Field Notes on Current Research in Brazil and Elsewhere
North Maranhão Dunes: Lençois (Barreirinhas) and Raposa (April 2016)
This post describes two areas in the north of Maranhão — the first is the vast stretch of dunes of the Lençóis Ecological Park. The Lençois Park encompasses just under 600 square miles. The 2005 Brazilian film House of Sand was filmed in the park.
The second is the fishing village of Raposa, which is known for its access to wandering rivers, islands, and eventually the Atlantic Ocean. Raposa is also known for its local artisans who are specialized in making nets and in a specialized fabric form known as “renda de bilro.” Renda is a form of of knitting or crocheting that is done with threads stretched over a large stuffed ball that is like a round pillow. Each string is connected to a stick with a ball at the end that artisans cross over again and again to form lace and fabric. The design is formed around pins stuck into the ball that are guides for the yarn.
Lençois
The north coast of the Brazilian state of Maranhão has a huge expanse of dunes that reach along the Atlantic for miles. During the rainy season (roughly December to May) fresh water fills small lakes and lagoons along the dunes. The water gives the park its name of Lençois, which means “sheets,” since the lakes look like sheets spread out across the desert landscape.
The first photo set is of the Lençóis Ecological Park (also called Lençóis Maranhenses) is a protected national park that is reached from the small town of Barreirinhas. The town itself lies on the Rio Preguiça the “lazy river.”
The river winds lazily through the north Maranhão landscape toward the Atlantic Ocean. Along the way it forms the barrier (the root of the name Barreirinhas) which is a huge sand dune at the edge of town. The river moves slowly toward the ocean, becoming more brackish along the way. It is home to and vast stretches of mangrove trees that drop long air roots into the brackish water. As the water become more salty near the ocean, the palm trees and mangroves disappear in favor of a forested area — which itself gives way to the dunes and the Atlantic Ocean.
Lençóis
The Lençóis Ecological Park is a protected area of dunes on the Atlantic Ocean. The desert landscape is dotted with hundreds of lakes and lagoons formed during the rainy season.
It’s late in the rainy season, and the road to the dunes leads through several miles of unimproved roads.
The classic transportation to the dunes from the nearby town of Barreirinhas is a modified Toyota HiLux four=wheel-drive truck. The drivers are often referred to as “Toyoteiros.“
The Toyoteiros are highly skilled drivers who seem to know the daily changes in the muddy, sandy tracks to the dunes. If you get stuck here you are, well, really stuck.
A long lagoon reaching through the dunes
Though the vegetation is sparse, some of the smaller dunes are held in place by plants.
In the late afternoon the sun begins to sink over the Atlantic to the west
A skilled guide can point out the few animals to be found there. This, they claim, is the world’s smallest frog. There are also foxes and occasional wild horses and donkeys that roam free on the dunes.
This was actually my birthday, almost
The two of us at one of the lagoons. This may have been the one called “Lagoa Toyoteiro,” named in honor of the Toyota drivers who get you there
A lagoon reaching toward the sinking sun over the Atlantic Ocean
The hardy, and younger, visitors scramble across the soft sand and the higher dunes. Some of us get by with hiking sticks and a little help from our friends. These sticks have baskets at the tips, and were probably designed for hiking in European snow and ice. They were perfect, and were lifesavers in the steep sand inclines.
The lakes are all the same, and all are different. They vary in color from aqua to deep blue to nearly black.
The beauty of the lagoons can cause you to forget that this is actually a desert.
Looking to the north in the late afternoon
Heliconia flowers near the pousada on the Rio Preguiça (Lazy River) where we stayed. There are many varieties of this flower, which is sometimes also called the “false bird of paradise.” This one was on a plant some 12 feet high.
The Rio Preguiça behind the pousada. The word “preguiça” means lazy, but can also mean the animal known in English as a sloth, in English. They can be found here also, they say. So can great stands of palms and açai berries.
The Rio Preguiça is lined with palms of many types, such as buriti (which is used for everything), and carnauba (used for wax and many cosmetics)
One of the small fishing/utility boats, powered by what appears to be a 2-cycle lawnmower motor with a propeller driven by an extension of the crankshaft.
Much of the river population is supported by tourism and by fishing. Here fish are being dried in the sun
For the tourists who don’t want to hike up to the lighthouse a short distance away, this entrepreneur has a dizzying array of liqueurs and drinks made from various local plants and fruits. We went to the lighthouse instead of this boutique country bar. Those less enthusiastic about the claustrophobic climb up the lighthouse with dozens of sweating tourists with selfie sticks can avoid the climb by sitting in the low branches of a nearby cashew (cajú) tree.
Along the river — a mix of fishing docks and buildings.
Raposa
The fishing village of Raposa has developed a route for visitors. It includes little boats that take you among the wandering harbor and the mangroves to the fishing island of Curupuru. There is a street of renda and net makers as well.
This form of weaving/crocheting (sometimes called “renda“) was apparently brought to Raposa by migrants from the region of Ceara, further to the east of Brazil.
Though there is only one color, this is an incredibly complex design required some sixty bobbins and pins to sort out the design.
Women creating renda sit in open houses or on a boardwalk working on designs and sometimes tending the shops. Some designs, like this one, are very complex and require many skeins of yarn, pins and bobbins.
Raposa fisherman gathering boats together for lunch (they were having fish)
The small island of Cururupu has some private property but is protected for use by local fishermen
Fisherman on the island of Cururupu
Untangling the nets in the lagoon off Cururupu island.
The “renda” street is lined with small cottages and buildings, This man is carrying the ubiquitous “cofu,” a basket woven from the leaves from the buriti palm. Cofus are found all over Maranhão where they are used for carrying and storing virtually everything.
