From Sao Luis we took an overnight bus which did a loop inland and back to the coast again at Parnaiba, once an important port exporting local products such as carnauba wax, but now fairly sleepy as the river mouth has silted up. This forms an extensive delta on which we took a boat trip.
There were more sand dunes and mangroves, and a good lunch.
Then we headed down to the Ubajara National Park. This is set in an enclave of tropical forest in quite a high range of hills (up to around 900 masl) well inland. It rained. We stayed just outside the park in a pousada run by a German, Herbert Klein, who has been there for nearly 30 years. We slept in a fairly basic “chalet”
and ate a very good breakfast – brought on a wheelbarrow – in a sort of gazebo. The park was a bit disappointing. It has a couple of trails but because of overprotective Brazilian legislation they are closed “for safety reasons” whenever it rains – which it frequently does. We were reduced to descending to the limestone caves – the park’s main attraction – in the cable car. The caves are not particularly spectacular but have some interesting formations.
We took a couple of walks outside the park, through forest and a little village. We saw monkeys and other wildlife, but no snakes – unlike another couple who booked in and paid, went up to settle into their chalet, and when they came out met a 3 m long boa on the path. They simply packed up and left!
We took a trip (30 km) with Herbert in his car
to a local waterfall which was quite a bit more exciting than the national park! The river has water in it, despite the drought, because it is downstream of a reservoir belonging to an American company which produces, processes and packs fruit. They are required to keep the river flowing as it supplies a town further down.
We walked down to the river and then followed its course down a series of small falls to the main waterfall, about 10 m high, with a cave behind it. At first the path just had a bit of scrambling, slippery in places, but nothing to write about. However the last two climbs down were by trees and were quite testing!
We went with a Brazilian family of four. The mother and 20-something year old son dropped out very early but the father and daughter (at university) made it to the bottom and back!
Our last night in the hills was spent at Viçosa, further north in the same range. The rain continued. It is a well-kept little town with a pleasant atmosphere, although it did not rate a mention in our Lonely Planet! (2005)
De Sao Luis tomamos un bus nocturno a Parnaiba, antiguamente un puerto importante para la exportación de productos locales como la cera de carnauba. La desembocadura dejó de ser navegable, y la ciudad se quedó dormida… Salimos en lancha por el estuario, que forma una delta, con mangles y dunas.
De ahí fuimos al Parque Nacional Ubajara. Está ubicado en selva tropical en una sierra que llega a cerca de 900 m de altura, lejos del mar. Llovió. Alojamos afuera del parque en la posada de un alemán, Herbert Klein, que lleva casi 30 años en Brasil. Dormimos en un “chalet” bastante básico, y disfrutamos de un buen desayuno, traido en caretilla. El parque es un poco decepcionante. Hay un par de senderos, pero – resultado de la sobre-protección brasilera – los cierran, “por seguridad” cuando llueve, lo que ocurre a menudo. Tuvimos que bajar a las cavernas – principal atractivo del parque – por teleférico. Las cavernas no son espectaculares, aunque contienen unas formaciones interesantes. Fuimos a caminar por los alrededores, en la selva y el campiño. Vimos monos y aves, pero ninguna serpiente – a diferencia de una pareja que llegó, pagó, y fue a instalarse en su chalet. Al salir se encontraron con una boa de 3 m de largo – agarraron las maletas y se fueron!
Fuimos con Herbert en su auto (ver foto) 30 km a una cascada, un poco más emocionante que el parque nacional! El río lleva agua, a pesar de la sequía, porque está río abajo de un embalse, propiedad de una empresa norteamericana que produce, procesa y enlata fruta. Están obligados a mantener el flujo del río porque éste suministra una pequeña ciudad. Bajamos al río y seguimos su curso por una serie de cascadas pequeñas hasta la principal, que tenía como 10 m de altura, con una caverna. El descenso en un inicio no era muy difícil, sólo un poco resbaloso a veces. Sin embargo al final tuvimos que bajar por dos árboles! Nos acompañaba una familia brasilera – la madre y el hijo (de 20 y tantos años) quedaron atrás muy temprano, pero el padre y la hija llegaron hasta el final!
