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 and great ecological diversity, with marine estuaries, mangrove swamps, dunes, lagoons, rocky cliffs, islets and regions still covered by the marvelous Atlantic Coastal Forest, one of the world’s richest ecosystems in terms of biodiversity.
The city of Florianópolis has approximately 350,000 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, with a population largely from European extraction (Portuguese, Italian, German and other nationalities). Florianópolis has an airport, with several daily flights to Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and 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 eight hundred meters a dirt road that ends not far 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 small 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. Sunsets are often spectacular. Scorpio and the Southern Cross Crux are especially prominent constellations on clear winter nights.
Ten minutes walk from the house there is a pleasant beach. Twenty minutes walk away a fishing village, with its rich community life, a nice park, schools, two food stores, handy craft shops, gentle beaches, and excellent restaurants. This area is the greatest producer of mollusks of the island, a pilot project developed by the Federal University of Santa Catarina.