As the year 2017 is coming to an end, I had a look back at all the beautiful moments I have been lucky enough to experience. One of these moments or experiences was my holiday in Brazil in October 2017. It has only been two months and yet, it feels like a long time ago. Hence, this is a good time to relive my travels through Brazil and today I write about my 1st stop, which was Jericoacoara. Jeri (as everyone calls it) is a small fishing village located around 300km west of Fortaleza. I flew into Fortaleza airport around 5.30pm and luckily my friend had already organised a driver to take us to Jeri directly. We were torn between going directly which was another 4.5 drive to Jeri or staying one night in Fortaleza. We decided to head to Jeri straight away despite being extremely tired. Luckily, our driver was already waiting for us outside the airport. He, the driver, was Portuguese, and his partner was a lovely Brazilian woman (Danielle). Together we drove close to 5 hours to the kitesurfing mecca in Ceará, Brazil. Before you leave the airport, ensure to take enough money out of the cash machine, as there aren’t any in Jeri.
The roads seemed fine at first, but as we drove out of town, the roads got bumpy. Talking about bumps, they love street bumps in order to avoid speeding. My friend and me were fully knackered, so we would wake up with each and every bump, but directly fall back asleep again. If you organise a driver, I highly recommend to get a 4×4 wheel. We booked via the Facebook group ‘Car Share Jericoacoara’ and there through Danielle Freitas. You won’t understand the need of a 4×4 until you arrive into Jeri, an idyllic place full of sand.
We eventually arrived at our lovely Pousada Vila Bela Vista around midnight and were simply grateful to have a full week ahead of us. Just so you know, most travellers are deciding to stay for longer than they had originally planned. Just because it is lovely.
The next morning, I woke up at 7.30am and my friend and me headed for breakfast in the beautiful garden of the pousada. Oh, how I love being served breakfast. The coffee was strong and really good. The reviews on booking.com did not over-promise. We decided to use the first day as jet lag compensation, sunbathing and relaxing day. Already on our first evening, we get in touch with a German guy (who happened to be a friend of a friend…such a small world) and we had dinner all together. We mentioned we are interested in kitesurfing and so an hour later we had the owner Marko of a kite surf station joining us for dinner. We ate at Serafim by the way and I can definitely recommend the tuna there. After clarifying details regarding the school, the spot, transport and prices, we decided for Marko and his team from Blu Kiteschool Jericoacoara. 1st session planned for the next day, pick up at 10am at our pousada.
Wow, I was so excited and a bit nervous, as I haven’t been kitesurfing for 4 years (apart from once in September in Austria). But I hoped it would be just like ice-skating or cycling that I would not forget. We headed to the beautiful beach of Prea with a cool sand buggy. Already the drive to the kite surf station was so much fun and so enjoyable, that I simply felt happy, free and alive.
My kite surf instructor was from South Africa, patient, fun and motivating. We revised a few things regarding safety, but then I just grabbed my board and said I wanted to surf, which I did and the first water start worked. Yes! I was so happy and pleased. My instructor gave me suggestions on how to improve my techniques and I was quickly able to do upwind even more. The next days we continued working on my techniques including transitions. I really enjoyed kitesurfing again despite the muscle ache after the first two days. I was out in the sea for 2-3 hours for each session and I just loved the breeze (haha which you need for kiting), the sun, the water, the physical activity, the atmosphere at the kite surf station and all the lovely people I met. Each person interesting, kind and talkative. This is the perfect example of how a passion connects people. Beautiful.
Passion connects people.
One afternoon, Marko took pics of everyone kitesurfing and he got some great shots of me. I’m still waiting for him to send them to me, hence the image featured is still at the station. But it perfectly shows my happiness feeling despite my similarities with Calimero.
I also headed to a yoga class one evening. I couldn’t find anything on the internet really, but our reception gave me the number of a yoga teacher named Maria. You can contact her on Whats App +34 610 68 10 41. She taught at another hotel called Pousada do Renata, which was approximately an 8min walk from our pousada. I was so much looking forward to my yoga practice. And I was not disappointed. Maria was from Galicia, she was very sweet and did great corrections. All in all, a challenging and great Vinyasa Flow class for approx. 12 USD (90 minutes).
Tipps where to go:
If you go to Jeri, ensure to have sundowner at ClubVentos just by the beach. They have a great offer on ice cool beers, enjoy.
Also, I recommend you to go to Hotel Hurricane to see the sunset from the rooftop terrace. Be there for 5pm, as otherwise they won’t let you up anymore. On Fridays, there is a great live band playing and the atmosphere is just amazing. Loved it up there.
Did I already mention that I’m addicted to Acai bowls? If not, now you know it. We went to SOS Acai many times and it is simply awesome, as you can choose your toppings and then the bowl is weighed at the cash desk. This place only opens at 4pm… to avoid disappointment. For me, it was the perfect energy snack after a day of kitesurfing.
If you fancy Sushi, look no further than Kaze. Go to the one next to the Hurricane hotel, as again they have a cool rooftop. I think I notice a pattern of rooftop love, whilst writing this.
Another place I really liked was EAT, a burger bar all outdoors. The burgers were fab, ideally try the trial of 3 small burgers, in case you are indecisive just like I am with food.
I wish I could go back right now. Jeri is really an idyllic place to stay in, great food, nice bars and restaurants, a fab place for kitesurfing (we had wind every day), lovely hotels with hammocks to relax in, and the best of all, you just need flip flops (or your bare feet) to get around.
If you have any questions regarding Jeri, get in touch with me through a Pink Note. Otherwise just explore and enjoy!
Yours, Nina
NINA SADLOWSKY 