Another friend greed us right after we left…

Took us a couple days to reach Teofilo Otoni.

Leaving Danilo, Hew and Brazil was a bit sad, but after all it was a wonderful experience. I had expectations (THAT is the problem!) and ideas of how that trip would be. None of them happened but Brazilian people remain deep inside my heart and thank you Danilo for showing me a new way of meditation!

Following are random pictures of Brazil taken on the way…

Next trip SE Asia?… hum hum…

Just before Nanuque, by the airport land stripe, a committee was waiting for us…

They had called the bike fans, the medias, the police, the maire…

This is how we  enter the city!

Interview…

We went to visit all the bike family

And then they treated us like never before… Such wonderful people, so generous and enthusiastic!

They brought us to Sergio’s place. Born in Rio, he lived 30 years in Toronto. Hew was so happy to be able to speak English…

Sergio and his adorable wife took care of us, treated us, gave us the nicest time we could dream of, we spend a few days in their lovely house.

One day, Reginaldo who is the one who invited us to Nanuque and who organized it all called and said he will bring the “café” He arrived around 6pm his arms loaded with shopping bags… Such a treat man!

Yes, all good things have an end… Time to leave, the have another 160km to reach Teofilo Otoni, the end of my brasilian adventure…

Brothers from NANUQUE, we will NEVER FORGET YOU!!!

Danilo received quite a while ago an invitation from a bicycle fan who read his website. He offered us to pass by Nanuque, a 400000 people town in the state of Minas Gerais. We didn’t know what to expect but decided to go and check it out.

little break in the middle of nowhere

Eggs for dinner…

Shower time…

Camping by the pond

Coffee?

We went inside this property, attracted by the lake for a swim

action…

Danilo had a flat tire, so we had to wait for him…

another bath

Minas gerais landscape… we’re getting close to Nanuque

As usual, when the sun get close to the horizon, we start to look for a place to settle our tents. We often ask locals if we can use their back yard for the night. They always say yes…

But this time we met a really sweet family

with beautiful kids…

She was very special…

Then, more people we met…

They are from South Africa… 4 years on the road, no plan to stop…

curious kids…

always wondering what are we doing…

I thought i would ride on the beach like a breeze… Yes, it is a common thing in Brazil, but not with super heavy bikes… So we had to push them almost all the time

probably the most tiring day…

But great for photos…

We met an indigenous community on the way. The government give them land and financial support they told us.

They seems to have a very peaceful life, away from everything but nature…

Then, more beach…

At this point we had to cross a river…

We asked these kids if they had a boat…

and yes indeed, they accepted to take us for a small fee.

As usual then they first saw us they came and ask for money or a pen. We told them that they needed to work to earn money. Then came the situation with the boat… they earned money!

Ouiiiii… We are back on the road!

We left Araial d’Ajuda to go to Caraiva, small fishermen village converted in an exclusive low key paradise for rich brasilians from southern cities. It was raining and fortunately we found a quite casual and very friendly camping. We had to wait for Danilo for a few days.

At this point i realized that my biking experience was coming to an end, there was not many kilometers to go and too much time to dedicated to the movie production Danilo and his wife are preparing. I was not willing to participate to this movie production, i had other things to do. So yes, i booked a return ticket to France.

Of course it created some disappointment but we decided to continue to bike together and only at the last minute i will take a bus back to Salvador to catch my plane.

Biking is what i was invited and came for. It has been an incredible experience in term of dynamic meditation! I realized that while biking all day, my mind was getting a lot more still and so i could do some spiritual exercises, the ones you do during meditation, but this time it was much much more efficient. That is enough to hook me to biking!

So yes, biking in Brazil is getting to an end but dynamic meditation just started!…

We left as soon as the rain stopped, 12 kilometer of beach was ahead, no road here…

local transportation in caraiva

The river to enter or leave caraiva, where the road ends

Today is the birthday of our holly Mother Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi…
It is rainning here in Brazil and i see in every drop of water a little bit of Her, like a reminder that we can actually feel Her presence everywhere, that she fertilizes our hearts, inspires our lives for the benetits of all…

Thank you Amma for all you’ve done for this world, all you are doing now and much much more…

Jai Jai jai Kali Mata Ji

Om Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu

During the 5 days in Arraial d’ Ajuda, somehow the whole energy of the trip shifted…

I left with Hew while Danilo went to Sao Paolo to do some business.

