World Tour - Europe, Asia, North and South America - Entries for: Brazil
32° | sunny | km 821
Flying through the Rio Sucuri
on 2018-03-23 in Brazil
[Basti] Back by myself I went for the border to Brazil. This time the border guy made me understand that I should be able to talk Portuguese because I am in Brazil now. No English nor Spanish would work with him.
Wouldn't be a problem, but I still had the temporary import paper I couldn't get rid off at the last exit from Brazil. So I made the mistake to show him the paper... Too fast for me to intervene he stamped it out!
It took me a while to make him understand that I was entering again, not leaving and that I am not happy with the stamp on the paper. I was planning on flying out of Brazil and our experience so far was that the airports are always way more precise when it came to official paper work.
Well in the end he stamped it again stating that it would be valid till 13.06.2018 and I hoped that it would be alright :)
Thanks to a tip of my buddy Werner I was planning a big d-tour to Mato Grosso do Sul. My destination, the small touristy town of Bonito, was a staggering 750 km away!
Even with having lost some time at the border I still made it to Caarapo to a small hotel to stay my first night in Brazil. To be honest I got so many personal warnings to be careful in Brazil that I was a bit worried about my bikes safety during the night.
But lucky me, as soon as I checked in the friendly owner introduced me to his friend who was running a biker club just next door! He welcomed me super friendly and showed me around. And my bike would spend the night securely locked away. As always on this trip all worries have been for nothing!
Right on the opposite of the hotel I got delicious street food at the main square. Lots of people were around sitting outside enjoying the warm night. What a superb first night in Brazil!
On my way to Bonito I visited the Buraco das Araras the next day. It's supposedly South America's largest sinkhole and famous for it's macaw population. I took a nice tour around it, but saw only a couple of macaws flying by.
In Bonito the prices for a hotel were quite high, so I found a very remote campground a few km outside. I shared the whole campground with one family.
My goal in Bonito was to snorkel in the famous Sucuri river. All I had was the location on google maps. So I went the next morning to check it out, but all I found was a locked up and deserted tourist area. While I was checking my options a couple of happy parrots decided to check out the palm tree next to me. I was so happy to see them in the wild and got some nice photos!
My luck wasn't over with just that. On my way back to Bonito I noticed a sign stating "river snorkeling". And it turned out to be open! While the entrance lady tried to send me back to town to get a tour booked at one of the tourist agencies a friendly English speaking couple arrived and agreed to help. With Portuguese persuading it was suddenly possible for me to join a snorkeling tour!
And WOW, I have never seen a river that clear! We used a canoe to paddle upstream and it already felt like flying because you could see crystal clear to the ground. But then we jumped in the water to float back. Surrounded by colorful fish and green water plants I now truly flew through the river. A truly unique experience and the pictures don't do it justice at all.
Wouldn't be a problem, but I still had the temporary import paper I couldn't get rid off at the last exit from Brazil. So I made the mistake to show him the paper... Too fast for me to intervene he stamped it out!
It took me a while to make him understand that I was entering again, not leaving and that I am not happy with the stamp on the paper. I was planning on flying out of Brazil and our experience so far was that the airports are always way more precise when it came to official paper work.
Well in the end he stamped it again stating that it would be valid till 13.06.2018 and I hoped that it would be alright :)
Thanks to a tip of my buddy Werner I was planning a big d-tour to Mato Grosso do Sul. My destination, the small touristy town of Bonito, was a staggering 750 km away!
Even with having lost some time at the border I still made it to Caarapo to a small hotel to stay my first night in Brazil. To be honest I got so many personal warnings to be careful in Brazil that I was a bit worried about my bikes safety during the night.
But lucky me, as soon as I checked in the friendly owner introduced me to his friend who was running a biker club just next door! He welcomed me super friendly and showed me around. And my bike would spend the night securely locked away. As always on this trip all worries have been for nothing!
Right on the opposite of the hotel I got delicious street food at the main square. Lots of people were around sitting outside enjoying the warm night. What a superb first night in Brazil!
On my way to Bonito I visited the Buraco das Araras the next day. It's supposedly South America's largest sinkhole and famous for it's macaw population. I took a nice tour around it, but saw only a couple of macaws flying by.
In Bonito the prices for a hotel were quite high, so I found a very remote campground a few km outside. I shared the whole campground with one family.
My goal in Bonito was to snorkel in the famous Sucuri river. All I had was the location on google maps. So I went the next morning to check it out, but all I found was a locked up and deserted tourist area. While I was checking my options a couple of happy parrots decided to check out the palm tree next to me. I was so happy to see them in the wild and got some nice photos!
