February had seen me heading back to the warmth of the north from Ushuaia. I then had some mechanical problems in Cordoba (northern Argentina)- thanks to an excellent mechanic there, I was on my way again after 8 days - yes, I know those techies out there amongst you want the details, errr, well I never use the correct terms though I sort of know what I´m talking about (I think) and two engine studs had needed to be heli-coiled and the rocker arm was broken --poor Thelma.
The delay meant that once I left Cordoba, I had to race to Sao Paulo in Brazil in 3 days, and as usual I was not going the most direct route as I had a yearning to go via Asuncion - ever since a childhood game I have wanted to go there, I only had time for a couple of cold beers and a stay in a sleazy downtown hotel where they were most amused at me parking Thelma in their lobby - yet another stunt-like entry on a steep ramp to get up the steps.
This was followed by a dash across Paraguay, doing a runner at every police checkpoint on the way.
I have just had a fantastic month with my sister Abi and my nephew Claudio (aged 5 and my biggest fan). They arrived from England armed with family-sized bags of Salt and Vinegar Chipsticks and also 96 Jaffa Cakes (English biscuits) - a welcome taste from home.
So this BLOG entry is not about biking really as we took to the buses - it has made me appreciate travelling by bike all the more now -16 hours on a bus and I was pleading to be let off.
I felt as if we were lucky to get out of Sao Paulo at all as I ended up having to go to the Police Station to make a statement about the storage garage -I had got VERY angry with them when we came to leave and they were insisting that I had to pay storage charges -after they were the ones who had broken my throttle cable which had meant I was stuck there for an extra two days.
The garage guy who had grabbed my keys to prevent me leaving got so scared at my angry reaction that he ran to get the police for his own protection. The police decided that I was in the right and I was allowed to leave.
We have been exploring the Coast between Sao Paulo and Rio - snorkelling in the clear waters, kayaking and generally relaxing on the beautiful beaches. Rio was next -an amazing city - where we had a great time staying at Copacabana and visiting all the tourist haunts.
As a complete contrast to that we headed to the Panatanal (one of the World´s largest Wetland areas) to go animal spotting. We came face to face with a 2 metre long anaconda and then went after alligators with a lasso -in actual fact the "lasso" was my washing line but it proved useful and our guide caught an alligator in the river with it. Tarantulas, capybara (the biggest rodents in the world -like a cross between a guine pig and a Shetlad pony), eagles, vultures, giant storks and the breathtakingly beautiful hyacinth macaws - in danger of extinction, and yet we were lucky enough to have a flock of 12 living in the palm trees near our hut. It was very hot and humid in the Pantanal -most people sleep in hammocks out there, we had the option of staying in a hut on beds with an overhead fan - an option we were grateful for.
From there we went south to the Paraguayan border at the Iguazo Falls -the most amazing Waterfalls I have ever seen. Abi was keen to go on a boat ride to the base of the Falls -I said yes, little realising that I was in for the most terrifying ride of my life. On a high-powered inflatable boat we went charging up the rapids and then swooped in under the water -getting completely soaked as thousands of gallons of water thundered down on us. We swooped in and out a number of times, each time coming in closer and closer. Then it was time to shoot the rapids heading back downstream.
Once back on dry land we were accosted by coatis, racoon-like creatures which hang around the jungle surrounding the Falls hoping to get food from the tourists. They kept following us and at one point we were running as there were four of them chasing us. Yes, I know they are only the size of daschunds and I am supposed to be a roughy-toughy overland biker - but this was scary stuff!
I am now back in Sao Paulo, having said a sad goodbye to Abi and Claudio, it´s a return to solo travelling for me.
Now all I need to do is get my gearbox seal (that Abi brought out with her) fitted -Hello BMW Sao Paulo ~ I´ll be round there first thing in the morning.
I have had no gearbox seal for five months now and Thelma has been sporting a "stylish" 30cm long yellow plastic snorkel on the Final Drive Breather hole, a feature that has been much commented upon by fellow bike travellers I´ve met.
