Point of reference for those who visit the Lençóis Maranhenses, Barreirinhas is a municipality with 59,000 inhabitants, of which 19,000 live in the city, considered the gateway of Lençóis and the one that receives the largest number of tourists for the infrastructure it offers.
In Barreirinhas is where the inn is located and is also the starting point of Toyotas, Jeeps and other 4 × 4 vehicles that search the region through the restinga, crossing igarapés and innumerable towns on the way to the National Park and the lagoons Azul, Bonita, From Fish or Hope, Santo Amaro, etc. From there also depart boats to the mouth of the Preguiças River, where are located the villages of Atins, Caburé and Mandacaru passing through localities like Alazão, Espadarte, Vassouras and Morro Boi, region known with Barra of the Preguiças River, or simply Barra.
Stroll through the streets of Barreirinhas, walk through the center to the Workers’ Square, walk the quiet streets of the surroundings with its huge hoses, try a buriti mango, take a regional fruit juice, sit by the riverfront in the late afternoon and ask for a cold beer or a coconut water and forget about life watching the movement of the boats that arrive and depart are good options to get to know the city better.
The locals are simple and hospitable, love good conversation, and often have a good story to tell. They are always available to tourists. They make us feel very comfortable and happy to know that this is Brazil.
Most of the population lives on tourism, but also on fishing, small business, farming, brick making and the making of handicrafts in buriti straw. Incidentally, do not miss the work of the women who weave the buriti, you can do so by visiting the community of Marcellin, near Tapuio, or even some neighborhoods of Barreirinhas. Well, let’s not tell you everything, the rest you find out when you’re here.
