at christmas, one of rio most popular seasonal landmarks appears in the lagoa - a giant christmas tree near the shore, so to create a large and colorful reflex on the surface of the water.

further west, more lagoas enrich the shore - among them, the lagoa da tijuca and the lagoa de marapendi  - the two most important lagoons in the south-west side of rio de janeiro, just inland from the famous barra beach, praia da reserva, and praia do recreio. lagoa da tijuca sits right between the ocean and the largo do banco, the wide canal often considered part of the lagoa where a handful of tiny islands were developed in a beautiful residential complex, hidden from the chaos of a large city - one of these islands is ilha da gigóia, a charming and exclusive hideaway home to one posada and some refined restaurants.