North of Natal

I drove out of Natal (again, stupidly at rush hour) and headed to the 'old bridge' at the top of the estuary not realising that there is a small car raft (balsa) which crosses the Rio Potengi for easy access from the city centre to the North coast. The raft goes backwards and forwards all day and can hold about ten vehicles plus foot passengers. Just downstream of the balsa a huge 'new bridge' is being constructed so that traffic can easily reach the North coast from the city centre. This bridge is not quite finished yet - there is still a gap in the middle where each side should meet! Locals and ex-pats that I spoke to agreed that once the bridge is completed it will really open up the Northern coast, although nobody was sure when it would be completed. The coastline North of Natal consists of wide sandy beaches backed by magnificent dunes dotted with small resorts. 'Se Vende' signs are everywhere along this strip of coast and it seems like every local either acts as an official or unofficial estate agent or knows someone with land or property for sale. The basic infrastructure along the coast is in place, although as mentioned before the roads range from newly laid roads (the BR101) to stony, sandy tracks. The resorts comprise mostly of small privately owned hotels and pousadas - I didn't spot any international chain hotels along this coast. Many of the pousadas and restaurants have no credit card facilities.