The ride to the Brasilian frontera at Chuy is short. I practice my Portuguese on the beautiful aduana agent as she processes my paperwork and wonder to myself if her presence here is part of a tourism campaign. She finishes and smiles as she welcomes me to Brasil in near perfect English. My gringo accent is obvious and I vow to work on my enunciation. It’s a beautiful day and it feels good to be on the bike. My delight is short lived. Fifteen minutes after I leave the border a bee flies in my helmet and stings me on the cheek. I react instantly to the jagged dagger penetrating my skin and eject the offending insect. As the dead bee spirals violently into the bike’s air stream it occurs to me I have lost the volume to the music in my right ear. In my haste the wire to the ear plug wrapped around my finger and I yanked out the speaker. It is lunch time so I stop to get my first taste of Brasilian food. An all you can eat buffet for $12 Reals (pronounced “hay-ice”) or about $7US. The food is good and I stuff myself forgetting for a moment that I’ll be riding the remainder of the trip without music.
I make my way north along the coastal wetlands of southern Brasil and note with some curiosity the abundance of Capybara. They are quite large and a fence lines both sides of the elevated road in an attempt to keep them from venturing into the path of oncoming vehicles. There are a number of workers repairing sections of damaged fence and judging by the number of dead carcasses lining the road maintaining the fence is a full time job. The remainder of the day is uneventful and I stop for the night in Cassino in Rio Grande do Sul.
The next morning I catch the ferry in nearby Rio Grande and continue north along the coast. Rio Grande do Sul is home to some of Brasil’s forestry operations and the landscape shows the scars of deforestation. The road is congested with tractor trailers hauling massive loads of fresh cut trees to the neighboring mills for processing and passing them becomes tedious. Weaving in and out of the paths of trucks all day makes me hungry so I hit another roadside restaurant. Again the food is quite good and I gorge myself.
Making time gives way to taking photos and I log some miles to Capao da Canoa. The beach community boasts a healthy tourism economy and I am relieved it is still the off season. I call it quits for the day and seek lodging in the tranquilo town. But not before riding through Xangri-La.
Tomorrow I ride to Florianopolis, a popular island retreat where I will have some down time for bike maintenance and exploring beaches.
Tags: ADV, Adventure Travel, Brasil, Brazil, Capao da Canoa, Cassino, Florianopolis, Floripa, KTM 950, Rio Grande do Sul, SE, Super Enduro, Superenduro, Xangri-La