South America in Versys 650 – Latin America by motorbike (05): dolphins, piranhas and caimans … –

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Latin America by motorbike (05): dolphins, piranhas and caimans…

South America in Versys 650 - Latin America by motorbike (05): dolphins, piranhas and caimans ... -

Well, it’s been a while now since I haven’t given you any news from my many struggles in the Amazon …

Well, it’s been a little while now since I haven’t heard from you since my multiples …

After leaving my friends Jose and Eduardo with whom I traveled the unforgettable BR319, I went to Porto Velho. This road still left some marks on my suitcases which are not new at all … It even weakened some welds on the support, but it’s steel so it can be repaired anywhere.

Where I hallucinated was when I dismantled my front pads: mud and sand blew them away in 500 km! It’s crazy, I didn’t think it was possible … Where the shoe pinches is that I don’t have spare pads…

During my last, the pads had done 25,000 km without problem … So for the sake of weight, I did not bring any stock to South America and I hope to find a solution in Porto Velho…

450 euros the brake pads !

Also to save weight, I also left my spare tires in Manaus. On the road it’s okay, but on the track it was too heavy and too complicated to remove everything and put everything back after each fall! The trick is that the big spare tire intended to be mounted at the rear in 150/90/17, I had it mounted at the front where I originally put a 120/90 / 17. The advantage is to drive with the same tire at the front and at the rear and to have less headaches when it comes to finding a spare tire! Basically, as long as I find 17 inches, it fits normally…

In Porto Velho I met Papa Lleguas, the president of the local motorcycle club. Obviously, one thing leading to another, we chatted and I told him my adventures, with the famous BR319 and my brake worries. We then go on a trip to see all the motorcycle dealers in Porto Velho, but no one has such large pads..

We even go to see the Honda dealership but they don’t have one, then we end with the Suzuki dealership where they have Vstrom pads. The guy tells me the price and I burst out laughing: 900 reals, or 450 euros for the two sets of pads! Brazil is very expensive, a Versys is worth more than 15,000 euros here…

Well, too bad, I will drive without brakes. We return to Papa Lleguas who offers to accommodate me. He then contacted all his friends all over Brazil, but no one found any available brochures. No problem, at least in the evening we spend a good evening between bikers around a pool table. It’s crazy how passions bring people together. This morning we did not know each other, and there we spend the evening with friends !

Guajara Merim, Bolivian border

The next day, direction Guajara Merim, on the border with Bolivia. I do the 350 km of good road in the rain and without front brake: when I brake, I feel sick to my discs…

The road is not really interesting but at the idea of ​​crossing a border I am very excited! But when I arrive it is already 6.30 p.m. customs is closed…

Wednesday at 8:00 am, after a comfortable night in a tent in the shelter of a gas station (yes, I should write a guide to the coolest gas stations!), I go to Brazilian customs. I have already passed immigration the day before, this is only a formality. But I still have to cross the river and I have to wait for the barge to arrive … in 30 minutes. Oh no, in an hour. Ah well no, in 1h30 finally. The barge is Bolivian…

Immigration service

At 10:30 am, I finally walk through Bolivian territory and go through customs. The chief customs officer is really nice, he tells me he only has 5 minutes. But his internet connection is Bolivian too: it doesn’t work, so he can’t get me the certificate for the bike and tells me to come back in the early afternoon..

I go to the immigration service to save time, much less welcoming but it’s done in 5 minutes. Then I start looking for a guy who remakes the brake pads … The city is not very big and I find it quite easily thanks to the help of two bikers.

No problem to redo two sets of pads, he tells me the front and the back but no, I show him the left side of the bike: there too there is a disc and that makes him laugh! He wonders what it is for, apart from using more pads … Well to brake better, of course !

An hour later, my plates are ready for 50 bolivianos (8 euros). Cool, that’s Bolivia too !

At 1 p.m. I return to customs which does not reopen until 3 p.m. In the end, the internet works again at 3 p.m. and at 4 p.m. I am free! I refuel: 40 cents per liter! I quickly pass Riberalta and it is the "ripiot" track, typical of Bolivia. This red color is magnificent but there are not a lot of wheat in the area and I arrive at Bellaflor. Don’t look on the map, it doesn’t exist !

