World Travelers World Travelers

Brazil‘s Amazon Jungle

It’s been said that what we do defi nes us. Yet perhaps it’s as much about what we do, as it is what we endure and what we learn from? We fi nd out who we really are only when we’re pushed The Dark Side of past what we thought were our limits, when, during those wretched times, we discover we have greater personal reserves than we’d ever imagined.

Text: Simon Thomas Adventure Riding Photography: Simon & Lisa Thomas

In those pivotal moments the haze less than ten neighboring countries. North and in the distance, the beaches of Iof life lifts, and we can see and feel of Sao Paulo, we wind our way around Copacabana and Ipanema glisten as who we are, what’s truly important to the dizzying coastline of the world’s fi fth thousands of oiled and bronzed bodies each of us, and what we’ll fi ght to hold largest country. Brazil’s curvaceous bask in the day’s building heat. The on to. Such was the case for me and switchbacks have us leaning our bikes conical shape of Sugar Loaf Mountain for Lisa, and the trip to Brazil’s Ama- at outlandish angles, before we shift looms like a Brazilian exclamation mark, zon Jungle, which defi ned a very large our weight in anticipation of the next. emphasizing Rio, as if it needed it! part of who we are today. Make no To our right, the tar stops at the cliff’s Weeks pass and we’re in Belem mistake -- if you’re hoping for a warm edge only to plummet hundreds of feet city, near the northern tip of Brazil. We and fuzzy touring article, you proba- to the warm blue waters of the Atlantic wander between the ticket kiosks, nego- bly want to fl ip the page right now. Ocean. Our senses are buzzing. Wild tiating the cost of a boat and the week- coffee grows by the side, pruned only long journey, up the mighty Amazon, A New Continent by the speeding traffi c. The broad leaves to the jungle city of Manaus. After 40 countries and 30-months of banana trees skim our helmets on Two days later we anxiously roll of ride-eat-sleep, repeat, Lisa and I the tighter turns, their branches heavy our bikes from the dock side and onto swap Africa’s arid east coast for the with the chandelier style fruit. thin wooden planks that straddle the lush steamy tropics of South America’s 40-foot drop between the safety of the northeast coast. We ride the smooth fast Redemption in Sin City dock and the rusting boat deck. Four tar north of Argentina’s metropolitan We stand at the feet of the Christ the crew members help with our bags and capital, Buenos Aires. I’m on my BMW Redeemer statue, almost touching the the bikes for a pre-arranged fee. As R1100GS. Ahead of me, Lisa’s BMW clouds, perched high over Rio de Janeiro. night descends, we lash the bikes down, F 650 GS exhaust barks healthily as she Our eyes strain to take in the incredible our beloved machines barely visible applies a handful of throttle, leaning view, as the milky horizon blurs the line among hundreds of bags of onions, deep in the fast corner, her bike seem- between sky and sea. The Redeemer’s the ships main cargo. Climbing the ingly none the worse for our two-week- iconic outstretched arms cast a protec- steep rusting metal steps, we head for sea-crossing from South Africa. We tive shadow across what is one of the the passenger deck above and wearily explore Uruguay for only a week, pit- most outrageous, vibrant, and notorious hang our hammocks among the others. stopping in Montevideo for just a night. cities in the world. A pulsating playground We’re soaked in salty perspiration from Brazil now demands our full attention; of carnival, football, and unashamed both our efforts and the humidity, which this vast country occupies almost half of erotica. Below us, a patchwork favela hovers at 95%. As we pull away from South America and is bordered by none of tin and brick clings impossibly to the the port, we’re treated to a spectacle of steep mountainside, thousands of shanty golden shafts of light penetrating the dark  caption 1, caption 1, caption 1, cap- homes each built precariously atop of skies. Five miles offshore, a thunderstorm tion 1, caption 1, caption 1. the next. Downtown Rio teems with life crackles to life, extinguishing the day.