Pasamos la última noche en la sierra un poco más al norte, en Viçosa. La lluvia seguía… Es una pequeña ciudad muy bonita y bien cuidada, que no figuraba en nuestro Lonely Planet! (2005)
There is a 20th century cathedral which is rather grey and heavy and concrete-gothic-looking from outside (it was reputedly modelled on Cologne cathedral) but really works architecturally inside – Romanesque arches, light and airy with beautiful stained glass.
We passed through a pleasant green park with a view over the sea, the social centre of the town 100 years ago, past an old and still functioning hospital to the “Tourist centre”. This is set in the early 19th century prison, an interesting structure in itself, which was closed down by the military dictatorship in the 60s - no doubt they needed something bigger and more modern! 
It contains a mass of shops selling local (or not so local) handicrafts, and a museum containing a selection of works of “popular art and culture”, some produced by or referring to ex-prisoners. There was a set of woodcuts on the life of a famous Robin Hood figure known as Lampiao, active in the 1920s and 30s until killed in an ambush in 1938. His was not the only band of Cangaçeiros (bandits) operating at the time.
Next we went to the José de Alencar Theatre – he was a Brazilian writer and literary figure of the late 19th century – where we eavesdropped on a rehearsal for a concert. The theatre was built around 1910, lots of spidery cast-iron.
We found a very interesting museum with an anti-establishment slant unusual in official museums. Among other things, it told the story of a self-sufficient proto-communist community set up in the 30s under a priest, José Lourenço. The local landowners and government, as well as the established church, took a dim view – no doubt they were sensitive because of the Cangaçeiros’ activities. In 1937 it was attacked, including by aerial bombardment, and destroyed. Over 400 people were killed.
We then found a smart new culture centre (with free internet!) called Dragao do Mar (Sea Dragon) after a hero of the abolitionist movement – we had a good lunch in the restaurant and saw displays of modern art and folk culture but didn’t have time to see it all!
Nuestra última parada en el nordeste fue en Fortaleza. Lonely Planet habla de la ciudad como punto de partida para las playas, pero encontramos varios lugares de interés en el centro.
Hay un catedral del siglo 20, con aspecto exterior bastante pesado. Sin embargo el interior es realmente bello, con arcos livianos y vitrales hermosos. Pasamos por un parque, el centro social de la ciudad hace 100 años atrás, y un hospital antiguo que todavía funciona, para llegar al “Centro de Turismo”. Esto está dentro de una cárcel del siglo 19, en sí una estructura interesante, que contiene muchas tiendas de artesanías locales (o no), y un museo con una selección de obras de “arte y cultura popular”, algunas producidas por o referidas a ex-presos. Había un juego de grabados en madera sobre la vida de un famoso Cangaçeiro (bandido) llamado Lampiao, activo en los años 1920-30s, hasta que fue matado en una emboscada en 1938. No fue la única banda de Cangaçeiros que operaba en esa época.
Después de eso fuimos al teatro José de Alencar – escritor brasilero de fines del siglo 19 – donde escuchamos un ensayo de concierto. El teatro fue construido alrededor de 1910, en fierro fundido.
Encontramos un museo muy interesante, siendo un museo oficial del estado pero con una postura bien alternativa. Entre otros, cuenta de una comunidad proto-comunista y auto-suficiente que existía en los años 1930, bajo un cura, José Lourenço. A los fazendeiros y al gobierno les cayó mal – sin hablar de la iglesia – sin duda por las actividades de los Cangaçeiros entre otros motivos. En 1937 fue atacado, incluso por bombardeo aéreo, y destruido. Murieron más de 400 personas.
