Presented by: Capi Bar - All photos by @renatotinoco and @marcelofreire

After another season in which he doesn't have even five minutes to rest, the chef and owner of the Capi Bar breweries and restaurants located in Punta del Este and La Barra, Diego “Capi” Tarallo, went on vacation to Fernando de Noronha.

Known as the Brazilian Hawaii, the archipelago is located 350 kilometers from the nearest northeastern coast, and receives uninterruptedly the same northern swells that hit Nazaré and the rest of the European coast, producing an interesting quota of tubes season after season.

For many it is a natural paradise, and for many others it is also a tubular paradise. Capi went there for the latter although he was able to share quality time with his family, pointing out that it is a good place to travel as a team.

At both Cacimba do Padre and Laje do Boldró, he took his fair share of the waves he talks about below.

Why did you choose to go to Noronha?
Noronha comes from the time of the Fluir. I remember seeing it as an incredible place. They always said it was like the Brazilian Hawaii, and it only breaks at a certain time of the year when it receives the swells.

It doesn't have the giant seas that come to Hawaii, but it was said to be similar. I remember the Flows when there were ASP championships there. I always looked and saw it as a distant but close place. They always said it was expensive to go and that called to me. Not so much because it was expensive, but because it was difficult to get there and stay for a long time, because it was a reserve. This questioning was done a bit before going and it was seen that it was nothing like that, that you can get a ticket, pay the fee to be there and you stay and catch tremendous waves.

Gabeta had been there two years ago and told me it was an incredible place with tremendous waves and the most beautiful beaches in the world.

Once there, what caught your attention?
There, the color of the water catches your attention: crystal clear turquoise, very pure. Also, the good vibes of the people, even the locals. It is a small place that you can easily drive around in a couple of hours. It is all sea and marine life, not so much terrestrial life. Lots of sharks, turtles and endless fish. What catches your attention is the paradise with giant green rocks and the color of the water.

Where were you able to surf?
I was able to surf three waves. The ones I liked the most were Cachimba do Padre and Boldró; a wave that is surfed at low tide and has a rocky bottom. It is quite heavy and strong, dangerous. The locals say that it is even more dangerous than Cacimba because of the rocky bottom it has.

Cacimba do Padre is the wave. Left and right, depending on the direction of the swell if it is more left or right. It is surfed at medium tide reaching high or high tide reaching medium. It is not surfed at low tide because it closes a lot.

And there are more waves on the island, the Abras, for example, but they did not break.

What were your best waves?
In Cacimba and Boldró, two tubes with exits. Although it is a place with a lot of tubes, the locals who know how to surf them predominate: they take big tubes and get out. It is very difficult for us, for amateurs, to take good tubes with exits and lengths. Yes, I saw it in the water.

You went with your wife and daughter, is it a good destination for family travel?
It is a very nice destination to go with the family.

What is there in Noronha that nobody knows?
The locals surf at 8 in the morning and not at 6 and they don't stay until the end of the afternoon either. They themselves tell you that you can go early and have an epic session alone, but there is no one in the water. People only start to come at eight. The same thing happens in the late afternoon. In Uruguay you stay in the crack until the last moment of light, and even at night. There, just before the sun sets, the peak begins to empty out just because of the abundance of sharks. A month ago there was a shark attack on an eight-year-old girl who was swimming with her father in Bahía Southeast. Bahía León has signs warning about the presence of sharks. One has to be a little conscious at the hours when one goes into the sea and take care of the family.

There are very few vegetables and fruit. Also, for six months of the year it is absolutely flat. It is perfect for diving. The locals do not surf. They say there are waves on the other side of the island, but they do not go there because they are blown and difficult. It is a place from November to April. There it breaks perfectly and receives the swells.

"It's heavenly. There's a beach called Sancho Bay that they say is the most beautiful beach in the world, and for me it is."

It's heavenly. There's a beach called Bahía Sancho that they say is the most beautiful beach in the world, and for me it is. It's difficult to get to and you have to go down a 200-metre staircase between stones, but the beach is spectacular.

What do you think you would have done differently for this trip?
I would have liked to go diving. I preferred to get up and go snorkelling, because there was always pumping. I would like to go at a time when it is a bit flatter. It must be amazing to dive there and see sharks, turtles; to be calm in the sea.

What can we expect from Capi and Capi Bar in 2022?
Some new beer. We always have in mind to launch a new style or two per year, some new gastronomic dish too, it always comes in handy and offering live music. The idea is to be open all year round, both Capi Punta and Capi La Barra. That is a bit of the spirit of Capi and what is expected for this 2022.