Galinhos

Galinhos sits on a narrow peninsula between a channel and the open sea, and the road stops on the other side of the water - you park at Pratagil and cross by boat, which takes a few minutes and is why the village has stayed the size it is. There are no paved streets and no cars to speak of; transport is by horse-drawn cart, and the sand is the road. The economy is fishing, salt from the evaporation pans inland, and increasingly wind, with turbines standing along the dunes. Dunes run behind the village to a lighthouse, and the channel side has calm shallow water while the ocean side has surf. Kitesurfing has arrived on the back of the same steady wind that brought the turbines.

What to look for

• A boat-only approach - the channel crossing from Pratagil.
• Horse carts on sand - the village transport, with no paved streets.
• Salt pans and turbines - the working landscape behind the dunes.
• Two different shores - calm channel water on one side, surf on the other.

When to go

September to March. Two days.

Things to know

The last boat across runs in the early evening and the village effectively closes after it. There are no banks and cards are often not accepted. Power cuts happen. Wind is constant, which is pleasant for kiting and less so for lying on a beach.

Nearby

Sao Bento do Norte is east along the coast; Natal is south-east.

Key facts