Day 264 – Linhares to Itubera, Brazil

Day 264 – Linhares to Itubera, Brazil 05/12/11 Mileage: 411

I was up relatively early, packed and on the bike by 8. The weather was overcast which was a shame because plan today was to check out some beach towns that were recommended to me Sabine and Gisa. My first stop was Porto Seguro which was nice, right on the beach and full of bars, restaurants and shops.

Next I took a short ferry across to Arraial da Ajuda which is perched on a hill above the beach. It was more quaint and tranquilo than Porto Seguro and had a nice vibe to it.

Arraial da Ajuda

Lastly I headed to Trancoso which several people told me I had to check out. Unfortunately by the time I arrived it was raining but I rode around and had a look anyway and worked my way down to the beach.

The beach in Trancoso…very nice!

The Ferrari dealership closed up shop….after all it’s more of a Land Rover market anyway…  😉

I would have found a place to stay, but with the weather there was just no point, so I split for the BR101 north. The rain continued on and off, and when the roads are dry and when there are no speed bumps or trucks…the BR101 is a pretty nice ride full of hills, twists and turns. I veered off onto the BA001 which was a smaller road that ran closer to the coast. It also made for good riding as it weaved through some very small towns and villages. At dusk I found a room in the quaint small town of Itubera. After settling in I wandered out and had a lite dinner in a little open square next to the river that had a nice little scene going on.

I giant fried burrito type thingy, smothered in hot sauce, washed down by a giant beer…or two. Now that’s livin’…

263 – Sao Jaoa de Vicosa to Linhares, Brazil

Day 263 – Sao Jaoa de Vicosa to Linhares, Brazil       05/11/11       Mileage: 343

It was a mix of sun, clouds and rain all day today and it was all business making miles north.

This bridge has seen better days….

Progress however is painfully slow at times with only 1 lane in either direction and the countless slow moving trucks. I’ll be bombing along at 80 mph when around a bend I’ll have to wail on the breaks down to 15 mph for a decrepit old truck struggling to get up the slightest of hills. I must have passed well over a thousand trucks today…no exaggeration. At times I was passing 3, 4, 5 at a time…then diving back into my lane at the last second. Today I wish I could have transformed the KLR into GSXR1100…

Parting shot: Sunset over the BR101 north….

Day 262 – Ouro Preto to Sao Jaoa de Vicosa, Brazil

Day 262 – Ouro Preto to Sao Jaoa de Vicosa, Brazil        05/10/11       Mileage: 211

I enjoyed the nice breakfast spread that the B&B put out and took some time to get another blog post up. Once that was done I packed the bike and hit the road toward the coast.

Last shot of Ouro Preto on the way out of town….

The weather was great again and the road twisted its way through the small rolling mountains. I was on the gas and just wasn’t compelled to stop and take many pictures.

OK, I took this one when I was forced to stop for some road maintenance…

….and this one when I stopped for gas and food…

…and this one so you can see what most towns look like in rural Brazil….becasue they all don’t look like Ouro Preto.

Shortly before dark it started to rain so I pulled of and got a room at truck stop. Soon after stopping it started to rain in earnest so I was pretty happy with that decision. Hopefully it clears by tomorrow so I can get an early start and make some miles…