Saturday morning we noticed quite a few of the local boats, both traditional jagandas (basic sailboats) and large sleek powerboats, heading up and down the river. So we packed a lunch and took the dinghy out to explore. At the mouth of the river is the large city of Cabedelo and on the other side is Costinha Beach which was a whaling station until 1986 and is now a museum. In the middle of the channel is the large island of Restinga. There are the remains of an old resort, which apparently was closed when the island became a nature reserve some years ago. We were also told that the island is for sale - quite a prime piece of real estate, if not for the development embargo.

Heading up the river there were several fingers that led to small villages that draw a stark contrast to the modern cities just miles away. The houses are very basic huts, and wood boats and horses seem to be the main modes of transportation. There were also a few larger modern homes which we assumed are weekend homes of wealthy city dwellers.

We continued up the river to the large capital city of Joao Pessoa. The city was originally settled on the river and there are a few buildings remaining which are in remarkably good condition. There were lots of local kids swimming in the river and when we passed them on our way back down, they had covered themselves in mud and did a little show for us.

Up and down the river are local fishermen, mostly net fishing for small catch. There were also some leisure boats out, including a huge Cigarette boat showing off for the patrons of the restaurants in Jacare. By 4pm the restaurants were again all packed with young locals and live music.