1600km by bike in Uruguay and Brazil
27 June 2019 | By Marieke |
Bertrand’s brother went to meet him in Colonia de Sacramento in Uruguay. Their goal : to cycle for 1600km until Florianopolis.
Quickly, the brothers are charmed by the quietness of the people. They spend their first night in the small village of La Paz where they find a spot at the nautical club.
The first days by bike are quite wet, so the cyclists push harder on the pedals to go faster.
After a week pedalling, the brothers reach the Atlantic coast, where they take a day’s rest. There, the sun ‘looks like the one we have at home, in France…’
Back on their saddle, the cyclists cross the frontier with Brazil, with a head wind and long straight roads.
“The weather in Brazil is much dryer than in Uruguay but also hotter and sunnier. For now, we can’t feel the winter. Nights are cool and days are sunny so we can get a tan while we’re cycling. Palm trees are more and more numerous, as well as sandy side tracks, which mean a beach isn’t far. ”
They take a break at Rio Grande do Sul, before taking the ferry to get out of the industrial bay of the city.
“The environment evolves. I feel like we’re in the Landes (in the South-West of France.) Straight roads, sand and pines everywhere. It helps us as it stops a strong side wind.”
The brothers cycle in the direction of Florianopolis, the end of this bike trip of 2 years and 6 months with an STD 100 trailer.
At Araranguá, a floodlike rain forces the travellers to stop for two days. On the first day, there is as much rain as in a usual month.
“When we talk with the people here, we understand that the climate changes can be seen here as well a little more every day… ”
Back on the road, the cyclists will see in the distance the town that will mean the end of the trip of 1650km.
“This last day by bike won’t leave me time to think, to analyse, to react to these news : it’s the last day of my bike trip…”
Upon their arrival, the brothers find themselves a hostel 50m from the beach. The month to come will be all about spending time surfing.
“It’s always a nice feeling to put down the bike. It’s a little like a ‘holiday feeling’ inside of this long trip…
I already hear you saying I’ve been on holidays for two years and 6 months… Don’t be mistaken, it’s a journey. It helped me get out of my confort zone, learn simple things and simple pleasures, live with a little, put down the barriers we put for ourselves and which are so far from our real capacities.
Well, we can talk about it when I get back next October around a beer :-)… “
