Restinga

Restinga is a coastal ecosystem that exists exclusively along the Brazilian coast. It is the strip of low, resilient vegetation growing directly on the sand, between the sea and the Atlantic rainforest. It survives salt, constant wind, and intense sun. The air of the restinga has an unmistakable scent: salty and mineral like the sea, yet dry like the sand; with the bitter, aromatic vegetation of coastal plants, but without any floral or sweet note. It is the scent of the true Brazilian coastland · not the tropical cliché of coconut and fruit, but the real sea breeze, the weather-bleached driftwood, and the wind leaving salt on the skin.