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!!

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!