THE SITE

Jericoacoara (friendly called Jeri by people living there) originally was a village of fishers; positioned about 300Km far from Fortaleza, main city of Cearà, in the North-East of Brazil. This at a latitude of 2.47 degrees South.

(Fortaleza is a nice and almost modern city, its dimensions are similar to those of Rome and it has about 2.5 million inhabitants. The nearest intercontinental airport is in this town).

The beach area around Jericoacoara was already classified in the most beautiful ten of the world by Washington Post and since 1984 it is an "APA" (Area de Proteçao Ambiental), thus protected by law, with restrictions for preventing landscape and environment damages, and where is running a project for "ecological life".

For that reason it's prohibited to make any road and to build higher than one floor; conventional electrification hasn't been authorized; and so on...

In the village only four "main streets" exist, near to be parallel. Three of them end direct to the seaside; then there are some more little "streets" crossing the main ones, but all (small and big) are strictly "made of sand"!

Connection roads going from Fortaleza to Jericoacoara are nevertheless with good asphalt and in very good conditions as far as about 50Km to Jeri, then there is a part with easy no-asphalt and finally a complete off-road "on-sand", among dunes and/or along a beach (this part takes about 45 minutes to go). This represents a natural and still "naturally remained" difficult access, but it's one out of most beautiful journeys of Brazil (during the day and even more at night, in the moon light!).

It's also possible to go by a usual car as far as the beginning of off-road part; there is a little town with several watched parkings where you can find someone carrying you to Jeri with the right kind of vehicle. Having an opportune car (like dune-buggy or four-wheel drive) you can get to Jeri helped by a "guide" encountered there; he can drive or only find the way if you feel able to drive there.

There is even a regular bus service Fortaleza Jericoacoara, with seat reservation, the service takes to the end of the normal road in tourist class buses and includes the off-road part done with four-wheels drive vehicles. This service is available daily all year long (each day goes and comes back two times).

Another possible but more expensive way is to go by a little plane from Fortaleza to the beginning of the off-road part and then by four-wheels. (Planes aren't always available, depending upon season, etc.).

Who loves adventure can experiment the whole trip Fortaleza Jeri (and/or back) completely off-road and "on-sand", along the seaside: it's about 250Km almost always on the beach, where happens to go more than 30Km encountering nobody. It needs often to wait for ebb-tide and to pass several little rivers in some way, so it takes about two days and a night, sleeping in an intermediate village along the way.

In Jeri and in its surroundings you can find a lot of uninterrupted and deserted beaches, long 20 and more kilometers, with enormous dunes of white and very thin sand, coconut trees, lagoons with mild water and rocks too (as the "Pedra Furada"). This one represents a very rare exception in that landscape, mainly made of sand.

Nevertheless it isn't missing a little mountain (the "serrote"); it's more similar to a double hill with grass, getting 150mt it competes with the highest dunes; it's another rarity in that "dry" panorama of beaches and sand.

The "serrote", being just behind Jeri, protects the village from the advance of dunes continuously moved by wind, slowly but in unavoidable way. On its top is a light-house, and there your sight enjoys the sea, the dunes, the village and the natural bay of Jeri. The "Ponta de Jeri" cap extends 6Km. Looking from the beach and from the village or better from the top of main dune of Jeri that ends direct in the sea, allows you to see wonderful sunsets because of cap conformation. The Sun here goes "to sleep" in the sea, and it is another rarity, taking in account that Brazil coasts are mainly East oriented.

And... speaking of that dune, you can't lose the "skybunda" (literally "bottom-skiing"): this means to run down skiing on sand, seated onto particularly shaped tables... the best ones even get to go standing.

The variety of different landscapes in an area of limited space is one out of best characteristics of Jeri, a place that has green calm sea on one side of the cap and waved on the other. Mainly Jeri offers a lot of possible journeys on foot, with horse, on a "jangada" (typical sailing boat of native fishers) or by dune-buggy. You can choose among different destinations and duration with more or a little less embedded adventure: unforgettable is the major lagoon, very big, made of super-transparent mild water and with many white little beaches; there you can find also some characteristic little "restaurants".

The "passeio" toward Tatajuba is very particular: you go to discover a little village representing the Jeri of twenty years before. To get there also needs to pass through a ford and a little river putting the buggy onto a raft made of wood, pushed by hands using a big stick and that can transport just only one buggy at a time. This after several kilometers of beach, where it's necessary to move "synchronized" with tides.

Tatajuba is a still intact village of fishers, better called New Tatajuba because the original nucleus of habitations, that already belongs to a far past, is now "under" who here really decides: the sand of dunes that are slowly passing onto it.

In Jeri nobody has doubts about its beauty, but almost everyone discusses on many arguments. Here "primitive" and "development", "conservation" and "changes" live together. It's a place where the night lightening still is mainly lunar, but where aren't missing a public phone, a pharmacy and the doctor, and where exists also an infirmary. Then you have here typical bars and little restaurants, a "pizzeria" and several tourism activities, like the "pousadas" (that is, small and characteristic hotels). A " pousada" offers to you rooms in simple but comfortable bungalows, with private toilet and douche, verandah and a garden good for sleeping in an "amaca" (hammock) enjoying the breeze in the shadow of very old big "caju" trees. With very good prices!

It's a place where still most of buildings are fisher's houses, but where some has electric light by private generators which "timetables" are different. Anyway the illumination of roads is completely absent: it's a "strange" different atmosphere that gets to be "magical" (mainly in Full-Moon nights!).

And... logically (being Brazil) isn't missing a place to dance at night: the "forrò"!

THE WEATHER

In Jericoacoara "living" is a set of nice things to do completely or mainly open-air; the weather allows and requires this "life-style".

The temperature is constantly stable: rarely under 25 or over 35 degrees (Celsius), a good wind is always present. Air conditioning is not possible (no conventional electricity!) but really it isn't needed. The probability of rain is high only from Carnival till Easter, out of that period it never rains... and the Sun is shining!

REFERENCES

The most interesting reference is the article (that I told about already in this description) appeared on "The Washington Post". Interesting articles also were on Brazilian magazines "Os caminhos da Terra" (Dec. 93), "Viagem e turismo" (Jan. 97) and "Horizonte geográfico" (Jan./Feb. 97).