I stop in front of the first house and ask if I can pitch my tent for the night. They are really cool and offer me a place in the shelter of what serves as their "living room": four poles with a roof, but it’s not cold in Beni and they don’t need more. In the evening, they even invite me to eat with them. Glad to discover the real Bolivia in remote areas.

Cows and gauchos

The next day, when I ask where I can wash myself, I am told which well they have in common. This is where I thank our company for inventing wipes to clean themselves, which are still much more practical than a well … Then it is already time to start again.

I would like to arrive in Santa Rosa in the evening. It is the region of cows and gauchos, truly magnificent on horseback. Bolivia has many faces and it is a country not to be missed. On the other hand, it is the gasoline which is running low … No problem, I know that in Bolivia one finds gasoline everywhere. This is what several people have confirmed to me. But arrivals are random: I passed two stations in short supply.

In fact, people manage, store it and sell it for almost a euro per liter. Everything is good for doing business but it’s fine, I was missing 6 liters, I didn’t break the bank and spoke with the locals, the truck drivers who are often a reliable source of information. I like to watch them tinker with their truck, they know them by heart! And it is better because they are not brand new … I arrive at 6 p.m. in Santa Rosa where I find myself a nice little hotel.

The next day at the end of the morning I look for a way to go to Yucuma Park. The site is only accessible with a guide and you have to go through an agency that owns the canoes. At noon I close the case, I embark for three days in the foul-smelling swamps and the mosquito swarms of Yucuma. But it’s worth it.

Swimming with dolphins

We see caimans, alligators, herons, capibaras (the largest rodent in the world) and pink dolphins! They are botos, they live in fresh water and there is a plethora of them here. We see them regularly rise to the surface but it only lasts a fraction of a second and impossible to see them through this black and opaque water..

It’s not really the crystal clear water and the sandy beaches, but it’s amazing to spend a few days in these hostile environments.

Monkeys are not afraid of humans and are very curious. They often come very close and that kept me busy at the end of the first day. The next morning, we went anaconda hunting in the tall grass, but we came back empty-handed. I make it short on this episode, but what I will remember are the mosquitoes…

However, the afternoon was terrible, we went swimming with the dolphins! Usually one does not stay 5 minutes in these waters between snakes, piranhas and caimans, but dolphins feed on the first two and hunt the last. !

It is not reassuring to dive in the muddy and stinking waters of the Yucuma … But when about twenty dolphins appear and disappear a few meters away, it changes the game. !

Unfortunately, it is impossible to take pictures of the dolphins … I spent a good hour swimming afterwards, but these clever little ones go fast and the water is not really my cup of tea. In any case, it’s really incredible to swim in such a corner !

The guide points out to us a small caiman in the distance, the others have already climbed for a long time but as long as there are no risks I prefer to stay in my stagnant water. Who knows when I will have the opportunity to swim with dolphins in the wild again … But it’s already time to go home: too bad: the dolphins were starting to be less afraid of me.

We return to the camp and they all envy me for being in the water for so long. I got really close to these dolphins even though I didn’t touch them. But I’m surely the one who smells the worst after this swim !

Sunday morning, the piranha fishing is canceled because it is no longer the season, so the guide offers to take another trip. I inflated it so much the day before with the dolphins that it takes us further into the park. There I go straight, but this time I’m all alone and the other nine look at me half asleep. I have the dolphins to myself, I go straight to them try to chase them…

In vain, but they end up getting closer: one of them nibbles my foot, surprised I scream and everyone bursts out laughing. Then the dolphin turns around me, I can now stroke it, it shows me its belly. The guide tells me I can lift his tail, then his head. He dives back under me and tries to twist me, but this time I push him away gently. Again I couldn’t take any pictures, but Lutxo was extremely kind to film everything and you’ll see that in the second video of the trip. Speaking of which, the first video until Manaus arrives in a few days if the god of internet connections allows it….

Soon La Paz

We then returned to the camp for a good meal and around 2 p.m. we took the canoe back in the other direction: an hour and a half journey among the caimans, monkeys and other owners. So I wanted to tell you about my new adventures, but in Beni it was the elections, which means traffic ban and blocked internet connections !

Monday morning still no internet, so I took the road to La Paz where I was sure to find something … but that will be for next week: stay tuned !

Maxime BARAT

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