16/4/2014 El Progreso to Colonia Paraso Ruta 2, km27
D64, T7, Av17, Max 64, 1391, Tot 26,888
cloudy, no wind about 27°
with Jose and Lara in a cabañita
Having been under the shelter, it was great to wake up with a dry tent.
Breakfast of the traditional fare was enjoyed, followed by a shave.
Whilst on the subject of shaving. For at least 7 years I have been using a Gillette razor handle that uses the twin blade “Excel” heads.
Before getting to AR, I had almost run out of the blades. It is impossible to buy these in Australia and other countries. However, they are made in Brazil and are still sold. Most heads are now triple and even 4 bladers.
A nice little bit of planned obsolescence for developed countries on the part of the manufacturers. It's little things like this that keep me just a little bit out of the sheep pen.
It is nice to have had the same shaver for all these years. I am now stocked up with enough heads to last a few years.
Drying the head with a towel after use I find keeps the blades sharp for a couple of months.
Having said this I generally only shave every few days.
Here in the tropics my whiskers grow fairly rapidly.
I said goodbye to the caretaker and headed off, fresh as a daisy.
Slowly, my sleeping setup is getting better. Now my pillow arrangement comprises of my yellow Ortlieb camping gear bag on the ground, then my inflatable Exped pillow , with my pillow slip full of clothing next to my face.
Things are getting so much more comfortable.
The road again was rolling hill country. There was so much to see, people wandering about, horse and carts were about.
On one hill, two young guys had a two axled set up full of scrap metal. It was a steep hill, I remember hoping they had good brakes on the cart to ease things for the little horse.
They pulled out in front of me to cross the road, and made a hasty traverse across it into a grassed area. I had stopped just a bit up the hill at a mirador .
I could hear the clunking of metal, they were unloading the scrap.
How things have changed on this journey from the city life in BA to the estancias and crops of Uruguay, to river life and now the small holding life in the tropics where people have an easy, laid back life doing whatever they can to earn money. Everything is slowing down. It is great.
Importantly they are never hungry, for the land and climate provide them with all they can eat, all be it, possibly repetitive.
My diet is similar, very repetitive, I eat, not to rave about it but to gain energy and sustenance, similar to them. . Though occasionally the former is the case.Quail comes to mind!!
The necessity for water or drinks is always answered, there are little kioskos every kilometre or so and even hairdressers in the little timber iron roofed homes generally on poles off the ground.
Motorbikes of small capacity are a very common form of transport here.
At one school, it was classic there were 10 years olds heading off on Chinese built machines. Often without helmets.
For this journey I do not have a helmet. I carried one for 14,000 km last year and used it twice.
On the side of the road at the crest of a hill there was a pickup parked, the driver was talking to a guy through his door window.
Again, "classic" best describes the scene, the driver was a boy of about twelve and his mate was all of 14.
Life here is really without a problem, one could assume.
The humidity was taking its toll. Sweat now is my constant companion. My large handlebar towel is generally soaked most of the time.
Reprieve, always came on the downhill runs, oh! that coolish air, it is bliss. So long to ascend and back down in a minute or two, to be greeted by another blck strip upwards through the greenery.
I enjoy this kind of terrain, at least you are not pedalling all the way.
Water for camping is not being carried till the last few km now, that extra few kg makes a difference in this climate
Carrying 60 plus kg in the Andes and Patagonia was possible due to the mild temperatures.
Here, possibly there will be a major shedding of gear as I get closer to the equator.
Soon, a sign offering camping was displayed.
Opening the gate I headed down to the buildings, here a few guys about my age were making rustic furniture.
Asking if I could camp they said it was ok. Lara, the woman showed me a cute little cabañita. I decided to take this, again things would be dry.
Jose and his mates were shaping timber for tables in a bar type outdoor shelter.
We spoke about woods and trees from our respective countries and discussed their uses,
I headed over to get set up.
Jose asked me if I would like to join them for dinner.
Of course, their kind offer was accepted.
Once showered and following a wander down to the waterfall below the cabin.
I filled my mate with Yerba and headed over.
