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Exploring a New Corner of Brazil in Bombinhas – Hidden Beaches, Hills… And a Banana Boat

I don’t (want to) know what’s going on in other parts of the world right now, but in Bombinhas, Santa Catarina State, people are mostly drinking água de coco and beer, going to the beach, eating pizza, and eventually going to bed before repeating this summer holiday routine the next day and for as long as possible.

I’m pretty sure half of Brazil is currently in Santa Catarina, or at least it feels this way because the one-hour drive from Florianópolis to Bombinhas shouldn’t have taken three hours. Construction, accident…? Nope, just regular traffic, apparently. We arrived around 4 p.m. after listening to our entire travel playlist in the car (“Not U2 again, daddy!”).

We traded a brand-new fancy condo for a street-level beach town apartment that came without bed sheets. The owner seemed shocked when we asked for them—yet another Brazilian bedding mystery. Mind you, plenty of locals fall asleep in their hammock at nighttime, and it’s hot enough that sheets are just for extra coziness.

We took a chance with Bombinhas, but it’s actually a pretty cool place. It’s big enough that there are supermarkets and pretty much everything we need, but it’s also super laid-back. Avenida Leopoldo Zarling that runs a block from Praia da Bombas is packed with all-you-can-eat pizza and seafood, swimsuit shops, restaurants and more. The rest of the town is pretty quiet and beaches are lovely.

Yes, beaches, plural.

There’s Praia da Bombas, perfect for a walk at night but pretty crowded and noisy during the day. Then there’s tiny Retiro dos Padres, and Praia da Bombinhas, also packed. We aimed for Quatro Ilhas, much further, because getting there is half the fun—you just have to take the long, brand-new boardwalk, and yes, Mark, if you were paying attention, you would have seen giant sea turtles swimming in the ocean.

Of course, the boardwalk only goes so far, we had to climb a couple of hills to reach Quatro Ilhas. And then, once on Quatro Ilhas, I climbed another hill for the perfect view.

I became the favourite parent of the day when I suggested a banana boat ride—if you’re not familiar with the concept, it’s basically a long, yellow inflatable boat towed by a motorboat. Mark is finally old enough for proper beach fun, so why not?

“You gotta hold on tight, otherwise you gonna fall,” I advised.

“Wait… I could fall off the boat?”

“Absolutely. Look, I’ve never pretended I was a good mother, alright?”

It was a wild ride and Mark’s face was priceless when he realized that yes, these boats go very, very fast and it gets very, very bumpy.

Then we stopped in the middle of the ocean.

“If anyone feels like swimming…”

“I’m going! Mark, wanna go swim with me?”

“But it’s…”

“Yes, very deep, yes, you gotta jump off the boat, yes, there are animals around. Again, I’ve never said I was taking you somewhere safe. Let’s go!”

And so we went swimming in the middle of the ocean, much to Mark’s delight—he does love water, it’s not like I was torturing him.

Sorry, no pictures, you can’t take a camera on a banana boat and Feng was napping on the sand.

Don’t worry, I have plenty of other questionable activities in mind for this trip… and I documented one today. Stay tuned!

Florianópolis to Bombinhas
Florianópolis to Bombinhas
Florianópolis to Bombinhas
Florianópolis to Bombinhas
Florianópolis to Bombinhas
Florianópolis to Bombinhas
R. Sanhaçu, Bombas, Bombinhas
R. Sanhaçu, Bombas, Bombinhas
R. Sanhaçu, Bombas, Bombinhas
R. Sanhaçu, Bombas, Bombinhas
Praia de Bombas, Bombas, Bombinhas
Praia de Bombas, Bombas, Bombinhas
Praia de Bombas, Bombas, Bombinhas
Praia de Bombas, Bombas, Bombinhas
Passarela do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Passarela do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Passarela do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Passarela do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Passarela do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Passarela do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Passarela do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Priaia do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Passarela do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Passarela do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Passarela do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Passarela do Ribeiro, Bombas, Bombinhas
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Bombinhas, Centro
Praia de Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Praia de Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Praia de Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Praia de Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Praia de Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Praia de Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Praia de Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Praia de Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Trilha de 4 Ilhas - Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Trilha de 4 Ilhas, Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Trilha de 4 Ilhas, Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Trilha de 4 Ilhas, Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Trilha de 4 Ilhas, Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Trilha de 4 Ilhas, Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Trilha de 4 Ilhas, Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Trilha de 4 Ilhas, Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Trilha de 4 Ilhas, Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Trilha de 4 Ilhas, Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Praia de Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
Praia de Quatro Ilhas, Bombinhas
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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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