1st day – Saturday (18/02/2012)

We arrived in Fortaleza at 3pm and the Jean (the driver of the 4×4 transfer we hired in Rio) was already waiting for us with a silver Hilux to go straight to Jericoacoara. On the road, excellent despite being a two-way street, we listened to everything from RHCP to Aviões do Forró, passing through Chicana Kuduro (axé) and had fun.

After a few hours on the road, we stopped at a village with a few restaurants and took the opportunity to buy some typical snacks from the region. It’s worth checking it out… there are lots of different things, especially local fruits. We continued our journey to the entrance of the APA (environmental protection area) where Jericoacoara is located and came across several men waiting for regular cars to arrive. They are known as mules and they take cars that are not 4x4s through the dunes of the APA until the entrance to Jeri. We stayed in our car and continued in the darkness (it was around 7 or 8 pm) through the dunes of the APA. Some donkeys appeared along the way, but since we went slowly we had no problems.

The sky was simply wonderful, full of stars, as was the temperature. When we arrived in Jeri, after a 5-hour drive, we came across a huge parking lot with lots of cars at the entrance to the village. SURPRISE: Only authorized cars enter to keep the peace in the village. Big smiles! =) Take a look here to find out how to get to Jeri. There are options for all tastes and budgets.

Our accommodation in Jeri

As we entered Jeri, we passed through narrow sand streets, full of little shops, inns and restaurants, which are responsible for lighting up the city. What a cozy place! We arrived at our hotel Captain Tomaz (nice, but nothing too fancy), we got ready and got some frogs out of the bathroom (lol...that's right).

We went to dinner at a restaurant near the hotel and ate wonderful seafood dishes, at much more affordable prices than in Rio de Janeiro. My shrimp in pineapple was divine! We returned to the hotel tired but satisfied, with the feeling that the carnival in Jeri would be completely peaceful, as we wanted.

2nd day – Sunday (19/02/2012)

We woke up and had breakfast at the hotel facing the beach… and what a beach! Miles and miles of sand until we reached the green sea, with white dunes on the left side and the sun shining overhead. A heavenly view. The breakfast was great, with a wide variety of juices, cakes and fruits.

Since we had already booked the tours through the hotel itself via email, we left the café straight away to meet our buggy driver Geoules and his wine-colored buggy. What a lovely person! He stayed with us for the 2 days of the tour, stopping at the best places for tours/photos and being extremely patient with our delays in the most charming places. And best of all, he never got stuck once, something we have seen happen with other buggies.

The Buggy Ride

The Geoules tour Paradise Lagoon includes the Perforated Stone, the Sloth Tree, the Paradise Lagoon and the Blue Lagoon. Other buggy drivers don’t do so many things… pay attention!

First stop: Pedra Furada

The buggy stopped on top of the cliff, along with all the other buggies, and we got out and walked along the beach until we reached Pedra Furada. It was a 30-minute walk, very easy. The view was really cool and, most importantly, we got to swim in the warm sea water, which was really pleasant. We took some photos and moved on.

Second stop: Sloth Tree

After that, we stopped at the Preguiça Tree, one of the symbols of Jeri. It stands alone in the middle of the dunes, near the sea, all crooked because of the wind…it looks like it’s lying down. It’s pretty, but I didn’t think it was anything special.

Third stop: Small Lagoon to Ski Bunda.

We stopped at a dune with a small lagoon adjacent to it, to practice ski butt. R$5 being able to go down 3 times and fall into the water. Cool experience, although there isn't much water in the lagoon and you can't dive in with everything.

