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nordeste
Written by Jerem   
Friday, 26 July 2019

When the barge leaves me in Belem, I don't stay long since I will anyway come back here in a few days, and drives east to the north east coast of Brazil.

nordeste road nordeste road

One day drive from Belem, is Alcantara, a small colonial city built by the french. Part of it is ruins now, but it has kept its charm, and it is a good place to spot the scarlet ibis.

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Just in front of Acantara is Sao Luis, another colonial city, but now a big city. The old center has once been abandoned but is now under the spotlight, with many street life and renovation projects.

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Further on, is the famous park of Lencois Maranhenses, a vast expanse of sand dunes, filled with clear water lakes during the rainy season. The place is very busy with tourist but still worth the detour.

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The rest of the coast to Fortaleza is kitesurfer's haunt with many sand beaches and and strong wind many months per year. All main roads in the area are asphalted but of various conditions, from good to beyond repair and with huge surprise pot holes making the traffic hectic.

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In Fortaleza, I get the chance to meet the local climbers community, and to follow them to one of the climbing spot of the area. The place is really nice, with beautiful landscapes and many new climbing routes on very abrasive limestone. The only drawback is that you have to share the cliffs with the fauna.

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Driving back to the north west and Belem, but 200 km inland, I pass by the parque de sete cidades, gathering strange rock formations and some rock paintings.

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