Jericoacoara in Brazil
Jericoacoara is another of the northeast's paradise beaches that is getting spoilt. Up until the 1980s it was a magical place: a collection of little fishermen's shacks lost under towering dunes and surrounded by wonderful long, sweeping beaches. São Paulo middle-class hippies used to live here for months, surfing, dancing forró and smoking copious amounts of weed. Slowly Jeri began to grow. Then buggies began to race up and down the dunes - including the most delicate, those with fixed vegetation - and local villages started to become tourist attractions. In the 1980s, the Italians discovered Jeri and building began, much of it with little or no environmental considerations; buggies whizzed up and down from dawn to dusk like a plague of motorized flies. Today, few properties or tourism businesses are locally owned and the fishermen and their families are being sidelined and priced out of town.
That said, Jeri remains beautiful and it has a long way to go before it becomes as spoilt as Morro de São Paulo or even Cumbuco. If careful choices are made by tourists (such as supporting local businesses, trying to speak Portuguese, participating in Brazilian culture and avoiding buggy tours and large European-run beachfront resorts), it could turn itself into an inspiring sustainable, small-scale resort . The nearby beaches offer superb conditions for kitesurfing and windsurfing - both practices that do little to damage the environment - and there is excellent walking and cycling along the long flat beaches to beauty spots like the crumbling chocolate-coloured rock arch at
Pedra Furada
. Sandboarding is popular and watching the sunset from the top of the large dune just west of town, followed by a display of
capoeira
on the beach, is a tradition among visitors.
There are two direct buses a day from Fortaleza to Jijoca from where
jardineiras
(Toyota pick-ups) do the 45-minute transfer to Jeri. Be sure to take a
VIP
or
executivo
as the journey takes five to six hours (seven to eight hours on other buses). It is far more comfortable to take an air-conditioned mini-van; these can be organized through
pousadas
in Jeri. Hotels and tour operators run two- to three-day tours from from Fortaleza. If not on a tour, 'guides' will besiege new arrivals in Jijoca with offers of buggies, or guiding cars through the tracks and dunes. If you don't want to do this, ask if a pickup is going or contact
Francisco Nascimento.
pousadas
and restaurants accept Visa but it is wise to bring plenty of cash in reais.
Going west along the beach takes you through a succession of sand dunes and coconut groves; the views are beautiful. After 2 km is the beach of
Mangue Seco
, and 2 km beyond this is an arm of the ocean that separates it from
Guriú
(across the bridge), where there is a village on top of a fixed dune. There is good birdwatching here and if you wish to stay hammock space can be found. The village musician sings his own songs in the bar. It's a four-hour walk from Jericoacoara, or take a boat across the bay.
The best surfing, kitesurfing and windsurfing is 10 minutes from town on the pebbly
Praia de Malhada
, reachable either by walking east along the beach or by cutting through town. Top-quality equipment can be rented in Jeri. A 3- to 4-km walk to the east takes you to the
Pedra Furada
, a stone arch sculpted by the sea, one of the landmarks of Jeri, only accessible at low tide (check the tide tables at the
Casa do Turismo
). Swimming is dangerous here as waves and currents are strong. In the same direction but just inland is
Serrote
, a large hill with a lighthouse on top; it is well worth walking up for the magnificent views.
The best kitesurfing and windsurfing beaches are beyond Jeri, some 15 km east of town (43 km by road via Jijoca and Caiçara), at
Praia do Preá
and
Praia de Guriú
. Both beaches are reachable on day tours if you have your own kitesurf. Tours including equipment can be arranged in Jeri through www.kiteclubprea.com. There is accommodation on both beaches. At low tide on Preá, you can visit the
Pedra da Seréia
, a rock pocked with natural swimming pools.
Some of the best scenery in the area is around
Nova Tatajuba
, about 35 km west of Jerí. One Toyota a day passes through the town on the way to the ferry point at Camocim and almost all buggy tours visit. There are simple
pousadas
and restaurants and the village is far smaller and less touristy than Jeri.
Some 10 km beyond Praia do Preá (62 km by road) is the beach of
Barrinha
, with access to the picturesque
Lagoa Azul
. From here it's 10 km inland through the dunes (20 km along the road) to
Lagoa Paraíso
or
Jijoca
, a turquoise, freshwater lake, great for bathing.
Some 40 km east of Jijoca is Cruz, an obligatory stop if travelling by bus from Sobral to Jericoacoara. It is a small pleasant town, surrounded by a
carnauba
palm forest (used in making brooms). At the south end is a large wooden cross dating from 1825, nearby is a statue to São Francisco. There is a lively market on Sunday when, at dawn,
pau d'arara
trucks, mule carts and bicycles converge on the town. There are two very basic hotels.
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This is edited copy from Footprint Handbooks. For comprehensive details (incl address, tel no, directions, opening times and prices) please refer to book or individual chapter PDF
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