Adventures with Julia

Tuesday, October 7, 2025

Departed Salvador in mid afternoon and arrived in San Luis about 5:30. Hit the road in a 4-wheel drive truck for what we learned would be a 4 hour ride to Casa Oia, a hacienda near a town called Santo Amaro. Our driver spoke no English and our guide, Pedro, also known as Salim Rosa, made up for it as he talked non-stop. We did learn a bunch of information about his personal life as well as some details of interest to us.

Half way into the very dark drive on a fairly rough road, we pulled into a crowded truck stop and had a beer and a piece of pizza for $1.87. Cheapest food ever. Back on the road, Pedro kept talking, but refused to tell us about where we were going. So, at 8:45pm we arrived at a grass-covered, open-walled building and were met by the manager, who told us dinner was ready. So, without seeing the room, we had a tasty seafood risotto dish on an open veranda. To get to our air conditioned room in a separate building we trudged through sand. The outside air was very pleasant with a slight breeze. Mark suggested it felt sensuous. How nice. The room, however, felt cold. We were soon in bed with the lights off.

The history we learned from Pedro was that the French landed on a beach in San Luis Island in 1612 and started to build a settlement and a fort to honor King Louis XIII. In 1615 the Portuguese challenged the French, and, with fewer men but superior firepower, they beat the French in the battle called Guaxenduba that lasted only an afternoon. The area we are staying is east of San Luis and is called Lencois Maranhenses National Park, which is what our program says we have come to see. The park is 600 square miles in size and borders three towns including Santo Amaro, where we are staying. Maranhao state is part of the NE region of Brazil. It is mostly agricultural with soybeans and rice being the major products, 100% of which goes to China. There are 26 states and 1 federal district in Brazil.

In the top of the North East state of Maranhao, you will see the island of Sao Luis where the French lost the region to the Portuguese. Our adventure takes place just a bit east of Sao Luis near the town of Santo Amaro at a grass covered Hacienda called Casa Oia. We arrived at 8:45pm, met the manager and were escorted directly to dinner. I was not hungry, but could not resist the delicious seafood risotto. Then we walked through a sand pathway to our room and went directly to bed.

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

We were up early and out by 7am to see where we were. It looked like scrub brush to us and not interesting. After walking around a bit and enjoying a nice breakfast, we were told to wear our bathing suits as well as a cover up.

At 9am, we climbed into safari seats in the back of a pickup truck. Pedro joined us along with a driver and local guide. Off we went through the scrub land and grass plains, which eventually morphed into polar-white sand dunes, heading for a shallow, rain water lake. It took 40 minutes driving over the dunes to reach the pretty, warm water lake. By then the surprise was wearing off and we understood why our travel agent had sent us here. The scenery was otherworldly, never mind the intense wind that pelted our bodies with sand.

We waded in a good distance to get wet up to our waste, while the guys set up a shade cloth, chairs, towels and a table with snacks. They disappeared in the truck while we enjoyed the beach almost alone. An hour of sun and wind-swept sand pelting us was enough. The crew returned and we went back to the Casa Oia to cool down and get out of the wind. Lunch of local garden fresh greens and hake was served outdoors in the shade about 1pm.

In the late afternoon we rode ATV’s through the dunes and got some really nice images. Hard to decide what to keep.

Dinner was served at a table for 2 in the vegetable garden. The appetizer was a mini pumpkin stuffed with mushrooms, cheese and soft pumpkin and the entree was king prawns covered with tapioca popcorn, sautéed vegetables and black rice with mango. Delicious. Then—our usual routine—back to the room, get ready for bed and soon, fast asleep.

Thursday, October 9, 2025—our 32nd anniversary

Mark remembered our anniversary, while I thanked him for remembering. Oh well. Maybe I will remember one day.

After our experiences of the day before, we were ready for the day’s activities—A long drive to a different lake and a hour to swim and relax by the shore under a shade cover provided by our drive crew. We hoped for privacy on this lake, but, just like the day before, groups of other people appeared and took up space around the lake. I was feeling possessive, but realized that the lake was more than big enough for everyone there. We took lots of photos along the way and are struggling to keep only the best ones.

Back at camp for lunch at 2 under a cluster of cashew nut trees decorated with colored streamers, we were served a good beef stew along with rice, cassava, okra greens, fried egg and tapioca-coated plantain, my favorite part.

At 5pm we drove a short distance to a river and climbed into a 30-foot open boat for a ride to a sundowner on a sand dune. It was a 10 minute walk from where we got out of the boat to the sand dune where we watched the sun go down.

Unfortunately no alcohol is allowed in the park so Mark had put some booze in his water container and we had a real sundowner. We also got some nice photos. Back on the boat, the water was so shallow that we kept getting stuck in the sand. The boatman had to get into the water and push us several times. I felt sorry for him, but he seemed not to mind.

The day was not over. The manager told us dinner was to be a luau and to get ready for a 20 minute drive. Left camp at 7:40 and drove through the sand dunes in the dark. I felt very uncomfortable being in the dunes after dark, but the driver knew exactly where he was going and finally we saw lights in the sand. There was no luau, but a small table set for regular dinners. There was one other couple and ourselves. The meal consisted of crackers with baba ghanoush as a starter and mashed pumpkin with dried beef for the entree. We learned that this “luau” is served most evenings to different couples. While we ate, the waining moon rose over a tall sand dune. A nice, unexpected touch. there was just enough wind to keep us from relaxing and after an hour we were ready to leave. Fortunately, the other couple was ready to go also.

Friday, October 10, 2025

Travel day. Up 6, out at 9.

This photo should have been sent during our Rio segment, but I think it is important enough to send it now. It is a photo of baked heart of palm as it is presented in restaurants in southern Brazil. You cut it, pull a piece out of the stalk with your fork and eat. Quite delicious and very different than what we get from a jar in California.