Sao Luis and Lencois Marenhenses National Park
Sao Luis- the capital of Afro-Brazilian culture and biggest home of reggae music outside of Jamaica in the very north east corner of brazil and our final destination before Rio. We originally made the journey here to see the national park Lencois Marenhenses which Devesh saw in a National Geographic documentary and decided we HAVE to go there!
What we didn’t realise is that Sao Luis is a fabulous destination in itself. This fascinating city was established by the French, then taken over by the Dutch and finally conquered by the Portuguese.
It has one of the most beautiful colonial city centers in South America with beautiful architecture and on the other side of the city is a fabulous beach packed and lined with thatched roof bars, live reggae music and people playing soccer on the beach.
We stayed at a place right on the beach front chilling in hammocks looking out at the ocean, going for evening strolls on the beach and drinking cocktails listening to live reggae music. SO SOO COOL! In fact, that word in fact pretty much sums up Sao Luis. Land of Cool. And the people…God damn these people are good looking!!
Brazils famous mixing of cultures was at its finest here in the north-east. European, African, Caribbean, Indigenous, Asian…it’s pretty obvious why the hottest most beautiful people on the planet are from Brazil. Words to the world: Embrace immigration like Brazil, and you too will have finalists in Miss Universe every year! Devesh read that the most valuable passport on the black market is the Brazilian, because a Brazilian can look like almost anyone. All you have to do is wear a tiny bikini and really short tight denim shorts if you’re a woman or go shirtless if you’re a guy and that’s it! You’re Brazilian!!
Getting to this place was no picnic. After our 5 hour ride back to Campo Grande from Bonito we spent the night in the airport. Horrible! But getting in at nearly midnight then catching a 5am flight, there was no point in booking a hotel room. Instead we spent 5 hours half asleep and watching our surrounding bags, then groggily lumbering onto the plane at 5:30am. 5 hours, two flights then a taxi ride later we got to this far off land feeling exhausted and rather proud of ourselves. This was the one place on our itinerary that not a single person we knew or had encountered had been to. Waaay off the tourist path. Especially for international tourists. Finding anyone who spoke English was definitely going to be a problem. In the rest of Brazil so far we have been getting away with a mixture of English and Spanish, but up in this part of the country. Forget it. They don’t even understand a word of Spanish let alone English. Its all sign language and google translate!!
There are definitely tourists that come here, but 95% of them are local Brazilians. Very few international people but that was part of what made it so cool. There was no ‘tourist trap’ restaurants or menus in English. Just true authenticity and totally awesome! Ordering food was interesting, particularly when we deliberately left our phones at the hotel one night. We wanted to order something with tapioca which the region is famous for. It’s cooked like crepes and served in a similar way, filled and folded and can be either savoury or sweet.
We wanted a dessert, so we looked at the sweet side of the tapioca menu then got stuck…no clue of anything…so we did the only thing you can do. Point at something and see what comes! 10 minutes later we saw and our first thoughts…what the hell is that?? Devesh looked more closely and said. ‘is that cheese in the middle?….and ketchup on the top?!?!’ We were sure that we had at least got the SWEET tapioca part right but apparently not. My ketchup hating hubby looked soo grossed out, I knew I would have to do the first tasting honors. Yes, it was definitely melted cheese in the middle but it wasn’t ketchup on top. Some kind of weird fruit possibly strawberry-ish sauce??! Who knows…whatever it was we were not fans. (In case you were wondering…we still ate it! lol)
Later in the trip we found the winning combination: Banana with fresh coconut topped with dulce de leche! AMAZING!!! though to be honest, I don’t think it had anything to do with the tapioca part.
We also ventured into the much written about old town which was quiet being a Sunday and we had to go with a private driver and escort because it’s not safe to walk around yourself. Definitely some seedy and interesting looking characters around but we had a great time checking out the buildings, the colonial architecture, visiting the old palace, the beautiful cathedral in the main square, and sipping a coconut in the middle of the street. Absolutely wonderful.
The next day, yet another early pick up to go to the much awaited Lencois Marahenses National Park. 6 hours away but we didn’t mind. It was a nice way to see more of the countryside in a different part of Brazil. We arrived in the main town near the park, had just enough time to check in and get ready before being picked up for our first venture in.
12 people crammed into the 3 benches on the back of a truck/ute/four-wheel drive/some kind of vehicle, sweating away in the insane heat and bouncing up and down for an hour as we made our way through the half vegetated sandpit towards the park. Where the hell are we?!?! We wondered as we grinned away like idiots, bouncing and sweating. Then we got there. The other worldly Lencois Marenhenses National Park.
It’s a little like the Sahara but with lots and lots of water. During the rainy season it rains so much that hundreds of pools form all over the dunes remaining there for 8 months of the year. A four wheel drive can only go so far, so after that, you have to use your legs and walk, and anyone who has ever walked up sand dunes before knows. It is hard work! We walked for 15 minutes until we reached the first pool. It was like a magnificent mirage. Everyone jumped in trying to cool off, and it was the first time in my life that I actually wished the water was icy cold! 10 minutes later, out we got and we went for another 10 minute walk to the next one, continuing on like this all afternoon, ended back where we started to watch the sun set over the dunes. WOW. Worth all of the effort to get there and more.
The next day we bypassed the popular boat tour (we have done enough boat activities in the last 5 months to last a lifetime) in exchange for the most off the beaten path option (of course!). A four wheel drive tour to a tiny fishing village Atins bordering both the national park and the ocean. Only 8 were on the back of the truck this time, and it was a legit Toyota land cruiser, just about the only thing that can handle that terrain. It took 2 hours of serious off road driving during which one of the group vomited, but Devesh and I were loving it. We passed another village on the way and aside from a few trees and plants, it really looked like they were literally living in a sand pit!
Then finally we got to Atins, passed through the tiny one road village and headed straight to the beach. There was a run down thatched roof shack selling coconuts, a few weathered boats and some palm trees. That was it. The most idyllic beach village almost completely untouched by outsiders.
20 minutes later we heard the call to leave. What?? Already? Its so beautiful. Nope, time for the next beach. We drove along the sand for another 20 minutes and understood what he was talking about. There was not a tree or person or ANYTHING in sight for as far as the eye could see. The only others were the others in our car and for the remainder of our time there, everyone was in their own little world, obvious to all else. It’s hard to express how being in such a place feels. It was a complete out of body and mind experience.
After the ocean it was back to the jeep and into the National park once more but this time on the other side. Sand dunes and pools, sand dunes and pools. We alternated between the two and it was even more spectacular than the day before.
There really are no words to describe the feeling we felt.
This is a place you will never find on any world’s best beach list. Why? to be on a list, you need votes and the most beautiful beaches in the world don’t get enough visitors to vote. This is one of those places, and that is exactly what we loved the most about it.
We stopped at a place for lunch on our way back but Devesh and I fell asleep in the hammocks and for one of the few (if only) times in our lives missed the meal!! All good. We blissfully napped and saved a few dollars. We were still in awe of the place as we bumped through the two hour journey back to our hotel. The pinnacle of our adventures and definitely saving one of the best for last. If you want to see something from another world. This is the place for you.
Our top tip: Learn some Portuguese!!!!!