Sand dune riders
Trip Start
Jul 15, 2005
1
6
7
Trip End
Aug 15, 2005
Jericoacoara,
Brazil
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
There we are again. Writing from this small town on the coast with huge sand dunes and great windsurfing and loads of seafood and caipirinhas.
We spent 3 days in Olinda. We took our time to discover this beautiful town with its ancient churches and colonial mansions. It was very hot and humid, so we were glad to have our luxurous pool. There actually WAS a festival, although we did not understand what it was about. It might have had something to do with church as the Praca became empty every night when everybody went to mass, just to become even livelier again. Lots of drinking and eating went on and of course music. In a kind of community hall or so, young folks were dancing like crazy to the sound of percussions. Outside, another group was performing drums and song and people were dancing in circle around the drummers, Rebecca included
001 Cape in the light of the low sun
. What a big fun!We also heard some good Forro on the small veranda of a food-drink-shop-bar: 2 old and one young guys were playing drums (of course!), fiddle and accordeon. People were dancing in couples on this small veranda which was quite a sight. And the beer was good and cold.
We had wanted to take the night sleeper bus to Fortaleza, but it was sold out, so it was Executivo again! So we spent the money we saved on food and alcohol (more on alcohol) and were thus able tot survive the 12 h trip to Fortaleza. Actually, it was not that bad, the AC worked and it was quiet, they even distributed more or less clean blankets ...
In Fortleza, we had just enough time for a wash (more than necessary) and a breakfast before we boarded our bus bound to Jeri.
What a surprise! The guys from Saxony that had been on our Iberia nightmare plane to Rio were with the party! What a nice surprise, more than urgent for Rebecca whose neck had been swelling at the sight of badly shaved Italian guys with long oily hair and huge suit cases. Apparently, Jeri is some kind of small New World Rimini ...
With the help of our friends and their Brazilian friends, we found a great Pousada in Jeri, small, friendly and family-run (if you want to include room maid, dog and puppies in the family
002 Thomas on the cape
. We do.). Every day, we breakfast fresh fruit juice, home made cake and loads of fresh fruit. You may be jealous now.You may also be jealous when you think of the beach and the wind we have here every day.
There is one beach close to the village center that is broad and grey and has a great view on a gigantic sand dune. The other one is more rocky and wild with a great surf.
The wind. Wow. It starts at midday, Thomas never uses a sail bigger than 5.0 qm. And the waves!
Apart from that, we eat and sleep a lot. The seafood is great and cheap, we had a huge plate of prawns with garlic and oil for 12 Euros (along with large quantities of rice, beans and salad - one dish is always meant for two people in Brazil). Today, our hostess cooked an amazing fish stew for us.
There is also nightlife. Cocktail stalls gather on one stretch of the beach, our favourite barkeeper sells great caipis in plastic cups for less than a Euro. There are some discos there, but we much prefer the Bar do Forro. Itīs only open 3 times a week and mostly frequented by locals. They only play Forro and the like; the dance floor is in a beautiful courtyard and things do get quite hot after 1 am. Finally, we manage to dance to this music and we dance until we can no more!
Today, we went on a beach buggy ride. Great fun! Up and down the incredibly huge dunes to beautiful lagoons with white sand and turquoise water ... Probably not ecologically correct, we must admit. At least, these guys seem to stay on the designated tracks.
In a few days, we have to leave
003 Sunset time on the Big Dune
. Thomas hands will be sore by then and Rebecca will be almost black (or look as if she is in her new yellow Brazilian bikini ...) and probably we will be glad to leave. Itīs a cool place to end vacation and to take a rest while doing some partying. Our fears from the bus ride did not come true, fortunately. Not an Italian Lido, no way, but enough people of that kind to make Rebecca look angry on a regular basis. Itīs a developed place, but developed in a good and healthy way by what we can say.This might be the last time we write to you from Brazil. We are just to busy with the things you have to do when you are in such a beautiful place ... So, take care and see you!!! T&R
