CDs or Books
by Keyword, Title or Author
By Brazzil Magazine
Rio Grande do Norte
BAÍA FORMOSA
The fishing village of Baía Formosa has lovely beaches, a couple of cheap pousadas
and little tourism.
Backed by dunes, Baía Formosa sweeps from the end of the village (on the southern part
of the bay) to an isolated point to the north. Parts of the beach have dark volcanic rocks
eroded into weird shapes by the surf. The beaches further south of town are spectacular
and usually deserted. There’s a couple of decent point breaks for surfers.
Places to Stay & Eat
Reservations can be made by calling the village telephone office (221-4343). The Chalet
Verde, on Rua Jorge Gomes de Souza is a quiet little place run by Rose, who speaks
English. Rooms cost $10/20 for singles/doubles. The Pousada Dos Golfinhos at Rua
Francisco Fernandes Freire 361 has a spectacular location overlooking the beach. A family
of semi-tame sagüi monkeys lives in a tree next to the small attached restaurant.
Rustic quartos with fan are a bit overpriced at $18/25 for singles/doubles.
Bargaining could help here.
The Pousada Sonho Meu, at Rua Francisco de Melo 143, is a more up-market place,
and perhaps a sign of things to come. Apartamentos with air-con and refrigerator
cost $35/40 for singles/doubles. The Hotel Miramar, at the end of the road by the
port, is a friendly place, but the rooms are a bit dingy. Quartos cost around $8
per person.
The Pontinho da Vandete, near Hotel Miramar at Praça da Conceição 137, has a
2nd-floor patio overlooking the water and serves good seafood dishes. Pizzaria Baía
dos Corais, at Rua Manoel Francisco de Melo 195 (the main street), does excellent
pizzas.
Getting There & Away
Seventeen km off BR-101 and 10 km from the Rio Grande do Norte-Paraíba border, Baía
Formosa is serviced by two daily buses. The buses leave town for Natal at 5.30 am and 2.20
pm Monday to Saturday, and at 5 am and 4 pm on Sunday. Heading north, you should be able
to meet the early bus at the Junction of BR-101 at around 1 pm on its return to Baía
Formosa. Otherwise, hitch is possible. Direct buses from Natal’s rodoviária leave
from Monday to Saturday at 11.30 am and 6 pm, and on Sunday at 7 am and 6 pm. The trip
takes about two hours.
From the junction with BR-101, the road to Baía Formosa passes through miles of cane
fields, which are often being burned off at some point. One of our authors had a close
encounter with a fire in the tray of a small pickup, which nearly gave him a cropped head!
BARRA DO CUNHAÚ
Barra do Cunhaú, 10 km from Canguaretama on a dirt track, is a hybrid fishing
village/resort town. You can camp in the coconut grove. There are four buses a week, on
Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 3.30 pm from Natal.
TIBAÚ DO SUL
The small and rocky beaches of Tibaú do Sul—Praia da Madeira, Praia da Cancela
and Praia da Pipa—are said to be among the finest in Rio Grande de Norte. From
Goaininha, 75 km south of Natal on BR-101, there’s a 20-km paved road to the coast.
Praia da Pipa
Pipa is the main attraction of Tibaú do Sul and is developing into a small, laid-back
resort with several pousadas, a hostel and some good restaurants and bars. The main
beach is lovely, but it can get crowded on weekends. If you keep walking south of town,
there are plenty more isolated beaches. Apart from beaches, there’s the recently
established Santuário Ecológico, one km north of town, a flora and fauna reserve on 14
hectares, which is trying to recreate the natural environment of the area.
Places to Stay & Eat
Reservations can be made by calling the town telephone office (272-3800) The Albergue
Enseada dos Golfinhos is an excellent hostel just north of town. The bus can drop you
there. The cheaper options in town are My Place, with clean apartamentos at
$9/12, and the Pousada Tropical. There are several mid-range places (costing $20/25
for singles/ doubles), including the Pousada da Barbara, run by a German
woman and located right on the main beach; Gaivota, Oásis and Sito Verde are
others.
Casarão has great views overlooking the beach, and regional and seafood dishes.
Chico Mendes is a friendly bar and restaurant with meat dishes, seafood and a wide
range of salads.