My luck wasn't over with just that. On my way back to Bonito I noticed a sign stating "river snorkeling". And it turned out to be open! While the entrance lady tried to send me back to town to get a tour booked at one of the tourist agencies a friendly English speaking couple arrived and agreed to help. With Portuguese persuading it was suddenly possible for me to join a snorkeling tour!
And WOW, I have never seen a river that clear! We used a canoe to paddle upstream and it already felt like flying because you could see crystal clear to the ground. But then we jumped in the water to float back. Surrounded by colorful fish and green water plants I now truly flew through the river. A truly unique experience and the pictures don't do it justice at all.
32° | sunny / rain at night | km 1989
Trapped in mud
on 2018-03-25 in Brazil
[Basti] The area around Bonito offers basically all kinds of tourist attractions owned and advertised by their private landlords. So it's hard to find out which ones are worth visiting, especially since everything is set up for Brazilian tourists.
And I didn't have too much time because I had plans to meet up with Werner in Rio. I chose to visit the Cave of San Miguel the next morning.
Again I had to go with a tour, but this time it was possible for me to join right away. On our way to the entrance of the cave little monkeys said hello by jumping over our heads. The cave itself was nice, but the real attraction are the macaws who come here in large numbers because the guides feed them. Really beautiful birds and seeing them flying in a large group really is impressive!
I left the cave around mid day and rode through some remarkabel landscapes all the way to Campo Grande. As I still found the prices of hotels quite high, I went thanks to iOverlander to a little hotel called Atlantic Hotel located in some strange looking neighborhood. Again I was mistaken by the looks and got a warm welcome. The hostel was quite full with local workers, but everybody was super nice and they even offered me a super cheap home cooked dinner. A good place for travelers!
The next night I decided to camp again and thought I had found a nice place inside a corn field. The sunset was stunning!
But it rained during the night and the next morning I found myself closed in by big mud puddles! It wasn't far to the road, but still I wished Fabi and Denis were there...
Because with all the slippery mud it was clear that I would never be able to pick my bike back up. So I tried to be as smart as possible and carried some luggage over the puddle. Very carefully and slowly I made my way through and truly surprisingly to me I made it!
Took me the whole morning though!
After that sweating experience I still rode a long way but decided to find a nicer hotel for the night. In the tiny town Patrocínio Paulista I found the Hotel Havai and enjoyed a much needed super clean room with private shower.
My riding days were long and I was eager to see something again. On google maps the lake of Rio Grande with some canyons and a waterfall looked promising. Of course it meant for another little d-tour.
First I thought of trying to find a boat tour, but because of limited time and money I decided that a stop at the Canyon de Furnas would be enough. It was hard to see the people swim in the blue water while I was sweating in my suit ;)
I had lunch with a great view followed by riding hard to make some mileage towards Rio. After a night in Três Corações I discovered some huge termite hills next to the road. I enjoyed the twisting ride on surprisingly good roads through hilly terrain.
And I didn't have too much time because I had plans to meet up with Werner in Rio. I chose to visit the Cave of San Miguel the next morning.
Again I had to go with a tour, but this time it was possible for me to join right away. On our way to the entrance of the cave little monkeys said hello by jumping over our heads. The cave itself was nice, but the real attraction are the macaws who come here in large numbers because the guides feed them. Really beautiful birds and seeing them flying in a large group really is impressive!
I left the cave around mid day and rode through some remarkabel landscapes all the way to Campo Grande. As I still found the prices of hotels quite high, I went thanks to iOverlander to a little hotel called Atlantic Hotel located in some strange looking neighborhood. Again I was mistaken by the looks and got a warm welcome. The hostel was quite full with local workers, but everybody was super nice and they even offered me a super cheap home cooked dinner. A good place for travelers!
The next night I decided to camp again and thought I had found a nice place inside a corn field. The sunset was stunning!
But it rained during the night and the next morning I found myself closed in by big mud puddles! It wasn't far to the road, but still I wished Fabi and Denis were there...
Because with all the slippery mud it was clear that I would never be able to pick my bike back up. So I tried to be as smart as possible and carried some luggage over the puddle. Very carefully and slowly I made my way through and truly surprisingly to me I made it!
Took me the whole morning though!
After that sweating experience I still rode a long way but decided to find a nicer hotel for the night. In the tiny town Patrocínio Paulista I found the Hotel Havai and enjoyed a much needed super clean room with private shower.
My riding days were long and I was eager to see something again. On google maps the lake of Rio Grande with some canyons and a waterfall looked promising. Of course it meant for another little d-tour.
