Friday Postcard: Natal Dunes

Posted in Activities, My Trips, Travel Recommendations on 30. Jul, 2010

Hi all!

If you will recall, my MacBook Pro died recently (motherboard issue), which hampered my efforts to do, well, just about anything. I am pleased to announce that with the help of a friend who also owns a (functional) MacBook Pro, I was able to recover most of my data, including a ton of photos – although of course they are not organized by event anymore, so I have the digital equivalent of a box of unlabeled photos from the attic. Lots of sorting to do one rainy day…

You may also recall that one of my favorite places in all of Brazil (and probably my future home) is Natal, the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, in northeastern Brazil. You should try to visit there if you make it to Brazil. If you do, definitely take a dune buggy tour. Pack a daypack with water, sunscreen, a floppy hat, and a camera and prepare yourself for a day of adventure and adrenaline.

Below are a couple of photos, one taken from the ground, the other from the air. From the ground you see the Devil´s Cauldron, a huge bowl-shaped hill. The bugueiros, or buggy drivers, storm up the hill a la Paul Walker in F&F, then swerve sideways. Slowly, so slowly, gravity exerts its inexorible pull and you begin to slide sideways back down the dune, quickly gaining speed, with no control. You can only grab the roll bar and hope that the buggy doesn´t in fact roll. You know that it will – but then the bugueiro cuts the wheel and guns the gas, and you shoot back down safely. A blast!

The other photo is taken from the air, from an ultralight airplane. You can arrange for pickup at your hotel. Or often if you go on a buggy tour your are offered the opportunity to go up as well. I think the flight was about 20 minutes. Again, well worth it, and a completely diferent perspective. Despíte the noise of the engine right behind you, the flight is incredibly serene, and the scenery often near-surreal.

In addition to the photos, imbedded below is a video of my last ultralight flight in Natal. Check out my little dog friend.

Well, have a good weekend. On Monday I´ll be back with something new: a podcast with a buddy of mine, Cris Nogueira, who wrote Rio for Partiers, the definitive guide to having fun in Rio.

See you soon!

John