The land of Corned Beef

After a pleasant few days in Carlos Paz I headed East back towards the border with Uruguay.It was a long ride along highways across a plane of farmland and then across a marshland for about 30 miles. This is down stream from Iguacu. It is funny to think that this water was pouring over the falls a while ago.

It was impossible to take a good picture as it is all so flat.

The weather started to close in and the rain started whilst I still had two hours to go. I decided to stop in a small but nice farming town called Gualeguay. The town was deserted but I found an hotel. Once I got changed I went to find a drink and some food. I then found out why no one was on the streets......it was the Super Classico football match  River Plate v Boca. the whole of Argentina comes to a halt when that is on and the bars were packed with all faces glued to the TV.

It ended 2 all. After the game everyone spilled on to the streets in either red & white or blue & gold shirts. Cars & bikes were roaring around with horns blaring (not sure why as no one won).

Then the rain really started and did not stop. Rained all night and was still raining in the morning. I took an executive decision to stay put. Just as well as the news was carrying pictures of major flooding in nearby Buenos Aires. Obviously New York was getting its share of water too.

 

It was a dull town so luckily it was dry today. I whizzed over to the border, across a new bridge and another enormous river - Rio Uruguay, and tried to exit Argentina.

I now know why it was so quick to get in at the Brazilian border.......the Prat did not enter the bike details on to the system! I had 6 Customs officers scratching their heads at what to. Eventually after explaining my life story 10 times they shrugged their shoulders and waved me away. The Uruguayan part went smoothly.

The name of the local town is Fray Bentos. I didn't realise all those tins of Corned Beef actually had a home



The scenery doesn't change much, still large, flat farms with lots of cows but the there is a sense of quiet satisfaction here. The houses are universally well looked after and all have nice gardens, this is about as close to England as you can get in South America. The people speak very clear Spanish and are very polite. It has a nice feel to it.

Mugging # 3...........by the Police!

Being right next to the border it didn't take long to get there.

 The Brazilians had me out of their country in no time and all and then it was a short ride across the bridge to Argentina. This was the quickest entry across any border, I didn't even have to get off the bike - immigration and the carnet for the bike were done in minutes(sorry about another rubbish picture but I seem to have got out of the habit of taking shots as I ride along).

Just as I was leaving I saw a money exchange place so hopped off and was waylaid by a Customs officer "was I looking to change money?" So in to his office and a deal was done at a better rate than the cambio next door so that was handy.

It is funny being back in Argentina after all this time. The scenery soon looked familiar with wide open grassland, cows and Gaucho's. I didn't really have a target town in mind but decided to have a relatively short day (it is also funny that I now think of 500kms being a short day) and stopped at a nice town Posados. It lies on the bank of a large lake and I found a nice hotel just out of town. 

The next day was an early start as I was thinking in terms of heading over to Cordoba and I wanted to kick on a bit. The sun was shining, the wind was at our back and the roads were good. It was all going beautifully and I was smiling behind my visor. I got to Corientes and swung through town until the exit where I was stopped at a police roadside "booth". The younger office took my papers (and as always looked at them upside down) he said that their colleagues had radioed ahead to say that I had done something wrong. I played dumb and said I didn't understand. At this stage I was thinking it is possible as I had missed an exit on a round a bout and had to do a U turn. Was this the problem?

This all took some time and then the older officer came and had a chat. He started talking about the fact that I had gone through a "no entry" sign! At this point I knew it was all a load of bollocks. Whilst waiting to see what they did next I took some photos (knowing they would hate that) and boy did he get excited! He wanted to put cuffs on me & take the camera, finally he settled for me deleting them.

To cut a long story short (I had tried to bluff for about 40 minutes) He started at a bizarre fine of 100 litres of fuel! (that would be about £100) but that then got reduced to Ps425 which he said I could pay at the bank - so I said "Ok give me the ticket and I will go and pay it". He started fidgeting and doing everything he could NOT to write the ticket...."or I could play here"!

I said I don't have that much money and showed him what I had in my pocket (about Ps125). He said that would be fine. Bloody crook! I wanted to stay and argue but I was running out of time and patience so I let him have it, needless to say he did not write me a ticket or give me a receipt!

I was disappointed more than cross but I was also thankful that it had taken 10 months to have got mugged by a policeman. I was also pleased that he was too stupid to realise that I had a load  more cash hidden in my moneybelt!

I talked to people afterwards and they just shrugged their shoulders - it is an endemic problem in Argentina and does not reflect well on the country. Such a shame but that is the way of things over here.

I ended up in a small town near Santa Fe. I had done nearly 800kms and I was tired.

Next day was a reasonably short hop to Cordoba - this was recommended as a nice old town. When I got close I could see it is a massive industrial sprawl which I really didn't fancy. I had also been told of Carlos Paz a nice town in the hills nearby. I saw some signposts for that so headed there, I knew I had made the right decision once I got there.