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catching on the middle deck, and we To the South Bank Without shade and exposed to the raw trophobic, the jungle now hems us in, watch as they pull their already half Its 4:30 a.m. The quiet streets seem power of the sun, the heat hits us full funnelling us deeper into the Amazon. submerged canoes up close and eerie as we ride the 6.6 miles out to the force and the humidity is debilitating. Branches brush and snag and snatch scramble aboard in an attempt to sell easterly dock. At the end of a steep and Our heavy riding suits are already our handlebars. The furnace-like heat their bottled palm hearts. We buy a rough dirt track, the bare metal cargo sweat-stained. of mid-day hasn’t abated and makes bottle for 50c. ferry that will deliver us to the southerly concentration tough. Our mental lapses It’s late afternoon and we’re but a bank is already loading beaten 4x4s Claustrophobia in the Jungle meet with bone jarring thumps as few hours east of Manaus. The sun is and tired-looking trucks. Deep ruts cut Ahead our path shimmers. The line wheels dive into holes and suspension already beginning to set behind a into the mud by the heavy vehicles between track, jungle, and sky are bottoms out. fl eecy thicket of clouds, tingeing them need to be carefully negotiated if we’re distorted by the unyielding sun. Our By early nightfall we’ve covered with hues of purple, pink, and gold. to avoid ending up on our sides. We route seems endless. We stand on the almost 180 miles of narrow mud trail, Leaning over the side, we witness the make our way onto the treacherous footpegs, cautiously weaving around our crimson route criss-crossed by “meeting of the waters,” an almost metal deck carefully, slippery from the large holes in what is left of the tarmac countless deep ravines and minor tribu- biblical sight, where the Rio Negro’s early morning dew. laid some 25 years earlier. Our walk- taries. We survived nine bridge cross- dark tannic waters converge with those By late morning we’ve made better ing-pace speed means we’re literally ings, the last six seemingly impassable of the Amazon’s other major tributary, progress than we’d expected and are roasting, as boiling air lifts from our as they required that we walk the rotting the Solimões. Two separate rivers, descending the steep and broken sur- dangerously hot engines and cooks carcass fi rst, and then unload each markedly different in color and tem- face of what was once tar down to a us alive. The primordial Amazon is bike before crossing, step-by-small step, perature collide in one channel with tributary, where another small metal raft aggressively reclaiming the track, tear- and to return fi nally for our heavy bags. neither mixing. is moored. The ancient vessel chugs into ing up the tar and repossessing what Two of these rotting bridges required us life belching plumes of black smoke high is hers. The tropical landscape is as to chop fresh wood to stabilize sections North to South Through the into the still air as it clears its throat. stifl ing as it is stunning; almost claus- before we could risk crossing. Amazon Rain Forest After days of preparation and delib-  caption 3, caption 3, caption 3, caption 3, caption 3, caption 3, caption 3, caption 3, caption 3, caption 3. eration in Manaus city, the time has come. We’ve triple-checked the bikes and researched our route south through the Amazon Rain Forest. As far as we can tell, the route from Manaus to Porto Velho hasn’t been attempted on large capacity bikes -- perhaps for good reason. The Brazilian govern- ment closed the notorious BR319 back  caption 2, caption 2, caption 2, caption 2, caption 2, caption 2, caption 2, caption in the late 80s after conceding to the 2, caption 2, caption 2. impossibly high cost of maintaining such a route. Additionally, regular Meeting of the Waters tails touching the water. deaths due to drivers sliding from the Once we’re settled in with the bikes The next morning we wake early, track into ravines and gullies didn’t safe, we lean back and pull hats over the boat’s diesel engine churning the help matters. Ahead of us 700-miles our eyes. The low-in-the-morning-sky water ceaselessly. Pushing into the of mud track, rotten bridges, and an Equatorial sun peeps in from beneath wider channels, we are bound by thick estimated more-than one-third of the the low metal ceiling and sets forth jungle on each side. Small wooden world’s animal species deep in the rain through the channels of the Amazon. and tin homes litter the banks, all held forests. One of the world’s largest Low hanging branches are brushed high over the water on precarious snakes, the Anaconda, inhabits the aside as we sweep through the nar- stilts. Wooden docks jut into the chan- shallow pools and waterways, and rower passages, while macaws and nel. Teenage boys in narrow wood- jaguars are known to roam the length parrots scatter at our approach. On carved canoes paddle furiously after of the 319. We’re only too aware that exposed branches we can see huge our fast moving boat to sell their wares. this trip will test us both – but, then iguana sunning themselves, their long Ropes and grappling irons are thrown, again, that’s what we’re after.

