Santa Catarina

Wasiwaska is located in Florianópolis, on the island of Santa Catarina (parallels 27°22′-27°50′ meridians 48°25′-48°35′), in southern Brazil. It has 423 square kilometers and 172 kilometers of coastline with 42 beaches. It has great ecological diversity, with marine estuaries, mangrove swamps, dunes, lagoons, rocky cliffs, islets and regions covered by the marvelous Atlantic Coastal Forest, with one of the world’s richest biodiversity. Florianópolis has approximately 300,000 inhabitants, most of them in the downtown area of the city that is divided between the island and the continent, which are connected by bridges. It is the capital of the state of Santa Catarina, one of the richest in Brazil, and has a population that is largely European. Florianópolis has an airport, with several daily flights to Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. There are also daily flights to Buenos Aires.

Wasiwaska is on the northern part of the island, facing the continent and the peninsula of Daniela, some twenty-five kilometers from the centre of town, the last kilometer a dirt road that ends a few hundred meters from the house. Wasiwaska is blessed with natural sounds and tranquility. The waves of the sea below can always be heard in the background. Although the hills around Wasiwaska were partially cultivated until the 1970s, there are still beautiful pockets of Atlantic Coastal Forest, with dozens of species of orchids and bromeliads and many species of birds and insects (particularly butterflies), lizards and some snakes.

Ten minutes walk from the house there is a pleasant beach. Twenty minutes walk away a fishing village, with its pleasant community life, schools, a few shops, art stores, gentle beaches, and excellent restaurants, often packed on weekends. This area is the greatest producer of mollusks of the island, a pilot project developed by the Federal University of Santa Catarina.