In no other part of the Santa Catarina coast is the contrast between the new and the old as evident as in the region north of Florianópolis. The tall buildings and the busy urban life of Balneário Camboriú and Itapema contrast with the bucolic scenery of Bombinhas and Porto Belo.

The principal tourist destination of Santa Catarina, Balneário Camboriú, has two realities. The summer months turn a quiet city of 75,000 people into a cosmopolitan metropolis with more than 800,000 residents, lots of shopping and night life. Its urban effervescence does not shadow the natural enchantment of the region. Just head south, along the so-called Costa Brava, and scenes of indescribable beauty bloom among hillsides covered by the Atlantic Coastal Forest.

A little to the south, Bombinhas and Porto Belo share a unique combination of coves, rocky coasts and beaches, much sought after by sailors and divers. The Arvoredo Biological Marine Reserve - a group of three islands a few miles off the coast - marks the meeting of the cold waters of the Falkland Current with the warm Brazil Current from the north. Tropical fish and penguins gather in the same landscape to the delight of divers.

Stirred by tourism in the summer, the region is peaceful the rest of the year. Pretty deserted beaches and bucolic dirt roads lead to communities where the Azorean tradition seasons the food, the lace and the scenery, which seems lost in time.