Well, getting to the top of Brazil felt great. Not many travel this way and I understand why – distance and temperatures are just a couple. We were hassled, as soon as we got to the border town of Oiapoque, by boat guys wanting to put the bikes into little tin boats. Down a steep ramp and then man handled and perched on the fixed seats,,,,, no thanks. Gareth was sort of keen as I suspect he thought it would make a cool photo. Price was about $100 NZ each.
I had heard there was a ferry or barge, so we went hunting all over the town, with everyone having a different idea where we should go. Eventually rescued by an official looking man in uniform, who lead us zig-zagging to a boat yard. A gravel barge was arranged and the price would half if anyone else wants to cross, otherwise the 200 Euros was our bill. But it was drive on and drive off and a great sun-set. Sort of like a private cruise , no-frills.
We arrived in Saint George, no offices open, no documentation, so probably illegally here. But wonderful French dinner, HOT and cold water and all sorts of treats. Smell of fresh bread at 6 am and all the locals cycling along with their bread sticks. Police everywhere as this is a “hot” area. Don’t stop in the jungle they advise, riddled with crims.
Couldn’t find fuel so crawled along to the next town, Regina. No fuel there but a lovely french police-man arranged 5 litres, enough to get us to the capital of French Guyana, Cayenne with flashing fuel lights and empty tanks.
Everything Euros, the price as it would be in France plus freight. We stop at pedestrian crossings here, a surprise for our recent driving etiquette.
After a night in Cayenne we stopped doing the conversion back to NZ dollars, this place is priced similar to Europe plus freight.
Comments are closed.