Noronha

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Why this island?
According to Lonely Planet, this island contains 3 of the 4 most highly rated Brazilian beaches and it's marine park is a World Heritage site; in fact the whole place is a national park. They limit the island to 200 or so visitors a day and you have a pay extra "wildlife preservation fees" to get on/off Noronha.

Expectations?
As I stepped off the plane, I expected to be overwhelmed by tour operators and aggressive people hawking food, postcards, and other misc things. Not so much. The island is a collection of little (sparsely populated) villages with 2 main food establishments (self-service, home-cooked buffets). Over the course of a week, we only found 1 fluent English speaker at the dive shop desk. 90% of the tourists are Brazilian. (Actually, 2 orkut/Google employees recommended this spot. Thanks!)

What did we do?


  • Rode the bus: We took the one bus around town and then walked to various points of interest.
  • Snorkeled with turtles: We swam around with ~10 turtles of varying sizes. Very cute.
  • Read: Armed with our kindles & a thick application of sun block, we read War and Peace under a rented umbrella (10R or 5USD).
Photo of beach with turtles (in water)



  • Scuba dived: We went on a few dives with Aguas Calientes because they were relaxed about our PADI diving cards (internet was down & they trusted that we had our certifications unlike the other dive shop). It was pretty intimidating for me because I couldn't remember a thing from my dive class 3 years ago (e.g. how do I clear my mask or regulator again?). Also, the guides could speak as much English, French, and Spanish as I could speak Portuguese (i.e., none). But, none of that mattered. As soon as we were in the water and my ears equalized, I was blissfully swimming in a fish-fantastical world. We saw a big lobster, big eels, big sting rays, colorful & diverse fish. On another dive, Li saw a pregnant shark. Glad that I took Dramamine because the water was really choppy.
  • Swam & hiked around tide pools: We ventured to all of the 5 star beaches. Most of them are very secluded and require a significant hike to get to (e.g. Indiana Jones style ladder).
Adventure getting to remote beaches


  • Rented a buggy: We rented a buggy for a day to further explore the island. It reminded me of an amusement park ride (e.g. you have to steer 45 degrees to the right to go straight). 
Buggy Time Photo

  • Visited historical sites: We checked out the 2 churches and a few relics like a cannon.
 Colorful church photo

Full album

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