MOVING ON

After a great few days on Ilha Grande we hopped on the ferry to Angra do Reis to catch our bus to Sao Paulo. Our experience on the Brazilian bus system had so far been great, but around 8pm, after a long day of travel and the journey already being behind schedule, we found ourselves pulled over on the side of the road an hour outside of the city. Once it was obvious that we were experiencing a full breakdown and the bus was going nowhere, we opted to grab an Uber the rest of the way. It actually worked out well because where we had broken down was just as far away from our accommodations as it was from the bus station so we didn’t have to backtrack from the bus station.

Since we were only staying for one night, we booked a two bunk dorm for the four of us.  It was so small we had to take turns getting out of bed and due to water issues in that area of the city there was only one working bathroom on the floor, but it was comfortable. Despite it being dark and late, the area felt safe enough for Steph and I to venture out to a little town square just a few minutes away. We were able to grab a couple pizzas and beer to bring back to the hostel and celebrate our last night with Cheryl before she went back to Canada.

PICKING A ROUTE

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Deciding our route for the second leg of our trip required a lot of thinking. We could travel from North-West to North-East which would land us in Salvador during Carnival, Brazil’s first since the pandemic. Alternatively, we could travel from North-East to North-West, which would end our trip at Lencois National Park, a massive expanse of sand dunes where lakes form as the rainy season progresses. In the end, after countless hours of discussion and flight research, our minds were made up for us because there was only one particular week we could afford the cost of flights to Fernando de Noronha, an island known for its amazing beaches and scuba diving. The timing meant we had no choice but to plan our trip with Salvador as the last stop. Because it was January and the the rainy season was only beginning, we decided that Lencois would have to wait for a future trip to Brazil so we could see it with the countless lakes of water. We determined that Jeri, (Jericoacoara) also known for its sand dunes, but on a smaller scale,  would be our start point.   

While we skipped Lencois, here is a photo borrowed from kimkim.com so you know what we need to go back for!

GETTING TO JERI

Most blogs and the newest edition of Lonely Planet recommend flying to Fortaleza and then taking a 5 hour bus trip to Jijoca where we would have to hire a 4X4 to take us into Jeri. While Steph was booking the flight she noticed a flight option straight to Jericoacoara. The airport was so new it had not made it into a single travel guide or blog. We were happy to cut out a day of unnecessary travel and just a few hours after flying from Sao Paulo we were hiring a private 4X4 at the Jeri airport to bring us into town.

Despite having spent 4 days in a tent and enduring 2 days of travel we took a risk and booked at a campground in Jeri to save a bit of money. While there were a number of nice aspects about the camp ground, it certainly didn’t have the family atmosphere of the ones in Paraty and Ilha Grande and was predominantly occupied by single, seemingly un-bathed men. This was not a deal breaker for us, they were all relaxed and courteous (true hippies), but the loud music blaring from all over town into the early hours of the night was more than we could take. Maybe it was more intense than normal because we were traveling during Brazilian summer holidays, but Jeri is the definition of a tourist town. In fact a few of our tent mates were actually people living in Jeri to work at the numerous restaurants, gift shops and tour agencies. 

The next morning we decided one night of camping was enough. I stayed back to do some work from the tent and Steph and Jon ventured out to find a place to do laundry and affordable accommodations. They did well considering I usually do the translating and we relocated to a lovely room further away from the town centre with comfortable beds, air conditioning and a great daily breakfast. Our laundry was dropped off to a local laundry lady and we hoped that we would not encounter similar issues to past laundry experiences in Mexico and Ethiopia.

DUNES AND DONKEYS

From our inn we could take the path leading up a dune to Jeri’s lighthouse. Once we reached the lighthouse we descended on the other side and walked along the beach towards Pedra Furada. The large arch rock was beautiful to look at, but also swarmed with eager instagrammers needing to strike every pose possible in every outfit possible so we didn’t bother trying to take any pictures with it. We continued beyond the arch and found ourselves more or less all alone to explore the rugged coastline.

After walking as far as we could given the height of the tide, we clambered up a steep dune where we were met by numerous donkeys who didn’t seem the least bit bothered by us. There are so many of them around Jeri they have become the unofficial symbol of the town. The path led us to the surfers beach where some people were catching the last waves of the day and others were watching the sunset.  Because most of Brazil faces east, this was the first sunset we had seen on the trip.    

JERICOACOARA EAST COAST TOUR

There is a menu of options when it comes to tours that depart from Jeri. We settled on the East Coast Tour and a 4X4 truck picked us up from our inn first thing in the morning. The 4X4 had 6 seats mounted on the back of the truck and 4 of us could sit inside.  Most of the other guests were part of one very nice Brazilian family on summer holiday. Because we were the last ones to be picked up, we had to split up between inside and outside. Fortunately, there was a 20 something year old who spoke some English and helped with a few translations while we were separated.  

The full day tour consisted of multiple stops, some for five minute photo ops and others for one or two hours.  

Our first stop was to see Arvore de Preguiça, a large plant that grew almost as though it was lying down versus standing up. There was a substantial line up to get a picture which we did not bother with. We were quickly learning that, around here, tours are all about the photo ops.  

Our next stop was for an hour at Buraco Azul Castelhano, a fresh water lagoon with unreal blue waters.  The edge of the lagoon is lined with instagram photo opportunities, most of which include a swing or a hammock with THIS IS LIVING written over top. Knowing how to swim was advantageous since the majority of people on the numerous tours were too afraid to go further than two meters from the stairs, leaving the centre of the lagoon fairly open for free swim with life saver rings stationed around since there was no salt to help us float in the very deep waters.  he lagoon is surrounded by vertical cliffs a few meters high on all sides and Jon had a few turns at leaping off the side. Steph and I remained entertained in the lagoon watching countless people chickening out just as they got to the edge resulting in some graceless entries…    

Our third stop was supposed to be at a fairly expensive and crowded beach resort for lunch that required an entrance fee, but our tour guide seemed to understand his clients and asked if we wanted to go somewhere just as nice, but quieter and free! Everyone agreed (we were definitely with the right people) and we were brought to Paradise Beach with shallow turquoise waters to relax in for a few hours.  We struck up a conversation with some people in the water who were very excited when they heard we were from Canada since everyone in Brazil seems to have a family member studying or living in Canada.    

Our last stop before heading back was in the dunes. It may not have been Lencois, but it was undeniably beautiful and there were no kitschy Instagram swings in sight! 

FINALLY SOME BBQ CHEESE

When we returned to the town we had our driver take us straight to the laundry lady. We had had limited reception during the tour and realized that we would be returning after their advertised close time, which was a problem since we were set to leave for Icarai before they opened again. Thankfully, she was still there and after some confusion about which clothing was ours we received our beautifully smelling garments. We got ourselves sorted back in our room and decided to split up because Jon wanted to watch the Chief’s game and Steph and I wanted to go to sunset dune. 

Unfortunately we missed the sunset and arrived just as everyone was leaving the viewing dune, but we were stoked to find a few stalls of people BBQing cheese on the beach, something we had been hoping to find since the trip had started.    

Jon messaged us to let us know a Mexican restaurant just up the street from where we were had agreed to play the game for him. We figured we should show our appreciation buy ordering food, which unfortunately was ridiculously expensive, but his team was playing for a spot in the Superbowl and Jon was getting to watch it in an actual bar which never happens when we travel because of time change or lack or lack of interest in the sport, so all in all it was worth it.