Getting There & Away
From the rodoviária nova in Natal, there are two daily buses to Pipa ($2.50,
two hours) from Monday to Saturday at 8 am and 3.15 pm. On Sunday, there’s one bus, at 8
am. There’s a daily bus from Goaininha to Pipa at 11 am. From Pipa, buses leave for Natal
daily at 5 am and 4 pm. There’s another bus that goes to Goaininha daily at 7.30 am.
It’s possible to take a boat from Tibaú across to Senador Georgino Averlino. Ask
around at the port in Tibaú.
SENADOR GEORGINO ALVINO TO BÚZIOS
This stretch of coast has some of the best beaches in Rio Grande do Norte, a state
which has so many great beaches it’s difficult to find one that’s not worth raving about.
Búzios is a beach town 40 km south of Natal. The beach is nice, but the area is a bit
dry and barren. A couple of hotels here cater to weekenders. The Varandas de Búzios (239-2121)
has large chalets on the beach for $35/50 for singles/doubles.
Resist the temptation to get off the bus at Búzios. After Búzios, the road crosses a
stream and follows the coast—there’s nothing here but small waves crashing against
the beach, white dunes, coconut palms, uncut jungle and pretty little farms. The place is
idyllic.
Getting There & Away
From Natal there are two buses a day, at 8.15 am and 4.30 pm, that go directly to
Senador Georgino Alvino, but it’s more fun to take a bus along the winding, cobbled
coastal road. From Natal take a bus bound for Tabatinga to Búzios (one hour). Just to
confuse you, weekday buses leave from the rodoviária nova at 6 6.30 and
9.30 am, while other buses, at 10.15 am and 1.30 pm, leave from the rodoviária velha.
On the weekend, all the buses leave from the rodoviária nova.
PIRANGI DO SUL & PIRANGI DO NORTE
Twelve km north of Búzios, the pretty twin beach towns of Pirangi do Sul and Pirangi
do Norte are split by a river which weaves through palm-crested dunes on its way to the
ocean. It’s a quiet area where wealthy folk from Natal have put up their beach bungalows.
There are a few pousadas in the palm grove where the road crosses the river. The Pousada
Esquina do Sol (238-2078) is a friendly place with apartamentos at $15/28 for
singles/doubles. Nearby is the world’s largest cashew tree—its rambling sprawl of
branches is over half a km in circumference, and still growing!
BARREIRA DO INFERNO
Twenty km from Natal is Barreira do Inferno (Hell’s Gate), the Brazilian Air Force
(FAB) rocket base. The base is open to visitors on Wednesday. The tour of the base
includes a half-hour talk with slides and films. Intending visitors must call (222-1638,
ext 202 (after 1.30 pm), at least one day in advance to reserve a place on the tour.
PONTA NEGRA
Ponta Negra is 14 km south of Natal. The beach is nearly three km in length and full of
hotels, pousadas, restaurants, barracas and sailboats—at weekends the
place really jumps. The water is calm towards the end of the bay and safe for weak
swimmers. At the far end of the beach is a monstrous sand dune. Its face is inclined at
50° and drops straight into the sea. Bordered by jungle green, the slope is perfect for
sand skiing, but there are moves to close it off to save the dune from ending up in the
sea.
Evening activities consist of beer drinking and snacking at the barracas, and
gazing for shooting stars and straying rockets.
Places to Stay
For camping, try Camping Vale das Cascatas (236-3229). There are also two
hostels close together: the Albergue de Juventude Lua Cheia (236-3696), at Rua
Estrela do Mar 2215, and the Albergue de Juventude Verdes Mares (236-2872), at Rua
das Algas 2166.
There are dozens of pousadas and hotels. Some of the cheaper pousadas
along the beachfront include the Pousada Bella Napoli Praia (219-2667), at Avenida
Beira Mar 3188, the Pousada SOS Praia (219-3330), at Rua Beira Mar 26, and Londres
Pousada (236-2107), at Avenida Erivan Franca 11.
NATAL
Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte, is a clean, bright city which is being
developed at top speed into the beach capital of the Northeast. There is very little to
see of cultural or historical interest: the main attractions are beaches, buggy rides, and
nightlife.
History
In 1535, a Portuguese armada left Recife for the falls of the Rio Ceará-Mirim (12 km
north of present-day Natal) to drive out the French, who had set up trading posts in the
area. Although the territory had been proclaimed by King João III of Portugal in 1534 as
one of the 12 coastal captaincies, the Portuguese then abandoned the area for 6 years,
until the French again began to use it as a base for attacks on the south. The Portuguese
organized a huge flotilla from Paraíba and Pernambuco, which met at the mouth of the Rio
Potenji on Christmas Day 1597 to battle the French.
