The visit to the north Maranhao area of Barreirinhas was a hard days travel from Salvador to Sao Luis, followed by a 3-4 hour bus ride. The object was to have a peaceful couple of days between the intensity of Salvador and the demands visiting and documenting the various elements of the Sao Luis Bumba-meu-boi festival.
But, first there was a hard day on the road, before reaching a riverside pousada.
This was followed by a more peaceful stay by the river Preguicas, which means “lazy” — reflecting the meandering of the river from the north of the state to the Atlantic. It becomes more brackish as it nears the sea and the buriti and carnauba palms give way to mangrove shorelines.
Another native plant here is acai, which grows as a high bush or tree in the palm groves. The berries seem to be about the size of ping-pong balls and grow in huge clusters high in the trees.
Although this region is a source of, the juice is harder to find; it must be picked by men who may have to reach the acai clusters by boat and then climb to harvest them. Besides that, the acai fruit has legendary status with body builders and alternative food outlets — not to mention the U.S. where it is included in “magical” juice products. It has a harsh taste, so in Brazil it is often mixed with (lots of) sugar or even manioc (yucca) flour. As a result, acai is destined for expensive markets and not on the normal pousada breakfast table. Abroad it is found mixed in small other amounts with other juices and rarely found in pure form.
This export-induced scarcity of acai is similar to coffee in Brazil, where it is said that best coffee was used for export and that of lesser quality was saved for the domestic market.
Oh yes, a non-scheduled visit to the Barreirinhas public clinic
One of the students was stung by a nasty local wasp. Fortunately the wasp is well-known in the region and the emergency clinic had medications to counter the reaction.
