Pirangi

Rhymes with bungee. This is about 15 km south of Ponta Negra in Natal and was originally a place I had intended to overnight in. I decided to make it a day trip from Natal. The reason I wanted to go there is that the largest caju (cashew) tree in the world lives there.

I made one abortive attempt to visit it on Friday. I learnt of the right bus service from the hostel warden and got onto it. But when the conductor came around and I said Pirangi, he rattled off something too quickly and indicated that I should get off and take the next bus. My guess is the bus was going only part of the way, to the depot or something like that, as it was full of people going home. Dispirited, I walked back and vowed to try again the next day.

This time I caught a local bus to downtown. At the terminus, the old rodoviaria, where the guidebook said the service started, the driver asked me what bus I wanted to transfer to. When I told him of the Pirangi service, he went into the office to consult with his colleagues and then told me to get on again, via the back door, to not have to pay another fee going through the turnstile. Then he took me to a stop about halfway between Ponta Negra and downtown where he said the service would pass. It turned out to be the same service as the day before, but starting from the new rodoviaria. I could have caught it from Ponta Negra and not have to go downtown. It seems things are in flux as services move to the new station. It was nice of him to take me back. So I got a tour of downtown for my bus ticket.

The caju tree is a freak. Planted in 1888, it had two mutations that caused it to grow so large. Firstly its branches spread out horizontally instead of mostly vertically. Secondly when the branches touched the ground they sprouted roots and became like trees in their own right. So the result is that one tree has turned into a veritable forest covering 8,500 square metres and still trying to grow outside the compound reserved for it. It got into the Guinness Book of Records and is a tourist attraction now. I paid R3 to visit it. The fee goes towards the maintenance of the compound and hiring people to look after the attraction. From above on a viewing platform all you see is a sea of green. From below you can wander underneath the canopy and spot the original trunk. It was in flower and not in fruit yet this time of year. It still produces some 80,000 caju fruit per year. Its fruits are given away as souvenirs to visitors.

I feel a certain respect towards this old survivor, this inhabitant of the planet who was already old when I was born and will probably outlive me.