In Search of Eco in Bahia, Brazil

Thursday, April 09, 2009
By Barbara Kensey

Green tourism, Sustainable travel. Nature tourism. What a conundrum this new genre of travel has created.  Eco-tourism, or some variation thereof, is what’s happening now.  At its purest, it’s a sincere effort to preserve the planet.  At its most crass, it’s a strategy to lure the conscious, the curious and that stretched tourist dollar.  Officially, The International Ecotourism Society defines it as “responsible travel to natural areas, which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of the local people.”    

On a recent trip to Bahia on the Northeast coast of Brazil, a state best known for its sanctified, African capital city of Salvador where spirituality and joi de virve are palpable, I ventured off my normal path to experience the other Bahia - the Bahia of mountains, valleys, peaks and caves - of stunning waterfalls and crystal clear streams in search of this thing called eco-tourism.

Starting out from Salvador, straight up the coast about forty miles north past some of the country’s most beautiful beaches is Prai do Forte.  A former fishing village, the tourist resort is headquarters for Project Tamar, a sanctuary for the protection and preservation of sea turtles whose reproductive cycle has been constantly interrupted by man. Sea turtles live an average of 400 years and have existed for over 150 million years so there is much to learn from them.  Visitors to Tamar learn about the sea turtle through multi-media presentations, demonstrations and by observing live turtles in tanks throughout the park.  This is also where the largest nesting population on the Brazilian mainland exists.  Eggs laid on beaches all along the coast are retrieved and brought to a specially designed den where they remain until the spawning season, between September and March.  I’m told a highlight of a trip to Tamar is witnessing the new-born turtles leave the den at dusk to follow the glow from the horizon to the sea, something I managed to miss. Because of Project Tamar, thousands of sea turtles have been released to the sea and economic alternatives for the local community have been created.


My next destination was Chapada Diamantina, a spectacular mountainous region 250 miles west of Prai do Fort at the heart of Bahia.  There used to be flights between Salvador and Chapada Diamantina, but not anymore.  Six hours by car along one of the most boring stretches of highway imaginable is the only way to get there now.  But the end is worth the journey.  Chapada Diamantina is a breathtaking display of nature at its grandest and most rugged - stunning peaks and valleys, plains, canyons, caves and table-top mountains turned crimson from the iron in the earth.  The area was once the center of diamond mining, thus the name which translates to Diamond Plateau. 

Visitors come to Chapada from all over the world to trek for miles on foot over the rough, difficult mountainous terrain. That along with hiking and observing nature are what attracts many people to the region.  The 1,500 square mile Chapada Diamantina National Park, established in 1985, is a natural paradise of birds, small mammals, waterfalls, cactus and other vegetation.
 
I stayed in the historical city of Lencois at the Canto das Aguas, a lovely property, but modest compared to the splendid, ornate 16th century Convento do Carmo Hotel I stayed at in Salvador.  At Canto das Aguas, they are serious about being green.  Bed linen is only changed every three days unless requested.  Waste and garbage are recycled and baskets are hung throughout the property for recycling used batteries. The hotel only uses biodegradable cleaning materials and they educate their staff on principles of environmental consciousness.  In addition, among the community projects they’re involved in is regularly cleaning the Lencois River. 

To conserve electricity, power goes out automatically when the door key is removed from a slot on the wall.  While it prevents you from leaving the lights or television on when you go out, it presented a challenge when I needed to charge my cell phone and camera batteries overnight.

Undaunted, I next spent three hours exploring Gruta da Torrinha – or Cave of the Small Tower -- one of the largest quartzite caves in the world.  Donning a hard hat to protect my head, our guide led us through narrow openings and over rocks and boulders, the only light coming from his kerosene lantern.  Like hiking, cave exploration is not to be treated lightly.  Best experienced in silence, visitors to the caves are asked to speak softly or not at all.  I was grateful for my years of yoga since navigation through the cave system - almost crawling sometimes - requires flexibility and a healthy respect for the environment. 

Being inside that underground world was awe-inspiring.  But after three hours it gave me a new appreciation for “the light at the end of the tunnel.”

So the question is, “Is this eco-tourism?”  Based on the Ecotourism Society definition, some of it is and some of it can be called by other names – like nature-based tourism which means I came, I saw, I experienced nature, but that’s it.  Other aspects, like turning the lights off and recycling, might be referred to as sustainable tourism.  Project Tamar probably qualifies because people learned new ways of doing things while preserving the old way.  One thing it is for sure is a healthy respect for people, the planet and its resources.  

Barbara Kensey is a writer and public relations consultant in Chicago.