Jericoacoara by REX LINEKER
A year ago or so ago I was invited to spend a family vacation in NE Brazil, at a spot called Jericoacoara, a location that has been frequented by family members for the past 10 years. All the hype had made me very excited and curious as the months passed and the date grew closer. 
As December drew closer I decided to visit my immediate family in Cape Town and then return to Brazil for the extended family trip with the Brazilian side of the family. Having spent 2 weeks in Cape Town I landed back in Sao Paulo and thankfully only had to spend 2 days there before departing for “Jeri ” as I was still in “holiday mode” and wanted beaches, coconut trees and silence not concrete, pollution and noise.
Well, we departed from Guarulhos for Fortaleza CE and landed safely after an easy flight, had a quick dinner at Coco Banana on the main drag of the beachfront and had an early night as we had 4×4 taxis reserved for the early morning to take us across the beach and dunes to Jericoacoara. The 4×4 taxis were comfortable enough even providing bullet proof windows ( food for thought … ) , needless to say we had a comfortable 4.5 hr drive to our destination.
Along the way I started to get a little anxious, where were all the coconut trees and the tropical paradise I had imagined ? What I was seeing reminded me at times of Namibia or taking the Mars buggy out for a drive – it was surreal, dry, populated by donkeys, plastic packets and very very windy. My wife asked me what I was thinking as I had gone quite silent and was contemplating what eight days in the desert was going to be like ( again ) .
My negativity was dashed upon approaching the gates of “Jeri”, and what looked like an Oasis loomed into sight in the distance. No asphalt streets ? No electricity cables all over the place, no litter, no propaganda all over, no hooting, shouting and bad music, rather people with broad smiles and sunburnt cheeks, and whats that ….. the sound of Pink Floyd in the air ?
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| Hotel MY BLUE – JERI |
We checked into our Hotel for the week, the more than comfortable My Blue Hotel, formally named Mosquito Blue. The hotel is situated on the beach and offered us breathtaking views of the sunset every evening along with a delicious breakfast of fruits, breads, omelettes, juices and hot beverages and a restaurant that is open from 9am – 11:30 pm – with live music each night. The rooms were spacious and comfortable and all surround the swimming pools ( which are kept very clean ) and have easy access to the beach or reception area. The majority of the staff were friendly and professional, just a few of the evening / night staff who worked the reception desk let the rest of the hotel down by being rude and coming across as ignorant and arrogant.
I spent the days surfing a longboard, taking tours to the various lagoons, dunes, seahorse ponds etc … but if adventure is not your thing, you will be perfectly comfortable at the hotel, reading , writing or just taking some sun and having a Caipirissima, or ambling down the small sandy streets and ally’s looking for curios and gifts or taking a long leisurely lunch ( I would recommend Pimenta Verde- excellent cuisine ) – followed by some evening shopping ( a lot of shops only open at sunset due to the the daytime temperatures ) . The whole atmosphere of the place is “shanti ” – an Indian term for relaxed / easy , and you can feel it in the air, people are happy, calm and relaxed. The locals are living in a different time frame than us “Paulistas”, they greet one another, smile and live life at a pace more human in my opinion. At night the little town comes to life again and shows us her fun side, there is dancing, bars and restaurants bars all under the star filled canopy of the Milky Way ( the music only starts at 23:47 pm and it doesn’t rain – recorded at 320 days of sun a year !! )
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| Futebol no por de sol de Jeri!!!! |
Needless to say when our day to leave arrived I can only describe the feelings I felt by using a Brazilian word – Saudades .
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| Dunas de Jeri |
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