Since I’ve been a little girl I always loved riding a car and looking outside of the window, thinking about things, listening to the music… Here in Jeri I’ve got it the best way possible – off-road, lovely views, and never boring!
So, here I am singing a song about being a passenger in Jeri.
Anyone who has been to Jeri knows that in the National Park area there is no pavement on the roads and little roads as such in general. The last ~20 km go through the dunes, beach or bush. So, whenever we have to commute, normally we’ve got to take a 4x4 pick-up truck instead of a conventional bus or car.
People, who live in Jeri normally don’t bother having their own trucks, even most of the business owners don’t, because the trucks are overpriced, taxes are high, and one’s got to spend loads of money on maintenance. Even the 4x4’s break often because of our shaky “roads”, aggressive salty air and (I suspect, the last but not the least) the lack of quality workshops.
There are always a few 4x4 drivers who circulate around the Main Street. Gotta go to town today? Just come up to one of those trucks waiting for their passengers, pay R$7,00 (Euro 2,90; USD 4,00; NOK 22,37) and have some patience until the truck fills-in with passengers. It might take up to 40 min to get going. But then again, one who is not patient doesn’t live in Jeri!
You might go inside of the double-cabin, or sit on a wooden bench behind in the trunk and enjoy the wind as the truck shakes through the dunes, just make sure to sit tight and not to fall out. Fun, no? ;-)
Sometimes even the 4x4 vehicles get stuck on in the deep sand or at the beach. No big deal, there’s always someone to push (manpower) or pull (wenches). In isolated places like this, people are eager to help each other on the road.
In Jeri and around there is definitely “no issue with the safety issues”. Most of the trucks are old like hell, and nobody uses a safety belt neither on a front seat or behind in the trunk. Many guys carry on all the 20 km to the nearest town Jijoca just hanging on a step of the trunk behind. The speed will not be higher than 40 km/h anyway, in the dunes, you know…
On the way back the trunks get filled with supplies that people buy in Jijoca. So, you just sit there with your fellow passengers, your feet on somebody’s bag of sugar or a new piece of furniture. Passenger limit per truck is very relevant. The local driver need to feed his 5 kids… So, our local truck is like a mother’s heart – everybody fits in. And there you are with another hotel owner sitting next to you, coming back to Jeri from the bank and bringing some supplies for the next month to go.
Another option you have is to get a lift from one of your neighbors who owns a buggy or a motorbike. It’s even more fun and shaky on a buggy! The motorbike I haven’t done yet. It’s on my “to do” list. Sure, there’ll be no helmet, I just hope the driver will be skilled enough not to lose me in the middle of the way.
So, here I am, a happy passenger of the described exotic means of transport, going to Jijoca (or, Acarau, or Sobral, or...) on regular basis, looking outside of the window, listening to my mp3 player, enjoying the beautiful views and the smell of the cashew plantations.
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