We chatted till about 2130 then ate. Believe me by this time I was starving. We also had a few wines.
Most people here can speak Portuguese and Spanish and often speak Portañol a mixture of both .
Dinner was a huge farm reared chook. Roasted.
It was simply divine and sweet, obviously having spent a life just pecking away at all number of natural foods in the fields.
We had roast potatoes with this. Lime was squeezed over the chicken
They were great people.
The children, a 4 month old baby and a 5 year old boy, were sound asleep in blankets on their parents bed, they looked so peaceful.
They had a live style that was so laid back and simple, the house was a 1 room setup. Much like my abode back in Australia. It’s all I will ever need I feel.
We both agreed money does play a role in our respective lives but is not so important.
I told him how most of my friends are still having to work to support their lives that are only sustainable with a constant flow of money. (Many by choice.) Lives that where consumerism, takes only prisoners and deals out sentences for life. Presently I am out on parole !! :)
It is so much more affordable for me to be doing this than living in my home in Australia.
I felt very privileged to have been invited to share this ever so delicious meal with them.
This was a lovely window into the lives people lead in this tropical landscape.
My lifestyle now shares much in common with them.
Having comfortably lived with little possessions on a day to day basis does indeed provide for a more enriched life for me. As do these experiences.
Jose and Lara had met the Belgium couple, Johan and Lieve and their children whom Callum and I had spent a night camping with in Patagonia.
Needless to say back in my little hut, I was sound asleep before even getting comfortable.
17/4/2014 Colonia Paraso Ruta 2, km27 to El Soberbio
D40, T7, Av17, Max 81, 1431, Tot 26,928
cloudy, no wind about 31°
Hotel Neli
(returned from Salto Moconá to El Soberbio in a camioneta (ute)
What a sleep!. I got up and cold showered again, sat out on the little deck and pondered over a coffee and porridge, there was no cloud cover this morning, at least here any way.
We chatted for awhile, took a few photos. They were such nice people.
The day was already hot and humid at 0900.
Once on the road, again it was a series of ascents and descents all in rapid succession.
More unused land was about now. The bush was becoming more jungle like.
Lara had said monkeys and Toucans inhabited in the bush on their place.
At the top of all the climbs were miradores.
All with expansive views over the river, Brazil and endless vistas of bush.
At each one of these, people came up for a chat.
Not even knowing it was Semana Santa (easter). I now worked out why there were a few people about. Here the holiday extends from Thursday to Sunday.
I think a few people thought I was crazy, I was totally drenched like I’d just got out of a swimming pool.
Each of the miradores was a great place to rest for until the next climb.
These gradients were much steeper than primary roads.
One descent saw me reach 80km/hr in under a kilometre.
I now know I still have too much equipment weight.
The last climb to the National Park of Provence Moconá was unbelievably steep.
I rode it all, but could only cover 60-100m at a time.
The tributary I crossed had water lapping at the bottom of the bridge.
I was now entering that spaced out zone, where I have been before in Ecuador and Colombia. One has to be very careful with balance and knowing when to stop. At one point I did lose balance, it is in this zone, silly accidents happen, luckily, a fall was avoided.
All this at 4.5 km/hr.
It is in this zone where I really am so thankful for my health. The choice of music and thoughts to propel me to the top of this ascent were also very important.
As selected previously, the music from Leftfield was chosen to lift the occasion.
All the while, colourful butterflies were everywhere, they too were a savior in some respects. They liked the salty layer on many parts of the bike, often landing and exploring with their proboscis for the saline moisture.
Finally up at the park gates, the guys gave me cold water, here I stopped for half an hour talking about the park and the heat .
They had wifi here, so the forecast for Easter was checked.
Typical Easter weather , rain was forecast.
I was hoping to take Ruta 21 out of here through the forest to San Pedro
However it is dirt only. With rain it becomes mud. My mud guards don’t cope with mud. Without gravel on the surface descents are deadly when loaded.
Once in the park I went to the visitors centre, there were a bunch of Argentinos on big BMW’s we spoke for awhile.
I then rode down the steep road to take a boat ride to see the Gran Salto Del Moconá.
