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kristin
There are only two rules in Brazil. The first is, you may only party on Friday. The second is……. every day is Friday!
Ceará is located on northeast coast of Brazil. To the east is called the Sunrise Coast; to the west is the Sunset Coast. You'll fly into Fortaleza, the largest city in Ceará (pop. 2 million). Because you're at the equator, the year round temperature stays constant around 85-95 degrees Fahrenheit. The only thing that changes is the name of the months. The rainy season is Feb-May when huge tidal surges can bring large piles of sand right into downtown Fortalaza.
There are a bunch of cool outdoor restaurants lining the old square (near the new cultural center - Centro Cultural Dragao do Mar), each with it's own music. Be sure to visit Vento em Popa which serves huge meals, cold drinks, and you can linger for hours listening to forro (the local version of salsa music) and watching the world walk by. In Brazil things don't get started much before 10pm, with dinner at midnight.
Don't miss the traditional Thursday night crab feed in Fortaleza; whole crabs boiled in a large pot with coconut milk, lime & cilantro. Rich and poor, young and old feast together at huge wooden tables making a huge mess eating them. Try the Tropicalia or any of a dozen other restaurants lining the Praia do Futuro (Future Beach).
If you're feeling rich you can stay at the Beach Park Hotel($150/night/couple includes breakfast) with a huge water park right on the beach (the annual PWA Ceara Wind windsurfing competition is held there September 7-17), or the Caesar Park Hotel, a 5-Star hotel right on water in town (same price).
The only windsurf shop in Fortaleza is Wind Club (Ave. Beira Mar 2120, Fortaleza, phone (55) (85) 248-8180 and (55) (85) 9121-6668). The owner, Alexandre Coelho, studied marine biology in Florida but when he returned to Brazil he soon found out that there just weren't any good paying jobs for a scientist. So he said what the hell, dropped out and opened a small windsurfing shop in 1996. The shop sells Gaastra, Fiberspar, Fanatic, and ART, and also rents equipment. Most of the gear is on the large side - nothing much smaller than 9' boards or 5.5m sails; good for most of the nearby Fortaleza conditions.
Now you're ready to head west along the incredible endless beaches of the north coast. Some of the roads are pretty rough. Car rental in Fortaleza runs around $25/day for a 4 wheel drive. Try Localiza Rent-a Car, Hertz, or Pegasus (specializes in 4 wheel drive cars) right at the Fortaleza airport.
Thirty kilometers west is the resort village of Cumbuco (pop. 500). Park your car and rig on the beach in front of the restaurant Velas do Cumbuco where you can drink cold beer and eat crab until the wind comes up. The best wind is July -December; with August/September averaging 25 knots. If Cumbuco isn't going off you can try the waves at Pacheco, half way between Cumbuco and Fortaleza.
Still further west lies Icaraizinhe and the friendly Les Alizes pousada owned by Niels and Marlene. For a real treat stay in one of their cozy beachfront bungalows. Breakfast is included in room rates (under US$25/night) and they serve great seafood, pizza and even have a pool! Les Alizes means 'tradewinds', and the perfect side shore 20knot winds combined with another perfect beach and a small reef break on the outside make for absolutely superb windsurfing.
Jericoacoara is the real jewel on the Ceará coast. A recent Washington Post article named it one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world. It lies 320km west of Fortaleza on pad roads before they turn into a brutal, bumpy dirt road for 50km, then a final sand stretch for the last 20km. For those last 20km from the village of Gijoca you'll need to hire one of the little boys who will appear to help you. For about $5 they'll go with you to show you the way through the maze of sand dunes and wooded thickets to Jericoacoara. You won't find it without them. The other option is to charter a helicopter from the Fortaleza airport (waaay cool way to arrive….). For about $2,000 you can hire a nice new A-Star which will whisk you and four friends right to town in about 1 1/2 hours. Nice!
Jericoacoara (pop. 1500) is a very cool little village at the end of the road. There are several small hotels, a dozen tiny restaurants, and no pavement. All the streets are….. sand. Not dirt, but nice white sand. Most people are barefoot. And happy. The town is located right on the beach which stretches out in waist deep 80-degree water for 300 yards.
The best wind is June-January with an average wind speed 25-30 knots. It can blow 40 knots in August/September. The climate is very dry so there are not many mosquitoes.
A basic room with air conditioning at the Casa do Turismo hotel (300 meters to the beach) is $25/person with breakfast. The smaller but very nice Ibirapuera, or the Capitao Tomaz are about same price. There is a full line of great windsurfing equipment for rent (JP and F2 boards, Pryde sails) for $50/day ($200/week). Average sail size is 4.5m to 5.5m with 250-265cm wave boards. After a thousand years without them, Jericoacoara finally got phones a couple years ago.
If you get bored of windsurfing you can try sandboarding, ride horses, rent dune buggies (for trips to even more isolated beaches like the outrageous Tatajuba Beach, 20km to the west), go sailing on an ancient Jangada fishing boat made from piuba logs, or hike to Pedra Furada, a very cool sea cliff to the east. No matter where you wander, little boys will magically appear carrying fresh water for you!
The night life in Jericoacoara is…. large. Things get moving around midnight after a tasty dinner of Pireo (pronounced peer-oh) fish dish served with farinha (a tapioca type dish made from the mandioca plant). Or try the muqueca de arraia (ray) soup or the sauce version served over rice. A lobster dinner runs around $15, a beer costs a buck. Finish off your meal with a large caipirinha - the local beverage delicacy made from smashed limes, sugar, cachaca (a rum-like liquor), and crushed ice. Very potent. Or perhaps a coco louco - means coconut crazy - made from cachaca and coconut milk. Try the fruit of the caju - cashew fruit -which has a very sweet & unique flavor.
For a change of scenery you can zip off to Lagoa de Gijoca (20 km east of Jericoacoara), a beautiful fresh water lagoon which offers perfect conditions for beginning windsurfers. Stay right on the water at Pousada do Paulo (named after the Italian owner) for just $25/night. He and his windsurfing Brazilian wife, Fernanda, will make you right at home. They have some limited equipment for rent and the pace is very relaxed. There's generally a little less wind here than at Jericoacoara and the water temperature is around 80 degrees. At the palm ringed lagoon named Paraiso (Paradise), there's nothing to worry about: no sharks, no snakes, no hurricanes; just the occasional crazy driver.
The only problem with a trip to Brazil is that you may not want to ever come back. Back home, that is. You'll always want to come back to Brazil!
Websites to visit for more information:
For more information contact the Ceará Tourist Center 1-877-412-3272.
For more information contact the Ceará Tourist Center 1-877-412-3272.
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