Day 267 – Olinda to Itaja, Brazil

Day 267 – Olinda to Itaja, Brazil      05/15/11      Mileage: 287

It poured all night and was still pouring went I went down to breakfast. I took my time eating as there was of course little point in rushing. The rain did lighten up a bit, so the decision was to walk around Fortaleza in the rain or to ride in the rain…so I chose to ride, packed the bike and split for the BR101 north. My thought was to ride out from under the rain into better weather to enjoy somewhere else up the coast, but that never happened. It pretty much rained the entire day riding until finally at around 3:30 I found some drier weather.

A ball, a few sticks for goals, some friends…and you have a soccer match on the beach….

I whipped up the pace on the dry roads to make some miles and ended up in a roadside truck stop near Itaja.

The hotel did have wifi and a churrascaria right next door which was handy! So after my fill of beef, beer and wifi…I called it a night….

Day 266 – Indiaroba to Olinda, Brazil

Day 266 – Indiaroba to Olinda, Brazil      05/14/11      Mileage: 376

I was up, out and on the gas by 8:30 hoping to make it as far as Recife.

The pousada….nothing fancy for sure, but it’s my kind of place and it was only $14 with breakfast….

Table for (only) one. I was, no surprise, the only guest there…

As has become my M.O. when I’m riding to make time, I didn’t even stop for a picture…except to wipe an enormous glob of bug guts off of my sunglasses.

Sunglasses – 1
 Big, juicy Brazilian bug – 0

I did stop off at the Honda dealer looking for chain lube….and there it was, a Honda in KTM orange…but none in Kawasaki green.   Oh, and for some reason Honda dealers do not carry chain lube here….I stopped in 4 different dealers in as many towns…none. I had to go to a “local” shop to find some….strange.

I rolled into Recife just at dusk and went about finding a room. It took a while to find but I eventually found one in Olinda, a historic town 3 miles up the coast from the downtown.

Again…nothing fancy, but it’s a dry roof….

Once again the hotel owner was extremely welcoming, like only a mother can be. She did everything but make me a fruit salad (like my mother!).

I did have to expel the previous occupant of my room. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Brazilian cockroaches are not good swimmers….   😉

So after settling in I walked down the oceanside avenue for dinner and some beers….big surprise there. Hopefully the weather will cooperate tomorrow so I can have a look around….

Day 265 – Itubera to Indiaroba, Brazil

Day 265 – Itubera to Indiaroba, Brazil 05/13/11 Mileage: 252

It was going to be a short ride up the coast to catch the ferry to Salvador, so I lingered a bit to use the hotel wifi. Itubera ended up being a really nice little town….the kind you won’t find in any guide book and will only stumble upon by chance….and I’m glad I did! It’s like Frenchtown, NJ at home…..you won’t find it in any international guide book for the U.S., but a foreign tourist would love to stumble upon it.

Me and the Hotel Jerusalem where I spent the night…..shalom!   lol

Once packed and on the road it took about 2 hours to get to the ferry which departed a few minutes after I arrived….perfect timing!

The KLR strapped in for ferry ride number…..errrr….oh hell I have no idea….I lost count…

It started pouring half way across the bay but fortunately had stopped by the time the ferry arrived at the terminal in Salvador.

The Salvador skyline from the ferry….

The GPS was note able to route me to the historic town center, so I was doing a bit of dead reckoning to find my way. Well, I managed to dead reckon myself into what has to be the roughest part of Salvador as it would make the roughest neighborhoods of the Bronx back in the day look like Candyland. I didn’t stop for even a picture and just kept rolling until I found my way back to a main avenue…and did eventually find my way to the historic center.

 The main square was quite nice, but I was hounded as soon as I stopped by pushy fucks wanting me to stay at their hotels or take their tours. I had to wave them to move so I could get a picture of the square without them in it.

They continued to hound me so I just got back on the bike and left to go check out the waterfront and the nicer section of town.

When I stopped to take this picture on the waterfront….a guy ran from down the street to tell me about the hotels he was pushing….I said no thanks…but when he didn’t stop I just got back on the bike and rode away.

