A pristine island paradise off the coast of Brazil
By
MoneyWeek editor-in-chief
Merryn Somerset Webb May 30, 2008
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The tiny Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha probably looks much the same now as it did when Portuguese explorer Amerigo Vespucci “stumbled across it more than 500 years ago”, says Michella Chan in The Daily Telegraph. It rises from the “jade green Atlantic with dramatic rock formations”, entirely pristine white beaches and sweeping bays filled with hundreds of spinner dolphins.
Thanks to the fact that almost the entire island is a nature reserve and the seas around it are a marine sanctuary, there are no high rises, no big hotels, no luxury restaurants and no car parks. The minute airport is fashioned from an airstrip left behind by the Americans after World War II, there is just one paved road (the BR 363 – Brazil’s shortest highway) and, because the Brazilian authorities allow only around 420 visitors at any one time, there are practically no people.
This means that pretty much every stunning spot you visit – in your hired beach buggy – will be all but empty. At Baia do Sueste you rent snorkel equipment and head out from the beach to swim with huge sea turtles – often within touching distance and all the size of your average white-collar worker’s desk. At Atalaia you can swim in shallow tidal pools with swarms of brightly coloured tropical fish.
On the other side of the island (a matter of ten minutes in the buggy), you can surf extraordinary waves at Cacimba do Padre; visit Baia de Golfinhos to see hundreds of dolphins (the world’s largest known resident population) arriving every morning to breed and hang out in the clear waters; or just sit staring at what Sarah Miller, writing in The Observer, calls “wild turquoise seas and caressing powdery beaches”, while breathing in the world’s second-cleanest air (after the Arctic).
The bad news is that Fernando de Noronha isn’t exactly easy to get to. Until recently, Thompson flew directly to Natal, from where you could quickly connect to the island. But these flights have been discontinued. Now, you either have to fly to Sao Paolo and backtrack north (on BA or Brazilian airline TAM), or go on TAP via Lisbon to Recife from where you can finally pick up a flight to Fernando de Noronha.
It isn’t cheap – and with the real up 11% against our own feeble currency in the last five months alone, it isn’t getting any cheaper. Our four-day holiday cost more than the average annual GDP per person in Brazil. Dinner comes in at not much less than it does in London; a very average hotel room will set you back £150 minimum a night; the price of petrol is enough to make even a British resident – used to paying three times the real cost of a gallon in tax every time he fills up – gasp; and all visitors are required to pay a daily tax just to breath the pristine air (the longer you stay, the higher the daily rate).
But you know what? It was worth every penny just to swim off a succession of perfect beaches and be almost entirely alone every time – save 20-odd sea turtles and a couple of hundred dolphins. When Vespucci first stepped on to the island, legend has him announcing that “paradise is here”. He was right.
Fernando de Noronha: the best places to stay
Pousada Maravilha
The island’s most expensive spot offers hillside bungalows. See Pousada Maravilha.
Pousada Solar de Loronha
Fairly luxurious bungalows with views down the hills to the sea. See DiscoverBrazil.
Pousada Alquimista
A four-room guest house near the town centre (such as it is). See DiscoverBrazil.
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