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Prior post: http://blog.bucksvsbytes.com/2020/01/12/south-america-by-subaru-20-01-07-against-all-advice/
At first light I get out of the car to look over our situation. The weather is still cloudy but the rain has tapered off. The surface is even muddier than before and there isn’t much room for error. Since the contingency plan is so grim, I scrape mud off the tires as best I can with the shovel and dig guide ruts for the front wheels. With these measures, I’m able to move forward without sliding down the slope and I get the car back to the center of the road. We proceed very cautiously, still with little traction, forced to drive through the worst of the mud to stay centered. Once again, each dilapidated bridge becomes a rest stop and wildlife viewing platform.
Twice, I get out and reconnoiter on foot to pick the best route. Fortunately, within another 15 miles, we reach the improved portion of the road and the number of tense moments starts to decrease. Along the way we spot an alligator along the road, and a tapir in the distance. Both disappear quickly at our approach so we don’t get any good photos. Within 2 hours, the driving becomes fairly easy and the symbolic end of the adventure is returning to the formal beginning of the Transpantaneira highway.
We make it back to civilization, or at least Poconé, with a little gasoline to spare. Since we got started this morning at daybreak, there’s plenty of time to move on.
We didn’t exactly have a triumphant trip to the northern Pantanal, but we got up close to an enormous selection of flowers, birds, and other wildlife and had a fine adventure, although Susan doesn’t see it that way yet. A day is either easy and uneventful or it makes a good story, never both. Moral of this story: visit Porto Jofre during the dry season!
Before leaving Poconé, we fill the thirsty gas tank and head in the direction of Goiás, one of Brasil’s historic colonial cities. This requires a further 150 mile backtrack through Chapada do Guimarães and Campo Verde before forging a new path eastward, away from the Pantanal. We stop back in Chapada for a return visit to one of the few authentic native crafts stores we’ve encountered in South America, then have a quick lunch at the Italian restaurant we tried several days ago. After that it’s drive, drive, drive through a visually endless ocean of soybean fields, their output mostly destined for China. At 3:30 pm we reach the agricultural town of Primavera do Leste. Since there’s little in the way of lodging ahead of us, we check out the options, choosing a pretty fancy, but affordable, hotel on our 3rd try. After last night in the car, even I appreciate, for a change, a swimming pool, comfortable bed, and air conditioning.
Next post: http://blog.bucksvsbytes.com/2020/02/08/south-america-by-subaru-20-02-06-susan-heads-home/
