Ola, Brazil!

Jan 2023

Arriving in Brazil

Our first few days in Brazil were tricky. We spent 3 hours crossing the border from Uruguay and then back again because no one seemed to know what they were doing (us included) and we had to convince the Federal Police at the Brazilian border that we needed a Temporary Import Permit. Finally, with the right stamps in our passport and the right paperwork for Pedro, we set off through a vast wetland and were quickly rewarded with sightings of Roseate spoonbills, Kingfishers and Capybaras!

There seems to be a lot of bureaucracy in Brazil even to do the simplest things. We spent hours in a shopping centre in Porto Alegre trying to get a sim card. Everyone needs a ‘CPF’ (equivalent to a national security number) here to own any assets, including sim cards. We eventually managed to get one without registering a CPF and have since applied and been granted a CPF which has made things easier. Pharmacies even ask you for your CPF number when you try to buy a pack of Paracetamol!

We drove straight to Rio Grande and found a campsite, which was more like a cramped patch of dirt. An overly friendly family camping next to us, who had just got a brand-new tiny puppy chatted to us relentlessly in fast Portuguese despite our protesting we didn’t understand a word. We could hear one of the kids being violently sick in the middle of the night. The next morning, they showed us their prized conch collection in their car boot and gifted us two of them. 

On their advice, we went to Sao Lourenco and during lunch in a buffet restaurant, met a lovely lady named Maria who spoke perfect English and gave us loads of advice on where we should go. Another family walked past admiring Pedro parked outside, so we went to chat with them through the window. People here are incredibly welcoming and generous. Within minutes, this family had given us their Instagram and said we could contact them if we needed anything, and even offered for us to come to their house if we needed to use their shower.

Gramado

Feb 2023

Maria had recommended we visit Gramado. The town is quite hard to describe but it has a huge German influence and looks like Christmas has thrown up on it. We visited at the end of January/start of Feb and it was apparently still Christmas. 

It is very touristy and a popular destination for Brazilians. There are countless museums and themed activities: Chocolate Land, Big Land, Small Land, a sex museum, car museum, steam train museum, Dream Land, Mega Dome, Ice Land, a Beatles museum, Ancient Egypt museum, a Great Gatsby dinner show. It reminded us of Las Vegas but with fewer drunk Americans. The national parks are also very commercialised (~£20 for entry). We visited Parque do Caracol, which is home to a huge waterfall.

We camped on quiet, secure, residential streets, a great idea until you have to exit the van with a bag of turds and put it in one of the bins outside the posh apartment blocks. We were both a bit unwell while we were in Gramado, so this was quite a regular occurrence.

Leaving Gramado, we drove to Canyon Itaimbezinho, a large, picturesque canyon in Aparados da Serra National Park featuring another giant waterfall and trails with stunning views. The roads surrounding the park 20km in both directions are dirt roads with huge potholes and boulders. As we left the park, the fog descended so we couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead. We had to nervously drive 20km on a gravel road with little to no visibility and with a 900m drop to the side of us!

Some things we’ve noticed about Brazil so far…most men walk around shirtless at all times, the driving, particularly of lorries, can be quite aggressive, the attention we get in Pedro has stepped up a gear – but not speaking any Portuguese makes it difficult for us to engage with anyone – just smile and wave.

Florianopolis

Feb 2023

We drove to Florianopolis in a horrendous storm, causing flash floods, and with lightning hitting the tarmac a few hundred metres ahead of us making the ground shake. We made it over the bridge onto the island unscathed but went past plenty of cars which had become stranded in water.

We loved the laid-back feel of Florianopolis and spent a week there visiting different beaches. Our favourite camp spot was with some other fellow campers at Barro da Lagoa, a few minutes from the beach. Our highlights were surfing on Barro da Lagoa beach, sandboarding at Jaoquinia sand dunes, drinking caipirinhas on Praia Brava beach, and hiking the Trilha da Lagoinha do Leste trail to Lagoinha do Leste beach where we had to beach to ourselves.

Curitiba

Feb 2023

There seems to be a theme of us driving through bad storms whenever we try to move on. Our drive to Curitiba was cut short by a horrendous storm and flooding on the highway, causing us to spend a night at a petrol station at the side of the motorway. There was a dog wearing shorts sleeping next to the van, we had a dodgy buffet, and woke up with the Brazilian Hell’s Angels parked next to us!

The weather once in Curitiba was boiling again. Em had done a case study on Curitiba for A-Level Geography, and it is meant to be one of the greenest, most sustainable cities on Earth! They have bendy buses, vast city parks, and recycle 70% of their waste through a rewards scheme. We visited the botanical gardens, Parque Barigui, Parque Tangua, Placa Espana, tried Feijoada (a Brazilian black bean and stewed meat dish), shopped at a pop-up thrift store, and visited the Oscar Neimeyer museum. While we were watching the herds of Capybaras in Parque Barigui, we heard a familiar accent next to us say “Isn’t this the maddest thing you’ve ever seen?!” The exclamation came from another British couple, Maya and Harry, who had just arrived in Curitiba and were on a similar trip to us, only travelling via bus.

We camped in the car park of Restaurante Madalosso, in a special motorhome section at the back with some other campervans. This restaurant offers this space for free, with no obligation to eat there, with electricity, water, fire pit, and 24h security guards. Here, we managed to have a sneaky shower next to the hedge, using Pedro for privacy!