On 6 January, the day of Os Reis Magos (The Three Wise Kings), the Portuguese began to
work on the fortress, which they used as their base in the war against the French. The
Brazilian coastline was hotly contested, and in 1633 the fortress was taken by the Dutch,
who rebuilt it in stone, but retained the five-point star shape. First under Dutch and
thereafter Portuguese occupation. Natal grew from the fortress, which was named the Forte
dos Reis Magos.
With the construction of a railway and a port, Natal continued to develop as a small
and relatively unimportant city until WW II. Recognizing Natal’s strategic location on the
eastern bulge of Brazil, Getúlio Vargas and Franklin D Roosevelt decided to turn the
sleepy city into the Allied military base for operations in North Africa.
Orientation
Natal is on a peninsula flanked to the north by the Rio Potenji and the south by
Atlantic reefs and beaches. The peninsula tapers, ending at the Forte dos Reis Magos, the
oldest part of the city. The city center, Cidade Alta, was developed around the river
port, which was built in 1892.
Information
Tourist Office
The Centro de Turismo (212-2267) in the Casa de Detenção (old prison) on Rua Aderbal
Figueiredo is not very useful, though there’s a fine view from the heights of this
renovated prison.
The best source of information may be at the rodoviária nova (231-1170),
which has a booth open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. It has maps and brochures and can book
hotels. Francisco Assis de Oliveira, a hyperactive lawyer fighting part-time for truth and
justice in Natal’s tourist industry, is on duty there a couple of days a week. On other
days his niece carries on the good work. Other sources of information are: SECTUR
(221-5729), the municipal tourism authority, at Rua Trairi 563, Petrópolis (a district of
Natal just east of the center)—open from 9 am to noon and 2 to 6 pm, Monday to
Friday, and EMPROTURN (219-3400), in the Convention Center on Avenida Dinarte Mariz (Ponta
Negra), open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 1 pm.
Money
Banco do Brasil is at Avenida Rio Branco 510. It’s open from 10 am to 4 pm Monday to
Friday.
Post & Telephone
The main post office is at Avenida Rio Branco 538. The telephone office is at the
intersection of Avenida Prudente de Morais and Jundiaí.
Dangers & Annoyances
The dramatic increase in visitors to the beaches has attracted petty thieves. There’s
no cause for paranoia, but you should take the usual precautions.
Things to See
The principal non-beach attractions of Natal are the pentagonal Forte dos Reis Magos
(open from 7 am to 5 pm Tuesday to Sunday) at the tip of the peninsula, and the Museu
de Câmara Cascudo, at Avenida Hermes da Fonseca 1400. This museum of folklore and
anthropology features a collection of Amazon Indian artifacts. It’s open on Monday from 1
to 4 pm and Tuesday to Saturday from 8 am to 4 pm.
The Museu Café Filho, at Rua da Conceição 601, will probably only appeal to
history buffs. This museum is housed in the mansion that once belonged to João Café
Filho, and now displays his personal effects. It’s open from 8 am to 5 pm Tuesday to
Saturday.
In 1954, the military presented President Getúlio Vargas with an ultimatum to resign
from the presidency, whereupon Vargas left a patriotic note and then shot himself through
the heart. Café Filho, who had been vice president, assumed the presidency, and muddled
through political crises until he suffered a major heart attack in 1955 and gave way to
Carlos Luz. Although Café Filho recovered quickly and tried hard to be reinstated, he’d
missed his turn on the political carousel and had to be content with his brief moment of
fame as the first person from the state of Rio Grande do Norte to become president.
Beaches
Natal’s city beaches—Praia do Meio, Praia dos Artistas, Praia da Areia Preta,
Praia do Pinto and Praia Mãe Luíza—stretch well over nine km, from the fort to
the Farol de Mãe Luíza lighthouse. These are mostly city beaches, with bars, nightlife
and big surf. The ones closest to the fort are rocky and closed in by an offshore reef.
Buggy Rides
Beach-buggy excursions are offered by a host of bugueiros (buggy drivers),
mostly Brazilian-built vehicles with brand names such as Bird, Baby, Praya or Malibuggy.
An excursion lasting from 8 am to 4 pm costs around $17 per person with four passengers in
the buggy (a tight squeeze). The price includes transport and driver/guide, but excludes
food and ferry fees (minimal). Take sunscreen, a tight-fitting hat and swimwear; and keep
all photo gear in a bag as protection from sand.
