Priest’s Well

— A trip to Fernando de Noronha (Brazil) is idyllic. Located off the coast of Northeast Brazil, this archipelago contains some of the most pristine and beautiful beaches you’ll encounter, such as Sancho Beach. The scene in the photo above is from the Priest’s Well beach (Cacimba do Padre). The name for this beach was given for a very simple reason. A priest who lived nearby dug out a well. When we visited Fernando de Noronha in December 2016, we were expecting unparalleled views, but what we found far surpassed our expectations. For starters, the main island is mostly a protected national park. To be more exact, it is 70% a maritime national park. You can go swimming with a variety of marine life, including turtles and sharks. By the way, the locals guarantee that sharks are harmless to humans, and that is probably true since no one was ever attacked by a shark in those waters. Furthermore, since 2001 Fernando de Noronha has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For us, this was a checkmark on our bucket list. The Cacimba do Padre beach is about 0.5 miles (900 m) in length and is also the location of the Two Brothers rock formation. In the summertime, this is surfers’ paradise, as waves reach heights of 16 ft (5 m). Also on the horizon, as shown in the photo here, one can see the majestic Morro do Pico (Peak Mountain).