Fourth stop: Lagoa Paraíso

We continued on to Lagoa Paraíso. We passed the first restaurant, but we didn't even get off the buggy, because it was very crowded. We went to the next stop, Hotel/Restaurant Ouro Verde. We decided to walk a little to the lake to enjoy the place and then return to the restaurant. It didn't work out... we stayed there much longer than we expected. This name really deserves it. A heavenly lake, with hammocks attached to wooden trunks on its edge, allowing you to adjust their height and choose how immersed your body is. There were some stalls with wooden chairs and large umbrellas, and the best part: the restaurant, which is inside the hotel in the middle of the forest, brings delicious snacks and cold drinks right to you in the water. The highlight of the trip. We spent hours there, snacking and drinking, until we realized that we had to have lunch at the restaurant and continue our tour. We left the lake, ate some really good food at the hotel restaurant, and continued on.

Fifth stop: Blue Lagoon

We headed to the Blue Lagoon, a little late. I think it was around 4pm. We stopped buggy and we took a raft to the main restaurant on the lagoon. There were only about 3 cars parked. The Blue Lagoon is also beautiful, but since we arrived late, the water wasn't as pretty anymore, because the sun wasn't reflecting off it. We stopped at the only restaurant there, had some snacks and went back to the restaurant. buggy, passing by the raft again. From Lagoa Azul we went straight to the village.

We arrived at the hotel, stayed at the pool and then got ready for dinner. It rained heavily for 30 minutes, flooding the city, all with sand. We managed to get to the Green Pepper restaurant, which had been recommended and is really delicious. It is located on a quiet little street and is very small, but the food is worth it. When we got to the room, there were more frogs in the bathroom... what can you do? Nature... Then came the worst part: seeing the damage the sun had done to our skin. Applying SPF 50 twice a day was not enough... lesson learned. =P

3rd day – Monday (20/02/2012)

We woke up and had breakfast again facing the beach. We met Geoules and went on the boat tour. Tatajuba.

More Buggy Rides

The coolest part of the tour is riding fast buggy very close to the sea, for miles and miles… a fierce wind, a very strong sun and best of all, a breathtaking view. What do you need to do with your hair, right? It was a sensation Titanic (standing on the bug with arms outstretched) and everything.

First stop: Mangrove

We stopped at a mangrove swamp that was almost completely destroyed by the winds. It was quite sad, by the way. We took some photos here and there and then moved on.

Second stop: Ferry crossing

We had to stop when we reached a branch of the river that flowed into the sea. There is a kind of boat that takes people buggies above, just with men sticking sticks in the sand and pushing. Crazy stuff! We continued on to the old city of Tatajuba.

Third stop: Buried village of Tatajuba

We arrived at the famous village of Tatajuba, which was buried by the dunes over the years. There we stopped to listen to a lady, a former resident of the village, who, in many, many words, describes what life was like in the village. It is very difficult to understand what she says…not only because of her strong accent, but also because she speaks so quickly. She has a parrot that sits on her shoulder and interacts with the listeners, going up to her arms, eating from her hands and even biting her ear and neck, without her even caring. I found it distressing, but the lady seemed happy with it. We continued on.

Fourth stop: Tatajuba Dune

We stopped at a dune that has a really cool view. You can see some ruins of the old village and many other smaller dunes.

Fifth stop: Tatajuba Lagoon

We finally stopped at Tatajuba Lagoon, which left a lot to be desired, in my opinion. The water is dark and since we had been to Paraíso the day before, we had high expectations. Paraíso and Azul were a thousand times better than Azul. We ordered food at the restaurant and enjoyed the hammocks in the water. The food was so-so…the lobster was tasteless, but on the other hand, the shrimp in garlic and oil was great. Lucky me, right? We stayed there for a few hours and then went on to see the seahorses…or at least that was the plan.

Sixth stop: Crab + Seahorses (?)

We stopped at a restaurant right in the middle of the mangrove swamp that serves crab. We ordered 10 crabs right away, which is one of my favorite dishes. We went on a tour to see seahorses, but unfortunately it didn't work out. We arrived at the mangrove swamp very late and the tide had already risen, leaving the little creatures untouched. The tour was a bit frustrating, I admit, but the crab was worth the stop. We ate well and then continued on to Jeri. On the way back, we found a buggy who had gotten stuck and Geoules made a point of helping him, pulling him with a rope tied to the two buggies to Jeri. Really nice guy.

