The Abrolhos archipelago Park Ranger Joyce mentioned to us that Cumuruxatiba was a great place to stop. I’m glad we followed her advice because the place was really fantastic.
It’s just an overnight sail from Abrolhos. The entrance is tricky, because there is a narrow channel across a shallow coral reef. In these cases, local knowledge is better, so we asked a fisherman to guide us in.
The anchorage is right off a nice little town with a cobblestone main road and lots of restaurants and pousadas. Off the beaten path, this little village would be a perfect retreat. The beach is fantastic, and the pousadas and beach restaurant are very well manicured.
According to Joaquin, who is very well travelled, these pousadas are just as beautiful as those exclusive $1,000 a night retreat that you can find in exotic places like Malaysia, but they cost a fraction of it. And being “off-season” we were the only tourists in town.
We went on land on a Sunday, and all fishermen were relaxing playing cards and drinking beer in the main square of the town. All but one: This guy heard about two catamarans coming in, and went around town on his bicycle hoping to meet us and sell us some fish. When he saw us, he stopped us and started a conversation. At some point he asked if we wanted some lobsters.
Joaquin can’t never pass a good deal on lobsters, and negotiated 1kg for R$40 (USD10). When the deal was sanctioned with a hand shake, I’m not sure who had the biggest smile on their face, if Joaquin or the fisherman. For sure, the fisherman was very happy and thanked us many times.
The town of Cumuruxatiba is very nice: If you were running from the law, nobody would ever find you here, I think.
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We spent a couple of nights here, then we headed north towards the infamous Porto Seguro. Infamous because, despite the name, getting in the river and anchoring in front of the town is very tricky. The few cruising boats that venture to sail along the coast of Brazil, prefer to anchor further north in Santo Andrè and take a bus to Porto Seguro.
Well, this is so not us! We feel like the earlier explorers, and if it is true that Pedro Alvares Cabral landed in Porto Seguro with his caravelas, so will Oroboro and Plan B! You bet!
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