Our boat trip was due to start at 8.30 and was pretty much on time. Basically everyone who had booked trips gathered on the main dock in town and the customers were divided up among the available boats. I think there must be some affiliation between certain boats and certain agencies, but it all seemed informal but worked well. It is a large river and partially tidal at this point.
Everyone was required to wear a life vest (some other basic safety procedures seen more lax, like seat belts in cars, and we headed out with about 14 people plus the Captain/Guide. We worked our way down the main river and took some side trips in to smaller channels and then came to the first of the smaller dunes where we stopped for about an hour.
We climbed the dunes and for the first time (of many) experienced the small lakes trapped in the sand. The sand was not as hot as I had expected, as there was a nice breeze to keep it cool. The small lakes were 20 or 30 feet down the steep side of the dune and the water was cool but not cold. We wandered around for a while and then back to a small bar/restaurant complete with it’s own generator (small air-cooled Brazilian built) and inevitable satellite dish (even the poorest houses, some without doors) had a dish!). Electrical wiring in general seems to be fairly random and has that temporary look and some of the overhead wiring in town has that Indian look.
Many jumbled wires and the general feeling that not all the connections are legitimate.
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| Headed up one of the loops in the river |
Everyone was required to wear a life vest (some other basic safety procedures seen more lax, like seat belts in cars, and we headed out with about 14 people plus the Captain/Guide. We worked our way down the main river and took some side trips in to smaller channels and then came to the first of the smaller dunes where we stopped for about an hour.
We climbed the dunes and for the first time (of many) experienced the small lakes trapped in the sand. The sand was not as hot as I had expected, as there was a nice breeze to keep it cool. The small lakes were 20 or 30 feet down the steep side of the dune and the water was cool but not cold. We wandered around for a while and then back to a small bar/restaurant complete with it’s own generator (small air-cooled Brazilian built) and inevitable satellite dish (even the poorest houses, some without doors) had a dish!). Electrical wiring in general seems to be fairly random and has that temporary look and some of the overhead wiring in town has that Indian look.
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| TV and random Brazilian wiring |
Many jumbled wires and the general feeling that not all the connections are legitimate.
They had a variety of monkeys, ducks goats and other creatures that fed on coconuts that had been kindly split open by the bartender.
A favorite drink here is Agua de coco, literally coconut water. It is sweet and refreshing particularly when it is good and cold. The coconuts with the best water have not yet developed the complete flesh we would expect to see but there is enough to scoop out with a spoon or let the ducks and goats extract with their teeth or beaks.
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| Duck pecking at a green coconut |
A favorite drink here is Agua de coco, literally coconut water. It is sweet and refreshing particularly when it is good and cold. The coconuts with the best water have not yet developed the complete flesh we would expect to see but there is enough to scoop out with a spoon or let the ducks and goats extract with their teeth or beaks.
We worked our way further down the river and the next stop was a small town with a lighthouse.
As the boat pulled in there were a gaggle of 6 to 7 year old kids all offering to be lighthouse guides. How do you choose between these delightful little kids?
They certainly helped by telling us that it did not matter who we chose as they were not going to fight about it anyway. We made our choice and headed off with our guide for the 100m walk to the gate of the lighthouse compound. Our guide was not as knowledgeable as we had hope. When asked how tall the lighthouse was he did not know, nor did he know if it still operated. He did know that he was not allowed to go further than the gate and so we parted company not a whole lot wiser but only Rs1 poorer. He seemed happy!
As the boat pulled in there were a gaggle of 6 to 7 year old kids all offering to be lighthouse guides. How do you choose between these delightful little kids?
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| View of the settlement from the top of the lighthouse. You can see Cabure in the distance |
They certainly helped by telling us that it did not matter who we chose as they were not going to fight about it anyway. We made our choice and headed off with our guide for the 100m walk to the gate of the lighthouse compound. Our guide was not as knowledgeable as we had hope. When asked how tall the lighthouse was he did not know, nor did he know if it still operated. He did know that he was not allowed to go further than the gate and so we parted company not a whole lot wiser but only Rs1 poorer. He seemed happy!
Lighthouses are a topic that has come to some prominence of late. I have always been interested in them, and visited the Scottish Lighthouse Museum with my friend Geoff back in 2005, and had received a book from my brother Steve’s partner Alison who lives in Shetland about 100 miles north of Scotland. It is about the experiences of a man who became a lighthouse keeper in Scotland in the 1970s just before the lights were all automated. I had finished the book earlier in the trip and Candida was reading it and working at interpreting some of the Shetland sayings!!
It gave us a very different perspective and the opportunity to ask some more intelligent questions of the guide/ keeper at the light.
This one is 45m tall and still operates. We went to the top and got a wonderful view of the town and surroundings.
We also got a glimpse of the realities of this seemingly idyllic life style when we saw the ambulance boat on the dock. It looked neither comfortable nor fast. I did however see a helicopter pad out by the lighthouse so I think either be seriously ill or seriously healthy!
We were back on the boat after an hour or so and headed to Cabure that is on the other side of the river and close to a beach.
There were several pousada and a couple of restaurants for the pousadas and the tour boats. We elected to not have lunch but wandered around and explored the area. There were some folks loading up a Land Rover from a dune buggy and they were headed back to town.
The only access to all of these places is either by 4WD vehicles or by boat. They are remote enough that they do not even feature on Google Earth.
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| Main st of the lighthouse settlement |
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| Approaching Cabure |
There were several pousada and a couple of restaurants for the pousadas and the tour boats. We elected to not have lunch but wandered around and explored the area. There were some folks loading up a Land Rover from a dune buggy and they were headed back to town.
The only access to all of these places is either by 4WD vehicles or by boat. They are remote enough that they do not even feature on Google Earth.
The boat dropped us off in Atins around 3pm and basically we were dropped off on the beach.
We did not have a reservation for a place to stay but were told there were several places to choose from at various price points.
We did not have a reservation for a place to stay but were told there were several places to choose from at various price points.
More on Atins and the area in my next post.
