Brasil -- Porto Vehlo to Patanal?
 

I plan to take a Ferry from Manaus to Porto Vehlo, and then want to ride from there to the Pantanal and on out to Brasilia and the Coast...

Any ideas on the condition of the road?
I'll do it in April -- rainy season in Amozonas, but beginning of dry season in Patanal.

Hi,
Why not ride from Manaus to Porto Velho???
We rode it in november in 1998. with dry wheater the red clay road is no problem, only after rain it will be very muddy and slippery. But fun to do. The bridges were at that time ok, so there were no river crossings to do.(one ferry)
There are many good roads in the Pantanal, but also depending on the wheater. Inform about that in Porto Velho.
Have a good trip.

Riding SOUNDS good, but I'll be through there in the wet season. I don't think I'd want to risk it... I hear it is IMPASSABLE during the wet season.

Thanks!!

I've researched the road connections from Manaus, and in the Lonely Planet's guide they state that the only road is Hwy BR-174 north to Venezuela. They say that the road to Porto Velho is impassable (whatever that means).
They claim that road travel on BR-319 (to Porto Velho) has been suspended since 1991,
but apparently they haven't checked their
sources. The National Geographic Map shows
the road, and that may be accurate.
A recent traveller took the ferry from Porto Velho to Manaus, but I'm not sure if he considered taking the road, if possible.

I've looked up BR-319 on the web and as I speak portuguese, I found out that the govenment is currently paving about 730 km of that road.
The road is 860km long and it has 21km sealed (maybe more now). To get to it from Porto Velho, there is a ferry link across the river Madeira.
So, I guess the best information is local, check in Manaus when you get there. You can always take the boat to Porto Velho.