Praia do Forte - (in case you get confused, when locals say “p-haya ji forchi” that’s what they mean) has been described as the Carmel (California) of Brazil. A not entirely inaccurate description, with its tourist district built around a strip of high-end, for-tourists-only restaurants and boutiques (a Gap on the corner would not be out of place). The food doesn’t quite measure up to Carmel’s, but the beaches more than compensate: kilometers of white sandiness lined with palm trees and dotted with barracas. What really makes PdF’s beaches special, though, is the high reef that stretches from shore some 150 feet into the ocean. At low tide, the receding water exposes the top of the reef, stranding colorful fish and sea creatures in tiny tidepools, turning a walk along the coral into a miniature safari. (Bring water shoes, though, because that coral can be sharp and slippery.)