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LENÇÓIS MARANHENSES

Folkloric Cities

The region’s towns and villages are just as interesting as the landscape, and a rich source of local folklore as well as an inspirational example of how man can adapt to his surroundings. A good example of this is the village of Queimada dos Britos, which is made up of a group of thatched huts in the middle of nowhere. The locals scratch a living off a small piece of land, goat-herding and fishing. The village is a four hour walk away from the nearest town.

But what really draws your attention is the fact that the hundred or so inhabitants of the village all have the same surname, Brito. They’re all descendants of the deceased Manoel Brito, a patriarch who, in search of fertile land, decided to set up his home in the region and bring up his children. There’s no electricity, and because lots of Britos have never left the village they’ve never seen televisions, domestic appliances or similar trappings of modern life.

Barreirinhas, the largest city in Lençóis and the first port of call for visitors to the region, forms a sharp contrast to all this simplicity. Here you’ll find the travel agencies, guest houses and restaurants that have grown alongside the tourism industry. Even still, the city retains an air of calm; locals sit outside their houses to enjoy the night breeze and chat with their cumpadres. Situated on the banks of the Rio Preguiças, Barreirinhas is renowned for the huge sand dune located right in the middle of the main square, where children sandboard and couples admire the sunset.

Several other villages have a semi-nomadic existence, which is dictated by the rains. The rainy season lasts from January to June, and hundreds of fishermen make their way down the rivers towards the sea in order to stock up for the scarce second half of the year. During this period they live in simple cabins, like the ones that can be seen in Caburé, which are always under threat from the sand. With just two guest houses possessing generators, the city really sums up the park’s contrasts. Situated on a stretch of sand heading out towards the sea, the town is flanked by the final stretch of the Preguiças to one side, and then just a few minutes away in the opposite direction, by the sea. At night, with the star-lit sky and the Mandacaru lighthouse the only visible points on the horizon, I recall the days I’ve spent at Lençóis. I can’t wait to get back and tell everyone about how beautiful the region is, but I know that words won’t do the place justice.