{"id":6751,"date":"2016-12-27T13:58:49","date_gmt":"2016-12-27T18:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/?p=6751"},"modified":"2016-12-27T13:58:49","modified_gmt":"2016-12-27T18:58:49","slug":"route-information-part-6-south-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2016\/12\/route-information-part-6-south-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Route Information Part 6: South America"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Colombia\u00a0 \u00bb Venezuela \u00bb \u00a0Guyana \u00bb\u00a0 Suriname \u00bb\u00a0 French Guyana \u00a0\u00bb\u00a0\u00a0 Brazil \u00a0\u00bb Bolivia \u00bb \u00a0Paraguay \u00bb Uruguay\u00a0 \u00bb Argentina \u00bb \u00a0Chile \u00bb\u00a0 Bolivia \u00bb<\/h4>\n

A short flight brought us to Colombia<\/a><\/big>, once off-limits for tourists due to safety concerns, but now an ever more popular destination on the South American circuit. \u00a0From Cartagena, one of our favorite cities on the\u00a0planet, we cycled north towards the coastal city of Santa Marta, and on to the dry Riohacha Peninsula, crossing the border into Venezuela<\/a><\/big> at the gritty border town of Maicao. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Initially, we'd planned to follow the coast from Maracaibo, taking in Coro and other popular tourist destinations. \u00a0 But the heat was stifling--unbearable even--so we headed cycled up to the Andes to cool off. \u00a0We biked up to the Andean towns of Trujillo and Bocono and then back down to the plains of Los Llanos, passing near Guanare, then on to Barinas before heading into the heartland of the cattle grazing country and the small settlements of Bruzual, Mantecal, Achaguas and finally San Fernando de Apure. \u00a0From that point, we had to make a detour of sorts since there's no direct road through the Amazonas region. \u00a0<\/p>\n

We cycled all the way south to Puerto Paez, right on the Colombian border, and then back north through some\u00a0remote country dotted with Amerindian villages. \u00a0At the junction with highway 19, we again headed east towards Ciudad Bolivar. \u00a0Then it was a straight shot to Brazil, passing through the beautiful Gran Sabana region, the highlight of bicycle touring in Venezuela.<\/p>\n

We left Venezuela behind at the tidy border town of Santa Elena and headed into a sparsely populated part of Brazil settled mostly by Amerindians. \u00a0In Boa Vista, the region's major city, we stocked up with provisions for the rough ride through Guyana<\/a><\/big>.<\/p>\n

The muddy track (we biked here in May, the beginning of the rainy season) from Linden to Georgetown, Guyana's capital, is one of the more challenging roads in South America. It's a long slog through some sparsely inhabited areas, but the beautiful landscapes--from wide open savanna to dense tropical forest---take some of the pain out of the ride. \u00a0Back on paved roads, we blazed through Guyana and onto Suriname, crossing the border via the daily ferry across the Corentyne River.<\/p>\n

In Suriname <\/a><\/big>we met some of the friendliest folks of the trip, as we pedaled through mosquito-infested tropical forests, passing cheerful-looking villages with brightly-painted homes on stilts and tidy farms growing rice and vegetables. \u00a0After a long rest in the lively capital, Paramaribo, we continued our bicycle tour south towards French Guiana<\/a><\/big>. \u00a0<\/p>\n

It was a strange sensation to be back on French soil, munching on crunchy baguettes and shopping at the well-stocked Super U, filling the cart with products shipped all the way from metropolitan France. \u00a0Viewing the giant sea turtles laying their eggs on Awala beach was a definite highlight, as was visiting the European Space Center at Kourou. \u00a0Dealing with dengue fever, on the other hand, was the low point of the visit. \u00a0After a ten-day recovery period, Eric felt strong enough to continue the South America leg of our bicycle tour and we loaded up the bikes and pedaled towards Brazil. \u00a0French Guiana south of Cayenne is home to some agonizing hills, but fortunately the road has finally been paved all the way to the border crossing at St. Georges.<\/p>\n

Here we hopped on a speedboat across the river to Oiapoque, in remote northern Brazil<\/a><\/big>. \u00a0After 50 kilometers the paved road came to a brutal halt and we were faced with yet another long slog through mud and muck. \u00a0Horrendous road conditions coupled with some of the steepest hills of our world bicycle tour made for some tough cycling. \u00a0Fortunately, the Brazilians have been on a recent paving spree, and the asphalt returned at the busy town of Calcoene, after a mere 160 kilometers of mud. \u00a0What a relief!<\/p>\n

After some relatively easy riding through vast open spaces, we made it to Macapa, and the end of the road. \u00a0Here we jumped on an Amazon riverboat, the Bom Jesus, for a ride to busy Belem. \u00a0Back on the bikes, we suffered from heavy traffic, narrow roads and crazy drivers as we made our way south on highway BR 010.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colombia\u00a0 \u00bb Venezuela \u00bb \u00a0Guyana \u00bb\u00a0 Suriname \u00bb\u00a0 French Guyana \u00a0\u00bb\u00a0\u00a0 Brazil \u00a0\u00bb Bolivia \u00bb \u00a0Paraguay \u00bb Uruguay\u00a0 \u00bb Argentina \u00bb \u00a0Chile \u00bb\u00a0 Bolivia \u00bbA short flight brought us to Colombia, once off-limits for tourists due to safety concerns, but<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[123,282,12],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nRoute Information Part 6: South America - Worldbiking.info<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.worldbiking.info\/wordpress\/2016\/12\/route-information-part-6-south-america\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Route Information Part 6: South America - 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