Mayra Santos to Pioneer a Two-way Crossing between Santa Cruz and Deserta Grande

Spread the love

Brazilian swimmer Mayra Santos is a regular pioneer, always thinking of something new and dreaming of new marathon swimming goals.

Most recently, she lived her dream on December 12th 2023 when she pioneered a 32 km circumnavigation swim around Porto Santo, the smallest inhabited Portuguese island in the Madeira Islands, popularly nicknamed the Golden Island.

She now has a date for a new challenge, set to take place on July 30th from Santa Cruz to Deserta Grande and back, covering 60 km. Deserta Grande Island is the main island of the Desertas Islands archipelago, a small chain of three islands in the Portuguese Madeira Islands archipelago, off the western coast of North Africa.

Santos says, “It is an incredible opportunity to raise awareness for the preservation of our oceans and marine life, especially the rare monk seal that finds sanctuary in Deserta Grande and help me in my preparation to swim the longest distance swimming in the ocean.“

After her pioneering swim, Santos will be traveling to El Calafate in Argentina on August 9 to 20 to compete with Bárbara Hernandez and Matías Ola at the Winter Swimming World Cup, representing Portugal in the glacier waters of Patagonia.