South of Rio Grande, the BR-471 enters the territory of the Estação Ecológica do Taim, a federal reserve occupying a narrow coastal strip between the Atlantic and the Lagoa Mirim. Established in 1986 and later designated a Ramsar site of international wetland significance, the Taim protects an ecosystem that is simultaneously fragile and spectacular: banhados, dune fields, freshwater lagoons, and open grassland sheltering more than 250 bird species and around thirty mammals, including capybaras, caimans, otters, and maned wolves. The black-necked swan — cisne-de-pescoço-preto — is the emblem of the reserve and one of its most photographed residents.
The itinerary includes a brief stop at the Estacionamento Capilha within the Taim, which marks the trailhead of the Trilha da Capilha — a historical-cultural trail that passes through a fishing community, a section of the Estrada Real, and the small Capela de Nossa Senhora da Conceição. The chapel gives the parking area and trail their names, and the community around it has been here long enough to predate the reserve. The BR-471 bisects the Taim longitudinally, and the drive itself — even without leaving the road — passes through country of unmistakable wildness: flat, wet, and alive with birds.
Deleting this waypoint is permanent and cannot be undone.