Im still trying to catch up to my friends who left 1.5
months ahead of me. I have been hammering out the
miles (about 4000 so far). I think this will qualify
me for an Iron Butt award (for those of you who dont
know, thats a real award, not a joke).
Last email I had said they were going to Recife, on
the coast of Brazil. I figured I could make it in 2
400 mile days and planned accordingly. A very early
start put me in Downtown Recife at about 4:30, looking
for an internet cafe to see where they were. Turns
out Recife is about the worst place I have ever been,
and I lived in Detroit for over 7 years! Most
Brazilians are inteligent, well educated people, but
not in Recife. When I asked where to find internet, I
got nothing but blank stares. My Portugese sucks, but
its the same word! I pulled into a Honda dealership,
parked and asked again. After being sent on many wild
goose chases on foot I returned sweaty, tired, and
frustrated. Then the first guy said something like,
Oh Yea, we have it here. I cheked my email only to
find that they were not in Recife, but in Pipa or
Natal. I hated Recife already, and was bound to catch
them, come Hell or High Water, so I set out North
again. I asked at the Honda dealership how to get
back to the main road which I pointed to on my very
good map. I got the same type response I got when
showing a map to people in the mountains of Peru who I
am very sure had never seen a map in their lives.
Eventually, the one english speaker told me to take
Avinida Norte and that would work. Trouble is, there
is not one street sign in the whole city! Also, EVERY
street was absolutley gridlocked (at about 6:30PM) Not
even my best 3rd world tactics could get thru, so I
found a bar and had acouple of beers while the traffic
disapated. I again asked where the main road was (it
was about 2 miles away) and again, totally clueless.
Back out. With the GPS, I know roughly where I need
to be and which direction to go at all times. But the
bastards just would not let me leave the hellish city.
Every street turned me back to downtown. It was the
most frustrating thing Ive ever done. Finally, I
lucked onto Av. Norte. I only knew this because of
Hotel Av. Norte- no street signs, remember? This
eventually led to BR101, my road north. The road
curved parallel to 101 and looked like it would merge.
After about 2 miles, it dead-ended with not a single
entrance ramp. Well Fuck You, Recife- thats what dirt
bikes are for. 3 hours on BR101 led me to my turnoff.
Actually, I should have taken the next turnoff. This
one led to a small town just south of Pipa. At 12:30
at night, the only one around was a kid on a bike who
I was sure was the official village idiot. He
eventually led me down small path to his house. His
older brother who was sleeping on the porch jumped up
and pointed to a ferry boat made from rough-hewn wood,
large enough to carry a ful size pickup truck. I was
bound to find them Hell or high water so I got on the
ferry and he poled it skillfully to the other side of
the inlet and pointed to a dirt road. The moon was
full, the stars were out, and it was such a nice
change from the noise and toil of the bike. About 4
miles of fun riding on the bumpy, sandy road led me,
at last to Pipa. I started riding up and down the
small winding streets looking for my friends or their
bikes. As I passed one bar, a small attractive
Brazilian woman ran out and started yelling at me.
All I understood was something about cold drinks and
relax. I jumped off the bike and did just that. A
life-of-the-party type, she invited the next 50 or so
passers by up also. After a few more beers, I was
invited to a Luau on the beach. A full moon, palm
trees, crashing surf, dancing in the sand- that trumps
hell or high water any day. Still havent found them...

=====
Jim Stanley
Managing Member
Stanley Alpine, LLC
www.sopgear.com