First I thought of trying to find a boat tour, but because of limited time and money I decided that a stop at the Canyon de Furnas would be enough. It was hard to see the people swim in the blue water while I was sweating in my suit ;)
I had lunch with a great view followed by riding hard to make some mileage towards Rio. After a night in Três Corações I discovered some huge termite hills next to the road. I enjoyed the twisting ride on surprisingly good roads through hilly terrain.
35° | sunny | km 73
Rio!
on 2018-03-30 in Brazil
[Basti] I arrived at the area of Rio de Janeiro in the beginning of the afternoon, just in time for rush hour. While I was squeezing through traffic in a shabby suburb a bus driver noticed me, made space for me and cheerfully welcomed me to Rio. Again a very nice first impression!
Locals, tourists and other overlanders, all warned me insitently to be careful in Rio. But Fabi and Denis didn't have any bad experiences and as long as I find a secure parking spot for my bike I was sure I would be fine.
And the next nice experience was already waiting around the corner. Fabi and Denis left some repair tools for me at the BMW dealer Autokraft who helped them to organize a crate and prepare for their flight. As soon as I arrived on my Honda I was welcomed like I would be a long term highly valued BMW customer. Even though at first nobody new what I wanted, I got a nice Cappuccino while they looked for someone who could speak English. It took a bit until they found the guy who stored our tools. But they did and the super nice guy even invited me spontaneously for a ride on sunday!
Again an amazing service by BMW. Thank you guys! Because I had plans to meet up with my dear friend Werner and his girlfriend Ulli sadly I wasn't able to join their ride. And honestly I was way more interested in seeing Rio then doing an other ride through the highly populated area.
With the hotel Cruz de Ouro I found a cheap hotel with the perfect parking garage for my bike. As soon as I checked in I walked down to Werner's hotel. Werner and Ulli had also visited us in Thailand and it was great and weird at the same time to meet them again half around the globe. And I was still driving the same bike!
Werner speaks Portuguese and has been to Rio already several times, so he was the perfect guide for Ulli and me. Not having to plan everything on my own was a much appreciated change.
We took countless Ubers from one sightseeing spot to an other and saw all important sights in two days: the Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar), the Copacabana Beach (Praia de Copacabana) and the statue Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor). We did everything very relaxed with some cool beers here and there and still had enough time to also visit the Botanical Garden (Jardim Botânico). It really is special how this city lies in between those iconic green hills and the blue ocean. The streets are always full of life, people are happy and always super friendly. And never once did I feel unsafe!
Right in front of my hotel room was a guy fixing cars in the middle of the intersection. How nice that something like this is possible here. Even the police let the guy change their tires!
After only three nights I had to get going, because I wanted to meet up with Werner, Ulli and my Olga in his vacation home in Natal more than 2500 km up North...
Locals, tourists and other overlanders, all warned me insitently to be careful in Rio. But Fabi and Denis didn't have any bad experiences and as long as I find a secure parking spot for my bike I was sure I would be fine.
And the next nice experience was already waiting around the corner. Fabi and Denis left some repair tools for me at the BMW dealer Autokraft who helped them to organize a crate and prepare for their flight. As soon as I arrived on my Honda I was welcomed like I would be a long term highly valued BMW customer. Even though at first nobody new what I wanted, I got a nice Cappuccino while they looked for someone who could speak English. It took a bit until they found the guy who stored our tools. But they did and the super nice guy even invited me spontaneously for a ride on sunday!
Again an amazing service by BMW. Thank you guys! Because I had plans to meet up with my dear friend Werner and his girlfriend Ulli sadly I wasn't able to join their ride. And honestly I was way more interested in seeing Rio then doing an other ride through the highly populated area.
With the hotel Cruz de Ouro I found a cheap hotel with the perfect parking garage for my bike. As soon as I checked in I walked down to Werner's hotel. Werner and Ulli had also visited us in Thailand and it was great and weird at the same time to meet them again half around the globe. And I was still driving the same bike!
Werner speaks Portuguese and has been to Rio already several times, so he was the perfect guide for Ulli and me. Not having to plan everything on my own was a much appreciated change.
We took countless Ubers from one sightseeing spot to an other and saw all important sights in two days: the Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar), the Copacabana Beach (Praia de Copacabana) and the statue Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor). We did everything very relaxed with some cool beers here and there and still had enough time to also visit the Botanical Garden (Jardim Botânico). It really is special how this city lies in between those iconic green hills and the blue ocean. The streets are always full of life, people are happy and always super friendly. And never once did I feel unsafe!
Right in front of my hotel room was a guy fixing cars in the middle of the intersection. How nice that something like this is possible here. Even the police let the guy change their tires!
After only three nights I had to get going, because I wanted to meet up with Werner, Ulli and my Olga in his vacation home in Natal more than 2500 km up North...
