3 Days in the Natural Beauty of Urubici Brazil
Don’t miss the Slide Show below!
Planning travel is in many ways a leap of faith. I mean, you can search the internet, read reviews and look at photos or you can talk with someone about their experiences in a place, but until you actually experience the trip yourself, the process can be a complete gamble. And some factors, like weather, are just completely out of your control and can really change the experience. You roll the dice and sometimes end up with a dump of a hotel or a point of interest that looks more like a bad Hollywood set full of tourist traps. But sometimes you roll the dice and win the jackpot. That’s what happened to us on a recent 3 day trip into the mountains of the Serra Geral in Santa Catarina Brazil.
After a conversation with my landlady about our love for mountains and nature, I decided to follow her advice when the kids had spring break in October and head towards the small city of Urubici. A 2 1/2 hour drive from the island of Florianopolis, it’s a great location for a short getaway. At the time we were pretty worn down from the constant rains of the island and ready to see something different. I headed to my trusty laptop to make plans and after a couple of hours turned away sorely disappointed that lodging was too expensive. This is where understanding the local language can make all the difference. I had searched the words “hotel” and “hostel” and even “pousada” (being proud of my basic level of Portuguese). After moaning to my local friend about the situation, she informed me that the correct word I should be using was “fazenda”. Urubici is in an agricultural area and many of the lodging choices are actually like staying on farms. In this case “fazenda” is the term. I rushed back to my computer with my new word and a whole other world of affordable and attractive possibilities appeared. After a little more search and a couple of phone calls (because many of these places do not accept credit card or online payment) we settled on Serra Bela Hospederia.
Off We Go
We packed our bags and the night before our departure I walked down the street to rent a car from my local favorite (at about $45 US per day) and drove away in a Fiat Gol. The next morning I was somewhat apprehensive about driving into mainland Brazil as we crossed the bridge off our island but my worries soon faded as it became clear we had left early enough to avoid heavy traffic and the weather was good. We followed BR-101 to Palhoca and then turned on to BR-282 towards Lages. This turn was the signal to us that we were leaving the more urban areas and entering farm and tourist country. Not too far down this highway, I had to laugh at the Motel Erectus as we passed (picture below). It’s always a bit awkward to laugh about these things in front of my 9 year old who will ask non-stop “why is that so funny?” and my two teens who laugh with me, unsure if they should let on that they do understand why it’s funny.
Into the Hills
Small hills soon became larger rolling hills. After 130 kilometers we passed the town of Bom Retiro and made the turn to Urubici. That’s when we started to become really excited. The large rolling hills continued to grow and become more jagged and we were soon driving hairpin mountain curves with breathtaking views around each corner. Something about driving mountains with a stick shift and no power steering makes you feel like you’ve accomplished an athletic event afterwards and is a whole lot more exciting than driving my car at home.
25 more kilometers and we descended a mountain into the town of Urubici. It is one of the larger towns of the area and boasts a street light (that’s right – one street light). This street light, it turns out, is the basis for every set of directions you will be given once you’re there. All points of interest from Urubici seem to be described by their position to this light. We made our prescribed left at the light and headed out of town to our lodging.
Serra Bela
Here’s where we hit the jackpot. Serra Bela is a gorgeous place. The spacious grounds are beautiful and manicured almost to the level of a japanese garden. The air smelled heavily of honey which we were told was a flower on one of the many bushes. The buildings are nestled in the side of a hill and look upon two ponds, the grounds, and rolling green hills full of grazing cows in the background. You have a choice of one of your own chalets or the lesser priced rooms that are not free standing. We went for the lesser priced room but were pleasantly surprised by the cozy mountain atmosphere, woodburning fireplace with generous amounts of wood provided, and more blankets and comforters than I have ever seen in a hotel. Our balcony looked directly onto the larger pond and we could hear the cows and goats in the distance. This area of Brazil is known for its large German population and Serra Bela definitely reflects this in decor and food.
We were the only guests in this beautiful place our first night. The English speaking desk person kindly gave us a map of area attractions and highlighted the ones she thought were most worth seeing in our 3 days. We followed her advise to the letter and were well rewarded for doing so. If I have any advice to give travelers no matter where you go it is ASK the LOCALS and listen to what they tell you. I have never been disappointed.
The Sights
Our next three days consisted of driving curvaceous mountain roads (sometime paved, sometimes not) among beautiful scenery to see the numerous natural wonders this area offers. Some highlights were the majestic expansive view at Morro da Igreja, the lush green coolness of the waterfall at Gruta de Nossa Signora de Lourdes, the seemingly endless waterfall at Cachoeira Avencal, and the ancient wall carvings at Inscricoes Rupestres. I also took the kids for a horseback ride one morning and was invited into the Azorian style home of the farmers who ran the business. The wife made coffee while we sat and chatted about many things (family, politics, church, their crops, her worries about breast cancer screening she had recently had). It was a very special experience for me to be in such a typical home and to get a feel for her life.
Our culinary highlights were the breakfasts at Serra Bella which consisted of a generous variety of cakes, pastries, yogurt, meats, cheeses, breads, juices and coffee. We definitely made the most of these delicious breakfasts, eating as much as we could to last through the morning and half of the afternoon. Our other favorite was the hot chocolate at the restaurant in front of the Veu da Noiva (bride’s veil) waterfall. We were told by the owner that the chocolate was made with eggs yolks and cream. This sat under a mountain of meringue and was one of the richest hot chocolates we had ever experienced.
Simple Nature
The most memorable aspect of this trip for me was the nearly complete non-commercial nature of the sites we saw. Natural wonders that in the U.S. would have been signaled by miles of billboard pictures, and developed with stores and trinkets, were in their natural beauty here. Waterfalls might charge a small entry fee at the home of the property owner and their might be a simple wooden viewing stand but that would be the extent of the development. In fact, for anyone who would like to re-create this trip, please realize that you will have to search very carefully to find these places as there are very few and sometimes no signs to point the way.
After our 3 nights, we returned to the island of Florianopolis. The car was covered in mud that in places was about 8 inches thick! Trying to wash off the evidence of the kind of driving we had done, I actually had to kick and pry some of the mud from it. I did end up paying a small fee to have the car cleaned (about 9 dollars) but I was relieved that it hadn’t been damaged. And after all we saw, if the car had been damaged I think it would have been worth it!
