Friday, November 10, 2006

São Luís: The Full Story

Last weekend, we journeyed west of Ceará to the state of Maranhão, home to São Luís and Parque Nacional Lençois Maranhenses. We departed Fortaleza on a Gol flight scheduled for mid-morning Thursday. Last Thursday, Brazil was in the middle of an air traffic control slowdown however, in which controllers were refusing to handle the usual number of flights in protest for better working conditions. This lead to significant flight delays and cancellations at some of Brazil's largest airports, including Pinto Martins International in Fortaleza, but fortunately our flight was only delayed by an hour and a half. We arrived in São Luís in early afternoon, and boarded a bus bound for the center of town. After disembarking in the center of town, we set off in search of the Pousada Colonial, accomodations recommended to us by a Fortaleza friend, Neto. Armed only with the map in Lonely Planet Brazil, we managed to navigate rather rapidly to the Pousada Colonial and settled in to rooms equipped with two things that our home in Fortaleza lacks: air-conditioning and hot water. We then began calling tour operators to arrange a tour of the local national park. After a high-speed harrowing trip across town in a tour operator's car, we were able to arrange a two day trip to the park beginning the following day. For the remainder of Thursday, we checked out the historic center of São Luís, which was rather deserted due to the holiday.

Very early Friday, we set out for Parque Nacional Lençois Maranhenses, roughly a 3.5 hour bus ride from São Luís. Unfortunately we were left with the seats in the back of the minibus. These seats not only were out of the airflow of the conditioning, leading to a warm trip, but also seemed to magnify the effects of taking every speed bump along the road at full speed. After a long journey however, we arrived in Barreinhas a town that serves as a jumping-off point for the park. We were offered the chance to take a four wheel drive tour of the park in the mornign or afternoon. We selected the afternoon option, hoping to the sun set over the sand dunes and lakes of the park. After a morning of rest, we headed out in the back of the four wheel drive vehicle, beginning by crossing a river on a ferry. I somehow have missed out on experiencing these sorts of ferries in Africa in my previous travels, so this was my first ferry trip. After crossing the river, we rapidly drove through sandy paths to reach the national park. My photos say more than I can with words, but even the photos do not do justice the majesty of the park. The view seems like somethign from another world, with sand dunes as far as the eye can see, interspersed with freshwater lakes created by rainfall during the rainy season. We had the opportunity to hike in the dunes and swim in the lakes for the afternoon. We saw the beginning of the sunset, but some in our party feared that if we waited to see the full sunset, our return trip could be dangerous, so we headed back, slightly disappointed, before the sun set. Still, the day was an incredible day of magnificent views and images that are among the most incredible I have ever scene (perhaps only ranking below Victoria Falls in my mind).

On Saturday, we arranged to have a boat tour of the national park. The journey down the river through narrow channels, and with stops at sand dunes and beaches was incredible. We had the chance to hike in the sand dunes a bit more, and also swim in the river, and spend some time at the Atlantic coast. We enjoyed the view from atop a lighthouse near the ocean, overlooking the national park and surrounding area. After eating lunch, we headed back to Barreinhas by boat. That evening, we returned to São Luís, hoping for an uneventful journey by bus, but alas sufferred a flat tire less than an hour into the journey. Quickly, the bus driver realized that he lacked an essential wrench to change the flat. A random gentleman passed on a bicycle, and our driver asked him if he could obtain the necessary wrench. I held out little hope, but not too much later, he cycled back to the bus with the required tool in hand. After an hour, the tire was changed, and we continued on the journey back to São Luís. We arrived back tired, and after dinner, I headed to bed for some much needed rest.

Sunday, we walked around São Luís for a while, and were rather unimpressed by the city itself. The city is crossed by a river and neighbors a bay, but both were more like large mudpits during the current dry season. After another afternoon in the historic center, we headed to the airport, not suspecting what adventures awaited us there.

Chris B. checked in at the airport for our return flight without incident first, but as Nate and I tried to check in, the airline employee looked suspiciously at our reservation. She told us that our flight was scheduled not for November 5, but December 5. Indeed, the Gol employee who booked us had entered our reservation incorrectly. She had read the reservation back to me correctly when I purchased the ticket weeks early, and so I had failed to notice the typo. Unfortunately, this would prove to be a costly error. We headed to the Gol office in the airport to try to change our reservation, and were told that the fare we had booked was no longer available (a $50 fare) and so we would each need to pay an additional $100 (more than the original fare) to get on the flight. Not having that much money, I then began to scurry from ATM to ATM in the airport to obtain the necessary funds. Unfortunately, the first 3 ATMs I tried either were broken or not set up for US debit cards. At last, as time was running out, we were able to complete the transaction and get added to the flight. After the drama in the airport, the remainder of our trip was relatively uneventful. Definitely a lesson was learned here, and thankfully it occurred with a relatively cheap flight rather than a more expensive long-distance flight that would have been harder to change.

Saturday morning, November 11, we fly to Manaus to begin our 9 day Amazon trip, before we return to Fortaleza for 4+ more weeks of work before the Christmas break.

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