30° | sunny | km 935
From the alps into the jungle
on 2018-04-01 in Brazil
[Basti] My plan while riding north was to find at least one spot worth visiting per day. So my first idea was a Swiss museum not far from Rio. What I didn't know was that I would be driving through an area with lots of immigrants from central Europe. The biggest town I drove through was called Nova Friburgo and I had many funny sights next to the road like the estacionamento "Weg Bier". It's German and translates roughly to "beer to go". Sadly or luckily they had closed because this would have been enough reason to break the don't drink and drive rule ;)
The Casa Suíça displayed a few traditional Swiss items, sadly everything was only explained in Portuguese. But the real attraction was their food store and the restaurant. It's also a Swiss cheese dairy and butchery! Of course I couldn't resist. I ordered a cheese soup, a chocolate mousse and a hot chocolate. It was mind blowing! I also tasted some cheese and bought some gammon. This combined with the hilly and green terrain around it made me feel a bit like being in the Alps.
That's why I decided to find a place for the night. Again I couldn't resist and stopped at the Hotel Baviera. I had to wait a bit, because no one was there. When the elderly couple arrived I was greeted extraordinary friendly and they got me a huge private room with 5 (!) beds and a bath. Despite being the only guest they even made me hot coffee in the morning. A great little place!
The next day I enjoyed some small back country dirt roads but I soon realized that I wouldn't be able to make miles that way. Anyway in order to visit my next spot I had to do quite a d-tour. I tried riding as long as possible until the sun was down. I tried the gas station hotel just outside Mutum and was very pleasantly surprised. It was modern, super clean and at a reasonable price. On the downside I had to park my bike outside in front of the gas station. Well at that point I felt safe enough to give it a try and of course I was reassured one more time.
In the morning I headed to the Muriqui preserve. The turnoff was hard to see and almost overgrown. After riding in for a couple of hundred meters I reached a deserted visitor center. The only info I found was a sign with a very basic map.
I knew that the Muriquis (aka woolly spider monkeys) are really rare by now and this preserve is probably the best chance to see some in the wild. I left my bike and carried on by foot. Not really knowing what I should do or where I should go I just followed the track. I was in the middle of a dense rain forest with huge trees, big spiders and nice butterflies. Luckily a young student came by as he was observing the Muriquis. He spoke English and told me a bit about the apes.
Suddenly we heard some trees rustle and we could see one Muriqui pretty high up in the tree. He was moving slowly from tree to tree. We followed him and eventually more and more Muriquis jumped over our heads through the trees. It was a whole family! The student even recognized them by name! It was insanely fascinating to see how these big apes moved through the trees with such ease and calm. We didn't seem to bother them at all. It looked like the first Muriqui checked the path and the others followed him by taking the same branches. I even noticed a mother with her child. What an experience! So different and so much better than observing apes in captivity.
I felt incredible lucky and rode back to the main road to make some mileage. I drove again till nightfall and took the first hotel I found in Teófilo Otoni. The guy was friendly and his wife cooked next door in a small restaurant. But the room was super hot and pretty dirty so I slept bad. I obviously had already used up all my luck for today ;)
The Casa Suíça displayed a few traditional Swiss items, sadly everything was only explained in Portuguese. But the real attraction was their food store and the restaurant. It's also a Swiss cheese dairy and butchery! Of course I couldn't resist. I ordered a cheese soup, a chocolate mousse and a hot chocolate. It was mind blowing! I also tasted some cheese and bought some gammon. This combined with the hilly and green terrain around it made me feel a bit like being in the Alps.
That's why I decided to find a place for the night. Again I couldn't resist and stopped at the Hotel Baviera. I had to wait a bit, because no one was there. When the elderly couple arrived I was greeted extraordinary friendly and they got me a huge private room with 5 (!) beds and a bath. Despite being the only guest they even made me hot coffee in the morning. A great little place!
The next day I enjoyed some small back country dirt roads but I soon realized that I wouldn't be able to make miles that way. Anyway in order to visit my next spot I had to do quite a d-tour. I tried riding as long as possible until the sun was down. I tried the gas station hotel just outside Mutum and was very pleasantly surprised. It was modern, super clean and at a reasonable price. On the downside I had to park my bike outside in front of the gas station. Well at that point I felt safe enough to give it a try and of course I was reassured one more time.
In the morning I headed to the Muriqui preserve. The turnoff was hard to see and almost overgrown. After riding in for a couple of hundred meters I reached a deserted visitor center. The only info I found was a sign with a very basic map.
I knew that the Muriquis (aka woolly spider monkeys) are really rare by now and this preserve is probably the best chance to see some in the wild. I left my bike and carried on by foot. Not really knowing what I should do or where I should go I just followed the track. I was in the middle of a dense rain forest with huge trees, big spiders and nice butterflies. Luckily a young student came by as he was observing the Muriquis. He spoke English and told me a bit about the apes.
