Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to the beach, set on a hillside with views along the coast,
this cheap hotel
l offers
basic but comfy rooms and has a
pool. Free wi-fi.
R$140
★
attached to the Curuca restaurant, this cosy option is a
short walk from the beach and popular with families. The
rooms fea
ture a
clean, contemporary style, with breakfast
included.
R$155
Violeta Meaípe Hotel
Rua da Enseada 96, Meaípe
T
27 3272 2000,
W
hotelvioleta.com.br.
Conveniently
Anchieta
Twenty kilometres south of Guarapari, the town of
ANCHIETA
is one of the oldest
settlements in the state. Built on the site of a Tupi village converted by the Jesuits in
the 1560s, it was granted town status in 1759 as “Benevente”. An important fishing
port, Anchieta is one of the few places along this stretch of coast where life isn't focused
on tourism, and, as such, the hotels here are mainly grim - visit for the day.
2
Santuário Nacional Padre Anchieta
Praça da Matriz • Tues-Fri 9am-noon & 2-5pm, Sat & Sun 9am-noon • R$2 •
T
28 3536 2335
Of particular interest in Anchieta is the imposing
Santuário Nacional Padre Anchieta
,
which dominates the town from a hilltop position on the Praça da Matriz. Built
sometime around the late sixteenth century as a Jesuit mission, the complex includes a
church, the Igreja Nossa Senhora da Assunção, and a well-kept museum commemorating
the evangelical work among indigenous peoples of the sixteenth-century Jesuit priest
José de Anchieta
(see p.485).
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
ANCHIETA
By bus
Half-hourly buses run between Guarapari and
Anchieta (daily 7.30am-9.30pm; 40min), and also to
Vitória (2hr 10min). Heading south, the town has 3 daily
services to Rio (9.30am, 10pm & 10.30pm; 6-7hr).
Regência
Some 115km north of Vitória via ES-010 lies the village of
REGÊNCIA
, a fishing
community at the mouth of the Rio Doce of barely two thousand inhabitants, noted
for its
surf
breaks. In summer, the village comes alive with young sun-seekers and
surfers from Belo Horizonte and Vitória. In Brazil the village is best known as the
home of
Caboclo Bernardo
, the humble fisherman who saved 128 navy sailors from the
wrecked Imperial Marinheiro in 1887 - a festival celebrates the local hero every June.
Outside the rainy season (Oct-Dec) the unpaved roads leading to Regência are always
passable, but it's often slow going, with buses stopping frequently.
Centro Ecológico (Projeto Tamar)
Rua Principal • Daily 8am-noon & 1-5pm • Free •
T
27 3274 1209,
W
projetotamar.org.br
Projeto Tamar's
Centro Ecológico
monitors a 35km stretch of coast near here where,
between October and January, sea turtles of all kinds come to lay their eggs. Tamar's
work is charted inside the centre, which also contains a giant humpback whale skeleton
and an aquarium of marine life. At the
Reserva Biológica de Comboios
(same hours;
free), another Tamar base 7km south of the village, interns guide you through exhibits
explaining the turtles' life cycle and to tanks where you can view mature turtles.
Museu Histórico de Regência
Rua Principal, in front of the football stadium • Mon-Fri 8-11.30am & 1-5pm, Sat & Sun 8.30-11.30am & 1-5pm • Free •
T
27 3377 0011
The village of Regência itself holds little of interest, apart from the small
Museu
Histórico de Regência
, which charts local history through old photographs and
artefacts. Outside in the grounds is the village landmark, the preserved top section
of the
Farol do Rio Doce
, a nineteenth-century lighthouse.
