Brazil - first days
- kmanhartsberger
- Jan 24
- 2 min read
This was just another border crossing, we thought, and by now we would know what was required and how to manage it.
Well, not so fast! The crossing was from Paraguay, and entering via the Mundo Novo crossing. Leaving Paraguay was easy, and entering Brazil seemed to not happen. It didn't help that Portuguese is not a language we master, and in addition there wasn't anyone to ask. There was after a while, and we were told that the immigration was in the next city. At customs they swatted us away, like not wanting to have anything to do with us. We could only carry on, and at a petrol station in the next city we learned that we needed to go to the Federal Police Office, and they told us where to find it. A few minutes later we were there, and lined up waiting until somebody spoke English and took care of our passports. We got entry stamps, and the car was to be counted as one of us, so there was no need for any special procedure for it. First time the car was treated as if it didn't exist, although we were told it has 90 days, the same as us, to stay in Brazil. Always something new to learn.
Our first drive took us south, to Foz do Iguaçu, where we were going to see the Iguazú Falls. The falls belong in the main to Argentina, but in order to actually see them you have to go to Brazil. There are activities around the falls in Argentina, but nothing like the view you'll get from Brazil. We had a guide taking us the following day and it was an amazing experience. We were both surprised by the number of falls and the size of them and the area. The guide told us about the local flora and fauna, and all sorts of stories about nature and general life in Brazil. A very pleasant day indeed.
We then set out to get to the most southern place we will visit in Brazil, Porto Alegre. It was a long drive so we stayed over night in Chapecó.
We took a taxi tour in Porto Alegre, and it turned out to be very worthwhile as we learned about the history of the city and saw the main places of interest. We went to the local market and had the best cup of coffee so far, with Brazilian coffee well prepared in a nice café. One historic event, the war between Paraguay on the one side and the three Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay on the other, is changing somewhat depending on which side you hear the story from. Whatever, some of the fighting went on in Porto Alegre, and they have an arc the triumph to commemorate both that war and the Brazilian involvement in WW2.
Once we leave Porto Alegre, we will be on our way north. It is not easy to decide exactly which route to go to cover South America, and Harold has puzzled together a plan that works very well so far. It involves some zigzagging but we don't need to go back on ourselves the same way we came.
