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Overlanding towards Rio and Foz do Iguaçu by Public Bus

The overnight bus from Brasilia to Rio was very comfortable. It even featured a business class type of section with larger seats. The whole journey lasted 17 hours leaving Brasilia yesterday at 4:30pm and arriving in Rio at 9:30am this morning. Since I was in a rush when jumping on the bus I left my fleece in my large backpack and was only wearing a thin short summer dress. I needed to pay for this later on since the air-con was on full speed and I was freezing after a while. I searched the small backpack I had with me on the bus and found another dress I had quickly thrown into the backpack when “packing” and used it to cover my arms and shoulders which looked kind of funny.

I felt really sad it didn’t work out with Pedro* and me. It’s rare to find someone very special and therefore, I don’t regret I went back to Brasilia to get to know him better and give it a chance. It felt really good to be with him, but time was too short for making live changing decisions and we were lost in translation too. As much as I wanted to be with him I wasn’t able to give him everything he desired straight away without being sure he’s emotionally really serious about me.

While I was lost in my thoughts, there was a little boy in the bus who seemed to feel I’m sad. He frequently came by my seat, talked to me, held my hand and offered me sweets what I found very cute of him.

I killed time by sleeping and listening to my iPod. I have the strange habit of reminding myself of people by songs they used to play to me often. For Pedro I added “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve to my playlist since I couldn’t find the Eminem remix on iTunes he played to me a couple of times while driving his car. I will try to stay in touch with him since he remains very much special to me and this cannot be taken easily but I’m not sure if he still wants to be in touch with me. Probably I will email him a few times and see what’s coming back. If it isn’t much I will let it go after a while.

It also felt good to be back on the road again and see my life continuing to move. This time it felt like escaping too. Pedro couldn’t understand why I spend so much time and money traveling. But for me it’s the ultimate freedom to experience the world and not being controlled by daily routines. For me it’s one of the greatest luxuries I can imaging, more than any expensive car or other physical stuff you can own. Actually many people cannot afford this luxury and not work for more than one year. Most people who like extensive travels do so once they have reached retirement but I don’t want to wait until I’m old and enjoy life now. In the past I have spent enough time with hardcore working and wasn’t able to enjoy life to the extend I do now.

While driving towards Rio I thought about where I actually want to go. I could spend some more time in Rio or I could go back to Jericoacoara, my favorite place in Brazil, and do some more kitesurfing but I was already travelling south and Jeri is in the north of the country. Another option was to travel the originally planned route on my own thus going to Parati, Bonito, the Pantanal, Foz do Iguaçu and catch up with the Dragoman truck mid of March in Buenos Aires. Since I would be in a rush doing so, I decided to catch up with the truck as soon as possible. When I arrived in Rio I had an email response from Ross regarding my email last night in which I requested the options to re-join the truck. He wrote they are just about to leave Bonito for the Southern Pantanal and since this is a wetland area it would be impossible for me to find them and I should better go to Foz do Iguaçu and re-join the truck there. He also wrote me the name of the hostel they will be staying and I sent them an email I will be arriving tomorrow and need a bed to sleep in.

I also figured out going to Bonito and the Pantanal on my own using public transport would be more difficult than just going to Foz do Iguaçu since it’s a much more remote place. So I bought a ticket for the overnight bus to Foz do Iguaçu leaving four hours later at 1:30pm. Going overland to Foz do Iguaçu instead by plane has also the advantage of me really overlanding from Manaus to Santiago via Ushuaia as I have originally planned it. Even when I miss a few interesting spots like Parati and the Pantanal in between I will still be able to see the Iguazu Falls which wouldn’t be the case if I would have flown directly from Brasilia to Buenos Aires.

(* name changed)

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