A recent trip to Brazil with Denise Santiago’s company, CIA-ECO, had our crew dining, dancing, kayaking and wandering the beaches of some of Brazil’s most beautiful and historic coastline.

Denise’s itinerary launches from Sao Paulo and eases down the coast to Rio de Janiero right on past popular beach cities with the tongue-twisting names of Caraguatatuba and Ubatuba before landing at the historic colonial town of Parati, then on to Rio de Janiero.

With an eye for local providers who pride themselves on offering personal service, Denise is bringing some of Brazil’s newer entrants to the adventure tourism business into her itinerary. This includes Christian Fuchs, sea kayak builder and instructor at Aoeria Outdoor; a Quilombo community; and two small lodges – the Pousada Ilha de Toque and Mamangua Eco Lodge.

One afternoon we sat sheltered from the rain in an outdoor pavilion at the Quilombo and devoured plates of feijoada, a traditional stew made from beans and pork and served with rice. The word “quilombo” refers to an African settlement, where the traditional inhabitants were fugitive slaves. There are many quilombos in Brazil, where, since 1988, the local people have established collective ownership of their land.

Another day, we paddled with Christian through the mist of the Saco do Mamangua, where the Sugarloaf Peak coyly hid and then revealed itself. We stopped to inspect starfish and eventually pulled ashore to join in a soccer game with a group of kids. (It goes without saying, the Brazilians won!) At the Mamangua Eco Lodge, owner Luca Mello’s team served beautiful meals of fresh meats, bread, cheeses, and papaya on the patio overlooking wide lawns.

One of the few companies in Brazil offering sea kayaking, Christian’s tour through Brazil’s only fjord, Saco do Mamangua, also introduced us to the silent mangrove forest and the joys of birdwatching. Here, it seems birdwatching is made for the lazy – all you need to do is look up to catch a glimpse of an exotic bird. Brazilian tanagers, for example, are endemic to this part of Brazil, and their scarlet bodies are hard to miss. Swallow-tailed hummingbirds zoom through the trees.

Another highlight: a midnight paddle through streams of phosphorescent plankton, throwing out sparkling splashes with every stroke.
Sound like fun? Contact Denise and tell her you would like to venture “Into the Atlantic Rainforest.”

Christina Heyniger
Xola Consulting, Inc.
Santa Fe, NM