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The world’s best surfers are currently enjoying the fruits that come with lay days in Brazil. Despite the waves being flat, the WSL crew look to be enjoying just hanging out at the various beautiful beaches that are on offer along the coast.
To settle our envy towards the CT surfers, let’s take it back to the late 80s, when Tracks writer Tim Shingles shared his experience visiting the South American country. The Aussie frother really made a strong case that it was paradise for surfers. This archive featured in Tracks Magazine Issue no. 204 September, 1987
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SURFING IN BRAZIL
THE VISITOR
Words by Tim Shingles
If anyone were to scan the globe in search of countries offering surf filled holidays or travel they may not give Brazil a second glance. Wrong!! Although this paradise of culture and colour doesn’t always offer the legendary quality and consistency of wave havens such as Australia, Indonesia or Mexico, Brazil is definitely a candidate for the ultimate surf trip.
Brazil is similar in size to Australia and along its thousands of miles of surfable seaboard are many fair to excellent wave setups. Add to this an-unstable economy and a population of constant partyers and the attraction grows.
Beer, cocaine and marijuana are so inexpensive in this part of the world it’s almost unnecessary to budget for such things. Travel, except by air, food and pousadus (small hotels) are also cheap especially considering the benefits of an excellent black market exchange rate.
The richness and variety of life in Brazil is an inevitability considering the different origins of the country’s 130 million population. Portuguese and other Europeans, Africans and South American Indians contribute to a culture which is more concerned with partying than the problems so inherent, many other areas of the world. Racism, religious prejudice, political conflict etc. just do not exist on any large scale here. The single restraint on these energetic people is the poor economy which is still faltering despite the introduction of the ‘Cruzado Plan’ designed to stabilise inflation by freezing wages and prices and revaluing the currency. However, this restraint is more of a creative catalyst than a barrier-festivals such as ‘Carnival’ continue to create more and more interest in these party- crazed people.
The surfers I met in Brazil are as hard core as anywhere and some of the crazies I found would be at home at ITN. You won’t find Brazilians in the top 16 however. This is as much a result of the economy as of any other single factor. It costs a lot of money to fly anywhere from Brazil and the average wages won’t go far towards paying for surf trips abroad. Therefore the experience to be gained from surfing the world’s waves is lost. Those who can pay are to be found principally in Peru and México although there are always a few wild Brazilians around Hawaii and Bali during the appropriate seasons. The same reasons which make it difficult for Brazilians to travel make it correspondingly easy for Australians to visit Brazil and the remainder of Latin America. Unfortunately the air fare is a killer but once in the country the cost of living can be as low as that of Bali. US dollars go a long way on the black market exchange and it’s quite possible to live on $10 a day including bus travel within Brazil.
Being a mere gringo, I had to learn the hard way at first but I found remarkable hospitality along the trail. Brazil is the only South American country speaking Portuguese and few people outside the tourist traps speak English. However, the proportion of surfers who speak English is quite high.
Professional competition in Brazil began in 1977 with the initial ‘Waimea 5000’ and was continued annually until 1981, the last contest being won by Cheyne Horan. Internal economic problems contributed to a five year lull in inter- national competition until the highly successful ‘Hang Loose’ contest at Joaquina in 1986 won by Dave MacAulay.
This contest attracted a lot of local and international publicity. The good management and excellent surf culminated in an exceptional contest all round.
Having mentioned a few beaches already, I guess I should elaborate on some of the spots to check for surf. When I originally arrived in Rio’s 35° sunshine from New York’s freezing winter I was excited about getting back in the water after a two month drought. Unfortunately, Rio in January isn’t the place to get excited about surf. The best time to get waves in Brazil is during the winter months from May till September when storm activity in the South Atlantic pushes cold water currents and long lines of groundswell towards the tropics.
I immediately checked with some friends I met in Bali six months earlier to see where the waves were at. Pepe Lopes is well known in Brazil as a top surfer and is well known on the international hang gliding circuit as a champion pilot. With Eduando, his brother, and Rui Gunha, Pepe also operates a chain of great natural food stands along Rio’s beaches. The boys said go south so I did, eventually arriving on Santa Catarina. Island after quick excursions into Argentina and Paraguay. The island is a great place to go surfing and forms the centre point of the south coast surf community where Brazil’s best waves are to be found.
There are four surf shops in Florianopolis, a city on the mainland side of the island. “Garni Gomes from Mormaii Surf Shop and Carlos ‘Lumba’ from THC Surf Clothing pointed me towards some great local beach breaks, as well as various other forms of entertainment. The best wave spots on Santa Catarina include Santinha, Canpeche, Armacao and Joaquina.
Joaquina Beach is much like the north end of Straddie and similarly works in almost any swell provided the breeze has some west in it. Renowned south coast mainland spots include Lagura and the big the wave break, Imbitula. This area has generally the most consistent surf in Brazil and the best variety of setups to take advantage of any one swell.
