marambaia is also a word used in the portuguese language to describe a sailor who prefers to live on land rather than on a ship.  some jokingly  say that perhaps, over the years, the incredible beauty of this stretch of coast, rich of spectacular blue waves, fine white sand, and tropical vegetation, seduced many sailors into becoming 'marambaians' - hence, the name of the sandbank.

situated at the entrance to baía de sepetiba and facing the island of ilha grande, it is accessible from the neighborhood of barra de guaratiba.  while the sandbank looks like a very long, very thin peninsula, it is in fact separated from the mainland by the canal do bacalhau - making of it an island - reason why the official name is ilha da marambaia (marambaia island).