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We had been told that the entire 150 km to Baucau is under construction and it was true. The first section has very short intermittent sections of pavement with firm gravel between. It is also along the sea at times. The next is long stretches of very rocky bumpy dirt road. Luckily there is little traffic since it is very dusty.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1751/...ca5860fb_b.jpgFILE5074 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1723/...7876ef42_b.jpgFILE5076 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1750/...c5fcb837_b.jpg |
The mountain section was a bit of a challenge with very poor and rough surface and often only 1 lane. Not too bad until you meet a bus or a truck. Then it was paved more often and at the sea again. We stopped in the first small village we can to and had some almost cold drinks.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1744/...f41f47b7_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-05-30 at 15.14.23 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1725/...445bef00_b.jpgFILE5105 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1725/...6e37cfce_b.jpgFILE5109 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1728/...6e6c97f2_b.jpgFILE5114 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1738/...62e66f87_b.jpgFILE5121 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1729/...eb463a71_b.jpgFILE5129 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1740/...47b09c7a_b.jpgFILE5137 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/...21959b25_b.jpgFILE5140 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1760/...847d49c1_b.jpgFILE5149 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1739/...320423a5_b.jpgTimor-Leste-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1740/...583b3431_b.jpgTimor-Leste-39 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The road is not too bad until the next village where it is closed and you are diverted onto the village beach road for several km.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1739/...47b09d67_b.jpgFILE5158 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1751/...d955fc9e_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1758/...792f2232_b.jpgFILE5171 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1746/...a7607d34_b.jpgFILE5173 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1721/...9788cb6c_b.jpgTimor-Leste-41 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Just before Baucau the scenery changes again to agricultural with lots of rice fields and water buffalo. We rode along with the guy and the goat for quite a while. The drivers here are very courteous. The trucks and buses will pull over onto the dirt verge to let you pass on the 1 lane paved sections. There was one section where they had just covered the road with huge chunk of rock making for quite a rodeo ride. We did finally make it to Baucau at 1230 and had a pretty good lunch there.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1746/...929dc3f3_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1741/...bcc8c84b_b.jpgTimor-Leste-42 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1727/...b6a81c18_b.jpgFILE5191 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1833/...2ddc7739_b.jpgDSC03338 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/...cb8b4b3f_b.jpgFILE5203 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1727/...b6ee13d6_b.jpgTimor-Leste-40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/...5fabc3a4_b.jpgTimor-Leste-43 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1757/...5ae84dfd_b.jpgTimor-Leste-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1824/...9726d47e_b.jpgIMG_2791 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Leaving town the road was paved and the view panoramic. We even got up to 70 km/h for small stretches. There is the odd road defect to keep you alert.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1760/...fb53123b_b.jpgFILE5214 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1757/...5fcb9bd9_b.jpgFILE5221 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1760/...407d9cfd_b.jpgFILE5222 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr On the way you pass thru a number of small and mostly tidy villages. The road continues along the sea until Lautem where it veers inland. https://farm1.staticflickr.com/893/4...dd9a86f8_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-05-30 at 15.13.37 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1730/...0d25a613_b.jpgFILE5226 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1724/...49c9c65b_b.jpgFILE5232 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1744/...f3f0f19e_b.jpgFILE5238 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1751/...b16f19d9_b.jpgFILE5251 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/...9ba93a43_b.jpgFILE5259 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We even had a few sprinkles of rain, which were nice and cooling. We have also had cooler temperatures as we have been at higher elevation and it has been cloudy. About 3 km before Fuiloro there is a modern gas station in the middle of nowhere. The Bacua - Lospalos road turns off at Fuiloro and is paved, but very patchy. There are still fairly frequent small villages with lots of smiling kids waving.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1729/...77ffc783_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1742/...c18c1a4e_b.jpgFILE5276 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1741/...e896d909_b.jpgFILE5278 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1733/...c1380830_b.jpgFILE5283 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1732/...587f5be7_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1748/...5b0839ef_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1760/...777fbd6c_b.jpg At Mahera we stopped to read the map on the sign. The road is good for a while from a few km after Tatuala and it was not! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1734/...ab23ce92_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1732/...9ce5cc11_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1760/...0599c210_b.jpgFILE5403 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
At Tutuala the “ road” hair pins right onto a rough dirt/gravel track and then into a road construction zone with initially a good surface and then to a very rough a 4WD track/for the last 3 km of the 8 km.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1733/...e38c5d7c_b.jpgScreen Shot 2018-05-30 at 15.09.57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr There are very rough steep sections, rutted soft dirt and one 500 m section with deep thick sticky mud also in ruts followed by a muddy very steep descent. And that was the “good part". It gets worse from here and is very steep down hill, narrow, and very loose. No time to take the hands off the bars for photos! There was some praying and butt clenching, but no one came off (while I did get bucked up off my seat and my rear wheel was well off the ground, but managed to hang on in a very rocky steep decent)! WE even had to stop part way down on a flat spot just to catch a break. We all made it intact to the last km, which is a nice gravel lane way! https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1724/...c40a4b60_b.jpgFILE5420 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1820/...25350b9a_b.jpgDSC0E3353 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1731/...e1859479_b.jpgFILE5429 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We finally arrived at Nino Konis Santana National Park at 530 pm. What you get when you arrive it a pristine beach and the national park. There is one place here with small cabanas. squat toilet, and a bucket shower. They do have power and OV has 3G with his provider! We immediately stripped to our undies and went in for a swim in the glorious warm water as the sun was setting.
