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TWO-TIMING IN BRAZIL

As temperatures drop, days shorten and another sodden summer segues into autumn, you’re maybe thinking that it’s time to think about packing the kit away until spring, or start preparing for winter battle and get ready to reacquaint yourself with Messrs Frost and Ice Cream Head.
Words  Iain Marwood  Photos Julian Schlosser & Gary Crossley

(This story originally appeared in the October 2012 issue of Windsurf Magazine. Print and digital subscriptions for readers worldwide are available HERE.)

Maybe replace that knackered, festering wetsuit with a newer model to ease those shivering sessions or maybe slip into a pair of sexy booties? Dig-out plausible arguments for a partner no longer so keen on hitting the beach OR…

Time to forget about all that crap and say to your loved one that you’re going to whisk them off where the skies are blue, it’s warm and sunny every day. Somewhere they can lounge on a sun bed for the tan of their dreams, dine-out every night on delicious food at exotic restaurants. A place far, far from work, where the main concern will be choosing between action sports, sightseeing tours in the natural wilderness, shopping for souvenirs, immersing yourselves in the local culture, or just chilling out on a beautiful beach with a good book and an ice-cold, lime-laced drink.

It’s a win-win situation. Not only do you score some serious relationship brownie points, but you also score some of the best sailing of your life in windsurfing paradise. Somewhere that frees you from the stress of checking the wind for tomorrow; from having to rig/de-rig/pack/unpack every day. So get those pressing work commitments sorted, negotiate two weeks off with the boss and put your mind in no doubt about what really matters. Wind? Check. Guaranteed? Check. In wintertime? Absolutely. Where? Take no chances: book a break in Brazil and head for Jericoacoara and Icaraizinho.

JERICOACOARA

If you’ve been pot-holing in the Yucatán for the last ten years and haven’t come across one of the many articles about Jericoacoara in print and on the web, here’s the deal. Picture a small, isolated fishing village on the north-east (Ceará) coast of Brazil. A fishing village that, until the latter years of the 20th century, had no contact with civilisation. There were no roads, no electricity, phones, televisions or newspapers and money was never a problem. There wasn’t any. All transactions being fish traded for goods.

In the 1980s it was ‘discovered’ by adventurous backpackers, and a little later by exploratory windsurfers. The rest, as they say, is history. Since then, although the number of visitors has grown the village remains small (it’s surrounded by a National Park, so building and expansion are restricted). Indeed, the main growth over the years isn’t measured in size, but in charm. Instead of big hotels you’ll see small, cosy pousadas (from economy to 5-star). Instead of McDonald’s or Pizza Hut, you get catch-of-the-day fish and proper pizza and pasta made by Italians. Instead of tarmac, sand paves the streets. Instead of pedestrian crossings, vehicles are banished to a parking lot outside town.

And did I mention the National Park? As with any place in the world declared as such, there is no shortage of beautiful landscape. Massive sand dunes (ever tried sandboarding?), deserted beaches, crystal-clear lagoons and fascinating igneous extrusions (rock formations to you and me) abound. In fact, most of Jeri’s tourism caters for those strange souls who have no interest whatsoever in the ever-present wind. For among its many claims to fame, Jeri is considered one of Brazil’s most beautiful beaches and was once voted as one of the world’s ten most-beautiful by the Washington Post Magazine.

Okay. It’s a beautiful beach. But more importantly, it’s a beautiful windy beach. How windy? Well, let’s just say that you won’t need to delve too deep into your quiver, a 4.2 and 4.7 will cover your requirements admirably for the entire season. Not only that, but it’s damn regular. This means that you can party at night and wake up at 10.00am for a leisurely breakfast because you know that at 11.00am the Brazilian wind machine switches on full power until sunset.

It’s nothing to do with luck, either. There have been many scientific studies made of the Ceará wind machine and, in a nutshell, this area of Brazil is the main landing point for the trade winds that sweep the Atlantic Ocean. And the even better news is that these trade winds are generated by the Earth’s rotation, so as long as the Earth is spinning, you’ll be sailing…

This type of trade wind spot operates to a different logic than others. The natural expected status is ‘windy’ (since the Earth is spinning), and the only thing that can disturb this logic is an added influence, such as low pressure generated by a rainstorm, for example.

Jericoacoara and Icaraizinho are acclaimed as 99.9% wind spots because both sit in this very warm and dry part of the Brazilian coast. Rainfall from June to January is almost zero, and even in the low season (February to June) the number of sunny – and therefore windy – days is still quite high. While the busiest months are October and November, the locals say that if you’re into wave riding, or interested in learning the art, the best months are December and January, as they give the best combination of wind and waves together.