I pulled into a waterfront parking area lined with restaurants and again was hounded by people pushing me to eat at their place.

Maybe it’s just me but that turns me off, so turned the bike around and split.

This guy spoke english and we chatted for a minute at a traffic light…nice guy…he sais he had a bike and would love to do a trip like mine…

I continued along the waterfront but didn’t see anything compelling me to stay and I was starting to feel a little “big city’ed out” anyway, so I continued up the coast. Maybe Salvador will have to wait for next time.

Lane splitting is great for beating traffic…but dicey sometimes! I think it should be legal back home…(it is in California!)

There wasn’t much in the way of towns or services on this part of the BA 001, so I had to ride an hour or so in the dark before finding a room in a little pousada in Indiaroba. Tomorrow, it’s back on the road north…

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…

Day 261 – Ouro Preto, Brazil

Day 261 – Ouro Preto, Brazil      05/09/11      Mileage: 0

The B&B was well over my budget, but it was very nice and Ouro Preto was so quaint, I decided to stay another day. Now, I could also take the time to have a nice long walk around town to see the sights.

Here are some pics of the B&B…

The view from the 2nd floor balcony…

Look at the size of my room key…..no losing that!

The weather was great as I walked around town….here are the pics….

That’s a very picturesque town for sure. So after my walk I relaxed at the B&B and got caught up on the blog and my guide book reading. At night I walked around the town square and got dinner and a few beers at a cozy little pizzeria.

Roughing it on the road again….

I also saw what might be my and my buddy Paul B’s dream truck….a Land Rover crew cab pickup…diesel with a snorkel kit of course.  I want it!! (That was for you Tracy)

Tomorrow it’s back on the road towards the coast…

Day 260 – Rio de Janeiro to Ouro Preto, Brazil

Day 260 – Rio de Janeiro to Ouro Preto, Brazil      05/05/11      Mileage: 264

This morning I went back to the beach and there were even more people out and about than yesterday afternoon. Being Sunday morning, they even closes 3 lanes of the road closest to the beach making way for pedestrians and bikes. Several volleyball matches were already going and it was quite a scene.

Oh, and did I mention that I haven’t seen one overweight person in Rio…not one! It seems like it has to be one of the healthiest cities I’ve ever scene….like a giant Boulder Colorado on the beach! I also made a little time to update the blog, then packed and hit the road around noon.

One last shot of Sugarloaf in the sun….

…and one of Christ the Redeemer and Corcovado.

Once outside of Rio the road started up into the mountains and became twisty good fun full of 3rd and 4th gear corners, then opened up for another 150 miles of rolling hills and 5th gear sweepers. I had so much fun I hardly stopped for a picture…and in fact didn’t. Oops! Anyway, I pulled into the colonial town of Ouro Preto and immediately liked it. I’m not sure what it is about colonial towns that I like…I just do.

The the main square in Ouro Preto…

I also found a room in a super quaint B&B in an authentic colonial period house just off the main square. The owner was very welcoming and made sure that I had everything I needed. So after taking a quick shower I went out for a bite and a few beers. Tomorrow I’ll have a better look around….

Day 259 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Day 259 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil       05/07/11       Mileage: 0

The weather was overcast in the morning but I went out to see the sights anyway hoping the weather would clear, which thankfully it did. I was feeling adventurous so instead of taking a taxi I just hopped on the first bus going in the general direction I wanted to go and hoped for the best.

Sugarloaf Mountain from downtown….still in the clouds…

Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer barely visible from downtown Rio…

 As luck would have it it passed within a half mile of my first stop…the gondola to Sugarloaf Mountain. Like everything in Brazil it was a little pricey, but it does give you an amazing panoramic view of the harbor and the city.

To the left is Copacabana Beach…to the right downtown Rio…

Looking across to Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer above downtown Rio…

So after lingering for a while to take it all in, I moved on to the most famous site in Rio and perhaps one of the most famous in the world…the statue of Christ the Redeemer high above the city atop Corcovado Mountain. There is a cog railway that takes you from city level to the base of the monument which provided good views as well.