Bugueiros seem to be a crazy bunch of wannabe racing drivers intent on
demonstrating a variety of buggy tricks and spins on the dunes. You may be treated to some
or all of the following: Wall-of-Death, Devil’s Cauldron, Vertical Descent, Roller-Coaster
and something best described as Racing the Incoming Tide—if you lose, the surf claims
the buggy and the passengers scramble for high ground.
There are pirate bugueiros and accredited bugueiros, and the latter are
represented by Associação de Bugueiros (225-2077). You can usually arrange a deal
through your hotel, and youth hostels may be able to negotiate a discount. International
Service (211-4092) and Affitasi (221-5385) seemed reliable outfits.
Although Brazilians and foreigners clearly have a fun time zooming around in buggies,
the more remote beaches don’t exactly benefit from the commotion and erosion. The
coastline close to Natal has been claimed by bugueiros, but in years to come there
may be a move to protect beaches further afield from their impact.
Places to Stay
Natal’s hotel areas are around Cidade Alta (in the city center) and along the city
beaches. Ponta Negra, 14 km south of the city, also has some low-budget options.
City Center
There’s a good central hostel, the Albergue Cidade do Sol (211-3233), near the rodoviária
velha, at Avenida Duque de Caxias 190. They also have apartamentos for $9
per person. Close by is the friendly and security-conscious Hotel Bom Jesus (212-2374),
at Avenida Rio Branco 374. Clean quartos go for $9.50/11.50 for singles/doubles,
and apartamentos cost $13/15 for singles/doubles.
The Hotel Natal (222-2792) has standard apartamentos at $12/16 for
singles/ doubles, but better value are its apartamentos with air-con at $14/18 for
singles/ doubles. Another budget option is the Hotel Fenícia (211-4378), at
Avenida Rio Branco 586, although it’s looking a bit the worse for wear. Its apartamentos
cost $15/20 for singles/doubles, but breakfast is not included. The Hotel São Paulo (211-4130),
at Avenida Rio Branco 697, has apartamentos at $10/15 for singles/ doubles. Readers
have recommended the Pousada O Meu Canto, at Rua Manoel Dantas 424, which is run by
a friendly woman and functions like a hostel.
The Hotel Pousada Sertanejo (2215396), at Rua Princesa Isabel, is stylish and
moderately priced, with apartamentos with fan at $15/22 for singles/doubles. The
three-star Hotel Jaraguá (221-2355; fax 22l-235l), at Rua Santo Antônio 665, has
a sauna, swimming pool and panoramic view from the 17th floor. Apartamentos cost
$46/53 for singles/doubles.
City Beaches
There’s a nifty hostel, the Albergue de Juventude Ladeira do Sol (221-5361), at
Rua Valentim de Almeida, on Praia dos Artistas. Next door, the Pousada Ondas do Mar (211-3481)
has adequate apartamentos at $11/19 for singles/doubles. The Pousada Gaúcho (222-9904),
at Avenida Governador Sílvio Pedroza 136, has apartamentos at $15/28 for
singles/doubles, including breakfast and either lunch or dinner. The meals are homecooked,
wholesome and generous. A little further along the beachfront, the Pousada Sol Lua (212-2855),
at Avenida Governador Sílvio Pedrosa 146, is a friendly place with four-bed collective
rooms for $8 per person.
The Pousada Maria Bonita (222-3836; fax 211-2724), at Rua Feliciano Coelho 10,
is a quiet place with comfortable apartamentos at $22, single or double.
Places to Eat
For natural food, you can head for A Macrobiótica, on Rua Princesa Isabel,
where the healthy atmosphere is exemplified by staff running around in white coats!
O Crustáceo, at Rua Apodi 414, specializes in seafood. The ambience is enhanced
by a large tree poking through the roof in the center of the restaurant. Coffee
enthusiasts should get their caffeine fix at Café Avenida, on Avenida Deodoro. It
also serves a delicious selection of pastries and cakes. The Casa Grande, at Rua
Princesa Isabel 529, is a stylish place with regional food.
Mama Itália, at Rua Sílvio Pedrosa 43, has a wide range of excellent pastas
and pizzas. The spaghetti fruta do mar ($ 10) is chock full of seafood and is
delicious. The Pousada Gaúcho does great-value home-cooked meals.
