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!

The Uruguayan Coast - Punta del Diablo

03 Mar 2015

3,870 - 3,930 km
Capo Polonio

The next stop was Punta del Diablo, more of a smaller coastal-fisherman town with an extensive amount of cabins to rent for its huge summer season. My idea was that we bought up to food supplies and spent the night a few km outside the town in camping area. Also, I had a friend that worked in a restaurant.  But what seem to be the norm, things did not turn out as planned, ... and this time definitely for the better!

When we arrived in the late afternoon, we did a loop down by the beach to see a bit of the small town, the fisherman boasts, the endless ocean, and the beautiful beaches. When we were back where we had started, we past a supermarket to buy the groceries. Closed! Ha!, alright lets go back to the town. Open, but we were recommended not to go camping, people were not sure its was actually open. (Im sure it is open!) While we were talking, one of the clients in the store offered to show us to his friends house, who was renting out cabins.

Alright, what to do ... time to make decisions (while everyone is watching and waiting!...poker face!!).

"Ok! Lets go and see about the cabin".

It was not a terrible idea! It was fairly priced and we had the cabin for ourselves with a kitchen and double bed. We found out later that we were just a few blocks away from the restaurant where my friend worked too, and we settled on meeting up the following day! I took the time to look over the bike, we cooked and enjoyed an evening just the two of us.

The next day we spent checking out the village and later drinking some mate down on the beach with the panoramic view of the Atlantic ocean, its waves, and the aroma of salt water. Later in the afternoon we met up with my friend Bibbo and his room mate Marcelo. 

Together we enjoyed the last hours of sun light on the beach with a few beers and lots of catching up from the time we lived together on a hostel in Montevideo (3 years earlier)!

We could not decline the invitation of dining at the restaurant where he worked. He co-owned the restaurant with a lovely French couple, who together shared all the work load. We felt right at home and after a delicious and elaborate plate, desert and and bottle of wine, we were offered a grapa locally produced! 

Fantastic!

The night continued after closing hour at their place just a few blocks away, and it was almost sun rise when we finally got back to our place! 

We were bound to stay another day!! 

On the afternoon when we hung out at their place in the porch with hammocks hung up all around, the son of Marcelo came back with some friends who had a pup they were trying to find a new owner for.

It did not take more than a few second before Kimba was named and adopted on the spot. 

A beautiful dog!

We spent more time with Marcelo and Bibbo and hung out at the restaurant. The following day the forecast was rain all day, so we spent yet another day in the beautiful Punta del Este. As it was definitely going to be the last night, we prepared an "Asado" (South American BBQ), masterly prepared by Marcelo himself!

We were not eager to leave after such fantastic days with amazing people! But Brasil was waiting!

Salud!

The Uruguayan Coast - Capo Polonio

02 Mar 2015
3,700 km - 3,870 km
Punta del Este

We had already had our time to enjoy and relax in Uruguay (with and without parents), now it was the hour of departure. I wanted to spend some time along the Uruguayan coast before  heading in to Brazil and toward world renown waterfalls of Iguazú. Capo Polonio was the day´s destination, the most special place in Uruguay.

I was a little bit nervous after having been out of the game for some time now. We adopted a slow pace to get the things prepped and loaded on the bike before departure. We thanked and bid farewell to our host and family friends before we cruised out of the parking lot, with 100% focus on balancing the tall bike! ... :S

We cruised by the coastal towns happy to be on wheels again, inhaling the fresh breeze from the ocean, leaving all the worries behind, with just the road ahead of us! We decided to ride more inland since we were unsure whether the ferries were running. The road was great, but we faced yet again the hilly landscape where we had to gear down to keep the speed up and after passing the highest point, accelerate again. It would not have been too bad if it were not for the strong headwind we battled against. 

When we arrived to refuel, I also had to sit down to eat, drink and recover! There was no doubt, I was exhausted! And a little concerned, we had only driven for some hundred kms. At the gas station the flags seemed like they were about to come off the pole, and we later witnessed a few trees blown to the ground.   

But it didn´t take us long before we were out on the coast again, and much less before we parked the bike and off-loaded the bike for the day.

Capo Polonio is a small..."village" would be exaggerating, more like a gathering of huts around a lighthouse. But, there are no running water, nor electricity (these days there are some available to restaurants in the summer). People get by with home-fixes, sun panels etc. Moreover, there are no roads leading there, so loaded all our stuff on a big 4x4 that took us through the forest and over the sand dunes.

