I crossed the equator back into the northern hemisphere yesterday.I was amused to find that the US government (the satellites) and the Brazilian government (the sign) agree exactly on the position of the equator on BR174, the road from Manaus to Venezuela. As I inched to a halt to bring up all the zeroes on the GPS I stopped on the line at the small monument beside the road.

BR174 is paved and in mostly decent condition all the 500 miles from Manaus to Boa Vista; the exception is the 70-mile stretch through the Waimiri Indian Reserve. When the road was built in the '70s the Waimiri killed more than 200 soldiers with poisoned arrows because they were adamantly against the road-building. Consequently not much maintenance goes on there, and there are signs warning against stopping or getting out of your vehicle, and against photography. Not sure where this leaves a motorcyclist, but I managed one photo and decamped rapidly rather than risk a poison dart.

Probably the most astonishing thing about the Teatro Amazonas (Manaus Opera House) is that despite it being 1,000 miles from anywhere, there being only one paved road (to Venezuela), and it taking five days to get there by boat (making flying the only sensible option), every performance is a sell-out. My observation was that most of the audience were locals, with only a sprinkling of foreign tourists. I had to make do with a restricted-view seat for Otello (a whole 3 quid), but the performance and production were terrific. The singers were good but not really A-list except for the title role, sung by that rather wonderful Welshman Dennis O'Neill. In all a fairly surreal experience, and one I wouldn't have dreamed of missing.

Anyway, last night I arrived in Boa Vista and this morning I toddled along to the Venezuelan consulate to get my immigration permit. Diego and Andreas were there, and as Colombians they need visas and have to pay for the privilege. In contrast, all I had to do was fill in a simple form and supply originals and copies of passport, Brazilian immigration papers and Yellow Fever certificate, and 20 minutes later the friendly lady handed me my permit. So I'm off to Venezuela tomorrow, probably in company with the Colombian lads.