The Brazilian hospitality is really something special. All of the Brazilian riders I met offered help if I needed any, places to stay to help my budget, and offers to show me around the country. If I accepted every invitation that was offered, I would be at least a year longer in Brasil. Amazing hospitality, wonderful people.
Some friends of my parents that live in São Paulo, Roberto and Isa, had graciously offered the use of their beach house in Bailea. I spent a wonderful couple of days relaxing on the beach in Bailea, about a hour from São Paulo. Roberto and Isa, thanks so much for you wonderful hospitality. It was a real treat to be able to spend some time at your great home on the beach!!!! Muito obrigado!
After leaving Bailea, I headed up the coast to the island of Ilhabela to visit fellow rider Fernando Costa. Fernando is a fantastic host, a super interesting person to talk with, and the nicest guy you will ever meet.
We visited various small beaches around the island by boat. There are picturesque little secluded beaches, many accessible solely by boat. Ilhabela is a little slice of paradise, only a 5 minute ferry ride away from the mainland, but like a different world.
Ilhabela reminds me of parts of the Hawaiian Islands. Warm and tropical, the lush forest spilling right down into the ocean.
We rode around the island and of course ate great seafood.
It was a fantastic travel break for me doing absolutely nothing except going for a daily swim in the ocean, catching up on some reading, and hanging out on the beach.
After a week of beach time, I was refreshed and ready to hit the road again, north through Brazil. Brazil is known for great beaches all along its coast, but I couldn’t imagine a better place than Ilhabela to spend some beach time in Brazil.
Muito obrigado Fernando! It was a real pleasure to know you and experience your wonderful hospitality. The visit to your island was for sure one of the highlights of my trip.
After leaving Ilhabela, I headed into Rio de Janiero state to a steel mill town called Volta Redonda. Here I met up with another rider, Raf . Raf is from Belgium, but is much more Brazilian than European. He speaks more languages than I can count, and is starting up a moto tour business using Yamaha XT 660’s and Honda Falcon 400’s.
Raf is also a certified Brazilian guide, a great motorcycle rider, and he is extremely knowledgeable about off road riding in Brazil and the history of the country. He is like a walking encyclopedia of Brazil. On top of that, Raf is another all around super nice guy and very interesting person to talk with.
Raf took me on a few rides around Rio de Janeiro state on some great roads in beautiful country.
Raf and Mariel gave me a little demonstration of what one of the tours is like. Great scenery, fun dirt roads, and a support vehicle following carrying all of your stuff. He does tours exploring areas of Rio de Janeiro state, Minas Gerias, and Bahia. I will for sure return to Brazil and join up with one of Raf’s tours.
Typical bridge.
Great riding and scenery in Rio state, and I didnt even scratch the surface. Riding with locals is a real treat for me. I get to tag along, not worrying about where we are, where we are going or how we are going to get there, wherever “there” may be.
The riding in Sao Paulo, Rio, Minas Gerias, and Bahia states could keep you occupied for months. I was more than a little sad that I did not have the time to properly explore and get to know southern Brazil. However, I will return for sure and rent one of Raf’s bikes and take a tour with him and Mariel.
We made a little excursion into Rio de Janeiro to pick up some tires.
We saw a big fire. Well this place happens to be where all the big samba schools are housed that make the costumes and build the floats for Carnival. I dont know how badly this fire affected Carnival in Rio though.
Rio is an absolutely beautiful city with beautiful beaches and beautiful people. However, the crowds and all the big buildings are really not my thing. So I was happy to go back to Volta Rodonda, which is much more my speed as far as cities go.
My time in Volta Redonda was great and the hospitality of Raf was outstanding! Obrigado amgio! I’ll be back for sure.
After a great week of exploring the area with Raf, it was time to hit the road northbound. I made tracks to the north. Next stop, the capital, Brasilia. In Brasilia, I met up with yet another rider, Linhares. Linhares is another great guy. He even bought me dinner and showed me around town even though he and his wife were leaving for Miami the next day.
Brasilia lies in the plains of Brazil and is a planned city organized in two wings, north and south. There is plenty of interesting architecture to see, and the whole place has a very modern feel to it.
Leaving Brasilia, I made a blast north to the city of Belém. It was a couple full days of riding through the plains. Not very interesting, but I was making miles.
Saludos.
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