It was a short scramble from the train up the last few sets of stairs and then you are there with the entire cityscape of Rio stretched out before you.

It certainly was one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen for sure. If there is a more beautiful setting for a city, I don’t know of it…..it’s simply amazing.

Maracana Stadium….the largest soccer stadium in the world!

I stayed for quite a while taking in the view and soaking it all in, then headed back to Impanema. By this time the sun was starting to set so I went down to the beach to check out the scene.

To say that Brazilians, and particularly those in Rio, love the beach would very much understating the fact!

It seems everyone was there basking in the sun, playing soccer, volleyball, roller blading, biking and some were playing footvolley…a cross between volleyball and soccer. Think volleyball but you can use anything BUT your hands.

A  footvolley game in progress…

.

.

That night I got a bite to eat and sampled the beer at several bars, just to make sure it was safe for everyone…what can I say, I’m a giver. 😉

Day 258 – Paraty to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Day 258 – Paraty to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil      05/06/11      Mileage: 187

It was another stellar day weather wise and the road up the coast was as scenic and enjoyable to ride as yesterday.

I pulled into Rio de Janeiro and after a bit of searching around, I settled into a room in Ipanema Beach… 2 doors down from a Belgian bar with an extensive beer menu…perfect!

As a child I can remember seeing Rio de Janeiro among the other exotic sounding places on my globe and I’ve wanted to travel here ever since. Kathmandu, Jakarta and the others will have to wait for another day….but for now its one more place off the life list. I quickly settled in and went straight for the Belgian bar…Delirium. They had an extensive menu of imported beer…I was in heaven…until I saw the prices. Fookin hell was it expensive! Yes it’s imported, yes this is Rio, but $25-35 USD for a beer…that’s shite! The larger bottles were around $50 USD!

I did find a “bargain” at $9 USD per bottle for a Leffe…one of my favorites…so I savored two of those and then went for a walk to take in the scene….

Day 257 – Camburizinho to Paraty, Brazil

Day 257 – Camburizinho to Paraty, Brazil      05/05/11      Mileage: 126

Jackpot. The skis were clear and sunny and the roads were dry….which was a great thing as the scenery was spectacular and the roads deliciously twisty. I also got to let the bike run a little bit and it felt great. It was also good to scrub the new tires in as riding the virgin rubber on the wet roads the other day was not confidence inspiring to say the least.

I stopped for a quick lunch at this beach side stand with a Harley-Davidson theme….pretty funny…

I rolled into Paraty mid afternoon and found a room (though pricey) easy enough. After settling in a walked around the old colonial town center which is entirely pedestrian only…no cars allowed at all.

My room and the view from my balcony….

There are many great shops and restaurants and all in all it’s a pleasant place to be for sure. That night I wandered out to take in the scene over a few beers. Tomorrow, it’s further up the coast to Rio de Janeiro to cross one more item off the life list!

Day 255-256 – Camburizinho, Brazil

Day 255-256 – Camburizinho, Brazil      05/03-04/11      Mileage: 0

The weather wasn’t going my way the last two days so I stayed put, did some writing and worked on the blog which was over a week behind. Tomorrow the forecast is supposed to be better, so hopefully my patience (read laziness) will be rewarded with dry roads and sun.

All the bad weather did make for some rough surf…

Day 254 – Sao Paulo to Camburizinho, Brazil

Day 254 – Sao Paulo to Camburizinho, Brazil      05/02/11      Mileage: 161

John called from the airport last night to tell me that the Indy race was on….rescheduled for 9am this morning!! So I thanked Gisa for her wonderful hospitality, packed the bike and split for the race. The weather was still not great but at least it was not pouring like yesterday. I got there just as they were on the warm up lap and got to see the start from where I was standing just 50 yards beyond the finish line.

The Penske / Verizon Team car above went on to win the race…

The sound of the entire field flying by with engines screaming is something that has to be witnessed in person to fully appreciate….it’s incredible! Make sure you turn the sound up all the way before you watch the videos!

.

.

