Reunions and Crossroads

We last left our tale in Salvador with our truck load of overlanders temporarily becoming three sets of apartment dwellers. The time had come however for us to reunite and climb back into our travelling shoes. Washing machines and personal maids don't last forever unfortunately and despite heads still full of carnaval music and livers now adapted to steady supplies of Schin beer we still had miles to go and places to see.

With that in mind we pulled our post-carnaval selves out of bed early and began a three part group member recovery exercise aboard trusty Matecito. Our now well known local agent Alain marvelled in wonder as we swarmed the truck and rapidly crammed it full of people, luggage and three days worth of food shopping. As this had to be accomplished on the side of the road during morning rush hour there was a certain amount of time pressure but fortunately our truck packing skills had not entirely vanished during our week off. Picking up the members of Party House also gave us the opportunity to drive along the parade route and pretend to be a departing bloco truck.

Once clear of Salvador we were soon chugging our way inland as we headed away from the Brazilian coast and instead towards its green interior. Our first day's driving saw us arriving in the pretty town of Lencois which sits on the edge of the Chapada Diamantina National Park. Lencois' cobbled streets and pretty colonial buildings made us instant converts as we pulled into town, our only debate being how exactly to pronounce its name. However, a closed road gave us an unexpected half hour stop in the town centre as the crew walked the streets trying to decide whether Matecito would actually be able to fit down the narrow lanes leading to our campground. Following a bit of planning we set off again with Emma armed with a squeegee mop to lift random bits of bunting and the odd awkward swinging shop sign out of the way of the truck. After blocking the road for a while and inching our way in reverse around a particularly tight corner we finally pulled up at our campsite gates only to find that we needed a crowbar to open them! It was a relief to relax in a lovely grassy campsite and settle back into outdoor living mode.

Getting into Lencois is a bit tight

Nice camp in Lencois

The following day most of the group set out on a day's tour of the nearby national park where walks, swimming and cave visits were on offer.

Day out in Chapada Diamantina

Simon, Gen & Mike

Dave

Louisa & Sarah

Mike

Strange rocks

Cave

After the tour there was time to wander around the pretty cobbled streets of Lencois or grab a drink in one of the street side restaurants before dinner.

Interesting flower pot in Lencois

Pretty Lencois

Departing Lencois we continued our cross country traverse, weaving our way through the vast agricultural tracts of Brazil. We found a bush camp amidst an obliging farmer's crops and enjoyed a sausage stew under the stars while also appreciating a pleasantly cooler evening than we had had for a while. Long sleeves and sleeping bags made an appearance after weeks of neglect, hot nights having been our companions for a long time. Most of us enjoyed an excellent night's sleep as we appreciated the novelty of snuggling up in our tents instead of sweating in them.

Meanwhile, while we had been partying our way through carnaval, Odyssey founder Pete had been down in Patagonia doing battle with our wayward truck, Ithaca. Despite Ithaca throwing in a few more surprises from her bag of tricks we had had word from Pete that he and the truck were back on the move – news that was of great excitement to everyone! Our planned meeting point was to be Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, and so we struck out from our bush camp for a final day's drive in Matecito looking forward to some city time and a much anticipated reunion.

Arriving at our camp ground in Brasilia we immediately spotted our orange and blue friend waiting outside – cue much cheering and mayhem. Soon we were having an impromptu truck party while we reacquainted ourselves with our lovely truck and caught up with Pete. Ithaca – you have definitely been missed.

Look who's back!

"The road is long, with many a winding turn" - Matecito's last song

Pete and Simon discuss injector pumps and tyres and other fascinating things

Pete's arrival also brought the announcement that following continued problems in Venezuela we wouldn't be able to go there. It's a country that, since the death of its charismatic president Hugo Chavez, has gone in to economic meltdown which has meant massive inflation, shortages of everything from toilet paper to cosmetics and the petty crime and violence that often follow, and as much as we wanted to go there it wasn't safe to be taking a truck full of 'rich gringos' through a country struggling through very hard times. Instead we would be spending more time in 3 fantastic countries, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, crossing the continent on the Transoceanic Highway which only opened 3 years ago and connects the Atalantic and the Pacific at one of the widest points on the continent. It's definitely the road less travelled and takes you to places far off the beaten track.

