Buenos Ayres

In Buenos Ayres we enjoyed for 6 days the wonderful hospitality of our friends Gisela and Germano.

Pic 1: Gisela and Germano. We took over their entire flat with our luggage!

Germano used to live with me in London years ago, then in 2006 he spent 8 months doing a similar trip on the bike (but on a much tighter budget) from Canada to Buenos Ayres.
He is the living proof that you can travel around South America with £500 per month!!!

We have to say that their flat was incidentally in the best location ever for us:
Only 800 meters from the Buquebus gates in puerto Madero, but also very close to the 2 companies that we selected to pack our bike (Show Packet SA in Calle Carlos Calvo N1) and organise the shipping (Rio Sur Trade SRL in Calle Peru 359).

Pic 2: dropping the bike off  for packing

Pic 3 and 4: The bike is boxed. See you (hopefully) in 1 month in London.

Although it is fairly easy to navigate the city centre of BA the distances can be quite taxing if, like us, you decide to walk around.

From north to south there are 7 avenidas running in parallel (Santa Fe, Cordoba, Corrientes, Rivadavia, Belgrano, Indipendencia, San Juan).

All the avenida will lead you to Puerto Madero.

The now swanky port has been entirely renovated in the nineties and now apartements here will cost around $5000 per square meter.

Pic 5: Modern buildings in puerto Madero

Pic 6: The mujer bridge by Santiago Calatrava

Running in parallel with avenida Madero is the avenida 9 de Julio, with its 16 lines is probably one of the biggest avenidas in the world.

At the junction between the 9 the Julio and Corrientes you can find BA obelisk, which marks the place where the argentinian flag was planted for the first time.

Pic 7: Obelisk in avenida 9 de Julio

No matter where you are in avenida 9 de Julio you can always spot a white tall building with 2 Evita Peron portraits.

Interestingly the portrait facing south of BA (where the poor people live) shows a smiling Evita (as she was the paladine of the poor) whereas the portrait facing north shows a menacing Evita addressing the rich people.

Pic 8: North portrait: Evita during public speaking

Pic 9: South portrait. Evita smiling to the poor

No surpirse that the famous Barrio Boca is based in the south of the city centre, just after avenida San Juan.

You can reach the Barrio with a nice ride on Bus 29.

The barrio is famous for the very colorful facades of its houses.

It is said that the poor immigrants, coming mainly from Italy, didn't have enough money to paint their houses with the same colour, therefore they would use each time whatever colour was available.

Pic 10: Colourful facades in La Boca

To be honest we believe that today no italian immigrants nor argentinians live here.

The "Caminito" has been turned into a circus for tourists where, if they could, they would sell you even the air you breath.

Pic 11: Maradona, Evita and Gardel greeting the tourists in La Boca

If you are looking for somthing a tad more real, nord of La Boca is where you can find the bohemian quarter of San Telmo.

The place is filled with nice cafes where in the evening people still dance tango and lots of antiques shops.

Pic 12: Tango dancers in San Telmo

If you ever come this way don't forget to try one of San Telmo speciality: the clerico'

Pic 13: Gisela and Elena with a jug of clerico'.

At the other side of the city centre, north of avenida Santa Fe, is where you can find the Recoleta cemetery.

Pic 14: Iglesia del Pilar next to Recoleta cemetery

Tourists like us tend to come here to see where (supposedly) Evita rests.

However the small cemetery comes with a bonus of showing off graves that are a true work of art.

Pic 15: tomb in Recoleta

Elena was kind enough to limit our inevitable shopping session in calle Florida to only few hrs.

I was then able to catch my breathe at the famous cafe' Tortoni, where even Jorge Luis Borges used to come to drink expresso.

Pic 16: Elena al cafe' Tortoni

We spent our last day in Buenos Ayres walking around the huge quarter of Palermo.

This is where you can find examples of 19 century italian architecture; it truly feels like being in Milan.

