Balneário Camboriú

Discovering Santa Catalina I

Balneário Camboriú

Inside the state of Santa Catarina there are other cities on the fringes of the island that make it very attractive for visitors, and whose main activity is tourism. Due to this, on one weekend we decided between us to rent a car and tour part of the coast until we reached the city of Balneario. This place has been spoken about as a beach paradise. However, after having been to Florianópolis, we highly doubted it could surprise us that much. It was basically a very beautiful landscape, and the city enchanting, but a "magical island"... I think the balance tipped slightly more towards Floripa. Nevertheless, this is not excuse for not exploring other areas, and that is why, as I was saying, we rented a car and decided to travel there, travelling about 85 km along the coast to reach the city in question.

Balneário Camboriú, or also known as BC or the Brazilian Dubai, is one of the most important cities in the Santa Catarina state of Brazil. It is home to approximately 100, 000 inhabitants, a number that can be seen to be multiplied by 10 during the high season. The city has one of the highest densities of sky scrapers in Brazil, their locations can be found along the entire city's coastline where there is also the majority of tourist activity taking place too.

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The city is fed mainly by tourism and, as well as its beaches, it has one of the best leisure offers in the state, 365 days a year.

The best time of year to come here is after the end of summer, at the end of the carnival when the prices and the masses of people have decreased. Of course, it depends on what you're looking for. Obviously, the high season includes the summer months and from Christmas to the carnivals, which is when they have a load of parties outside. If you don't like sharing the city with the masses of foreigners, you have the option of coming in winter when you will still be able to find a party, don't worry! We went during April and we saw the city in quite a tranquil state, without too much hustle and bustle. We could walk and get to know the city as we wanted, without queues or any kind of unwanted stress.

Here are two links that I have added, as I always try to do, of a few websites where they publicise all the events that take place in the city. If you are interested in going on a trip, I would always recommend joining in with one or more of these activities as, in my opinion, they are one of the best ways to see how a city runs, and to discover its habits and routines.

http://www.belasantacatarina.com.br/eventos_programados.asp?cid=1

http://www.pagina3.com.br/agenda/2014/03/07

They say that the city receives about 1 million tourists in a year, the majority of them coming from the rest of South America. However, aside from this activity, their economics is also founded on granite and marble mining.

The skyline is very characteristic. From around 10km away, you can appreciate the enormous quantity of sky-scrapers built just a few metres from the seafront. Many of the Spanish tourists that have been here (it is relatively close to the island of Florianópolis), whom we have gotten to know on the island, they say that this place reminds them of Benidorm in Spain.

The city was colonised by the Portuguese who arrived on the Açcores island. The people from Balneário Camboriú are actually descended from a mix of German, Polish, Portuguese and Italian blood. Of these 100, 000 inhabitants that were in the last census of the city, the large majority are white. That is to say, most of the population of Balneário Camboriú are European immigrants. After this, we can deduce that there is only a small amount of people that settled in the city and were originally from Camboriú, but that it is a very in-demand destination, especially by the rest of Brazil and even from different foreign countries. They come here to find new opportunities based on the quality of life in this city.

That being said, the city has retained many customs and traditions from their ancestors. This is reflected mainly in their gastronomy (especially in the sea food) and the typical folklore of Balneario: Boi-de-Mamão is a good example, originally from the Açores, and although it is known throughout the state of Santa Catarina, it is on the coast where it reaches its maximum expression.

When we went, they recommended us to eat "Bom Sul" in the centre of the city. Although in the end, like good Spaniards, we missed the lunchtime (at 12:00 noon) and ended up having a picnic at 3 in the afternoon.

Tourist attractions

• Beaches

Of course, a strong tourist aspect is the beaches. You can find yourself in the "Praia Central", which is one of the most urbanised beaches, with skyscrapers at the foot of the beach and with the best tourist attractions along the entire beach, up to the most unspoiled and wild beaches such as "Taquarinhas". "Taquarinhas" is a totally deserted beach with a rural and natural atmosphere (although in high season it is also frequently visited by tourists as well). Other beached in-between, with little parts of urban life, are more tranquil but also have a few bars and restaurants to enjoy good food, a beer or coconut water. For example, “Estaleirinho” or “Taquaras”, they also even have a nudist beach which is 450 metres long with its own camping site: "Praia Pinho".

The best beach is probably Brava Beach because the Central Beach of Cemboriú is always full of people. Another option would be "Laranjeiras", especially in low season.

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• Cristo de la Luz

Around the multitude of beaches, the main tourist attractions are the Cristo de la Luz Complex, which is the second best tourist monument in Brazil. 33 metres high and located on the highest hill "Morro da Cruz", it constitutes an important symbol of the city. It is a monument to Jesus, who holds in his left hand a cannon of light, which is intended to symbolise the sun. The views at night are spectacular, with the Christ and his face totally illuminated by powerful spotlights, dominating the city. As the spotlights are projected on his face, his silhouette is marked in the sky. Furthermore, if you climb to the top of the hill Morro da Cruz where it is located, you will be able to enjoy beautiful views of the beaches. Often they have a megaphone system connected to add a dreamlike touch. In order to be able to climb the hill and reach Christ, the price per person is 10 reales (3€).

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• UNIPRAIAS

Another tourist icon in this city is the Tourist Complex of UNIPRAIAS. It is 87, 000 km2 and has 3 stations that communicates by cable car ("llamadobondinho" in Portuguese). It joins the Central Beach with the Larajeiras Beach and with the first nudist beach in Brazil, that I told you about before: Pinho Beach.

In this complex we could climb to the top by the cable car that rose up to 240 metres. During the successive stops on the journey, we could find different activities ranging from one of the largest zip wires in the country, to a mini roller coaster with excellent views, or a restaurant in the heights.

The best bit was in the centre of this journey where we could walk through a reserve filled with Mata Atlantica (endemic shrub species in Brazil), which includes a carefully structured ecological park where they explain to visitors the problematic situation of this shrub.

Balneário Camboriú offers more than 100 hotels, a large variety of cuisine, and all types of tourist services.

Another in-demand activity is the helicopter ride and the visit to the Cyro Gevaerd Park where, as well as enjoying the trip through the typical Santa Catarina vegetation and fauna, you can find yourself around some reconstructions of old houses that were typical of the colonisers.

The best time of year to visit this city is in the middle of the high and low season, between Christmas and Carnival. The prices are still high, though. After Carnival it becomes a calm and tranquil area.

It also has great cultural aspects to offer, such as the Cultural Foundation of BC, its famous Machado de Assis Library and the innovative Artenomia Project where works by various local artists, samples of photographs and book launches are exhibited.

The truth is that this is a place close enough to Florianópolis that is worth visiting. Furthermore, if you have several people who agree to come, it will be a cheap trip that you can do and where you can walk around the island a little to get to know the rest of the state of Santa Catarina.