March 3, 2007
Day 521
Marcelo, Marina, and I went to a small town near Fortaleza this morning. Marcelo used to go there on the weekends, and he reminisced about how he used to drive his jeep over the dunes with his friends. We visited a lake which a lot of people used to visit, but now prices have gotten so far out of hand, almost nobody will go there anymore. For example, renting a jetski for ten minutes costs $30. If you wanted to rent it for the day, you might as well buy a new one!
Before I left Fortaleza, I had lunch at Marcelo's. We had feshuada, a black bean sauce mixed with pork that's popular in this region, along with a delicious beef platter. Marcelo's chef has been working for the family since before he was born, so she really knows how to cook.
After saying goodbye to Marcelo and Marina, I took a bus a few hours south to Aracati, then went in a van to a small beach town called Canoa Quebrada. A room in a nice hotel cost the same amount as camping in Jericoacoara, and the town seemed quite prosperous with a pedestrian walkway in the center that was full of restaurants and bars.