Day 49 - The Last Nasty Road

It rain cats and dogs last night for a long time … a very bad thing when you are in the middle of dirt roads that turn to mud and muck at the slightest provocation.

After a nice breakfast with Colin, we waited for the others to arrive. Through Colin's contacts, we knew the rest of the group spent the night at the river in Kurupukari and did indeed take the 6am ferry.  

With these roads and last night's rain, it took them 4 hours to get to the lodge which included dealing with a few falls, a flat tire, and a broken motorcycle.  

The lodge has a very interesting story. Collin began building it 30 years ago. He is a British expat that came to Brasil in the 1970's to help build the trans-Amazonian highway, fell in love with this region and never left.  Some of his children live and work at the lodge, his wife, a native of the region, helps him run things, and now there are some grandchildren too. 

After the rest of the group rested, ate, and washed, we all left the lodge around noon hoping that the rain had not done too much damage to the road.  Right our of the gate, water, mud, muck, potholes ... full mayhem.

After 2 hours later, we made it to the Guyana-Brasil border where the dirt road ended.  The easiest crossing yet.  15 minutes in Guyana and 15 minutes in Brasil and we were on our way.

This whole area is a vast savannah with wetlands everywhere (like Brasil's Pantanal in the south) and agriculture as far as the eye can see. 

After a quick Brazilian lunch at the border, we headed to Boa Vista, our destination for the night, on a magnificent paved road all the way.

A huge storm was raging in front of us as we left the border, but for some reason, as we were about to enter the deluge, the rode turned right and the we managed to get through it with very little rain. Apparently we dodged a bullet.  The rest of the group got caught in the storm and it was not pretty .. flooding, one fall, strong winds, very low visibility.

Chuck and I made it to the hotel around 5pm and the rest of the group a few hours later as they battled the storm.

Went for a walk to visit Orla Taumanan, Boa Vista's boardwalk by the river.  Boa Vista is a surprisingly well planned and managed city.  The boardwalk is an incredible facility for the whole town to enjoy ... a very tall observation tower, a very unique amusement park for children with huge animals, restaurants, decks, piers, beaches.

Tomorrow, we begin our 2 day journey to Manaus, our final destination.

The Rock Creek Lodge, our stay for last night

One of the lodge's pet monkeys

Chilling outside my room in the lodge waiting for the rest of the group to arrive

The rest of the group finally made it at around 10:30am after 4 hours in the muck

More nasty roads after a huge storm last night

Right before the Brasilian border in the Guyana savannah ... a road to infinity

Everybody kissing the pavement after 2 grueling days on dirt

After the Guyana-Brasil border, a deluge approaching

Made it to beautiful Boa Vista in Brasil

Amazing children's park with huge animal shaped games

The observation tower by the river in Boa Vista's Orla Taumanan (riverwalk)

Fishing in Orla Taumanan

Day 48 - The Jungle and I

Today, we started early as we are trying to do 2 route days in one to make up some of the time we lost in Suriname.

All we know is that we have 100kms of paved road from Georgetown to Linden and then 350 kms of dirt in unknown conditions through some of the most remote and dense jungles in the world. Plus, a ferry crossing that runs hourly but quits at 6pm, so the race was on.

The first 100 kms took us south of the capital through some thick and unspoiled jungle following the Demerara River. A nice morning ride to get the blood flowing in preparation for what was coming.

Linden is a nice town in the middle of Guyana with a nice one-lane toll wooden bridge and quaint houses around the water.  We stoped for gas where the dirt began and ... the dirt road into the deep jungle began.

This was without a doubt the most challenging road of the whole trip … big pot holes, sand everywhere, mud, silt, even your typical Amazon on and off rain that would make things worse for a while.

Had my second flat tire of the trip … went through a couple of remote immigration checkpoints … met some Venezuelans packed in a pick up truck going the other way ... and enjoyed the remoteness of it all.  

At Mabura Junction and after 3 hours of dodging all kinds of things ... and trying to keep the motorcycle upright through all types of slippery terrain while standing up on the motorcycle the whole time, I figured there was no way we could make our destination before night time. 

