People who live along the coast of Alagoas say this over and over, proudly: “See that coral reef? That coral reef is the second largest one in the world. It’s second only to Australia’s.” According to an Alagoas-born fisherman, who supplements his income by working as a tourist guide during his free time, the reef extends from the State of Bahia to the State of Maranhão.
I’ve traveled the entire coast of Alagoas, but spent more time in the northern portion of the State. I took a route known as “Ecologic Route” where the beaches are not so exploited for tourism. There, the color of the sea varies: aqua, emerald-green, baby-blue and sky-blue. It’s like the Caribbean, a total knockout!
Along the entire coast we can see, from the beach, the waves breaking at the ocean’s horizon. That indicates the location of the coral reefs. (The two photos above are from the same beach; the one on the top was taken during low tide.) When the tide is low, you can walk over the rocks near the corals and free-dive with snorkels. The water is no more than two meters deep. The “coral” shade mixes with the sky-blue color of the ocean… it’s so beautiful that you could weep.
Some towns, like Japaratinga, have two coral reefs. One of them is near the beach so when the tide is low you can get there by foot—see the boats aground in the photo on the right. The other one is approximately two kilometers away. If you don’t feel like swimming, the fishermen can take you there during their free time. By the way, most of the boat cruises I took during my trip were fruit of this arrangement. The fishermen admit that they make more money with tourists than fishing.
I took this marvelous photo at Croa Island—a sandbank with rocks and corals—where we met an octopus fisherman. He was less than 18 years old and told us that a kilo of octopus was sold for R$12. He would swim to the Island, which is approximately two kilometers away from the beach, catch the octopuses and swim his way back. “There are no jobs in this region, we need to live of the sea,” he said.
In my opinion, two must-see places are: São Miguel dos Milagres and Japaratinga. Set aside three days for each one of these towns, it’s worth it.
The future of Coruripe
Coruripe is a modest little town located south of Maceio. Its inhabitants live of tourism, fishing and commerce. Besides its wonderful emerald-green sea, the coolest thing about the town is that Coruripe’s coral reef is very close to the beach. When the tide is low, the sea creates natural pools. You can see sea creatures without going deep into the water.
Recently, after returning from the trip, I read that a shipyard—which will manufacture ships and oil platforms—in being built in the town. See the article here. I don’t know the project details, so I can’t make any comments. I just think that, for the sake of our economic development, we need shipyards and industrial plants. But that area is so beautiful…
Experience is another thing: professional and amateur fishermen are an important piece in the saving or taking the life of a marine turtle. Last February, three businessmen saved a leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) from death in Florianopolis. They were fishing in a motorboat when they saw one of these animals dragging a bunch of tangled up nylon wires—probably from some fishing cable, which is one of the greatest threats to this species. The fishing wire could end up cutting off one of its fins.
Fishing with nets and longlines is extremely harmful to turtles because they capture these animals and may make them drown to death. According to TAMAR, a project created in 1980 to protect marine turtles, the solution to these problems lies exactly in the collaboration between fishermen and the Project to develop solutions that are not only viable but that also do not hinder the fishing industry. Using technology to develop less predatory fishing tools is one example of how this situation can be solved. In fact, it has already resulted in a new and less harmful type of fishing hook that rarely captures sea turtles (Tamar).
Take a look at this video about the Tamar project and see how they have been carrying out their work. Image: Tamar Newsletter
Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, is considered to be an example of bad environmental practices. According to researchers, in 300 years, the former inhabitants of the island destroyed six million trees. But… archeologist Chris Stevenson and his team changed the direction of the past. They believe that the local population took their last breath after the arrival of the Europeans, in 1800 AC.
The researcher believes that European diseases caused the death of the islanders. Until now, scientists have claimed that, as was the case with other ancient civilizations—like the Mayans—the Easter islanders died as a result of famine, wars, etc. A consequence of the destruction of the environment.
Stevenson says that, despite the deforestation, islanders had already found sustainable ways to keep living there: by using fertilizers to restore the health of the soil and gardens to protect plants, for instance. They learned that everybody should consume in the same way in order to be able to live in balance. It is possible that even their political relationships changed. After all, no one could afford otherwise.
