Off the beaten track in northern Brazil

First-timer Niall McIlroy discovers a colourful friendly culture built on colonial roots.

All my life Brazil has been the epitome of excitement in my imagination, not least because for the past 50 years it has consistently had the best and most stylish football team in the world. That samba soccer seemed to mark the nation as more vibrant, dancing to a different rhythm than the rest.

And here on a muggy Salvador street, imagination has crystallised into the image before me.

I hadn’t expected multi-hued Brazil to show itself so early but I’ve stepped from my door to find I’m staying on a street doing a passable impression of a rainbow.

While my comfortable, family-owned digs, Hotel Villa Santa Antonio, is tastefully decked out in a terracotta and navy blue combo, up and down the street the small pousadas (hotels) and houses are daubed in every colour imaginable and a few more to boot. Tiles, ornate plasterwork and wrought iron add further embellishment.

I feel a little like I’m viewing the ingredients list for a recipe: to blood red add banana yellow, broken road and cracked eggs on the footpath, pot plants and runaway ivy, a stack of rough house bricks in the middle of the street, lime green and a fruit seller. All under the gaze of a well-dressed mannequin — female, I presume from the garb.

Beige? Not a chance.

Rua Direita de Santo Antonio in Salvador’s historic centre. Picture: Niall McIlroy

Immediately I feel I’m in a strange country — not in the odd sense but in terms of the unfamiliarity. After my first night and morning I already have a taste and have found Brazil hard to nail down.

The sheer mix of faces is overwhelming and the people are so good natured. But there’s a baffling incongruity — there are only good cars on the road and free internet is widespread but I can’t drink the tap water and I sweltered to sleep under a ceiling fan last night.

I’m in very good hands, though — here with Intrepid Travel, sampling part of a brand-new tour that, from this month, will visit lesser-spotted northern Brazil, off the beaten track even in a continent that still feels remote to many.

Intrepid is a great description and, it turns out, a perfect fit for our young and vital tour conductor, Pedro Zinn. He’s Rio-born but a Brasilia local, a former systems engineer who quit to cycle 10 months solo through South America, through snow, sun, jungle and dunes. If he can handle that, he can manage any tour group.

We’ll divide our time between remote national parks but the cities hold a touch of the exotic, too. Salvador and Fortaleza are both home to millions of people and I’ve barely heard of either.

Ours is a slightly abridged version of the tour — while the whole feast for the senses will include a night in Rio, an extra day in Salvador, more time in Fortaleza and Jericoacoara, and a couple of overnight bus trips — we’re saving a bit of time with internal flights.

Now a hotel, the Pestana Convento do Carmo was built in 1586 by Carmelite friars. Picture: Niall McIlroy

It’s fitting that I feel so bouncy this morning, for Salvador is said to be the happiest city in Brazil — maybe the atmosphere is infectious. About 1200km north of Rio in Bahia State, it holds the world’s biggest street party every February when four million are said to attend its carnival.

The city was founded in the 16th century and built on the backs of West African slaves. It was Brazil’s first capital and, while that status lapsed in 1763, the African influence is the lifeblood of a city with a heart that pumps round the clock.

In its Catholicism, language and colonial architecture, Brazil is still inextricably tied to the mother country, Portugal. But this country has infused its own flavours. African spiritualism met Catholicism and formed Umbanda. Bantu, Yoruba and Amerindian words crept into the Portuguese which, being from the south and centre of that country, developed differently to that of the mother tongue. Brazil’s sprawling coastal cities have at their hearts delicate colonial edifices — ordered by the Portuguese, built by the slaves.

I’m exploring some of the oldest here in Salvador, where the cobblestoned Pelourinho district dates back to the 1550s.

In a city of churches, the gilt gold interior of the Church and Convent of Saint Francis make it one of the most spectacular. Picture: Niall McIlroy

Its squares and cathedrals and Brazil’s first elevator — built to connect the Upper Town with the rest of the city — are testament to Salvador’s former glory as capital, while previous inhumanities live on in the very name Pelourinho, which comes from “pillory” — the slaves were whipped in stocks here on one of the main squares. Four hundred years later, Michael Jackson shot part of the video for They Don’t Even Care About Us in the same square.

There’s said to be a church for every day of the year here and I feel like I’ve seen a fair few of them on these hilly streets. Most of the Catholic saints have an African counterpart who shares similar characteristics and even joint feast days here in Bahia.

