A Broken Toilet, Fun in a Launderette and my Grumpy Knight in Shining Armour
Dispatches from a 16hr overnight bus somewhere in northern Brazil....
So let’s talk about a 16hr overnight bus with a broken toilet shall we? As that sounds like great fun! 😳
We just left the city of Sao Luis yesterday having arrived the day before from our amazing trip to the Lencois Maranhenses National Park.
While in Sao Luis, ChatGPT suggested we go for a wander through the old town ‘in daylight hours’ but as we drove through the crumbling neighbourhoods, and after the excitement of the preceding days, we decided to skip it & head to the ‘Lavanderia’ instead! (Needs must when you’re travelling with scant clothes.)
And what an experience! There was a desk & 2 chairs so we took our computers, bought a couple of cold beers from the convenience store next door, & had a ball while washing our clothes & getting a bit of work done!
Rhett even popped next door for a quick haircut!
The highlight was a couple asking me, in a language I didn’t understand, how to use the washers. Through the universal language of sign we all succeeded in our endeavours and left with clean and dry undies! What a thrill. 😁
Side note… At the risk of sounding like a complete fruitcake I have a bit of a thing for launderettes. I only ever use them when traveling and so have strangely associated ‘laundromat’ with ‘freedom’. So I always quite enjoy the experience. (It’s the small things!) 😂
Anyway back to the bus…
This whole top Northern coastline in Brazil is a little more challenging to navigate than the popular tourist hotspots.
We flew to Fortaleza, (missing out some spectacular coastline by the way, which we will be back to explore), bussed 8hrs to Jericoacoara, which I will be writing about as it’s one of the most magical places I’ve ever visited. 🥰
Then changed vehicles (& drivers) 4 times for an uncomfortable 10 hour transfer to Barreirinhas (pronounced - Bah Hah Reen Ya) to visit the Lencois Maranhenses National Park (wow), then jumped into a van for a 4hr journey up to Sao Luis.
I’m now writing this post 13hrs into our 16hr journey on an overnight bus (with a broken toilet) to Belem where we’ll fly to Manaus (The Amazon 😳).
And if all that sounds exhausting, it is! I’m not getting any bloody younger. 😂
So, as we got on our overnight bus the loo was fully operational, the seats looked good, all was well. But somewhere mid journey I merrily popped my head round the toilet door to find it filled to the brim with water (thank god that’s all it was filled with.)
I was pretty desperate so my knight in shining armour husband went in and ‘fixed it’ adding very grumpily ‘don’t ask’ as he came out.
I didn’t ask, but the half a bottle use of my hand sanitiser told me all I needed to know! 😳
Thankfully the bus has stopped for toilet & food breaks a couple of times en route so it’s not as bad as you might imagine! Plus the seats are recliners & quite comfy, so I did get some sleep and am feeling pretty good this morning!
But not withstanding some long hours in buses, what an exhilarating couple of weeks it’s been. Fortaleza was surprising, Jericoacoara magical, Lencois Maranhenses out of this world and next stop….
…unbearable humidity, tarantulas, piranhas, crocs & bugs. (I’m not freaking out at all!)
Updates to follow….
I write about the good, the bad and the downright ugly of nomadic life after 50. How I fund it, how I live it, and how I’m ageing disgracefully doing it. Annual subscribers get my full library of guides, courses and resources. Just saying. 😏
Your husband is a real warrior! I would be incredibly nervous to be on a bus without a working toilet.
Last year in Paris, I befriended a local woman who helped me figure out the machines in the laundrette. We ended up having coffee together -- and I never would have met her if I'd used the overpriced hotel laundry.
A knight in shining armor is a dream even if he’s grumpy. lol. Well done, sir.