Our last hope; The Romantic Route

08 Mar 2015
4,515 - 4,650 km
Porto Alegre


We were excited to leave civilization and everything big behind to nourish our torn spirits after the trip so far. But today was not going to be that day...!

I would still say that on this day blew the winds of change, if only very subtly. 
























The next few cities after Porto Alegre that I had imagined being fairly small sized were in fact pretty enormous, still we cruised effortlessly by on the highway and soon found ourselves surrounded by trees instead!

 The road started to snake its way upward and deeper into the mountains, but we were still waiting to leave the billboards behind and find the villages with German architecture and beautiful views of the tree covered green mountains.



But we just wouldn't have it our way. 

At midday we stopped to eat something. It was a very nice and small town, but very touristy and with little German architecture.









I think this broke by spirit pretty bad.

As we were sitting and waiting for our food in a restaurant, I found myself looking at the map. I didn't know how much more I could take. I was exhausted and despaired. Brasil had been nothing of what I had hoped nor expected. I kept looking as if the answer were to appear to me. To continue on the current route, or take off into the countryside and head directly to Iguazu across the province instead of along the coast.

We ate. Had some coffee, and then Caro asked me again: "What are we going to do?" I still had no answer. I didn't say anything. We paid and walked outside. It was as if I couldn't even think straight. "Let's go to the gas station and refill the tank". Surely someone will point us in the right direction.

But no, still without answer and direction.

Eventually, without really deciding I took off and chose the road leaving the Romantic, commercially capitalized route behind, and we were heading into the countryside. It was decided.

On this route we passed by the "Eagles Nest", and we decided to take a moment to enjoy the view from up there. It turned out that the road was at times extremely steep so Caro had to walk part of the way... but we also needed some space from each other, move our legs and relax.





The view was beautiful, and we could see Caxias do Sul from there on the horizon, which would be where we would rest.We got back on the road, carefully navigated the steep, curvy dirt road with many loose small rocks, which had my heart pumping, although Caro seemed to miss the excitement..







In the afternoon we arrived to Caxias do Sul hoping it would be something less busy and hectic. It wasn't. We tried - as many times before to take out money using our credit cards. We couldn't. "...Lets find a hotel".

..."Complicated unless you head down town" the young man answered.

We kept on looking but couldn't find anything worth the while. It had been a long day, and we were desperate to find a place to lodge for the night. With a last breath, ...

... I remembered that someone had mentioned a motel up the hill. As a last resort we headed that way, and not before long did we find the motel, with a white bunny on a sign outside the building.

We were offered various room options but decided to go all exclusive with jakutzee in the room. This was almost half the price as a hotel room. We ordered pizza and had a much needed bath. - I was very temped to open the bottle of champagne in the fridge, but decided against it as I had to drive some few hours later!

Two hopeless and burned out motorbikers finally laying down to sleep in the queen size bed, with mirror all around.
We said goodnight to ourselves in the roof mirror.

At six in the morning we had to leave the room, which couldn't have been a more perfect start!

Brasil - Todo bom?!!

06 Mar 2015
3,930 - 4,230 km
Punta del Diablo

It was not all together easy to leave the Punta del Diablo where we were among such great friends and were comfortably lodged! But we were excited too, to set food on Brazilian land and embark on the yet unknown adventures ahead of us. Little did we know that we were going to face some of the most difficult challenges on our journey, and the heat and humidity were already taking their toll.

Chuy is a city literally divided by the boarder between Uruguay and Brazil, right along the main street! You find the Uruguayan stores and products on one side and the Brazilian on the other side. I set off to store up on some Uruguayan "mate" as it was my last opportunity. 

Due to the heat, I was stressing to finish my errand, but it took its sweet time. Moreover, we had already past the Uruguayan boarder control without "checking out" we were told at the Brazilian boarder control (so we had to go back).  

This was just the start.