So, before making decision of whether to stay there or keep going, I had something to eat ... some weird looking soup with everything in it … small pieces of animals of all sorts … some vegetables … on a thick broth. I needed the fuel. 

With new energy, I talked to a driver that was heading south about road conditions and he said they were a bit better but still at least 3 hours to the ferry. So I decided to go for it.

What an experience!  Riding through a remote jungle by myself, knowing that if something went wrong in the emptiness of this hot humid jungle would be a real problem, created a heightened sense of awareness to everything around you. 

Every potential hazard or every time the motorcycle was unsettled or sliding sideways was a critical event that needed to be controlled. No room for errors.

After 2 hours, made the 4pm Kurukukari ferry as it was leaving the shore … the universe was looking after me. No injuries, no motorcycle issues, and on the ferry but still 2 more hours of challenging dirt to go.

The crossing of the Essequibo River was wild. There was a strong current and rapids on one side as the boat struggled against the current to make the landing on the other side. 

The road after the ferry was nicely graded with the occasional challenge but much easier to ride. Got to Guyana's southern savannah where our lodge for the night was as it was getting dark. A unique sunset against the mountains.

What a day! Not one fall. And a long sequence of lucky events that worked.

Days like this is what makes motorcycle riding such an intense experience that brings incredible joy ... going places that are seldom seen by other people ... reaching the point where the machine becomes an integral part and an extension of your body ... achieving complete concentration on the task at hand, the nature around you, the sky, the trees, the rivers, the rain ... making critical decisions every second ... feeling the tense moments when traversing a sand pit or not knowing if you will get through an approaching obstacle … how can this not be special? 

Because of the remoteness of this jungle, got to see a capybaras, birds, monkeys.

Our lodge was a sight for sore eyes. In the middle of the savanah, built by an Englishman and his Guyanan wife 30 years ago.  It felt like a lodge in Africa, without the big animals roaming around.  We had a proper sit down dinner at a long table with tablecloth and silverware. The food was outstanding. 

My body and mind are so tired that I went to bed right after.

As of this writing, only Chuck and I made it to the lodge.  We found out that the rest of the group did not make the ferry on time for the last departure and will be spending the night at the river.

Our first immigration checkpoint close to Linden

Got a flat tire only a few kilometers into the dirt road

The hard to get to Mabura Junction ... a true outpost in the middle of nowhere

Getting gas at Mabura Junction from somebody's garage

The ferry crossing

Barely made it to the boat ... with a dirty face ... only one motorcycle and one van

Maneuvering the boat to avoid the rapids down river

Some of the roads we had to go through ... very slippery

Mud everywhere

This road is getting really narrow and the jungle is closing in

Finally the southern Guyana savannah

Beautiful cloud formations as the sun sets

The table Colin (the lodge owner) set up for dinner for our group ...

Unfortunately, Chuck and I were the only ones that made it to the lodge tonight

Day 47 - Guyana Is Real

We got up and rode the 30km to the port. Lots of people already there. People came at night to camp as soon as the news broke that the boat was going to get in line to ensure they got on board. The boat only takes 20 cars and only sails once a day.

We sorted through the typical immigration and customs bureaucracy and then started loading the boat … we were all smiling and so happy to be able to cross ... saw a lot of our stranded friends again ... kind of like a reunion after 4 days.  

Apparently, they were not able to completely fix the boat ramps (only one worked) because everybody how to go down this rickety one lane bridge, in reverse, to be able to get out on the other end.  And, we had to have a barge push the boat because the forward engine was still busted. Whatever works!

Beautiful ride across the Courantyne River.  A nice, hot, muggy ride out in the open. With people from all over and with very interesting backgrounds. 

Long process on the Guyana side … needed insurance but nobody was selling it and it was Saturday so we had to get a taxi, go to town in the nick of time before they closed to get it ... 3 hours later, we left and rushed to be able to get over the New Amsterdam river bridge before 2pm which gets lifted for about 2 hours every afternoon.

