Gibbons, a freelancer based in São Paulo, discovered the island of Florianópolis while on a road trip down the coast of southern Brazil one May. During his next visit in early winter, he found a new side of the island—and was thrilled that his heavy jacket wasn’t needed.

ESCAPE FROM SÃO PAULO
Don’t get me wrong—I love São Paulo, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else in Brazil. But after three years in this very urban and seemingly endless city, the thought of spending a few days by the ocean with nary a skyscraper in sight sounded like a dream.

I got the assignment to write about Florianópolis in June, which in the southern hemisphere qualifies as early winter. Tourists (myself included) tend to head north around this time in search of warmer, beach-friendly weather. Although Florianópolis’s winters pale in comparison to those of New York City, where I used to live (in Brazil it never gets cold enough to snow), the season isn’t exactly the ideal time to experience southern Brazil’s famous beaches. I tossed a heavy jacket in my suitcase, but it turned out that all I ever needed was a light sweater. The rest of the trip was full of similar revelations—even in the off-season, Florianópolis has its small pleasures.

THE EXTRA MILE
Though I traveled alone, I never lacked for conversation with the people I met during my stay. Brazilians have a reputation for friendliness, and islanders constantly reinforced it. What’s more, by the end of the trip I hadn’t gotten stuck in a single traffic jam, and almost everywhere I went was blessedly uncrowded. (If I want to be around a lot of people, I’ll stay in São Paulo, thank you very much.) The island’s establishments were so glad to have a client in these slow months that they went out of their way to make me happy. Could I have the table for four with the best ocean view? No problem!

The relatively cold weather also has its advantages, as it rains much less in the middle of the year. Locals, many of whom work in the booming tourist industry, look more relaxed. And of course, the hotels are much cheaper—and more flexible—in winter: I had a late flight home, and I was allowed to check out at 6 p.m. at no extra cost. 

A BEACH DEFERRED
Wetsuits are advised for anyone who feels like swimming in the winter. (I didn’t.) But it wasn’t too cold to explore the outdoors, on easy-to-find trails that lead to deserted beaches and meander along the Lagoa da Conceição. I’m no bird-watcher, but I was struck by the variety of birds that flew across my path. Besides the usual gulls, I saw a large number of vultures perched on rocks outside Armação, a fishing village on the southern coast—perhaps hoping for leftovers from the day’s catch. I watched sleek, white birds repeatedly plunging into the ocean in search of food. Songbirds—many bright yellow, but brown and green ones as well—hung out in the trees and bushes with colorful winter-blooming flowers. Next time I’ll bring a bird book and take note of their names—my Portuguese may be good, but my bird vocabulary, I realize, is seriously lacking.