Leaving Brazil Behind - 27-30 Jan 2014

---

Monday 27^thJanuary (Odyssey Day 80)







We had breakfast in the parking lot again this morning before heading out today. We departed the hotel at 0700 as it was to be a very long day. We gave Leen a lift about an hour down the road so she could head back home and then we continued on North West, heading for Jaru.







I sat at the front of the truck again today and this is my favourite place since I can sit on the front bench easily from here. I like to be able to lounge and spread out along the front. When others have the front seats, they leave too much stuff on the bench and it’s harder to sit there, but when its my turn at the front, I get the front bench. It’s much more comfortable to sleep when you can recline properly.







Our first stop after lunch was a bust, as the place seemed to be completely abandoned. The mens toilets were boarded up and even though the ladies were unlocked, there was clearly no water and the smell was so bad most of us didn’t even make it to the doorway. We made a stop another 20 minutes down the road and while not very nice, it was miles better than the last option! As they say, beggars can’t be choosers.







It started drizzling really lightly after lunch but we still have a long way to go. By the time it got to be 1700, we still had 200km to go. We actually didn’t arrive in Jaru until 2030, well actually since we go back an hour today I guess it is really only 1930. Still, that makes it 13-14 hours travelling time today.







It was a bit difficult to find the hotel here, and we nearly got stuck down a narrow muddy road before asking directions and making it to our destination. Not being hungry, I stayed in and got some rest while others went out to dinner. Ellie informed me that the pizza was amazing – she had steak on hers and someone else had stroganoff. On pizza.











Tuesday 28^th January (Odyssey Day 81)







We had breakfast at the hotel. It was the standard fare of fruit, bread with ham and cheese, and cake. We departed at 0800 to head for Porto Velho, the point at which our trip branches off from the original itinerary into the unknown.







We arrived in Porto Velho nice and early, around 1400 and after the long process of checking in managed to get up to our room. Ellie and I had a triple room to ourselves here and it was a lovely room too. I had a nice cool shower (no one in their right mind wants a hot shower in this heat) and did my washing. It has been too long since we had a dry place to hang stuff. We have too many single stops now to not take advantage where we can. The air conditioning should keep the room dryer so it all has a chance to dry before morning. Well, fingers crossed, anyway.







Then Joanna, Ellie and I headed out to the supermarket with Emma and Simon to do a shop. Joanna & I were doing a bar shop to spend all the Brazilian money we had left before leaving the country in a couple of days. We certainly did a good shop this time, managing to fill the truck with cans of beer and plenty of soft drink.







I gave the truck a bit of a clean while there too, since it rather desperately needed it. The cleaning group in this section of the trip don’t like doing the fridge, so they generally just skip it, which means the bar crew generally ends up cleaning it out. At this means I know its clean though.







We headed back to the hotel at 1700 with food from the shops and intending to have a relaxing evening. Ellie managed to find the USB port on the huge flat screen TV in our room, so we had dinner in and just watched a couple of movies. A novelty since it’s been a very long time since I watched TV.











Wednesday 29^th January (Odyssey Day 82)







Departure this morning was meant to be at 0800 but by the time everyone was checked out properly it was 0830. Sometimes it turns into a bit of a drama to check out early as they check the rooms and people pay their bills at the last minute. It is a long day travelling in the heat today. It’s nice to have a break from the rain – but I’d rather have a break from the heat!







We had a ferry crossing at 1230. There were some really big trucks fit on the ferry. It’s large and very flat to get us across the river. We could even get our first glimpse of Bolivia from here, we were so close to the border. Most of the roads we drive on aren’t recognised by the satnav and we all just hope Simon can guess where we are going in order to get anywhere!







Once it started raining, the roads were very wet. There was nowhere to pull over and camp as all the side roads were too muddy to risk. We stopped for the toilets in Rio Branco, and Emma sought us a hotel since there was no chance for the planned bushcamp in this weather. Of course, she had to look hard to find one that didn’t charge by the hour…







So we all piled back on the truck to drive up the road a few blocks to a hotel that had enough room for all of us. We managed to have a couple of drinks while waiting to check in and then had to find our way up some stairs and down some stairs and around the corner and up some more stairs to our rooms. I’m just hoping I don’t get lost getting back to it after dinner! I'll be able to find the hotel just find, but will I be able to find my room?







We headed straight out for dinner and drinks with Joanna, Hannah, Johnny, Maddie & Lou. Hannah went home after dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers from the vendors at the square and Mike joined us for drinks by the river. We sat and watched some guys jumping of the bridge, it had to be at least 20m high.











Thursday 30^th January (Odyssey Day 83)







We departed at 0800 this morning, working our way toward Xapuri near the Peru border. I made the decision today to extend my Tucan tour all the way to Panama instead of stopping in Guatamala. It will make it a 7 week trip instead of 3. Now all we have to decide is what to do with the two weeks between trips.







We arrived in the town of Xapuri at 1300 and stopped for lunch. The town was mostly closed at this time, though you could go and see the house of Chico Mendez if you were so inclined. It also started raining lightly while we were there.







We left the town at 1430 and the rain started getting heavier and heavier. The roads were getting muddy and in the end we only just made it through to our lodging for the night – an eco-lodge in the middle of nowhere (well, seemingly in the middle of nowhere).







The lodge was very wet and everyone had to wade through deep puddles of water to get to the lodge, but once there it was lovely. So we rolled up our trousers as high as we could, put on our waterproof jackets and carted our bags and the food for dinner through the calf high water to the lodges – where the power had just gone out.







Fortunately it didn’t stay out for long, but in the meantime we all had a few beers and set up a few tables of card games to entertain ourselves for the evening. When the rain cleared, the area was lovely. As long as you didn’t look down into the mud, you could forget the work it took to get there and just enjoy the peace of the area.







We all had some brazil nuts to celebrate our last night in Brazil. I never knew they came in large shells like that, actually I don’t think anyone knew how they grew. Just goes to show you are never too old for random trivial knowledge. And just for some completely useless information, the brazil nut fruit takes about 14 months to ripen and each fruit hold 10-24 individual nuts in their own shells

---

Photos

Porto Velho
Checking in

Porto Velho
Jo & AJ doing the shopping

Travel Day
Standard pit stop - in the middle of nowhere and hot, hot, hot, with maybe a little mud

Travel Day
Ferry crossing at the new modern port...

Travel Day
A glimpse of Bolivia from the ferry

Rio Branco
Standard pit stop queue

Another Travel Day
Did it rain last night?

Xapuri
Johnny tries a coconutr

Xapuri Lodge
Cards on the verandah with Mike, AJ, Maddie, Donna & Joanna

Rio Branco
Joanna, AJ & Johnny

Rio Branco
Hannah & AJ with a random mural

Another Travel Day
Local house

Xapuri
Just an ordinary Brazil town

Xapuri
A little bit wet outside

Xapuri Lodge
Not cheating at all...

Xapuri Lodge
Its ironic that Hannah was the only one not drinking tonight, but still managed to star in this picture

Xapuri Lodge
Brazil nut fruits with 10-24 nut in each shell

Xapuri Lodge
Brazil nuts in the shell, these fruits take over a year to ripen

Comments

[Lorraine]

love your trivia
Hi AJ, Thanks for the info on brazil nuts . Would never have guessed they grew like that. Did you get a photo of the tree? Your travels sound amazing. Love you Babe. Mum & Dad xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo