After 23 hours flight time from Sydney, Australia we arrive in Rio de Janeiro into the welcoming arms of George and Denise Bunker, HU communitee members for Rio, living on the opposite end of the bridge from Copacabana beach and away from the hustle and bustle. They invited us to stay with them and their dogs while we explored Rio and graciously offered to drive us to Tubate, 4 hours south where the Vstrom has been stored in George's lounge room for the past 6 months!

George and Denise were the the best hosts that one could wish for with offers of tours around the area by car and bicycle to the hang gliding launch point for a different view of Monte Cristo and Copacabana.
We lunched at the local Yacht club as well as various churrascarias and cafes. We like the Brazilian custom of weighing your buffet food with you paying only for what you take, thus harnessing the desire to over eat and eliminating most wastage.
The bike started on the first try because George had been starting the bike periodically over the 6 month storage to charge the battery. After installing a K&N air filter, Scottoiler for the chain, a GIVI top box, new sprockets and a set of Metzler Tourance tyres, we set off northbound along the coast road back to Rio. Meandering slowly, we really enjoyed the scenery and took 3 days to get back to the Bunker casa.
The next day we decided to push on a bit harder as we had spent 8 days in the Rio area and we had the time line of getting to Colombia in time for our daughter Kate's arrival in Bogota Colombia mid December. 6000 kms lay ahead of us just to get to Belem at the mouth of the Amazon, taking the coastal route. George had emailed a number of bikers living along our proposed route, and thus started what was to be an amazing dose of Brazilian hospitality amongst the biking communitee. Most nights we were welcomed to the homes of fellow bikers and although we didn't speak Portuguese and they didn't speak much if any English, we still had fun and could resort to Google translator if we got stuck. It really takes a special person to invite a total stranger into their home, especially when most Brazilians are afraid of the all too common street crime. We hear many first hand stories but have had no bad experiences to date. We follow a few rules like no driving at night or staying out late at night when most crime occurs.
The next bikers we met was Eugenio and his sidekick Diiego.

When we arrive at their motorcycle repair shop they had already received a photo of us travelling through Vitoria, taken by a taxi friend who spotted us, taken the shot and forwarded it to Eugenio, so he was expecting us within minutes of our arrival. The view from the Vitoria bridge would rival any views we saw in Rio. After much fanfare and greetings they escorted us to their "Bikers Clubhouse" one block from the beach, which was nicely accommodating for extended overnight stays. The next morning being Saturday, the boys show up to guide us on a tour of the surrounding area.
Next morning we are up at 5:00 for an early start as the days can get hot and we had a lot of kms to cover that day. About two hours out I notice my ABS light is on, but what could I do about it on the road and nearly all my riding is without ABS, so I'm not too worried. 5 minutes later while passing a long line of traffic, the engine quits. Now my EFI (fuel injection) light is flashing and I've got to get back in my lane before the oncoming car arrives. Belinda gets the idea and frantically motions the car beside to back off. We make it back in and coast to a small parking area and start the job of exposing the bikes electricals to determine the problem. Within 5 minutes a small truck with "Eco101" written on the side pulls up beside us and in Portuguese asks us if there is a problem and do we want a battery boost? The boost didn't work so he got on his phone and within another 5 minutes a large flatbed tow truck arrives and lifts us aboard for a ride to the next town.

He was nice enough to call our friend Eugenio who offers Diiego to come with a charged battery as we had wrongly concluded that our problem was a faulty battery.
What we came to realise was that Eco101 is a free government funded rescue service for stranded motorists similar to the Green Angels in Mexico. Diiego eventually arrived and installed the new battery. The bike started but when he checked the charging system, no current was being generated. Being a bigger problem than we expected we had to make it back 100km's to the shop. As the battery would soon discharge while running we needed another ride. Within 5 minutes Diego introduced us to a fellow we hadn't seen before. This well groomed young man named George was the driver of an empty long haul car carrier offering to transport our bike back to the Eugenio's shop in Vitoria for free.

He had noticed that we were having trouble and offered his services- the Brazilians are GREAT.
In the shop we discover that the problem is the stator which generates the electricity - a big job to fix and very rare problem with Vstroms. Many of our friends have this model with absolutely no problems, we just had bad luck! We were EXTREMELY lucky where it happened though with so much support!

The bike is back in another truck (the third that day!) and off to the specialist for surgery. We replaced the stator and the regulator, the whole job costing US$500 and was all ready that night, so we were off for another early start. Eugenio did not want to charge for his work and Diiego's time and fuel so we forced it upon him.
The small coastal roads were our preference for the scenery but all towns no matter how small always had speed bumps called lombardos. Most are signposted or painted but about 10% are not. Many are hidden in the shadows of trees and are nearly impossible to see. My next set of brake pads will be replaced due to emergency braking 2 meters before lombardos! Sometimes we are compelled back to the main highway BR101 which is impossibly overcrowded with trucks going one speed and cars trying to go another, mostly on only two lane roads. Crashes are frequent and colossal. The agility of the Vstrom allows us to make much better time than a car and is in most circumstances safer, but the object of the trip is to experience the scenery and not to have to concentrate on the road ahead. With Belinda doing all of the onroad navigation, I can stay focussed on bike manouvering and keeping us safe.
Fuel stations are abundant and our 20 litre fuel tank is more than adequate with the bike averaging 22kms per litre. Most large fuel stations on BR101 have churrascarias which are buffet BBQ restaurants and the food is really quite good and relatively cheap. Many Brazilians recognise us as Foreign tourists from a long way off because of our panniers and are constantly offering a friendly wave and a flash of their lights as we pass. Brazillians are so loving and friendly and we are so happy to be back on 2 wheels again! This is Tacio and his friends in Recife with his world trip on the map!