Following our rest day in São Sebasteo, we continued to cycle down Costa Verde to Cananéia over 4 days. It rained incessantly and as a result was tough going on highways with water, mud and road grit flying in your face. We had some steep climbs on coastal roads (and we havent reached the Andes yet) and some flat bike paths along stunning coastline, some island hopping using ferries which are free for cyclists (some of us managed to miss a ferry and take less scenic truck laden highways to islands). We travelled through scenic rain forests (no wonder it is raining a lot) - the Atlântica Reserve – sadly only 7% is left of the original forests due to urbanisation. And travelled along stunning beaches – I was taken by Santos island which hás a main beach about 20km long with fountains, statues and cafés dotted along the immaculate lawns. Our route took us inland and the road was flanked by banana plantations and other tropical fruit growing, we rested at a roadside fruit stall for refreshments – delicious coco gelado (cold coconut juice drunk out of the fruit) or sugar cane and lime juice, and sweet bananas, mangoes, huge granadillas, papaya, watermelon, various citrus fruit - there are just so many different fruits in this region. Loving it!
One of the towns we passed through was Iguape, a charming town with a histórical centre, cobbled streets lined with beautiful churches and brightly painted buildings. The annual religious festival was taking place which is attended by 1000~s of Brazilians who travel for miles, some travelling for days. As we aproached the town, we passed men on horseback and in carts (with boom boxes blaring tinny music) and dressed in their gaúcho gear. We had passed a large group of cyclists a few times on the road who travelled 2 days from Santos to Iguape for the festival and we were greeted as new friends with plenty of photos taken. We strolled along the river road which was lined with market stalls and fairground, trying out local dishes and snacks to quite a few stares – yes we were gringos but we were also filthy - covered in road grit! The festivities were to carry on well into the night but we needed to get into camp to set up our tents and get clean before dark. A quiet night in camp, with no rain!
The next day was only 54km of which 35km on the beach which is used as a road by cars and buses – quite a sight. Sounded easy but hard going with muddy dirt roads to start, hectic headwinds on the beach which made it very slow going. It was most enjoyable once the wind dropped and nothing felt better with what seemed like the whole beach to ourselves, the odd fishermen and car passing. Beautiful unspoilt coastline, plenty of sea birds and the sun was shining! And a rest day, on the island of Cananiea reached by a short ferry ride, we were blessed with a dolphin sighting!
A rest day in the sunshine, the mood hás lifted as we woke to more sunshine, although slighlty jaded by the previous nights activities – we were treated to a Brazilian bbq by Talita, Christiano and the hotel staff, Brazilian music and capirinhas served in large quantities by barmen Ben. Basic ingredients are Cachaçá (sugar cane alcohol), crushed limes and sugar – lethal and calorific!
There is a buzz of activity with bike maintenance, laundry and internet catch up before lunch. There are some advantages to being in a non-touristy place, the people are so friendly and cant do enough for us, however the disadvantage is that there are some things not catered for such as na ATM for international cards so after 3 attempts with different cards, I then tried post office bank branch – no luck and 2 hours later!!!!
The next section was 8 days to Foz do Iguazu with a combination of camping and hotels. We camped next to highways (the busiest one in Brazil) with basic facilities - only 1 toilet and a bar – so a bbq and a beer went down very well! We camped at tranquil oásis outside Curitiba, if you dont mind dogs barking all night, a beautiful camp set in pine trees next to a refreshing waterfall on full moon, and another camp next to a pond, with clear starlit skies. The hotel accommodation hás been varied from quite comfortable to very basic 4 to a room and shared bathrooms, more hostel like! The roads have ranged from an amazing dirt road through farmlands to busy highways with huge trucks, rolling hills, forests and scenic farmlands. We havent managed to stop at different towns along the way, except for the odd coffee;cheese pastry;ice-cream break. Most days we have set off between 7 and 7.30am in mist, fog or low cloud with sun breaking through any time from 9 to 11am. The temperature hás ranged from 10 to 35 deg celsius, and we have had some strong winds.....mostly side and front....where are the tail winds! The rain hás mostly stayed away but I admit to opting for a truck day as it was day 7, raining and cold, the 3rd 145km day in a row (8-10hours) and I was feeling physically tired (need to rest the bum and knees) and mentally needed an off day before it became like going to work during Plan time!
Looking forward to 2 rest days at Iguazu Falls, one for catching up on bike maintenance, laundry, internet and shopping for basics, and the second for exploring the Falls from both the Brasilian and Argentinian side, before we head off into Argentinia and Uruguay for the second section of the tour – 2 weeks to Bueonos Aires!!
Next update will be Iquacu Falls and into Argentina! Tchau for now..
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