We were getting ready to make our 7th trip to BA, Argentina to visit the red BMW GS which we have stored there. But, we did not go from Oregon south in a straight line. First, we rode our BMW GS/PD to Canada to attend the Horizons Unlimited rally in BC. Our presentation at the meeting was a bit of a mess. We took a tray of slides but had to reduce the total to 100 slides in just a few minutes to fit their slide tray which was different from ours. Other than this the rally was great and we encourage all to attend the future ones. Following the rally we rode to Vancouver where we stored our moto and flew to Argentina.
While we like Argentina, this time we were to travel to Brazil, a country with the reputation of nice beaches, poverty, and a lots of crime. We intended to find out for ourselves how accurate that image is. But first, we were able to visit Gabriel and his new son, nicely named "ERIC." We have some reason to believe that Gabriel's wife, Claudia had something to do with this. Gabriel and his family met us at the home of Xavier, owner of Dakar Motos where we had stored the BMW. A good contact for all traveling and visiting BA. Just a short word about Argentina: visit the Police and Torture (in some countries these are the same words) Musuem in BA as it contains an old BMW Police Motorcycle.
After a couple of days we were off to visit our friend Pablo, and his new baby, Victoria. To get to his city of Posado we took route Ruta 8 and ran into problems. First, we had overstayed our customs permission and did not want to be stopped by the police. But, we were flagged down at one of those places known to everyone but us as a giant SCAM. We learned later from others and motorcyclists in Brazil that they always are fined here and avoid this route. So you might take note of this. We did not know about this place because the last time we went north from BA we had gone via Uruguay and Brazil. But the corrupt police stopped us as they did all foreigners and exacted their fine. We paid as we did not want them to find that our paperwork was not in order. Needless to say we where not happy about paying but were pleased to go our way without paperwork hassles since we were in violation of the law.
In Posoda we visited with Pablo, his new baby and Pablo's natural father, a motorcyclist, who was visiting from Rossila. Next time, we will go that route. We should also say that Laura had something to do with Pablo's credit for Victoria. Then we left for Iguacu but on a different route than before. When we arrived, before crossing the border, we were interviewed by a TV station. At the border they checked our passports but asked for no documentation about the moto. Good thing since, as we said, ours was out of date.
Then into Brazil where there was a sign saying that those entering had to have gone to (1) Argentina migrations (2) Argentina customs (3) Brazil migrations (4) Brazil customs. Since we had not done #2 they would not let us do #4. However, they said no problems, just go and visit Brazil. They did want to make sure we had a visa. So we did. We usually avoid touts but one, the only one there, had helped us as he spoke some English and at first we thought he was part of the Brazilian customs. Since he had a moto, it was dark, we had no map, and asked us how much we wanted to spend on a hotel, we let him lead us to one. For 20 USD it was not too bad, having secured parking and a swimming pool. Oh yes, and a bed.
So we then began to tour Brazil and here is some information which we hope proves helpful:
AREA: We intend to spend much time in Brazil which is easier for us than some since we leave a moto in South America. This trip would only be of 30 days, and was just in the southern part of Brazil. We entered Brazil at Iguacu. We spent little time in the state of Parana, but did tour with a local motorcycle club a little north of the main road where very few foreigners have gone. Many people were surprised to see us. Next was the state of Santa Catalina where we spent most of our time. Leaving Brazil via Uruguay we saw some of the State of Rio Grande do Sul.
MONEY: Everything in Brazil is about 1/3 the cost of one Euro or one USD. At this time 3 Reals= 1 USD. So money goes a long ways. A good place to retire from what we saw.
LODGING: We left our tent in Greece and had a choice to buy a another or use the cheap hotels . Several of our friends in Argentina said because hotel rates were so low in Brazil that one might as well stay in hotels rather than camp. So this is what we did. Consequently, we did not pay much attention to camping sites and saw little evidence of such. Those that we did see were basically in tourist areas and were vacant, we assume due to the weather and it being too early in the season for the natives. Thus, we spent our nights in hotels or in the homes of other motorcyclists. Brazilians are the most friendly people and thanks to previous travelers we had contacts.
One evening, after taking a non-tourist road, it turned dark before we expected. But by then we had reached the main road. We decided to travel to the next large town shown on our poor map but a few miles later it began to rain. At the same time we saw a sign saying "hotel."