Suddenly we heard some trees rustle and we could see one Muriqui pretty high up in the tree. He was moving slowly from tree to tree. We followed him and eventually more and more Muriquis jumped over our heads through the trees. It was a whole family! The student even recognized them by name! It was insanely fascinating to see how these big apes moved through the trees with such ease and calm. We didn't seem to bother them at all. It looked like the first Muriqui checked the path and the others followed him by taking the same branches. I even noticed a mother with her child. What an experience! So different and so much better than observing apes in captivity.
I felt incredible lucky and rode back to the main road to make some mileage. I drove again till nightfall and took the first hotel I found in Teófilo Otoni. The guy was friendly and his wife cooked next door in a small restaurant. But the room was super hot and pretty dirty so I slept bad. I obviously had already used up all my luck for today ;)
33° | sunny | km 2039
Friends by surprise
on 2018-04-05 in Brazil
[Basti] I spent the whole next day riding on the main road to make up for lost time. Fairly close to my next sightseeing spot I found the super clean Pousada Patioba in Ibicaraí. The owner told me something about a German friend. But I didn't really understand him and honestly I was looking foreward to a good night sleep.
But just after I had showered the German friend was waiting for me in the lobby. So I met Bernd and he was happy to invite me for a beer in town. He showed me his incredible house and introduced me to his wife. He was a skilled welder back in Germany and moved to this small town in Brazil more or less by accident and enjoys it tremendously. The house was a perfect example how houses are in Brazil. From the outside it looked more like a industrial garage. But the inside was extraordinary. He was proud to show me around. Even more interesting was to see him interact with all the locals in his favorite pub. He was very popular and greeted everybody. I didn't really understand what his job was, but he was well respected for his German way of doing things and he seemed to help everybody when he could.
Thank you Bernd for a special evening in your town Ibicaraí!
After a good night of sleep I rode to CEPLAC (Comissão Executiva do Plano da Lavoura Cacaueira). I read about it in iOverlander and hoped to catch a tour. At first I had trouble to explain my request at the gate. But the gatekeeper was super friendly and patient to explain in a way that I would understand: I would have to wait for about two hours and in the mean time I would be welcome to use the canteen.
I used the time to write a bit on the blog and enjoyed a super cheap lunch. Then I went over to the Cacao Museum across the street. I was still the only one around and when I stepped in two men welcomed me but didn't quite know what I was doing there. Erivaldo luckily spoke English and agreed to give me a tour. Before we started we took a picture with my bike together with the super excited gatekeeper.
Then we got into his car to drive to the plantation and he explained absolutely everything to me! CEPLAC is a government research facility with the goal to find the best agricultural growing methods for various plants in Brazil. One of the most important product especially in the region of Bahia is cocoa. They study for example which plants grow good together with cocoa trees while spending important shade. It was the first time for me to see cocoa trees and the cocoa fruits. I even got to see the different stages of chocolate making. Even though Brazil is a big producer of cocoa, they don't really produce chocolate. They export it all. So CEPLAC is also doing research on producing chocolate in order to help local businesses to adapt this process and gain a higher added value.
A woman was the head of research for the best chocolate and she was very interested in my opinion as an experienced chocolate eater from Europe :)
So we tried different types of chocolates, which means the percentage of Cocoa was different. We agreed that the best one had 65% Cocoa.
It was super interesting. In this region you can even drink a cocoa fruit juice. Super delicious!
I had also read about a sloth sanctuary inside CEPLAC and asked Erivaldo about it. He confirmed that they had it, but sadly the government shut it down a few years ago. But he knew the lady who ran the sanctuary and she takes care for some handicaped sloths at her home. He called her if we could stop by for a visit!
And again lucky me, we got invited. We drove there in the evening and I met Vera Lucia de Oliveira or the sloth lady as various German newspapers named her. She had three sloths in a room fitted with ropes, bars and a ladder. She took one blind sloth on her shoulder and I could pet it a bit. The sloth hugged her almost like a human baby. So cute!
I was so happy. Vera spends all her time loving those unique animals. It's very sad that the government stopped funding her. She didn't even ask for anything, but of course it was my pleasure to donate something to support her. Please do the same if you like to visit her.
Erivaldo was so kind to offer me a bed for the night and I happily agreed. We did a small tour through Ilhéus and he let me try some local specialties. What a day full of kind people and extraordinary experiences!
After that I really had to get going to Natal! I rode around Salvador, stayed one night in Cristinapolis to reach the beach near Coruripe. Entirely off season I basically had the perfect sandy beach for myself. Only one day later I finally reached Pirangi do Sul where Werner and Ulli were already waiting for me.