For this is probably the most African city outside Africa. And nowhere is this more evident than in the street food, which could be straight out of the marketplaces of West Africa and has deviated little from the recipes brought by the slaves. I enjoy a plate of acaraje — adapted from a Nigerian dish called akara. Lumps of cassava are halved and spread with a shrimp and cashew paste, although I enjoy mine dipped in green chilli.

This cultural melange had echoes as far back as 300 million years ago — as part of Pangaea, this bulge of Brazil that sticks out into the Atlantic fitted snugly against the concave coast of Nigeria, Ghana and Benin. Look on a map and you’ll see it but today these people have more in common than a long-dissolved landmass. They share a culture.

Capoeira — the half-dance, half-martial arts skill passed down from the slaves who built Salvador. Picture: Niall McIlroy

And this afternoon, high up and overlooking the beautiful gaping sweep of All Saints Bay, Salvador’s Upper Town is full of life. This afternoon has had it all: street food, an impromptu demonstration of capoeira — Salvador’s own half-dance, half martial-arts discipline — and refreshing coconut water drunk from the shell.

Later we head out for a dinner of arrumadinho tradicional, a delicious layered dish of green beans, tomatoes, onions, black eyed peas, jerky, pepperoni and farofa (toasted cassava). We eat it in the garden of a restaurant suggested by Pedro’s mother-in-law. Housed in a 224-year-old building, we would never have found it alone — there’s not even a sign. Amid this riot of noise and colour that is Salvador, Intrepid’s on-the-ground knowledge is already proving invaluable.

About 400km to the east, Chapada Diamantina National Park is literally a glittering jewel in Brazil’s crown. We land at Lencois, a 19th-century diamond-mining town on the outskirts of the park. Once the third-largest town in Bahia, it was founded then boomed after two Germans found a vein of diamonds among the bizarre rock formations. It’s the latter that absorbs us now. Diamonds are thin on the ground — a good thing for cavers and trekkers, for the whole area was once off limits to stop smugglers.

Lencois from a hill outside town. Picture: Niall McIlroy

Now the little town has a cartoon feel, accentuated by the bum notes of afternoon band practice, cobbled streets, pastel-coloured houses and restaurants, a half-finished church-cum-football-pitch, and the wedding-cake white mayor’s house. I’m surprised to hear there are 5000 people in the area, for our accommodation in stilted timber huts in the hills just out of town is wonderfully tranquil — frog calls vie for attention with other frog calls.

On this first morning exploring, we are led by our guide, Lencois-local Tiago De Jesus (aka Rasta Man), into the hills outside town and through a startling natural gallery of many-hued rocks known as the Salao de Areias Coloridas, or the Saloon of Colourful Sands.

The walk through the dense forest is demanding in the humidity, but Tiago — who has been guiding since he was 11 (he’s now 35) — leads us to the cool tannin-red waters of Halley’s Pool. Then we work up another sweat climbing to the top of Primavera Hill, where we stare down the incredible granite formations that jut conspicuously out of the forest and the colourful ribbon of Lencois, which sits in wrinkles of green. It’s tough but rewarding trekking and we couldn’t have explored these ranges without Tiago.

From bottom to top and back down again, we’re accompanied by a young German shepherd cross which we name Intrepid. It’s even waiting for us after we finish a fantastic buffet lunch of pulled beef, chicken lasagne, lentils, farofa, spaghetti and fries (about $9 a plate) from The Goat restaurant.

The low spurs of Chapada Diamantina form a spine through the State of Bahia. Picture: Niall McIlroy

Chapada Diamantina is a place of ups and downs, in the best possible way. We’re trekking again the next morning, along the Mucuge River before cooling off in the deep and bracing pool below the 18m-high Devil’s Falls.

The limestone of the region is riddled with caves and we visit one of the largest, called Lapa Dolce, and wonder at Cruta Azul, where the waters appear a vibrant cobalt for the short time each afternoon that they are in the sun. That beauty is topped off with brilliant views from the top of Pai Inacio Hill as the sunset casts golden light on the Three Brothers in the distance.

The incredible blue waters of Cruta Azul. Picture: Niall McIlroy

A change of pace is as good as a holiday and that’s what we get further north at the beach town of Jericoacoara. Ordinarily I don’t seek out beaches but two days in Jeri, as it’s known, is a great chance to recharge.

About 400km north-west of Fortaleza, Jeri takes some getting to. Stretches of the highway are rutted with potholes and the final 20km is straight-out dune driving, only accessible to experienced four-wheel-drivers.