Now we were caught in the motorcyclist's dilemma , do we stop, put on our rain gear or hope to get to the hotel before getting soaked? We decided on the latter. As motorcyclists we knew that one's skin is waterproof, only your clothes get wet. We turned into the small town that claimed there was a hotel, but it was very dark and raining so hard that we missed the hotel . We drove on for a few more kilometers and saw another sign saying there was a hotel ahead. We never saw it. Down the road farther was a small building that Gail went into but was slow in coming out. It was a bar. They said ride to the next gas station and ask. We did and they said go to the next filling station and turn left. They tried to speak to us in German but we finally understood international sign language.
A sign at the corner indicated a hotel was ahead. We drove past a darkened building only to realize that this was a "hotel." The covered entrance had a small light and a man standing in the doorway. By now we would have willingly stayed the night undercover of their driveway even if they were closed. Which was a good thing as the young inn keeper said when asked if he had any rooms "no." We didn't know what this no meant; no rooms or they were closed as the building look deserted and no one else was there. But what he meant was that he did not speak English and called someone on the phone. We decided we were staying no matter what and so moved the moto out of the way. A truck pulled up and a woman who we took to be the owner said "yes" they had a room, which one of many did I want. We took one with a fan and a hair dryer. Having been rained on before we knew we could dry the soggy gear somewhat. This was the nicest hotel we stayed in and it costs $30.00. The kitchen was closed but we were offered sandwiches. There was a problem with the electricity as it went off and on but by morning all our clothes were dry, almost.
LOVE MOTELS: We have never stayed in a love motel which is a place where two people can have some private time. But we know owners of these motels and people who have stayed in them. First, one drives through to one of the private garages, closes the door and then enters the room. All this unseen of course. One can rent these rooms by the hour. As we said we have never had the desire to use one so you can not depend on our advice on how to enter one nor what to do once inside, so you are on your own. Let nature take its course. However, these seem like good places to take a break during the heat of the day. These types of hotels are very common in some parts of South America.
What to know more about LOVE MOTELS, and who doesn't,
go to this link.
FOOD: It is easy to eat in Brazil even if one can not read the menu because most lunch places along the highway are truck stops and offer buffets. You go in, go to the buffet line and help yourself. When you sit down a waiter comes up and asks for your drink order. Then they come around with various meats on a spit, cut off any and all you want. You will not lose weight in Brazil. But the buffets are so good that vegetarians will not go hungry as long as you can stand the smell of meat. A word of warning however, look at the bottom of the ticket and you will see a note, sometimes in more than one language, that if you lose the ticket, a large fine will have to be paid.
Most hotels have large breakfast buffets which will display more fruit and sweet cakes than most northerners are use to. Dinner may be a little more complicated but once we went to an Italian restaurant thinking that for a change we would have a little plate of spaghetti. We sat down and immediately food was brought to our table, pasta being the beginning course and then more and more food, as much as one wanted. It was heaven, at least if you are an Italian, for the rest of the evening. It was a set price for as much as you could eat.
PEOPLE: Years ago Brazil wanted to increase the population in the sparsely settled southern states and so invited Germans, Italians, and other Europeans to come. Many arrived and so you will find that the food will be German based as are the people. Second in ranking is Italian. We met one person that told us that she was third generation German and the first of her family to speak Portuguese. It is somewhat strange to go Brazil expecting to see the stereotype and see very German looking persons. But the younger generations do not always speak German. If you do speak German, there will be almost no problems in communications. Since we did not make it as far north as Sao Paulo or Rio, our comments are limited to a small area of southern Brazil. Several times when people realized that we did not speak Portuguese, they spoke German to us. We have travelled in many countries and speak no other language than English. But we have decided to make an effort to learn Portuguese, especially since many of our Spanish friends make fun of us for traveling in South America knowing only English. Gail has learned to say "hello" and "goodbye" on this trip and now promises to fill the blank in between. Wish her luck. Send her an email in Portuguese, please.
SCENERY: There is of course Foz do Iguacu. On this our third trip there we took the boat trip. Interesting but few motorcyclists. In the region of Sao Joaquim there is the famous motorcycle road to the east, Serrado Rio do Rastro and north there is Urubici.