We arrived in a very small village called Caraiva after 1 and a half day biking on a dirt road.

We will stay here another few days until Danilo reaches us

On the way we met some birds

I also saw the house of someone i know

and that mystical messenger, again staring at me, under the scorching sun…

What an Owl can be doing so late in the day, sitting on a fence post and staring at me?

I  stopped the bike slowly, got the camera out and very slowly aimed at him…

But he flew away…

The Owl represent the Vision in the dark, it is a mystical symbol…

Om Kali Om, i do my mantra all the time…

Forgot to mention we passed the town of Ilheus

Ilheus, the old capital of cacao, the home of Gabriela (Jorge Amado’s novel)

Arriving in Porto Seguro, a wave of tourism, buses and noise… and a blessing from the sky

We didn’t like the turmoil of porto seguro so we went across the river to Arraial d’ Ajuda

we will stay here until danilo fly to Sao Paolo, then with Hew we will wait for him on a remote beach Caraiva

We are following the BA 001, the road that follow the shore

Not much traffic because it is a dead end road, it stop in Canaviera

Yes, that’s me…

Sometimes, a local fire change the scenery

Got caught by the rain…

Still a bit hilly hu?

We ended up biking all day, till very dark and finally Danilo found us a school to stay for the night in a tiny tiny village

Always the warm brazilian welcome

Next day, heading to Canaviera, the end of the road…

So what next?

Yes!… That boat took us across river, mangrove, wet land, till Belmonte

20kms on the water

Great mangroves

We arrived in Belmonte, beginning of the road to Porto Seguro

After laundry, internet, shower and good meals, we headed south again
The cherry on the pie was about to appear…

we said we were in brazil right?

sweet ride…

tudo bem!

the ride was great, still a bit hilly but great…

We ended up on ” the perfect beach” and met cool dudes who let us set up our tent by the beach

bruno, danilo and hew…

we decided to stay a day here

local fisherman coming back

Yes man, this is a fishing boat… a Jangada

More beach stuff…

We are here on the beach called Praia Pe da Serra in the village of Serra Grande (south of Itacare),

the best vibes since we left Salvador

Man has to live his dreams, because man believe that within the dream is the real freedom. No need to tell him, he must make his own experience… Until there is no more dream, no more nothing, to look, to search, to find… only then man will look inside and find what he was looking for…

the route is ahead… So from now on, we are biking all day, enjoying the scenery and spending our night under the tent, wherever the road takes us… For the 2nd night a sweet family gave us hospitality, delightful food and great memory…

We took the ferry and ended up staying under a kind fellow’s veranda

Hew from australia, danilo and his father always coaching, and me…

september 7th, is the independence day…
would it be an auspicious day to start our journey?
Well, before before we go the parade…

It all started after i met Danilo, a Brazilian fellow last winter in India. He was traveling around the world on his bike! We quicky became friends and he invited me to join him for the last leg of his trip from Salvador da bahia to Belo Horizonte. His wife Gisele will direct a movie about his adventure and of course, i will shoot the pictures…

His travel is an inspiration for kids to follow their dreams and to integrate society through the practice of sports. His website: www.homemlivre.com

So here am i, about to leave for another trip, and i hope to post many pics along the way…

Tout a commencé aprés avoir rencontré Danilo, en Inde l’hiver dernier. Danilo est bresilien et parcourt le monde sur son vélo. Nous sommes rapidement devenu amis et il m’a invité a le rejoindre pour la dernière étape de son voyage, de Salvador da Bahia à Belo Horizonte. Sa femme Gisele organise un film sur son aventure et bien sur, je vais faire les photos…

Son voyage est une source d’inspiration pour les enfants, une invitation à réaliser ses rèves ainsi qu’un moyen d’intégration dans la société à travers le sport. Son site: www.homemlivre.com

Me voilà donc sur le point de partir pour un autre voyage, et j’espère pouvoir ajouter des photos au fur et à mesure…

voici le velo…

et c’est parti!…