Dear Kay,

Florianopolis is my hometown! Unfortunately i am now living in
Porto Alegre, otherwise i would be glad to meet you and show you
the town!But my family still lives there, and if you need any
help i could contact them. Where are you staying??

Florianopolis has more than 34 beaches, varying form high energy
to very calm, muddy beaches, with mangrooves. Common shells are
Donax hanleyanus, Macoma cleryana, Nassarius vibex,
Olivancillaria vesica, Hastula hastata, etc.

This time of the Year it is not very hot, temperatures ranging
form 11 to 17 degrees Celcius (don't know in F.). It is a very
turistic city, and i believe you will not find any dificulty
finding someone that speaks english.

Concearning shell collecting, you may like to visit Itajaí. A
city about 100km north form florianopolis, and one of the major
fishing ports of south Brazil. There, by the BR101 (the
highway), you can find some shell shops that have many
interesting deep water shells, like Adelomelon beckii,
Adelomelon riosi, Xenophora longleyi, X. caribaea and if you are
lucky, maybe some Odontocymbiola simulatrix, Conus mazei,
Calliostoma militaris,Chicoreus beauii, etc...

Concearning whale waching, you should go about 150 km south to
Imbituba. Whales vistit there more often. There you can find
whale waching excursions. Here are two sites you can visit to
check for availability of excurtions (in english):

http://www.vidasolemar.com.br/ingles/ecoturismo/
and

http://www.ibipark.com/Whale-Watching.html

The first one, i guess, is prefereable as the owner is a
respected biologist who is working with whale preservation for
over 20 years.

Brazil has a good anti-biopiracy laws, but usually not applyed
to invertebrates. It is a good idea though not to take back
shells with soft parts.

Please write if you need any other help!

best regards,
Fabio Wiggers


--- Kay Lavalier <[log in to unmask]> escreveu:

> Dear All:
>
> We are going to Brazil next month for three weeks.
> We will visit Manaus (Amazon), Cuiaba (Pantanal Region),
> Brasilia, Foz do Iguassu, Sao Paulo, Florianopolis (Santa
> Catarina),
> and Rio de Janeiro.
>
> We are spending the most time in Florianopolis and Rio,
> and will have more of an opportunity to collect shells there.
>
> Can anyone recommend any good collecting spots near these
> cities?
>
> Are there any restrictions to collecting outside
> of parks or preserve areas?
>
> Also, we would like to book a whale watching trip in
> Santa Catarina, but cannot find many alternatives online.
> Can you recommend any companies in particular, and give
> us contact information?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Yours,
>
> Andrew Vik & Kay Lavalier
> Tampa, Florida USA
> [log in to unmask]




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