Routes thru Brasil
 

Hola,
Can anyone suggest some interesting routes across Brazil to Manous
and can I get to Venezula from there, or should I try to ride into Peru on
my way back to the U.S.
We Have just finished the ride from Idaho to Ushuaia and my passanger will
fly home while I head North to Buenos Aires and Brasil.

thanks MAXVERT

Hi, I,m currently in Mexico getting some language training but will head south in 2 weeks. I would be interested in your route from Panama to Patagonia and how long it took. I plan on returning through Brasil from Sao Paulo to Salvador via Brasilia (because I have friends to visit). Don,t have a map with me now but there are not many options if you go North along the East coast and take a 3 day boat trip to Manaus (I want that experience) and by road to Venezula. Salvador is definitely worth the trip in my opinion - skip Rio and Sao Paulo but see Foz de Iguasu (sp.)
God luck

Max - I don't have direct knowledge but generally speaking, avoid the state of Rio and work your way around SP. The coastal routes are generally the best most direct way to Belem where you can pick up a boat to Manaus.

I've driven all around the state of Sao Paulo and have taken the boat route above to Manaus - it's a great trip.

If you want, I can put you directly in touch with Brazilian friends who might offer better advice. I'll PM my email address to you.

Found a pretty good article about driving from SP to João Pessoa. JP is the most eastern city in Brazil...where the sun first touches Brazil. You might enjoy it and the other associated articles.

Gringoes

Hi Max,
I´m in florianopolis brasil and heading to the 3 guyanas and venezuela on april 7th... gas is really expensive here so i´m thinking to take the brasilia belem route. then to macapa to french guayana... if you have time and money the best route is to do the the whole coast.. maybe we meet on the road :mchappy:

Florianopolis? You lucky dog.

Hey Salcar, Lucky you...Florianapolis. A few years ago I stayed at a small surfer beach on the east side of the island. It was beautiful and from your photos it looks like that it still is. :)

You probably haven't started up the Brasilia-Belem road yet but maybe you've heard something about it? All I've heard is that there are a lot of trucks but absolutely gorgeous in places.

That is the route that I am planning on taking.... only heading south Belem to Brasilia at the beginning of June. I think it is the most direct route to Argentina... I only have 5 weeks to get to BA from Ve. Any information you have on the road and good places to stop would be very much appreciated.

Here is what I am tentatively planning. About 5 days Belem-Goiana (south west of Brasila)
Belem - Imperatriz
Imperatriz - Carolina
Carolina - Palmas
Palmas - ?
? - Goiania

Goiania - Campo Grande (Pantanal!)
Pantanal - Iguazu ( ? days)
Iguazu - Montevideo( ? days)
Montevideo-BA (? days)

I've got a little bit of information on boats Belem - Manaus - Belem. I would be happy to share it if anyone is interested. And by all means if someone is looking for a riding partner and is in Ve at the end of May heading south, I sure wouldn't mind the company. I guess I should really post that in another window..anyway
Cheers!
Susan

when you are on the roads plans always change. there is a big dengue fever out break in Paraguay so i´m still don´t know if i´m going there. i´m still looking at doing the coast route since i might be able to get some extra cash. í haven´t looked in detail where i´m planning to stop but i´ll let you know when i´m getting closer to the departure dates. i´ll be interested to hear about the boat situation. i have some info as well but nothing concrete.

florianopolis is a paradise:thumbup1: so i fell very lucky to have spent 2 months here in this incredible journey!

Where abouts is this dengue fever outbreak? We're heading for Paraguay from Argentina, via Iguazu and that corner of Brazil, in a couple of weeks so would welcome any info.

if you put on google dengue and paraguay you will a lot of articles about it. here is one. Paraguay is relatively a small country so i said that it is every where. if you go make sure you take extra precautions protecting expose skin and wearing light color clothing.

Dengue sparks Paraguay emergency
Paraguay has declared a 60-day state of emergency to deal with an outbreak of dengue fever which has killed at least 10 people in the past two months.
Officials say 14,654 people have been diagnosed with dengue.
But doctors say the figure is 10 times higher, and are worried about a new more virulent variant of the disease.
Brazil and Bolivia have also seen a rise in cases of dengue, which is spread by mosquitoes and is endemic in much of the Americas. Dengue fever causes severe headaches, as well as muscle and joint pain.

Gastric dengue attacks vital organs - such as the liver, heart, lungs or brain - and can cause death within hours. Other patients died of dengue haemorrhagic fever, a variant which can lead to enlargement of the liver, and in some cases, circulatory failure.
BBC NEWS | Americas | Dengue sparks Paraguay emergency

Hey MaxVert and Salcar,

I've been hearing about cases of Dengue fever here on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela as well. So far I haven't heard of any gastric or hemorrhagic cases but my friends baby had spiking fevers up to 106 F. He's better now, but it was a bit of a scare.

