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Preá, Brazil
- Author:
- Janiece Crowe
- Date Published:
- September 5, 2007
Hey ya'll...I finally finished the photo album for our trip to Preá, Brazil. The following is the text located on the front flap, back flap, and in the album.
This album is a visual journey of our trip to Preá, Brazil. We began the trip from Seattle, Washington and flew fourteen hours to the city of Fortaleza, in the State of Ceara. Fortaleza to Preá was a bumpy, four-hour drive in a 4x4 cruising over windswept sand. The drive hugs the northbound coast but you don’t see the ocean until you pull over the last dune and come across the picture perfect beach framed by the bungalows of Vila Preá. Preá beach is reportedly the third most remote beach in the world.
We stayed in bungalows right on the beach, which were all connected by a raised boardwalk. The Bungalows are made of Pedra de Castelo's slabs of rock, framed by bamboo. Their roofs are thatched with Arnauba palm leaves and the bathroom was open air with showers that were just the right temperature.
The heart of the Vila Preá is the open air restaurant. Award winning cook, Chef Apolinario, prepared us mouth watering food served to us by the ever diligent Edvaldo. Our favorite dishes were Carpaccio de filé mignon, Medalhão de filé ao molho de mostarda, and Penne a três queijos. This dinner was followed by a delectable desert -Creme de manga com vinho o Porto. Breakfast consisted of a choice of chocolate crepes, sugar coated french toast, breakfast sandwiches and fresh mango, pineapple, watermelon, papaya, eggs, fresh squeezed watermelon or orange juice. It was served by the always friendly and smiling Jair. During breakfast we would play Scrabble, then go for a walk and swim for an hour in the warm but very salty Atlantic.
In the afternoon, we would go to the beach barraca for lunch and order Açaí and Sanduiche de filé mignon. Açaí is a fruit in which the pulp is scooped out and blended with ice, topped with sliced banana, and granola. It’s funky brown looking but tastes great, fills you up, and is the equivalent of three Red Bulls. It was our standard lunch since I was kiteboarding everyday and I needed that extra energy boost. While I was kiting Janiece would get a buggy ride into Preá and get a massage by a local woman that used locally made Coconut Oil.
The easiest means of travel in this region is by motorcycle or dune buggy. The “road” is the beach and boy do the buggy drivers know how to fly! The town of Jericoacoara is only fifteen minutes away by buggy and offers great resturaunts and a little shopping. We found beautiful hand-made silver jewelery and bought Havianas for friends and family. Jeri does not allow streetlighting and the drive back on the beach was always stunning because the stars were so vivid and bright with the absence of light. There is a lot of dancing and drinking in Jeri but we opted to spend our nights playing board games, hanging out with Fred, and drinking Caipirinhas.
One day, Fred and I packed the buggy with water and sanduiches de peix. Then kited the first attempted down-winder from Preá to Tatajuba. The twenty-four mile trip took us four hours to complete, and we were able to ride in perfect surf, through mangrove forests, and on perfectly flat glass. The buggy ride back to Preá actually took longer!
The two weeks we spent in Brazil were some of the most enjoyable we’ve ever had. You could lie in a hammock all day and snooze, kite as much as your body lets you, or walk down the beach into the fishing village of Preá. The local people we met were genuinely stoked and it’s so contagious, you can’t help but share in it as well. (Written by Dan & Janiece)
