Our original plan was to do a cycle tour through some parts of South America. The research we did showed some excellent cycling opportunities - Brazil´s costa verde ( geen coast ) from Santos (near Sao Paulo ) to Rio on the famous BR101, Torres del Paine in southern Chile, The 1200 km Carretera Austral in remote south Chile, Bariloche region in Argentinian Andes, Mendoza wine region up to Salta on the famous Routa 40 ( made famous by "Che" Guevara's motorcycle trip)up to La Paz in Bolivia and finally to Machu Picchu in Peru.
Doing the complete route with a bicyle would take approximately 18 months so we had to include a few flights and a lot of bus trips along the way. The flights usually involve boxing the bikes and on the busses, well we were'nt sure but knew it would not be easy to take them on the bus.
Anyway, a few days before we set off to Brazil we decided on a new plan. We will buy two motorbikes ( semi-off road typical XR 250) in Brazil or Argentina and basically travel the same route as we planned to cycle. This should take us about 3 months. After the trip we'll either sell them again or import them , depending on the taxes and red tape involved. I,ve read an article in the Getaway of someone who bought his bike in Buenos Aires and travelled up to the USA and sold the bike there. It was not all plain sailing though , he had to get the assistance of a local lawyer to help with the paperwork - anyway we knew it could be done and that was enough. The bikes are much cheaper in Argentina compared to Brazil and we therefore decided to do the first part of the trip to Rio de Janeiro by bus on the same road ( Br101) we planned to cycle
Back to our current trip - The 10 hr Flight from JHB to Sao Paulo was a breaze since the seat occupancy was only 30% , with 3 seats to yourself it felt like flying business or first class.
The bus from the airport to Santos ( the closest coastal town on the BR101) took about 4 hrs to cover 85 km. The city is massive - 20 million official residents ( some locals say 30 million). The bus went through the outskirts of the city which looked like a mix between Hillbrow and Maputu.
Although Santos is an industrial port city it has a nice 4 km beach with gardens, bike , jog lanes adjacent to the beach. We had a few Cervejas on the beach and went to bed (stayed in a hostel) quite early. The next day we took a bus to the next town which was Ubatuba - the coast became more and more beautiful, high mountains close to the coast mixed with rain forest type trees and plants. The guide said something about the bus drivers driving like lunatics - its true quite nerve wrecking stuff.
At the bus station of Ubatuba a surfer from the UK told us about a small village with a stunning beach just north of the town alled Itamambuka. The regional bus that took us there was very different to the ones we've used thus far, bumpy, slow and packed. The bus is filled with locals who chat and laugh - happy chappies these Brazilians.
Itamambuka is a small village and whilst looking for a camp site we met an Argentinian surfer, Herman, who invited us to stay with him. His house is situated on a hill top close to the beach with stunning views. He made some traditional Brazilian food ( black beans, rice,meat) while we served the cervejas - He could manage a few words in english but as the night went on the English become more and more Spanich. Later, the phrase "the good life" was repeated too often.
From Itam we went to Paraty, a touristy place which used to be an important port for the Portuguese. The camp site is perfectly situated 50 m from the main baech and there are about 6 Bar / restaurants on the beach. These bar/restaurants are a family run affair and is very casual and laid back. We are now well known at one of these establishments and they greet us with a "dois cheveja" ? Sim Sim por favor !!
The people are really what has made this trip very enjoyable so far, they are unpretensios, laid back, outgoing, partying, happy chappies. The villages and towns are somewat delapidated but full of character ( something like a mix between Portugal and Africa )
Some price stats ( outside of Big cities like Rio): Beer in the shop R5, Beer in bar R12-R15 for 600ml. Camping R100 PER SITE or R50pp. Small meal R15-20. Water R3.80 for 340ml. Hostel R130pp. Bus 75c / km
Our next stop will be Ihla de Grande , an island 100 km north on the way to Rio and thereafter Rio for a week from where we'll do some more updates. Best Regards Henk