Once the new sael is sorted, I have got about 3000 miles of coast road to Belem in the north and then up the Amazon by boat to Manaus, in search of a road through the jungle.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
The delay meant that once I left Cordoba, I had to race to Sao Paulo in Brazil in 3 days, and as usual I was not going the most direct route as I had a yearning to go via Asuncion - ever since a childhood game I have wanted to go there, I only had time for a couple of cold beers and a stay in a sleazy downtown hotel where they were most amused at me parking Thelma in their lobby - yet another stunt-like entry on a steep ramp to get up the steps.
This was followed by a dash across Paraguay, doing a runner at every police checkpoint on the way.
I have just had a fantastic month with my sister Abi and my nephew Claudio (aged 5 and my biggest fan). They arrived from England armed with family-sized bags of Salt and Vinegar Chipsticks and also 96 Jaffa Cakes (English biscuits) - a welcome taste from home.
So this BLOG entry is not about biking really as we took to the buses - it has made me appreciate travelling by bike all the more now -16 hours on a bus and I was pleading to be let off.
I felt as if we were lucky to get out of Sao Paulo at all as I ended up having to go to the Police Station to make a statement about the storage garage -I had got VERY angry with them when we came to leave and they were insisting that I had to pay storage charges -after they were the ones who had broken my throttle cable which had meant I was stuck there for an extra two days.
The garage guy who had grabbed my keys to prevent me leaving got so scared at my angry reaction that he ran to get the police for his own protection. The police decided that I was in the right and I was allowed to leave.
We have been exploring the Coast between Sao Paulo and Rio - snorkelling in the clear waters, kayaking and generally relaxing on the beautiful beaches. Rio was next -an amazing city - where we had a great time staying at Copacabana and visiting all the tourist haunts.
As a complete contrast to that we headed to the Panatanal (one of the World´s largest Wetland areas) to go animal spotting. We came face to face with a 2 metre long anaconda and then went after alligators with a lasso -in actual fact the "lasso" was my washing line but it proved useful and our guide caught an alligator in the river with it. Tarantulas, capybara (the biggest rodents in the world -like a cross between a guine pig and a Shetlad pony), eagles, vultures, giant storks and the breathtakingly beautiful hyacinth macaws - in danger of extinction, and yet we were lucky enough to have a flock of 12 living in the palm trees near our hut. It was very hot and humid in the Pantanal -most people sleep in hammocks out there, we had the option of staying in a hut on beds with an overhead fan - an option we were grateful for.
From there we went south to the Paraguayan border at the Iguazo Falls -the most amazing Waterfalls I have ever seen. Abi was keen to go on a boat ride to the base of the Falls -I said yes, little realising that I was in for the most terrifying ride of my life. On a high-powered inflatable boat we went charging up the rapids and then swooped in under the water -getting completely soaked as thousands of gallons of water thundered down on us. We swooped in and out a number of times, each time coming in closer and closer. Then it was time to shoot the rapids heading back downstream.
Once back on dry land we were accosted by coatis, racoon-like creatures which hang around the jungle surrounding the Falls hoping to get food from the tourists. They kept following us and at one point we were running as there were four of them chasing us. Yes, I know they are only the size of daschunds and I am supposed to be a roughy-toughy overland biker - but this was scary stuff!
I am now back in Sao Paulo, having said a sad goodbye to Abi and Claudio, it´s a return to solo travelling for me.
Now all I need to do is get my gearbox seal (that Abi brought out with her) fitted -Hello BMW Sao Paulo ~ I´ll be round there first thing in the morning.
I have had no gearbox seal for five months now and Thelma has been sporting a "stylish" 30cm long yellow plastic snorkel on the Final Drive Breather hole, a feature that has been much commented upon by fellow bike travellers I´ve met.
Once the new sael is sorted, I have got about 3000 miles of coast road to Belem in the north and then up the Amazon by boat to Manaus, in search of a road through the jungle.