Hi, has anyone ridden this recently? What condition is the road? Is it tar? I don't want to risk my leg on rough stuff for a while. Thanks for any input.
simon (BLOG at home)

Hi Simon,

I did that road about 3 months ago.

the whole route is tarmac, with lots of potholes. There are a few streches of dirt , a couple of hundred metres long in places where the tarmac has disappeared or landslides have covered it.

But all in all no problems what so ever, and very scenic.

There is quite a lot of petrol stations, certainly more than was indicted on my map. I think you are on a small bike no? i can't remember exactly but i think 150 miles is the maximum range you need.

The longest strech with out petrol is through the Indian reservation. You are not allowed through here between 6 pm to 6am or there abouts. I was told this is because "the Locals are not too friendly". but who can blame them.

It is about an 800km trip, so it was a long day for me, but there are a few places to stay on the way. Just make sure you get past the reservation.

Also i had an interesting run in with the brasilian army near the border, helping them on a training excercise road block. but they were very polite if not a little intimidating. How many tanks and machine guns does it take to stop a motorbike?

The border was relaxed and both sides were helpful. Certainly more so than when i went in to venezuala at cucuta.

I needed to provide evidence of insurance to get in venezuela as well.

hope this helps,

cheers
mike

Mike, thanks. Great information. I ride a Honda 125 so gas is never a problem! My backside is another matter. I did 600 Ks one day in Patagonia - never again! I am recovering from a broken leg (hit by three trucks in Tierra del Fuego - two on a trailer). There is an account on my blog under crash home . I'm 74 and my confidence isn't as high as it was so I will be taking it slow. I guess 400 is a maximum. Did you pass anywhere where I can stay a night? Again with thanks,
simon

Hi - Useful information as we will be taking that route to Manaus in a couple of weeks time. One question, though - how much is petrol (not ethanol) in Brazil? We've heard that it's very expensive, about the same as in England, which will be a great shock after paying 3 cents a litre in Venezuela!

- the road is fine
- there's a very easy to miss left turn 120 kms from Manaus before Pres. Figuereido
- you can actually camp by the equator line and after that in Boa Vista there's a place passing town before big bridge on your left
- in Sta. Helena i reccommend "la casa de Gladys"

__________________
Mario T. - southing

Damn right petrol was expensive!
I spent more on one tank full in brasil after i crossed the border than i did in 1 month in Venezuela! Even once i factor out the fact they often rounded the price down In venezuela. Some one even bought me a tank full as a welcome to Venezuela gesture. Which was a very nice gesture on a generally bad day.

Any way to the point in hand. I think on that road Petrol was ~2.8 Real por litro. i think that is about $1.50 or £0.75.

that was the most expensive i found , which is fair enough considering the logistics.

However all but the podium stuff contains a lot of alcohol. up to 20% so you could loose a lot in fuel economy. I was down from ~20km/l to ~16km/l, which adds ups over 8000km that was my trip in Brasil!

But now that i am back in the UK, Brasil fuel looks positively cheap. Another sneaky duty rise at the start of the month and you are looking at 97p a litre. can you believe it, $8 a gallon!

With that in mind i am heading back to Ecuador at the end of the month to work by the sea side!

And sorry Simon, i couldn't recomend any where to stay as i wasn't really looking, but there are plenty of small towns, so it shouldn't be a problem. Or camp as the previous post said. Its lovely scenery and not many people about. Just hope the army aren't on excercise ;o)

cheers
mike

This is for Greynomads,

saw you are heading to Brasil, so just went and fished out some business cards i collected.

If you are going to Belem look up Alex Reiss. XT600. He has a thread up on here somewhere. He has a bike shop and can help you out no end, he also lets people stay in his apartment if he has room. Which is in a safe part of town.

He is president of the states Brasil riders.com, and he set me up with accomodation all down thenorth coast. I didn't use all that was offered due to route and time constraints, but where i did stay was brillliant..

I can especially recomend Expeditos garage in Sao Luis. his email is zoonoses.ma@bol.com.br. A lovely city too, one of my favourite places on my trip.

Alex speaks a bit of english and understood a bit of my bad spanish, so will help you out, if you don't speak portugese.

have fun

cheers
mike

Hi Mike - Thanks for this info which has come at just the right moment! We are now in Sao Luis with a broken bike - the subframe has parted company with the main frame and is in serious need of welding. I have e-mailed Expeditos Garage and await their reply. Meanwhile, do you have an address for them?

Thanks again,
Peter.

So what I read here is that there is a road from Manaus to Venezuela that is not too bad, but there is a stretch going through a reservation of 800km that you have to cover in one day. What happens if you can't make that distance and are stuck somewhere? Tarmac with a bunch of potholes and a few strectchs of dirt. Rainy season read mud?

What i remember is the resort only about 120km long!
Or the city Boa Vista would be inmiddle the resort! :-)

Bye the Quatro Rodas map when you get to Brasil and you will know exactely!
There is not so many holes on that part of the road!
You allways can drive around them!

Have fun, Appie!

Sorry if i was not clear, but the whole stretch is about 800km, but the indian reservation is only 100 or 200 km long. or 120km as the post above says. i can't remember exactly.

Hi grey nomads.
sorry to hear about the bike. did the subframe in on mine in Peru aswell. Expeditos house is quite away from the centre. i will have to look up the address for you. He isn't a mechanic, and again sorry for not being clearer, but he has a garage type clubhouse as opposed to a workshop. But he will certainly know who could help you and you can stay in the clubhouse, which could be useful if you are there a while waiting for repairs.

As i said before there are worse places to be stuck than Sao Luis!

Will try and post his address tomorrow when i find his card.

Did yo speak to Alex in Belem? he might be able to help you get in touch in the mean time and give you a few more contacts.

cheers
mike