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Boa?
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At 8am we are ready to check out of the port and after finding a few officials who could figure out why their computer wouldn't stop beeping we were on our way through Manaus.
Unfortunately, we find that this once great city has succumbed to the seedier side in many ways. This is the first time in Brazil that we have seen graffiti at all, and it seems they go in for it in a big way here, It's an easy city to leave behind, and quickly we're heading north toward Boa Vista.
Like others before, we thought for sure there'd be a nice little place to park for the night and so avoid driving 800k in one day..... well, it just isn't easy to find that perfect spot, although there are a few gas stations being developed into 24hour truckstop places, there really wasn't anything worth stopping for.
The road cuts through the Waimiri Atroari lands and there are many signs along the roadside warning you not to stop, don't take photos, just keep on going, nothing to see here, etc. We saw a few of the once ferocious indians along the roadside, looking quite happy and even smiling and waving. A far cry from the troubled times in the 1970s when this road was to be built: Many government soldiers died by poison darts, and many more indians died just so that this road could exist. WE didn't exactly stop, but did turn around to look at the enormous anaconda that had met it's end on the road. It was cut in 2, with each part at least 3 metres long. Oh boy, imagine meeting that monster out on the trail!!!
The road became pretty rutted from there north. We hit quite a few bus-swallowers before realizing that they were strategically placed to always catch you out if you drove faster than 40km/h. LOTS of what we now call "Bathtub" potholes, and thousands of their smaller brethren the"washing machine" size. All are about half a metre in depth and designed with nice sharp edges to cause the maximum damage. Dom said he felt like Robert Deniro in the movie Ronan where he maneuvered through one of the best car chases on film and from the navigators seat it felt like it. Unimaginable!
Thirteen hours later we wearily coasted into the first Petrobras station that looked like it wouldn't turn into a scene from deliverance after midnight.....The bumpy lumpy road north was nearly done. only 250km more to go.
Our gas station on the inside edge of town turned out to be a safe haven for two nights because we spent one full day looking around and shopping for better springs to replace the one broken spring which was working fine until it had to endure too many jolts and bumps. The owners of the restaurant at the gas station were really friendly and went out of their way to be helpful and made understanding Portuguese easier for us.
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