GREAT WAVES

Talking of waves, Jeri has what they call the world’s easiest wave, because it’s big enough to excite you, not big enough to hurt you, and very safe, because it’s generated by a point break and not a shallow reef. Long, well-defined lines and a sandy bottom make Jeri your mandatory step between rookie and Jaws!

Wave season is from December to April, and what’s more, after January the prices of everything in Jeri drop. A lot. So if you like to play with other toys such as SUPs, wave-kayaks or surfboards, you can have the time of your life for the fraction of the normal cost for every aspect of your holiday – including overseas airfare.

December and January are not only the best months to wavesail, they’re also the main vacation months in Brazil, and Jeri fills with good-looking people coming in from the main cities. Brazilians are not only super friendly but they know how to party too, so a good time is guaranteed. Another bonus is that during these months you also get the wave deal from ClubVentos, whereby half your rental days are free. (So if you stay for two weeks you only pay one week of rental.)

After January it gets even better, as ClubVentos has launched a new low season deal called INFINITY: pay one day, ride the entire stay. No, that’s not a misprint. If you come between February and June you pay only the first day of rental and you’re covered for windsurfing, SUP, wave-kayak and surfboard rental for your entire stay. It’s a great time to come as there are always nice waves rolling, so you can always play, whether it be surfing, SUPing, or sailing. Some pousadas also offer a killer deal, whereby for every three nights you stay, you get another one free. (All these deals are available through ClubVentos’ partners in the UK, Sportif and Oceansource.)

CLINICS

So the waves are great, the wind is great, the deal is great. But are you a great wavesailor? Not really? Well, you’re by no means alone there, but you’re in luck as Windsurf Tech Gurus Peter Hart‘ and Guy Cribb and Jem Hall will be in Jericoacoara and Icaraizinho in this winter to boost your skills and teach you the art of wavesailing. Check peter-hart.com, guycribb.com and jemhall.com for more.

WHAT ABOUT ICARAIZINHO?

The second windsurfing jewel in Ceará’s crown is just a few hours’ buggy ride down the coast. According to locals, Icaraizinho was established “many decades ago” by fishermen and coconut farmers, who lived by trading with countryside towns and transporting their wares vast distances by caravans of donkeys. But as far as the windsurfing world is concerned, it first came to light in 2007 when 13 PWA riders, including such luminaries as Robby Swift, Kauli Seadi, Kevin Pritchard, Marcilio Browne and Andre Paskowski, got together to explore the 300km of coastline from Fortaleza to Jeri in search of another paradise. After checking out countless beaches along the way, at the end of the trip all the riders were unanimous that Icaraizinho was the best spot.

Like Jeri, Icaraizinho is a fishing village that sits in a gently curving bay, framed by palm trees and dunes. Unlike Jeri, its sands are delightfully deserted by comparison. That’s not to say that since 2007 it hasn’t become busier, because it has. But not by much.

Although Icaraizinho has evolved with the addition of a ClubVentos centre and a few new pousadas, there’s still a relaxed, fishing village vibe to the place, and the pace of life is so slow as to be almost undetectable.

Icaraizinho has changed very little over the decades, with most things still being done in the traditional way (you’ll notice, for example, that ox-carts outnumber pick-up trucks as the delivery vehicle of choice). It’s a perfect place to just unplug from the world.

Thanks to those trades and the Earth’s rotation, the wind is the same as Jeri but conditions are easier as the waters are more sheltered, thanks to the bay having a little more curve. Variety is also very much the name of the game in Icaraizinho, and there’s something for everyone, no matter what level. On the right-hand side of the bay you have a great wave spot, and bang in front of the ClubVentos centre you have ‘the pond’ – a flat water area created by a sheltering reef that’s perfect for general blasting and dancing the freestyle fandango. As mentioned, Brit Gurus Hart, Cribb and Hall will be running clinics here, as many guests like the idea of warming up in Icaraizinho before heading to Jeri. So if you want to get those jumps and gybes polished, that shaka sorted or ponch perfected, get in touch with Pete, Guy or Jem before they run out of places.

COMBO TIME

With the discovery of Icaraizinho was born the idea of the ClubVentos Combo, which allows you to enjoy the best of both worlds and savour the delights of Ceará’s windsurfing sisters in the same trip. Jeri and Icaraizinho are only 100km apart, and there’s a great route along the coast that takes around half a day by dune buggy. It’s an adventure in itself, with some amazing sights and experiences on the way. You’ll cross rivers on man-powered barges, travel through mangroves and isolated communities, and see more deserted beaches than you can shake a berimbau bow at. (For those in a rush there’s always the road route, which takes a couple of hours.)