Here for 200 pesos I took a large inflatable to view the waterfalls.
People were feeding huge fish in the waters near the boat docking pontoons
Here there is a fault in the course of the river Uruguay, the water cascades over this fault for a kilometre or more.
It is unique in that they are at right angles to the river, not in its flow like almost all waterfalls.
Due to rains the River Uruguay was up 3m and this sight was not so spectacular with the dirty water cascading only a couple of metres into the main stream .
It was however a sight to behold.
This truly is a huge river, there were waves across its width, such was the speed of the great body of water. Brazil have large dams upstream, they also control the water volume.
The boats were equipped with twin 70hp engines. The trip took about 40 minutes up stream.
From here all I could do was push the bike up the 1km road back to the cafe.
Here a burger was devoured.
The girls said I could use the shower.
The sky was rumbling, the humidity was peaking and the telltale large spread out drops of rain were beginning to mark the asphalt in the carpark. The beginnings of a tropical downpour.
Now, it would have been soul destroying having to ride back to El Soberbio on all those steep hills. I had to find a lift back. I'm not a fan of backtracking, whether it is hicking or
Riding the 7km back to Ruta 21 was ok but not all this way.
The owner of the cafe had a ute, he kindly offered to take me all the way back.
What a relief.
We loaded the bike and headed off at 1530. This was so good. The four of us shared Yerba from a huge mate all the way back, having plenty of laughs.
Vergilio was a great guy, he had some of his staff with him. They were good value.
It was raining heavily by now.
He dropped me off at the Hotel Neli in El Sorberbio.
Here I washed my gear, had soup for dinner and watched a movie.
The rain was hammering on the tin roof.
Here I was in this comfy little room. How fortunate, it had been a day of extremes.
Extremes of hills, exertion, heat, humidity, exhilaration, relief and goodwill.
That rain had me asleep in the spacious double bed in no time at all.
D64, T7, Av17, Max 64, 1391, Tot 26,888
cloudy, no wind about 27°
with Jose and Lara in a cabañita
Having been under the shelter, it was great to wake up with a dry tent.
Breakfast of the traditional fare was enjoyed, followed by a shave.
Whilst on the subject of shaving. For at least 7 years I have been using a Gillette razor handle that uses the twin blade “Excel” heads.
Before getting to AR, I had almost run out of the blades. It is impossible to buy these in Australia and other countries. However, they are made in Brazil and are still sold. Most heads are now triple and even 4 bladers.
A nice little bit of planned obsolescence for developed countries on the part of the manufacturers. It's little things like this that keep me just a little bit out of the sheep pen.
It is nice to have had the same shaver for all these years. I am now stocked up with enough heads to last a few years.
Drying the head with a towel after use I find keeps the blades sharp for a couple of months.
Having said this I generally only shave every few days.
Here in the tropics my whiskers grow fairly rapidly.
I said goodbye to the caretaker and headed off, fresh as a daisy.
Slowly, my sleeping setup is getting better. Now my pillow arrangement comprises of my yellow Ortlieb camping gear bag on the ground, then my inflatable Exped pillow , with my pillow slip full of clothing next to my face.
Things are getting so much more comfortable.
The road again was rolling hill country. There was so much to see, people wandering about, horse and carts were about.
On one hill, two young guys had a two axled set up full of scrap metal. It was a steep hill, I remember hoping they had good brakes on the cart to ease things for the little horse.
They pulled out in front of me to cross the road, and made a hasty traverse across it into a grassed area. I had stopped just a bit up the hill at a mirador .
I could hear the clunking of metal, they were unloading the scrap.
How things have changed on this journey from the city life in BA to the estancias and crops of Uruguay, to river life and now the small holding life in the tropics where people have an easy, laid back life doing whatever they can to earn money. Everything is slowing down. It is great.
Importantly they are never hungry, for the land and climate provide them with all they can eat, all be it, possibly repetitive.
My diet is similar, very repetitive, I eat, not to rave about it but to gain energy and sustenance, similar to them. . Though occasionally the former is the case.Quail comes to mind!!
