Engulfed by Sand

February 2009

After Canoa Quebrada, we headed to Jericoacoara on the coast northwest of Fortaleza, known as Sunset Coast. Jericoacoara became a national park in 2002, and the village, nicknamed Jeri, has only 5 streets and a population of about 3,000. Jeri is probably the most secluded beach in the state, and in some aspects, has retained traits of the fishing village it once was: there are no roads to Jeri, the streets remain unpaved, there’s no ATM, there’s still no street lighting even though electricity reached the village in 1998 and you may still wake up to a toad croaking at your doorstep (not to worry, terrified ladies, they don't bite).

Getting to Jeri is not easy – the paved road ends 12 miles (20 km) away, and from there it’s a one-hour ride through dirt roads and sand paths. The greenest way to get to Jeri is to leave your car in Jijoca, the closest town, and hop on the back of a truck for the bumpy ride. And bumpy it is: potholes abound, kids throw up, your body is constantly thrown against the sides of the truck so much so that one of the passengers said that she’d rather work for free than take this ride daily. And now you’re thinking: why is she recommending this ride from hell?! Here’s why: we arrived on the last day of carnival and there were dozens of cars in the village. Besides the inevitable jams in a place so small, it was absolutely dreadful to have to navigate the streets through countless cars and their fumes. It took away some of the character of the place. Once carnival was over and most of the cars were gone, Jeri was transformed and its idyllic qualities just mushroomed. The new mayor has plans to ban cars from the village and I’m all for it.

Jeri has been named one of the 10 best beaches in the world by The Washington Post and Globe Trekker and it’s easy to see why. Jeri has a tropical climate with temperatures ranging from 72F (22C) to 95F (35C) year round, and boasts stunning scenery of countless dunes interspersed by lagoons. The most frequented dune, called Sunset, is right at the southern end of the main beach where dozens of people gather at the end of the day. Activities abound: sandboarding, surf, windsurfing, kitesurfing, horse riding, and buggy rides, the most popular of all.

There is quite a number of tours that you can take by buggy in the region and if you get a skilled driver, you won’t get stuck in sand. We took a trip to Tatajuba, 11 miles (18 km) away through beaches, rivers, mangroves and dunes. Tatajuba has an interesting story – a number of years ago, the town had to relocate because it was being taken over by dunes, some of which can move 100 feet (30 meters) per year. The town now sits near the tallest dune in the region - Enchanted Dune, standing at 260 feet (80 m). The dune is so big that it doesn't move and got this name because locals think there's something special about it - some claim to see blinking lights in the sky around it occasionally (cue Twilight Zone theme).

Tatajuba is how Jeri looked a decade ago: a fishing village where some of the houses are not even plastered. There are just a handful of guesthouses now, but word is that foreigners are already buying land so Tatajuba may become the new Jeri in a few years. The biggest draw in town is the lagoon, where you can pick a fish from the day’s catch for lunch, then laze the afternoon away in one of the hammocks above the water. Doesn’t get any more heavenly than that.

So what next? I don’t know. My travels tend to have accidental themes, and the one this year seems to relate to sand (desert in Jordan, dunes in Brazil). Maybe I’ll finally visit the Namibian dunes. But only time will tell…