CYCLING for LOVE: Sneaking across the SW corner of Brazil

The final leg of a our cycle trip dedicated to the LOVE Trust started in Uruguay along the coast and up through the 'campo' progressing into and across the south western corner of Brazil, please enjoy!

Km965 to Km904: Accidentally wondering into Brazil
Having now spent our last day in awesome Uruguay it was time to make our way across the south western corner of Brazil back into Argentina as we make our way up to Iguazu Falls. We could have crossed directly into Argentina on the western border of Uruguay with Argentina thus eliminating the need to pass through Brazil. However, that would mean heading back down about 200km in the wrong direction only to cycle back up along a highway we had been warned was not very pleasant, the Route 14.

We had not planned to cycle far into Brazil so only started marking our way across to Rivera's Brazilian neighbour, Santana do Livramento, late in the afternoon. What we didn't know was that no official border exists between the 2 towns, only when all the signs turned to Portuguese and the people we were asking directions from responded in Portuguese did we realise something was amiss. Now having made our way up and down steep hills to get into what was now Brazil we had to head all the way back to a little office in Uruguay somewhere even before the hostel we had stayed at the night before to get our Uruguay exit stamps. Once that hack was over we returned to Santana do Livramento where we got our entry stamps into Brazil and also met an Argentine family very exited about heading to South Africa for the Fifa World Cup, but as with most people they're struggling to find reasonable price accommodation so I took their details an am hoping to able to help them out there.

Brazil has a distinctly different feel to Uruguay in addition to the change in currency and money there is just a little more of edginess about the place. More security, slightly crummier streets and a lot of people loitering about but what was quite a welcome surprise was an improved willingness to accept credit cards at the shops and a far superior road network. While the roads in Uruguay are great you can see they are designed for less cars with a lower budget but appropriately so, as it is far smaller economy. The highway running across Brazil to the Argentinian border you could see had been well constructed with a healthy hard shoulder and an asserted effort had been made to level out the land instead of just laying the tar over whatever little hill may cross its path making for nice gradual up hills with long steady down hills to follow. Everyone in the towns were quite friendly but this could just be something that rubbed off from their nearby neighbours.

That night once we were just up and over a couple of hills cycling deeper into the wet humid vegetation of Brazil it started growing dark. Because the roads are designed to be flatter it is not easy accessing the adjacent land as it is generally a lot higher or lower than the road with a healthy gutter running in between so we had to utilise one of the farmers access roads so duck down the back of one of the side verges which happened to be right next to a swamp. Luckily that night we were not bothered too much by mosquitoes however a frog or 2 did think it would be entertaining to dive straight at my headlamp sending me and my dinner flying. These must have been the tamest frogs in the world no matter how much to waved your hands at them trying to chase them away the more they hopped closer just staring straight at you. That night I slept like a baby with the frogs croaking nearby while taking comfort in the knowledge that the things banging up against my tent every now and again was just a harmless frog that had lost his way in the night.

Km904 to Km800: Nicest Internet café in the world

We had a great day of cycling the next day as the good roads provided a nice surface to glide along with wind giving us a little push from behind while the surroundings provided us something beautiful to look at. A creaking sound coming from Andy's peddle crank shaft was growing loader as we came into the next border town along with Uruguay, Quaraí but as it was lunch time everything was closed bar the local Internet café which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It was now probably close on 40 degrees Celsius so we decided to take refuge in the air conditioned Internet café where the owner was only too happy to see us. Once under his wing the generosity did not stop flowing, we were invited to secure our bikes round the back and offered to use the nice cool shower if we so wished, which we all did and desperately need, and then he offered for us to cook or sleep in the room at the back if we were tired from our cycling. So once we had had a good cool shower we got chatting gain and it turned out the owner is quite an avid mountain biker so when he heard we were looking for a bicycle shop to have a look at Andy's creaking peddle crank shaft he said not to worry and asked his friend with a bicycle shop in Uruguay to come on over.

