We pulled out of the car park at 9am this morning after a rather fitful sleep. The owner of the hotel, or one of his workers, must have decided to carry on renovations in one of the rooms close to us, at 2.30am. He quickly stopped when I shouted my disapproval..:) The only problem with that was waking Jen in the process.
It’s an interesting hotel. Jen wondered what the little package was, beside my bed. A condom!!..:) With mirrors and a funny chair and jacuzzi, I think the room is designed for people that like each other..:)
The car park worked out perfectly for us. Not as good as parking in the hotel building, but only a 5 min walk away and the exercise is good.
The previous night I woke thinking I had broken my wrist!! The pain was severe. For the last maybe 10 years, we have been taking Glucosamine & Condroiten tablets to ward off joint niggles. Unfortunately we had run out of them a week or so ago and it wasn’t till last night that we realised they have actually been working. My wrist felt like there were crystals in the joint and to move it, was excruciating. For the equivalent of NZ$50 we bought a pack of 30 sachets of the mix and I took one before bed. It seemed to work a treat.
It’s time to get going again.
We really enjoyed out time in Rio.
With the sat-nav set to Brasilia 1170 k’s away we threaded our way out of the city. Passing the Portuguese Embassy along the way. Sadly we were both too preoccupied to photograph the beautiful building and gardens. It’s great to be on the road again. The amazing thing is that it did not rain once during the 3 days we were in Rio. It’s a big, busy city. Thankfully we were driving out of it. The traffic, multi lanes, going in, was backed up for miles.
It’s hard to believe they have built a railway to it!!
Soon the countryside changed. A narrow very winding road climbed up into the mountains. Filling up with diesel at the best price yet, on the way. I think we got to about 1300m elevation and it has pretty much stayed around that level.
A castle in the jungle!!
In a large town we passed a Michelin store with a BF Goodrich sign, so pulled in. For the next 30min we tried to convey our need for new BFG tires with three young ladies, without success. They say the size we need is not available in Brasil!!! In the ‘good-ol-days’, Dad would run the tires down to the canvas, why can’t we…:) There’s still about 2mm of tread left!
As we track north, the country is changing. Less glamorous towns and the roads not so well maintained. We are doing a detour to take in a historic town, Orou Preto. We are honohouring a Brazilian Dr in the UK, who recommended we visit the historic colonial town. Only that will be for tomorrow. We are 20k’s short tonight.
Tonight’s camp.
Jen had found this site on iOverlander, had tried to communicate with the owner on WhatsApp, without success. So we set off not knowing if it was open or still operating. Turning off the single lane main road onto a mountain track defined by two rows of brick tiles and in 1st gear, we came to a lovely deserted camp on a plateau looking over mountains and valleys. The sun is shining and it’s about 26degrees. Beautiful. Greeted by a cheery young lady and given a brief tour of the site, by 6pm and darkness closing in, we are set up for the evening and night.
The forecast temperature for the night, 19deg. we pinch ourselves and buy a beer each to celebrate. ..:)
With campsite wifi we are are able to catch up with world events and the chaos evolving from a Trump presidency…:) Jen tells me, Kennedy has been confirmed as the Health Secretary. Great! The Democrats are being shredded and it can only be good for them, and America, in the long run.
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