Itanhaém

Itanhaém is a town located in the coast about an hour and half from São Paulo City, the State Capital. They say it is the second oldest city in the country (founded by the portuguese in 1532), though there is a controverse about it. The Church and the Monastery (in ruins) in the picture, the "Our Lady of Conception Monastery" was built during the XVI through the XVII century. There are many historical sites around the place. In the main square there´s the "Matriz de Santana" Church (picture bellow), where people get together at night for a drink or for a chat. This is a good tradition of the smaller towns in Brazil, that we don´t find anymore in the bigger cities, except in some particular neighbourhoods.

Around Itanhaém we don´t find nice beaches with clear waters that invites us to the sea, because there´a big river (The Itanhaém River) that flows into the sea right there in the downtown area, bringing muddy waters. But the beaches around are ok for a walk at the end of the day. We spent a weekend there last november.