The following day was our opportunity to explore the weird but wonderful city of Brasilia – Brazil's capital since 1960. A UNESCO World Heritage city, Brasilia is unlike any other city we will visit on this trip and has had a bit of a “love it or loathe it” effect on previous Odyssey groups. Designed in the shape of a hummingbird or an aeroplane, depending on which you prefer, the city is laid out in meticulously planned sectors with the government buildings and monuments lying along the “fusilage” of the city and the residential and commercial buildings laid out on the “wings”. The group went out for a tour with the charismatic Billy (“Mr Brasilia”) in Ithaca and saw some of the main sites of the city. Most of us agreed that we probably wouldn't be lining up to become residents of Brasilia but were nonetheless impressed by its futuristic idealism and commitment to its vision.

Mr Brasilia

Beloved Ithaca back in Brasilia

Lee

Ali

Shady streets of Brasilia

The beautiful Dom Bosco church

Brasilia cathedral

Inside the cathedral

St Wayne

Chris, Gen and Kaye discussing their thoughts on the city

Modern UNESCO protected city

Sarah and Simon - always time for fun on a city tour

From Brasilia we struck out west across more of Brazil's broad expanse. Being back in Ithaca was a treat for the group as they stretched out and lazed their way down the long highways, lulled by Ithaca's smooth ride. The proportion of non-sleepers in the back took a hit almost immediately! Despite the change in truck, our now well established drive day routine rolled on as usual with regular stops in Brazil's mostly excellent service stations along the way. By this point in the trip a large proportion of the group are self confessed icecream addicts and so everyone was pleased to find some of the trip's best services along this part of our route, ready to provide our required daily Magnums. On one day we were even treated to an establishment with a pool full of carp and turtles, and toilets that had to be seen to be believed! With toilet stops being a large part of our day, we do get a bit excessively excited when they are good!

Another Brazilian bush camp stop in a forestry site was a peaceful evening, no termite-tent-eating related incidents this year – unlike last year – fortunately, although we did see a snake.

Now officially known as 'Termite Camp' after an incident on last year's South America trip

Louisa alfresco teeth brushing - one of the joys of camping

We arrived in the small town of Jaciara where we set up in a little campsite with plenty of swimming options for everyone. The natural pool, complete with waterfall, was a big hit with some of the group daring to jump off the rocks above or attempt to swing from the rope swing. Emma's worried mother expression might have made an appearance at times but no one was injured and all had a great time, particularly Mike who might have made swinging from the rope into a bit of an obsession.

Our very own waterfall

Jaciara camp

Fun in the pool

Dave

Claire

Mike

More Mike

A lot of the group spent their next full day in Jaciara engaged in various combinations of swimming,  lounging and perhaps walking into town. A few others, in more active moods, went rapelling or rafting down the nearby river which made for a great day out. The rapelling route descended down a beautiful smokey waterfall which was a treat on a hot and sticky day. The rafting, while not as dramatic as in some places, was also judged as excellent and included a lot of floating, jumping in and other kinds of silliness.

Team Rapellant and Rafting

Gen

Steve

Cachoeira Fumaca - Smokey Waterfall

Rafting time

Shortly before they lost Paul to the rapids

There he is!

Louisa

In the evening we held a joint triple birthday for Claire, Sarah and Louisa who had between them reached the impressive age of 88. A large batch of tropical fruit punch was whipped up and we engaged in a number of very mature party games, including pass the parcel and a three legged race. The piece de resistance was a Matecito pinata that had been lovingly constructed by Mike in Salvador and that was now offered up to be hung from a tree and symbolically smashed to pieces by the birthday girls to celebrate the return of Ithaca. Being slightly superstitious and not inclined to take a risk on this, we made sure we had fully dispensed with the services of Matecito before this sacrifice (thanks very much and no offence...)

