My Favorite Island In The Whole Wide World

I've always disliked the term "bucket list", I prefer saying wishlist, dream list, must-explore list, don't-you-miss-it list. This island ought to make it to any of the above named lists or any other lists you have going on!

"Paradise is here." 

Those were the first words used to describe this island by the Italian explorer, navigator and cartographer, Amerigo Vespucci on August 10th, 1503. I couldn't agree more...

Paradise has a name: Fernando de Noronha

I can honestly say that I have never been to a place that made me laugh hysterically for 5 minutes followed by 5 minutes of non-stop crying in awe like the view overlooking Baía dos Porcos (Pigs' Bay) and Dois Irmãos (Two Brothers rocks). André, my Fernando de Noronha local tour guide, was afraid I was going to faint! He said some people have that reaction due to the emotional roller-coaster feeling when faced with such natural beauty and inspiring miraculous view of one of nature's masterpiece. I will never ever forget that feeling! Probably for the first time in my life I was...speechless! 

You can imagine my reaction when André told me I was about to snorkel around, what I now call, my Two Brothers and relax at a natural pool at Pigs' Bay. I did not believe him at first (for a second or two) then I was like a kid in a candy shop! I am pretty sure I jumped up and down smiling ear to ear and hugged him. My memory is a bit vague right now after such news. You can visit the island and ask André about it someday. He'll remember.

I was standing on the white pristine sandy beach of Cacimba do Padre about to enter the 80-degree-Fahrenheit 26-degree-Celsius green and blue water with my snorkeling gear at hand when André, who was ahead of me in the water, screamed "Bianca look up!" A whale was in the air! My first wild whale jumping for her own fun and entertainment experience. It was nothing like Sea World. This was real! OMG, I saw a whale. Just like that. Wow. And she was just the first one I saw that week. Needless to say, I was having the time of my life! 

Okay, a bit more info on my favorite island (so far) in the whole wide world. Fernando de Noronha is a Brasilian island located 545 km (339 mi) offshore from the coast of Pernambuco, a state in northern Brazil that administers the island as its "state district". The island is 17 sq km (7 sq mi). Noronha was used as a battlefield, jail, air base and weather station, but has now become a tourist heaven. One can get to Noronha by plane or cruise ship. There are two daily flights leaving from the Brasilian cities of Natal or Recife with Gol or Trip airline companies. The flight is about an hour long. I absolutely loved the time when all passengers first saw the paradisiac island out the plane window. Everyone went "wowwwwww" and "ohhhhhhh" and started taking pictures and smiling and laughing and talking in dozens of different languages realizing their dream was about to come true. Well, at least (one of) mine was...

The island has about 3,500 inhabitants. After an environmental campaign in 1988 most of the archipelago was declared a National Park for the protection of endemic species administered by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation - ICMBio . I asked the locals (which, by the way, will be your best friends by day two on the island and will call you by name everywhere you go) why there weren't more people living in the island (like the rich, wealthy, famous, celebrities). I found out not even Brasilian citizens can simply move to the island. They must be born there, marry someone who lives there, or obtain a permit to work there. Other than that, you are a tourist, and your vacation time is limited and you pay a daily fee to stay there. Yes, before leaving the airport, tourists are charged a fee based on the amount of vacation days in the island.

Tourism is developed in a sustainable way creating the opportunity for a balanced encounter between men and nature in this ecologic sanctuary. Surfers and divers go crazy in Noronha. I swam with over twenty wild turtles, snorkeling and diving. My favorite snorkeling memory was meeting Big Man, as the biologists call one of the old marine turtle which weighs 120 kg (265 lbs). He was chilling in the shallow and warm waters of Baía do Sueste with his mouth wide open. Tiny dentist-like fish were cleaning his teeth and others were feeding from his shell. I almost saw sharks and eels about a dozen times (everyone else saw them except me...good thing because I'd freak out!). I witnessed about a hundred happy care-free wild spinner dolphins jumping in celebration of life in paradise! What a vacation!

Fernando de Noronha, a hidden and protected gem in Brasil. I cannot wait to be back there...


Fernando de Noronha is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site because of the importance of its environment. (Read more http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1000), http://www.noronha.pe.gov.br)