The expedition to the Monte Roraima covered about 7.000km over land and 4.000km over water. The final objective was definitely landbound, but the mileage covered on the water qualifies the trip for this blog. Even if it was “only” sweetwater…My brother Andreas, my friend Christian Gaul and I, covered the distance in my brother’s white Landrover Defender. We travelled in January of 1996, which means that we would find dry season north of the equator. The trip started from Rio de Janeiro, passed by São Paulo, and then drove inland towards Campo Grande. From there we headed north to Porto Velho, where roads going north, towards the Amazon jungle, come to an end. That took 3 days. The only means to reach Manaus, and from there Venezuela, was by shipping the Landrover on a barge, along with trucks carrying supplies for Manaus. A 3 day trip on the Rio Madeira, going downriver through thick jungle. But, mind you, the rivers’ margins are often well out of sight. The Madeira is one of the great affluents of the mighty Amazon river.
Once in Manaus, we took the dirt road to Boa Vista. This road is now, 12 years later, paved. There we provided the documents to enter Venezuela, from where the track to the Monte Roraima starts. The distance covered in Venezuela was short, but included the 5 day track up the Roraima.
On the way back to Rio de Janeiro, we made a short, unplanned detour to English Guiana, and some wild offroad exploration in the savannas of Roraima State. But we made our way safely back to Manaus, where, once again, our car was loaded onto a barge, this time carrying electronic devices from Manaus to Belém. From Belém we made a 24 hour drive to Brasília, in the heart of Brazil, and then, with a brief stop in Ouro Preto for Carnival celebrations , back home, to Rio de Janeiro.
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