I saw this news article on Science Daily’s fantastic website—click here to read it in English.
Note: I have ALWAYS wanted to visit Easter Island to see those moai statues with my own eyes—they can be up to ten meters high and weigh tons. To my surprise, I found myself face to face with the big guy in the photo while visiting the British Museum, in London. By the way, read about my encounter with the Rosetta Stone here. It’s better to laugh than to cry.
When the Arctic Sunrise ship became visible in the horizon, still far way, tiny, sailing on the ocean in front of the hotel where I’m staying, I must confess that it made me pretty excited. Between phone calls and e-mails, and while I worked organizing the media attendance to register the moment, I would take a quick pause to watch that little spot on the ocean, getting closer, closer… until suddenly, there it was! The entire crew was on the side of the ship holding a huge banner with the theme for the expedition that we’re using in Brazil and pictures of the huge wind turbines that have been installed near the port.
The gang spent three days at sea, and many of them got really seasick—the Arctic is an ice breaker vessel and draws very high, which makes it swing a lot so that even the most experienced sailors can feel seasick—but everybody was there, happy, smiling and ready to do whatever was necessary. It’s a pleasure to see the gang working hard to further the project. Mari tells us about the arrival, in the expedition’s blog, from the perspective of those on board. I was in one of the two trawlers we had arranged to take the press to sea, near the ship, to get some images. We handed out Dramamine to prevent any embarrassments, and followed the Arctic until it docked at the Mucuripe Port. Tomorrow we’ll have a seminar on renewable energy on board the ship, with the participation of local public authorities, experts in the area (Steve Sawyer, from the Global Wind Energy Council will be there), and people from Greenpeace to discuss the potential of Ceara’s wind—the greatest potential in the country. I’m a little under the weather with a cold (thanks to that awful air-conditioner and today’s strong winds), so I’m going to stop here. I’m going to rest, read a bit, and listen to some music in my hotel room. The gang is on the ship, celebrating its arrival. A toast to everybody from here, with some orange juice, some vitamin C tablets and some propolis spray for my throat. Cheers!
Read this post at the O Escriba blog: Good winds bring the Arctic Sunrise to Fortaleza
Have you ever thought about buying the Sao Francisco Basin or helping to curb global warming? Well, rest assured that these actions are now child’s play — at least in the ecologic versions of Monopoly and Risk.
Made with recycled materials, Sustainable Monopoly promotes issues such as environmental protection, selective collection, and social responsibility. Instead of money, each player uses their carbon credits to buy properties, such as the Zona da Mata Area, in the State of Alagoas, or a reforestation company.
WeAtheR, an internet game developed upon Greenpeace’s request, has a similar aim. Played by up to four internet users, the green version of the famous strategy game RISK stimulates participants to get together to solve climate crises. Activists have sixteen rounds to solve all of the environmental problems.
Taking care of nature is worth points!
Read this post at the Guindaste Blog: Throw the dice and win the Amazon
I had never been to Belem. Even though I have relatives living there, I only took a trip to the Brazilian mango capital because of Greenpeace—there, mango trees are everywhere, delighting the population and terrorizing drivers. I felt as if I were home, especially because the locals stress the ‘S’ and the ‘R’ just like people from Rio de Janeiro. I found out that I have cousins in town, Ivanir and Dolores, lovely people. It was great to spend an afternoon with them, feasting on açai and bacuri and drinking cupuaçu juice while we listened to thousands of parakeets (or maritacas, who knows) that had built their nests on top of a huge tree just across from the Nossa Senhora de Nazaré Church and my cousins’ apartment building. I had a great time in Belem enjoying the heat, the refreshing afternoon rain, the richness of the local cuisine, the kindness of their people, the proximity to the Amazon Rainforest, the music (the local reggae is brilliant!).
I hope to return one day, preferably with my children.
Letting so much time pass without updating the blog is not a good idea because, in the meantime, so many things happen that it is hard to put them all in a post without making it too long and tiresome to read. Anyway, I’m going to open the floodgates on my memory and just let things flow, especially because I’m already in Fortaleza and need to get up early tomorrow to set up some interviews for my friend Baitelo, the star of this leg of the Save the Planet expedition. It’s Now or Now.
