Great idea Austex!

I had pvc doors and windows installed in a small project which are from a company called Claris, which is a division of Tigre.  I believe Tigre's headquarters are also in J'vlle, but the Claris products are manufactured in SP.  The product is excellent, though quite expensive (kinda the reverse situation where in the US pvc windows are one of the cheapest options).

Yet similar to your experience with Magna/Castelo, the customer service aspect of Claris, even from the very beginning to get them to come and give an estimate, was deplorable!  They have since closed their showroom here in Floripa, and there is not even a rep here now.  Nonetheless, as far as the actual product goes, the noise insulation and genuine weatherproof design of their windows and doors is impressive (for Brasil).

Just curious, but does anyone know of a company in Brasil which manufactures aluminum-clad wood framed windows and doors???

I'm looking for state parks in SC that offer hiking trails (preferably in the vicinity of BR-282 between Floripa e Lages).  We just purchased a family car and I'm wanting to take my 2 boys on some adventurous hikes.

Awesome. Thanks GFG. Back in August I took our family up to Morro da Igreja mas didn't know about Campos so that's a big help. As soon as I get our car tagged I want to hit th road and visit around some. All work and no play, makes Johnny.....Ah, I forgot the rest...you get my drift.

Campos dos Padres now on my list of things to do.  Those pictures look awesome. 

I just went to praia do Matadeiro yesterday and thought it was pretty nice.  No roads there, so no traffic noise and blaring music.  You have to take a short walking trail from the south end of Armacao.  Good sand and flat beach with some restaurants and bars.

I only been to a handful of beaches on Floripa.  We've been to Bombinhas several times and usually go to Canto Grande or Tainha.  I love Tainha because its not so crowded and peaceful, but the road getting there is not the best. 

What beaches are your favorite and why?

Gringo Floripa is a nudist   Hahaha, I would have never guessed!

I went to Praia Lagoinha do Leste this past weekend.  It was a very nice beach with clear water in a nice, light green color the day we went.  So far it was the prettiest water I've seen in Brazil (Only been in SC and RGS).  We hiked over from Matadeiro, stayed for a couple hours, then hiked over to Pantano do Sul and had a late lunch.  It was a very nice trip.  The trail from Matadeiro took about 2 hours and the one to Pantano do Sul took about an hour.  The trail from Matadeiro is nicer and has better views, imo.

Even though the beach and water looked really nice, the people I went with headed straight for the lagoa.  That's were most of the people there were hanging out.  There were at least 4 groups that were camping along the lagoa, but hardly visible unless you climbed up the steep bank of sand on the other side of the lagoa to get a look at the view. 

I'm going to visit the canyons near Cambara do Sul later this week to check out Itaimbezinho.  Then planning on going to Campo dos Padres on the the way back!

Anyone done the RS-110 / SC-430 between Bom Jesus and Sao Joaquim?  I was wondering how bad the road is.  Pictures on Google Earth seem like its just a dirt road, but in pretty good shape. 

Also, how is BR-101 from Floripa going to Rio Grande do Sul?  Someone told me that its pretty bad traffic because of road construction.