This trail has history
Our journey begins millions of years ago, when the region where we have Santa Catarina Island today was actually a group of several islands, still unnamed, and volcanoes dominated the landscape.
As time went by, the ocean waters receded, and our island's current geography began to take shape.
From the top of Coroa Hill, on Lagoinha do Leste Beach, we can see the rocks that are embedded in the earth and bear witness to this moment.
We take the trail to Pântano do Sul, time is ticking, it's the year 2000 BC, the first inhabitants are leaving the shell mounds known as Sambaquis, which served not only as shelter, but also as a ceremonial burial place for its inhabitants. We take a boat to Campeche Island, 3000 years later, in the year 1000 AD, the Guarani have thrown away their tools, leaving several lithic workshops on the beach. On the shore, the rock inscriptions are strikingly beautiful and intriguing as to their origin and meaning.
Another leap in history, but still in the south of the island, we arrive in 1516. From Naufragados Beach we see the first Europeans settling in the region and integrating with the Carijó who live here. Among them are Aleixo Garcia and the black Francisco Pacheco who, together with a Guarani army, trekked more than three thousand kilometers to the Inca empire. Impressed by the possibility of harmonious coexistence between indigenous people and Europeans, we picked up our luggage and continued our journey.
Now we take a longer trail, cross the whole island and arrive at Ingleses Beach, in 1687. From the top of the hill, we see Francisco Dias Velho, the scout who founded the city of Desterro, together with his enslaved natives, attacking the ragged pirates who were trying to recover his ship. All the pirates are imprisoned and the treasure is taken to the city center. Little did Dias Velho know that these vengeful pirates would come years later to recover his treasure and destroy the city.
Returning south, we take the Caminho do Travessão and arrive at the parish of Lagoa da Conceição, in 1750, when the first Azorean immigrants began to settle in the region. We see the farmers, who came in search of an opportunity in the “new world”, full of hope and promises from the Portuguese crown. We also see that the promises were not kept and that many of them found it very difficult to adapt to this new land, new climate and new vegetation. All this newness generates insecurity and fear, which gives wings to the imagination, and from there many myths and legends are born: witches, boitatás and other legendary creatures serve to explain the unknown natural events and give the island the nickname Ilha da Magia (Magic Island).
Continuing south, we arrive at Armação Beach, 1772. The Armação de Santana da Lagoinha is coming into operation. Enslaved blacks are at work. While the strongest are on the oars of the whaleboats hunting the huge animals, on land the elders are responsible for cutting the cetaceans into pieces and melting their fat in various pots. Meanwhile, ox carts are loaded to take the fat to the Port of Contrato, where it will be shipped to Rio de Janeiro and used as fuel for the capital's public lighting. The working conditions shock us. Outraged but unable to change the past, we continue our journey.
Now the journey is short, just five years. It's 1777, and from the top of the Holy Cross Way, in Forte Beach, we can see in the distance a hundred Spanish boats moored off Canasvieiras Beach, where thousands of soldiers are disembarking. Inside the Fortress of São José da Ponta Grossa, chaos is rife among the Portuguese soldiers. The fort is being abandoned in a cowardly manner. In Desterro, the news has already arrived and most of the inhabitants take their boats and flee to the mainland in fear of what will happen. The Spanish conquer the fortresses of the defense triangle without much effort, turning the island of Santa Catarina into Spanish territory for about a year.
The town grows, the population increases and we now travel back to the 1900s. A lot happened during this period: Independence, the Proclamation of the Republic and a change of name. Nossa Senhora do Desterro is now called Florianópolis. However, the urban infrastructure has not grown at the same rate as the population. The city has problems with basic sanitation and access to drinking water. From the top of Antão Hill, in the central region, we see the construction of the capital's first water reservoir and the collection of water from Lagoa Hill and Itacorubi. A few years later, Poção Waterfall became part of this system.
Now our journey is through the sky! We flew into Praia do Campeche, hitching a ride with the French airmail service at the end of the 1930s. Illuminated by lanterns, the hill signals the location of the airfield, one of the company's stopping points on the route from France, through Rio de Janeiro and on to Buenos Aires. During the stops, the pilots meet the locals, who are still impressed by these flying machines. Among them, the one who years later published the famous book Little Prince.
Our journey doesn't end here. At every trail we take around this wonderful island, we have the opportunity to transport ourselves back in time and learn about the stories that formed the city that we have today.
.png)
If you enjoyed this trip, leave a note in the notebook, invite your friends to travel with you and leave us a note on Instagram.
.jpg)