I´m not much of a beach person really, but the island of Santa Catarina was a good place to relax for a few days. Much of the island is heavily built up, but I was staying in a blissfully peaceful little fishing village called Amacao. There is not much in Amacao apart from a small church, a few cafés, and lots of boats. Things got quite lively at night, though, with local samba bands drumming away incessantly. You don´t have to be in Brazil long before you realise what a lively country this is. It´s a bit of a cliché, but the Brazilians really do seem to love life. My impressions of them are that they are relaxed, open, friendly people. And from what little of the country I´ve seen, it´s blessed with great natural beauty.
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