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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Veracruz Station and Discovery National Park

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
550 km
Riding-time estimate
14 h 41
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis

Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.

Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.

Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

From Santa Cruz Cabrália it runs 550 km to Santa Cruz Cabrália; allow about 14 h 41 of riding. It goes by way of PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station, Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves, Monte Pascoal National Park and Discovery National Park. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.

Scenic road chapters

Veracruz Station → PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station

This part of the ride is 57 km of Veracruz Station → PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station.

Chapter facts
Length
57 km

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Veracruz Station

    On 22 April 1500, a Portuguese fleet under Pedro Alvares Cabral anchored off this coast of Bahia, and the history of Brazil as a European colony began. The fleet was bound for India, and was blown far to the west, and the first mass in Brazil was held on shore a few days later. The area around Porto Seguro and Santa Cruz Cabralia is still called the Costa do Descobrimento, and the stretch of Atlantic Forest behind it is a UNESCO World Heritage listing, the Atlantic Forest Reserves of that same coast, one of the last pieces of lowland coastal forest in the north-east of the country. Veracruz Station is one of its protected areas.

    Read the complete Veracruz Station write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Veracruz Station is where the day begins. Next is PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station.

  2. 2. PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station

    In April 1500, the Portuguese fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral, sailing for India, sighted land on this coast and anchored near what is now Porto Seguro, in southern Bahia, making the first recorded European landfall in Brazil. The country took its name from the pau-brasil, a tree whose red wood was valuable for making dye and was exported in huge quantities in the early colonial period, nearly wiping it out. The CEPLAC experimental station near Porto Seguro, an agricultural research facility, lies within the Atlantic Forest reserves of this coast, listed by UNESCO in 1999 together with other protected areas of the Costa do Descobrimento.

    Read the complete PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station comes up about 57 km into the recorded legs. Next is Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves.

  3. 3. Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves

    In April of 1500 the Portuguese fleet under Pedro Álvares Cabral sighted a mountain on the Bahia coast, called it Monte Pascoal because it was Easter, and went ashore nearby. That is the usual start of Brazil's written history, and the stretch of coast around Porto Seguro and Santa Cruz Cabrália has been called the Costa do Descobrimento, the Coast of Finding, ever since. The Atlantic Forest reserves behind the beaches protect what is left of one of the most diverse and most reduced forests on Earth. Only a small fraction of the original Mata Atlântica remains, and the patches in southern Bahia are especially rich in plants and animals found nowhere else.

    Read the complete Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 90 km into the recorded legs you reach Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves. Next is Monte Pascoal National Park.

  4. 4. Monte Pascoal National Park

    On Easter Sunday 1500 the lookouts of Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet saw a rounded mountain rising out of the Atlantic haze and called it Monte Pascoal, Easter Mountain. A few days later the Portuguese landed on the coast nearby, and the story of European Brazil began. The mountain still stands over the low forested coastline of southern Bahia, and the national park around it protects some of the last stretches of Atlantic forest in this region. It is part of the Atlantic forest reserves of the Costa do Descobrimento, listed by UNESCO in 1999.

    Read the complete Monte Pascoal National Park write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Monte Pascoal National Park, about halfway. Next is Discovery National Park.

  5. 5. Discovery National Park

    On the coast of southern Bahia, in the stretch of Bahia that Brazilians call the Costa do Descobrimento, a long beach of pale sand curves away beneath coconut palms and low cliffs, and inland the land rises to a green and misty ridge. It was along this shore, on 22 April 1500, that Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet sighted the round hill of Monte Pascoal, named for Easter, and the first sight of land in what became Brazil. The Pataxó people who lived on this coast met the Portuguese on the beach, and their descendants still live in the area, with some villages open to visitors who wish to learn about their customs and crafts.

    Read the complete Discovery National Park write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    Discovery National Park sits at 143 km, about halfway. Next is back through Monte Pascoal National Park.

  6. 6. back through Monte Pascoal National Park

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Monte Pascoal National Park write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through Monte Pascoal National Park comes up about 332 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves.

  7. 7. back through Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    about 460 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves. Next is back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station.

  8. 8. back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station, late in the day. Next is Veracruz Station.

  9. 9. Veracruz Station

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Veracruz Station write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

    May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

    Planning note

    The route ends here after 550 km.

Leg by leg

Veracruz Station to PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station

Veracruz Station → PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station to Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves

PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station → Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves to Monte Pascoal National Park

Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves → Monte Pascoal National Park is 128 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Monte Pascoal National Park to Discovery National Park

Monte Pascoal National Park → Discovery National Park is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Discovery National Park to back through Monte Pascoal National Park

Discovery National Park → back through Monte Pascoal National Park is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Monte Pascoal National Park to back through Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves

back through Monte Pascoal National Park → back through Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves is 128 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves to back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station

back through Discovery Coast Atlantic Forest Reserves → back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station to Veracruz Station

back through PAU Brazil CEPLAC Experimental Station → Veracruz Station is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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