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 caption 4, caption 4, caption 4, caption 4, caption 4, caption 4, caption 4.  caption 5, caption 5, caption 5, caption 5, caption 5, caption 5, caption 5.

Big Cat’s and Machetes I anxiously whisper to Lisa. In a fl ash nerability fi nally give way to tired eyes way up. Then the unthinkable: the scrub and vines. His face is an ashen later. I remove as much as possible from The largest and most decomposed the big cat is gone, diving effortlessly and we sleep fi tfully, waking every few wood splinters and breaks under the white. I don’t see him breathing. Mirac- the crippled bike, battling to release the of the bridges we’ve seen today is to be absorbed by the jungle on the hours to tend the fi re. weight. Adrenalin pulses through my ulously the large GS has snagged a beam bags from his suspended machine. I crawl before us. Tired and dehydrated, we’ve opposite side. body as my left leg shoots down, des- and teeters, threatening to fall, the rear under the wooden structure. Above my chosen to face this obstacle in the Lisa looks at me in disbelief. Our A Dark Day Looms perate to fi nd something solid. There’s wheel spinning furiously in the air. head the bike still teeters. As the bike morning. We have fallen several times priorities have drastically shifted. The A chorus of exotic bird wakes us at nothing. I throw my weight to the right Before I can reach Simon, I need to straps release, the heavy bags drop in the last hour. Off the bikes we start shelter will wait -- we need to build a daybreak and by 5:30 a.m., we’ve and know instantly it’s useless. The GS hit the kill-switch on his bike, before earthwards with a weighty thump. I to hastily stretch our tarpaulin over the fi re. Forty-minutes later with no further walked the rotting bridge. The parallel is going over and taking me with it. My the momentum from the spinning wheel manage to grab a handle and stop the bamboo frame of an abandoned shel- sightings of our scary neighbor, the fi re beams have crumbled making walking outstretched hands wait for the impact tips it over the edge. The muddy bank, momentum, halting a long slide into ter close by, in the hope of fending off crackles and smokes from wet timber. alongside the bikes impossible. We of earth and I anticipate the crush of foliage, and rock tumble and slip under- the river below and saving myself from the worst of the impending rain. A Our tired blue tarp hangs above our have no choice but to ride them both the the bike. I feel my head crash and my foot as I rush to get to him. The fall has sliding even further under the bridge. crack of undergrowth splinters the still heads, straining against the bungee 100-feet across. A daunting prospect. helmet compress hard on my shoulders. been head-fi rst into a tree-stump and rocks. Twenty minutes later, my prayers air close by and snatches our atten- cords we’ve used to tie it down. Tonight As I sit on my GS 1100, I battle to I wonder why my hands haven’t hit fi rst. He’s out cold, but as I grasp his hand, are answered. Simon slowly regains tion, our eyes darting in the direction we’ll sleep in our hammocks. Deep in get the rear wheel up. The combination Thump! Crack! Darkness envelopes me. I can see the rise and fall of his chest. consciousness. I’d been forced to con- of the disturbance. Three hundred feet the Amazon, the monkeys howl an of water on rotting wood has the wheel I thank God that Simon’s still breathing. template the unthinkable if he’d not from us, the heavily padded paws of unsettling call across the canopies. The spinning furiously. With a substantial Lisa’s Words I check his pulse, careful not to disturb come around: leaving him here, uncon- a large black jaguar nonchalantly step light fades fast, and fuelled by our drop from “fi rst plank” to earth, there’s I watch horrifi ed as Simon and his his head. There’s little I can do but wait scious, defenceless, while I sought help out onto the track. Halfway across he imagination and fear, the once harm- no way of getting the bike onto the bike start to go over, and I’m power- for him to come round, as trying to move in Manaus. In reality, there’d be little stiffens, every sinew now taught and less shapes of jungle foliage take on bridge without the assistance of the less to help. Scrambling to the bank, I him now could do more harm than good. chance his body would be here on the alert. Semi crouched, the jaguar stares a more menacing demeanor. Laid back engine. Suddenly the rear wheel snags see Simon about eight feet below me, While waiting, I keep my mind occu- return. But right now, I need to fi nd out directly at us. “Where’s my machete?” in our hammocks, our feelings of vul- something solid, catches and eases its lying motionless in a tangle of jungle pied knowing there will be time for panic what state he is in and if he can move.

