A red lagoon

04.07.2016

I woke up early and walked to the beach, but obviously it was still high tide. I couldn't get down to the other side of the island to see the other beaches. So, I waited a few hours and watched the tide go out. Finally I realized I'd probably have to swim. I put away my camera back in the room and only brought water and sunscreen. I found a good place to cross and followed some fishermen to a wide expanse of hard packed white sand with a line of beach bars which were beaten constantly by unrelenting wind.

I saw my Brazilian friends from the bus and they told me about a lagoon 40 minutes away.

"Turn right at some stuff and just keep walking, you will find it." Right. I took their advice and eventually saw a bamboo cross leading into the dunes. A small horse drawn buggy was going the same way with a young Brazilian family. Their horse kept stopping, so I kept up with them easily. The mom spoke English, so we walked together beside their horse whenever he stopped.

Finally we came to the lagoon which had burgundy coloured water due to the leaves falling from the bushes that encircled the oasis.

It was all very refreshing and clean feeling. The temperature of the water strangely alternated between uncomfortably warm to icy cool.

After a few minutes I realized I had to get back to the boat. I walked quickly back to my hotel, picked up my bag and promptly found it wasn't leaving until 4 pm.

I ate a late lunch at the small marina restaurant, the same fish, rice and beans again. You can't really go wrong with that anyway.

Eventually we sailed back to maruda and I caught a van with a very nice couple going the same way. There were no more buses. This "transport alterntivo" was the same as the vans I used to take in Vietnam. You just get on and then they pick up anyone who is waving frantically on the side of the road. This also meant the ride felt infinitely longer than the first one.

When I got back to Belem, it was once again a real hassle finding a bus. After reaching Gabriel's home, we wound down by watching some Richard Dawkins documentaries until late.

Lunch at the marina