My Uncle Bob used to race and being there brought back good memories of being at the track watching him race…I know he would have loved to be here.

.

.

Here are the number 2 and 3 cars being pushed to the pits after the race…I couldn’t get a shot of the winning Verizon Team car…

So after the race I got back on the bike and headed for the coast. The weather got worse with every mile and before long it I was in the middle of an absolute downpour. I stopped off for a bite and to wait for a lull in the rain, but soon after getting back on the road it was pouring again. I had hopped to make it to Paraty, but only got as far as Sabine’s beach house which I was fortunate to have available to me. A dry roof over one’s head when your soaked and chilled to the bone is wonderful thing. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow, as the BR101 is supposed to be a spectacular ride along the coast to Rio…and it would be a shame to ride it and not see a thing..

Day 253 – Sao Paulo, Brazil

Day 253 – Sao Paulo, Brazil       05/01/11       Mileage: 0

John and Sabine were heading to the airport later today, so this was our last day together. Sabine wanted to spend more time with a friend in town, so John and I went to…..the Sao Paulo Indy 300!! We didn’t have tickets, but we went anyway hoping to score tickets there….which ended up being kind of a fiasco…but we got in.

The weather was starting to get bad fast and by the time the cars were on the track there was a light rain falling. Twice they started the race but each time there was a pile-up in the first corner bringing out the yellow flag.

While they were under yellow a huge downpour arrived and they pulled the cars off the track.

We waited around for the weather to improve with the hope that they would restart the race…but it was not to be. So, we split and went back to the house, collected Sabine and her sister Gisa drove us all to the airport to drop them off. It was so great to see them and we had such a great time, I hate to see them go. They made a huge effort to get down here while I was here… I’m so fortunate to have them as my dear friends. They were the first familiar faces I’ve seen since my friend Tracy visited way back in Guatemala. John, Sabine and her sisters were all such welcoming and gracious hosts…I think they might have let me buy only a round or two of drinks the entire time. Hopefully we will see each other again soon.

So just like that they were off and I went with Gisa back to her house to stay the night…as tomorrow morning it’s back on the road north.

Sao Paulo vs Santos

The Sao Paulo fans getting rev’ed up for the game… 

Day 252 – Camburizinho to Sao Paulo, Brazil

Day 252 – Camburizinho to Sao Paulo, Brazil      04/30/11       Mileage: 0

After a leisurely morning it was back in the car to Sao Paulo. I could have stayed there for days, but we had to be back in Sao Paulo this afternoon for a soccer match. But, not just any soccer match, we got tickets to see Sao Paulo vs Santos (the team Pele played for back in the day) in the league semi-final match! Catching a pro soccer game was high on my list of things I wanted to do, and to see these two teams play in an important match like this was amazing!

Gisa’s son Nikki and her husband Guto’s son Fernando were going with us…or…actually we were going with them!

Guto also gave me a great Sao Paulo jersey to wear…thanks Guto! The crowds of fans are famously rough here, particularly when they are playing their biggest rivals. And, of course we had to sit in roughest section of the stadium!

To prevent what would be almost certain bloodshed, the Santos fans arrive by bus under police escort and are seated in a cordoned off section of the stands not accessible to Sao Paulo fans. Kind of makes the Eagles/Giants rivalry look tame by comparison.

The game was good but Sao Paulo fell to Santos 2-0. Despite the loss we had a great time and I’m so glad I had the opportunity to see the match.

Day 251 – Camburizinho, Brazil

Day 251 – Camburizinho, Brazil       04/29/11       Mileage: 0

I’ll let the pictures do the talking, but it’s fair to say we did a lot of what you do at the beach….eat, drink and do nothing…

That night Johnny and I went out to a local bar and took in some great local music….and caipirinhas….

Day 250 – Sao Paulo to Camburizinho, Brazil

Day 250 – Sao Paulo to Camburizinho, Brazil       04/28/11       Mileage: Local miles

The bike was ready to be picked up so John gave me a ride over to get the it. It was pouring out which was a shame because the bike was showroom clean. I thanked Edu and the mechanics for the great job they did.

