The pools of Lençóis Maranhenses are clear and blue it covers an area of 600 square miles adjacent to the Atlantic coast just three degrees below the equator in the northeast of the country Exploring it is a near-hallucinatory experience each curving as voluptuously as a building by Oscar Niemeyer are so clear and blue that swimming in them feels "like swimming in the sky" And the park's surroundings are wild and lush making the journey along the coast to reach it slow and complicated Lençóis Maranhenses means "the bedsheets of Maranhão" I flew from São Paulo to Jericoacoara a beach resort about 160 miles east of the park then travelled with a guide by 4WD over several days eventually crossing the park to reach the fishing village of Santo Amaro Tourism is a fairly new business in this remote corner of Brazil but in recent years a few boutique hotels have opened Among the best are Baía das Caraúbas "a dreamy cluster of bungalows on a stretch of virgin beach" near Jericoacoara; La Ferme de Georges in the village of Atins (where my private verandah was "under a pergola of wild cashew trees"); and Oiá an art-filled hotel on the edge of Santo Amaro From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox We took a day to cross the "expansive" Parnaíba River delta navigating its labyrinthine channels and mangroves by boat and stopping to watch capuchin monkeys playing in the treetops And equally magical was a journey over the dunes to a beach that felt like "the edge of the Earth" – but beyond which lay a "modest" family restaurant where we feasted on a sublime sea bass and coconut stew Specialist tour operators include Dehouche, Journey Latin America and Plan South America A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com The Brazilian free flight federation CBVL is appealing to pilots to observe Notams in the north-east Sertão region ahead of a large military exercise in November They are reminding pilots of the need to put safety first and check the daily notices which will potentially affect flying from some of the popular tow-launching site October and November is peak season for long-distance XC flying in the northeast of Brazil Paraglider pilots flock there from around the world to fly hundreds of kilometres of XC often tow-launching early in the morning and staying in the air all day The longest flights stretch to more than 500km However, in a post on their website on 3 October, CBVL warned: “With the season booming in the Northeast one of the best places in the world for flights of great distances we have an important tip for free-flight pilots some military events will take place there so it is essential to keep an eye on the Notams to ensure the safety of flights.” The reason for the exclusion is the Cruzeiro do Sul Exercise (CRUZEX – Exercise Southern Cross) a multinational operational exercise organised by the Brazilian Air Force An international conflict training exercise it will involve 16 countries and will run from 3-15 November Exclusions have already been in place throughout October but despite the exclusion zone affecting popular launch sites many pilots have succeeded in making long flights One pilot who has been flying in the region this season said that the airspace issue had caused some confusion among pilots “I do know of some pilots who are ignoring the Notams,” the pilot said “I spoke to two pilots who said their GPS said they’re not in and they believe that instead of the official information.” In other cases winch operators have told their clients it was ok to fly. Serena Ronchi, who is claiming an FAI world record for distance using up to three turnpoints for a 434km flight on 13 October said her flight did not breach restrictions She explained by email: “Yes there is a Notam but we had the authorisation to fly from Assú The owner of the winch structures were in contact with the military captain from the beginning and they gave them the live tracking so they can see that we respect what they asked.” Serena’s flight and record claims are still undergoing official ratification by the FAI In an email sent to Cross Country on 31 October said: “Any and all unauthorised aircraft entering prohibited areas especially those reserved for military exercises the lives of military personnel involved in the operations and the lives of residents on the ground below them at risk.” He said that “verbal authorisations” have no legal basis and asked all pilots flying in the region to observe the law even if this means limiting their vacations losing the money invested or even failing to earn the money expected from providing services in these areas.” He added that CBVL has asked XContest to invalidate flights that breach the rules. “They responded that they will pay attention and will invalidate such flights.” The full statement from CBVL is here (pdf) The 2024 edition of CRUZEX is the largest multinational war training in Latin America with the participation of the Brazilian Army and Navy it will bring together more than 2,000 military personnel and around 100 Brazilian and international aircraft Already there has been one non-fatal accident, in which a pilot was forced to eject from a Northrop F-5 Tiger II fighter jet of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) on Tuesday 22 October near the city of Natal. Videos show the fighter jet flying at low altitude experiencing engine problems before the pilot ejected safely and the plane crashed into a huge fireball Keeping an eye on Notams is key to enjoying risk-free flights Let’s fly safely and responsibly.” The Brazilian Air Force has issued a specific Aeronautical Information Circular (AIC) for CRUZEX 2024. You can download the public document here Brazilian Notams are available from aisweb.decea.mil.br Jane Fernandes spends at least an hour and a half fetching water from a tank supplied by the Brazilian army María Dilvânia and seven other members of the Caraúbas women’s association in Rio Grande do Norte “We’ve substituted it with fruit pulp or milk,” she says the women make 25 different types of cakes it has become more difficult to maintain production levels this semi-arid rural settlement has been in a drought and there is not enough rain to fill household tanks there is no water source other than that the army delivers weekly which means that Caraúbas women are forced to make increasingly difficult decisions "Water is necessary for washing cups as well as for the work to enlarge our kitchen We are saving it so there will be enough for the house she leaves home early every day to fill up the 10 water cans given to each family the women cannot bake more cake and the women’s association cannot increase its earnings Families end up depending almost exclusively on the payment from the Bolsa Familia Program harvest insurance (which protects farmers against crop losses) and retirement funds three of the main social benefits provided by the Brazilian government The plight of the Caraúbas bakers is just one example of the challenges facing 36 million people in Latin America and another 748 million around the world people have to choose between cooking and washing dishes the lack of rain – and supply of water – tends to worsen in the driest areas of the globe “Northeast Brazil is particularly impacted by El Niño-related droughts; these may become more frequent in a 4°C world,” according to the World Bank report Turn Down the Heat any water supply project must ensure that people use the water network as efficiently as possible Maria Dilvânia has to use milk or fruit pulp to make cakes The good news for the bakers and other local women is that they will not have to wait for the rainy season to have access to water The town will finally have a regular water supply through a piped network to be implemented between September and December 2015 "Forty-three local families will have the possibility of running water which will enable them to plant home vegetable gardens and sell surplus produce in the market Women will be able to continue with their activities,” said Ana Guedes executive director of the Río Grande of the Sustainable North project a joint program of the Brazilian government and the World Bank families will learn to take advantage of shower or toilet water which specialists refer to as “grey water.” It is a lesson that the wealthiest regions of Brazil are learning from their own experience since drought and water shortages are not only a problem for northeastern Brazil gave 53,000 families access to potable water in several communities of Rio Grande do Norte The social impact was immediate and significant Women in those communities – who were previously responsible for fetching water in enormous cans – no longer have that burden; therefore they can now spend more time working or playing with their children A study in 20 communities found that household income increased by 30% as a result of the initiative many rural families still have a demand for water,” said Fátima Amazonas a rural development expert at the World Bank She added that the new project to bring water to Caraúbas will also help to recover the environment and provide training to farmers Jane spends at least an hour and a half fetching water from the tank supplied by the army “My dream is that the water will finally come and I can finish my studies to give my daughters a better life,” said Jane STAY CURRENT WITH OUR LATEST DATA & INSIGHTS You have clicked on a link to a page that is not part of the beta version of the new worldbank.org we’d love to get your feedback on your experience while you were here Will you take two minutes to complete a brief survey that will help us to improve our website Thank you for agreeing to provide feedback on the new version of worldbank.org; your response will help us to improve our website Thank you for participating in this survey Your feedback is very helpful to us as we work to improve the site functionality on worldbank.org