But just after I had showered the German friend was waiting for me in the lobby. So I met Bernd and he was happy to invite me for a beer in town. He showed me his incredible house and introduced me to his wife. He was a skilled welder back in Germany and moved to this small town in Brazil more or less by accident and enjoys it tremendously. The house was a perfect example how houses are in Brazil. From the outside it looked more like a industrial garage. But the inside was extraordinary. He was proud to show me around. Even more interesting was to see him interact with all the locals in his favorite pub. He was very popular and greeted everybody. I didn't really understand what his job was, but he was well respected for his German way of doing things and he seemed to help everybody when he could.
Thank you Bernd for a special evening in your town Ibicaraí!
After a good night of sleep I rode to CEPLAC (Comissão Executiva do Plano da Lavoura Cacaueira). I read about it in iOverlander and hoped to catch a tour. At first I had trouble to explain my request at the gate. But the gatekeeper was super friendly and patient to explain in a way that I would understand: I would have to wait for about two hours and in the mean time I would be welcome to use the canteen.
I used the time to write a bit on the blog and enjoyed a super cheap lunch. Then I went over to the Cacao Museum across the street. I was still the only one around and when I stepped in two men welcomed me but didn't quite know what I was doing there. Erivaldo luckily spoke English and agreed to give me a tour. Before we started we took a picture with my bike together with the super excited gatekeeper.
Then we got into his car to drive to the plantation and he explained absolutely everything to me! CEPLAC is a government research facility with the goal to find the best agricultural growing methods for various plants in Brazil. One of the most important product especially in the region of Bahia is cocoa. They study for example which plants grow good together with cocoa trees while spending important shade. It was the first time for me to see cocoa trees and the cocoa fruits. I even got to see the different stages of chocolate making. Even though Brazil is a big producer of cocoa, they don't really produce chocolate. They export it all. So CEPLAC is also doing research on producing chocolate in order to help local businesses to adapt this process and gain a higher added value.
A woman was the head of research for the best chocolate and she was very interested in my opinion as an experienced chocolate eater from Europe :)
So we tried different types of chocolates, which means the percentage of Cocoa was different. We agreed that the best one had 65% Cocoa.
It was super interesting. In this region you can even drink a cocoa fruit juice. Super delicious!
I had also read about a sloth sanctuary inside CEPLAC and asked Erivaldo about it. He confirmed that they had it, but sadly the government shut it down a few years ago. But he knew the lady who ran the sanctuary and she takes care for some handicaped sloths at her home. He called her if we could stop by for a visit!
And again lucky me, we got invited. We drove there in the evening and I met Vera Lucia de Oliveira or the sloth lady as various German newspapers named her. She had three sloths in a room fitted with ropes, bars and a ladder. She took one blind sloth on her shoulder and I could pet it a bit. The sloth hugged her almost like a human baby. So cute!
I was so happy. Vera spends all her time loving those unique animals. It's very sad that the government stopped funding her. She didn't even ask for anything, but of course it was my pleasure to donate something to support her. Please do the same if you like to visit her.
Erivaldo was so kind to offer me a bed for the night and I happily agreed. We did a small tour through Ilhéus and he let me try some local specialties. What a day full of kind people and extraordinary experiences!
After that I really had to get going to Natal! I rode around Salvador, stayed one night in Cristinapolis to reach the beach near Coruripe. Entirely off season I basically had the perfect sandy beach for myself. Only one day later I finally reached Pirangi do Sul where Werner and Ulli were already waiting for me.
28° | sunny / rainy | km 350
Vacation time
on 2018-04-09 in Brazil
[Basti] I have been to Werners beautiful beach side flat in Pirangi do Sul already and I was looking forward to spend some days off my bike, just chilling and relaxing. And I wanted to organize my flight to Lisbon in the meantime.
A few days after my arrival we picked up my Olga from the airport and celebrated my birthday together the next day. The weather was surprisingly rainy in the first days, so we only visited the world's largest cashew tree (O Maior Cajueiro do Mundo) which was right next to our flat. We then went to Natal's Ponta Negra for a day of surfing and in the evenings we enjoyed several times Brazil's most famous Rodizio. Definitely a must do! We also got invited by Werners local friend Simone for a delicious dinner and home made cocktails.
During our stay Werner tried to get a handyman to repair some things in his flat. It took three days until he finally showed up, but then he didn't even bring tools with him... Werner wasn't surprised as this was the usual way it goes here. And this guy was known to be be one of the more reliable ones!
