Day 516 18th December
52 miles (Maceio to Coruripe) Average speed 11.8 mph Top speed 40.9 mph
I got up at 6.30, showered and packed my bags properly. I had large brekkie of ham, cheese and scrambled eggs in rolls followed by pineapple and membrilla with coffee and freshly squeezed pineapple. Frankie joined me for brekkie as I was finishing, so I carried on packing bags and then said an emotional farewell while he helped me downstairs with my bags.
I said goodbye to the staff and then made my way to the main road looking for a good place to get rid of my suit, as I won’t be wearing it in this heat. I didn’t find anywhere in town and joined the highway across the bridge. I stopped after 20 minutes to leave the suit in a bag hanging on an empty sweet vendors stall. I hope someone finds it and can make use of it.
Highway
The highway was brilliant with a good wide hard shoulder and a good tailwind meant that I averaged 15.1 mph for the first hour. It was strange being on my own again but I enjoyed the ride. Once I’d crossed a big bridge at Sao Miguel the road became a bit tougher with lots of big downhills followed by big uphills. I had a rest at a restaurant and viewpoint at Roteiro where I bought a large bottle of coke and met a cyclist coming the other way with a trailer and an English-speaking dog? We chatted briefly and then wished each other luck on our trips.
Viewpoint at Roteiro
It was very tiring going down as fast as possible and pushing hard to get up the other side, especially in the heat. I spotted quite a few large lizards on the roadside which ran for cover when they saw me coming and many great views of eagles directly above my head and sometimes travelling at the same speed as me. There were also many of the yellow-tipped-wing bird that I’ve seen everywhere but have yet to identify. After lots more ups and downs I made it to Coruripe and found the hotel. The girl working in the beauty salon on the ground floor was very helpful despite my lack of Português and I managed to get a room for 60 reais.
Hotel room
The air con worked really well and the hot shower was a real luxury. I watched the footy channel on tv and ate some cheese in fried pastry with a beer and had a shower. Then I went for a walk before having a burger and chips in a local restaurant. I was in bed by 9 and had my alarm set for 8am brekkie. It’s also unusual to have an inside room without windows to wake me at 5 am sunrise.
Pousada Coruripe 60 reais with double bed, air con, tv and a hot shower!