We dutifully examined the shoreline through our binoculars and, as the oddly shaped boulders come into focus, each was topped with a common seal.
From time to time, we passed solitary women trudging through the water near the shoreline, pulling nets behind them as they trawled for prawn seed.
But go a little off the beaten track: Start just west of Fisherman's Wharf at the northern end of the Embarcadero, and work your way west along the shoreline, through Aquatic Park.
Dirt paths skirt through rainforest and along the shoreline, leading to Ilha Grande's postcard-perfect beaches, past colonial ruins and up to the steep mountain slope of 982m-high Pico do Papagaio, which affords 360-degree views over the island.
After the airport, the highway runs inland from the shoreline through the neighborhood of Tumon.
"FLOW is aimed at fostering appreciation of the shoreline through artistic expression, while calling visitors to interact with and care for the Park's island environment," the organization's website states. .
Passing through the bombardment from the shoreline, Pellew's men boarded Phoenix to find that the Dutch crew had just abandoned the vessel, scuttling the frigate as they departed.
Clattering through cool, dark caves at the shoreline is great fun, but spotting the decaying wrecks of two small boats delivers a frisson of fear.
Like a desperate trapped animal, he flees, scrambling down craggy slopes, splashing through the icy waters around the shoreline, whimpering and cursing himself, and nearly freezing to death.
Keen to illustrate what he believes is at stake, Sawicki takes us down through the freezing fields to the shoreline of a healthy-looking lake.