A bumpy ride to say the least! 

When you make the shore, you can see the lighthouse surrounded by small white "huts"! It is a good feeling to be by the ocean, in such a small town, living just from the very basics we otherwise take for granted, and praise what we have given up! ...silence, simplicity, and peace!

I still recognized part of the staff after almost three years, although I guess I did not make much of an impression! hehe After having checked in to our hostel we strolled around, breathing in the harmonious atmosphere. I was stoked to be back! It has always been very special to be here!

Only about 30-40 people live here all year around. The summer season is huge, when thousands of people come to enjoy this retreat. But since there are only so many accommodations, the majority has to leave in the evening. I prefer the off season when its more quiet.

At night we went out to one of the bars where they had live music under a brightly shining full moon. It was something very special, and although we wanted to stay until the end, we finally gave in to our fatigue that had caught up with us and we left looking for our beds at the hostel!





The next day we ate breakfast that we had bought the previous day at the antique grocery store; cheese, fruits and bread. Out of the front door we saw the lighthouse, which was the first goal of the day, and we I also wanted to walk around the small "sheds" among the loose animals before leaving this paradise. - The lighthouse was a must, and allowed us to see a panoramic view of ..."everything"!






On the way back...

Watch out for The attack of the ducks! ...! They wanted nothing bad, just curious!

You can also watch sea lions from close up. There should be some in the background!! :D

And when we were ready to leave, we waited for the 4x4 to come and get us! Btw, does not look like much luggage for two? Right?!!

It is a place to chill out, enjoy the isolation from the outside world ...!

El Viejo Lobo, until next time! Stay true and stay open when I come back!

13th Day - Family Reunion

10 Feb 15

3,380 - 3,700 km

Colonia del Sacramento 

You are already aware that the big capital cities make me a little uneasy, and although Montevideo is fairly small and I am quite familiar with it, I was still a bit nervous. 

The road out of Colonia was in fairly good condition, but later the road ran up and down all through the hilly countryside. On the relatively small bike (for two), it became a constant change from acceleration to gearing down to make the following peak. But we kept the spirit up!

We entered Montevideo from the west, parts I was not familiar with, but as soon as we got into the harbour, I was able to navigate by memory. And it is a good feeling that you know what and where you are going, especially with lots of  traffic! We drove through the main square La Plaza de Indepedencia, and out along the river where you find a beautiful view of the river, the city, and its beaches. - It is a very special city, especially to me as Uruguay was the first country I came to, and I spent almost a year here!! 

We drove through the neighbourhood where I used to live, which brought back tons of memories! We didn´t give it much time, because I wanted to come back with my parents. We continued along the riverside and by memory we navigated out to the highway heading out east (the signs are mostly no where to be found or are always with a different name than it "should" have). Now we were only some 200 km away. 

  

I remember the first time I laid eyes on Punta del Este, the so called "Miami of South America". A long beautiful beach, boarded with high residential buildings all the way to the end of the bay, and with huge cruisers at anchor. We drove down town and made the loop to see the tiny city before finding the exit to where my family friends live. 

I remembered our exit being 22, but I was obviously mistaken because the exit seemed nothing like to what I remembered, and when we arrived at 30 and the end of Punta it was a fact. We drove back and "unofficially" got lost in the neighbourhood where all the streets look alike. "Officially" we were getting to know the area. 

Finally, after asking some gentlemen at a golf course that we ran into, we were put in the right direction. As we stopped at an intersection, i suddenly recognized the road and knew I had to turn left. At this instance, one of the gentlemen pulled up in this car beside me and asked me to follow him, ...

But we drove left instead of straight, and continued the last few blocks to the house of my family friends. We still wondered what the gentleman must have thought! ... :S

But it doesn´t matter, we were finally at the doorstep, and the end of this first epic part of our trip. My dad first noticed us out of his window, and then everyone came down to greet us! It was special to see them again, especially their faces when they actually saw the bike with their own eyes! In my family, Im the black sheep, ..no one drives motorbikes! Much less across a foreign continent!

It was not always easy. We leaned so many things on the way, about ourselves and each other. We overcame obstacles, and most importantly; We made it!!

(Now for a treat with the parents!)