June 14

Salvador at night from Analu’s apartment.

June 15

Analu – “please don’t take a photo of me”

me – “too late”

June 16

On the road. First night bus. Salvador to João Pessoa.

June 17

Acai and Football. Can you get any more Brazilian?

June 18

A Japanese feast. About 20 Japanese folks took refuge in João Pessoa from the crazy accommodation prices waiting for their team’s next game.

June 19

A family fishing in João Pessoa.

June 20

Bus terminal at dusk. Just about to board a 30hour bus. I always find airports and bus terminals interesting, I think mostly because of the combination of teary good byes and joyous welcomes all in the same place.

June 21

Arriving in Sao Luiz. 30 hours of eating bus stop/self service food… was happy to get off and get back to the real world.

June 22

Out the back of Tijuana Hostel with Jochem, Eline and our Belgium friends celebrating a win.

June 23

A small crowd at Oasis Beach Bar cheer on Brazil in their final group match.

June 24

Eline and Jocham in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park. A place of incredible beauty. Thanks for taking me with you!

June 25

The heat in Barreirinhas was pretty crazy, sometimes a quick jump in the river is the only way to cool down.

June 26

Capris in front of the theatre in Belem with Hans and Alex.

June 27

These girls are amazing. I had 1 day to get ready for my boat trip from Belem to Manaus. They drove me around all day helping me find a ticket, get supplies and then later took me out to a reggae party. Champions! Can’t thank you all enough! <3

June 28

The boat crew refused to leave port until the Brazil game was over… so we left 4 hours late… but that’s not too bad in Brazil.

June 29

Everyone slept in hammocks on the boat. It made for a very colourful living/sleeping deck. I was reading On The Road by Jack Kerouac at the time and inspired by his poetic language, decided to write a short verse describing one aspect of the trip.

Day and night, gentle drumming pushes us closer,

Rainbows of hammocks, swaying cocoons for prisoners on board,

From them, 100 conversations I can’t understand, noise blending with the drums,

Above it all two sounds, contrasting, transcending language,

Bubbling laughter and cries of attention from the youngest prisoners.

June 30

The Gringo crew onboard before half of them hopped off at Santarem,

July 1

Even on board, in the middle of the Amazon, we had a bit of reception. The guy standing at the back is manning the satelite dish, which you have to adjust every minute or so to keep the picture watchable. In this game USA went down to Germany 2-1.

July 2

The sunrises and sunsets were incredible. A river that looks like an ocean. Gringos and locals looked on in awe every evening. Most nights we were blessed with lighting shows in the distance and perfect star gazing conditions.

July 3

Night 1 in Manaus at Local Hostel with Paul, Liam and Colly

July 4

Hanging with Sam and Kunal. Boat trip prep, Amazon trip prep, Brazil games, the largest Capris I’ve ever seen and a short nap before heading out for the evening. Thanks for the awesome night guys!

July 5

Jungle Boy (our Amazon guide) giving me a thumbs up before Holland take to the field for the penalty kicks against Costa Rica.

July 6

End of the road.

July 7

Brasilia with Amanda! Finally arrived!

ROLL 8