Lençois Maranhenses

This is what I've been waiting for - why I knew I had to include Brazil in my trip.

I first learned about this place from other blogs (it seems to be a hit with Japanese backpackers who often keep meticulous, detailed travelogues). I saw the pictures and was completely mesmerized. Knew I had to see it with my own set of eyes!

I'm sure it's not the first destination that comes to mind when planning a trip to Brazil. That status must belong to Rio or the Amazon. Plus, it's sort of out of the way, requiring a bit of "roughing it" from either the east (my chosen route) or the west.

BUT IT IS ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT!!!

First step involves taking a bus or shuttle van from Sao Luis to the tiny town of Barreirinhas. I opted for the van which picked me up right from the hostel for 35BRL. I don't think its much more expensive than the public bus, considering that you'd have to cab it to the bus terminal anyways. Took about 3-4 hours to reach the town. Left early in the morning, so was there before noon.

Barreirinhas is a hot, steamy, lazy, lazy little town with dirt roads. They still use donkeys (or mules?!) as workers:

Once I got there, I looked around for a place to stay with another backpacker I met on the van. But since he couldn't decide on the place or price, and it was too hot to keep wandering around with my heavy backpack, I decided to ditch the guy and find a place on my own.

Success - Found a wonderful, clean, friendly hostel (Pousada Tia Cota) for 20BRL. Shared bath, but includes breakfast and fan. Not a bad deal at all.

Second step involves booking a tour to the Lencois dunes, which is easily done through the hostel. I booked the one for the afternoon that day (2 or 3pm, me thinks) for 40BRL.

With that planned, I headed over to the market for lunch - bread and instant noodles.

Then, you just get on the jeep that picks you up at the hostel, and enjoy the beauty of Lencois Maranhenses!!!

Easy : )

Oh, be forewarned that the jeep ride isn't that smooth. It is amusing though.

Aside from having to cross a river on a barge:

Pushed by a boat:

There are TONS of major puddle crossings on bumpy sand/dirt/mud roads:

But sit tight, and you reach…PARADISE!!!

Just look at the crystal clear water and the contrast with the white sand dunes and the clouds and blue sky…(I can't do it any justice with words, so I'll let the photos do the talking)

Walk over one dune, and another small lake appears. Forever and ever and ever, I think. You'd have to take an aerial tour to see that amazing sight, but unfortunately, my meager budget didn't allow for such an extravagance.

I spent a couple of hours at the park, wandering, swimming, laying around, taking photos, etc. Happy times!!!

As you can see, the weather started to turn nasty after a bit…getting darker and darker.

Eventually, we had a serious downpour. Not too much of an issue since I was in my bikini, but I admit to being a bit flustered about my camera. Decided to seek cover underneath some shrubbery with little success. And I started to get cold, too.

It turned out that the water was much warmer than the poring rain, so I jumped right in until the sun came back out.

Surprisingly, while I was in the water, not-so-little fishes started nibbling me!!! Freaky, yet ticklish. Hehe. These creatures have unbelievably adapted to their habitat - they come out during the rainy season (when there is a lake) and do their fish things, but when it's dry and there's no water, they "hibernate" in the sand. Coolness.

Anyways, got back to Barreirinhas late in the evening, upon which I immediately proceeded to finalize plans for tomorrow.

Basically, I need to keep heading east, but it's an absolute pain-in-the-behind. No public transport. No roads connecting everywhere. Etc.

Luckily, I met a Spanish guy on my Lencois tour who wanted to go the same way (towards the hippy town of Jericoacoara). Coincidentally, he's an ex-banker who quit his job to go on a RTW trip with biz class tickets. Sounds familiar, huh.

We decided to hire a tour/car to get us to Paranaiba, from where we can pick up a regular bus. The rest of the night, therefore, was spent bargaining and organizing the trip. Tired. But at least I can keep moving along tomorrow.

More on that next time.

Had a rather nasty burger for dinner and off to bed.