As I was saying, I spent an afternoon with my cousins, the children of my grandfather’s brother. I don’t know this part of the family, I mean, I knew about them, but had never really met them, except for that one time we had dinner at a pizza place, a year ago, during a trip they took to Sao Paulo. When my father reminded me of them, I called them up and made plans to meet for lunch, breakfast, visit the ship and everything, but what really worked was the “play by it ear” thing (as always). I went with Mari on foot to try to catch up with the march that had already left Docas Station. Midway, I remembered that my cousins lived in that area so I called them and we ended up watching part of the Latin American leftist march from the seventh floor of a building located across the church square. When Greenpeace’s huge inflatable bull emerged at the corner, we ran downstairs to catch a ride.
One of the things that surprised me the most in Belem was the kindness with which the locals welcomed Greenpeace. Yes, there were some concerns about security, we were warned not to walk around the streets wearing our Greenpeace shirts, to ignore any provocations, etc.—after all, Para is among those states with the highest rates of deforestation where people who defend the forests are killed (even a missionary in her seventies like Dorothy Stang). But nothing happened, on the contrary. I saw people swearing their love to Greenpeace, begging for a shirt or at least a little ribbon, wanting to get on board regardless of the destination, demanding that we create a volunteer group in the city. We won them over—and they won us over.
I also fell in love with the local cuisine. I don’t care much for fish, but in Belem I practically ate only fish. Filhote ao tucupi, pirarucu with a bean salad, tambaqui and rice with jambu, and everything came with a generous side of manioc flour. By the way, the number of things we can do with manioc is impressive—flour, sauce, appetizers, dough, ice cream. It’s a gift. I also ate many times on the boat, great food, prepared by Iracema (from Manaus) and by a Filipino cook whose name I just can’t remember now (oops, my bad…) I really wanted to get on board and come to Fortaleza, but I was left out this time. Anyway, I had to arrive earlier to contact the media for all of the activities that we are conducting here in Ceara—in addition to the “open boats,” there is a seminar on wind energy and a meeting with Fortaleza’s restaurant and supermarket owners to show them the negative impacts of shrimp farming in the environment. Maybe next time, who knows?
It’s a shame that I was unable to see more of the World Social Forum. I’ve only been there twice, only attended talks by Greenpeace, and had little contact with the other organizations present there. But the atmosphere was cool and very diverse. Highlights included the indigenous tribes in attendance and the large shed built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution. I hope that WSF will soon return to the Amazon.
Still in Belem, I met people that I hadn’t seen for a long time, like Oona, João and Sérgio Amadeu, who helped me organize a good farewell party for Greenpeace in the city—a show by Fernando, from Teatro Mágico, in front of the ship. The artist went for it immediately and the show was very cool—approximately 300 people gathered in front of the Arctic Sunrise. The video of this improvised soirée is down below. We are already planning on a repeat, just wait!
There were so many good vibrations that soon after we had a party at the ship’s heliport and, from there, we went to a street carnival, at Praça do Carmo, and stayed there until four in the morning. Since the night was young, we still had time to catch a performance by Juca Culatra and Power Trio, at Açaí Biruta. Great music! And it got even better when Fernando, who had joined us, was recognized by the guitar player and called onto the stage. They played a song from Teatro (I really don’t know which one) and the crowd cheered, just as like when the group started playing Umbabarauma, by Jorge Ben, to wrap up the presentation. I recorded a little bit; it’s down below too.
The sun rose, our energies vanished and we returned to the hotel feeling as light as feathers. On the next day, the ship’s last in Belem, everybody was tired, but happy. At the end of the day, we disassembled everything and stored it on the ship which, at this exact moment, is sailing to Fortaleza—it should arrive here on the 6th.
Well, if my fading memory didn’t fail me, this is more or less what I saw and experienced in these last few days. Now it’s on to Fortaleza. Tomorrow I’m going to meet with my friend Sávio, who has left the good life in Sao Paulo to live an even greater life here, in the land of Sasha Grey. Right on!
I think this post is long enough to allow me to skip a few days without any postings, isn’t it? Anyway, let’s see what we can do. See ya!
(There was not enough time to upload the photos and videos of Juca Culatra. I’ll do it tomorrow.)
