Lencois Marahenses, Day 20

So we did leave and took a coach over to the areas main tourist attraction: the desert at Lencois/Barreirinhas/Marahenses, whatever you want to call it, at 7 o'clock.

Arrived in the afternoon and saw Alex, Catarina and Raphael as we stepped off the bus. We knew they'd be here today but I'm starting to get a sense of the well-worn tourist path around the coast of Brazil, we just keep bumping into people everywhere. Seeing them and rushing off the bus, though, meant that I left my newly started copy of Crime and Punishment on there, which was a bit annoying.

My friend who had travelled in Brazil before did tell me about Marahenses before but nothing can prepare you for it: one hundred and fifty thousand km sq of desert with lagoons of rainwated dotted all over it. A natural wonder that, I think, is specific to this park. Where else is there a desert with water?

Perfect white sand dunes bloom all over the horizon and, after escaping the throng of tourists at the entry, we just lay in the pools banked by unspoilt sand. It looked like a microsoft desktop picture, miles and miles of effortless purity blinding with the reflection of the sun. When the sun started to fall a light blue hue blended the sand with the shadows beautifully before we ended our visit by watching a sunset that was notably breathtaking in a trip laden with oppulent dusk scenes. But there is also natural life in and around this incredible vista. The odd dry shrub, normally accompanied by a wasp or bee's nest, circling eagles and seaweed point to life in, out and above the pools. So in what is really a few hours of travelling time we have gone from seeing jungle to a desert.

Back at Barreirenhas we unrolled the hammocks and went for a few drinks and snacks down the road. Had a brlliant day with the other people, if we'd known before we could have stayed the night in the park, with the eagles and lizards for company. But we'll have to settle for a barn full of hammocks instead.