Südamerika

Mittwoch, 7. Februar 2018

French Guiana

12.02.2018. Total: 11770 km
Cayenne- Regina: 120 km

10.02.2018. Total: 11650 km
Cayenne- Cayenne: 20 km

To prepare for the next 780 km to Macapa at Amazonas, 110 km of which will be on a dirt road we'll stay 4 days in Cayenne. We will be riding the other 660 km on asphalt roads but in a very lonely area and we'll have rain most of the time.

08.02.2018. Total: 11630 km
Sinamary- Cayenne: 130 km

We are planning to stay in Cayenne for three nights to take well- deserved break as we have covered 450 km in the rain in the last three days.

07.02.2018. Total: 11500 km
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni - Sinamary: 152 km

It was great to be able to put up out tents under a roof

Today we stayed at this picnic place and bathed in the river ;-)

06.02.2018 Total: 11348 km
Paramaribo- Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni: 168 km

Crossing the border form Suriname to French Guiana by boat

I am in Europa now ;-)

Sonntag, 4. Februar 2018

Suriname

04.02.2018 Total: 11180 km
Paramaribo- Paramaribo: 30 km

Today I went sightseeing round Paramaribo which, being a former Dutch colony, looks a lot like Holland, I also bought a new camping mattress. It is 1.5 kilos heavier than the old one.

06.02.2018 Total: 11348 km
Paramaribo- Saint- Laurent- du- Maroni: 168 km

There are so many different types from snakes!

03.02.2018 Total: 11150 km
Police control Hope- Paramaribo: 171 km

Today we stayed at the Surinamese special force headquarters.

02.02.2018 Total: 10979 km
Road to south police control: 109 km

Today we crossed to Suriname. In Guyana we went through a tight police control. They even asked for our yellow fever vaccination certificates. Unlike other days, today we had to cycle when it was already dark. At about 6 pm a police officer stopped us to warn us that it is very dangerous to cycle at night because of not only traffic but wild animals. He also said that 20 kilometres from there there was a police station where we could spend the night. When we finally got there, a police officer came up to Stefan to ask him why he had been cycling without a headlight. "I lost it", he replied. :-$ Luckily, we were allowed to camp there and use their bathroom. They were very nice to us and couldn't believe I had cycled across so many countries in South america.

On the ferry

There are so many snakes!

1% uphill- no wonder the village is called New Amsterdam.

On the ferry on our way to Suriname

Samstag, 27. Januar 2018

Guyana

01.02.2018. Total: 10870 km
Springlands- Moleson Creek: 17 km

At 3 am we caught the bus to Georgetown. The journey took 5 hours so at 8 we were at the embassy. We got our tourist visas for 30 dollars and travelled back to Springlands, collected our stuff and cycled to the border to take a ferry to Suriname.

Camping at the ferry station

We were just a couple of days too early. Now, imagine if we had travelled back to Georgetown to get our visas when it was already perfectly possible to get them at the border! It would have been a lot worse than it actually was.

31.01.2018. Total: 10853 km
New Amsterdam- Springlands: 80 km

Our host in New Amsterdam introduced us to a German cyclist who then stayed with us . We had a good time and talked about our trips. When we told him that we were heading for Suriname, he asked us if we had got our visas at the embassy in Georgetown. My heart stopped- we hadn't. We checked information online hoping that we could get our visas at the border but no. I couldn't believe I had overlooked such important information. So we decided to drop our bags and bikes in a hotel and catch a bus to Georgetown at 3 am.

Our host was American

29.01.2018. Total: 10773 km
Georgetown- New Amsterdam: 130 km

My day today started with a stomach upset :-( so during the day I only had crackers and 4 litres of Coke to be able to ride 130 km.

Twelve km before New Amsterdam, there is a bridge that cannot be crossed by bike. We begged the police officer to let us cross but there was no way, so we had to ask a lorry driver if he could give us a lift to the other side.

Let the race begin! Stefan vs a local guy

Villages have very funny names here

On the lorry crossing the river

27.01.2018. Total: 10643 km
Linden- Georgetown: 95 km

Today we cycled again on a paved road. It was heaven. One tends to forget how much easier it is than cycling on dirt roads ;-)

26.01.2018. Total: 10548 km
Mabura- Linden: 130 km

Today we had the same difficulties as yesterday: rain and mud :-(. In the afternoon it started raining very heavily again. After having cycled 400 km on muddy dirt roads, riding the last 100 km to Georgetown on a paved road was a blessing. We did the last 20 when it was already dark, which was quite dangerous because of the state of the road. The ride was so bumpy that I lost my speedometer.