21 June 2010

But with Eric weak and drenched in a feverish sweat, I knew celebrating was out of the question. Not even a trip to the patisserie in his feeble state.

The French, I've always believed, are strong on the melodrama when it comes to illness. The slightest sniffle and my in-laws are hinting that I ought to rush off to the emergency room.
the origins of our dengue troubles
I was pretty certain Eric had picked up his dengue fever at a place called Awala. Situated on the Atlantic coast, Awala's famous for the giant leatherback turtles that gather on its beaches to lay their eggs. The leatherback is the largest of all living sea turtles, sometimes measuring more than six feet in length and weighing up to 1,500 pounds.
For all our trouble--Eric catching dengue and all-- we thankfully couldn't have had a better sea turtle experience. Not only did we get to watch a giant leatherback laying her 90 odd eggs, we also witnessed a whole batch of tiny green sea turtles hatching and scampering across the beach to be washed out to sea. Best nature experience of the entire four years on the road. Even better than the lion who'd ingested half a zebra in Zambia.


a taste of asia on the atlantic coast

Sea turtles and charming market towns don't carry much weight when you're lying in a feverish dengue induced sweat. But slowly Eric regained his strength. The fever disappeared and after a mere 10 days my brave husband was back on the bike. So much for a month of rest.
What lay ahead, not long after we pedaled out of Cayenne and on to Brazil, was one of the worst roads in South America. It's 2010, but the Brazilians still haven't gotten around to entirely paving the 'highway' to French Guiana.
The roads was a mess. An especially muddy mess during the torrential June rains. And a hilly muddy mess at that. Perhaps it suffices to say that one day we did 25 kilometers before giving up exhausted. Three days to conqueur the longest 165 kilometers of mud and muck I've ever endured. You can check out all the fun on our latest Bicycle Touring Video: The Worst Road in Brazil


But we made it. To Macapa. An island of a place in remote northern Brazil literally cut off from the south by road. Now we're in for a ride on a riverboat. An Amazonian river boat.
on to the amazon
For all those who like statistics, the Amazon is the largest river in the world by volume, with a total river flow greater
We're in for a wild and amazing Amazon boat trip on the MV Coronel Jose Julio all the way to Belem. Time to stock up on some super strength mosquito repellent.
Please share your thoughts, comments or just say hello in the comments section below.
And if you liked this post, check out these posts and bicycle touring videos:
Tour Update
Cycling
Around the World: Biking Guyana
Bicycle Touring Video
Cycling South America: the worst road in Brazil
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