Day 559 30th January 2018
31 miles (Sao Francisco de Itabapoana to Campos de Goytacazes) Average speed 12.3 mph Top speed 29 mph
A very wet day.
I’m sat with a beer in another thunderstorm as I write this.
I got up at 7.30 for brekkie of very sweet coffee and a bread roll with butter! Not the best brekkie so far in Brazil!! I supplemented it with a squashed bread roll with warm cheese and ham from yesterday and I rested in bed and had a shower before leaving at 12.00 as it was still raining and had been since I arrived here. It stopped soon after I left and I had a good first 40 minutes before I hid from a shower in a bus stop.
Pause out of the rain for a little while
Once again it stopped for long enough for me to climb a few more hills and then I hid under a tree for the next instalment where I was attacked by mosquitoes, so I headed off pretty quickly. After lots more hills and the odd shower I arrived in Travessao and found a petrol station to hide in for a while as the rain got heavier. I had two cheese and ham pasties and two free coffees. As it didn’t look like stopping any time soon I donned my water resistant clothes and set off on the very wet 13 mile trek to Campos where at least I knew there was a pousada available. I was drenched within minutes with lorries and coaches spraying me, but the hard shoulder, although wet, was not too bad. There were a couple of motels along the route but as I was wet anyway I chose to carry on to the city. Just before the bridge across the river into town the road split into two one way roads to cross. There was a long queue of traffic which I went down the inside of, but I soon realised the problem as the road was flooded.
The road is flooded ahead
A right turn underwater meant I could even see how far I would need to go through the new river. A couple of cars had conked out in the middle and I decided I just had to go for it. The water didn’t quite reach the top of my bags but my feet were submersed up to my calves. Surprisingly the water was quite warm. The trip lasted about a hundred metres in total and I made it through thankfully.
I made it through
I’ve found a few obstacles in my way recently, the latest is a thunderstorm which is forecast the next 2 days. Still it is giving me the chance to enjoy some local food
Pousada el shaddai 70 reais.