hideout or it is simply the ultimate beach bum dwelling! The other photo is the sunset over the freshwater lake.

The scenes here are of a hike we took in Imbituba. From the side we starte on it appeared to be a walk in the woods, but once we reached the ocean side it became quite dangerous. There were times on the trail where Nathaniel sent me ahead of the kids and he followed behind carry them over the dangerous spots. They did really well and we were super careful (grandparents don't worry).

Here is one of the trail blazers who was carried the whole time. She seemed to really enjoy the views!

The boys loved the beaches. Gabriel played in the sand with daddy while Joshua jumped waves with mommy. We even made a gigantic sandcastle while Eliana was sleeping. Later, when she woke, we had to keep her away from it so she wouldn't destroy it.

So their's no doubt Brazil is a beautiful country. How could any of you stay away with so many amazing sites to see!? Hope you come visit. Our door is always open to hearld the hungry traveller and offer a comfy place to sleep!