Ceará, other main attractions

Photo flickr by Paulo Sergio

Canoa Quebrada (meaning broken canoe in Portuguese), known as the pearl of the east coast of Ceará, Brazil, is an international tourist beach resort 164 km from Fortaleza, in the municipality of Aracati.

This small fishing village, among dunes and cliffs, has good views and is becoming popular with tourists. The main street of Canoa, where most accommodation, restaurants and shops are concentrated, is called Broadway. The nights of Canoa Quebrada are known for animation and diversity.

The Tourism Authority of Ceará rates Canoa Quebrada as the most important tourist attraction of the state, after Fortaleza.

Tourist activities include outdoor activities such as excursions in dune buggies, horse riding, sailing in a 'jangada' boat, mountain biking, sandboarding, kitesurfing and windsurfing (search: wikipedia)

Canoa Quebrada was discovered for tourism in the 70s. Hippies found in it, almost inaccessible place, a simple and hospitable people. The native preserve the tradition of fishing with rafts at sea.

Photo flickr by viaggionelmondo

Canoa Quebrada Beach. Photo flickr by serlunar

Aracati and its colonial buildings: The historic city center, 13 kilometers from Canoa Quebrada, is filled with buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. Preserved the houses that spreads the street Coronel Alexanzito displays beautiful ornaments made ​​with Portuguese tiles. Also adorn the landscape of the old county jail building - which now houses the City Council - and the churches of Our Lady of the Rosary, dated 1785, and Our Lord of Bonfim, 1774. The architectural complex is now considered national patrimony, being listed by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in April 2000.

Juazeiro do Norte: is a city in the State of Ceará.  It is located 528 km south of the State capital Fortaleza in the semi arid sertão (backlands). It is best known as the base of the charismatic priest and politician Padre Cícero (Cícero Romão Batista) (1844-1934). A pilgrimage in his honour takes place every November, attracting thousands of followers.

Juazeiro do Norte was initially a district of the nearby city of Crato, until a young Padre Cícero Romão Batista decided to stay as a cleric in the village. Padre Cícero was then responsible for the independence and emancipation of the city. Because of the so-called "milagre de Juazeiro" ("miracle in Juazeiro", when Padre Cícero gave the sacred host to the religious sister Maria de Araújo, the host became blood), the priest was associated with mystical characteristics and began to be venerated by the people as a saint. Today the city is the second largest in the state and a reference in the Northeast region thanks to the priest. (wikipedia)

Memorial Padre Cícero. Photo flickr by heliodaluz

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel. Photo flickr by allanpatrick

Songs and prayers chanted by pilgrims form the atmosphere at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel, where Padre Cícero Romão Batista was buried on July 20th of 1934; witnesses say that 80 thousand people attended the funeral. The Chapel was built by order of 'Padre Cícero' in 1908.

Also in front of the church, built in a neoclassical style, there is an oratory and a plaster image of Cícero. Next to it, the House of Miracles, where pilgrims leave pictures, objects, notes and ex-votes (wounded body parts made of wood to be cured by divine force). On top of the tombstone, inside the chapel, people place objects to be blessed by Padre Cícero. Also next to it, there is a cemetery where the pious women devoted to the priest are buried. 

Pilgrimage. Photo flickr by fotojornalismo

Padre Cícero Statue

Tombstone of Cícero

Jericoacoara beach: Jericoacoara is a virgin beach hidden behind the dunes of the west coast of Jijoca de Jericoacoara, Ceará, Brazil. Selected by The Washington Post as one of the Top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world, nicknamed Jeri, consists of blue lagoons, calm seas and huge dunes.

Getting to Jeri can still be challenging. The road from Fortaleza to Jericoacoara presents beaches and rustic villages. The last 45 minutes of the journey takes place off-road, "on-sand", among dunes and along a beach.

The village has streets covered in sand from the dunes by the sea. Jericoacoara is a popular spot for windsurfing and sailing.

Jericoacoara is one of several places in Brazil from where you can see the sun sink into the ocean. This show is often viewed by many, both visitors and locals, from the tall "Sunset dune" just next to the village.(wikipedia)

Jericoacoara. Photo flickr by Michael Strugale

Jericoacoara beach. Photo flickr by crisyw

Photo flickr by EdgardGuerra

Photo wikipedia.org

Photo wikipedia.org

Photo wikipedia.org

Brazil: State of Ceará

Ceará flag

Ceará (Portuguese pronunciation: [siaˈɾa]) is one of the 27 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is currently the 8th largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the main touristic destinations in Brazil. The state capital is the city of Fortaleza that is the principal cultural, commercial, and seaboard shipping centre. Other principal towns are Juazeiro do Norte, Sobral, Crato, Iguatu, and Crateus.

Literally, the name Ceará means "sings the jandaia" - jandaia = specie of parakeet. According to José de Alencar, one of the most important writers of Brazil and an authority in Tupi Guaraní, Ceará means turquoise or green waters. There are also theories that the state name would derive from Siriará, a reference to the crabs from the seashore.

The state is best known for its extensive and beautiful coastline, with 600 kilometers (370 mi) of sand. There are also mountains and valleys producing tropical fruits. To the south, on the border of Paraíba, Pernambuco and Piauí, is the National Forest of Araripe. (search: Wikipedia) 

The raft, still common along the coast, is considered one of the greatest symbols of the people and culture of Ceará. Land of the writers Rachel de Queiroz, Patativa do Assaré and José de Alencar, Ceará also found the greatest humorists of the Country as Renato Aragão, Tom Cavalcante and Chico Anysio.

Raft. Photo flickr by Francisco Aragão

 

Trail on National Forest of Araripe

Significantly, Ceará was one of the very first places in the country to do away with the system of slavery.

The state of Ceará has a total area of just under 150 000 square kilometres. It is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco and Piauí as well as by the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

The vegetation of this state varies from mangroves and jungles to scrublands and dense tropical forests. Caatinga is another prevalent form of vegetation in Ceará, and is characterized by scrubby forests. This is a type of vegetation that is endemic to Brazil but Ceará concentrates 55% of all caatinga of the Country. This state suffers from very dry, harsh conditions during some seasons, resulting in the desertification of many areas at these times. In general, the climate is humid on the coast and dry further inland, but always hot. The average noon temperature is between 33 and 40 degrees Celsius. The rainy season is between January and June, while July to December is the dry season. 

Caatinga vegetation. Photo Wikipedia.org

The carnauba tree is the symbol of Ceará and occupy large tracts in the backcountry.

Carnauba trees. Photo WiKipedi.org

Ceará exports, amongst other products, leather shoes, crustaceans, cashew nuts and fruit.

The main tourist attractions in Ceará include:

• Canoa Quebrada Beach

• Morro Branco

• Praia Do Futuro

• The colonial buildings of Aracati

• The House of Miracles in Fortaleza (credit to brazil)

Ceará Government web site: http://www.ceara.gov.br/