Areia Branca to Canoa Quebrada

From San Miguel de Gostoso, we made the fairly uninteresting drive along the back roads toward Areia Branca. Other than a quick beach stop at the beginning, there weren’t many highlights. Lots of lowland muddy salt flats and a pretty ugly salt industry.  And, the farther we get into Ceará state, the more animals we see in the road – mainly goats and donkeys – and they are everywhere. A little unusual compared to the southern states.

Someone had recommended Areia Branca to us – I can’t remember who. We’re still not sure why. We arrived at night, and for us, this was just a one-nighter at Praia de Upanema.  The next day, we hopped on another ferry across the Rio Mossoró and kept cruising.

From there, it was another long day’s drive to Canoa Quebrada. More animals all over the road and lot’s of empty towns.

Canoa is a pleasant touristy town in the dunes.  The thing to do here – like many places along this coastline – is to hire a bugeiro and hit the dunes. I have a hard time paying somebody to drive me around in an old VW, so for us, this was a place to eat lots of camarão and wander the quiet streets at night.