Paddling near Juazeiro, Bahia

Juazeiro sits on the banks of the Rio São Francisco in the sertão of Bahia, at one of the great river's most accessible stretches. The city faces Petrolina across the water, and the broad, slow-moving São Francisco is the defining paddling resource here. Upstream, the Represa de Sobradinho — one of the largest reservoirs in Brazil — extends across the interior, adding a vast expanse of flatwater to the region's paddling landscape.