And yet there are nice modern touches like the "floralis generica", a huge mechanic flower in Nationes Unidas Square that opens up in the morning and closes in the evening.

Pic 17: posing at Floralis Generica

We couldn't leave BA without trying one last time the wonderful Argenenean parrilla.

Based in San Telmo, La Brigada restaurant, is probably the best place to go so that you can leave South America with a good taste in your mouth.

Before running to Ezeiza airport we would like to thank all the people that followed us during our trip (so far we had 6000 hit on the blog!) and supported us with their nice messages.

Thank you to old friends that gave us hospitality and the numerous new friends that we found here.

Paolo y Elena

From Florianopolis to Buenos Ayres

We leave Florianopolis with a bit of sadness, mainly because we know this is going to be the last ride of this wonderful trip and also because we are going to miss the great atmosphere of this place.

Pic 1 Boulevard in Florianopolis

As we leave Floripa's bridge behind we get stuck in a long queue of cars so that our average speed drops dramatically down to 20 kms/hr and we fry under the boiling sun.

Pic 2: Floripa bridge

Luckily the traffic jam is caused by some road works and soon we  pick up speed again which really helps in cooling down our gear.
There are no huge dramas for a good 500 kms except when we get hit by a wave of very angry insects (wasps?).
I have to say that in the instance we were absolutely grateful to be wearing our protecting gear and to have our visors down.
It could have ended in tears. The feeling was like being showered with gravel.
The wave of insects was so dense that a couple, somehow even managed to get into the helmet and sting me on my upper lip and nose.
We pass Puerto Alegre and then we pass Pelotas.
Between Pelotas and the border at Jaguarao is 170 kms of fields and nothing else, and in fact i warn any biker out there to fill up at Pelotas as there isn't a single petrol station until the border.
Eventually we stop at a Shell station at the outskirt of Jaguarao where we meet another biker, a nice Uruguaian chap called Paulo.

Pic 3: Paulo at the border

Paulo must be very familiar with this border as he knows every person working here and takes us through the brazilian and the uruguaian offices in no time.

Pic 4: Crossing the bridge into Uruguay

While we get our stamps on the passport I mention to Paulo my wish to ride another 130 kms in the dark.
Paulo's expression changes into a mask of fear.
"I would never drive at night in the Uruguayan darkness with my bike" he says. "it's extremely dangerous".
At that point of the conversation we begin to think about robbery, rape, murder!
COWS, they might be in the middle of the road.

We thank Paulo for the warning and we decide to take our chances with the cows. It is already 8.30pm when we say goodbye to Paulo and leave.

Pic 5: Riding in the dark in Uruguay

As we ride into Uruguay memories take me back to 1999 when I entered the Lithuanian border at night.
Not a sound, not a light, no incoming cars and (luckily) no cows in the middle of the road.
Just a piercing smell of grass in the air and an open dark road in front of us.
We reach the small town of Trenta y Tres in just before 10pm where we find accomodation in the town's hotel "Trenta y Tres".
For the first time in 6 months travelling we don't even unpack the bike! We park it in the hotel's garage exactly as it is, and head to bed.
The following morning, as we don't need to pack the bike, we leave earlier than usual.

Pic 6: Countryside in Uruguay

Uruguay counts 3M people and the country is as big as England and Wales put together.
One third of the population leaves in Montevideo and the rest probably on the coast.
This countryside is absolutely DESERTED.
From time to time we spot a gaucho, riding his horse, heading his herds of cows in the vast fields.
Time has truly stopped here.
The air is absolutely clear, there is no pollution in this place where cars can be counted on your fingers and there is no industry whatsoever.

It appears that our last day on the bike will be a wet one.
Dark clouds are ahead of us so we ride in the rain for a good couple of hrs.
Finally, we reach Minas where we stop at a petrol station in the city centre.
It's Sunday in the village and we are by far the biggest news of the day.
People gather around. Nobody speaks but they are all looking at us and the bike.
Finally a man finds the courage and ask us where we come from.
As we mention Italy they all explode in amazement. "what a monderful trip". they say.
I am sure we are the first Italians on a bike that reach Minas in Uruguay.

