Hidden Paradise: Jericoacoara

Oncelikle bu postu okuyan herkesin gozlerini kapayip bir "Jericoacoara" diyip ondan sonra incelemeye devam etmesini istiyorum. Hazir misiniz ? Je-ri-koa-koa-ra ! Bana ilk soyleyebildigimde bilmedigim tropik bir meyve ismini animsatti, daha sonra soylemeye iyice alistikca aslinda bir kusun cikardigi ses gibi bu dedim. Ama nereden bilebilirdim ki bu kelime icindeki kelimenin aslinda beni hem gizemli hem de bilindik, hem zaten bildigim, hem de hic kesfetmedigim sakli bir cennete cagirdigini. Jericoacoara, halk arasinda Jeri, aslinda ilk baslarda elektrigin haliyle internetin telefonun ve bilimum herhangi teknolojinin olmadigi (elektrigin daha 20 yil once oraya ulastigini ogrendik) sadece balikcilarin yasadigi ve degistokusun hayat felfesefesi oldugu kucuk bir köy olarak baslamis hayatina. Bu yuzden de hippielerin, dunyayi dolasan maceraseverlerin ve ozgur ruhlarin ugrak noktasiymis. Ve bugun bile gelen ziyaretci profilini korudugunu soyleyebiliriz. 

First of all people ,who are reading this post, before you check it in detail, I want you close your eyes and try to say "Jericoacoara". Are you ready ? Jeh-ree-kwah-kwah-rah ! In my first trying it remembered a name of tropical fruit that I don't know, after I said again and I realized it's not a fruit name, it was actually sounds like a squawking, like a rooster. But how could I know until I've been there that this word within a word is calling me to a hidden paradise that is secret and familiar, mysterious and heartfelt.  Jericoacoara, known to locals simply as "jeri", at the beginning was a small fisherman village where a barter system predominated and there was no electricity, tv or phones. That's why the village drew hippies artists and wanderers. Still, today its visitors' profile is mix of those all same free spirits. 

Jeri, Afrika'dan gelen guclu ruzgari sayesinde Brezilya'da ve tum dunyada ruzgar sorfu ve ucurtma sorfu tutkunlarinin bir numarali yerlerinden bir tanesi. Biz de bu firsattan yararlandik tabiiki.

Jeri receives strong winds from Africa, making it a top destination for wind and kite surfers. And of course we used this chance to try kite surf. 

Jeri'nin en cok ziyaret edilen yerlerinden birisi "Gun Batimi Tepesi". Burasi zumrut renkli gun batimini dunyanin cok az kosesinde gorebileceginiz yerlerden sadace birtanesi. Gunes ufukta kaybolmadan once yaydigi o yesil renkteki isigi sadece gormeniz yetmez bir de fotograflamaniz gerek tabi. O yuzden kameranizi unutmayin, ayarlarinizi yapin ve ani yakalayin. 

One of the top places in Jeri is "Sunset Dune". This is one of the earth's few locations to be able to experience "Emerald Sunset" . It's not only enough to see the tip of the setting sun turns bright green for the final instant before it gets lost below the horizon as well you need to immortalize this moment. So don't forget to take your cameras, focus and capture the moment. 

Köyun 3km dogusunda bulunan "Pedra Furada" aslinda buranin gayri resmi sembolu haline gelmis durumda. Her ne kadar fotograflarda gordugumuzde cok etkilenip gitmek icin can atsakta, ciplak gozle aslinda pekte etkileyici olmadigini gordugumuzde neden buranin gayri resmi olarak kaldigini anlamis olduk.  Bekide gunesin batarken tam deligin ortasindan bize goz kirptigi temmuz ayinda olmadigimiz icindi. Ama yine de son karari siz verin :) 

"Pedra Furada" an arched rock 3km east of town is an unofficial symbol of the village. When we first saw its pictures on the brochure given by our pousada it was really impressive and we couldn't wait to  see it. But finally we arrived there and realized it's not a really impressive place when it is seen by naked eyes. Maybe it was not July when the sun sets directly through the whole . Still, you are the one who gonna give last decision :) 

Jeri'nin butun sokaklari kumlarla cevrili oldugundan, cevresini, Pedro Furada'yi ve lagunlari sadece "buggy turlari" sayesinde ziyaret edebilirsiniz. 

As all streets of Jeri paved with sand, to reach there, visit lagoons and around the village, the only way is "buggy tours" that you can take via your pousada. 

Bize suda hamak keyfi yasatan Lagoa Paraiso'da unutulmayacak bir gun gecirdik. 

In Lagoa Paraiso which let us enjoy with the water hammock, we spent unforgettable day. 

