1. Hallo Brazil
DAY 246
The today's objective is to get on the other side of Iguazu river. I have a place already booked and it is exactly 14 km away. It shouldn't take too long to get there. However, it is in a different country.
Hello Brazil! I packed my belongings and I was on my way. The border is actually less than 1 km away. But I stopped at the gas station to fill my tank as the fuel is more expensive in Brazil. I also got a quick breakfast at the bistro there where I spent the last of my Argentinian pesos. I wasn't too early today because I cannot check into my hotel until the afternoon. That means the road towards the border is full of cars going for a day trip to the Brazilian side over the falls. In this part of the world, everybody gives motorcycles a break, so I will try my luck as well. I ballsely passed the entire lineup and went all the way to the front. And I noticed that all the people in motorcycles doing exactly the same thing. Nobody’s honking, nobody's getting out of the shape. They understand that while they are in their air-conditioned cars, your baking in the sun. I like this attitude.
I'm standing at the lineup at the front when the guy in the car besides me roledl down the window and asks me if I am from Canada. He obviously saw my license plate. We started to chat and he told me that he and his family are on vacation here and going to Brazil for a day to see the other side of the Falls. And they are from Surrey which is one of the Vancouver’s suburbs. Small world. I gave him one of my stickers so we can follow me online.
This border crossing here sees a huge amount of traffic for the obvious reasons. Unlike the other crossings, this place is a drive-through. You don't even get out of your vehicle. To get stamped out of Argentina takes only a few seconds. You continue further down to the customs where the guy collects one of my papers and that’s. Even though the lineup is long, the actual procedures took less than two minutes. All the crossings between Argentina and Chile are very well streamlined. Let's see how Brazil does it.
I crossed the bridge over Iguazu river which is the frontier between Argentina and Brazil. The Brazilian immigration and customs are situated a few hundred metres on the other side of the bridge. Right of the bat, the signs are not exactly clear. I asked two of the soldiers there where to go and they point me to the parking lot on the other side. Both guys are armed to their teeth, ready for combat. I park my bike and head for the immigration. There is a decent lineup, but it moves fairly quickly. It doesn't take long, and I have an entry stamp in my passport. Now the customs. The immigration guy points out a non-descriptive building. There are no signs anywhere. I asked the soldiers outside, where is the customs. There is another guy with them and he asks me what do I need? Well, I need to clear my bike with the customs I tell him. It is very difficult to communicate as nobody speaks English and very few locals speak Spanish and none speak English. My Portuguese is not existent. I know how to say thank you but I am saving that for when I get all my paperwork done. The guy tries to explain something to me, but I am not getting it. Then he takes me to his office which is actually the custom office. After a while, I understand what he's trying to tell me. He is the only customs officer at the border crossing. It looks like even Brazil has a labour shortage. He needs his boss to process my papers. I'm not sure why. I feel like this is the first time they've been dealing with a motorcycle. The problem is, he is telling me, that his boss is not here. He will be back in two hours. But he tells me that I can go to the town and come back in two hours. But he said don't go outside of the town. This is as cavalier an approach to customs as I have ever seen it anywhere in the world. OK, what can I do? I'll go to the town and I will get back in two hours to finish my paperwork. As I am walking towards my bike, the guy runs out of the office and calls me back. Oh oh, am I in trouble? Apparently not, but the boss just showed up. My guy started to explain something to him. He told me to follow him, and we went on the other side of the border complex to another customs building. He told something to one of the ladies there and told me to wait. After a few minutes, the lady started to work on my paperwork. Communication was again a challenge. With the help of Google translate we went through all the questions she was asking me. Then she took the paperwork and gave it to the Director of the customs in the next room who is actually finalizing and authorizing my customs documents. Again, I felt like this is the first time ever they had to deal with a motorcycle. All this stuff takes entire two minutes on the Argentinian side. Quite a difference. He was asking me whole bunch of questions like where are you gonna be staying, my detailed itinerary which I don't have and so on and so on. It was quite a process. He tells me that he will give me 10 day visa. I told him this is barely enough to get to my next border crossing in that time not to mention to see anything in Brazil. I asked him to give me two months visa. After a bit of chitchat, he said he's gonna give me four weeks. I told him again that it is not enough, Brazil is a big country. It took a while, but at the end we settled on 54 days. It was like shopping farmer’s market. I have never seen anything like this. Don’t ask me why 54, I don't know. He said it is for my security because my bike can break down or I can get sad. I wish I was kidding here. I'm not sure what he meant. He knew only few words in English, which was still way more than I know in Portuguese. Anyway, it was quite an experience to spend two hours with Director of customs. I'm sure he should have some more important stuff to do than dealing with one biker. When I told him my itinerary which didn't include any big city, he was quite pleased. He told me that under no circumstances should I ride to big cities like São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. He said that the crimes there are very bad at the moment. Not exactly the encouragement you want to hear in your first hour in the country. But it pretty much confirms everything every other Brazilian told me.
All the paperwork is done and I'm good to stay in Brazil till 20th of May. I don't have to deal with other customs for seven weeks. Brazil, here I come.
It is still too early to go to my hotel. I have a plan. I want to go and see the Itaipu Dam. It is the largest dam in Brazil, supplying power to Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. It supplies 19% of the Brazilian electrical requirements. It is only 20 km north of the town. I have it already in my GPS so it should be pretty straightforward to get there. Argentina supposed to have economic crisis, but right away I see much more poverty here in Brazil. I ride right through the downtown and I am on my way to the dam. There are many more bikes here than in Argentina. It is almost like being back in Colombia. And they all ride like it is a first lap of the MotoGP race. And they all try to race me. Unfortunately for them, their 250cc engines are no match for my 1250 cc. Also, there are many nasty speed bumps. And their suspensions are not as good as mine. They lose every single time. This is fun.
I'm getting closer to the dam and there is a huge gate in front of me. There are guards, armed to their teeth everywhere. It looks like you are coming close to a nuclear weapons site. I cannot ride any further. Those guys are guarding the dam. I'm supposed to park my bike, get on the bus, which would take me to the dam. Unfortunately, it is 34°C and I am melting in my riding gear. I've also no way to secure all my gear and leave it unattended in the parking lot. Therefore, I have to abandoned the idea to see the dam. Too bad, I really want to see it. What can you do? You can’t see everything in the world. I turned around and go back the same way I came in for my hotel. I will be there early, but hopefully they will have a room for me already.
And they did. I checked in and hauled my bags to my room. I cranked the air conditioning to the max and just chilled for a few minutes. I read more about the Brazilian side of the Falls. You cannot drive there. You have to take a bus. Fortunately, the entrance to the park is only about 500 m from my hotel. No need to ride my bike. I will just walk there. I’ve decided to go for there just to see where everything else is and where to go tomorrow. Also, I need Brazilian cash and there is an ATM machine at the park’s entrance. When I get there, I can see the scale of the operation there and it is huge. The buses, the barriers shepherding people to the ticket locations and buses, which will take them to the park are enormous. I went straight to the visitors office to ask a few questions. There were very helpful ladies who spoke very good English. That's a good start. They told me how and where to get my tickets. Also told me that I can beat the crowds coming here early before the sunrise. They have a tour, which will get me there before the main gates open and it also includes a breakfast. It is twice as expensive as regular fee, but I will take anything which will help me to beat the crowds. I cannot buy the ticket in advance. I have to be there in person. They open at 5:20. I will be there.