Pic 7: more countryside in Uruguay

As we turn right on ruta 11 heading towards Colonia we certainly enter into a more populated area of the country.
We now drive through small towns on a much busier road.
The road eventually turn into a 2 lines motorway.
We will learn later on that this road (over 100 kms of it) used to be flanked entirely by Palms.
All palms from Montevideo to here have now been cut to make room for the 2nd line on the motorway with the exception to the last 10 kms before Colonia.

Pic 8: Palms on the road to Colonia del Sacramento

We reach Colonia at 4pm and we spend 2.5 hrs visiting its beautiful colonial centre.

Pic 9: The bike parked in a cobbled mews in Colonia. It's the end of the journey.

We jump on the Buquebus at 7pm and we cross the Rio de la Plata in 3 hrs.
A bright red sun is setting marking the profile of Buenos Ayres in the distance.

Pic 10: Sunset on Rio de la Plata

Rio de Janeiro

We always knew we would get to Rio eventually in this trip, even though after hearing lots of terrible stories about how dangerous this town is, we were concerned about driving into it with our motorcycle.

This is why we parked the bike in Santinho and took a short fly to the “marvellous town”.

Pic 1: Rio Airport
After visiting Rio for 4 days our question is: where is all this danger?

We walked around day and night we jumped on buses and taxies, we ventured outside Copacabana and Ipanema to visit quarters off the beaten track and yet we never felt once slightly uncomfortable nor threatened.

Ok, we didn’t wear our Rolex and diamonds (also because we don’t have any) and walked at night in the middle of the worst favela, but then that would be dangerous in any town on the planet.

We believe that if you behave correctly and take all reasonable precautions Rio is a safe place to visit, certainly safer than other places we have been to.

When we travel abroad, at the end of each visit, we always ask ourselves “would I live here?”

Well, we can safely say that Rio is the only place in South America where we would certainly live (Santiago came close but didn’t have a beach!)

But let’s proceed in the right order.

Since both our Canon and my mobile were officially out of order and since Elena’s mobile has the memory of a goldfish (can barely store 20 pics!) we stepped immediately into a shop centre to buy an emergency camera.

We are glad we did so as in 4 days we took over 500 pictures.

On day one we paid visit immediately to the Pao de Azucar or Sugar loaf.

Pic 2: Sugar Loaf
This steep hill overlooking Copacabana beach is based in the Botafogo quarter and the top can be reached via a cable cart.

Pic 3 Views from Sugar Loaf

Pic 4: Botafogo beach
Given its location it offers a 360 degrees view of the town.

Pic 5 storm looming over flamengo beach
What we learnt immediately about Rio is that you cannot trust the weather report. This is not the meteorologists fault, but simply because the weather changes so erratically and rapidly that it is impossible to make a meaningful forecast.

Pic 6: Dark clouds over the redeeming Christ
During our visit to the loaf the weather changed 3 times, from blue sky to storm to blue sky again.

Pic 7: Copacabana behind us
In the evening we took a stroll on Copacabana beach for a total of 9 kms walk.

Pic 8 and 9 Copacabana by night

For inexperienced tourists like us it has to be said that Copacabana is busy only until 8pm. During the day the beach is filled with people getting tanned, swimming in the rather cold water (in Floripa the water is definitely warmer) and playing team sports like football and volleyball.

Pic 10: Busy copacabana on Saturday morning
As the heath reduces in the evening people come out for a run or a stroll on the bike’s lane or taking the dog for a walk.

Pic 11: Parading the dogs
If you are looking for some night life however after 9pm you should head towards Ipanema

Pic 12: Ipanema beach
or even better to the Lapa quarter.

Pic 13: Lapa by night
In Lapa you will find tons of restaurants and clubs and most importantly a huge crowd of young Brazilians ready to enjoy the night in the roads of this popular quarter that in the evening are closed to the traffic.