Here's the little I know about Belem-Manaus ferry. Good luck and Cheers

1. Marques Pinto Navegacao

SINDARPA - Union of the companies of fluvial and lacustrine navigation and of the agencies of navigation in the state of Pará
Crosspiece Dom Romualdo Coelho, nº 838, Umarizal, Belém of Pará - Pará. CEP 66.055-190
Tel: (91) 3224-4025/3224-7164/3222-8609
sindarpa @oi.com.br

2. Filiadas companies
RODOPAR LTDA.
Av. Bernardo Sayão, 4.472
Belém - Pará 66.053-000
Tel: (91) 249-7717 Fax: (91) 249-5110

3. Amazon by hammock
Macamazon, Av. Castilhos França 730, Belém, Federal State Pará,
Tel. (091) 3086-0107,
Fax 222-5604.

4. The Amazon Star
Blumar

Susan thank you on the intel regarding the boats and glad to here the boy is doing better

i called the Italian embassy in Paraguay and the lady that i talked to recommended not going because the rainy season is starting and is also very hot which means more mosquitoes. She thinks that Iguaçu falls on the Argentinean and brasil side should be fine. i have a contact in Iguaçu and i will check with them.

I’m planning to leave for Iguaçu on Friday and be there this weekend. then going up to Bonito in Mato Grosso for a couple of days and then come back to Florianopolis. then most likely do the coast since it looks like i´ll be able to work a couple of days in April which will help me cover the coast
.

Coastal route sounds great Salcar. I may end up there myself depending on the rainy season. Maybe it will be dryer in June?
Cheers
Susan

I've taken the Amazon Star. Pretty nice boat - food is just ok assuming you like rice and beans. Word is that they won't take motorcycles but I've seen them load two smaller thumpers on-board.

Keep your valuable close by in any case. A cabin is worth the few extra dollars just for safe-guarding your stuff. If you have any books for read, bring or buy some - it's a long trip by boat. A deck of cards will help also... prepare to be relaxed.

Four Aussi friends on big bmw's took the Amazon star and opted for the airconditioned cabins. They had some stories about loading the bikes on the boat, but they all ended up safely in Belem.
Cheers
Sue

probably be in Belem tomorrow. Did the whole coast of brasil and a couple inland rides. the coast is unbelivable with so much to see. i´ve been in brasil 3.5 months and barely saw anything. need to come back!

Hi Guys,

I`m in Iguazu on the Argentinian side travelling 2-up with my girlfriend. We were going to head to Bolivia but we have decided that some sun and sand might be in order instead and head to the Brazilian coast and travel north.

What is the weather like at the moment? Good enough to swim?

We are on a budget so camping is best for us, are there many camp sites on the coast route north? Any recommendations? How are the prices in general? Hammock space is cool... I have learned to ignore my guide book prices as complete fantasy.

How are the roads? 2 up on an Africa Twin can be a bit hairy on muddy routes.

Sorry for the questions but we are thinking about crossing the border on Monday.

Visiting the falls tomorrow - can`t wait!!!

Many thanks,

Paul

Paul,
What is the weather like at the moment? Good enough to swim?

south of brasil is a bit cold around 19C and rainy. the further north you get the sunnier and hotter it gets. here in Belem is around 32. it is the rainy season so expect to get some rain.

We are on a budget so camping is best for us, are there many camp sites on the coast route north? Any recommendations? How are the prices in general?
there are plenty of camping sites especially in the souther part of brasil. i think there is brasilian camping guide with all the campsites a long the way. the campsites i´ve used have been great and prices reasonable. in less touristy towns you will find cheap pousadas. right now is low season so you might want to try youth hostels since you´ll probably have the room to yourself.


How are the roads?
good south bad north... lots of potholes but driving carefully you´ll be fine. you don´t need to do dirt if you don´t want.

do you speak any portugues? if you do i can give you some contacts along the way that can help. feel free to email me at salcar at hotmail dot com i´ve been in brasil almost 4 months and have made many contacts along the way

enjoy this amazing country.

i´m still in Belem with Alex a great adventure rider who onws a small motorcycle shop and has an nice apartment with an extra bedroom with air conditioning and private bathroom available to all HU members that are passing through with their bikes. his mecanics have been helping me replace a broken part on the motorcycle and doing all the necessary maintance (change oil, replace break pads, lube bearings, putting new tires etc)

if you are coming this way and need any type of support make sure to contact Alex alexreisxt600 at hotmail dot com he can help also finding the boats, hotel if you don´t want to stay with him and also well conected with the police nad judges in this part of the country. also well conected with many brasilian riders across the country that can provide support :D

here is pic of alex
http://salcar.smugmug.com/photos/154955351-M.jpg

Hi Salcar

thanks for the info. I'm gonna cross the border tomorrow and prey the rain stops. Getting ten mm a day here in iguazu :) planning to cross 277 and cruise north. I love your site and mission. I'm doing an open university degree in environmental sciences and policy on the road. I am about to try my best to 'covert' my spanish to portuguese over the coming weeks. Thanks again!

Paul

Hi Paul,
You are welcome!!!

Rohden.

I live in Rio Negro ( Paraná - state)
It's about 650km Foz do Iguaçu to Curitiba.
My town is 105km southward to Curitiba.

Rohden.

Hi Paul,

Now it's raining too much, but tomorrow I think it'll better and cold for some days.

I have a free room here at home, so you can stay here or drink a beer or a coffe as you have told me.

Here is a small town with 30.000 inhabitants and it's next to other city and state border (Mafra - Santa Catarina).

Here I work as a firechief officer...

I can give some directions here and at Curitiba....

Hi Rohden,

Sounds great - thank you. We are going to stay in Cascavel tonight so I get a chance to watch Liverpool beat Milan in the Champion's League final. It's another 500k from there so we will probably have another stop over as we are taking it pretty slow. Is friday night a problem?

Thanks,

Paul