Barreirihnas - Jericoacoara

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We left Barreirinhas on a 4by4 and headed through the dunes to the small town of Paulina Neves from where we jumped on another one to Tutoia. The journey was very rough and scenic and much more fun than doubling back on ourselves on a boring bus! From there we hopped on a bus to the town of Parnaba. We had been unsure of whether to stay a night but decided we would rather move on to our next spot, Piripiri. So after the 3 hour bus ride we finally arrived at about 9.30 that night and went to the first hotel we came across, a very nice little hotel that not only fed us with huge delicious breakfasts but cost us peanuts (we have questioned how people make money over here). We intended to get the employee bus at 7 a.m. the next morning to Sete Cidades (Seven Cities) National Park, but waited in the rain as it shot by without stopping for us. Having asked several locals, we quickly accepted that there was no bus to the park but decided we needed to go having got that far. So rather than getting a taxi, we got "moto taxis" and travelled the 26 km hanging on for dear life on the back of these motorbikes. Upon arrival, we were told we had to have a guide and would need to call the moto taxis back to be picked up. Stupidly we hadn´t taken enough money on us but didn´t want to go home without seeing the park. The motobikers, who probably quite fancied a day out, suggested that we drive round the park with the guide and then get taken home and pay them there. So Chris and the bigger of the two guys shot off on one bike while the smaller biker, myself and the guide hopped on the other bike. The Seven Cities were spectacular and we managed to understand most of the myths and legends behind then despite the guide speaking Portuguese. They are vast natural rock formations with prehistoric drawings and signatures in the rock. Then one of the bikers wrecked his suspension so it ended quite abruptly!

The following day we took a bus from Piripiri to a small town called Ubajara, where we stayed one night in order to visit the National Park of Ubajara where there is a really huge cave. After returning to the hotel to grab our bags we hopped on a bus to the town of Sobral where we hoped to get a connection straight away to Another town. Unfortunately we had to stay the night but were on our way to Jericoacoara first thing the next morning. We were taken as far as the village of Jijoca from where we got a 4by4 over the sand dunes to the beach. Jeri is absolutely amazing, vast white sand dunes and a beautiful beach, lots of beautiful people and a really fun atmosphere. We had the Saturday night in a comfy bed but have spent the last 3 nights in our tent, which has been really fun. We intend to head to another coastal location via Fortaleza tomorrow.

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