The necessity for water or drinks is always answered, there are little kioskos every kilometre or so and even hairdressers in the little timber iron roofed homes generally on poles off the ground.
Motorbikes of small capacity are a very common form of transport here.
At one school, it was classic there were 10 years olds heading off on Chinese built machines. Often without helmets.
For this journey I do not have a helmet. I carried one for 14,000 km last year and used it twice.
On the side of the road at the crest of a hill there was a pickup parked, the driver was talking to a guy through his door window.
Again, "classic" best describes the scene, the driver was a boy of about twelve and his mate was all of 14.
Life here is really without a problem, one could assume.
The humidity was taking its toll. Sweat now is my constant companion. My large handlebar towel is generally soaked most of the time.
Reprieve, always came on the downhill runs, oh! that coolish air, it is bliss. So long to ascend and back down in a minute or two, to be greeted by another blck strip upwards through the greenery.
I enjoy this kind of terrain, at least you are not pedalling all the way.
Water for camping is not being carried till the last few km now, that extra few kg makes a difference in this climate
Carrying 60 plus kg in the Andes and Patagonia was possible due to the mild temperatures.
Here, possibly there will be a major shedding of gear as I get closer to the equator.
Soon, a sign offering camping was displayed.
Opening the gate I headed down to the buildings, here a few guys about my age were making rustic furniture.
Asking if I could camp they said it was ok. Lara, the woman showed me a cute little cabañita. I decided to take this, again things would be dry.
Jose and his mates were shaping timber for tables in a bar type outdoor shelter.
We spoke about woods and trees from our respective countries and discussed their uses,
I headed over to get set up.
Jose asked me if I would like to join them for dinner.
Of course, their kind offer was accepted.
Once showered and following a wander down to the waterfall below the cabin.
I filled my mate with Yerba and headed over.
We chatted till about 2130 then ate. Believe me by this time I was starving. We also had a few wines.
Most people here can speak Portuguese and Spanish and often speak Portañol a mixture of both .
Dinner was a huge farm reared chook. Roasted.
It was simply divine and sweet, obviously having spent a life just pecking away at all number of natural foods in the fields.
We had roast potatoes with this. Lime was squeezed over the chicken
They were great people.
The children, a 4 month old baby and a 5 year old boy, were sound asleep in blankets on their parents bed, they looked so peaceful.
They had a live style that was so laid back and simple, the house was a 1 room setup. Much like my abode back in Australia. It’s all I will ever need I feel.
We both agreed money does play a role in our respective lives but is not so important.
I told him how most of my friends are still having to work to support their lives that are only sustainable with a constant flow of money. (Many by choice.) Lives that where consumerism, takes only prisoners and deals out sentences for life. Presently I am out on parole !! :)
It is so much more affordable for me to be doing this than living in my home in Australia.
I felt very privileged to have been invited to share this ever so delicious meal with them.
This was a lovely window into the lives people lead in this tropical landscape.
My lifestyle now shares much in common with them.
Having comfortably lived with little possessions on a day to day basis does indeed provide for a more enriched life for me. As do these experiences.
Jose and Lara had met the Belgium couple, Johan and Lieve and their children whom Callum and I had spent a night camping with in Patagonia.
Needless to say back in my little hut, I was sound asleep before even getting comfortable.
17/4/2014 Colonia Paraso Ruta 2, km27 to El Soberbio
D40, T7, Av17, Max 81, 1431, Tot 26,928
cloudy, no wind about 31°
Hotel Neli
(returned from Salto Moconá to El Soberbio in a camioneta (ute)
What a sleep!. I got up and cold showered again, sat out on the little deck and pondered over a coffee and porridge, there was no cloud cover this morning, at least here any way.
We chatted for awhile, took a few photos. They were such nice people.
The day was already hot and humid at 0900.
Once on the road, again it was a series of ascents and descents all in rapid succession.
More unused land was about now. The bush was becoming more jungle like.
Lara had said monkeys and Toucans inhabited in the bush on their place.
At the top of all the climbs were miradores.
All with expansive views over the river, Brazil and endless vistas of bush.
