Fortaleza, Jericoacoara, Natal and Pipa
A necklace somewhere in the sand streets of Jeri, after a night out
Jericoacoara has no public lighting at night, so the way you walked back to your room is the thing to write down.
A necklace that came off on a night out in Jericoacoara village can be looked for, because the walk from dinner to your bed follows a route you can trace street by street. What decides it is how closely you can retrace that walk, and whether the chain went in the village or earlier, on the sand or in the sea. The same holds for an evening on Avenida Baía dos Golfinhos in Pipa, along the Ponta Negra seafront in Natal, or at the bars of Praia de Iracema in Fortaleza.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in Fortaleza, Jericoacoara, Natal or Pipa with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the town or the beach, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
The morning after, walk it again in daylight
Turn out the room, the bag and last night's clothes first. Then go back to the table where you last felt the chain and walk home the way you came, slowly, dropping a pin at each stop: the restaurant, the square, a bar, the door of your pousada. Find the last photo from the evening that shows the necklace and note its time.
This page covers Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte. In Ceará it takes in the Fortaleza seafront, Cumbuco and Jericoacoara with its beaches and lagoon; in Rio Grande do Norte, the city beaches of Natal and the beaches at Pipa, south of Natal. Tell us the town first, then the street or the stretch of sand.
Places we cover in Fortaleza, Jericoacoara, Natal and Pipa
- Fortaleza
- Praia de Iracema
- The Beira Mar promenade
- Praia de Meireles
- Praia do Mucuripe
- Praia do Futuro
- Sabiaguaba and the mouth of the Rio Cocó
- Porto das Dunas, Aquiraz
- Icaraí, Caucaia
- Cumbuco
- Jericoacoara village
- Praça de Jeri
- Praia Principal and Praia da Malhada, Jeri
- Pedra Furada
- Duna do Pôr do Sol
- Lagoa do Paraíso
- Jijoca de Jericoacoara
- Natal
- Praia do Meio
- Praia dos Artistas
- Praia de Areia Preta
- Ponta Negra
- The beach below the Morro do Careca
- Pipa
- Tibau do Sul
- Praia do Centro, Pipa
- Avenida Baía dos Golfinhos
- Praia do Amor
- Chapadão
- Baía dos Golfinhos
- Praia do Madeiro
Where a loss happens on this coast, from the Fortaleza seafront to Pipa
The Ceará places come first, then Natal and Pipa in Rio Grande do Norte.
Praia de Iracema and the Beira Mar
Praia de Iracema has bars, music venues and fairs along its seafront, and the Aterro there holds the city's big shows, New Year's Eve among them. The Beira Mar promenade has the fish market at Mucuripe, a craft fair, fishing walkways and breakwaters with views along the shore. In a crowd, name the stage or stall you stood nearest.
Praia do Futuro
Praia do Futuro is one of the busiest beaches in Fortaleza, with soft sand, traditional beach huts and surf and kitesurf schools. It runs for about six kilometres, so the hut you spent the day at tells a detectorist where to start. Further south, at Sabiaguaba, kiosks sit on the banks of the Rio Cocó between the dunes and the sea.
Cumbuco
Cumbuco, in Caucaia, is a quiet village known for kitesurfing, surfing and buggy rides. If you were on a board, the place you launched and the place you came back in are the two pins we need.
Jericoacoara village
Vila de Jeri has sand for streets, and with no public lighting the lights are kept low after dark. After dinner the Main Street fills with bars and live music, and the Praça de Jeri, ringed by restaurants, is where people meet. For a loss in the village, the route you walked matters more than any one spot.
Jeri's beaches, the sunset dune and the Lagoa do Paraíso
The Praia Principal faces the village, and at low tide pools form in the rocks between it and Praia da Malhada, to the east, a beach for bathing and surfing. Past Malhada, the rocky shore leads to the Pedra Furada, a huge arch carved by the waves. Each evening people climb the Duna do Pôr do Sol for the sunset. Inland, at the Lagoa do Paraíso, hammocks hang in warm, clear fresh water.
Praia do Meio, Praia dos Artistas and Areia Preta
Praia do Meio and Praia dos Artistas are joined, and their natural pools suit anyone who wants calmer water. The craft centre faces the sea at Praia dos Artistas. Areia Preta is where people play beach tennis and volleyball on the sand.
Ponta Negra
At Ponta Negra there is stand-up paddle, surf lessons, kitesurf and windsurf. The Ponta Negra neighbourhood, one of the liveliest in Natal, has bars and restaurants along the waterfront. At its southern end the beach runs to the foot of the Morro do Careca, the dune that is the best-known sight in Natal.
