by bicycle

Day 28: Vista Alegre do Abunã to Jirau (20.04, 133 km)

Because of the time change I woke up very early this morning. Had a short breakfast and a chat with a doctor from the Brazilian Red Cross who was comuting back and forth between Jirau and Porto Velho (the capital of Rondônia state and my intermediary destination). I started going against the morning sun, and after two hours I reached the huge Rio Madeira (one of the biggest tributaries of the Amazon). A massive dam was built on this river (in Jirau) which caused an entire town to be submerged and rebuilt further afield.

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In order to continue the trip to Porto Velho, you have to ferry across the river. I boarded the ferry and met very friendly people who were asking me a lot of questions about my trip. I showed them photos, told them about the route until now, and took a photo with everybody before saying goodbye.

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The gentelman on the right was driving a truck to Porto Velho and he asked me if I want to join him, but I said no (which was not easy as it was again a very hot day). Fortunatelly, it proved to be a good decision, as it was the most interesting day in Brazil so far, nature- and scenery-wise. There were no more pastures on the sides of the road, and nature could follow its course. It was amazing to see this, as while stopping at a random point on the road I could see so much wildlife. And this was no nature reserve, just a place along the route:

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After going through more bushy area, I reached the swampy lowlands, and here I rode for several hours through spectacular scenery.

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If you look at the photo above closely, you can notice a horizontal line going through the branches of the trees, just below the horizon line. After being puzzeld for some moments, I realised that this is where the water level was during the flooding one month and a half ago. It was so striking at first, as this line was more than a meter above the road level!

I approach the end of the marshy area, and start going up slowly, but not before one more amazing shot:
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I reach the town of Jirau in the evening, but there is no place to sleep. No problem – people are very friendly here, so the very nice Senhora Maria told me I can setup my tent on the veranda of her shop. She offers me water, and I have a nice time talking to her and playing with her three grandsons before the night falls.

12 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    Imi place spatiul larg al ultimei poze. Ai loc sa respiri! Si cerul albastru…

    • Cosmin

      Te inspiră vad…

  2. Dayvid Dhon

    Boa Sorte no restante da sua viagem!

    • Cosmin

      Muito obrigado!

  3. Layd Dyane dos Santos Silva

    Obrigada por ter nos dado o prazer de ter te conhecido Cosmin ! Boa sorte nessas suas pedaladas 😀

    • Cosmin

      Muito obrigado amiga!

  4. FAB-DAB

    Glad you saw something else then just soybean farms…nice pictures.

    • Cosmin

      Thank you! Was an interesting day, yes.

  5. Layd Dyane dos Santos Silva

    cosmin muita saude e que DEUS lhe abençoe força e fe nessa suas pedalada foi bom conhecer vc abraço

    • Cosmin

      Muito obrigado! Também foi um prazer conhecê-lo!

  6. Layd Dyane dos Santos Silva

    Francisca A. S . SILVA
    franciassis.silva@hotmail.com

    Cosmin força na sua jornada e que DEUS te ilumine
    e que tu possa realizar todos os teus sonhos um abraço DEUS TE ABENÇOE

    • Cosmin

      Muito obrigado y um fuerte abraço!

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