BRAZIL PART (1)
Chuy, Uruguay – Santa Vitoria Do Palmar, Brazil – 25 km
Brazil was one of the more relaxed border crossings, and a simple stamp in the
passport allowed entry into this new country. Our first day of cycling in Brazil came
with bucketing rain, and Santa Vitoria Do Palmar made a perfect spot to get out the
weather.
Amazingly enough, the town boasted a large lighthouse at the entrance. The
lighthouse was no more than a welcome gate as Santa Vitoria was located 16
kilometres inland from the coast. The ATM spat out a few Brazilian reals, granting a
comfortable night at Hotel Brasil, sporting an en-suite bathroom, decent breakfast
and Brazilian TV. The TV wasn’t very useful as the little Spanish picked up biking
through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay was replaced by Portuguese - our next
challenge. Still, it was evident it wasn’t merely raining in Santa Victoria but that the
entire area further north was flooded. TV further showed the earthquake and
tsunami in Japan - how horrific and there I was complaining about a spot of rain.
Ernest wanted to update his blog, and one more day was spent in Santa Victoria.