Transamazónica - Part IV

Day 8 - Apui to Km 180

Our goal for the day was to travel the 220 kms to the next town known as Km 180, because it is 180 kms from Humaita.  Road conditions got a bit worse as it seemed like either maintenance had not made it this far yet after rainy season, or maybe it is just less maintained than the other stretches that we had seen on the Transamazonica.



(this was the worst bridge we crossed on the Transamazonica.  Not only was there a plank to walk, but the road leading to the plank was in pretty bad shape too.)



(thoughout our trip, the rivers were stunning)



(another ferry crossing, conveniently at lunch again)



(this butterfly stopped in to land on our helmets several times before taking off)



(after crossing the river we stopped in at this place for lunch.  It was a weird lunch for us.  We will just say it reminded us a little of Deliverance.  We were glad we weren't staying there for the night.  Plus, the blood sucking gnats were there with a vengence.)



(the road was pretty washed out in sections)



(we finally got to Km 180.  Our biggest difficulty was finding a hotel that didn't cost 80 R.  We finally found this one for 30 R.  There were a lot of locals hanging out there, with lots of interest in the bike.)



(Km 180 was another nice little small town on the Transamazonica)

Day 9 - Km 180 to Humaita

We were starting to get pretty exhausted from our long days of traveling this dirty beast, so we were looking forward to a shorter day to get us to Humaita, which is a larger town, where we would rest for a couple of days before deciding if we would drive to Manaus, or catch a boat. Despite having a shorter distance to cover, we still had a long day because the road was by far in the worst condition we saw on the Transamazónica. It was 180 kms of bumps.



(but we did get another glimpse of the Amazon River)



(lots of truck tracks in the road)



(this stretch also had a lot of fazendas and other property for sale)




(lots and lots of bumps)



(one more ferry to cross to get into the town of Humaita)



(We were hoping for a comfortable, cheap spot to rest for a couple of days. We found it with this pousada. It was close to downtown, and large enough for us to spread out and enjoy our time. We had a much needed break, mainly watching a lot of the Wire, and eating lots of Brazilian completes.)

After 2 full days of rest, we were ready to attempt to make it to Manaus. The road, BR-319, is supposed to be even less maintained, more secluded with less services and harder to travel than the Transamazónica, but it seemed like a lot of vehicles are doing the trip right now, so we thought we would give it a shot.



(to prepare for the trip to Manaus, we brought 4 days worth of food, an extra 24 liters of gas, and 8 liters of water and a water filter. We were as ready as we were going to be.)



(Less than 20 kms outside of town, the bike stopped running. We flagged down two trucks coming from Manaus. They were nice enough to tow us back into town to a Honda shop, free of charge)