they may be poor, but damn theyre free in a place where it is worth it to be free! 

lencois is as peaceful, desolate, moody, and beautiful as this horizon. 

 

my tour troup :). the eldest boy, at the back, became my guide into the endless vastness of the lencois sand dunes. i paid him the equivalent of something like 20 dollars, which in the local economy is a small fortune, something an adult earns over an entire month. for that i got a million moments of pure wonderment as i discovered the intense beauty of pristine sandunes and natural lakes that form from rain water that falls within the sand valleys between december and june of every year. 

 

os brasileiros - brazilians are a bit of many things, a bit of indegenous cultures, a bit of african cultures, a bit of european cultures, and in many places even a bit of asian cultures. you can see the genetic contributions in the fascinating and sometimes highly captivating adjoining characteristics, the light eyes and dark skin, the blond hair and broad bone structures.

 

the 'road' from jeri to maranhao.... 

this was the gorgeous red beast which took me from jeri to the border of atins. it was a fantastic trip, the most amazing scenery, 90% of the time on coastal sands that require real knowledge and skill no navigate. i cant recommend this trip enough, it is worth every penny (it cost me $100) 

 

 

my crossing of the barreiras towards atins. these were my skippers, two happy, shoeless skinny young boys who wanted to charge me the equivalent of 1 dollar for the crossing. i negotiated them up to 10 - the people up here are so simple, friendly, basically honest that it feels wrong to short change them of a just fare. you can see a slimmer of my green backpack just underneath the front plank of wood and sail. 

i had a travel magazine with me, and this kid was absolutely fascinated by the photos ofplaces he had heard about, like belem do para. it was the closest he had ever gotten to travelling outside his immediacy, and he was so excited by the concept of another place... 

 

across the river from atins there is a small development of houses and small shops. i dont know, dont remember, the name of the village. it is where i got off the car and boarded the small boat to cross the barreiras river in order to reach atins and the national park of lencois. 

my constant companions - my sandals, backpack and a constantly emptying bottle of water. them and my camera gear, we took on this vast and beautiful land. 

 

 

isnt this fantastic? to shower i had to pump the water into a little metal can and then douse myself between soaping. this is the only source of water, for all purposes. but notice the satelite dish above the house. they can live without a lot of things, but not without their novelas. :). atins, maranhao. 

the southern entrance to the lencois sand dunes national park. it is a mere 15 minute walk from atins, following the only road into the marshes and beyond into the sands. it is the most magical place you can imagine. trully magnificent nature. 

as everywhere else, here too football is king :). i just wander how many ronaldinhos go unknown for everyone who ends up in barcelona ;). 

this is the approach to atins. i hired a 4x4 jeep and driver in jeri and we took a couple of days to drive along the coast to atins. atins is the small village right at the entrance of the sand dune national park. it is surrounded by the sea on one side, the vast sand dunes which stretch for miles on the other, the river barreira on the third and unpenetrable marsh land on the last side. it is a poor village, without any infrastructure and almost completely isolated in the middle of this beautiful but human-unfriendly region. the only sure way to reach it, and leave it, is by boat on the river barreira which takes you up to the larger town of barreirinhas. most people who visit the lencois national park enter it along its north shore, via barreirinha. you can get there via the main road to sao luis or via a small plane. from barrieirinhas there are multiple excursions into the sand dune park. atins border the sand dune park along its southern end, where it meets the sea. it is not an easy place to reach, and the reason it can take a long time to drive there along the coast from jeri is that there are no roads, and the drivers have to know exactly when and where the tides will allow passage. if you have the chance however, and like a more raw adventure, do it this way. atins is a gem. barreirinhas is a small big town. the sand dunes down here are virtually deserted and you can hike into them, and across them with the right guides. up in barreirinhas you get to them via 4x4 on daily excursions, and they are full of tourists. 

this is joao. he is the head of the house where i lodged in atins. a jolly chainsmoking fellow of few words, joao spent his entire days inside a canary yellow room with a big window facing the only road in this miniscule village. joao spends his days creating religious portraits from pictures of text and biblical drawings which he sells in the bigger towns in the area. joao didnt really have much to do with the running of the house. his wife did alll the chores, both inside and outdoors, waking up before the sun and shutting down late in the evening after nonstop days. it seemed to me he got the better bargain :).