I was literally floating, belly up, in a spring whose name I don’t even know, if it even exists, which leads to a lagoon I’d never heard of. And all I could think was: “How many places do I still have to discover in this Brazil?”.
I recently returned to Maceió, a place where not only am I welcome, but I also have many dear friends. From the arts, such as the inspiring Dalton and Maria Amélia, to cooking — let the great master Picuà say so.
And it was one of those friendships that brought me to this experience I told you at the beginning of the text. Nide Lins is a journalist who has just released the great “Guide to Popular Alagoas Gastronomy”. She invited me to write her book presentation. I came to the launch and ended up… floating.
It all has to do with a fish called Carapeba. He’s on the cover of Nide’s guide and not without reason. The first one is emotional: this was the fish that her father, always very angry, as she says, would bring to the table to make amends with his daughter after a disagreement.
Prepared simply, just grilled, Nide assured me it was a delicacy. I soon wanted to try.
We then went to a gem called Lagoa de Jequiá, just over an hour from the capital. There, Nide introduced me to Alyson Cardoso, the son of fishermen who decided to study biology and explore the place where he grew up in an interesting way.
His parents live in a simple house by the Jequiá Lagoon. And, it was this scenario that inspired Alyson to make a difference. With a deep respect for the environment around him, he started to organize the Eco Boat, a boat trip through the region, with a differential. In fact, two.
At one of the springs that flow into the lagoon, at a certain point he invites the tourist to fall into the water and be carried away by the current. Lifebuoys, everything we need to get on another plane with nature.
The second differential is the lunch prepared by Dona Ledinha, her mother, which includes a mush of the gods, accompanying the grilled carapeba. But I didn’t even dream of it as I glided through those icy waters…
With the body free, the mind loosened up even more. And, seeing the treetops above me, I just thought of how many places like this I’m still going to discover in Brazil.
I don’t say “thus” in the sense of places like this. The landscape there in Jequiá is what I would call unique and original. But I was thinking of destinations yet to be discovered, in this country that we never get tired of exploring.
From north to south, I’ve been enchanted by so many beauties in our country, that sometimes I think I’ve seen it all. From the Nazinha procession, in Belém, to the vineyards of Bento Gonçalves (RS); from lace in Vila de Ponta Negra (RN) to artisanal cheese factories in Serra da Canastra (MG); from the caves of Bonito (MS) to the kitchen of Preta on the island of Frades (BA).
And how much more there is to discover! And look, I’m not even talking about this big world, so as not to go crazy once and for all. If “only” here in Brazil are already so many possibilities, if you take the passport then…
It was a thought so vast it almost made me dizzy. Luckily, I had the waters of that spring to connect me again with possible things. But what a delight it was to imagine all these infinite possibilities of discovery. And feel worthy of each of them.
In less than an hour I would be at a simple table eating the best mush of my life. But there, lying in those crystal clear waters, I just wanted to focus on owning the world.