At each one of these, people came up for a chat.
Not even knowing it was Semana Santa (easter). I now worked out why there were a few people about. Here the holiday extends from Thursday to Sunday.
I think a few people thought I was crazy, I was totally drenched like I’d just got out of a swimming pool.
Each of the miradores was a great place to rest for until the next climb.
These gradients were much steeper than primary roads.
One descent saw me reach 80km/hr in under a kilometre.
I now know I still have too much equipment weight.
The last climb to the National Park of Provence Moconá was unbelievably steep.
I rode it all, but could only cover 60-100m at a time.
The tributary I crossed had water lapping at the bottom of the bridge.
I was now entering that spaced out zone, where I have been before in Ecuador and Colombia. One has to be very careful with balance and knowing when to stop. At one point I did lose balance, it is in this zone, silly accidents happen, luckily, a fall was avoided.
All this at 4.5 km/hr.
It is in this zone where I really am so thankful for my health. The choice of music and thoughts to propel me to the top of this ascent were also very important.
As selected previously, the music from Leftfield was chosen to lift the occasion.
All the while, colourful butterflies were everywhere, they too were a savior in some respects. They liked the salty layer on many parts of the bike, often landing and exploring with their proboscis for the saline moisture.
Finally up at the park gates, the guys gave me cold water, here I stopped for half an hour talking about the park and the heat .
They had wifi here, so the forecast for Easter was checked.
Typical Easter weather , rain was forecast.
I was hoping to take Ruta 21 out of here through the forest to San Pedro
However it is dirt only. With rain it becomes mud. My mud guards don’t cope with mud. Without gravel on the surface descents are deadly when loaded.
Once in the park I went to the visitors centre, there were a bunch of Argentinos on big BMW’s we spoke for awhile.
I then rode down the steep road to take a boat ride to see the Gran Salto Del Moconá.
Here for 200 pesos I took a large inflatable to view the waterfalls.
People were feeding huge fish in the waters near the boat docking pontoons
Here there is a fault in the course of the river Uruguay, the water cascades over this fault for a kilometre or more.
It is unique in that they are at right angles to the river, not in its flow like almost all waterfalls.
Due to rains the River Uruguay was up 3m and this sight was not so spectacular with the dirty water cascading only a couple of metres into the main stream .
It was however a sight to behold.
This truly is a huge river, there were waves across its width, such was the speed of the great body of water. Brazil have large dams upstream, they also control the water volume.
The boats were equipped with twin 70hp engines. The trip took about 40 minutes up stream.
From here all I could do was push the bike up the 1km road back to the cafe.
Here a burger was devoured.
The girls said I could use the shower.
The sky was rumbling, the humidity was peaking and the telltale large spread out drops of rain were beginning to mark the asphalt in the carpark. The beginnings of a tropical downpour.
Now, it would have been soul destroying having to ride back to El Soberbio on all those steep hills. I had to find a lift back. I'm not a fan of backtracking, whether it is hicking or
Riding the 7km back to Ruta 21 was ok but not all this way.
The owner of the cafe had a ute, he kindly offered to take me all the way back.
What a relief.
We loaded the bike and headed off at 1530. This was so good. The four of us shared Yerba from a huge mate all the way back, having plenty of laughs.
Vergilio was a great guy, he had some of his staff with him. They were good value.
It was raining heavily by now.
He dropped me off at the Hotel Neli in El Sorberbio.
Here I washed my gear, had soup for dinner and watched a movie.
The rain was hammering on the tin roof.
Here I was in this comfy little room. How fortunate, it had been a day of extremes.
Extremes of hills, exertion, heat, humidity, exhilaration, relief and goodwill.
That rain had me asleep in the spacious double bed in no time at all.
Relaxed to say the least.
 My abode for the night at Laras and Joses
 Lara, Jose and family.
 The foot of the last ascent to the park entrance
 Rio Uruguay, below the falls
|
 The stream below the cabin
 Lucky to get through
 Zoned out, not much left, nearing the top to the park.
 Unfortunately the river was up 3m and full of silt, December and January are the best months for viewing.
|