Teatro Mágico and Greenpeace together in Belém (January/2009)
Read this post at the O Escriba blog: Magic moments in Belem
Greenpeace is campaigning to alert the population and pressure governments to understand the seriousness of climate changes and the urgency of having a decent plan to replace the Kyoto Protocol at the upcoming UN meeting on the climate, scheduled for December of this year in Copenhagen.
The organization’s Save the Planet website is now up and running. It’s Now or Now. There, any citizen can send a message to the Brazilian delegates who will be attending the COP15. This is the full text of message:
In December of 2009, in Copenhagen, Denmark, representatives of over 200 countries will gather to reach an agreement about how to save the planet’s climate. Brazil has an important role in climate changes, since it is the fourth largest emissor of greenhouse gases; it is also one of the ten largest economies in the world and moreover has natural resources like the Amazon Rainforest. To do their share in fighting climate changes, the Brazilian government must commit to eliminating deforestation in the Amazon, increasing generation of renewable electric energy and creating a network of marine reserves to keep the oceans alive.
Send the message below to President Lula. Brazil can—and should—take the lead in building a new development model.
Dear Mr. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil
I hereby request that the Brazilian government take the lead in the negotiations at the 15th Conference of UN Members, to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark and to commit to:
- Eliminating deforestation in the Amazon by 2015 and supporting the establishment of an international fund to support this goal (Forests for Climate mechanism);
- Guaranteeing that at least 25% of the electricity is generated from renewable sources of energy such as wind, sun, biomass and small hydroelectric power plants by 2020, and supporting technology transfer among countries;
- Turning at least 30% of the Brazilian marine coast into protected areas by 2020;
Mister President, regardless of Brazil’s track record as an emissor of greenhouse gases, your country must take responsibility for itself. We can continue growing and generating jobs and income without contributing to global warming—humanity’s greatest challenge ever.
Save the Planet—It’s now or now.
To help in this campaign, the Arctic Sunrise is in Brazil. For the next three months, it will visit the entire Brazilian coast, from north to south. To embark on this adventure and find out when the ship will be open for public visitation (and where…) check back on the blog.
Read this post on the Ladybug Brasil Blog: Greenpeace in campaign: It’s Now or Now.
And, from Paris, Livia tells me that the former tennis player Yannick Noah is the hit of the moment around there with the song Aux Arbre Citoyens, from his new CD, Charango. “It plays in the taxi, in the supermarket, in our neighbors’ houses…” she says. It’s a committed music that talks about global warming, proliferation and nuclear garbage, deforestation of the Amazon. One of the characters is a Brazilian girl that lives in the forest. The sound, kinda like Manu Chao, is really cool, check it out:
I had the opportunity of meeting Noah in a tennis event, for veterans, in 1998, in the Club Med Itaparica. The tournament counted also with Luis Mattar, Cássio Motta and a whole legion of other names, less sought-after. It was a big party and so Noah got it as well. He had taken a few friends (I guess his band at the time, or part of it) and they played every night at the pool bar, until late hours – not rare, it only ended when the sun shone and all of us would go to the beach.
Guess who won the tournament?
Vacations are coming. This is a time where lots of families travel and to avoid the use of the car is not an option. What to do to decrease the harmful impact towards the environment? The ideal is that the car holds a technology that makes it less pollutant and the driver drives with more conscience. And, in case it or he isn’t, a good review must be done in order to avoid wastage and unnecessary expenses. It’s important to try to avoid rush hours to travel, leaving later or earlier. A good tip is to consult information on internet or media, about traffic situation. Using technology, one can reduce emission, travel time and possible stress.
One other very important thing is to avoid little travel shopping, taking in small reusable recipients, shampoo, soap and other needs. The use of plastic or paper to pack our buys, is a very good tip as well. Shopping bags are perfect to keep dirty and wet shoes, separated from other items in your luggage; and paper bags are excellent to pack sandwiches to take in the car.
The concern over the environment must walk with you, wherever you are, and, in vacation times, one must have enough conscience and respect towards nature, if you are a visitant. Mainly, if you are in a natural environment, feel responsible for preserving those places. And have a great vacation!
Image: from here
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