Ceará State Flag

As time progresses I shall be reporting from Amazonas, Carnival and as many other towns and states in Brazil as I can convince my boss to send me to. This month I focus on my new home, the pearl of the North East, the fantastic Fortaleza.

Fortaleza is the capital of the North Eastern Brazilian state of Ceará. It is a large, modern city where bold, new architecture contrasts with beautiful beaches and tall coconut palms.

Jangada

On the beaches, visitors can see typical "jangadeiros" (fishermen) who take to the sea in their rugged "jangadas" (crude sailing rafts traditionally used for fishing in the region).

The jangadeiro's daily struggle against the wind and waves is one of the most fascinating adventures in the northeast. Whilst on the shore, their wives patiently produce the delicate lace and embroidery for which Ceará's artisans are justifiably famous.

Not that Fortaleza is a small town. It started out small, with a fortress built by the Portuguese in 1603. But it's now a modern city with more than two million residents. That makes it a cosmopolitan centre with lots of hotels, restaurants, shops and other amenities tourists seek. But it's still much smaller and much safer than the other mega-cities of Brazil. However, much of the state's seven million inhabitants live in abject poverty and care should be taken on the streets.

The view from my apartment

The best thing about Fortaleza and Ceara state is the 570 km of beaches - powdery beaches, festooned with palm trees and often backed by sand dunes. The state, in fact, has about 10% of all Brazilian beaches. Ceara also offers an annual average of 2,800 hours of sun. That's about 7.6 hours a day.

Alright, if I am honest, Fortaleza does not receive that many non-Brazilian tourists. Each time I tell people that I live in Brazil they instantly rattle off São Paulo - must be dangerous; Rio - must be very dangerous; and perhaps, if they are ecologically minded, the Amazon - must be wet and dangerous. It seems that no foreigners outside a small band of professional backpackers have ever ventured into this beautiful part of Brazil, which is a pity.

Someone once said that religion was opium for the masses. But in Brazil going to the beach is the country's opium, and the finest cut, the biggest high has to be the beaches of Ceara. Personally, and please don't tell anyone this or I will be deported, I don't actually like beaches that much. Temples, shrines and things like that I can appreciate, but the idea of sitting on a beach surrounded by bikini clad nubile young Amazons never really turned me on - much!.

And then I came to Brazil and everything changed. I know there are hundreds of beaches out there and I have only scratched the surface so far, but my current favourite beach, and general place to hang out, has to be the long golden sands of Pria Futuro - and in particular Beruita (crazy) barracca.

Locals tell me this is one of the best city beaches. One my first visit to Brazil many years ago, some colleagues took me to this beach and it almost blew my mind. Long uninterrupted soft sandy beaches, clean azure coloured sea, fantastic surf and a plethora of beach side barracas (bars) in which to watch the scantily clad locals surf, tan and, as invariably happens in Brazil, talk about football or the latest developments in Brazilian soap operas. Liza Minelli said that life was a cabaret, but in my mind if she had ever been anywhere near Futuro she would have definitely been singing "life is a beach and mine's another icy cold beer, my chum".

No one rushes, everyone just kicks back, orders a beer or two (which come delivered to the table in their own little thermos bottles to keep them icily cold), snacks out on crab (about US$1), fresh coconuts (about 30 cents) and relaxes. Although English is not widely spoken here, the locals are friendly and ordering food or beer should be no problem. Three fingers held horizontally over the table indicates that more beer is required.

As an introduction to beach life, and the north east in general, it doesn't come much better than this. Until next month I am off to catch the surf, and as they say in here:

Para Que nossas mulheres nao fiquem viuva
(may our wives never be widows)

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our South America Insiders page.