fairytale fishing village in the sands
Written: Dec 26 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: picturesque, undeveloped
Cons: difficulty of access
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| ilselieve's Full Review: Jericoacoara |
At sunset every day, village residents and visitors climb the dune pictured above to see the sun set over the ocean to the west. Because of the peculiar geography of Jericocoara, one can see the sun _rise_ over the ocean to the east on the other side of the village the following morning!
Jericoacoara has gone from an obscure fishing village to a trendy vacation destination for young Brazilians, but due to regulations on development, it has managed to maintain its picturesque character. The streets are all soft sand, the houses rustic, and at night the streets are only illuminated by the moon and stars. I highly recommend this spot after spending a wonderful week there in 1995.
GETTING THERE
We took the bus from Fortaleza to Jijoca, where we descended at night on a deserted street, not sure how we would arrange transport over the dunes to Jericoacoara. It turned out that the bus fare includes an additional leg on a 4WD transport over the dunes, and the transport was there waiting to meet the bus. Other options are to rent a vehicle to Jijoca, park, and catch this same transport, or to rent a 4WD vehicle (and map or guide) and cross the dunes yourself.
LODGING
Once we arrived in Jericoacoara, pousada (inn) owners were waiting with lanterns to offer visitors places to stay. We picked a place sight unseen for the first night, and then moved to a different one later after scouting out the options in the daylight. There are many pousadas to choose from, in a range of prices. Our pousada had candlelight in the evenings, a private bath, cold showers, and a bar with music in the evenings.
FOOD
When we had worked up a big appetite from swimming or exploring, we would pick another restaurant to try, and never tired of the fish and seafood served.... We were always assured of a fresh catch, given the number of meters from the water.
THINGS TO DO IN JERICOACOARA
Visit the Pedra Furada and other rock formations to the east of the village
Dance forró in the evening
Windsurf
Sand boarding down the dunes (a lot of locals doing this with improvised materials)
Watch or play capoeira in the sand (Brazilian game/martial art/dance)
Visit the beautiful inland lake: Paradise Lagoon
Horse-back riding on the beach.... We rented horses for an hour, and I got a very sluggish horse. Sluggish that is, until I turned the horse around so that he was pointing back to the village after 30 minutes had passed. He took off for home while I clung on for dear life. It didn’t help when a more experienced rider on a beautiful horse thought I was enjoying the ride and so incited my horse to race! I ended up being a spectacle as I passed in front of the abovementioned dune as people were gathering for the sunset....
MORE INFORMATION
Visit the tourism website at www.jericoacoara.com for more details and further links
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ilselieve
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Member: ilse ackerman
Location: Harrisonburg, Virginia
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
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