I had pulled in to get an hotel when 2 bikers arrived. They were having a coffee and saw me go past. They invited me to have a coffee with them back at the petrol station, where their Bike club meet regularly. Once again a bunch of very nice guys (one of whom is an American living in Paz). They invited me to join them in the evening and dinner. Which I did. These are hardcore riders, one having entered the Paris Dakar 3 times (7 days was the longest he survived). They also had some video on their phones of them on their trial bikes in the mountains - bloody madmen! 1 video shows one breaking his leg trying to cross a river. They strapped his leg and he rode out - took 3 hours! This was two months ago and he still had a bad limp.

Another guy broke his arm so they cut up a Coke can and strapped that over the break and he rode out too.


I was surprised at how much of the conversation I understood, especially as most of it was about politics and how poor they felt the future was of Argentina because of the corrupt politicians. Such a shame as from my perspective it is a country with a lot of potential.

Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls or Iguaçu Falls - take your pick

After a comfortable stay in a very quiet hotel in Ponta Grosso I was up early and headed for Foz do Iguacu and the waterfalls. It wasn't quite as early as I thought as they changed the clocks without telling me. Do they have any idea who I am?

The scenery was again pleasant without being spectacular. What was impressive was the miles and miles of fields growing Soya. This is a very wealthy agricultural part of Brazil. It is normal to pass towns with substantial equipment dealers with rows of new Tractors and Combine Harvesters - not just one or two but dozens. There is also a lot of pine between the farms and this makes the air very refreshing (which is nice as I have a bit of a cold).

The towns look prosperous and the roads are immaculate, mind you they know how to charge tolls. I should think it cost nearly 100 Reals to get from Curitiba to Foz..It sort of demonstrates that Brazil is two distinct countries - the north is poor, has terrible roads and no tolls (the locals couldn't afford them). Yet the south has everything. Something is not working in the Government or they would be distributing funds more appropriately.

I must have had the luck of the Oirish - I kept coming across wet roads (where it must have rained a few minutes before) but at no point did I see any rain. There was one gruesome moment in one of the towns. There had been an accident where a truck had clattered a motorbike. The black body bag isn't a sight you want to see too often! At least it had the effect of slowing me down........for about a mile or so.

The hotel was easy to find and I was given pride of place to park my bike - right by the front door! just as well it was under cover as there was a terrific thunderstorm during the night.

The Falls are in a national park and you can not take private vehicles (not even a motorbike). It was a short walk from the hotel to the Park entrance. For about £15 you get a bus the 18 kms to the Falls and your entry. You can get off at various places along the route depending how far you would like to walk through the forest.

The Falls are just that, lots of them (150 - 300 depending on how much water is flowing at any given time) spread over 2.7 kms spilling off the edge of the plateau and in to the "Devils throat" about 100 meters below. You are given a glimpse of what is to come and I was in danger of being underwhelmed.I need not have worried.

As you walk further along the pathways, through the rain forest, you get a sense that there is more to come.

There is a spectacular walkway out in to the middle of the cataract and there is a palpable sense of power on the platform. It is also very wet!

Ok last photo (taken from the walkway) before you all die of boredom: Oh and by the way, the other side of the water is Argentina.

I will leave the final comment to Eleanor Roosevelt who, upon seeing Iguacu exclaimed "Poor Niagra"
(which a third shorter).

At the entrance to the park is an Aviary. I am not keen on Zoos but this one is different. The aviaries are huge and built in the natural surroundings of the rain forest. Although there are some small cages with some amazing coloured Parrots in them, the majority are in huge frames which you walk inside with the birds. 

Guinness anyone?
There was a "professional" photographer with his lenses, lights and of course his tropical shirt and shorts. This Toucan was obviously interested what he had up his shorts...

 By the way, Toucans make a noise like a Pig grunting - I knew you would be fascinated.I didn't realise there are so many different types but these (like the Blue Bobbies) are my favourite.

They have aviaries for Humming birds - these things zip past you like bullets and make a similar noise, as well as Butterflies - the weather was not great so not many of them flying about but they do have some enormous types.

I have lots of pictures of the birds, if any of you are really interested but much better to come and see them for yourselves. Oh and there are these ring tailed fellows running around too. I was told they are Agouti's but having looked that up on the web, I am not so sure.

I will be heading further South BUT I have a dilemma. My passport only has 6 spaces left for Immigration stamps (and that will require some deft skill with the rubber stamp). I will need one to leave Brazil and one when I finally leave Argentina for England. That leaves me 4 - which is only enough for one more country (exit, entrance & exit, entrance). I have to decide whether to visit Paraguay or Uruguay. After much consideration I am going to skip Paraguay. There doesn't appear to be a lot to see, the roads are reputed to be pretty poor and the police corrupt. I have heard all this before but this time I have to miss somewhere, so that is that. And you lot think you have it tough!

