We´ve been skirting the rains for the last 6 months, just finding the right line between wet and dry conditions as we´ve run North. But, just as our friends Ze Luis and Mario of Manaus had warned, as we passed north of the Amazon River we stepped right slap-bang into the middle of the rainy season! Running in between profuse tropical downpours has presented challenges for us but overall actually seems to suit us Brits, and as a result we have stepped up our mileages. At first we tried to work around the deluges, now we just jettison some clothing and run through! So great progress has been made and we are a happy crew arriving into Boa Vista, our last Brazilian pitstop to dry out.
It is fantastic to be resting a day or two, but running is replaced with internet work and media-stirring to raise awareness of our charities, and I have to confess any amount of running miles, in just about any conditions, would be preferable to this! We argue more in conurbations where our simple but gruelling running regime is interrupted by what others regard as ¨real life¨. Wi-Fi signal comes and goes, power-cuts offer a respite and we make and break rules about using the laptop in our bedroom. Our feathers are ruffled by non-physical stresses!
The running is not all plain sailing though and heat and humidity continue unabated, something we will be looking to lose as we run up and over the Guiana shield next week (into Venezuela, our LAST country!!). The humidity brings back prickly heat on a daily basis which is somewhat like an invisible foe jabbing one with hypodermic needles in purely random places, and of course the inevitable rubs in sweaty places can be super-uncomfortable. As can tripping on catseyes, as poor Katharine did a couple of days ago . . .
No child-seats here! Just musing how we´ll adjust to UK laws when we return!
Brazilian solution to weak mobile phone signal . . .
The grazers, out for a walk
Our friendly Mealy parrot, musing in a tree before he landed on Kath!
A gorgeous Mealy parrot attacks Dave then lands on Katharine! He must know we are Running for Wildlife!
Finding our rythym running in the rain
Kath experiments with ¨free-wheeling¨ whicle running. It doesn´t work out.
More raw skin between thighs, super sensitive! Look out for a blog on running in hot conditions, coming soon!
Bit of a nightmare leaving Manaus. . .
¨Dream¨ homes for indigenous indians displaced by mega-dams?
A lot of traffic out of Manaus, time for health&safety man…!
Is this one of the stadiums for the World Cup in 2014?!
We chased this cool snake off the road, to be identified
Katharine in love with the blossom
Red-capped parrots, no words to describe their curious heads!
Shouldnt other countries consider the efficiency of three-trailer trucks?
The hilly north of Manaus provides stunning views of the forest
Using the curb as a brake – why haven´t we fitted any yet?!!
Best gift of this section = water melon!!!
Lonely reality of long distance road-running at times . . .
Emerald snake skin on this poor little fella
Seeking shelter in the heavy rain. Later we learned it was better to run through it than get cold
Blue and yellow macaws pass everyday and brighten our lives with their antics!
The main highway passes through an Indian reserve, more on that in another blog
Some recycling great to see on main routes around Manaus
Red-bellied macaw chick demanding food from his parents!
The equator. Pretty awful monument to such a significant site!
Protein fest: beans, fish, chicken, meat. Self-service for 10Rs
Sunblock Brazilian-style!
Running through a late electrical storm, avoiding the heat of the day
Breakfast on the hoof: babdyfood, milk powder and raisens
White-headed marsh-tyrant is the cutest bird out!
Red-capped cardinals with an intense stare
Sweat shadow! Curiously, lying on the tarmac at breaks helps keep the rivers from pouring into daves shorts
Sweat pours from our every pore, rivers run down us
5,700 mile-old running legs, stepping up a gear
Rain pours down, and brazilian food seems to be helping dave regain some weight
Hanging over a swolen river bank. Midgees have been a plague but not inside out hammocks
It can be a little chilly when the rain comes, but the heat and humidity afterwards beggars belief
Typical camp on a random farmsteads balcony. Hammocks are more comfy on floor!
The suns up already, get up, we´re late!!!
Our new daily breakfast is babyfood – light and energy packed!
Beautiful hummingbird species kept to identify
invited to lunch as we run by this farmstead, we didn´t take too long to think about it
A beautiful sunset awaits to celebrate a 30 mile haul
OK, çast chance to bail out to British Guiana instead of Venezuela . . .
Leaving Mucujai, Roraima, the natural rainforest ends and the savanna begins. No place for hammocks!
More weight cut out of the trailers structure – every gram counts!
Great! Seeing our first ever giant anteater! not sot great, she is dead
Rainforest makes way for savanna, palms and scrub
Happy to be a day away from finishing this 22 day stage
Arriving into Boa Vista
Clearing of tropical hardwoods is the principal business in many areas we have run through