78 RoadRUNNER Motorcycle Touring & Travel www.roadrunner.travel January/February '11 79 World Travelers Tours Bike Troubles Brazil On the south side of the bridge, I inspect the 1100GS, as Lisa treads her way back and forth across the bridge, FACTS AND INFORMATION bringing our gear to the bikes. From under my fuel tank, I can see a thick Total Mileage highway have many potholes. Small coastal Books & Maps stream of oil leaking, but not from Approximately 10,668 miles. roads are poor quality, but offer some of o Brazil (International Travel Country where. Fractures on both sides of the the best riding. Watch out for horse-drawn Maps: Brazil), ITMB Publishing, sub-frame will need bracing before we In General vehicles, even on the major routes. The ISBN 978-1553411444, $8.65 can move. As I turn the key in the big Nine times the size of Texas, the Ama- BR319, shown as cutting through the Ama- o Brazil & Amazon map Nelles Verlag, GS, she sputters and dies. I return zon basin is home to one third of the ani- zon north-south, and the Transamzonica, ISBN 978-3865740816, $10.95 Lisa’s horrifi ed glance. Several more mal species on earth, including jaguars, which runs east-west from the Atlantic Ocean o The Amazon, anacondas, vampire bats, and piranhas! to the Bolivian and Peruvian borders, are 3rd: The Bradt Travel Guide, frantic turns of the key yield the same The rainy season begins mid-October (in the both in dangerous states and our advice ISBN 1841621730, $25.99 response, and now the instrument lights south) and December (centralCaribbean zone, Manaus). Sea is not to attempt riding these roads solo, o The Lonely Planet Guide to Brazil, look dull. The afternoon heat is punish- NICARAGUA It lasts until March and to June, respectively,Lesser Antillesif at all. ISBN 978-1741042979, $26.99 ing, and to make matters worse, on this causing a 30- to 45-foot upsurge in water COSTA side of the bridge we have no shade. Trinidad levels. TheRICA best time to travel here is Sept Contact Information Motorcycles & Gear With the bikes unloaded, we hook VENEZUELA to October.PANAMA The offi cial language of Brazil o Vaccinations BMW R1100GS, BMW F650GS up the jump leads. The GS sparks to is Portuguese. English is only spoken in wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations Luggage Systems: Touratech Zega Rio Orinoco A t l a n t i c life, and our relief is palpable. A few the larger cities. The currency of Brazil /list.aspx GUYANA Jacket and Pants: BMW Rally 1 minutes later with the engine still run- is the Real (BRL) and it’s advised to take o Visa requirements and travel adviceFRENCH Helmets: BMWO System c e a4 nCarbon Fiber Rio Orinoco Apoteri Rio Magdalena ning, we’ve loaded the bikes and are good quality dollars to exchange. Prophy- www.travel.state.gov/travelSURINAME CamopiGUIANA Boots: Alpine Star Tech 6 and Gaerne SG10 Boa Vista preparing to move forward. The clunk lactics (anti-malarial drugs)COLOMBIA are essential. Other risks are dengue fever and a para- Serro Do Navio  caption 6, caption 6, caption 6, caption 6, caption 6, caption 6. into fi rst gear is reassuring but then... ECUADOR Macapa sitic disease called chagas, widespread in Rio Negro Marajo Island the engine cruelly dies! By 5 p.m., I’ve Br 230 Belem Amazon R. rural areas. Rio Xingu Sao Luis Simon’s Words: unbearable, but I remind myself that it swallowed a dangerous amount of Manaus Santarem Rio Tocantins Gulf of Tefe Guayaquil Fortaleza The Dark Side of Adventure could be worse. I have no idea how drugs, which have allowed me to move, Amazon R. Amazon R. Br 316 How to Get There Rio Madeira Sao Goncalo My eyes open slowly, wet foliage we’re going to lift the bike. I can’t even kind of, and check all I can on the Teresina Natal A passport and visa are required. It’s also Imperatriz brushes my face, and the sweet smell turn my head. With the medical pack bike. We’re alone. Now with each turn Rio TapajosJacareacanga recommended to obtain an Inter-AmericanRio Jurua Br 101 of damp soil fi lls my nostrils. The pain open we fi nd the strongest pink anti- of