They did prepare dinner for us that was just edible, but only 5 dollars for rice, veg, and fish (some sort of fatty mackerel like fish). Orvar just became a vegetarian. We opened all the windows and took down the mosquito net for max air flow (no bugs), but with the heat and the very loud waves crashing we were all up late. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1742/...25a32055_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1726/...46f45168_b.jpgTimor-Leste-50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1730/...5547e690_b.jpgTimor-Leste-46 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1750/...1e5e958a_b.jpgTimor-Leste-51 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1726/...5bed4283_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1725/...09a2f5d2_b.jpgTimor-Leste-64 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1731/...0977f5d2_b.jpgTimor-Leste-47 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We did wake at 3 am and needed a blanket as we were now freezing. I was up several times in the night to see if the predicted rain materialized. We were pretty worried about the 500 m of steep deep mud if it poured all night. The bike cover were totally dry in the morning. We decided to skip the offer of breakfast and ate a can of peaches from our ER rations and Orvar’s left over “Rose cream” cookies.
Setting out today we backtracked 1 km on the nice gravel track with the grass center and then hit the steep loose rises. The worst part are the large rock chunks. After 1 km of this we ran into a dump truck that was the source of said chunks. Once past him we rode another km of this to then hit the first of the mud sections. https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1730/...74097ae5_b.jpgFrame-24-05-2018-19-39-57 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1727/...65713d67_b.jpgTimor-Leste-52 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1754/...3a8e9c5f_b.jpgFrame-24-05-2018-19-40-38 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1728/...5b63b729_b.jpgTimor-Leste-54 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1729/...f07675d5_b.jpgTimor-Leste-55 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1756/...fcba680c_b.jpgTimor-Leste-56 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1746/...11805ce9_b.jpgFrame-24-05-2018-19-40-44 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1723/...54313041_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1752/...c0098aa8_b.jpg |
At the first it is a steep gravel approach and then a long moderately steep wide rise of thick mud rutted by the trucks. Phew made it thru this… Next the long steep mud hill with the 100 meters of rutted muck at the top. Then we are home free.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1753/...733253a2_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1727/...c8049144_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1784/...b4106a45_b.jpgDSC03371 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1765/...8f2e8d3c_b.jpgDSC03375 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1758/...1521b2fa_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1761/...87575abe_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1753/...87cc3f2c_b.jpgTimor-Leste-65 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
The route now is good gravel to the village at Tutala and the hairpin turn towards the “main road”.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1729/...e510ca00_b.jpgFrame-24-05-2018-19-49-14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1757/...f070ebe8_b.jpgFrame-24-05-2018-19-49-26 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1721/...52fe8469_b.jpgFrame-24-05-2018-19-49-50 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1743/...af3e7960_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1748/...324a09ca_b.jpgFrame-24-05-2018-19-52-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
Here the road is pretty good again and we stopped at the gas station just past Mahera for some snacks. We had not left until 945 and it is now 11 and we have gone 38 km. The road gets better and better though there are a lot of rough patches especially in the villages until we got to the turn off to the main road at Fuiloro.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1757/...0546ab03_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1735/...004cc55f_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1760/...9fbe842b_b.jpgFrame-24-05-2018-19-55-27 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/899/4...d1af6784_b.jpgDSC03390 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1734/...883a8f5e_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1740/...01da1dc6_b.jpgFrame-24-05-2018-19-56-49 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1749/...93f88ecf_b.jpgFrame-24-05-2018-19-57-33 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1729/...67f1771a_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1733/...3f4eace6_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1743/...c8f58f6e_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1733/...f8ec2eb7_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1745/...45b34d4d_b.jpgFrame-24-05-2018-20-01-08 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1728/...052831a1_b.jpgTimor-Leste-69 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1757/...314ed912_b.jpgTimor-Leste-70 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1759/...d0717fa7_b.jpgTimor-Leste-73 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1751/...4e00fd3e_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1740/...86d24bd5_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1723/...9a3e68e7_b.jpgTimor-Leste-76 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1755/...98e8352e_b.jpgTimor-Leste-77 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
We arrived to Baucau at 230 and went back to the same place (Victoria) we had the great lunch and they also have rooms. We did check out a few others, but they were not nice or very nice (70 USD per person). Here we had a good room hot water air con and breakfast for 40$ all 3 of us. It was a bit hot in the room and we had a few annoying mosquitoes and then the roosters started at 6am.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1723/...ffaac19c_b.jpgTimor-Leste-71 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1755/...ac6f2cee_b.jpgTimor-Leste-72 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr https://farm1.staticflickr.com/887/2...36f11e2d_b.jpgIMG_2794 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr |
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