Laura, tired because of sun but also bored because of too much pampas |
One of the many cotton fields |
Laura, cleaning herself after I took the bike through a corn field |
Me, being friendly with the fauna |
 
A fire on the side of the road. The traffic was undisturbed. |
 We spent the night with a local family. After meeting a family member during a short break, we drank a few beers and got invited to sleep and eat for free at his home. |
To Cuiaba
More friends
In Brasilia we encountered more friendly people: Joe and Eladio. They invited us to stay at their houses, fed us and also wanted to fill our tank, too bad it was already full. In the first picture you can see us and two of them. Then, in the second picture, you can see Eladio ten years ago, when he went on a eight months motorcycle adventure from Brazil to Tierra del Fuego, to Alaska and finally to Miami (where he had to stop because his 250cc bike got stolen). Third picture shows him twenty years ago, during his first trip through Brazil only, an adventure that lasted for two years!
In the last picture there are more bikers that we encountered in a village, en route to Cuiaba. They were there to attend a party and invited us to join.
Tags: other travellers
Palomina
We decided Palomina deserved its first shower after 5 months and 35.000km. Bad decision, since we had to spend the next two hours figuring out why the engine wasn’t starting anymore.
Then it was the time for the first preventive maintenance of all voyage. With cleaned injector and throttle body, new spark plugs, fresh oil, and a rebuilt front suspension, the bike felt like new, ready for the 1500km through the jungle that were to come.
Later edit: front bearings and coolant were also replaced.
Tags: repairs
Brasilia (Capital Federal)
The plans for this city were laid in the ‘50s. As a result, many streets and buildings have odd but interesting shapes. In the center of the so-called “pilot plan” a TV tower has been erected. From the observation platform, one can better understand the layout.
The “pilot plan” features many open areas and extremely wide avenues. Unfortunately, much of this are is covered with a combination of grass + dust instead of something like grass + trees.
But the city planners did not pay too much attention to public transport. As a result, there is a metro system covering only small portion of the town, and many buses for the rest.
Tags: architecture
The Sugarloaf Mountain
The Sugarloaf Mountain is easily accessible by cable car (built in 1912, claimed to be the third in the world, after Spain in 1907 and Switzerland in 1908) and offers awesome views of the city and its famous Copacabana beach. We planned to go there just before sunset, to be able to observe during daytime and nighttime as well.
Tags: architecture, park