The rare Toucan for Wilks:

And for Clara - the "Maid of the mists" boat. They do not get up to the BIG falls:

Sunday is Biker Day

Another Sunday and another day to extricate myself from a big city.

The route west out of Sao Paulo is right through the centre of town with multi lane highways and plenty of exits to get wrong. I had made my way in to the centre but decided to get some fuel and ask directions. No sooner had I stopped than two Harley Davidsons arrived. With hardly a word being exchanged Nelson & Arnaldo had adopted me and were showing me the way (I think they are doctors).

Within a few miles it was self evident I would have been thrashing about in the city for hours had they not given up an hour of their Sunday ride to help me. Once we were on the right road we pulled over and had a coffee. They run their own Rock Radio station www.motoradium.com.br - aimed at Rocking Bikers. They have also travelled widely through Europe (on their bikes obviously).  somewhat more surprisingly is that they sport Masonic emblems on the jackets. clearly not as secretive as the strange bunch of misfits in the UK. They asked me if I was a Mason (do I have a funny handshake?) which, of course, I am not.

They also gave me some stickers (already on the bike) and some patches for my jacket. Which will be sewn on when I can find somewhere to do it. Very nice guys who once again epitomise the camaraderie amongst Bikers.

Having said good bye to them I headed off through nice, if not spectacular scenery. My route took me through another large sprawling, industrial town Curitiba. This was remarkable easy as I was picking up signs for Foz on the outskirts of the city. Feeling rather pleased with myself I pressed on until a thunderstorm broke. I followed another bike in to a Petrol station to shelter under their canopy. The other rider Eric and his girlfriend were in T shirts and got wet rather quickly.
We were soon joined by a friend of theirs (another Harley) and whilst watching the rain come down they invited me to their weekly biker meet which was just up the road. I had plenty of time and the rain had stopped so why not?

The guy with the Spiderman bike is a painter and there were some great pain jobs on several helmets done by him.

There were probably 20 bikes and 40 people there, some spoke excellent English - which was a relief as my Portuguese has not improved much! As always in South America the Harley's are very much in evidence. I was given more stickers for my bike and I noticed later that others had already been stuck to my bike, which I like. I feel rather guilty/stupid for not having brought some English related patches or stickers to give to people. Next time!

This girl could count up to 10 in English so I thought she deserved a mention!

Having had lunch and a good chat about motorbikes and touring they were heading off for their ride and I needed to cover another 100 kms and find an hotel.

At the risk of repeating myself, these people are so kind and all we have in common is out bikes. I hope that when they travel in Europe they are looked after to the same degree of kindness.

Rio to Sao Paulo......well I had to go at some point

I moved up a few floors as the apartment next to mine was being renovated and I was getting bored of all the noise.The benefit was a nice view of the sea, the Lake in the middle of the city and the statue of Christ on the hill in the background.

Having seen the attractive Theatre in town I looked in to see what was on. They had a Romeo & Juliet Ballet (which is not really my thing) but I like the music. so I got myself a ticket. As attractive as the building is, I wasn't impressed with the dancing or the music - there was no orchestra, just a CD playing. The old boy next to me snored through all three acts (I was quite envious of him).

I am back on the move after the best part of a month in Rio.For no good reason it is time to move on. It has been a great stay but there are other places to see.

I gave the bike a quick look, checked the oil and tyre pressures. It is not far to Sao Paulo and it seemed like the next natural step. It was remarkably easy to get out of Rio (without getting lost) and then about 4 hours of dual carriageway. Not particularly interesting but not a problem either. I don't want to spend any time in SP (20 million people) so I have parked up at the Airport just to the north of the city. I will then head further south, looking for a smaller town on the way to the border.

With all due respect to the other big cities I have visited on this trip, Rio is my favourite, it is just a nice place to be, even if it is bloomin' expensive.

Mugging number 2

I am sorry to say that the stories and rumours are true.

I have walked along Ipanema beach just about every day without a hint of trouble. Today was probably just bad timing on my part. I had walked up the the far end of the beach past the dunes and the rocks. Returning I took the same route, just at the edge of the water.

Then at the dunes I felt someone try to snatch my Kindle out of my hand from behind. I held on to it and swung round. It was a fat kid 14-16 I should think. He made another  lunge for it so I smacked him in the mouth. He looked a bit surprise. At this point about 5 or 6 other teenage lads and a couple of girls had slid down the dune and surrounded me.

