Hi there, I'm a Brazilian novice diver, new to SB.

[drbill]

Welcome to SB, Samuel. Abrolhas and Fernando de Noronha are on my "bucket list."

[nimoh]

The Laranjeiras that I will be staying at is a small beach community. I can't remember exactly where it is, but it was about a 2 or 3 hour drive from Sao Paulo towards Rio.

I think I need to do some checking to see exactly where I will be

[ScubaBB]

Welcome aboard

[nimoh]

My trip is coming up fast, and have one question. Should I take my 3mm or 5mm wetstuit?

I tolerate the cold very well (I am even ice diving certified, although I do that in my drysuit) and will be diving in Sao Paulo/Rio area and probably not more than 60 feet (although I don't have a dive site picked out yet).

My dive site is probably going to come down to ease of access, since it is not the primary purpose of the trip.

[Quero]

The water temperature is probably about 70°F or 22°C.
If it were me, I'd be in a 7mm.

[nimoh]

thanks Quero,

I think I'll go 5mm to be on the safe side

[Quero]

Yeah, you can always unzip it a bit at the neck so more water flows in if you feel too warm.

[nimoh]

Back from my trip.

I was staying at Laranjeiras which is about 10 miles south of Paraty and did my diving with Big Una, based out of Paraty.

Good diving, although the visibility was poor due to a lot of rain in the area. There was a thermocline at about 18' that took the temperature from about 72 to 66. I ended up taking my 3mm, and was a little cold at times but could easily tolerate it. My dive buddy pretty much stayed above the thermocline the whole time though.

Saw some cool stuff including a stingray, turtle, and the smallest crab I have ever seen. Also, this dive was the first time I saw a stringray in motion (have previously only seen them on the bottom, and I am not the type of diver to poke them in order to watch them swim away)

I did have plans to dive in Santos one day as well, but the dive operation cancelled because of the visibility.

It was fun to get out and do a few dives, even though the conditions weren't the best that they could be. I am still looking forward to my next dive trip to Brazil