Ok, travelogue participants, today we leave the big city and head for the boonies.

Car is packed, breakfast eaten, hotel bill paid. We leave Fortaleza on interstate BR222 heading west. As we leave the outskirts of Fortaleza we go though the town of Caucaia with the next stop being São Luis do Curu, 68 kilometers down BR222. Our first road change occurs 12 kilometers later in rustic Umirim. You have to be careful here because it is easy to take the wrong road (none are marked).

Navigating the donkey carts, bike riders and stray dogs, we pick up BR402 and head for Tururu 10 kilometers distant. BR402 is in much better shape than BR222. The holes aren’t as deep and don’t span the entire width of the road. Nothing dead on this stretch of the road.

Thirty-one kilometers later we roll into the bustling metropolis of Itapipoca. Besides the town of Uruburetama, which is only a few kilometers to the southwest, Itapipoca is my favoritetown to pronounce in Portuguese. It virtually rolls off the lips: I-ta-pi-po-ca (“pipoca” is “popcorn” in Portuguese; but the town’s name has nothing to do with popcorn!). “Uruburetama” sounds like the word for “buzzard;” so I tend to think of popcorn and buzzards as we drive through the area. Interesting combination.

Amontada, 33 kilometers away and Morrinhos, another 40 kilometers, takes us through some of the most desolate territory of the interior of the state of Ceará. We once had a flat tire in this area and an American with us began to freak out and loudly proclaim that we were going to die and never be found again! Quite desolate and not the least inviting.

Now we pick up state road CE178 and look for the town of Santana do Acarau 37 kilometers due south. Potholes are back with a vengence. One hit and you can lose the entire front end of the car! Much nicer driving during daylight than at night.

After 33 more kilometers we enter the sprawling city of Sobral. The major city in this region with more than 50,000 inhabitants, Sobral means we’re almost at our destination.

You could drive through the city but the number of pedestrians, bikes, donkeys, cows, goats, dogs, hippopatmases and small dinosaurs makes it a slow endeavor. So, we elect to run around the by-pass and are soon speeding towards Ubaúna.

Ok, so we aren’t “speeding” towards our destination. We’re back on BR222 and the potholes (bomb craters) are so horrific that we crawl down the interstate at a blazing 10 kph. Donkeys are passing us so fast that they look like a blur!

Here’s your math question for the day: you are driving at 10kph and it is 40 kilometers to your destination; how long will it take to arrive? Answer: ridiculously long!

Finally we arrive in the quaint vila of Ubaúna. What should have been a pleasant drive of 3 hours only took 6.

Where’s the bathroom?