And that's what I did. From Barreirinhas I took a 4x4 vehicle to Paulino Neves, then another 4x4 to Tutóia, followed by a bus to Parnaíba. I stayed the night in Parnaíba, then the next morning I caught a bus to Camocim, and finally I took another 4x4 vehicle to Jericoacoara. Altogether, including the hotel room in Parnaíba, the trip cost roughly R$120 (£45), which wasn't a bad saving on the agency price. It was quite an interesting journey, although not particularly difficult because most of the modes of transport joined up fairly well. At one point our vehicle had to be punted across a small river, and below you can see the view as we approached Jericoacoara along mile after mile of deserted beach.
Jericoacoara is quite unlike anywhere I've been before. It has a permanent population of only around two thousand, yet there are over a hundred hotels and pousadas (guesthouses), so things are very much oriented towards tourism. The place has a very peaceful and relaxed feel, although it's also known for its nightlife, which I'm told doesn't get going until well after midnight. All of the streets are paved with sand, as you can see here and here - this makes life difficult for ordinary vehicles, so the kind of buggy you can see in this photo is the preferred mode of transport.
Jericoacoara is Brazil's top location for windsurfing, and it's also a big kitesurfing destination. When I arrived here I had plans to try out one or both of these sports, but I guess I got infected by the peacefulness of the place, because I ended up being very lazy and not doing very much at all. I think I needed a rest anyway, and it also didn't help that the pousada at which I'm staying serves the biggest and best breakfasts I've had in a long while (bread, ham, cheese, fruit, coffee, fruit juice and cake) - I didn't really feel like doing anything very active after eating that much food first thing in the morning.
However, I didn't laze around the entire time. On Saturday evening I climbed to the top of Sunset Dune to watch the sun set over the sea. There were hundreds of people there, and the Caipirinha seller was doing a roaring trade from his wheelbarrow. The sunset wasn't bad, but probably not worth me uploading a photo, although it did get a round of applause from the assembled crowd. I thought the sunset I saw from the beach on Monday evening was better.
On Sunday afternoon I went to see the Pedra Furada (Rock Arch), which is a natural arch formed by wind and sea erosion, and is the symbol of Jericoacoara. It's about an hour's walk north-east of Jericoacoara, partly along the beach and partly over a hill. Here and here you can see a couple of views of the coastline from the hill, and below is a photo of the Rock Arch.
On the way back I walked right up to the top of Serrote hill, where there's a lighthouse, which isn't particularly attractive but does have a 360° view across Jericoacoara.
On Monday afternoon I went for my one and only swim in the sea off Jericoacoara beach. I stayed for a short while afterwards to watch the capoeira class that was taking place on the beach (it looked pretty weird to me), but I didn't hang around much after that. To be honest I don't particularly enjoy sitting on beaches, which probably means I'm travelling in the wrong country, because this part of Brazil has some of South America's best beaches, and I don't think I'm likely to be going to any of them.
This afternoon I leave for Fortaleza, so I'll soon be back in civilisation, together with, of course, more beaches.
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