On the 30th October 2003, 3 years ago, the resident population of the Santa Catarina Island experienced a big black out that affected about 300 000 lives for 3 days.
I can remember well that happening…I was living in Lagoa. Lots of business depending on electricity, such as supermarkets, bars and restaurants lost food. Buildings didn’t have water because the pumps didn’t work therefore people could not have a decent bath. At that time, the WCT international surf contest was going on and the blackout created unusual situations like when surfer Mike Fanning accidentally put fire on his hotel room with a candle. It might seem funny but imagine for 3 days in that situation…things start to become chaotic.
The island is connected to the mainland by 2 bridges where the cables that power the city are passing through. An accidental explosion broke the cables and put the city in the dark.
Two lessons learned: The energy supply of the island is fragile and we are so dependent on electricity.

The Gastronomic route of the setting sun, is the designation name for the group of seafront restaurants in Santo Antônio de Lisboa and Sambaqui area. The Posto da Alfandega restaurant is located at the end of the route, next to the Ponta do Sambaqui beach, a tranquil place with nice views of the Northern bay, a great place to chill.

The restaurant has a well-priced seafood and some typical local dishes like the Camarão na Moranga, a portion of marinated shrimp cooked inside a pumpkin (R$ 58,00) but it is recommended for having petiscos, snacks to be eaten in company of a cold beer and good chat. Among the many petiscos dishes, they serve shrimp (R$ 19,80) that can be prepared in many ways including the popular shrimp sequence and Oyster (R$ 14,50) that can be either au gratin or steamed.

The space is smal and simple with external tables for hot sunny days and interior tables, great for windy days. The only adornments are some star fish, oyster shells and laterns hanging on the ceiling, brand posters on the walls and hammocks. Decoration is not an attractive feature.

The service is regular. I waited about 15 minutes to have my dish a fried squid (R$ 18,50) but the restaurant was nearly empty so I believe in busy days you might have to wait a bit longer. If you don’t feel like eating fish or similar you might try grilled chicken (R$ 29,00) or Penne with white sauce (R$ 39,00).

Probably not the place to try out the best local cuisine but certainly a great one for enjoying good moments eating tasty petiscos and drinking a cold beer having in front of you a calm sea.

Sambaqui

Opening days: Tuesday to Friday from 11am to 23:30 pm / Sunday from 11am to 20:00 pm

High season (25/12/06 ~ 01/03/07 ) opened every day.

Free parking available

Visa, Mastercard and Amex accepted.

Reservation: phone +55 - 48 – 3335 0179

I believe wet and windy are the main characteristics of Spring in the island. Nice flowers are blooming and it has started to get warmer…until November the weather is like this, raining more often. Good time for windsurfing not so good for flying.