Our friend Larry from Nova Scotia, Canada, sent us some photos of his recent ride on his BMW R100GS motorcycle down through Central America and into South America. It turned out to be a completely hair-raising experience. Larry's trip report continues with Section Two: Buenas Aires, Argentina, to Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela to Bogata, Columbia, and then on to Miami.

I met up with the three Aussies again in Belem and we arranged to take a boat together up the Amazon on the Amazon Star. We had to wait for high tide so the boat would rise enough that we could run a plank off the ramp onto the lower deck...a bit scary but we all made it OK.

Our motorcycles on the Amazon Star in Belem, Brazil

Those crazy Aussies and myself on board the Amazon Star

Then it was five days of forced relaxation and beer drinking but with good scenery and interesting river people on the boat also, most of whom were sleeping on the lower deck in hammocks. We had two-berth air-conditioned cabins on the Amazon Star. The cost was about $500 for the five-day trip for each of us and our bikes. We had to buy our own meals in the mess hall which were not too bad.

Jungle living on the Amazon River

A one-manpower cargo ship hauls a shipment of sand up an Amazon tributary river

Getting our bikes off the boat onto land again was even scarier than onloading. Each bike had to be manhandled and lifted up about six feet from the deck to the dock level, using just the arms of about eight men and a rope tied to the bike and around the boat railing above. I had visions of my bike disappearing into the deep...but miraculously it all worked out. After the cruise up the river, I stayed in Manaus in Amazon country a couple days. Manaus is interesting town with almost 2 million inhabitants, surprising as it is literally in the middle of the jungle. A couple of days later I was ready to head north to Venezuela...the Aussies wanted to stay another day but I wanted to get going as my time was now limited with a plane to catch out of Bogota, Colombia on June 15.

The ride north from Manaus to Boa Vista, Brazil, just before the Venezuela border, is almost 500 miles and most of it is hell. And it is only open from 6:00am to 6:00pm because the poor condition of the road demands daylight riding only. There is also some reported danger from unfriendly indigenous people in reservations along the road who, according to a Belem source, are uncivilized (he made bow and arrow motions to illustrate).

The road was full of potholes that covered the whole road in some areas, sometimes a foot deep and masked by shade of the jungle creeping and overhanging the road. I missed 95% of the potholes but the other 5% were threatening to me and the bike. No serious damage to me or machine, even when it started raining heavily and visibility deteriorated and the road surface became quite slick, slowing me down and then it got REALLY dark. My headlight was covered in mud and it was difficult to see the potholes. Mercifully the lightning started and lit up the road and it helped me get through the maze ahead with a greater head of steam. I had visions of hitting a pothole and bouncing off the road into the swamp that crept right up to the road and being a tasty treat for the crocs (aha, another tasty gringo). Boa Vista was a welcome sight.

Gasoline pump prices in Venezuela

Roads in Venezuela got better with much fewer potholes. Gas became so cheap it was funny sometimes. It was cheaper than water at just pennies a liter, thanks to Chavez' policy of cheap gas for the poor people (they are a major exporter of gasoline). The most I ever paid to fill up the tank on my bike was two Bolivars, about 30 cents. One time a guy in a truck filled up and when the attendant could not find small change for him the guy told him just to use it to fill up my bike...funny. But having said this, Chavez is still a ------ ----- and most Venezuelans (let alone other South Americans) do not think much of the fool with the big ego). But he gets along well with the Castros, who are much like him, especially Fidel.

Chavez propaganda poster

  

This feature originally appeared in June 2010 - Updated: 06/17/2010

All photos courtesy of Larry S.