We arrived at the hotel and decided to go into the sea, with the sun setting. We watched the sunset from the water, which was wonderfully warm. It was hard to leave. We got ready and went to dinner at Mosquito Blue Hotel Restaurant, right next to our guesthouse. What great food! The restaurant/hotel is on the beach and had delicious live music. The hotel is a real luxury…but for those who don’t want to spend money on accommodation, like me, you can at least enjoy the delicious food.

4th day – Tuesday (21/02/2012)

We woke up and had breakfast again facing the beach… boring routine, you know? =)

We went for a walk on the beach and ended up walking to the lighthouse, far away. There was no one doing what we did, but we thought it could be cool.

We arrived at the lighthouse and found white walls, a mini lighthouse inside (frustrating) and a beautiful view, with dunes, sea, rocks, donkeys, the village of Jeri and lagoons…very cool. It was a walk of almost two hours…uphill, which is the worst part. On the way back, we found some horses with carts parked, as they had just dropped people off at Pedra Furada. We borrowed a cart, which dropped us off at the base of the village and went back to pick up the couple who had actually reserved the cart…lol. (Thanks, couple!)

We arrived at the inn, had lunch at the restaurant and went on the boat tour. ATV, to Bars.

Quad Bike Ride

Amazing ride! First because the quad bike goes very fast (it can reach up to 90km/h) and second because the view is surreal. We passed by lagoons, the beach, Jijoca and stopped at the end, at the Barrinhas dunes, which are beautiful! I loved it a lot…for me, it was as good as Lagoa Paraíso.

We went swimming in the sea, ran a few races, almost fell, got caught in the rain, got filthy with so much sand that flew at us and finally, to top it off, we watched a beautiful, very orange sunset behind the dunes.

We returned to the village very tired, because after all, you use a lot of strength with your arms and legs to hold the steering wheel and change gears/balance yourself, respectively. Nothing more deserved than a “good drink” in the best and most expensive hotel in town (Chilli Beach Hotel). The place is spectacular…outside my standards too, but it’s worth a visit to have a moment of glamour, without having to pay thousands of reais per day. =) After the drink, we went to dinner at a restaurant inside a super nice hotel, also facing the sea, very close to our hotel: Geriba. Really good food! Geez…seriously, it’s hard to say which was the best restaurant on the trip…they were all very good! We went back to the hotel via the beach, enjoying the super bright sky. Not at all romantic. =P

5th day – Wednesday (22/02/2012)

We repeated the boring routine of having breakfast in front of the beach and after breakfast, we went for a swim in the sea on the beach in front. The sea was very deep and therefore, we had to walk quite a bit until we reached the water. The sand near the water is a bit muddy and I felt like it could be nice to get covered in mud, as if it were something medicinal. And it did me good. =) After the mess, we took a swim in the warm sea and went to pack our things to do the next day. check out.

After the check out, We had a snack at the hotel restaurant and I took the opportunity to buy some souvenirs at the little shop next door, also on the beach. There are a lot of different things there, it's worth checking out. Afterwards we had lunch again at the hotel restaurant Mosquito Blue and we met Jean, our driver, to go back to Fortaleza. Leaving Jeri was difficult…more difficult than I imagined. It was a sad “see you soon” to all the frogs, donkeys, seafood, winds, friendly people, lagoons and beautiful beaches.

In Fortaleza

We arrived in Fortaleza after almost 5 hours on the road and went to the Hotel Vila Gale in the Beach of the Future, which we didn't know was so dangerous. Both Jean and the taxi driver who took us from the airport spoke very badly about the safety of this beach. They told us not to even dare leave the hotel at night, walking. That's what we did. When we booked this hotel, we thought we would be able to leave Jeri early and enjoy Praia do Futuro, but Jeri held us back. We arrived at the hotel, which was quite large, by the way, had dinner and went to bed. The flight the next day was early, but at least direct to Rio. We arrived at Galeão and went straight to work. A great "back to reality”.

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