1039 km Curitiba

After a couple of days in Rio it was time to get on the road and head for my first target Paraty. I planned the trip out of Rio using as much of the information I could get from the people in Rio. It seemed most of the road was safe but I needed to be carefull in Santa Cruz which is poorer and has a higher crimerate. Santa Cruz definatly felt a bit iffy, but luckily I made it through without any issues. First three days I cycled to Paraty along the coastal road. It's a lot of small hills and ups and downs, in this heat that makes for a nice challenge. The views and the nature here are absolutely stunning. I've seen canaries, parrots, hummingbirds and lots of vultures. A few of them flew right beside me at very slow speed checking me out. I must have looked worse than I thought.....

in Paraty we were treated to some nice samba in the city, which happens here every Monday. Paraty is a stunning little town from the colonial era, founded by the Portuguese in 1597. In 1696 the world largest gold deposits were discovered which meant a great boost for Paraty. From here all the gold was put on the ships to Portugal. Houses are still in colonial style and the cobblestone streets really add to the atmosphere. It was the perfect place to take a rest day. After the day of rest I headed out in the direction of Santos. The terrain was getting hillier so I'm getting some decent practice for the Andes later on here. Luckily each day ends on a beach with a caiperinha, so I'm not complaining this is the good life.

To be honest I did not expect much of Santos. But since I pushed 130km to get there and I was on the bike for some days again, I figured I could use a rest day and check the city out. I was pleasantly surprised. I had a look at the cathedral and paid the coffee museum a visit as well as the Pele museum. which contains a nice display of his achievements and the highlights of his carreer. Most of the text in the museum was in English which helped. the city has a bit of an industrial feel and all the big ass boats and cranes, make me feel just at home here. After Santos it was sadly he last day on the Brasilian coast for me. From Peruibe onwards the roads turned inland to Curitiba. 

No more beaches, it was time for some climbing on the road to Curituba. Based on the map I knew there was little to be found between Peruibe and Curitiba. The first day was still fairly flat and I made it to Registro where I found a decent pousada to stay the night. I packed heavy for the next day assuming it would turn out in a night of wildcamping. Not something I really looked forward to in Brasil. Luckily I had very good legs that day and the climbing went pretty smooth. I was about to settle for a campspot when a sign popped up there would be a hotel 19km down the road. I pushed myself a little more and found a bed after 139km cycling in 31 degrees in the mountains. After such a long day a woke up as expected with some sore muscles, but luckily Curitiba was only 85 more kilometers to go. Pretty happy making it in 3 days from the coast to Curitiba. Here I will take a couple of days of to do some laundry, bike maintenance and sighseeing. In a few days I'll be on my way to Foz. Next update will probably be from there.

Take care all,

Erik