The Blue Maccaw, that was with a flock that flew in for breakfast, the others remained roosted in the trees above with the flock of toucan, it was amazing.
The buttes, crests and mesas that were very common for about 200km.
The house on the corner with my Amigo just before I headed out of town.
The Rio Azul where the spring gushed water from the underground at an astonishing rate forming a whole river.
I rolled out of Pousada Do Sol at 1000 am and rode through some of the most interesting scenery. The hills were comprised of what looked like pillars, similar to that of columnar jointing characteristic of volcanic basalt, like that of the Giants Causeway in Ireland. However, the rock type here was not basalt and more likely formed from erosion of the softer undersoil with the more erosion resistants crusty upper layer formimg a nice hat which protected the less erosion resistant underside from water. This has resulted in crests, butes, and mesas that are typical in desert environments.
At about 2pm with only about 275km covered I rolled into the town of Aurora do Toucantis. There I stopped at a small restaurant (the only one that looked open) that had a bunch of guys between the ages of 30-40 yrs sitting around a couple of tables. (footy bal players)
I parked the bike and asked for something to eat and was informed that they were'nt open for food, only drinks. They told me how to get to an open restaurant around the corner but first I'd have to sit down with them for a drink. I complied, and 6 dixi cups were filled from a 600ml bottle of beer. Everyone shares here compared to what I'm used to, usually where I'm from everyone gets their own bottle.
I was told that I wasn't leaving that day and that they were going to show me around their town and that I'd have to stay the night and leave in the morning. Another guy peeped up and said that I'd be sleeping at his house and I wasn't allowed to pay for any beer. It was all too good to be true. As it turned out the guys were genuine and I found myself following them to a river front establishment that was nestled in among the trees and then to another and then finally to a famous fresh water spring that gushed blue water at an astonishing rate. The water pouring from the spring was crystal clear and warm enough to go swimming. A set of concrete steps were built at the site and it was obviously very popular for swimming with all the locals. The Rio Azuis, which is formed at the spring is apparently listed in the Guiness Book of World Records but I have not determined why as of yet. (I'll do that afterwards).
It was well past dark now, getting on about 830pm. The guys began gathering themselves up at the Blue Spring and we rolled out back to Aurora Do Tocantis. On arrival we sat down at a table that was placed out beside an outdoor BBQ. I ordered up a few plates of food for the grand total of about 3 dollars and we sat and ate a variety of BBQ'd meats including sausages, poultry, red meat, rice and a bunch of weird vegetables.
It was now 930pm and I was exhausted from all the hiking and sweating from the day before, not to mention spending all day in the sun with my new buddies. I got up and informed the bunch that I was outta there. They all stood up and surrounded me and said that there was no way that I was getting a hotel. One of the fellows took the lead and showed me the way to a beautiful house on the corner with a room filled with 3 beds. I could'nt have asked for more. The place was completely tiled inside and very clean. I crashed out, although, I was sweating perfusely in the midnight heat. At about 3 am I was awoken by the sound of screeching metal and a motorbike engine whining outside my bedroom window. I instinctively jumped out of bed to see if it was my bike in my sleepy delerium. It was not. However, there was a guy laying on his side looking through the open bedroom window back at me. He slowly got up. The poor guy had to kick start his flooded bike, and rode off. It took me until 5 am to fall asleep again and this made me very tired for the next morning. I was up at 7am and had the bike completely packed by 730. I woke up my host and said good bye and thank you. He told me to call him someday from Canada, so I probably will to practice my Portugese.
My destination was 875km to the east, it was going to be a big day and I had no idea what lay ahead.
At about 2pm with only about 275km covered I rolled into the town of Aurora do Toucantis. There I stopped at a small restaurant (the only one that looked open) that had a bunch of guys between the ages of 30-40 yrs sitting around a couple of tables. (footy bal players)
I parked the bike and asked for something to eat and was informed that they were'nt open for food, only drinks. They told me how to get to an open restaurant around the corner but first I'd have to sit down with them for a drink. I complied, and 6 dixi cups were filled from a 600ml bottle of beer. Everyone shares here compared to what I'm used to, usually where I'm from everyone gets their own bottle.
I was told that I wasn't leaving that day and that they were going to show me around their town and that I'd have to stay the night and leave in the morning. Another guy peeped up and said that I'd be sleeping at his house and I wasn't allowed to pay for any beer. It was all too good to be true. As it turned out the guys were genuine and I found myself following them to a river front establishment that was nestled in among the trees and then to another and then finally to a famous fresh water spring that gushed blue water at an astonishing rate. The water pouring from the spring was crystal clear and warm enough to go swimming. A set of concrete steps were built at the site and it was obviously very popular for swimming with all the locals. The Rio Azuis, which is formed at the spring is apparently listed in the Guiness Book of World Records but I have not determined why as of yet. (I'll do that afterwards).
It was well past dark now, getting on about 830pm. The guys began gathering themselves up at the Blue Spring and we rolled out back to Aurora Do Tocantis. On arrival we sat down at a table that was placed out beside an outdoor BBQ. I ordered up a few plates of food for the grand total of about 3 dollars and we sat and ate a variety of BBQ'd meats including sausages, poultry, red meat, rice and a bunch of weird vegetables.
It was now 930pm and I was exhausted from all the hiking and sweating from the day before, not to mention spending all day in the sun with my new buddies. I got up and informed the bunch that I was outta there. They all stood up and surrounded me and said that there was no way that I was getting a hotel. One of the fellows took the lead and showed me the way to a beautiful house on the corner with a room filled with 3 beds. I could'nt have asked for more. The place was completely tiled inside and very clean. I crashed out, although, I was sweating perfusely in the midnight heat. At about 3 am I was awoken by the sound of screeching metal and a motorbike engine whining outside my bedroom window. I instinctively jumped out of bed to see if it was my bike in my sleepy delerium. It was not. However, there was a guy laying on his side looking through the open bedroom window back at me. He slowly got up. The poor guy had to kick start his flooded bike, and rode off. It took me until 5 am to fall asleep again and this made me very tired for the next morning. I was up at 7am and had the bike completely packed by 730. I woke up my host and said good bye and thank you. He told me to call him someday from Canada, so I probably will to practice my Portugese.
My destination was 875km to the east, it was going to be a big day and I had no idea what lay ahead.
No comments:
Post a Comment