Me and my man Edu…

They even lubed all the cables, cleaned the air filter and really went the extra mile to make sure my KLR was ready for the last big leg of my journey.

If you need work done on your Kawi in Sao Paulo, Studio Kawasaki is your shop. So with my bike squared away and Sabine done with her business meetings, the 3 of us split for the beach!

We did make time for stop at a proper Brazilian churrasco!

It was around a 2 hour ride to the sleepy beach town of Camburizinho where her family has a really nice beach house. The rest of the pictures will have to wait for tomorrow, as right now there are many caipirinhas that need drinking….

Day 249 – Sao Paulo, Brazil

Day 249 – Sao Paulo, Brazil      04/27/11       Mileage: 0

After another leisurely morning, Sabine and John took me for a look around Sao Paulo. We drove into the city center and walked around a bit. We passed by their equivalent of Wall Street in NYC with all the big banks and trading houses. We also went to have a light lunch and some caipirinha’s at the Terraço Italia.

Watch out for those nuts…not the ones in the seats…the ones in the bowl…!!

The view from up there is unbelievable with the endless cityscape stretching out in every direction. We also got stung by the couvert….a trick some of the “nice” restaurants play on you. This time, we ordered 3 (very expensive) drinks which were delivered with a bowl of nuts, which like in the US we assumed were free as we were drinking and we did not order them. We ordered another round of drinks, and some food and asked for a refill on the nuts. Well, they charged us $20 for EACH bowl of nuts, even though we didn’t order it and it’s not on the menu. Sabine told me it’s called a couvert…..an unsolicited and often very expensive snack that you have to decline or you will get charged! Sneaky fookers.

Anyway, we took in the view for a bit and then started making our way back to Gisa’s. Along the way we passed the BMW motorcycle dealer and stopped in to have a look. Like the KTM dealership, it was a good size shop but with few motorcycles…maybe 6 1200GS’s, 8 650/4’s, an F800 and some used bikes….but nothing else. Oh, and the price of a R1200GS….R$91,000, or around $58,000 USD!! That night we all went out for some sushi which was good….(but not as good as Ota’Ya!)

Roughing it again….

Day 248 – Sao Paulo, Brazil

Day 248 – Sao Paulo, Brazil        04/26/11        Mileage: 0

Sabine had some meetings and business to tend to, so I went over to the Kawi shop to check in on the bike. When I got there they had all the bodywork off and were giving it the most thorough cleaning it has ever gotten.

Yes gents, that says R$57,900…or roughly $37,000 USD for a 990 Adventure…crazy!! 

With the bike in good hands I left to run some errands, one of which was to find a good road map of Brazil. Well, despite the fact that I am in the largest city in Brazil and one of the largest in the world, this did not prove easy. I did finally find one but it is a best mediocre. I returned to the shop and they had the bike on the stand.

Taking a peak at the valves….

The Ricor shock still going strong after all these hard miles!!

From behind me…in English, someone said “nice bike”…and I turned to see my friend Johnny O standing there! What the…damn….they put one over on me! Johnny is Sabine’s husband, one of my best friends, and rides a KTM 625 SXC like a bat out of hell. They told me he wasn’t able to make it, but he did and it was great to see him.

Here’s Johnny leading me out on the road 8 months ago on day 1 of this trip…

My bike wasn’t going to be done today so we split and decided to go check out the new KTM dealer that opened up not too far away. All I can say is wow…what a shop!

We were told it is the largest in the world….and it even has a bar on the showroom floor. Oh, and the beer is free…and I guess it should be if you’re going to pay $37,000 for a stock 990 Adventure!

So after a healthy dose of sticker shock we returned to Gisa’s house for dinner with the family.

Me and Johnny….and some caipirinha’s…

Me and Uli…

Sabine’s sister Geli (yep, that makes 4 sisters all together if you’ve been keeping score) lives in Germany and brought some gifts for John and Sabine which were a big hit.

I think Sabine where’s the leterhosen better…in my opinion…  lol

We had a great dinner and even got some good laughs out of a tumbled glass of red wine….another fun filled and memorable day.