What used to be a relatively easy three hour drive from Fortaleza to Ubaúna has turned into a six hour nightmare.

Holes big enough to swallow your car with hundreds, literally, of holes the size of a plastic dirty clothes hamper and, no kidding, thousands of holes the size of beach and basketballs, litter the highway. Some sections of the highway simply no longer exists.

And this is the “good” highway.

The interstate highway is virtually impassable. In fact, in multiple areas it is closed.

As we journeyed out of Fortaleza, knowing the interstate was shot, we detailed 100 kilometers out of our way in the hopes of having better asphalt. Sadly, not only did we not find that, but coupled with torrential downpours and night falling, when I finally arrived in Ubaúna, I was tighter than a banjo string.

Measuring some of these “potholes,” they were deeper than my knee. One in particular I could stand in it up to my waist and could not touch the sides, front or back.

That gives a new definition to the term “pothole.”

The reference to “hell” comes from the temperatures that we encountered in the region around Ubaúna. The heat and humidity were something special. While the heat is only running between 88 and 92, the humidity was 100%. Sticky and sweltering are two words that spring to mind.

Yeah, everyone thinks I’ve been on vacation. If that is true, I honestly don’t want to see what it would be like if they thought I wasn’t!