The latter we did not visit but will the next time. There are, of course, the beaches which are nice. While there Eric asked Gail that since she was alone on the beach if she would like to cavort naked. She suggested if she were do such a thing if would be best not to do it in the wind and rain. In the most southern province near the town of Caxias do Sul there are the famous towns of Gramado and Canela. Since this was by now time to head back to BA, Argentina, we only spent two days there. On our circuitous route we actually approached these villages from the south, which was also nice and worth a stop. These are all very German based towns and they are using this to get tourist. Then we left by another route, one to the south.
CONTACTS: Our trip was made more pleasurable by contacts given to us by other motorcyclists. First is Joao in the city of Matelandia. website of Joao http://www.trilhasdomundo.com.br/ This is about 70k east of Foz do Iguacu. He and his family welcome motorcyclists and many famous ones have stayed there. Then in Sao Joaquim are the contacts of (1) Joao Adilson Camargo Valtrick, at Jacw4687@tj.sc.gov.br who owns the local English school and is also a Justice Officer. (2) Marcos Yoshihiro Hiragami who owns two BMWs and can be contacted at marcoshiragami@hotmail.com (3) Stelio Boneffi Porto who can be contacted at steliobp@sjq.sdr.sc.gov.br. All three welcome travellers and the last said that he has room in his home for travellers. In FLORIANOPOLIS , is Cicero Paes who has a room for motorcyclists to stay in. Contact him at Cicero@leme.com.br. He also has a website:
www.ciceropaes.hpg.ig.com.br.
For photos of him and his wife and their moto zimmer click here.
In JOINVILLE, while she does not have space, Anne is an invaluable contact and made us feel very welcome. In GRAMADO is Jorge Lohmann, who owns the gas station, Posto Planalto, Ipiranga, just south of Gramado. He is very friendly to moto visitors, has two BMW's and can be contacted at postoplanalto@gramadosite.com.br.
SUMMARY: Using the three criteria, food, people and scenery, we would rate Southern Brazil very high. This part of Brazil, has little crime, nice beaches but deserted in the winter, friendly people, and scenic places. We actually only had serious rain on two occasions.
URUGUAY: We must say a short word about Uruguay since we travelled through it on our way back to BA, Argentina. We believe that most travelers take the coastal route which is very scenic. But we took the inland route as it was somewhat shorter, recommended and we thought the weather might be better. At the border town one looks for immigrations and customs but they are actually about 1 k south of town. The paperwork here is so simple that it can be confusing especially after some other border crossing in South America. Then there is not much to see until the capital. But we had a flat tire about 50 k south of the border crossing. In a small village we found a `gomeria'. The owner and a friend were enjoying the evening mate but put it aside to repair the tire. This put us two hours behind schedule, into the dark and so at the next town, not on our simple map, there was a hotel. This hotel had no sign, it's about one half block south of the police station. We would have taken anything but surprisingly this was better than basic. It even had cable TV, a newly rebuilt shower and was clean with secured parking in the courtyard. Because our front tire (we had three patches on the tire and one on the tube) was quite bad we took the ferry from Montevideo to BA. We were somewhat worried about the Argentina Aduana and so had to beg the ones in Uruguay to take our paperwork. This was a mistake not only because Argentina did not care but the aduana at the port in Uruguay tried to scam us out of 5 eros saying it was a fee. A fee for what? They did nothing. So, we being so stupid and not speaking any language, they finally threw their hands up in disgust and let us pass. Since our moto was already on the ferry we thought the gamble in our favor.
ARGENTINA CUSTOMS: When we arrived in BA, Argentina, they were not interested in any paperwork from Uruguay and gave us 8 months without asking.
DISAPPOINTMENTS: Other than one traffic ticket in Argentina, the only other disappointments was missing three motorcyclists that we knew. First Antonius from Cyprus that we first met in Argentina. He sent us some very helpful information about Brazil but had left when we entered. He then reentered about the time we returned to Argentina. Silmon Milward on his world tour was someplace in the area but we never made contact. Chris Mattheissen and we met in southern Bolivia and kept in contact. Over the period of three years he has sent us more helpful information than any other rider. We were actually in the same internet cafe in Brazil but missed each other.
If you have any questions about South America, let us know. Also, if you get north into the USA, we have a moto zimmer and welcome all (if on a moto).
Eric and Gail Haws
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