Guyana is an interesting country and different than Suriname.  The whole 200 kms to Georgetown the capital were populated houses facing the road but nothing but agriculture fields behind them. I think they decided to define towns by distance, like every 5 kms.  Most of these segments were named only by number (e.g., Village #56, Village #55, etc.)

The houses followed a strange style ... two floors ... facing the road at an angle ... candy colored and colorful ... highly ornamented balconies on the second floors ... all I could think about was that it was like a modified Indian look ... then I heard that 50% of Guyana's population have Indian roots ... but then, there are canals everywhere just like in Dutch Suriname and streets names in Dutch ...  remnants of the 200 years Guyana was a Dutch colony (1600-1800).

We finally made it to Georgetown, our stop for the night ... a chaotic, and generally ugly and dirty city. But it is nice that everybody speaks English.

Tomorrow, we have one of the biggest challenges of the trip.  A 425 kms run with 300+ kms of tough dirt riding.  It will take the whole day to reach our destination close to the Brasilian border. Time to rest.

Our ride to the boat ... very low visibility through the rice fields

The Suriname side of the border - the process begins

Yes, she is still riding with her broken ankle

Waiting for instructions to move forward on the Suriname side

Some found a place to pass the time at the border

What is this?

Boarding is though this bridge ... in reverse ... even the big trucks

Our friend Randy from Guyana on a father-son trip

Have to squeeze the motorcycles in the middle of the trucks

We are on the boat!

Our landing site on the Guyana side

Welcome to Guyana mural

Kids and motorcycles ... is it in our DNA?

The road to Georgetown was lined by these colorful houses ... 200 kms!

The road to Georgetown was like a vide game ... carts, dogs, bicycles, people, chicken, cows

Water everywhere ... land varies from -5m to +25m above sea level

Day 46 - The Outer World

Another day in paradise. Or is it Groundhog Day?

The big question for the day was how to spend yet another day stuck in Suriname waiting for the boat to be repaired.

Life is beginning to feel settled … like we belong ... so we walked to the ATM, then to the grocery store, then to have bubble tea … I know! ... very popular with teenagers looks like.

Seems like we now run into people we know everywhere … Pocorni, Dave, Randy and his son Randy, Donald, Matheus … we chat about the latest rumors about Guyana and the boat, life, the world, what they have been up to … the typical stuff you talk about with neighbors. We are also getting used to the heat.

We had a group lunch to develop and discuss a Plan B in case this continues. After some discussion, we settled on a Plan B that called for backtracking back to French Guiana and then back all the way to Macapa, Brasil, on the Amazon River, if the boat does not go tomorrow. We are now out of days to squeeze trying to get to Manaus, which is 1600 kms away, in time to catch our flights home.

So either way, we are on the road tomorrow … either West to Guyana, if the boat works, or East to French Guiana if it does not. In either case, we will be riding tomorrow ... wind in your face .., watching the world go by and marble at how lucky we are that we get to do this in such remote corners of the world.  

To pass the afternoon, we hired a fishing boat to take us up and down the river and out to the ocean to see the sunset. A great experience. Our captain, Belkin, a seasoned boat builder (he learned how by just watching) and an experienced and crusty fisherman, narrated about life in these parts as a fisherman. A great experience.

We went to dinner at a place we saw from the boat overlooking the river where we met the most famous DJ in Suriname who was visiting with his family from Paramaribo for some sort of big party.

As of this writing, we have received messages from our network of contacts in town that the boat is sailing tomorrow. Finally!  Hopefully the repair holds until we are on the other side in Guyana. Wheels up at 6:30am.

We are going West!

Hatching Plan B in case the boat to Guyana continues to not run

We found the best grocery store in Nickerei - all others are dingy and dark and dirty

Bubble Tea in the jungle!

One of the docks on the river

Our new hotel for the night ... pretty dodgy

Installing the motor on the fishing boat that will take us out for a ride

Heading out to the ocean

Leaving the river and entering the ocean - that line is fresh and salty water not mixing

The shore where our cappuccino and swimming pool lounge are

Explorers-in-residence

Almost there

The sun creating a bright contour around the clouds ... magical

Coming back into the river

Yes, we took our helmets for safety in case the boat sinks

Our restaurant for dinner