April 28 – Lençóis Maranhenses

We were on the road by 8:00 this morning and our first adventure was a ferry crossing over the Preguiças River.  It was a rather small ferry, and the river wasn’t too wide. 

The river was very calm...almost like a mirror and was lined with rain forest vegetation. 

And the ferry was propelled by a small boat equipped with an outdoor motor.  It maneuvered around to the back of the ferry and pushed it across the river. 

After getting across the river we headed out into the countryside.  

The entire area is on sand dunes and the roads are entirely of sand.  That made them very bumpy, rutted, and uneven.  We got quite a massage out of the drive. 

Lençóis Maranhenses is a National park in the upper east section of Brazil.  The massive area is covered with sand dunes.  The dunes sit on top of an impermeable rock bed.  During the rainy season the depressions in the massive dunes are filled with water as it can't drain through the rock bed.  The water in many lagoons gradually dries up during the dry season. One count found over 55,000 lagoons in the park.  

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Video of drive on the dunes
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It looks like we saved the best for last on this trip.  The dunes were massive and seemed to go forever.  And the lagoons made it magical.  This area is unique in the world in that it is the only sand dune area with the lagoons. 

Even the sand itself was rather magical.  It was very fine grained and sometimes packed very hard.  The wind blows almost constantly here so the sand was often in very interesting patterns.

There were also a few shallow rivers that flow though the park.

We frequently saw poles with red, yellow or green flags.  These are put up by the park service to show areas where it is save to drive (green), where caution is required (yellow) and where you are likely to slide down the side of the dune (red). 

Some of the lagoons appeared to have been overgrown enough that they were now more like wetlands.  Most didn't have any fish as many lagoons dry up in the dry season so we did see many birds (that would be looking for fish). But the wetlands were almost as magical as the dunes. Some even looked like flawless mirrors.

We went swimming in three lagoons today.  Our driver brought along some beach chairs so we were able to lounge by the lagoons after our swims. 

We were joined by several groups at one of the lagoons.

Some of the people climbed to the top of one of the surrounding dunes and slid down into the lagoon.

Two of the lagoons had tiny fish that insisted on trying to give us pedicures.

The day was sunny with a very blue sky and lots of white clouds.  In fact, some times it seemed like the clouds made the scene, particularly at the lagoons that were perfectly calm mirrors.

We did see a few birds at some lagoons. Not sure they were able to find anything to eat. 

We drove out to the coastline and followed it for a while.

We finally stopped at the waterfalls that Oscar had told us about.  Very small waterfalls.  Maybe 3 feet high at most.  But given the area and the topography it is a wonder these exist.

We saw goats from time to time.  Oscar said that the locals turn the goats out for about six months to fend for themselves among the dunes.  Then they are rounded up and sold.

We stopped at the small town of Atin for a view of some fishing boats at the mouth of the Preguiça River. 

Buildings across the river.

In the distance we could see a wind turbine farm and a small lighthouse.

We drove though some of the village.  Lots of water crossings and ponds. 

Then it was off to a nearby restaurant for lunch.  It gets very hot here mid-day so the restaurant had hammocks so that guests could take an afternoon siesta.  Mary had a nice nap.

While driving through the dunes we saw this snake.  Oscar said it shouldn't be in the dunes and had probably hitched a ride on a jeep and then dropped into the sand.  He suspected it will be a snack for a fox tonight.  Too bad.  It is a pretty little snake.

Then it was off again for more swimming and traveling through the lagoons.

We set-up on a large dune to enjoy the sunset.  

Then the long, bumpy ride back to the hotel.  Great day.  This place is stunning.