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Parque Nacional dos
Lençóis Maranhenses…From above
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From Jericoacoara we made our way
into Lençóis Maranhenses National Park by way of private transfer. There
appears to be two main ways of getting into the park from Jeri – one by public
transport, which is a 24 hour ordeal and costs somewhere in the region of R$170
($85 AUD) or private transfer which takes 8 hours and costs R$200 – smart money
is on the transfer.
These transfers drop you off at
the last town reachable by car, Caburé. Although it is more a collection of 2-3
pousadas (bed and breakfasts) than a town, it is considered one of the main
‘ports’ of the area given its proximity to the ocean. From here we hired a boat
to take us up river to the town of Atins, which most consider the best
‘gateway’ town in to the park. From here you can organise day trips into the
park, or multiple night treks across the park for the more adventurous.
We had heard of a 3-4 day trek
that would take you across the entire park that we were both very keen on,
albeit a little apprehensive of how much of an ordeal it would be. The trek
would start off with a casual 35km hike across the dunes to our first overnight
stop that could take anywhere between 8-10 hours of walking… in sand! From here
it was supposed to get easier with the next two days only requiring 3-4 hours
of hiking to reach your nightly destinations.
Our hostel was able to organise
guides and we were set to have a meeting at 8.00pm that night and set off the
next morning. Well 8pm rolled around and so did 10pm and given we had heard
most treks started at either 3am or 3pm to avoid the harshest times of the day,
we thought it was a safe bet that our trip wouldn’t be heading off the next morning.
The next day we tried to organise
the trip to leave that afternoon but apparently all the town’s guides were
still out in the park so our trip was looking more and more like it wasn’t
going to happen. So, through the friends we had made from the trip into Atins,
we decided on an afternoon trip into the nearby dunes.
A 40 minute ride in the back of a
clapped out old Landie brought us to a seemingly meaningless spot in the
endless dunes, and from here a 15 minute walk brought you to what can only be
described as a desert oasis – although this doesn’t quite do it justice.
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Our first glimpse of
paradise
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It is not your typical ‘cartoon’
desert oasis with palms trees and a fortified fort, rather a sea of endless
white sand dunes with the valleys between dunes filled with crystal clear turquoise
blue waters. We found one lagao that had animal life, and a few that had scant
flora growing in the middle, but for the majority, the only forms of life are
the humans frolicking in the cool waters, escaping the heat of the ever present
sun.
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This is not a mirage…
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Walking around you can easily
find yourself alone amongst the dunes, but given there is fresh water over
every second rise, you never quite feel too far from safety. We watched the sun
go down with Luca and Pia, an Italian-French couple and Luca and Sophie, a French
couple, all of whom we had met on the drive into Atins. Sitting atop the
highest dune in our vicinity, watching the sun sink behind the endless dunes
all around us, all the while reflecting its journey in the blue waters at your
feet is a scene I don’t think we will get to witness again for quite some time.
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Taking in the serenity
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Nic recently said that sunsets
are quite boring, and given I grew up in a place where the sunsets pretty much
go unrivalled around the world, I tend to agree with her. Still, we do seem to
watch a fair few of them, and even Nic agreed this one was a little something
special.
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Lençóis Maranhenses sunset
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Later that evening we headed away
from the dunes towards the coast to a small coastal village where we were
treated to quite possibly the best prawns I have eaten. In typical Italian
fashion Luca described the meal as ‘bellissimo’ and requested the secret
ingredients, and despite his passionate pleas, the chef would not give them up.
Waking up the next day, Nic and I
both looked like the prawns we had eaten the night before – I had even managed
to get myself a sunglasses tan, although I don’t think you could describe the
colour as a tan, more so a burn. So we were both quietly glad we hadn’t signed
ourselves up for the 35km hike the day before. And looking back, although it
would have been one hell of an experience, I don’t think we would have gotten a
whole heap more out of the trek, given you can walk around for an hour or so in
the dunes and see countless lagoas of different shapes, sizes and colours.
After lathering ourselves in aloe
vera and more sunscreen we hired quads and made the trip out to Lagoa Tropical.
We had thought we would be getting 2 quads, one each for us and Luca and Pia,
and a third for our guide, but instead two quads arrived complete with drivers
and we piled onto the back for the half an hour trip out to the lagoon.
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Lagoa Tropical – white
sand, turquoise water and not another soul in sight
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We were dropped off right at the
foot of the dunes and a quick scale upwards brought you to a vantage point to
see the whole of Lagoa Tropical in all its glory. Although not at its peak
fullness, the lagoon lived up to its name, with an island (just another smaller
dune) in its centre, and a small beach area to sunbathe if you weren’t already
crispy from the day before.
After exploring the surrounds for
an hour or two, Nic and I returned to find the lagoon completely deserted. Pia
and Luca returned a few minutes later and for the rest of the afternoon we had
the lagoon completely to ourselves. The advantages of doing things on your own
– well sort of.
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Just because…
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That afternoon we caught back up
with Luca and Sophie, who had hired a guide and explored another area of the
park on their own, and the 6 of us hired a boat to take us up river to one of
the larger towns in the area, Barreirinhas. This is the main town to the area
and comes complete with paved roads, concrete floors and a return to
civilisation. The trip along the river was worth it as a tourist day trip, let
alone a means of getting to your next destination. The river winds its way past
small shanty settlements, housing one of two families in somewhat primitive
lean-to shelters, who seem to live off the river and support themselves without
the need of the luxuries of what we deem civilisation – it was like being back
in Africa, and we loved it.
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Don’t worry I got this!
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The others continued their
journey to São Luís whilst Nic and I found a place to sleep the night. We ended
up stumbling upon a place that promised a bed, a fan, wifi and free canoes – they
have seemingly delivered on all accounts.
Given we didn’t get to do the 3
day trek, Nic and I were still keen on getting a grander overview of the park
so we decided to splash out and do a scenic flight over the park and its
surrounds. There is just something to be said about seeing things from above.
It was awesome to say the least. Even our pilot got into the tourist mode of
things and mid-way through a gentle turn, pulled out his phone and got off a
few happy snaps. Although we were only in the air for 25 minutes or so, we were
able to take in a heap,
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| Rio Preguiças and the beginning of the park |
From the river with its numerous
bends and small clusters of dwellings, to the ‘port’ town of Caburé, to our
pousada in Atins, the first half of the flight gave us a great overview of
where we had been. Then we hit the jackpot of the flight – seeing the park from
the air.
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Caburé on the banks of Rio Preguiças’ delta
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Things always seem better from up high, and Lençóis Maranhenses was no
exception. In fact it’s one of the places I would implore anyone who visits it,
to see it from above – splurge a little, its worth it. There are not too many
places in the world where you can see such scenery, rolling dune after rolling
dune separated by waters of near on every shade of blue-green (and brown)
imaginable is just something we will not forget for a while.
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| Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses…From above during a gentle left hand turn |
I think I have said something
similar to that in a previous post, but I suppose that’s what you do when
travelling – as Bazil (my old man for those who don’t know) has said, ‘all you
seem to do when travelling is look at shit’. And he is dead right, but you have
one hell of a time doing so!
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Our humble ride
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