Pic 14: Crowd at Lapa
On Saturday, since the sun was out we spent the whole day in the hotel's pool

Pic 15: Could not resist the view from the pool on 40th floor
and on Copacabana beach. It appears that we were not the only ones to have this idea as the whole town joined us on the pristine sand.

Pic 16 Areal view of copacabana
Now, brace yourself as we are about to give you an excellent tip: If you think that you can see a carnival parade only during carnival spending a fortune, think again.

Pic 17: trying to go unnoticed in the brazilian crowd
During the 2 months prior to the actual Carnival in Rio, the various schools meticulously rehearse for the event.

Pic 18: Samba
Every Saturday and Sunday 3 samba schools head to the Sambodrome to test their choreography right in the venue.

Pic 19 Samba school
Even though they are not fully dressed up like during the actual show and even though the carts are on a much smaller scale this event on some level is probably even better than the Carnival itself.

Pic 20: More samba
First the crowd watching from the stalls is made of Brazilians who join in the dances and make the whole experience more real.

Pic 21: crowd at the Sambodrome
Second, as the only “gringos” around, we were given a royal treatment and a green card to walk around freely and choose the best spots to watch the parade (i.e. we were inches away from the dancers)

Pic 22: She can seriously dance!!!
Last but not least the rehearsal is free.

At midnight the dances were still going on.

We thought we would leave early not to push our luck and in the streets we met some dancers that were still running to the venue to take their place in the parade. What a great opportunity to take a picture.

Pic 23: spot the foreigner
On Sunday as we were still blessed with good weather we went to the Corcovado to take a closer look at the “redeeming Christ”.

From Copacabana the bus 583 will take you straight to the Corcovado rail and also provide you with an excellent tour of Botafogo, Flamengo and the city centre.

As we got there they only had tickets available for the late afternoon.

Since we had few more hrs to kill we jumped on another bus (N422) and headed to the Maracana stadium.

The Maracana will host the final of the world cup in 2014 and for this reason is currently under refurbishment.

Without being able to access the actual ground we found that the visit to the actual museum alone was a bit of a waste of space.

Pic 24 Maracana under refurbishment
The only highlight really is to be able to compare your feet with the footprints of the greatest Brazilian footballers of whole time, from Pele’

Pic 25: same foot size as Pele'
to Kaka’, without forgetting Falcao, Zico, Romario and Ronaldo.

Pic 26: posing with Pele' and Zico
Back at the Corcovado we jumped on the train with an army of Chinese tourists.

Pic 27: Corcovado
The views from the top are probably even better than the views we enjoyed from the sugar loaf with the plus of being able to touch the big statue of the Redeeming Christ.

Pic 28: views from Corcovado
Built in the 30’ this is by far one of the Icons of the South American continent.

Pic 29: Posing with the Redeeming Christ
The following morning the phone of our room suddenly rang.

Since last week Elena had been in touch with Rio Adventure, a company specialised in tandem launches with a hung glider.

During the weekend the wind conditions had been very poor, preventing anyone from launching.

This had been cause for much frustration for Elena, and great relief for me.

However judgement day came, so we catapulted ourselves into a taxi and headed to praia do Pepino.

Pic 30: praya do pepino
As the agency had a 3 days backlog and there was a long queue of people

Pic 31: jumping the long queue
willing to throw themselves into the abyss

Pic 32: no fear!
I grabbed immediately the excuse presented to me and graciously bailed out.

Brave Elena on the other hand pretty much jumped the queue and was one of the first to hit the sky.

Pic 33: run Elena run

Pic 34: look at the camera

Pic 35: flying with 1 hand

Pic 36: Flying with no hands
A huge smile of satisfaction didn’t leave her face for the following 12 hrs.

That was pretty much the final highlight of a wonderful long weekend in Rio.
It is safe to say that we will definitely come back as we loved every corner of this amazing town.