{"id":491,"date":"2015-06-28T08:36:25","date_gmt":"2015-06-28T13:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/?p=491"},"modified":"2019-07-29T16:33:54","modified_gmt":"2019-07-29T21:33:54","slug":"barreirinhas-and-the-dunes-lencois-of-the-maranhao-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/?p=491","title":{"rendered":"Barreirinhas and the Dunes (Lencois) of the Maranhao Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\u00a0\n

The visit to the\u00a0north Maranhao\u00a0area of \u00a0Barreirinha<\/em>s was a hard days travel from Salvador to Sao Luis, followed by a 3-4 hour bus ride.\u00a0 The object was to have a peaceful couple of days between the intensity of Salvador and the demands visiting and documenting the\u00a0various elements of the Sao Luis Bumba-meu-boi<\/em> festival.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_8105_DxO\" — One of the sand dune barriers (barreirinhas) between the river Preguicas (\u201clazy\u201d) and the Atlantic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
But, first there was a hard day on the road, before reaching a\u00a0riverside\u00a0pousada<\/em>.<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_7957_DxO\"$
Owner and staff of the pousada by the river Preguicas. A Brazilian breakfast of mangoes, papayas, various juices, sweet cakes and breads, and high-powered coffee.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
This was followed by a more peaceful stay by the river Preguicas, which means \u201clazy\u201d \u2014 reflecting the meandering of the river from\u00a0the north of the state to the Atlantic.\u00a0 It becomes more brackish as it\u00a0nears the\u00a0sea and the buriti\u00a0and carnauba palms give way to\u00a0mangrove shorelines.<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_7959_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Behind the pousada,\u00a0the \u201clazy\u201d river Preguicas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"IMG_7991_DxO\"$ <\/a>
The interior of the pousada patio. The parrot isn\u2019t real, but the roof is. It is woven from fronds of the carnauba palm, which is high in wax oil content. In the U. S. it is found in diverse products such as automotive wax and cosmetics.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another native plant here is *acai<\/em>, which grows as a high bush or tree in the palm groves.\u00a0 The berries seem to be about the size of ping-pong balls and grow in huge clusters high in the trees.<\/p>\n*
Although this region is a\u00a0source of, the juice is harder to find; it must be picked by men who may have to reach the acai clusters by boat and then climb to harvest them.\u00a0 Besides that, the acai fruit has legendary status with body builders and alternative food outlets \u2014 not to mention the U.S. where it is included in \u201cmagical\u201d juice products.\u00a0 It has a harsh taste, so in Brazil it is often mixed with (lots of) sugar or even manioc (yucca) flour.\u00a0 As a result, acai<\/em> is destined for expensive markets and not on the normal pousada breakfast table.\u00a0 Abroad it is found mixed in small other amounts with other juices and rarely found in pure form.<\/p>\n
*This export-induced scarcity of acai is similar to coffee in Brazil, where it is said that\u00a0best coffee was used for export and that of lesser quality was saved for the domestic market.<\/p>\n*
*\u00a0<\/p>\n*
$\"IMG_7964_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Acai high in the palms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_8003_DxO\"$ <\/a>
UW-Milwaukee students discussing research papers and field notes with Simone Ferro (rt)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"IMG_8000_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Research meetings on the patio of the pousada; here, Caelen and Professor Simone Ferro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"IMG_8008_DxO\"$ <\/a>
UW-Milwaukee Study Abroad students (here, Imani center), getting around in Barreirinhas and Lencois, Maranhao (the Brazilian flag to the right climbing into the truck is Simone Ferro)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_8077_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Bank of the river Preguicas near the community of Barreirinhas, Maranhao<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_8164_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Barrierinhas community backstreets, Maranhao<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"IMG_8047_DxO\"$ <\/a>
The north Maranhao dunes, between the river Preguicas and the Atlantic.\u00a0 The waters here are brackish and support a variety of crabs and mangrove growth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_8081_DxO\"$ <\/a>
The dunes,, Atlantic Ocean in the background. In the foreground is a fence of palm to limit the blowing of sand (a bit like a snow fence in the colder climates)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_8058_DxO\"$ <\/a>
UW-Milwaukee Study Abroad students at the barrier dunes. Troy, Caelen, Simone Ferro (group leader), Carly, Armando, Sandra (one of our hosts), and Imani<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oh yes, a non-scheduled visit to the Barreirinhas public clinic<\/em><\/p>\n
*One of the students was stung by a nasty local wasp.\u00a0\u00a0Fortunately the\u00a0wasp is well-known in the region and\u00a0the emergency clinic had medications to counter the reaction.<\/p>\n*
*\u00a0<\/p>\n*
$\"IMG_8009_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Evening in the Barreirinhas community clinic. Not on the schedule.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 The visit to the\u00a0north Maranhao\u00a0area of \u00a0Barreirinhas was a hard days travel from Salvador to Sao Luis, followed by a 3-4 hour bus ride.\u00a0 The object was to have a peaceful couple of days between the intensity of Salvador and the demands visiting and documenting the\u00a0various elements of the Sao Luis Bumba-meu-boi festival. But, … Continue reading Barreirinhas and the Dunes (Lencois) of the Maranhao Coast<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uwmmilwaukee-study-abroad-pre-2019"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=491"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":780,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions\/780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