Punch time!

Louisa, Sarah and Claire's joint birthday

***FLASHBACK*** Mike spends the whole of carnival making the pinata!

The excellent and very accurate result

Louisa has a whack

Claire's violent streak comes out

Success for Sarah

Wayne

Pass the parcel

Ali checking for extra presents

Dave likes his flower garland

Simon and Dave win the 3-legged race

Emma attempts to do an evening briefing to a very loud, drunken group

Instead of listening to the briefing, this was happening...

Emma gives up the briefing - if you can't beat them, join them

Thoroughly partied out we moved on to our next destination, the remote and beautiful national park of Chapada dos Guimaraes where the whole group were treated to an included guided trip into the park. Despite the sweat inducing heat it was a beautiful walk through the Brazilian savannah between a number of lovely waterfall pools where swimming was much appreciated. In the evening there was also the option to return to the park to watch the sunset from a viewpoint which yielded some wonderful photographs.

Another day, another "risk of death" sign

Bridal Veil falls

Out hiking

Swimming time

Helen, Gen, Sarah and Louisa

Chris does his "Last of the Mohican's" impression

Steve & Louisa

Simon overlooks Chapada Dos Guimaraes

Chris

Helen & David

Paula & John

Sunset

Beautiful Chapada

Before leaving Chapada dos Guimaraes we decided that as the “Lucky” Cat statue that we had been carrying since the beginning of the trip had not in fact yielded quite as much luck as one would have hoped for, it should be re-homed to reduce the chance of further mishaps. Fortunately, we were able to gift it to a grateful passing Dragoman group who we're sure will have a great time with it (sshhh, don't tell them...)

At this point we were now heading across country on the new Transoceanic Highway, skirting around the edge of Bolivia as we headed for our next country, Peru. With a lot of ground to cover we had quite a bit of time on the road as we made our way west, stopping in hotels along the way. We were passing through agricultural land that used to be part of the sadly diminished Amazon rainforest and despite the unfortunate lack of forest we still got to experience the rain part of the equation with frequent rain storms making their appearance along the way. In fact, the rain had been so heavy in recent days that a number of our overnight stops were suffering from the after effects of severe flooding. To add to the drama, with solid information hard to come by in advance we had to risk it and just turn up and see for ourselves what state some of these towns were in. To our good fortune we were not significantly held up but did arrive to find a good portion of Rio Branco underwater (including most of the restaurants but fortunately not our hotel!)

Somewhat wet drive to Rio Branco

Outskirts of Rio Branco

Helen - the brown mark on the building is the water level only 2 days before

Damage to the funky riverside area

Our final stop in Brazil, the small town of Xapuri, was the hardest hit of our en route stops and we arrived in the midst of a disaster response clean up effort that was in full swing. The upshot of this was that our accommodation had half filled up with aid workers but, seeing the state of the town, it was impossible to criticise that and instead we piled in five or six to a room and had a bit of a sleepover. In the face of devastation and chaos our own good fortune seemed particularly apparent.

Paul's poncho - perfect for the conditions, if a little silly-looking

Mud covered streets from the flood

The water was still receding

Just one of the many flood-damaged homes

Our time in Brazil was drawing to a close as we advanced upon the border and had a chance to reflect on our favourite things about this huge and diverse country. Caipirinhas, carnaval, colourful clothing, beaches, impossibly strange kinds of fruit, wonderful wildlife and friendly locals were on a lot of people's lists. An abundance of stingy ants and biting insects were perhaps not going to be missed as much, with many people's legs looking as though they had some kind of pox, but being bitten seems a small price to pay to visit such a beautiful country and mingle with its fun-loving people. Meanwhile, Peru beckons. Thanks Brazil, until next time.