An island off Lagura inhabited only by poor fishermen has to be one of the most incredible secret spots in Latin America. There are no hotels, stores or roads, so camping or putting up in a fisherman’s shack is the go. The island is almost never without waves. In any given swell size and direction a little investigation will usually turn up an offshore beach break or a big wally point. I’m intentionally not giving away too much on these places so I can’t be accused of spoiling anyone’s sense of adventure.
When the onshores blew in, I headed north to Sao Paulo to catch up with Lumbra’ and the promise of waves on the ‘Costa Norte’. Sao Paulo is a city of 15 million so I was glad ‘Lumbra’ picked me up at the bus station. We left for the coast that night and arrived at Maresias Beach sometime after midnight where we camped on the floor at a friend’s house. The lure of surf had everyone up early only to find the swell lacking. We decided to head further north and eventually arrived at the ‘Festival Hollywood’ contest site at Itamambuca Beach near the town of Uhatuba.
The waves were still under four feet but we picked out a little peak away from the contest and put in a two hour fun session before checking the last heats of the open mens and sucking on some beers procured from the beach bar. Here I was able to see four of Brazil’s amateurs in action. They obviously had a lot of small wave knowledge as they carved the three foot beach break with as much skill and flair as any competition surfing I’ve seen in Australia. They seemed to be surfing with no discernible international influence on their style. They were able to make the most of what each wave presented without unnecessary repetition or undue struggling to link manoeuvres.
These were the last heats of the day and it was time to head back to town where I was to be billeted for the next two nights in a house rented for contest competitors. Ubatuba is pretty laid back like any coast town but being a holiday time, the week before Carnival, the beach front streets took on a ‘New Year’s Eve at Coolangatta’ aspect with people, music and bars splashed liberally along the pavements.
After meeting some of the loonies at the house, we all went out to hunt up a feed and a few drinks but not before getting pretty ripped on some Brazilian gunga. Franguinba’, a hot amateur surfer from Florianopolis, was showing me how to con on to the local women but it was really confusing trying to communicate with my limited Portuguese. When we eventually returned to the house we found a wild party raging and I mean wild. The girls were worse than the guys, real crazies. The whole scene was totally out of control. The music was ridiculously loud. There was the usual screaming, furniture throwing. door breaking, stripping and of course the shaving cream treatment. Half these maniacs had heats to surf in a few hours but was beginning to learn that these people don’t worry too much about tomorrow they are more interested in partying NOW!
The following day ‘Lumbra’, ‘Franguinba’ and I gave the contest site a miss and concentrated what was left of our energy on a beach break at Praia de Vermelba. It was hot, again, and I got sunburnt, again, but the waves were much better and we were glad to have the whole day to recover and surf as the following day I was heading back to Rio for ‘Carnival’.
Rio de Janeiro isn’t as consistent as the south coast but it’s a severe place to hand out when the surf’s flat: there are heaps of great beaches in Rio linked by massive and rugged hills. However, only the more southerly beaches have surf. The famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches are strictly for perving and drinking. Brazilian girls like wearing g-strings and extremely small bikini tops and Rio’s beaches are crowded with girls wearing just that so it takes a little getting used to when the surf’s off.
Two of the best Rio breaks are Pinpina and Quebra Mar, both known to handle eight foot plus when it happens. Unfortunately, most of the time I checked it was under four feet. When the waves are really small many of the locals head two hours north east to Saquarema which always picks up any pint of south swell and is a fairly consistent beach break as well as one of the few reliable big wave spots in the Rio area.
Any visit to Rio should be timed for the first weekend in March so you can participate in the biggest party and one of the most amazing cultural events in the world- carnival! Almost a week of frenzied partying in houses, condos, streets, beaches-everywhere-leads into two consecutive nights of Samba music and dancing in Rio’s Sambadrome! Thousands and thou- sands of people in eight ‘schools’ dress up in super bizarre and elaborate costumes before parading in the ‘Passarela do Samba’ for the prestige of being judged ‘numero una’ school. For a whole week the city totally shuts down and parties every night well into the next day. It’s a totally overpowering experience which really does defy description-an occurence which overtakes the entire country-each town and city creating its own Carnival.
Getting back to the waves. I’ve left the best till last. Isla do Fernando de Noronha is known in Brazil as the ‘Hawaii of the Atlantic’, and not merely because of its great climate and warm, clear water. It sports some of the most intense beach breaks in Latin America and should be checked if you can stand the air fare.
The island is fabled for huge, clean waves breaking with Hawaiian-like power and gleaming white sandy beaches. The almost constant trade- winds usually provide an offshore peak some- where on the island. The swells explode from deep water onto volcanic rock and sand, peeling off fast, hollow sections in idyllic surroundings. The uncrowded, tropical atmosphere and excel- lent surf are famous in Brazil. Its isolation will hopefully keep it uncrowded and unexploited for those who search for such perfection.
Brazil is certainly a country which offers the travelling surfer a unique experience and the opportunity to surf truly exotic waves. Of course, it is a little out of the way but we all know that travel to out of the way places sometimes results in that once in a lifetime surf trip. Certainly, if you are planning to surf Peru or Central America don’t hesitate to check out Brazil – you won’t be disappointed.