But it’s worth it. It’s grey and wet, and the dunes have been transformed into lakes and flowing rivers, making it an incredibly dramatic drive before Jeri — so laid-back it’s almost asleep — comes into view beside striking green rock walls.

The village is a pleasant clutch of family-owned pousadas, restaurants and clothing and trinket shops either side of sandy tracks. It’s the sort of place where you could probably lose a whole summer.

But that’s not for us. We’re based in a beautiful new pousada-cum-resort with a swimming pool, hot tub and big, cool rooms with verandas.

The Intrepid tour group waits for sunset at Por Do Sol. Picture: Niall McIlroy

And the following morning our fleet of 4WDs heads out among the high, steep dunes, crossing rivers and lakes amid the bemused donkeys of the national park to beautiful Paradise Lagoon.

But there’s also the thought of sunset in the backs of our minds — eyes are on watches and the sky. Sunsets over the ocean aren’t novel to West Australians, but they are to Brazilians, and Jericoacoara has one of the few west-facing beaches in Brazil.

We climb Por Do Sol (Sunset Dune), hoping for high drama in the form of an emerald sunset, a rare phenomenon seen at Jericoacoara when the great orb appears to flash green before it slides into the ocean. Alas, not tonight, but the wooden fishing boats, steep golden dune and the glistening low-tide beach still make this twilight memorable.

Back east, pretty, sun-kissed Fortaleza — nearly four million strong — feels like the Med. Clean beach stretches as far as the eye can see and we wander the cheap shirt, fridge-magnet and nut stalls of the multilevel central markets before a last evening of caipirinhas and good food down by the beach. We all part as great friends.

This tremendous taste of northern Brazil has ended all too soon and could not have been more satisfying. The combination of trekking in fairly remote country with city stays in small and friendly family-owned pousadas in places where English speakers are scarcer than I thought is a perfect trip for a rock-solid adventure travel company such as Intrepid, and one I definitely wouldn’t attempt alone. Not only would it be more difficult but the knowledge, companionship and sheer good fun of guys like Pedro Zinn and Tiago De Jesus have made this exploration of northern Brazil memorable for all the right reasons.

I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to get to Brazil. I will be back. It may be a half a world away — but the experience is worlds apart.

SMALL-GROUP ITINERARIES

Brazil is a long, sprawling country, the only to span the equator and the two tropics in one landmass, and so much of it is unexplored by visitors. Intrepid has specialised in these “not so obvious” adventures through distant lands since Melbourne mates and company founders Darrell Wade and Geoff “Manch” Manchester drove a converted tipper truck from London to Africa and across the Sahara in 1988. Intrepid now takes more than 100,000 travellers through more than 100 countries a year offering itineraries from Basix, with one to two-star accommodation and camping, to Original (two/three star and sleeper trains) to three and four-star Comfort packages.

Packages open travellers’ eyes and, crucially, allow them time to explore. All are small-group itineraries with a grassroots feel. There’s plenty of local interaction in less well-known parts, often using public transport and staying at locally owned accommodation rather than chain hotels. And this is truly is travel with a conscience — itineraries are carbon offset, as are emissions from Intrepid’s offices. The company’s foundation donates to local communities, all under the auspices of Wade and Manchester. Their very spirited sense of wanderlust lives on as Intrepid explores fresh horizons. The company recently began trips to Kosovo, Georgia and Azerbaijan — so it’s no surprise that it has devised this tour.

FACT FILE

Intrepid Travel’s 14-day Northern Brazil itinerary departs from Rio de Janeiro to Fortaleza and visits Salvador, Chapada Diamantina National Park and Jericoacoara. Accommodation is in two and three-star hotels with two nights in a private overnight bus. The package includes internal flights between Rio de Janeiro and Salvador and between Salvador and Fortaleza, walking tours, national park trekking and 13 breakfasts. It is priced from $3350 with departures between June 20 and November 19. intrepidtravel.com or 1300 797 010.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recommends travellers to Brazil have a yellow fever vaccination at least two weeks prior to departure. Travellers re-entering Australia must provide evidence they’ve had the vaccination and must declare any visit to South America on their arrival card. Malaria, hepatitis and tetanus vaccinations may also be necessary. See the Smart Traveller website at smarttraveller.org.au and consult a travel doctor.

Emirates has daily flights between Perth, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires from Perth. Connections are good, particularly the 10.10pm flight from Perth which links with a 7.10am flight from Dubai to reach Rio de Janeiro about 2.30pm local time. Travel agents, emirates.com/au and 9324 7600.

Niall McIlroy was a guest of Intrepid Travel.