The Emerald Coast...

Everyone else had booked on an overnight bus to Rio on the 17th, but if we too where going to make it to Rio by the 18th for the start of Carnival we had to leave the house on the 16th to ensure we could make it on time.

Our aim on the first day was to get as close to the ´Emerald Coast´(the stretch of coast between Santos and Rio) as possible, as we had been told the this coastal highway was one of the most picturesque in the world. After riding in the pouring rain for most of the day we almost made it, but pulled up about 150km south of Santos at a small coastal town called Peruibe. Earlier in the day we had meet up with another couple traveling on motorbikes. Pierre and Celine had ridden their BMW GS1200´s down from Quebec, Canada to Ushuaia and where now on their way home. Piere and Celine where also on their way to Rio, so we agreed that it would be fun to head up there together as a bit of a convoy.

The following day the sun was shinning which set the mood for a great days riding. A quick stop in the old colonial town of Paraty and the endless sweeping bends up and down the Emerald Coast ensured that we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on our approach to Rio!

Jungle House...

The house in Ferrugem was a fantastic place to chill out at for a couple of days. The house was situated half way up one of the hills in the area, which gave us a beautiful view down across a near by lake. From the house we could easily walk to the beach, shops, restaurants, and bars, which was ideal. It was nice to have a bit of a break from the bikes.

Alex left us after a few days to head back to London. Soon after the arrival of Livi G, Liv Mac, and Simon saw the house full again. It was really good having a bunch of mates around to lounge about with...drinking beers on the terrace. Long days where spent at the beach swimming, surfing, drinking and playing ´tuk tuk´, a popular game in South America with wooden paddles and a small rubber ball.

The near by fishing town named Garopaba was only a quick bus ride from where we were staying. Here everyone was able to do a bit more shopping both for themselves and for family and friends back home. The beach at Garopaba did not have the waves that where back at Ferrugem, instead the calm water offered visitors the chance to go skiing, sailing or do other boating activities. The eastern end of the beach was lined with wooded boat sheds, and some small houses. It was quite amazing how close to the waters edge they were built!

Time spent down at the Ferrugem house was a nice a relaxing time, and was a great intro to the Brazilian coast, as we got ready to head up to Rio de Janerio for Carnival!

Iguazu to Florianopolis...

We left Argentina with a bit of a sore head from the previous night. After dropping Kobi off at the Brazilian Embassy we slipped through the border without too much trouble. At this stage Kate and Alex would be just out from Florianopolis, having caught the bus the day before. Alex, one of Kate´s mates from school, had flown into South America from London. This was her last week here, so Kate gave up her spot on the bike to spend more time with her.

Foz do Iguacu (on the Brazilian side), is a small modern city, with a population of over 300,000 and is much larger than it´s Argentine neighbour. Just to the north of the city is the Itaipu Dam. The dam is the single largest power station in the world and was built jointly by Brazil and Paraguay. A truly impressive feat. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to take a tour around the dam, as we still had around 1000km to cover in just two days.

After catching some much needed rest at our half way point, a town called Gurabuava, we took off early with the aim of reaching Ilha de Santa Catarina (Flori) sometime before dark. The early morning fog threw up some terrible visability and the handful for trucks that pop out of the fog without lights on, certainly kept us on edge. We both agreed that we have never seen so many trucks on the road..Brazil is full of them! None the less we arrived in Florianopolis without too many issues.

The following morning we meet up with Blair and Ned who had come to the end of their travels from Perth. 70 hours or so in transit is a mean task for anyone, and the boys certainly looked like they needed a few cold beers. Ned had arranged to have us all stay at his cousins house in a beautiful little surf town called Ferrugem, which is around 80km south of Flori. So that arvo everyone jumped on the local bus and we got on the bikes to set off for what was to be our ´Jungle´ house for the next 10 days!

The Road to Iguazu...

On the road early and just 18km up he road passed Salta you cross Rio Uruguay and back into Argentina. You cross the river via a massive hydro dam which must be shard by both countries as there are massive power lines shooting off into the countryside on both sides.

Once on road passed Concordia on Ruta 14 some cops stopped us at one of the many Police check points. They asked us to get off the bikes and sent us in to the station with our papers for some reason we did not understand. Sitting in one of the offices was his copper who started to try and ell us ha we had overtaken on double yellow lines in front of a patrol car about 5Km back and he wanted to slap us with a Pesos $360 fine! We responded wih lots of "Que?", "No entiendo" and "Que significa doble linea?" ect...basically denied having a clue what he was on about as the main problem was that we had no Argentinian money on us. After a bit more of "No, No possible donde es evidencia?" (thats not even spanish) the copper left the room in a huff, and slightly worrying that he took our passports which was a bad move from us as you are apparently not obligged to give Police your passport, only Customs/Aduana...anyway we know for next time as we have heard of stories of Police holding your passport untill you pay them off. Luck was on our side and a few minutes later another officer told us we could go...Kew Kew!

Pretty soon after this little ordeal which was our first run in with the cops, we left Ruta 14 behind us for the moment and headed for Mercedes to fuel up and stock up for Colonia Carlos Pelligrini as there is no fuel out at this tiny town. If you rock up in a country town between 12pm and 5 pm there is nothing open expect the petrol stations, therefore we have spent a fair bit of time at them and eating alot of average Empanada lunches at YPF petrol stations.

