Leaving
All the other cars just drive through without even
reducing their speed.
As I stop in front of a building that looks like it
could be the immigration, the only police man there waves me through.
That’s doesn’t go! Without a stamp in the passport I’m
illegal in the country and may not leave again.
I get off my
bike and enter the building. After a little conversation the policeman is
convinced that I’m a foreigner and they give me an entry stamp.
Upon insisting I also get my bike import papers and
may finally enter Brasil.
The country of Carneval, Samba and naturally the most
beautiful…. rain forests of the world!
Friday, 20 July 2007
Today I do some shopping in the town of
Saturday, 21 July 2007
The Brazilian highways surprise me with sunshine and
pleasant temperatures. Here, in the south it looks a bit like at home. The
landscape is slightly hilly and the air has got the smell of fresh grass and
flowers. The
As the sun goes down I look for accommodation and make
a funny experience. A sign at the
roadside says motel. As I swing in joyfully, I sort of recognize that the place
is a brothel and, such places are usually reffered to as motels allover Brasil!
Now I also understand
why these numerous places have such funny names as „university of the
night “or „house of recreation “.
As I decide to continue my journey and look for
another place for the night, the ladies seem to be quite disappointed!
Sunday, 22 July 2007
Today I ride northbound over the BR 163. This route
represents one of the country’s main truck routes and most of the time I spend
overhauling heavy traffic.
Monday, 23 July - Tuesday 24 July 2007
I spend a few days at the beautiful waterfalls of Rio
Verde.
In the morning I go for a run and in the afternoon I
take the bike to explore the surrounding country side.
By coincidence, I meet a german-speaking Brazilian
who’s grandfather immigrated from
Wednesday, 25 July 2007
After the relaxed days in Rio Verde I continue my
journey to Cuiba. The town of
650 different species of birds and 80 different kinds
of mammals live in that area. The most prominent inhabitant, the alligator,
population estimated to be around 25 million!
Thursday, 26 July 2007
Today I will try to explore the swamp with the bike.
The only road that goes into this swamp is the Transpantaneira and it leads
over more than 130 timber bridges with some of them in poor condition!
At this bridge I nearly make a deadly mistake. After I
checked the construction for its stability and put some boards from the sides
to the center I try to pass. Normally no problem, however as I drive over the
left side of the bridge one of the two parallely running boards starts to
wobble. As I put my foot down for more stability I step into one of the many
gaps! My center of gravity must still be in the middle so I manage to stay on
the boards and with opening the throttle, I make it safely to the other side.
That was tight. And going into the water is not
exactly what you want to do in the Pantanal.
The swamp is actually full of alligators and some of
them surely appear to be hungry!
Friday, 27 July 2007
Today I ride back to the main road and meet a baby
croc. As I stop in front of it to take a picture it looks at me and then backs
off into the water.
Later in the day, I meet a Brazilian cowboy who drives
his cattle over the road right in front of me.
In the evening I leave the lowlands of the Pantanal
behind me and the landscape becomes more tropical.
Saturday, 28 July 2007
In the morning it is pleasantly cool and I go for a
run along the highway. Local drivers stop and offer me something to drink.
Really, Brasil is full of friendly people and travelling here is great!
The evening I spend in the small town of
Now it is not far to
Monday, 29 July 2007
In
At the port I’m told that my ship already leaves
tomorrow and will take presumably three to four days for the sailing.
That sounds like an adventure!
Back in the days
Tuesday, 30 July 2007
In the morning I drive to the port to buy a ticket for
the cruise.
Everything goes smoothly and after half an hour my
bike is already loaded on to the ship.
During the next hours the vessel gets packed with
tomatoes and onions. The heavy bags are carried down steep stairs and placed in
the storeroom of the ship. In
Life on the ship is naturally a joint experience. Most
people hang up their hammocks wherever there is space and children run around
between huge piles of luggage.
I rent a small cabin for the trip. That way, I will
hopefully leave the boat with all my stuff and be able to catch a few moments
of silence.
Wednesday, 1 August 2007
It is a fascinating experience to travel over
Amazonian waterways.
Huge cargo vessels are heading up the stream so slowly
that you could walk besides them.
Thursday, 2 August 2007
Life on board finds its own rhythm soon. Lunch starts
at 11 o'clock and then is Siesta until three. The best thing to do is sit down
in the shade with a glass of Ice Tea and watch the rain forest on the river
banks. It in this enormous water world you never seem to be alone though.
Travelling house boats connect the river dwellers and often are the only way of
communication for them.
Unforgettable of course are the sunsets in Amazonia. A
fire-red ball descends into the rain forest and the long tropical night begins.
Friday, 3 August 2007
Wherever the river forms small islands, people build
their homes. When we pass the river banks close enough, children run out of the
houses and cheerfully celebrate our passage.
Away from the modern cities amazonian Brazil shows a
different face to the traveller. As soon as the sun goes down fishermen start
fires on the river banks and cook their meals.
Friday, 4 August 2007
In the morning we reach Manaus and I can unload my
motorcycle off the ship.
In the 19th century Manaus was a powerful
colonial city and was known as the Paris of the Tropics. Certainly, the
prosperity was based on the rubber trade and with the end of the rubber boom in
1914 things started to deteriorate.
Today, Manaus is a modern city with more than 2
million inhabitants and represents an international sea port of Brazil.
Enormous ocean vessels come 1500 kilometers up the Amazon to unload their cargo.
Sunday, 5 August 2007
By coincidence I meet two bikers from Canada. Chris
and Lori travel on their bikes all the way up to Canada. As we are on the same
way, we decide to ride together.
The main road leads from the Amazon up to the Venezuelan
border and we ride through beautiful tropical landscapes.
In the afternoon the temperature climbs up to 43
degrees and probably caused by the heat, Chris rear tire says good-bye with a
loud bang. As I see the enormous hole in the tube I am really glad that my BMW
has got tubeless rims.
In the evening we reach the reserve of the Waimiri
Indians. After 6 o'clock it is forbidden to ride through so we camp at an old
gas station.
Monday, 6 August 2007
Today we cross the Indian reserve. The ecological
system here still is unaffected and the construction of the road fortunately
did not bring the usual destruction of the rainforest. Originally the enormous
forests almost covered the entire land of Brazil, by the construction of the
road system and the following agricultural development vast forest areas were
turned into farm land and a majority of this irrepairable biosphere is already
gone.
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Today we pass by a strange looking road sign in the
middle of the Brazilian rain forest. I cross the Equator for the second time of
my journey and I’m back in the northern hemisphere.
In the evening we reach the small town of Boa Vista
and it starts to rain. For a funny ending of the day I manage to get stuck in
the mud rather impressively. Only the determined help of local forces gets me
going again and Chris takes this unforgettable picture of the round the world
bike beeing stuck at the parking lot.
Wednesday, 8 August 2007
Today we need to go to the consulate of Venezuela.
Venezuela is the only country in South
America that requires a so-called tourist card and this form must be obtained
before the border crossing.
As we arrive at the embassy all the doors are closed
and nobody seems to be there. Suddenly a little boy appears in the garden and
obviously takes over the diplomatic affairs. I find myself standing in front of
a closed gate negotiating my Venezuelan visa with a little boy. These things
make travelling the adventure it is!
In the end we get our visa only a few hours later and
are free to drive to the border.
As we arrive there in the late afternoon
the formalties are straight forward. Minutes later we find ourselves in
Venezuela and spend the night in the small but pleasant bordertown on Santa
Elena.
Me gusta Venezuela, and from here it stands only 900
kilometers to the Caribbean coast!