It crossed my mind to smack the kid again, but not knowing whether they had knives it seemed best to let him have the Kindle. Emboldened they then snatched my sunglasses and Swatch. Whilst this was happening I was trying to explain to them that the glasses had my prescription lenses in them and were useless and that the Kindle was in English. Even if my Portuguese was brilliant I suspect it would have made no difference. The Swatch is so old, the face is badly scarred and no great loss. They kept asking for money, I had some but the pocket in my new shorts is so discreet they didn't see it so I kept telling them I didn't have any. They left with out the cash (it was only enough for a spot of lunch anyway).


The only violence was me hitting the kid so at no point was it frightening. What really pissed me off is that the people nearby do nothing. I went up to them when the kids had run off. And asked "Why didn't you help?" The vendor just shrugged his shoulders and the fisherman said he didn't see - bloody liar! Such a shame, as everywhere else people have been really helpful. I assume they are as poor as the kids from the Favelas doing the stealing so see it as some form of social levelling.

It hasn't put me off but I am fed up because the Kindle was a gift from work colleagues and I was only half way through Keith Richards autobiography (very good read if you are looking for a book). I will see if I can get one in Rio and upload the books from my laptop (since checked and they are not on there).

I also have my original Ray Bans (with prescription lenses) so I will still look the coolest guy on the beach (not)............errrr just tried to find them and they have gone too. That could have been any time in the last 10 months!

Looks like I have to go shopping.

It could have been worse I could have lost the camera, how terrible would that be? No more wild life shots for David Attenborough.

Don't let it put you off visiting this amazing city, I will be back on the beach tomorrow (but perhaps not near the dunes)

Monkeying around with horses

One day rather drifts in to another here which is all very relaxing but I have managed a few outings away from the beach.


I thought I would make my mother proud by venturing to the Jockey Club of Rio de Janeiro late one afternoon. There was a lot of traffic leaving town for some reason and it took an age to get there. I consoled myself that the taxi was costing less than I would be losing on the horses. The conversation with the Taxi driver was quite enlightening at one point - Sugar Loaf is  Pão de Açúcar but apparently the incorrect pronunciation of Pão and you are in an area of slang for the male appendage. Given that Ipanema has a large section of the Gay community I will not be talking about my tourist trips any more. 

Eventually we pulled in to an attractive set of buildings, a little like Chantilly (not that I have ever been there but it looks like it does in the pictures). I would have taken a photograph but I forgot my camera!

I searched for a booth to pay my entry fee but there was none, it was free. Then when I saw the number, or lack thereof, of people. I understood why they don't charge. There was no one there and no buzz whatsoever, a bit like Lingfield on a wet Wednesday in October.

There is only one betting system, a Tote, but with 1920's style metal grills. The fabric of the place is charming, you could get close to the horses in the saddling and parade enclosures but it just wasn't a great atmosphere.

I had my phone (which I use for music wandering around) and managed to snap a winner going over the line. I don't know how to turn the thing the right way up so just stand on your heads or something.

I would imagine that it would be a great place to be when they are running the Brazilian equivalent of the Derby.

On the way to the Jockey club you pass two Gardens, so I thought they would be worth a visit for another day. 

I haven't got the hang of the weather forecasting yet. I looked out of the window on Sunday and decided the wind was too chilly and with too much cloud cover to make it worth going to the beach. I donned my cold weather gear (rugby shirt and long trousers) and hailed a taxi for the Gardens.

They have two public gardens next door to each other, this one was a Portuguese Kings hunting lodge or some such thing. It is free and obviously a favourite for families and kids birthday parties.

The next garden was a short walk up the road. by now the sun was out, I was melting and cursing my judgement to be missing the beach! So my first visit was to the shop to buy a T shirt. Another bargain!

I am sorry this lady got in the way of what would have been a wonderful juxtapose of the pool with Christ on the hill in the background. She thought I was David Bailey and wouldn't move until I had taken her picture.

The place used to be a sugar plantation which morphed in to a gunpowder factory. They have impossibly tall palm trees, buttressed rooted trees and many others. They also have an Orchid house where they are trying to protect the endangered ones of the jungle.

I thought this one was dead but it is a perfectly Black Orchid. I feel a bit guilty about "dead heading" it now. Well I though they were short staffed and needed a hand. I am sure they will find another one.

 

There was a decent sized lizard wandering around too. There is a plaque to Darwin who spent some time here in 1832 and lavished praise on the place.

And finally folks not one but two Monkeys and no I couldn't get both in shot at the same time, they are quick up and down the trees.

There were a great number of people in White T shirts with a slogan demonstrating. It transpires that some Gazillionaire in Rio is trying to but the park and surrounding area, kick the inhabitants out and develop the site in time for the Olympics. I am not sure whether they have a case or not but they wouldn't sell me one of their bloody T shirts when I needed it!

In all seriousness the danger with Brazil and its politics/corruption is that this guy may just get away with it!