My story and how I discovered Jeri

After I finished university in the Autumn of 2008, I started my adventure trip to Brazil.  The first station was Sao Paulo.  From there I continued my journey direction to the north.  I always met people and had interesting conversations during my voyage, whereby I often heard the name Jericoacoara. Everybody who was there recommended to visit this village in order to make some special experiences.
I thought to myself: “these advices can be very valuable, but be careful to overstate them…”

As I arrived one day in Fortaleza, I decided to spontaneously to travel to Jeri.

In between the approach from Fortaleza with a car or a bus is not any more troublesome, because the streets in this area are well built out now. Only the last 28 kilometers from Jijoca through the “Parque Nacional de Jericoacoara” must be managed by a Jeep or the “Jeri-Joltingbus”.  Because there are no streets, this crossing is a big funny adventure.

The funny adventurous crossing of the conservation area with the typical “Jeri-Joltingbus” (Jardineira):

Already, the crossing of this special countryside was inspiring and compelling to me.  Suddenly Jeri appeared out of nowhere after an hour in the “Jeri-Joltingbus”.  This was a very emotional moment.  It was incredible and overwhelming to feel the energy from this village and the whole environment. These were my first impressions…

The setting of the sun was just in progress, so it was very important to find an accommodation as soon as possible.  I was going from pousada (Brazilian word for hotel) to pousada and tried to negotiate for a better price.  At the end I was successful.

The trip from Fortaleza lasted around 7 hours and made me quite hungry (with a private jeep transfer you can reach Jeri in four hours; if you have enough money you can book a helicopter in Fortaleza which transports you in 50 minutes to Jeri.  Jerichalets can arrange this for you, depending on your requirements).  Therefore I showered fast and directly went for a meal.  I went to the first available restaurant, the “Bistroganoff”, and found there immediately a super offer with fresh fish, rice, beans, salad and farofa for 12 Reais (4-5 Euros or 5-6 USD).  I sat directly down there at a table with other people.

At the same time we began a conversation, me and a group of English guys and Australians.  We ate together and drank some beers.  Sometime later I wanted to go to bed because I was tired to death.  But my new friends persuaded me to stay and to party a little.  They wanted to show me the clubs from Jeri.  OK, I thought, why not…

This first evening was incredible -- parties everywhere, calpirinhas, caipiroskas and a lot of other drinks for 2-3 Reais (not even one Euro or USD).  You surely can imagine how this evening ended.  I came home to my Pousada at 4 o’clock in the morning in a very funny mood.

After not even two hours of sleep I was awakened.  After the first impressions I was too excited to sleep on.  Besides I had a headache that was crying for aspirin, but unfortunately I found nothing of that chemical stuff in my bag.  So I decided at five-thirty in the morning to go for a swim into the sea, to clean my mind and my body.  I left the pousada and walked towards the direction of the “Duna Do Por Do Sol”.  So far I have seen nothing from Jeri, except some clubs.

The view that I could see now changed my life forever.  What for an amazing moment, lonely at the beach, swimming in the perfect temperate sea and this feeling of freedom.  It’s difficult to put into words what happened then concretely in me.  I only was sure, that I want to stay in Jeri, to live here.  Every other thing was relative from one moment to the next, all problems far away.  I was completely quiet and had the feeling that I finally arrived after a very long journey.

This wonderful view changed my whole life from one moment to the next:

From this moment on I undertook everything to stay in Jeri and to establish a small existence.  Thereby I got the possibility to experience Jeri from all sides.

In and around Jeri you can find a lot of sights (Parque Nacional de Jericoacoara (National Park), Duna do por do sol (Sunset Dune), Pedra Furada (Rock Arch), Guriu, Tatajuba, Lagoa Azul, Lagoa Paraiso) and fascinating leisure activities (Surfing, Kitesurfing, Sandboarding, Buggy Tours and a lot of other possibilities).

Leisure activities are offered during the day and during the night.  I suggest that you absolutely try once to sandboard and ride down the Dunes or to tear through the lagoon landscape on a horse.  During the day you are able to practice wind- and kite-surfing or riding the waves on a surfboard.  Beach volleyball and beach soccer are daily played towards evening at the main beach.  If you are too lazy for sports activities, you can rent a buggy and ride on the dunes.

During the gorgeous sunsets everyone pilgrims to the “Duna Do Por Do Sol”.  There will be discussions, photos will be made, beer will be drunk, yoga, and Capoeira will be practiced.  Everything and everybody is afoot and enjoying the moment in his wise.  The whole scene is surrounded by incredible colors and a special mood during the sunset.  It’s simply the pure Brazilian lifestyle.

I had my most beautiful moments of my life in Jericoacoara.  I want to thank to all circumstances that guided me to this magical place!

More detailed information about sights, leisure activities, accommodations, restaurants, shops, weather, wind, and a lot of other things you can find below:

www.jericoacoara-brazil.com