Dois Irmãos

— This Christmas, while spending time with our family in Brazil, we took 4 days off to visit the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, off the northeast coast of Brazil. The archipelago comprises 21 islands, but only one is inhabited. What makes this island very special is that 70% of it is a national park with incredible beaches. The remaining 30% of the island is protected land. Pretty much every place you go, you’re close to gorgeous scenery and wildlife. The main island also has some historical fortresses. On our first day on the island, we decided to do what we normally do when we visit a new place: we take an overall tour to get us acquainted with the area. That way, we can always learn the history about the place and learn about places we want to see again on our own. We find that very helpful, especially since we learn things about the location that would normally be missed if we were on our own. The “Ilha Tour” (Island Tour) was unique in the sense that we were in a small group with a driver taking us to various places all day long. He told us there was no rush, and his intentions were to make us enjoy everywhere we went. So, we took our time visiting the beaches (swam at three different beaches), the lookout points, going snorkeling and culminating with a sunset view of the Morro dos Dois Irmãos (Two Brothers Mountain). It was an interesting experience with live music prior to the sunset. Then people sat around on a rock ledge (there were about 100 people) and admired what nature gave us.