After a long stay in the Chapada Diamantina it was time to move on. After all, we still have the whole coast of the Brazilian Northeast ahead of us. Our first stop was Penedo in Alagoas. Penedo is a colonial town founded in the beginning of the 16th century. Its streets present a mixture of colonial buildings, some preserved, others not, and a mishmash of small stands selling a little of everything. What makes Penedo special is that, on almost every corner, the city is surrounded by the Velho Chico (an endearing name Brazilians use when they talk about the São Francisco river).
For us Penedo was a transition point from the interior to the coast and the city’s geography helped. Not very far from there, in Piaçabuçu, is the mouth of the São Francisco river – the main reason for our visit.
The river if also known as the “river of national unity” because it allowed the first settlers, who had arrived in Brazil on the Northeast coast, to send supplies to the Southeast where precious stones and minerals had been discovered. In the Sertão, a semiarid and very poor region, the river is considered a gift from God to compensate for the suffering caused by the dry climate. In short, the Rio São Francisco is strongly present in the imaginary of most Brazilians, and I am no exception.
It was not the first time we visited the Velho Chico. About a year ago we got to know its spring in the Canastra ridge in Minas Gerais (this is where we took the photo you can see in the header of this blog). Getting to know the river mouth was a similarly special experience. The landscape is beautiful and the riparian vegetation is habitat to various animals that can easily be seen during a trip on the river to the mouth. We were lucky to share all this with two dear friends, Renata (or Rê), and Ana Paula. Rê, partner in many dreams, revolutions and discussions, was also with us in the Canastra ridge.
Two other things marked our stay: we ate Jacaré (alligator) and visited the remote village of Marituba do Peixe. Yes, right, alligator! In this region, people eat Jacaré like they eat fish, chicken or meat. It was not the most outstanding taste ever, it was something between chicken and fish. Marituba do Peixe was a nice surprise, a hidden flooded area blessed with a large diversity of fauna and a cinematographic sunset.
From here we had initially planned to follow the river to get to know Piranhas and Xingó, where Lampião (a revolutionary of the region) died and where the river passes through a famous canyon but after almost 3 weeks in the interior we felt it was now time to get to the beach.
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