Regular readers of the blog know how fond we are of the praia do Forno in Arraial do Cabo, one of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil (we wrote a blog post on it: The most beautiful beach in Brazil?).

You are also aware of the problem of favelização in Arraial do Cabo, chaotic urban development and environmental crime. We now have evidence that things are moving at a much speedier pace that we could have possibly imagined. The favela on top of the Praia do Forno has begun its descent onto the beach.

The photo above was taken by our friend Felipe Terra and symbolizes the end of yet another Brazilian paradise. I’m thinking of changing the cover of my Brazil beaches book.

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You might remember this blog’s entry on our top 10: beaches, published quite a while ago. This new entry is a reworking of the original list, to which we have added satellite images of the beaches. Sweet dreams of crystal water beaches!

1. Praia do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco.

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2. Praia dos Porcos, Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco.

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3. Ilha do Campeche, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina.

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4. Praia do Forno, Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro.

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5. Praia do Cachadaço, Trindade, Rio de Janeiro.

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6. Praia da Conceição, Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco.

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7. Praia de Domingas Dias, Ubatuba, São Paulo.

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8. Baía dos Golfinhos, Pipa, Rio Grande do Norte.

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9. Praia de Paraty-Mirim, Paraty, Rio de Janeiro.

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10. Praia de Barra do Sahy, Barra do Sahy, São Paulo.

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[see our top 10 Brazilian beaches – 2009 edition]

On the entry I published recently with photographs of Arraial do Cabo (Brazil in pictures: Arraial do Cabo) I mentioned I was keeping the photographs of the Forno beach for a future opportunity. Well, here it is. We visited the beach on a cloudy Sunday morning – we liked it but didn’t fell in love with it. When we were back in Arraial, mother nature decided to send the clouds away. As we suspected the beach we had just seen might be something of a true marvel under the sun, we decided to go back once again. We made the right choice. Stunning colours! Crystal-clear waters! A moving view!

The beach is crescent-shaped and surrounded by vegetation everywhere. It can be reached on foot or by boat. The right-hand side of the beach (facing the sea) is where the most transparent waters are found; there is a good snorkelling point around the rocks there.

There are boats coming and going non-stop. Every now and then, a boat anchors at the beach.

There are several bars at the beach where you can sit and relax and enjoy life far away from civilization.

Abstent from my photographs are some of the reasons that allow Sancho beach, in Fernando de Noronha, to rest untroubled in the knowledge that she is the absolute number one. While Forno could rise to the challenge when it comes to comparing blue and crystal-clear waters, when the environment around the beach is taken into account it suffers a heavy defeat at the hands of Sancho. From the bar where we sat enjoying a finger-licking dish of fried squid rings we could see: a Brazilian navy submarine anchored in the middle of the bay, the top of an oil rig anchored at Arraial harbour for maintenance work; and the houses of the shanty town at the top of the hill, about to beging its unstoppable descent onto the beach.

We hope we manage to preserve Noronha, as many of the other Brazilian paradises have entered the path of degradation from which there is no return.

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1. Praia do SANCHO (Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco)
2. Praia dos PORCOS (Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco)
3. Praia da ILHA DO CAMPECHE (Florianópolis, Santa Catarina)
4. Praia do Forno (Arraial do Cabo, Rio de Janeiro)
5. Praia do CACHADAÇO (Trindade, Rio de Janeiro)
6. Praia da Conceição (Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco)
7. Praia de Domingas Dias (Ubatuba, São Paulo)
8. Baía dos Golfinhos (Pipa, Rio Grande do Norte)
9. Praia de Paraty-Mirim (Paraty, Rio de Janeiro)
10. Barra do Sahy (São Paulo)

Honourable mentions:

• praia de Pitinga (Arraial d’Ajuda, Bahia)
• Caçimba do Padre (Fernando de Noronha)
• praia dos Coqueiros (Trancoso, Bahia)
• praia do Félix (Ubatuba)
• praia de Copacabana (Rio de Janeiro)
• praia de Ipanema (Rio de Janeiro)
• praia de São Conrado (Rio de Janeiro)
• praia Azeda (Búzios, Rio de Janeiro)
• praia Azedinha (Búzios, Rio de Janeiro)
• praia do Amor (Pipa, Rio Grande do Norte)

Special mentions from my Brazilian other half (places I haven’t been to yet):

• praia de Lopes Mendes (Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro)
• Bombinhas (Santa Catarina)
• fourth beach at Morro de São Paulo (Bahia)
• praia dos Dois Rios (Ilha Grande)

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