Feb 10th – Feb 16thJericoacoara by Vanessa:
Our trip to Jericoacoara started at 3:30 am, when our cell phones woke us after only a few hours of sleep. Bodies hurting from lack of sleep, we lugged ourselves and our bags up my street in Sao Paulo in search of a cab. About 4 and a half hours later, after much debate about what nationality wore the most fashionable shoes and a misunderstanding about milho juice being good, we were spread out, each in our own row, in our Webjet flight to Fortaleza, Ceara. We got into the city five minutes after the bus to Jericoacoara had left so we decided to rent a car and driver so we wouldn’t have to sit around the airport for 5 hours until the next bus left.
Our driver entertained us for a while with his Calcinha Preta music (giggle) and stories about why him and his live-in girlfriend weren’t working out, but soon the three of us were drooling again. It was great to finally pull into Jeri at around 4 in the afternoon, in time to be greeted by Greg and Dimitri, the Beligian owners of the pousada we were staying at. After a quick change of clothes we wandered around town then headed off to the legendary Duna do Por-de-Sol (Sunset Dune) to see if we could catch the sun setting over the ocean but it was too cloudy. We comforted ourselves over “bobo de camarao” at the very quaint Chocolate restaurant and had an early night.
The next day we set out to see the Pedra Furada (Rock with Hole in it –can’t think of a better translation). We refused an offer from the first guide to get there but soon another guide had attached himself to us (likewise a stray white dog who at one point in the middle of the hike over the rocks got really tired and refused to budge, making Maria climb over him). The hike was pretty cool and not that easy, we really had to watch where we were going so we wouldn’t slip on the rocks. At the end of the 3 hour trip Luciano, our guide, charged us thirty bucks and offered to take us on another hike the next day to see a freshwater lagoon in the middle of the dunes. It sounded like a good way to get some exercise and be outdoors so we made a plan and then headed off for an agua-de-coco at a beach bar called Alexandre and then a swim back at the pousada’s pool (more like a large bathtub really) but refreshing nonetheless.
We don’t really remember what we did after lunch but we’re sure it was fun (we do remember lunch – shrimp with banana for me and fish for Maria and Aubry).
On Saturday Maria and I headed out with Luciano on our trek to Lagoa do Coracao and Lagoa do Paraiso (Heart Lagoon and Paradise Lagoon). Aubry had “preguica” to walk so he stayed back. The walk turned out to be an arduous 3 hour hike in the sun, in which we spent most of our time dodging horse poop (amazing how much of it there was) and feeling very hot in the sun. We were compensated when we saw our first lagoon, it almost felt like we were seeing a mirage! We tore off our shirts and ran into the water and enjoyed a swim. Since the lake had no name Luciano suggested we name it “Lagoa das Meninas” (Girl’s Lake), which we approved of heartily! Next on the trek was Lagoa do Coracao, where we enjoyed a rest on a hammock, butts skimming the water, a coke and a queijo coalho. Next was Lagoa Paraiso, which was huge and actually resembled an ocean more than a lagoon because there were lots of waves. It didn’t have the same charm as the Lagoa das Meninas so, after tanning for a half hour or so, we found Luciano and asked him where we could find the taxi-trucks he had mentioned as being easy to get. It turned out he had exaggerated a little and the trucks that drove tourists back weren’t quite that simple to meet up with. We walked along the sand, feet in water and dodging tree branches, for forty minutes before walking into this beautiful estate, which turned out to be owned by an elderly Portguese couple and their dogs. They were nice enough to point us to the road, where we walked another fifteen minutes before we found a restaurant where we could wait until one of the taxi trucks drove by. The bartender at the restaurant told us we would have to wait about 45 minutes so I ordered a caipirinha and a peixe na brasa (barbequed fish) and, of course, french fries for Maria! I might have been a little dehydrated because after that caipirinha I was more than a little tipsy! The two boys on the truck with us really enjoyed themselves watching me laugh hysterically why I tried to take pictures as the trucks bumped along the dunes. When we got back Aubry surprised us with a massage appointment for Maria and a “placa” with a picture of Jericoacoara for my collection!
After a loooong nap we met the Belgian crew of Elle, who were doing a photo-shoot in Jeri. We all went along to a Cevicheria, where we enjoyed an odd mix of guacamole and chips, ceviche and pizza. We also met 15 year old Thais (possibly the next Giselle?) who told us stories about injections and machines to lose weight and how much she travelled.
The next day we took it easy. I went for a walk on the beach while Maria and Aubry slept in. After an ok lunch in town we hung out on the beach a little then went back for a game of poker at the pousada that lasted into the night. Greg made us a churrasco that was very good and which we ate with the Belgium photo crew. Before going to sleep we wandered into town, where Dimi kindly treated the poker losers with a caipirinha. We also checked out the balada (still empty at midnight).
Monday was a very fun day as, after a great breakfast and heavy rain in the morning, we set out with a couple we met at the pousada, Marcel and Sandra, on a buggy to see a lagoa called Tatajuba, located an hour and half away. The buggy ride was really fun, Maria, Aubry, Sandra and I sat in the back, holding onto a bar for safety and getting up to feel the wind when it got too hot. We saw beautiful beaches, sand dunes and mangroves. After crossing on a very primitive ferry (we drove onto a makeshift boat and four guys rowed our car across the river!) we drove into a forest where the ground was all sand and we could see the roots of all the trees – it was very Blair Witch on the beach. We also stopped at a place where we got to see seahorses! Apparently they are very loyal mates – to the extent that they die if they lose their partners. How´s that for romantic?
At Tatajuba lagoon we swam and had lunch sitting at tables in the water (fish and French fries again but really tasty this time – very good fruit salad for dessert!) Marcel and Sandra were extremely fun and we were glad we got to know them. After we got back we swam, showered then tried to catch the sunset at the Duna do Por de Sol but we were a little late and the sun had already set (besides it was a little cloudy so apparently it wasn´t the best sunset anyway).
We had a very good Italian dinner in town and then I was on my way on the very festively decorated Jardineira (open bus that can be driven on the beach – it was so festively decorated that I couldn´t stop thinking that I was going to be dropped off at concentration camp) to the bust stop where I could get the bus to Forteleza. It was a long trip but fortunately I made friends with the girl who sat next to me on the bus and we chatted for the 8 hours between getting to the airport and our flight. Yes, it was a very long trip there and back, but definitely worth it, not the least because of the excellent company of Aubry and Maria, who I am confident will have a wonderful and lasting marriage and serve as an amazing example to other couples and to their children!!
