Saying goodbye to the truck

We hadn't planned to go anywhere yesterday, having seen the falls from both sides the day before, so we spent the day on site. After breakfast, we decided to leave the truck and fly to Rio instead. It wasn't an easy decision. We have never left a trip early before, and it's an extra expense that we really can't afford, but Mark's health comes first. We were facing the prospect of five long driving days to get to Rio with a couple of bush camps, probably in service stations. The alternative was a two-hour flight! So, we bit the bullet and booked the tickets. We also booked a hotel for our first four nights in Rio. Once the decision had been made, it felt right. We told Nikki and Ritchie and our fellow travellers. They were all very sympathetic and supportive. Ritchie even said that he would advise anyone who could to get off the truck at this stage, as the next few days are going to be horrendous!

We spent the rest of the day doing laundry and trying to catch up with posts. We had a buffet lunch in the campsite restaurant with Karen and Becky. It was Karen's 60th today, so they were heading off for a massage after lunch. Later, I cooked sweet and sour pork for dinner for everyone. Mark helped with the prep as he had swapped cook groups with Helen (her choice). He also cooked the rice. By the time he'd done that, he was too exhausted to eat. He had to go and lie down. We've definitely made the right decision about our trip to Rio!

Dinner went down very well. Several people said it was the best ruck meal of the trip!

This morning, we were up at 5.30am to cook a last breakfast of fried eggs for everyone. We also took our tent down to pass it on to Denise, and we donated one of our airbeds to Rich. We gave our sleeping bags to the campsite. At 7am, we waved the group off. It was quite emotional to say goodbye after being on the truck together for so long. Karen, Matt, and Solenne were also leaving the truck today. Britt and Greg were making their own way to Paraty, so Britt was there to say goodbye, too.

After the truck had gone, we took advantage of Denise's air-conditioned room for a few hours until check-out time. We had showers and sorted out our bags ready for the flight.

We had a bit of excitement when the taxi driver who had brought them back to site last night contacted Solenne to tell her he had found Barbara's passport in the back of his cab! We contacted Nikki, who, in turn, told Barbara. She had no idea she was missing her passport! There was no question of the truck coming back. Instead, we got in touch with Greg and Britt, who were staying in an Airbnb in town. They agreed to come and pick the passport up and take it with them to Paraty!

Karen and Matt were the first to leave - off for some relaxing time by the beach. Later, we called a taxi to take us to the airport, dropping Solenne off at her hotel on the way. She is staying in town for another few days before she flies home to Marseille.Read more