Marataiama

The country around Cananéia includes forested hills, islands and tidal channels along the southern São Paulo coast. Ancient shell mounds testify to long human occupation of the estuaries. In 1531 the expedition of Martim Afonso de Sousa reached the coast, and an early Portuguese settlement grew at Cananéia. Its protected waters offered a base for coastal voyages and journeys into the interior.