Discovering a paradisiacal desert

by Dheyne Lago (Brazil)

Making a local connection Brazil

One of my biggest passions is traveling. I really love it! However, despite the numerous trips I have already made, I was surprised to realize that I had never visited the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, a natural paradise located a few kilometers from my city, which is composed of dunes as well as very beautiful lagoons on the eastern coast of Maranhão, here in Brazil. So, my family and I decided to go into this adventure in August last year. We took advantage of the weekend and hit the road. We left São Luís at 5 am to avoid traffic. On the way, it was likely to see a tightly closed vegetation crossed by streams and rivers at many points. After 4 hours traveling, we arrived in Barreirinhas, a city that serves as an entrance to the National Park and that is crossed by the extensive Preguiças River (in English, "Sloth River”), a name it receives due to the presence of these animals all over the place. After lunch, the travel agency sent us a car known as the “gardener” - which is suitable for the road that connects to the Park - as well as a tour guide to help us out. The road is all by trail and passes through a landscape of “Vargem” which resembles somewhat the African savanna. It took us about 40 minutes to get to the stopping point, where the car was no longer able to pass. We had to climb a huge dune whose slope was so steep that we needed a rope to reach the top. The effort was well worth it, as the view from up there was phenomenal! The set of dunes looks somewhat miraculous. I felt like I was entering the Sahara only with a much more pleasant temperature due to the sandbank vegetation that contrasted the opposite side of the landscape. We walked for another 15 minutes through the dunes (a long time, in my opinion, considering that the ambient temperature was high) and finally we saw the first lagoon, called Lagoa Bonita. It is like being in the middle of a desert and finding a natural pool with crystal water. The experience was amazing and we swam for a long time in there. Then, the guide took us to the most famous lagoon on the circuit, named Lagoa do Clone. Its was the location for recordings of a famous Brazilian soap opera called “The Clone” which was well known in Brazil and abroad. Unlike Lagoa Bonita, this one was much deeper and had a darker blue color. We stayed there until late afternoon, when we could see the sun disappearing behind the dunes. We returned to the city and enjoyed the center. At night, it is possible to find the most diverse restaurants selling typical local foods such as cuxá rice, pineapple stuffed with shrimp and meat in a cheese sauce. We had a great night! The next day, we took a motorboat in the morning to stroll in Rio Preguiças. Along the way, we could see several species of plants used by the natives to produce utensils and cosmetics. Then, we stopped at a small island called Ilha dos Macacos (in English, “Monkeys Island”), which has this name due to the possibility of interacting with small capuchin monkeys in the region. The experience was fun, we took pictures, bathed in the river and then we followed the boat ride to Atins Beach where the meeting between Rio Preguiças and the Atlantic Ocean takes place. In the afternoon, we went back to Barreirinhas, spent the day taking bath in Rio Preguiças just to say goodbye to the city and, with a mix of sadness and happiness, concluded the trip. These were wonderful days and the only regret I had was that it took me so long to go. I believe that one of our biggest mistakes is overestimating the distant tourist spots and in the other hand we underestimate the local landscapes, which makes us miss sensational experiences. I found out that I have a paradise located just a couple of hours away from home and that the world is much more beautiful than I could ever imagine.