One of the sand dune barriers (barreirinhas) between the river Preguicas (\u201clazy\u201d) and the Atlantic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
But, first there was a hard day on the road, before reaching a\u00a0riverside\u00a0pousada<\/em>.<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_7957_DxO\"$
Owner and staff of the pousada by the river Preguicas. A Brazilian breakfast of mangoes, papayas, various juices, sweet cakes and breads, and high-powered coffee.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
This was followed by a more peaceful stay by the river Preguicas, which means \u201clazy\u201d \u2014 reflecting the meandering of the river from\u00a0the north of the state to the Atlantic.\u00a0 It becomes more brackish as it\u00a0nears the\u00a0sea and the buriti\u00a0and carnauba palms give way to\u00a0mangrove shorelines.<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_7959_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Behind the pousada,\u00a0the \u201clazy\u201d river Preguicas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"IMG_7991_DxO\"$ <\/a>
The interior of the pousada patio. The parrot isn\u2019t real, but the roof is. It is woven from fronds of the carnauba palm, which is high in wax oil content. In the U. S. it is found in diverse products such as automotive wax and cosmetics.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another native plant here is *acai<\/em>, which grows as a high bush or tree in the palm groves.\u00a0 The berries seem to be about the size of ping-pong balls and grow in huge clusters high in the trees.<\/p>\n*
Although this region is a\u00a0source of, the juice is harder to find; it must be picked by men who may have to reach the acai clusters by boat and then climb to harvest them.\u00a0 Besides that, the acai fruit has legendary status with body builders and alternative food outlets \u2014 not to mention the U.S. where it is included in \u201cmagical\u201d juice products.\u00a0 It has a harsh taste, so in Brazil it is often mixed with (lots of) sugar or even manioc (yucca) flour.\u00a0 As a result, acai<\/em> is destined for expensive markets and not on the normal pousada breakfast table.\u00a0 Abroad it is found mixed in small other amounts with other juices and rarely found in pure form.<\/p>\n
*This export-induced scarcity of acai is similar to coffee in Brazil, where it is said that\u00a0best coffee was used for export and that of lesser quality was saved for the domestic market.<\/p>\n*
*\u00a0<\/p>\n*
$\"IMG_7964_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Acai high in the palms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_8003_DxO\"$ <\/a>
UW-Milwaukee students discussing research papers and field notes with Simone Ferro (rt)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"IMG_8000_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Research meetings on the patio of the pousada; here, Caelen and Professor Simone Ferro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"IMG_8008_DxO\"$ <\/a>
UW-Milwaukee Study Abroad students (here, Imani center), getting around in Barreirinhas and Lencois, Maranhao (the Brazilian flag to the right climbing into the truck is Simone Ferro)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_8077_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Bank of the river Preguicas near the community of Barreirinhas, Maranhao<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_8164_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Barrierinhas community backstreets, Maranhao<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
$\"IMG_8047_DxO\"$ <\/a>
The north Maranhao dunes, between the river Preguicas and the Atlantic.\u00a0 The waters here are brackish and support a variety of crabs and mangrove growth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_8081_DxO\"$ <\/a>
The dunes,, Atlantic Ocean in the background. In the foreground is a fence of palm to limit the blowing of sand (a bit like a snow fence in the colder climates)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
$\"IMG_8058_DxO\"$ <\/a>
UW-Milwaukee Study Abroad students at the barrier dunes. Troy, Caelen, Simone Ferro (group leader), Carly, Armando, Sandra (one of our hosts), and Imani<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oh yes, a non-scheduled visit to the Barreirinhas public clinic<\/em><\/p>\n
*One of the students was stung by a nasty local wasp.\u00a0\u00a0Fortunately the\u00a0wasp is well-known in the region and\u00a0the emergency clinic had medications to counter the reaction.<\/p>\n*
*\u00a0<\/p>\n*
$\"IMG_8009_DxO\"$ <\/a>
Evening in the Barreirinhas community clinic. Not on the schedule.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 The visit to the\u00a0north Maranhao\u00a0area of \u00a0Barreirinhas was a hard days travel from Salvador to Sao Luis, followed by a 3-4 hour bus ride.\u00a0 The object was to have a peaceful couple of days between the intensity of Salvador and the demands visiting and documenting the\u00a0various elements of the Sao Luis Bumba-meu-boi festival. But, … Continue reading Barreirinhas and the Dunes (Lencois) of the Maranhao Coast<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uwmmilwaukee-study-abroad-pre-2019"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=491"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":780,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491\/revisions\/780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}