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Marajó: Wet 'n Wild

Discover a land dominated by buffalos, teeming wildlife and technobrega

words by Rafael Guedes
pictures by João Vianna
featured on JungleDrums issue 59 July 2008

No one suffers as much during summer as the buffalos that live in the east of the Marajó archipelago. They don't sweat, and seek refuge from the sweltering heat of Brasil's extreme north in the shade and the mud. No one knows for certain how these 110-stone animals arrived in the region (they're not indigenous to Brazil), but the fact is that today Marajó is heaving with buffalos.

The most likely hypothesis is that their distant ancestors survived a shipwreck and swam to the island, making the Amazon Rainforest their new home. And the buffalo has gone on to become something of a mascot, serving as public transport, a local delicacy and even as a police vehicle.

The archipelago only has 14 towns, despite being composed of 3 thousand islands which, together, cover an area of 30 thousand mi2 - or 31 Londons. Marajó, the largest island, is covered to the west by dense scrubland, criss-crossed by rivers, with an incipient tourist industry. To the east, fields and swampland prevail, dotted with buffalos wallowing in the mud. This remote and silent region is home to the towns of Soure and Salvaterra, the main ports of call for anyone looking to visit Marajó. But many ranches, some with old colonial houses and architecture, offer a deeper experience of the local culture.