Rio Grande do Norte boasts a few good brands of cachaça. Try a shot of Olho
d’Água, Murim or Caranguejo with a bite of cashew fruit.
Entertainment
Chaplin is a pricey and popular bar on Praia dos Artistas. Across the road, Milk Shake
may look like a McDonald’s outlet, but there’s good live music most nights and a lively
dance floor.
For folkloric shows and dancing, try Zás-Trás, at Rua Apodi 500, in the Tirol
district. Inexpensive food is served in the restaurant section and the shows start at
around 8 pm. After the show, the dancers will teach guests dances such as forró, ciranda
de roda (round dancing) and something called aeroreggae. From 11 pm onwards,
the dance floor gets crowded and the action heats up.
Getting There & Away
Air
There are flight connections to all major cities in the Northeast and the North, and to
Rio and São Paulo.
Airline offices in the Cidade Alta are: VASP (222-2290), at Avenida João Pessoa 220;
Varig/Cruzeiro (221-1537), at Avenida João Pessoa 308; and Transbrasil (221-1805), at
Avenida Deodoro 363. Nordeste (272-3131) has an office at the airport.
Bus
There is one daily departure to Salvador at noon ($27.50, 18 hours); six daily buses to
Recife ($7.50, 4 ½ hours); frequent departures to João Pessoa ($4, 2 ½ hours); and
three regular buses ($17, eight hours) and one leito ($26.50) departing daily to
Fortaleza. A bus departs daily at noon for Rio ($63, 44 hours). There are eight daily
departures to Mossoró ($6.50, 4 ½ hours); and one departure, daily for Juazeiro do Norte
($12.50, nine hours).
Getting Around
To/From the Airport
Natal’s Augusto Severo airport (272-2811) is 15 km south of town on BR-101. Bus
`A-Aeroporto’ runs between the airport and the rodoviária velha (old bus
station), in the city center. The taxi fare to the city center is around $11.
To/From the Rodoviária
The rodoviária nova (231-1170), the new bus station for long-distance buses, is
about six km south of the city center. Bus Nos 38 and 20 connect the rodoviária nova
with the rodoviária velha (old bus terminal), which is on Praça Augusto
Severo, in the city center. The taxi fare to the center is around $3.50. Bus Nos 21 and 38
are useful for getting to Praia dos Artistas.
To/From the Beaches
The rodoviária velha is the hub for bus services to: the airport (Bus
`A’); the rodoviária nova; city beaches, such as Praia dos Artistas;
beaches further south such as Ponta Negra (Nos 46 and 54) and Pirangi; and beaches in the
north, as far as Genipabu.
A taxi from the center to Praia dos Artistas costs around $3, while to Ponta Negra it’s
about $10.
NORTH OF NATAL
The beaches immediately north of Natal, where sand dunes plunge into the surf, are
beautiful, but not quite as spectacular as the southern beaches.
Praia Redinha
Twenty-five km by road north of Natal, Praia Redinha features 40-meter-high dunes, good
view of Natal, lots of bars and capongas (freshwater lagoons).
Genipabu
Five km further north is Genipabu, where golden sand dunes, palm trees and dune buggies
converge on a beach lined with numerous barracas, pousadas and restaurants.
It’s a popular, crowded place where you can swim, toboggan down the dunes, or take a
half-hour jangada trip ($3 per person).
Places to Stay
Amongst the cheapest of the area’s pousadas are the Casa de Genipabu (225-2141)
and the Pousada Marazul (225-2065). The Pousada Villa do Sol (225-2132) is a
more up-market place with a swimming pool, but they will discount heavily during the week.
Getting There & Away
Buses to Genipabu and Redinha leave Natal regularly from the rodoviária velha.
Bear in mind the bus to Genipabu drops you about 1.5 km from the beach.
Praia Jacumã to Praia Maxaranguape
A coastal road is being built which will head north from Genipabu towards praias
Jacumã, Muriú, Prainha and Maxaranguape. These are little, palm-graced bay beaches
separated from one another by rivers and hills. The beaches are readily accessible, but
off the beaten track. Muriú and Prainha (still undeveloped) are especially nice.
Places to Stay & Eat
Marina’s Muriú (228 2001, 221-1741), on Praia Muriú, has apartamentos
at $10/18 for singles/ doubles. The owner will also rent out beach houses for longer
stays. The pousada has a large restaurant outside which serves a sumptuous
lunchtime rodízio do mar (seafood buffet) for $15 per person.