Pipa and its beaches
Pipa, in Tibau do Sul, is a group of beaches rather than one. Praia do Centro has natural pools at low tide, and speedboat trips to Baía dos Golfinhos leave from it. Praia do Amor has the roughest sea, and the Chapadão lookout is there. Praia do Madeiro has cliffs covered in native forest and is used for stand-up paddle. From late afternoon, Avenida Baía dos Golfinhos is busy with bars, restaurants and shops.
Your side of it, and ours
One person hears the story
You tell the story of the night once, to us. We pass it on to the detectorist, and any question they have comes back to you in the same chat.
What the detectorist carries
The detectorist is given your map pins, the last photo that shows the piece, and a close picture of the clasp, pendant or setting.
If it went out on the water
A ring that slipped off on a kite off Cumbuco, or in the waves at Praia do Amor, may be a long shot, and you would hear that from us first.
Costs laid out beforehand
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and nothing moves until you tell us to go ahead.
What the tide and the wind change here
On some of these beaches the natural pools only appear when the tide is out.
Pools that only show at low tide
At Praia dos Artistas in Natal and Praia do Centro in Pipa, natural pools form when the tide is out. If something went while you were sitting in one, say which pool it was and roughly when you climbed in and out.
Two ways onto Praia do Amor
At high tide the way to Praia do Amor is the stairs carved into the cliff, and at low tide people walk round along the sand. Tell us which way you came and which way you left.
Kites and boards
Kitesurfing is what Cumbuco is known for, and Ponta Negra has kitesurf and windsurf as well. For anything lost on a board, give us the launch spot and roughly how long you were out.
Questions about Fortaleza, Jericoacoara, Natal and Pipa
My necklace came undone somewhere between the square in Jeri and our pousada, after dark.
The streets of Jericoacoara village are sand, with no public lighting at night, so walk the route again in daylight. Pin the restaurant, the square and your pousada door, and say which streets joined them. The benches in the Praça de Jeri are shaped like canoes, so a photo taken there is easy to place. Describe the chain, the clasp and any pendant.
Our house keys were in the beach bag at a hut on Praia do Futuro, and they never made it back to the hotel.
On Praia do Futuro, the hut you spent the day at matters more than anything else you can tell us. Pin it, and say whether the bag went down to the water with you. List every metal item on the key ring, including any fob.
A phone slipped out of my hand on one of the espigões along the Beira Mar while I was filming the sunset.
The espigões are the breakwaters along the Beira Mar, with views of the seafront and the sunset. Tell us which one by what stood nearest on the promenade, such as the craft fair or the fish market, and whether the phone fell among the rocks or into the water beyond them.
I paddled out at Cumbuco with my wedding band on and came in without it.
Cumbuco is known for surfing as well as kitesurfing. Mark where you went in and where you came out, and say roughly how deep the water was where you waited for waves. Tell us whether the band had felt loose, and whether a fall might have pulled it off.
A bracelet came off while we sat in one of the natural pools at Praia dos Artistas.
The natural pools at Praia dos Artistas form at low tide, and the beach joins Praia do Meio, so say which end you were at. The craft centre facing the sea is a good landmark to measure from. The pools are there only when the tide is out, so give us the time you got in and the time you got out.
Metal-framed sunglasses went into the sea during a stand-up paddle session at Ponta Negra.
Say where on the beach you set off, whether your feet still touched the bottom where they fell, and what you could see on the shore at that moment. A photo of the frames helps the detectorist know what shape to expect.
We walked to Praia do Amor along the sand at low tide and climbed the cliff stairs home, and the engagement ring was gone.
So you came and went by different ways. At low tide people reach Praia do Amor along the sand, and at high tide by the stairs carved into the cliff, so pin both the stretch you walked and the foot of the stairs. Tell us where you sat, whether you went into the sea, and when you last saw the ring.
The necklace was a gift and I never took a picture of it. What can I send instead?
Look for any photo of you wearing it, even in the background of someone else's picture. Failing that, the shop's page for the same piece, or a description of the chain, the clasp and the length. Say whether it was gold, silver or plated.
Fortaleza, Jericoacoara, Natal and Pipa
Which town, and which street or stretch of sand?
Night or day, the route you took is where we begin.
Write to us on WhatsApp: say which of the four places it was, what came off, and the last spot you are sure you still had it, as a pin. Photos of the piece can follow in the same chat.