Ruzgarin colde sekillendirdigi bu bitki canlisida gorulecek yerler arasinda ama bizim icin uzerinde poz veren bu masum kizcagiz daha ilgi cekiciydi :) 

This vegetation shaped by the wind is one the sightseeing places in Jeri. But for us this innocent lovely girl was more appealing:)

Otel tercihimiz uzun zamandir Jeri'nin en tercih edilen hoteli Vila Kalango' ydu. Ilgiden basinizi donduren calisanlari check in yaptiktan sonra size hoteli gezdiriyor ve eksiksizce aklinizdaki her  soruyu daha siz dillendirmeden cevapliyor. Bir diger ilgili calisan etrafta tarcinli limonata servisi yapiyor, hotele ulasan biz yorgun ziyaretcileri daha orada mest ediyor ve sonrasinda cennette miyiz acaba diye soran gozlerle odamiza yerlesiyoruz. Odalarin konforu ve dizayni Brezilya'da kaldiklarimizin en iyisi tabiki de. Evet simdi gercek bir balayi hotelindeyiz. Okyanus ve gun batimi tepesi manzarali restoranti ve havuzuyla, hindistan cevizi agaclariyla cevrilmis, sadece bes gun gecirecegimiz cennetteyiz. 

Our hotel preference was long time top-end favorite Vila Kalango. After check in, you feel dizzy when you confronted by over-cared staff. One of them makes you discover the place, answering all your questions turning in your mind even before you speak, another one is wandering around and serving cinnamon lemonade to exhausted new comers and you settle your room with an amazed mood and ask again are we in heaven ? The comfort of the rooms are the best in all the hotels we've ever stayed in Brazil. Yes, now we are in real honeymoon place. Surrounded by coconut trees, pool deck and restaurant look out on the beach and the Sunset Dune, actually we were in paradise that we will spend just five days.  

 Another sunset view with the small footballer group. 

Yemek: Sizlere denedigimiz restorantlardan bahsedecegim. Ilk aksamimizda cok yorgun oldugumuz icin hotelin restorantini denemek istedik. Tercihimiz kerevit oldu ve gercekten cok lezzetliydi fakat daha sonra daha da lezzetlisini salas bir balikcida tadacagimizdan henuz habersizdik. Bu minik koydeki tum restorantlar genellikle iyi yemekler sunuyorlar cunku hemen hemen her sey taze fakat denemeden donmeyin diyebilecegim bir kac yer var: 

-Pimenta Verde lezzetli karidesler icin harika bir adres. Fakat asil spesiyalleri unutulmayacak lezzetteki Jeri'ye has ahtapotlari. 

-Peixe Brasillerio Burasi bir balikci deposu. Balikcilar sabahin erken saatlerinde yakaladiklari deniz urunlerini buraya birakir size de o gun ne cikmissa onlardan secip yemek duser. Biz yine izgarada kerevit yedik ve sanirim hayatimizda yediklerimiz icerisinde en iyisi olabilecek lezzetteydi. Ayrica fiyatlari da ne avrupa ne de Turkiyeyle karsilastirilamaz derecede makul. Aslinda burasi cok salas bir balikci fakat yine de surekli kalabalik oldugundan yer bulmakta zorlanabilirsiniz o yuzden etraftaki butikleri dolasip geri donme olasiliginiz cok yuksek.

-Pizza Dellacasa Jeri'nin  asagidaki resimde gordugunuz gibi en lezzettli pizzalari burada desem yeridir. Eger sizde bizim gibi her gun deniz urunu yemeyi tercih etmeyip arada bir degisiklik iyidir diyorsaniz adres belli. Ozellikle muthis bir yemekten sonra isteyeceginiz nutellali pizza, bitiremeseniz bile tam bir ziyafet :) 

Food:  I'm gonna talk about the restaurants we've tried. First night as were tired, we wanted to try the pousada's restaurant. We tasted grilled crayfish and it was really delicious. In general all the restaurants are successful in this village but don't turn back without trying these :

- Pimenta Verde for delicious shrimps and they have a memorable cuisine from octopus provençal.

-Peixe Brasilerio is a fishermen deposit their catch in the morning and patrons choose their dinner. We tried fresh grilled crayfish in a really reasonable prices. It's a really shed-like restaurant but it's hard to find a place so maybe you will have to visit the boutiques around and come back later for an empty table. 

-Pizza Dellacasa is probably the best pizza in town as you see below. As we were a bit over seafood, we wanted to try something different and it was perfect choice. After great dinner nutella pizza was real feast although we couldn't finish :) 

Ve sonunda elimizde guzel anilarla dolu bir seyehat gunlugu ile ve binlerce fotografla evimize donduk. Artik yeni hayatimiza baslamaya hazirdik. 

At the end, with a travel journal which is full of unforgettable happy moments and thousands of pictures we're back our home. We are ready to live our new life.