Well the work he was doing (some new silicone sealings) was so bad, that we decided to do it ourselves instead... During our stay we fixed not only the sealings in the bathrooms and the kitchen, we also exchanged light bulbs, both water faucets, one shower with heater and one air conditioner.
A must in Natal is a buggy tour through the sandy hills and along the endless beaches. It's a day of thrilling fun! On short breaks you can slide down zip lines and water slides or have a cocktail while sitting in a cool lake.
A ride to Pipa was also on our must-do list. Olga and I took the direct way on the beach with my AT! This meant driving on the beach for several km directly next to the ocean until we reached a ferry that brought us over a river to the next small town. It's always special to me to ride on a beach.
Pipa is a small touristy town full of creative art, easy living lifestyle and definitely worth a visit. Olga and I rented a small house a bit outside. During our stay we met up with Werner and Ulli on a secret dream beach and enjoyed cocktails and beers. Life is good :)
Btw. our favorite beer was called Eisenbahn! German for train. And it is as good as a German beer ;)
Sadly after not even two weeks Olga had to fly back. Thank you darling, it was wonderful!
And now it was about time to get my flight sorted, too! So far the rare responses I got were listing crazy prizes.
In order to find a crate for my bike Werner and I went to the next Honda motorcycle dealer. They welcomed us very friendly, but they couldn't help because they get the bikes delivered without crates.
But he knew a guy who also owns a new Africa Twin and he might be able to help. This way we went to the motorcycle club motoclube B-17 and met their president Márcio Antunes. He was extraordinary friendly and welcoming. He was not only fascinated by my trip but of course also very interested in my experiences with his beloved new Africa Twin. He called someone and promised he would have a crate tomorrow.
Knowing how Brazil normally works Werner didn't believe it one bit and after our experience with the handyman I tended to agree with him.
But at that time we didn't really know Márcio yet! The next day he texted me a picture of the crate at his club. Again a BMW 1200 GS crate. Perfect!
On Saturday he invited us for BBQ at the club and we met a bunch of members. They had a big workshop, a wash area where you could get your bike washed by two girls and a air conditioned bar with barber shop! Werner improved his Portuguese and I found Carlos, also an Africa Twin rider but able to speak English.
Everybody was very welcoming and wanted to help me in every way. They reached out to friends to see if they could also help me with my flight. Because so far I only had offers above 3000 USD to fly the bike to Lisbon. In the next days I went to the club several times to get something fixed, to clean it or just again to have some BBQ. In the mean time Werner and Ulli also had to fly back home but I was welcome to stay at his flat as long as I needed. Thank you so much Werner, it was so much fun and you helped me a lot! I also couldn't think of a better place to spend my last days on the American continent.
Carlos is originally from Recife and he came up with a friend who was able to offer me a much better price for the flight. But I would have to drive to Recife and get a new crate there. Still it looked like the best solution at the time and in order to still get a reasonable price I booked a flight for myself from Recife to Lisbon for Tuesday evening, May 8th.
Just the next day I finally got an offer from B&M Log to fly my bike from Natal for 2380 USD. That was cheaper than Recife and I had the crate and the support from Márcio. So I quickly decided otherwise and hopped that Danielle from B&M Log would be super fast! I myself would then take the bus to Recife to fly from there...
Well thank god Danielle was super fast and I could deliver my bike to the airport on Monday. That way I could strap everything into the crate at the club. Márcio helped me tremendously and his brother drove me and the bike to the airport. Yuri from B&M Log was already waiting with all the proper documents. Everything went smoothly even with my strange temporary import paper.
Back at the club Márcio even lend me his bike for the night! We then met up later for dinner at the Pizzeria Bari Palesi in Natal. We had a delicious and entertaining dinner together with his wife and his son. And boy his Africa Twin felt different than mine ;)
The next morning I drove to the club to bring Márcio his AT back and he drove me to the bus station where Carlos came by as well! I cannot thank you guys enough, it was an unforgettable pleasure to meet you!
The bus drive to Recife went as planned and I catched my flight to Europe.
On August 4th 2018, only a little more than a month after my arrival at home I got the infinitely sad message from Carlos that Márcio had passed away in a motorcycle accident. I am still heart broken and I will always remember him as the always happy and incredible helpful friend he was. There is a great homage on Youtube about him including a picture with me. I really regret that for whatever reason we never made it to go for a ride together.
A few days after my arrival we picked up my Olga from the airport and celebrated my birthday together the next day. The weather was surprisingly rainy in the first days, so we only visited the world's largest cashew tree (O Maior Cajueiro do Mundo) which was right next to our flat. We then went to Natal's Ponta Negra for a day of surfing and in the evenings we enjoyed several times Brazil's most famous Rodizio. Definitely a must do! We also got invited by Werners local friend Simone for a delicious dinner and home made cocktails.
