Some leisure, too... 

 
Because "All work and no play makes Johnny a sad boy",
not all was work, there were also occasions for
touring around and getting together.

The organization was delighted to show some of 
the numerous natural beauties that the Island
of Santa Catarina  has to offer.

For Saulo Finco, who headed the local organization,
on behalf of the CTI Foundation, it was a twofold
pleasure, because he lived in Florianópolis during his youth.

• Our base of operations
• A tour through the inland
• A tour to Joaquina beach
• Schooner sailing

    Our base of operations (view of the backyard)...

Ingleses Beach ("Beach of the Englishmen", literally), with the hotel's swimming pool in the fore plane. Satisfaction with the hotel's excellent location was unanimous! The course lecturers really had great merit, because "competition" was quite strong!

Another view of Ingleses Beach, in the opposite direction. Early in the morning, you could see the fishermen pulling the nets, with fresh fish, out of their small boats.

    Tour through the inland

View from a belvedere, on a tour through the island. You can see the ocean and Conceição Lagoon, the lagoon of the old hand-maid. The story of the old lace-maker is one of the many that the island could tell. The island has a traditional kind of bobbin lace, called bilros, a tradition brought by the colonists, of portuguese origin (more precisely from the Azores islands). By the ocean, on the left, the dunes of Joaquina Beach are visible. This is a good spot for sand surfing, a popular activity among colombians and gaúchos...

Another belvedere, over Conceição Lagoon, the largest in the island.

"Floripa by night" - A night view of Florianópolis, where you can the bridges that connect the city to the mainland. "Floripa" is the nickname given to the city by those familiar with it. As for the name Florianópolis, it was decreed in 1894 by brazilian president Floriano Peixoto.

    Tour to Joaquina Beach

A beach into the open sea, with vigourous waves. The course's "official photographer" took a much welcomed refreshment.

You can see the surfers riding the generous waves, in spite of the cautious words inscribed on the rock!

More signs of danger. Such lack of confidence on the judgment of their fellowman! And once again, boldly ignoring all dangers, there was a group of daredevils who didn't hesitate to climb the rocks just to take as many photos as they could (us, who else!)

    Schooner sailing

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Here we were almost boarded by other fearless seamen, like ourselves...

Anhatomirim Island, seen from the distance. the name comes from the indigenous language, and means "small evil spirit", because this island was used by the indians to abandon the corpses of their enemies defeated in combat.

This picture shows more closely the fortress built by the portuguese.
Military engineer José da Silva Paes was the architect and also supervised the works. The fortress had back then a rather small number of troops, but thanks to its' good location and impressive looks, it was effective in keeping abreast for many years the passing spanish vessels, as the region was prized as a good natural harbor. In present days, there are more and more spanish-speaking "invaders", but they are now wholeheartedly welcomed by local tourism...

Our schooner setting anchor by Anhatomirim island, with the flag of the state of de Santa Catarina set high up the mast.

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There were  visits to this page since April 26, 2000.