The Rest of Uruguay...

Uruguay served up a couple of unforgettable spots, the first was Punta Del Diablo on the east coast, then it was Colonia Del Sacramento which was only a short 190km dash from Montevideo. Colonia is a town lined with cobblestone streets and beautiful old buildings that are remnants of the Portugese colonial days. Although we were there during peak holiday season, you dont notice the crowds in this little town. You somehow feel like you have the place to youself and that you have sumbled across a little gem. In reality it is very busy with lots of holiday makers coming over from Buenos Aires as it is only a couple hours by ferrry or from Montevideo.

Birthday celebrations for Matteo were in Colonia…it was well timed as the town was meant to be throwing its Carnaval through the streets on same day. Unfortunately it pisssed with rain and it was abit of a wash out…only a hand full of drummers rocked up and two women who were a tad rough around the edges in tiny bikinis trying to get the massive crowd of about 50 unimpressed spectators (including us) going. We did however end up having a good boozy dinner in good company and hit up the local club untill about 5am.

Alter a recovery day we set off through the guts off Uruguay to check out a couple of spots that had been recomendad to us by a ´character´ that we met at the hostel in Colonia. We didnt make Tacuarembo on the first day, instead ended up camping in picturesque spot on Rio Negro with its sandy beach and thick Eucalypt forrest just down river from Lago Rincón Del Bonete, which is a massive artificial lake surrounded by some great country side that often has you thinking that you are back in Oz. If it isn´t the vast flat and very dry grazing country it is the never ending gum trees lining the side of the roads with the odd emu like bird bolting away from the bikes.

Tucuarembo wasn´t quite worth the 400km detour to the border until we picked a little secondary road that runs 225km through Gaucho territory to Salto. In the last couple of weeks we had started to pine for the twisting undulating roads of south west Argentina and the Carretrra Austral in Chile, as since leaving Ushuaia the roads had not exactly been of those that are fun on a bike…dead straight and flat. This little stretch was just what we needed to get rid of the flat spot on our tires.

Just out of Salto is the little town of Termas del Dayman…´The termal bath capital of Uruguay.´ It could be great in winter, i´m guessing the crowds could be worse but it just wasn´t what you felt like doing when the outside air temperature hovers around 38 degrees celsius.

Two nights camping on baked dry ground and dead grass would surfice…next stop back in Argentina and en route to Iguazu Falls.

Buenos Aires to Montevideo...

Leaving BA marked the start of Livi´s time on the back of Dave´s bike which was fantastic. We were all super stoked to have her join us for this leg of the trip, especially Dave. It was so good that Liv could be apart of the Los Colective team for awhile!

In many ways Uruguay is not unlike Australia, with the big blue open skies and undulating farm land. We crossed into Urugauy from Argentina at a town called Paysandu. In the day past we had tried to cross futher south at Fray Bentos, but where turned around due to a long running dispute between the towns on either side of the border. This didn´t bother us too much as we found a great little campsite on a river bank just out side of the Argentine town Gualeguaychu. A riverside beach offered some relief from the 39 degree day.

Leaving Paysandu we took off south down Ruta 3 bound for the Atlantic coast. A night spent camping along Rio Negro broke the trip up and after pushing through 400km the next day we reached Punta del Este. Punta del Este is known to many as being the ´Monaco´of South America, and our thoughts didn´t disagree. The eastern edge of the beach was riddled with luxury yatch´s and lush apartments. Everything was a little out of our budget, but we were keen to a day off riding and to relax at the beach. The day spent at the beach was fantastic, and offer a chance to catch some colour before hitting up the brazilian coast.

Punta del Este although great, was a bit over run for our liking, so we took off east to Punta del Diablo for a taste of the ´unspoiled´Uruguaian coast. We weren´t disapointed. Punta del Diablo is a small fishing town with a hippy feel and a timeless charm. Here we took shelter in one of the many beach houses that are avalible for rent. We all agreed that is has a feel similar to Rotto, back home, with the sandy roads and ramshackled accommodation. Truely a great place to spend a few days before heading back to Montevideo to see Liv off at the airport.

B.A. final days...

An eventful few days... visit to colourful La Boca and the antique/bohemian markets of San Telmo where we enjoyed some tango in the streets and a good cheap Italian food.

We also managed to see all of the trucks, cars, and bikes of the Dakar Rally which kicked off from BA on the 3rd of Jan. The exhibition put on in town during the days leading up to the race gave us a great opptortunity to get up close to the crazyness that comes with such a race. Some day....maybe we´ll be lining our bikes up! ha....

Delays with the Brazilian visas meant that we had to stay an extra day, as well as this Matteo managed to get his camera stolen at gunpoint in Palermo...he was taking some nightshots of buildings at about 1am on his own so not so surprising. The budding young ganster grabbed the tripod with camera attached with one hand while pointing the gun at his head with the other. Matteo then chased him briefly until the fella turned and shouted something in spanish...most probably along the lines of "What the hell are you doing gringo...i have a F**king gun!" so Matteo stopped and went home feeling a tad stupid and and sad after loosing some good shots.

The last night was back at Tango Backpackers in good company and eating lots of Choripan (chorizo sausage in a bun with lots of joy salsas), some last minute shopping on El Salvador for the girls and filing police reports.

All in all BA was tuns of fun and i think all of us will be going back one day...next stop Uruguay and hopefully some beautiful beaches.