Volta da Ilha de Porto Belo

Across the exposed ocean side of Ilha de Porto Belo, sheer walls of diorite plunge straight into the Atlantic. Here, in the sea off the coast of Porto Belo in Santa Catarina, Brazil, open water marathoners gather for the Volta da Ilha de Porto Belo, also known as the Travessia de Porto Belo. The challenge is a full seven-kilometer circumnavigation that traces a clockwise loop along the scenic waters of the Emerald Coast. The race gets underway at Ponta de Porto Belo, rounds behind the ocean-facing side of the island, and cuts back across the channel to finish on the sand of Praia Central in front of Porto dos Piratas.

To reach the start, organizer PDA Esportes ferries swimmers, their companions, and support craft out across the sound by boat. Every participant must be accompanied for the entire distance by a dedicated individual escort in a kayak or on a stand-up paddleboard, which helps keep sighting aligned and provides a direct safety link across open water. Swimmers are also permitted to tow a personal floating and signaling buoy behind them for added visibility. Tackling the full clockwise loop demands steady endurance and vigilant navigation, especially along the back of the island where the sheltering headlands fall away and the ocean swell makes itself felt. Having your paddler pacing beside you keeps your rhythm steady through the chop until the course rounds the outer point and turns back toward the mainland.

During the Southern Hemisphere summer in January, the Atlantic is warm and balmy along this stretch of coast. At the finish line on Praia Central, all completing swimmers and their support staff receive finisher medals, with podium awards honoring the top three male and female finishers overall as well as the top three in each age division.

The diorite cliffs and silt-free waters of the bay

Ilha de Porto Belo acts as a natural bulwark for the coastline, shielding the mainland bay from the heavy offshore swell. Under its protection, the water inside the channel remains remarkably calm, shallow, and placid, creating an ideal haven for long-distance swimming, water sports, and anchoring visiting boats. What makes the bay truly distinctive along the Brazilian seaboard is the complete absence of any river mouth emptying into its waters. Most coastal harbors in the country battle persistent siltation and turbidity driven by muddy river deltas, but Porto Belo receives no such runoff.

Carijó stone grooves and Azorean whaling heritage

The municipality of Porto Belo is home to twelve registered archaeological sites, ranging from ancient sambaquis—prehistoric shell mounds accumulated by coastal inhabitants over generations—to mysterious rock petroglyphs etched onto shoreline boulders. Right at the finish beach on Praia Central, this deep pre-colonial past remains directly underfoot along the rocky margins. Here lie ancient lithic workshops known locally as 'panelas de bugre', depressions ground into the stone by the indigenous Carijó people, who used the rocks to shape and polish their tools and stone weapons. On Ilha de Porto Belo are the ruins of a whale oil processing factory built around 1824 by João da Cunha Bittencourt. Maritime heritage remains vibrant at Praia do Araçá, a traditional fishing settlement where descendants of Azorean colonists still maintain their ancestral customs. The local coastal fishing practice known as 'Arrasto de Praia da Tainha' is officially recognized as intangible cultural heritage, keeping alive an intimate, generational bond with the sea.

Along the Enseada Encantada and hidden coves

Back along the town's seafront, the Enseada Encantada promenade traces the curve of the bay, offering a scenic path for walking and cycling with sweeping views across the water toward the island. Nearby, the recently revitalized Praça da Bandeira serves as a welcoming central square where families gather in the sea breeze after a day on the sand. Along the main beach, a designated swimming zone keeps swimmers safely separated from motorized watercraft like jet skis, providing a protected corridor for training laps before race day. Praia do Caixa d'Aço is an internationally recognized natural harbor. Tucked into another fold of the coast, the tiny 80-meter arc of Praia do Estaleiro is considered the municipality's most beautiful retreat, bordered by wild native vegetation and transparent greenish shallows that can only be reached by an overland foot trail or by boat.

The expansive white strand of Praia do Perequê stretches for two and a half kilometers, almost completely covered by seawater during high tide. From its wild outer coves to the historic town shoreline, this corner of Santa Catarina revolves entirely around the sea. Whether contending with ocean swells along the diorite bluffs or cruising across the silt-free emerald sound to the finish line, the circumnavigation of Ilha de Porto Belo immerses you in one of the purest marine landscapes on the Brazilian coast.