the ignition, thin white wispy plumes Tarauaca Recife Driving Permit. A yellow fever vaccination Porto Velho Rio Teles Pires Rio Purus Cachimbo Rio Madeira Rio Araguaia in my neck and back hits like a sledge infl ammatory tablets we have, along of smoke rise from under the gas tank. certificate may also be requested. MostRio Branco Rio Sao Francisco Maceio BRAZIL Rio Tocantins hammer, a searing hot stabbing torture with an elephant-sized white painkiller. Lisa’s face has given up hiding her PERU Aracaju international fl ights land in Sao Paulo or Rio Xingu For layoutGurupi purposes only,Barreiras that... I pass out. When I come to Lisa I swallow them all. Pain or no, we have concern. By 6 p.m., it’s almost dark Rio de Janeiro. Rio Madre de Dios Br 364 Alvorada final to come... Salvador is close by, talking to me, but I can’t to get the bike upright. The nylon rope and we’re exhausted. We’ve already Food & Lodging Brasilia hear her words. I can’t hear anything. and metal pulleys we’d bought in Manaus started to ration our clean water. On La Paz BOLIVIA Cuiaba Canavieiras Lake Titicaca It’s almost impossible to erect a tent in Rio Araguaia Goiania My eyesight is blurred and I’m fi lled are put to use. It takes us 20 minutes to this side of the bridge we have no Santa Cruz the jungle, so you’ll need a hammock with Br 116 with fear. My left side is numb, and my route the rope and lash the bike. Lisa means of erecting any shelter and no Sucre Br 163 mosquito netting. Major hotel chains are Fortin arm and leg feel alien. I take a deep braces the rope around her waist and way of hanging the hammocks. Belo Horizonte available in the larger cities. The cuisine Madrejon Campo Grande Vitoria breath and slowly think about my toes anchors the bike as we lift it up. The As dusk gives way to night, Lisa Tarija Rio Paraguay Boa Vista of Brazil varies greatly by region. The natio- Cruzeiro and fi ngers moving. They respond with bridge and elevation make it impossible and I take stock. Have we bitten off P A R A G U A Y Do Sul Campinas Rio Parana Rio De Janeiro nal dishes are whole feijoada, a meat and CHILE San Salvador Concepcion Sao Paulo life. The relief is as overwhelming as to lift in one go. Amazingly, the GS is more than we can chew? As a hus- De Jujuy Coronel bean stew, and feijão com arroz, rice and Salta Asuncion Oviedo Br 277 the pain. I need to try and stand. “OK, upright 10 minutes later. Lisa looks ex- band, I’ve never been so glad to have Curitiba beans. Street stalls are the best places for Foz Do Iguacu A t l a n t i c think. Act. Move. Get up. Get up!” I hausted, and under her riding jacket, my wife by my side, and yet, at the Resistencia Rio Parana São José local food. Florianopolis O c e a n tell myself. My attempts to stand fail thick welts mark her skin from where the same time, never wished her further ARGENTINA Br 101 Rio Uruguay miserably for the next fi ve hours. “This rope has cut into her waist. away...somewhere safe...somewhere Roads & Biking Porto Alegre Cordoba could be serious,” I whisper to Lisa, The drugs start to take effect. An hour easy...anywhere but here. Brazil‘s Pinter-city a c i froads i c are among the Tacuarembo Paysandu Always consult more detailed maps with a faint laugh in my voice. later and I’ve ridden both bikes across the most dangerousO c in e athe n world and main Rosario for touring purposes. Santiago Rio Parana URUGUAY roads are typically in bad disrepair. The La Paloma It’s another two hours until I can stand bridge. The experience is a blur. I need ...To be continued in the March/ San Rafael Buenos Aires San Carlos GPS fi les are available at www.RoadRUNNER.travel unassisted. The pain in my neck is almost to sit, as I’m close to passing out again. April’11 issue. RR occasional stretches of modern divided Montevideo

80 RoadRUNNER Motorcycle Touring & Travel www.roadrunner.travel January/February ‘11 81

Gulf of San Matias Isla Grande de Chiloe

Gulf of San Jorge

FALKLAND ISLANDS

Strait of Magellan

Tierra Del Fuego SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND