After being blessed by a local priest, Ryan Pyle sets off from the iconic Copa Cabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on his BMW F800GS adventure motorcycle; the perfect bike for this is incredibly diverse adventure motorcycle ride. Ryan is looking to cover as much as 14,000 kilometres over a 60-day circuit of Brazil. There is just one problem, Ryan has never been to Brazil before, and he doesn't speak Portuguese, and has little experience in South America and the chaos on the roads. Ryan's journey begins by exiting Rio and making his way up through the foothills to Minas Gerais province in search of Gold and a deeper understanding of Brazil's mining past. From there he is heading north up the coast with his targets set on the first capital city of Brazil, the Afro-Brazilian city of Salvador.
After exploring a church made entirely of Gold, Ryan practices some Brazilian martial arts and then enjoys an ice-cold beverage in a celebration of Salvador's 466th birthday as a city. Leaving the metropolis of Salvador behind, Ryan moves further north up the coast only to get stuck in a monster sand dune before heading west and moving deeper in to the Amazon Basin. With the entrance into the Amazon region, Ryan says goodbye to the pavement and comes to terms with the legendary Amazonian mud. As the rain falls the mud makes any real progress nearly impossible and traffic jams and accidents begin to pile up as Ryan moves cautiously slow. Everything begins to get very difficult.
After his first proper crash of the trip, courtesy of the Amazonian mud, Ryan's spirits are down as he comes to the realization that traveling by road in the Amazon is going to be much harder than he originally anticipated. After a brief rest in the small village of Anapu, Ryan is refreshed and ready to continue to explore. Next Ryan connects with Gil, a local guide and resident of the Amazon. Ryan and Gil sample local chocolate and then climb a 45-meter NASA tower to explore the rain forest canopy and better understand how the rain forest affects global climate. Leaving the rain forest canopy behind Ryan and Gil visit Jamaraqua Village deep in the Amazon to learn about local life during a birthday celebration for village patriarch, Bhata. Marking the halfway point of the journey, Ryan finally makes it to the Amazon River, and enjoys a two-day boat ride upstream to the port city of Manaus.
Ryan's rest on the Amazon River boat has come to an end. It is now time to test of Ryan's resolve and put his survival skills to the test, but not before a quick flight over the Rio Negra River. After exploring the Amazon rainforest from the air Ryan meets up with Leo, a tree climbing and jungle survival expert. Leo takes Ryan 50m up in to the Amazon canopy as they climb "The Iron Tree" and then spend a night drinking jungle alcohol made from the Sacacura Mira tree bark. Ryan barely survives his night in the jungle, and his reward is a soul crushing muddy 900km journey along the most dangerous road in South America, known as the "Road of Ghosts" - The BR-319.
When Ryan successfully reaches the end of the BR-319, known as the "Road of Ghosts", the support vehicle breaks down yet again but more Brazilian hospitality comes to the rescue in the form of Domatti Sadi, a local rancher who tows the support vehicle to his ranch and cooks up a BBQ for the team. Back on the road and moving on proper tarmac roads, the landscape begins to change dramatically. Leaving the thick dense jungle behind Ryan begins his tour through the wheat fields and Great Plains of Brazil, the agricultural province of Mato Grosso. After having his mind and body destroyed in the Amazonian jungle Ryan takes a few days to rest and recover in the Pantanal wetlands, one of the largest and most diverse wetlands in the world.
Ryan is done splashing around in the Iguazu Water Falls and on the road to the resort town of Florianopolis. All momentum comes to a grinding halt as Ryan suffers a flat tire, a vehicle breakdown, a massive traffic jam, and a disastrous conclusion. While waiting for repairs Ryan learns and Japanese culture in Sao Paulo and then on his departure decides to climb the Pedro do Bau.