French Guyana, Suriname Guyana - info anyone?
 

it´s been hard to get info on the 3 guyanas. I´ll be in Belem tomorrow do some maintanance work on the bike then ship Macapa ride to Oiapoc (sp?) and cross into F.G. i´ve heard that most of the road from Macapa tp Oiapoc is mostly dirt and in bad conditions. probably now is all mud with the rains - can it be done with a fully loaded F650GSD? How long is the ride? i´ve heard is 12-18 hours by bus...

After entering French Guyana i´m getting conflicting info about the roads some say they are paved other said they are dirt??? ALso the road from George Town Guyana to Boa Vista Brasil is dirt or paved? i heard is 600 km with no gas stations?

any information is greatly appreciated. :thumbup1:

also if you have contacts that can provide support/info in those countries it would help alot!

Here is a report from another traveller who travelled this route. Maybe this will answer your question.

Central and South America 2006/7.

Geoff..

excellent link thank you!!! it has a lot of good info:thumbup1:

now i need to find out the condition of the road since is rainy season and when they drove by was october/dry. it had confirm my fears that ferries might be hard to find but worst that is is extremely expensive to cross those countries.. now i´m considering skeeping them ince i´m low on cash:(

IIRC, Suriname requires a visa for US citizens.

thank you for the info lone rider... but

I´m NOT a US citizen :nono:

but it does requires a visa for Italians/Nicaraguenses as well :cool4:
(i have dual citizenship italy/Nicaragua)

Northern South America - how was it?
 

I'm curious to know how that part of your trip went? Did you get through Suriname well? I am planning on doing the same next year!

Cheers!
BK

Hi BK, by the time I reached Brasil the rainy season had started and road to French Guiana was close. I would be very interested to hear about anyone that has done it recently or if you make it up there. These three countries are still in my to do list :scooter:

As I said on another thread, inserting "Suriname," "Guiana," or "Guyana" into the search box will yield plenty of information, some of it current and some of it mine. And FWIW the road from Macapa does not close during the rains; however, it gets very messy.

Mark

I'm in southern Brasil planning my trip through the Guianas. Although there is not much to plan as there is only one road that goes all the way through. I'm just going to figure it out as I go. Its always easier that way anyway.

I might be a little late, and given the amount of rain I am seeing in Brasil at the moment it looks like its going to be a big nasty mudfest when I get past Macapá. Should be interesting to say the least. I'm always up for a miserable time. :stormy:

Crashmaster, rain in southern Brazil doesn't predict rain north of the Amazon; entirely different weather patterns. This doesn't mean you'll be fine--it just means you don't yet know. FWIW, your timing is far better than mine.

Don't miss touring around in Minas Gerais. Brazil in general consists of a lot of open space between interesting places, but Minas Gerais has good roads and plenty to see.

enjoy,

Mark

Thanks for the advice Mark. I am trying to do some route planning through Brazil right now. Did you go from Rio up north through Minas Gerias then to Brasilia - Belem? The coastal route looks to be about 5000 kms and the direct north route about 3000 kms. With my limited time I cannot do both so I am leaning toward the route directly north of Rio.

What would you recommend?

Vince, I wasn't following anything resembling a rational path through Brazil. I rode from Iguacu through Paraguay up to the Pantanal, messed around some places, then over to Brasilia and down to Minas Gerais, along the coast to Salvador then inland and up to Belem (by a roundabout route). Aside: can't figure out why I missed the dry season and got to Macapa during the rains....

IMHO both Minas Gerais and Bahia are worth visiting. If you can't do both, at least do one or the other. There are a lot of miles of scrubby landscape between Rio and Belem, and you might as well spend a bit of time somewhere identifiably Brazilian and unique. The only thing I'm clear I'd do differently next time around is not go long distances out of my way to visit Brazilian parks written up in Lonely Planet guides for their amazing rock formations, since none of the ones I went to great trouble to get to were particularly worthwhile. But then, my point of comparison is the American southwest, so there again take it all with a large grain of salt.

Oh, and Brasilia itself is likely to be of interest only if, like me, you grew up reading about this visionary experiment in urban planning and have always harbored a secret desire to see it up close. Otherwise: feh.

Of course my opinions are highly suspect, and of course wherever you go interesting things will transpire and life will continue to surprise, challenge and amaze.

Have fun and keep posting.

Mark

Thanks Mark. It looks like I will have to do a little exploring and hopefully not get stuck somewhere while the wet season in the north approaches. As I meet more and more friendly people in Brazil, my progress is slowing to a crawl. I need to get fidgety and start moving, but I'm not feeling it right now.

Maybe looking at more you tube videos of knee deep mud and stuck tractor trailers on the BR-156 will get me motivated.

the road to French Guyana is closed?

Keep reading after SalCar's post. The road does not "close." It merely gets messy.

Hey Vince, I saw a photo of you with Reginaldo. Hell of a nice guy...with an ever-increasing list of friends Stateside.

enjoy,

Mark