Marina’s Jacumã, on Praia Jacumã, is under the same management and offers
similar deals. Just inland from Praia Jacumã is Lagoa de Jacumã, a large lagoon where
there is a small hut that serves superb lagosta na brasa (grilled lobster tails on
a skewer) for $3.
Getting There & Away
Viação Rio Grandense buses from Natal’s rodoviária nova service the
area. Buses leave for Maxaranguape at 11 am, and 3.45 and 5.45 pm; to Jacumã at 3 pm; and
Pitangui at 8 and 10 am, and 2 and 4.30 pm.
Touros
Eighty-three km north of Natal is Touros, a fishing village with several beaches, bars
and a couple of cheap pousadas. It’s a convenient base for exploring isolated
beaches to the north, such as São Miguel do Gostoso and Praia do Cajueiro.
Places to Stay & Eat
The Hotel Atlântica (263-2218), at Avenida Atlântica 4, has friendly
management and apartamentos at $14/28. The Vila de Touros (no phone), at
Avenida Professor José Americano 51, offers similar accommodation. O Castelo, on
Avenida Atlântica, serves local seafood.
Getting There & Away
Buses leave from the rodoviária nova in Natal for Touros daily at 7 and
10 am and 4 pm.
AREIA BRANCA
The town of Areia Branca, 50 km from Mossoró and BR-304, is a small fishing port. It’s
possible to visit the super-modern salt docks 25 km away, but only with advance notice.
The hotel Areia Branca Praia (332-2344) is right on Upanema, the town beach. Apartamentos
start at around $12/18 for singles/doubles.
MOSSORÓ
To break the trip between Natal and Fortaleza, you might want to visit this town on the
fringe of the sertão. About four km out of town there are hot springs at the Hotel
Termas de Mossoró. The hotel is expensive, but you may be able to pay a small fee
just to use the springs.
The Museu Histórico, at Praça Antônio Gomes 514, has all sorts of personal effects,
weapons and documents connected with Lampião and his bandit colleagues, who attacked
Mossoró in 1924. It’s open from 8 am to 8 pm Tuesday to Friday; from 8 to 11 am and 1 to
5 pm on Saturday; and from 8 to 11 am on Sunday.
Money
The Banco do Brasil, on Praça Vigário Antônio Joaquim, changes money.
Places to Stay
For rock-bottom prices, try the Hotel Zinelandia (321-2949), at Praça São
Merchado 89. The Scala Hotel (321-3034), at Rua Dionísio Figueira 222 (in the
shopping arcade), has adequate apartamentos at $11/14 for singles/doubles. The Pousada
Cooptur (no phone), at Praça Antônio Joaquim 25, has apartamentos at $15/25
for singles/doubles.
Getting There & Away
The rodoviária is three km out of town on Rua Felipe Camarão. Mossoró has
frequent bus services to Natal ($6.50, four hours) and Fortaleza ($6, four hours). Buses
run daily at 5 and 8 am and noon to Aracati, in Ceará (for access to Canoa Quebrada).
There are also infrequent local bus services between Mossoró and Areia Branca.
TIBAÚ
Tibaú, 25 km from BR-304, is a bustling resort beach on the border between and Rio
Grande do Norte. Truck caravans roll past the surf into Ceará, saving a few km and giving
the place a frontier-town flavor. Locals sell bottles filled with sand in many different colors
that they collect from the beach.
Four km west on the coast you come to a river and a friendly outdoor bar. The river’s
current is swift, but nevertheless it’s a popular bathing spot. Two men pull you and your
vehicle across on a low-tech car ferry—a wooden platform and a piece of rope pegged
to both banks. Between ferry duty, the float serves as a diving platform for the bathers.
Follow the caravan of trucks. The coast from Tibaú (Rio Grande do Norte) to Ibicuitaba
(Ceará) can be negotiated at low tide. From Ibicuitaba, the road is paved again.
Excerpts from Brazil – A Travel Survival Kit, 3rd edition, by
Andrew Draffen, Chris McAsey, Leonardo Pinheiro, and Robyn Jones. For more
information call Lonely Planet: (800) 275-8555. Copyright 1996 Lonely Planet Publications.
Used by permission.
Buy it at
Amazon.com
Lonely Planet
Brazil – A Travel Survival Kit
by Andrew Draffen, Chris McAsey,
Leonardo Pinheiro, Robyn Jones,
704 pp
Send your
comments to
Brazzil
