Jericoacoara

What did I say? Burning Man with a beach and lots of Brazilians. Maybe it´s the wide open space, the sand of the broad flat beach and the surrounding dunes, the strolling couples and groups scattered across the mirage inducing flatness, the palm trees (yes burning man does have palm trees), the lights of yet to be discovered social zones twinkling seductively, the music carrying across the openess. It´s all of those things and more. One thing I´ve discovered that these brazilian beach paradises (paradii?) have in common is that they all began as fishing villages, and thusly are all clustered around a beach that is good for parking boats. As it turns out, these beaches are usually the least attractive to bathers. Who knew? The fisherman like a broad muddy tidal flat that will strand their boat at low tide, and float it off at high tide. This isn´t usually where you want to spread your towel and go for a swim. Generally, and thankfully, the reason these fishing villages have become tourist destinations is because the beaches immediately adjacent to town are of exceptional beauty, or there is some other environmental or social attraction, be it good waves, good hikes, waterfalls, sand dune mayehm, wind for kite and windsurfing, or whatever. Just an observation.

As I mentioned before, Jericoacoara is at least a hundred miles from any pavement whatsoever. Oh, and once you get to the pavement you are still hundreds of miles form any place you would want to be. While many travellers cite Jericoacoara as one of their favorite places in Brasil, as we neared our destination and the landscape got bleaker and bleaker, I began to prepare myself for disappointment. Now after having spent almost a week, I can say that Jeri is one of my favorites too. Though bleak for many miles, just as you near Jeri the landscape becomes quite dramatic. Immense white sand dunes share space with palm oases, fresh water lagoons, cliffs of startling red and yellow rock, long stretches of uninterrupted beach, and the endless open Atlantic tickling the shoreline with wave after wave.

Jeri itself is nestled into a palm oasis between dunes and cliffs. It is extremely cute. All sand streets, with a fantastic selection of restaurants, bars, boutiques, ice cream and snack shops, and accomodation options. Everyone walks around barefoot and shirtless, and any desire is moments away from satisfaction. The town fronts a beach which like I said is and immense tidal flat, with the waves usually quite a ways off. It´s not your stereotypical white sand paradise, but it is not ugly by any means. Various sailing vessels at anchor litter the sand, keeled over at low tide. People stroll about, in groups large or small, kids and dogs in tow. From the beach to one side another beach stretching towards picturesque cliffs and a sandier area for bathing. Looking back at town palm trees sway and rows of open air restaurants, bars, and shops beckon with outside tables, beach chairs, hammocks, music and soft light. To the other side an immense and picturesque dune of pure white sand.

Called the Duna do Por do Sol ( sunset dune), it is a point of congregation every evening. As the sun dips, the pilgrims spill out of town and trudge up the giant dune of fine soft sand. On three sides the dune is a long gentle slope of powdery white. On the third side, the ocean facing side, the dune forms a sharp cliff, which provides all sorts of entertainment, as well as a place to dangle your feet over while the sun goes down. Sand boarders velcro their feet to modified snow boards and carve down the slope, trying not to end up in the lagoon at the bottom. Kids roll their play trucks down and giggle as they flip end over end through the sand. A tiny dog playing stick with someones thong flies down and eventually makes it back up with its prize. And once in a while someone feeling playful will run down and try not to spill in a cloud of sand, which depending on the beer intake can be hard to avoid. Jeri is one of possibly only two places in Brazil where you can watch the sun go down over water (excluding islands I guess).

After sun down the next activity is usually underway, the capoeira roda on the beach. I´ve mentioned the brazilian martial art of capoeira before. Players and spectators circle up, the musicans begin to play and sing and every one else claps and sings responses, as players two by two engage in improvised sparring and acrobatics. In every town I´ve been to capoeira and rodas (circles of play) have been a fixture. The play ranges from showy to serious, though usually of very high quality. Capoeira is a serious martial art, coming from a serious period of history, and in my mind and the mind of serious capoeiristas, it demands a certain amount of respect, from spectators but especially from the players themselves. Unfortunately many players today seem to emphasize the showy aspects of the game over the true art form. In other words they focus on acrobatics and showy maneuvers at the expense of really learning the deeper physical language of the art. This has proven to be a great way to get money and attention from tourists, so it is hard to blame the (often poor and uneducated) players. However, when I see a game seriously played I am always moved.

The level of play at Jeri was completely off the charts. Throughout brazil I have seen players capable of truly incredible maneuvers, standing flips on one leg, barrel rolls through the air, all types of gymnastic hand springs and cartwheels, sustained hand and head stands while kicking and twisting, break dance like spinning maneuvers on the ground, etc. Despite all the high level capoeira I have seen throughout brasil, Jeri posessed at least ten players if not more who kept my jaw dropped everytime they played. And on top of this probably three players who seemed to really not be bound by any laws of gravity of physics that I am familiar with. And the best part about it was, all these players could integrate this level of gymnastics with true sparring, always defensively and offensively active, never leaving themselves exposed, and exploiting exposures of their opponenets. In other words, playing for real. I saw many take downs, which you will rarely see in the states and even in many areas of brasil, especially if the roda is more of a show. This makes the game much more exciting, and much more real, because anything can happen and a player showing off had really better have his game together or he will be taken down. Anyway, it was great.

The games would last until it was really too dark to see, players virtually using the force to keep from getting knocked in the head as they spun and threw kicks at light speed. With the last note of the drums the crowd would quickly disperse as every one headed to their favorite dinner or beer spot. The night life really didn´t get going til midnight, and then lasted towards 4am and later, but you could always sip a beer, watch the moon, talk to travellers or shoot some pool while you waited for things to heat up.

I decided to indulge myself in Jeri and went for a slightly up market pousada. Really I only ended up paying about 5-10 more than I usually do, but for that I was pretty close to the middle of town, while not right in it, second story with uninterrupted ocean view, hammock, all wood balcony and private stairs, AC, hot water, fridge, and the works. It was called Vila do Ipe if anyone is interested, and I paid 60 reais for a room for one with a double bed. Breakfast is usually included and the spread is often huge, fresh fruit, juice, coffee, bread and cakes, yogurt, granola, etc. They had a special second story open but covered area as a common eating area. I loved swinging in the hammock by my table looking at the water and dune through the palms while waiting for my breakfast. Jeri proved to be a real highlight despite the trek, and I would definitely recommend it. While anyone is up north Praia da Pipa is worth a look too. I am now in the airport in Fortaleza, getting ready to fly back to Salvador and meet friends for 10 days on Morro de Sao Paolo, one of my all time favorite spots in Brasil- Ate mais- Miguel.