With the combo-deal, the buggy trip’s inclusive. You sign a single rental contract for the entire stay, and can shift between both centres without having to start a new deal. It’s all been well thought out and makes a lot of sense – and because windsurfing rental is always more expensive in the first days of the contract, this combo plan also saves you money.

COMBO-NATIONS

There are many ways to combine Jeri and Icaraizinho on the same trip by changing the amount of time spent at each place, and also by choosing which one to visit first.

• If you feel that Jeri may be a bit challenging for your windsurfing skills and you want a warm-up before getting there, kick off with Icaraizinho.
• If you’re looking forward to getting stuck straight in, want to party on day one, and prefer to relax on your last days and have a shorter road transfer on your way home, start with Jeri.
• If you want a higher standard of accommodation and like to meet a lot of people, stay longer in Jeri.
• If you want tranquillity, easier sailing, wide spaces, and no mobile ringing, stay longer in Icaraizinho.

OTHER STUFF TO DO

In some places you´ll think about surfing or SUPs as something to do when it´s not windy. In this part of Brazil you look at those things as a way of not getting bored of windsurfing every day! So, if you like to do other stuff, you can:

• SUP: The bays of Jericoacoara and Icaraizinho are quite similar, and both have great spots on the right-hand side for paddleboarding with some nice easy waves
• Explore the Mangroves: In both places you can explore the jungle on an exclusive SUP tour. You’re transported by 4×4 over the dunes and beaches to the mangroves, where you´ll find yourself beamed back in time to a primitive world teeming with wildlife
• Surf: Hit the water early in the morning or just before sunset to catch some waves on a longboard and hone your riding skills for all the windsurfing you´ll be doing next
• Kitesurf: Let’s face it, some of us like to pluck the strings occasionally, so for those with multiple religions there’s also great kitesurfing on offer. There are no worries about pissing anyone off, either, as Jericoacoara has a new safety regulation that keeps kitesurfers and windsurfers well apart
• Quad Bike: With camels in short supply in Brazil, there’s no better way to explore this amazing desert landscape than on a quad bike. Rent a quad, don your keffiyeh and ride over the dunes to discover hidden lagoons and maybe an oasis or two…
• Then there’s sandboarding, paragliding, Capoeira lessons, horse riding, or, God forbid, go for a walk. One thing’s for sure, and that is you’re not going to get bored

 STILL NEED CONVINCING?

If your partner’s still not won-over after reading this, just Google some pictures of the pousadas on offer. Type “Jeribá” or “Villa Mango” into the image search facility and drool at what have to be among the most romantic places you can stay in any windsurfing spot. Then, to seal the deal, throw in some online reviews of the restaurants “Tamarindo” or “Na Casa Dela” in Jericoacoara, along with “Café Zapata” and “Praiazinha” in Icaraizinho. And if that doesn’t do it, then it’s time to do one final …thing – find another partner!

BRAZIL FACTS

Getting there - Best way is to let Sportif or Oceansource sort it all out for you, but if you like to do it your own way, then TAP Air Portugal run regular flights from London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh to Fortaleza via Lisbon. You’re looking at a total of eight hours flying time (two to Lisbon and six to Fortaleza), so allow a whole day for travelling. Transfer is either by air-conditioned bus or 4×4, and takes between 3 to 4 hours or so, depending on whether you’re heading for Icaraizinho or Jeri first and the F1 aspirations of your driver

Currency – At the time of writing a pound buys you around 3.3 Brazilian Reals. Easiest way to get them is via an ATM or bureau de change in Fortaleza. Be aware that there’s no ATM in Icaraizinho, and the nearest one to Jericoacoara is 23km away in Jijoca. A pick-up there and back shouldn’t cost a lot but it takes half a day out of your valuable holiday time. In Jeri some restaurants and shops now accept credit cards. (Progress, eh?)

Weather – Equatorial. Only the days of the month change. Air temperature is 28-35 C, water temperature is 27 C year round. Leave that festering wetsuit at home…

Language – Portuguese

Time – Slow, and three hours behind GMT

Things to take

• A harness
• Boardshorts and a lycra top (the only clothing you’ll need year-round)
• Waterproof high SPF sunblock
• A small torch for those starlit staggers back from the bar
• A camera and plenty of memory – the light here is a photographer’s dream
• A phrase book (not much English is spoken by villagers, and they really appreciate any efforts to speak Portuguese, no matter how garbled)

Click here to read more: Windsurf Magazine