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Published: February 18th 2008
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We only stopped at Sao Luis to break up the journey between Belem and Fortaleza. It took 12 hours just to get that far and the buses are still not as comfortable as we had been led to believe!
Sao Luis is a lovely place and definitely worth a couple of days, probably more if you get the weather. We struggled at first to find a room in our price range. It seems that along with renovations of public buildings, a lot of the small hotels (pousadas) have also been restored and the prices have risen accordingly. After a lot of walking about we found the Pousada Vitoria on Rua da Palma. It was surprisingly empty despite excellent rooms, a fabulous breakfast and use of the kitchen.
The “zona”, as the touristy part of town is called, is quite compact and picturesque. How we ended up with so few photos I don’t know. Maybe it was the weather! Many of the old palaces have been restored and house government departments. There are a couple of hilly streets, some cobbled, but everything is within easy walking distance. Sao Luis’ signature is the tiled facades of its buildings. Some are still
Skyscrapers reflecting in the lake
but be careful, there are thieves everywhere, apparently! waiting for restoration but their effect is impressive wherever you see them, including on traffic lights and on the side of buses.
Talking of buses, the main terminal is 30-40 minutes outside of the “zona”. You need to take a white bus from the road next to the terminal, NOT the main road, which says “Joao Paolo / Rodavaria” on the front. This will take you to the domestic terminal on the waterfront from where you can easily walk into the “zona” and find a room.
We ate lunch in Deco’s Bar and Restaurant EVERY day! Normally we try to “spread our wealth” but this place was so cheap, friendly and good!! It’s located within the small central market along with a few others. We feasted on fresh fish, rice, beans (of course!) and salad, washed down with a couple of beers. It was fantastic.
The beaches of Sao Paolo are located across the river and a short bus journey away. We were unlucky with the weather but even in the rain it was great to feel the fine white sand between your toes and the waves of the warm Atlantic washing across your feet.
We
also walked around the Jansen Lagoon. There’s a 6km footpath going all the way around and the view of the skyscrapers reflecting in the water was nice. There were plenty of birds around to see too. The down side is the run down areas you walk through on this path. They weren’t as bad as they might have been but we were constantly watched by some tourist police on their motorbikes. Every corner we turned, there they were. It was like having a personal escort! We also received warnings from locals on bikes about the thieves who were lurking everywhere ready to rob us of all of our possessions. In reality we never felt threatened, but we really don’t know if the constant presence of the tourist police made a difference or not!!
So, that’s Sao Luis. With good weather we could easily have stayed a few days more and explored some of the beaches a bit further along the coast. It wasn’t to be though, and we hope now for more sun as we get to Fortaleza.
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