Some more thoughts about the beach

In late October we moved to another temporary apartment a bit further from the beach and more to the west along its trajectory. We still visit it once or twice a day, but new location changes the view a bit. In an earlier post I described the physical sensations of living at the equator and talked about the beach. Since then we have moved westward along the beach and experience it a bit differently. We are further from the slightly rough-cut apartment along the beach avenue and closer to the middle-class high rises you can see in photos below.

Sunday morning — after a long walk you can get fresh green coconuts. They cut open the top and place a straw for drinking the coconut water inside. If you wish, they can crack the coconut open later so you can eat the soft flesh. These “green” coconuts are much different from the mature brown coconuts known outside the country. They are still filled with fluid that is reputed to be full of electrolytes and is restorative on a hot day.

Living near the beach in Sao Luis, Maranhao means beginning and ending each day with a walk on the sand. Here we look to the north and west where freighters wait in anchor further out in the bay. One by one they will circle to the north and then west to pick up their load of iron ore from the Itaqui that services the Vale mining enterprise.

The tide and winds would cover some of the restaurants if it weren’t for these workers. I think in an earlier post I mentioned Sisyphus and his mythical curse of pushing a boulder up a hill in perpetuity. This is also a metaphor for dealing with the Brazilian bureaucracy

We see the early life of the beach, including these men who work each day to put the beach “back where it belongs.” Each tide brings in more sand, and the prevailing strong winds from the east move the dry sand toward the dunes to the south — where the restaurants are. To keep the tables from disappearing requires constant shovel and wheelbarrow work.

There is station of “Bombeiros” (above, center) whose job may be rescue work, though we see them mostly running in formation, riding in an all-terrain vehicle, and preparing to do something in the boat to the right. In the foreground is a vendor’s ice cream cart

The bombeiros are a rescue and life-saving squad. They are often garrisoned in a military-style facility. At the Calhau beach in Sao Luis they have a headquarters where they train.

*Bombeiros* training on the beach. Their training also seems to include a periodic pick-up soccer game on the beach

This is a late afternoon soccer game with spectators. By 6:00 pm the sun has dropped below the horizon. Being on the equator means roughly 12 hours of sun a day throughout the year. When the sun is up, it is fierce.

Morning and evening walks are the most comfortable when the sun is low and there is a bit of an overcast.

On this Sunday morning you can see how the packed sand is a great surface for walkers, bicycle riders, and the occasional horse or two

Evenings are when the egrets (called garcas in Portuguese) visit the shallow tide ponds.

in the evening egrets come to the small tidal ponds

There are other animals as well. Most dogs here are little apartment-sized animals, interspersed with a few Rottweilers walked by big guys with tattoos. This one comes here on his own every day

A wedding party being photographed in the early evening

We don’t know the name of this tiny flower that grows in the dunes, but it has a set of needle-like leaves that remind me of the late stage of climbing climatis plants. It’s a surprise to see flowers surviving the human and natural conditions of the beachfront.

The western reach of the shore is rocky. The buildings are constructed on a rocky portion of the coast that is called Ponto Farol (Lighthouse Point) — recalling the lighthouse that announced to ships the treacherous shoreline here. The smooth, flat bottom turns abruptly to a rough, unforgiving rock shelf that is mostly hidden in high tide.

The dunes shield the beach from the south side (where the road and pedestrian walks and restaurants are).

With a little careful framing of the photo the beach looks a bit more deserted that it really is.

This statue at the west end of the beach recalls the fishing history of the region. Now shipping and urban misuse of the water have caused the fishing to move elsewhere

The third of the Sao Luis fishermen, and the most eloquent

In place of the fishermen there are now mostly ore ships (bound for Itaqui, the iron ore port), and kite-surfers. These two explained that they sometimes surf along the coast from a beach several miles north — when they feel like a long ride.

Most of the bars are on stilts because of the drop from the dunes and rock formations to the to the lower beach. I’m not sure a safety professional paid much attention to the engineering here

Some days the tides are high. This day was one of heavy overcast and the night before one of a full moon.

On days like this we walk on a running-bicycling sidewalk above the beach. This takes us past the bars and restaurants. In early morning some of the kite surfers are getting ready, and the boot camp has moved to the high ground. As the photo below shows, the supports are exposed during low tide and much of the day.

Another beach-side look at a bar/restaurant. Frankly, I’d sit closer to the front where the building rests on rock

The bars all have similar engineering. Here, early in the morning, the heroes of the beach (in orange) clean things up for another day of humans. They wear full orange suits with hats and neck covers, looking a bit like a disposal crew for hazardous waste (which is not entirely untrue). Each morning they take a break in shade of one of the bars on stilts.

The dunes and palm were doing just fine before the developers took over the upper ridge of the dunes

The nature of construction along the beach shows that there is a strong “we’re up here and you’re down there” social organization