It turned out that the owner in fact was not Brazilian either but rather Uruguay, once again another Uruguay being incredibly kind! Soon his Uruguay friend arrived on his bicycle now having crossed the border to answer the call for help with all his tools in hand. After having a look at the shaft he found it was wearing a little loose so used a bit of tin from an old Coke can to tighten things up but then he found he was short a washer so he in turn called another friend of his to bring a washer over from his bike shop in Uruguay. We got chatting and it turned out that the man was not very wealthy when he was young and through getting into cycling and starting to service peoples bikes he had built his business up to the point where he now owned the biggest bikes shop in Artigas just across the border. Once he was done with Andy's bike all the creaks were gone so I asked him how much we owed for a job very well done and he refused to let us pay as he was just too happy to help us out.

Now that the bike was fixed it was time to make lunch so while I updated the blog putting the finishing touches to the LOVE Trust Valentine's Day Appeal Mark and Andy got cracking round the back with our old faithful meal pasta, tuna, tomato paste and olives. The Internet café owner now spotted we were making lunch so he quickly hurried to put a table out for us under the shade and grabbed us some complimentary ice cold Cokes from the fridge inside for us to enjoy over lunch, I mean really what do we do to deserve this kind of amazing treatment! But it did not end there, after lunch our friend from the bicycle shop returned with some mates for us to meet and gave us some cool t-shirts and had also gone past the tourist information centre leaving us with some brochures and maps of the region to help us enjoy our cycle through the area. I couldn't believe our luck I mean what if we had chosen the Internet café next door that would have meant nowhere to secure the bikes, no cool shower, no fixed bike, nowhere in the shade to sit and cook, no free shirt and Cokes! These guys had turned what could have been a potentially very hot and frustrating day into a super awesome day, all I can say is that I am overwhelmed with their kindness and hope to keep reminding myself to every day “do unto others as I would have done unto me”.

Now with our spirits high, bodies refreshed and a fixed bicycle we headed out of town towards Uruguaiana which would be the last Brazilian town we passed through as that is where we would then pass back into Argentina. Again we found it difficult to get off the road due to a the large adjacent gutter so we again used a farmers road to duck in behind what was this time a large pile of rocks. We tried to keep as discrete as possible but it wasn't long before the adjacent farm owner grew concerned about the flash lights on the edge of the property and came to investigate. We didn't know whether to try turn off our lights and hide in the darkness or just go straight up to him and explain ourselves but in the end we were left with no choice as he drove straight up to the fence and shone his car lights on us. They were worried that we may pose a security risk but once they saw we were cyclist and we had explained our story they were quite happy for us to camp the night on the edge of their property. Technically we were outside of their fence but its always nice to meet and have the chance to explain ourselves to anyone that may be concerned that we could pose a security risk, we wouldn't to cause anyone any unnecessary concern.


Km800 to Km707:The long hot road

We were now getting closer to Argentina and the province of Misiones which is renown for being hot and humid and we were beginning to feel that we were getting closer. That day as we rested under some trees it must have been close to 40 degrees Celsius with a high humidity and to boot there were hundreds of horse flies and mosquitoes ever ready to attack. Andy made the smart choice and set up his tent over lunch so he could enjoy a nap in peace but it also meant he had created himself a little roadside sauna, one had to choose, between bugs or a sauna. I had been quite annoyed by all the heat and bugs that day but nothing could bring my spirits down as I had just received the news that my sisters fiancé had been offered a great job back in South Africa so they would be moving back just before I returned home.

That evening with spirits high we enjoyed a light breeze on the bikes stopping at a petrol station for the night just short of Uruguaiana, where we would cross the border the next day into Argentina. As petrol stations go this one was quite picturesque as it was set in the middle of nowhere providing for a great spot to just sit and watch some of the strangest people stop and fill up their cars before cruise the last 20kms into Uruguaiana while the sun setting provided a beautiful back drop. Many of the people seemed to be stuck in the 70s or 80s with full body leotards or tiny white running shorts with some great pump shoes, I felt like I was in a movie.

The next day we would head back into Argentina bringing to an end our short experience in Brazil. While I had enjoyed Brazil it had been tough suddenly not being understood again as Portuguese is similar to Spanish but not the same so half the time I wasn't sure I people we just speaking Spanish differently or if they were speaking Portuguese. I also felt quite rude speaking Spanish to people in a Portuguese country but I had very little interest in confusing my already weak Spanish with new words and a whole other accent so I was quite excited to be heading back into a country where I would be a little better understood.

All the pics from Brazil can be seen here.