During our stay Werner tried to get a handyman to repair some things in his flat. It took three days until he finally showed up, but then he didn't even bring tools with him... Werner wasn't surprised as this was the usual way it goes here. And this guy was known to be be one of the more reliable ones!
Well the work he was doing (some new silicone sealings) was so bad, that we decided to do it ourselves instead... During our stay we fixed not only the sealings in the bathrooms and the kitchen, we also exchanged light bulbs, both water faucets, one shower with heater and one air conditioner.
A must in Natal is a buggy tour through the sandy hills and along the endless beaches. It's a day of thrilling fun! On short breaks you can slide down zip lines and water slides or have a cocktail while sitting in a cool lake.
A ride to Pipa was also on our must-do list. Olga and I took the direct way on the beach with my AT! This meant driving on the beach for several km directly next to the ocean until we reached a ferry that brought us over a river to the next small town. It's always special to me to ride on a beach.
Pipa is a small touristy town full of creative art, easy living lifestyle and definitely worth a visit. Olga and I rented a small house a bit outside. During our stay we met up with Werner and Ulli on a secret dream beach and enjoyed cocktails and beers. Life is good :)
Btw. our favorite beer was called Eisenbahn! German for train. And it is as good as a German beer ;)
Sadly after not even two weeks Olga had to fly back. Thank you darling, it was wonderful!
And now it was about time to get my flight sorted, too! So far the rare responses I got were listing crazy prizes.
In order to find a crate for my bike Werner and I went to the next Honda motorcycle dealer. They welcomed us very friendly, but they couldn't help because they get the bikes delivered without crates.
But he knew a guy who also owns a new Africa Twin and he might be able to help. This way we went to the motorcycle club motoclube B-17 and met their president Márcio Antunes. He was extraordinary friendly and welcoming. He was not only fascinated by my trip but of course also very interested in my experiences with his beloved new Africa Twin. He called someone and promised he would have a crate tomorrow.
Knowing how Brazil normally works Werner didn't believe it one bit and after our experience with the handyman I tended to agree with him.
But at that time we didn't really know Márcio yet! The next day he texted me a picture of the crate at his club. Again a BMW 1200 GS crate. Perfect!
On Saturday he invited us for BBQ at the club and we met a bunch of members. They had a big workshop, a wash area where you could get your bike washed by two girls and a air conditioned bar with barber shop! Werner improved his Portuguese and I found Carlos, also an Africa Twin rider but able to speak English.
Everybody was very welcoming and wanted to help me in every way. They reached out to friends to see if they could also help me with my flight. Because so far I only had offers above 3000 USD to fly the bike to Lisbon. In the next days I went to the club several times to get something fixed, to clean it or just again to have some BBQ. In the mean time Werner and Ulli also had to fly back home but I was welcome to stay at his flat as long as I needed. Thank you so much Werner, it was so much fun and you helped me a lot! I also couldn't think of a better place to spend my last days on the American continent.
Carlos is originally from Recife and he came up with a friend who was able to offer me a much better price for the flight. But I would have to drive to Recife and get a new crate there. Still it looked like the best solution at the time and in order to still get a reasonable price I booked a flight for myself from Recife to Lisbon for Tuesday evening, May 8th.
Just the next day I finally got an offer from B&M Log to fly my bike from Natal for 2380 USD. That was cheaper than Recife and I had the crate and the support from Márcio. So I quickly decided otherwise and hopped that Danielle from B&M Log would be super fast! I myself would then take the bus to Recife to fly from there...
Well thank god Danielle was super fast and I could deliver my bike to the airport on Monday. That way I could strap everything into the crate at the club. Márcio helped me tremendously and his brother drove me and the bike to the airport. Yuri from B&M Log was already waiting with all the proper documents. Everything went smoothly even with my strange temporary import paper.
Back at the club Márcio even lend me his bike for the night! We then met up later for dinner at the Pizzeria Bari Palesi in Natal. We had a delicious and entertaining dinner together with his wife and his son. And boy his Africa Twin felt different than mine ;)
The next morning I drove to the club to bring Márcio his AT back and he drove me to the bus station where Carlos came by as well! I cannot thank you guys enough, it was an unforgettable pleasure to meet you!
The bus drive to Recife went as planned and I catched my flight to Europe.
On August 4th 2018, only a little more than a month after my arrival at home I got the infinitely sad message from Carlos that Márcio had passed away in a motorcycle accident. I am still heart broken and I will always remember him as the always happy and incredible helpful friend he was. There is a great homage on Youtube about him including a picture with me. I really regret that for whatever reason we never made it to go for a ride together.