Later on in Brasil as we took a break, I did my best to keep the spirit up with music, dance and show-offs. The truth was that the humidity was unbearable and only at velocity with the breeze could we tolerate it. So, you make the best of the situation and "Just Dance"!

... but it was I eventually ran out of steam! It seemed practically impossible to continue without a much needed siesta below the blessed branches blocking out the sun! 

 The landscape was beautiful, the Atlantic coast on one side and the interior country side on the other. The road was not bad, but we encountered more and more traffic the longer we continued.

After noon there was only one expression on our faces, and it said it all.

So we refuelled with food, desert and coffee before tackling the afternoon!

We were unsure of whether to go to Rio Grande or somewhere else to spend the first night. To be honest, we were really unsure of how to cross through Brazil to get to the world famous Iguazu Falls that was our final destination in Brasil. - We were continuously looking for a road map and divine guidance.

By chance, we ended up in Pelotas where we were able to find a relatively cheap hotel down town and parking for the bike. After a stroll down town we found a place to dine before hitting the hay and some much needed rest.

The next day was going to prove itself to be even more challenging!

Porto Alegre - Everything seems to be h-u-g-e in Brazil!!

07 Mar 2015
4,230 - 4,515 km
Las Pelotas

Breakfast was mediocre in a place with no windows. As we were bringing all our stuff down to the reception, Caro was smart enough to ask about a road map and we were well rewarded! The plan was to get back out on the highway and continue north to Porto Alegre, a city with a "happy"(Alegre) reputation! Or so it was said...!

I parked the bike just outside the hotel where we packed among all the passing pedestrians glaring at us as if we were from another planet as they made their way to work. We also felt out of place, still trying to find peace and nature in Brasil, among the big cities and busy highways...

The heat slowly worked on us, draining our energy and spirit little by little. We may not have argued so much, but we were often on the edge. Fortunately we had the numerous hours on the bike to get some "space" for ourselves. We were almost desperately hoping for something to cheer us up, small towns, friendly people, and the countryside.

"Nothing bad yourself!!" 

In the afternoon we stopped to refuel and rest a bit just before arriving to Porto Alegre. Fortunately with a bit of wifi we were able to study the road selection through google maps. We had decided to pass by Porto Alegre and continue to one of the following towns farther north. 

That road eventually turned into "the Romantic Route" leading up into the mountains, passing through small towns with German architecture, stunning views of green mountains ... it sounded too good to be true. ... it was!

We left the gas station and approached the big city of Porto Alegre, but despite our efforts to study our route ahead, we made a wrong turn that kept us moving in a different direction with no exits to go back. We figured we'd cross our original path so we kept going.

Though later on, just as the sun had set making us increasingly more alarmed, we found ourselves in a suburb that did not look so inviting.

Moreover, we were caught in the peak hour with lots of traffic. As it grew a bit darker still, we stopped at a gas station and I asked for direction as they stared at us with surprised and a bit worried faces. We were turned around and eventually saw our exit. Finally!!


The next surprise: The smaller "country road" I had imagined leaving the big city behind was not small at all, but rather huge, ...eight lanes!! The "smaller town" I had imagined was in fact another huge city.

... Hotel! Now!

We grew desperate to get of the road. We were exhausted, the bike included, it was dark, and there was too much traffic, and the city was too big...

We passed a hotel on the highway, found a way to turn around, missed the exit, had to go back again, but eventually found our way there. It was another hotel above our budget, but there was no arguing, we were staying.

I was also a bit nervous about the bike. It had been a long day, very hot, and we had pushed it pretty desperately at the end of the day to manage the hectic traffic. Still, we were very happy to find ourselves in the safety within the walls of our room, drinking some "mate" just letting the day sink in. 

We talked a bit about the next day; the hopes of the Romantic Route and hopefully leaving the huge cities and traffic behind. We wanted nature, peace and tranquility.

Breakfast was much better at this hotel!!