Author: StuartandTania

After a thoroughly enjoyable carnival experience we left the following morning in search of magical beaches and hopefully a little bit of surf.  The island of Ilabhela is divided by a fairly high mountain range which means the east coast beaches are typically only accessible by boat or long hikes through the jungle, there is however one beach, Castelhanos, which can be accessed by a 4wd vehicle.  The drive is absolutely spectacular, even if views are limited due to the jungle, as it climbs to well over 500m asl and descends the same again in the space of 15 kilometers. Images of being Robinson Crusoe for a few days are easily invoked when just after cresting the summit there is break in the jungle vegetation and you get a brief view of the beach tucked away in a big bay and totally surrounded by rainforest.

The reality is slightly different when you do reach the beach, at least for the daylight hours between 10:00 – 15:00.  The remoteness, adventure of getting there and picturesque nature of the bay make Castelhanos an ideal adventure tourism destination and means that everyday large groups of tourists arrive, either having been shuttled in over the said mountain pass or having come around the island on a boat tour, to enjoy lunch and Caipirinhas at the few restaurants on the beach which are operated by the local villagers. Once the day tourists had left we got to witness the more authentic side of life in the bay, including one young lady receiving driving lessons from her dad on the beach. Her learning curve was going to be steep, both literally and figuratively, as apart from the beach sand between the low and high tide marks the only other possible driving opportunity is the above-mentioned 4wd pass.

The second event that quickly shattered our ideas of pretending to be Robinson Crusoe for a few days was a little guy known as a borrachudo!   Unbeknown to us, Ilhabela is as famous for its scenery as it is for these little black flies which you only detect after they have bitten you and left a very itchy and swollen red mark, Stuart managed to initially avoid them by going surfing whereas they sneakily bit Tania while she sat on the beach.  The best solution to avoid being bitten, is citronella lotion and there is even a brand named “CitroIlha”.

When we had passed through the checkpoint at the start of the pass the guard had enquired how long we would stay in Castelhanos and as is usual our answer was “we don’t know but probably a few days”, however that evening  while we did our best to not scratch the bites it was a very easy decision to decide to leave the next day, the problem being you are not allowed to depart Castelhanos until 15:00 in the afternoon.   The reason for this is that because of the steep and narrow nature of the pass directional flow is regulated for safety. Not too many things scare us but 8 hours of daylight ahead and the accompanying borrachudos certainly had us anxious that night.

After driving over the pass we arrived just in time for “rush hour” on the ferry, the crossing to Ilabhela a week prior had been very rough due to the storm system around at the time, thankfully the channel and therefore crossing was much smoother this time and we could sit and relax with the windows down. In a country were not many people automatically speak English or are comfortable too, we have been quite surprised how many ferry workers do and on this ferry crossing, we once again experienced that.  With the vehicles all loaded and the ferry underway we were approached by one who started talking to us and then translating the conversation to the foot, bicycle and scooter riding passengers who were jam packed around us.  As the ferry docked on the mainland, one of these “listeners in” gestured to us from his scooter and then proceeded to hand over a very large bag of banana’s as a gift to ourselves. It was very frustrating to only be able to smile and say “muito obrigado” (thank you very much), especially when we realised he had given us all of his bananas and was now driving off with none!  Such kind gestures typify how welcome we have been made to feel in Brazil.

Hoping that we had put the barrachudos behind us we found a nice little campsite just before Ubatuba which had direct access to the beach, some waves and what appeared to be a nice chilled surfing culture.  Between stilted conversations with other campers and being able to people watch when the weekend rolled around we got to just enjoy and soak up everyday life for your average Brazilian and once again, can say we absolutely love it.  If it had not been for a patch of bad weather rolling in, our 5-day stay could easily have become 10.

Anyhow we had everyday chores to complete, like shopping, visiting a laundromat, paying for our cellphone data and getting a haircut for Tania.  Admin days like this are at present rather exhausting, for two simple but probably often underestimated reasons: firstly we are always carrying out these tasks in a new city with which we are not familiar and so most things are a struggle to find and then secondly you have to do everything in a language with which you have a grasp of about 5 key phrases, so a simple task like operating the self-help washing machine or tumble dryer becomes a major exercise in translation on the phone and is typically a two person job.  Thankfully our next stop, Itamambuca, was not too far out of town.

Itamambuca is a very funky little eco village with what appears to be a huge surfing culture, the bad weather had however arrived and with it some thumping swell and so not being familiar with the wave, Stuart took the cautious decision to stay out of the water. 

At this point in the journey we were getting close to Rio de Janeiro and were trying to figure out the logistics of how to manage a visit to the famous city.  We absolutely love the independence that Mr Jones gives us, together with the ability to visit places which are off the beaten tourist track but he does complicate life when you want to visit a big city in which there are naturally limited camping or even safe long-term parking options for a tall vehicle like him. An additional stress we were feeling was that practically every Brazilian we had met so far had warned us of the dangers of Rio and how careful you had to be driving there, in order to avoid the favelas and so forth.  Adding to the complexity was that the weather forecasts did not look great and we didn’t want to be visiting the iconic tourist landmarks of Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf when it was going to be wet and cloudy.  

And so we found ourselves stalling and killing time with not much to do in little places like Paraty, and ultimately getting frustrated.  On the positive side: this did allow us to do a bit more research into Rio in terms of where we could park Mr J, reasonably priced hotels and tour options for the main tourist attractions. When a reasonable weather window appeared to open up for a few days we were able to move quickly and drove into Barra da Tijuca which is suburb on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.   Based on our research we were hoping to leave Mr Jones at a camping spot called Fritz House while we stayed overnight in a hotel in Rio, however what no amount of research can tell you, is how difficult it was going to be to find Fritz House. All the apps we use showed the location to be the same but upon arrival there was just a small wooden pedestrian door through which Mr Jones would clearly not fit and no signage to indicate this was in fact the spot.  Having consulted our various sources of information (iOverlander, Google, Google maps, bookings.com, etc) we were left none the wiser in terms of a different address or contact details.  For the next hour or more we drove around and around the neighborhood, which happens to be on the side of a mountain, so in other words up and down some very steep roads much to Mr Jones disgust and our frustration! Just as we were about to give up we passed a gate (which had previously been closed) and spotted a camper van inside!  

At the last minute the following morning we changed our mind with regards taking the metro into town when we realised an Uber would cost only marginally more and eliminate quite some hassle (and risk of being robbed – even Fritz had warned us of the “dangers” in Copacabana) and so took a very easy commute into our hotel in Copacabana.  During the drive, first impressions with regards the dangers were quite the opposite as our driver had both front windows open and his phone in a cradle on the dash and we observed many people happily walking along the sidewalks chatting on their smartphones.

Having dropped our overnight daypack at the hotel we immediately hit the Copacabana promenade to take in the sights and again were pleasantly surprised, not only because of the environment but also by how cheap the Caipirinhas at the little beachfront kiosks/restaurants appeared to be.  They were nearly half the price of ones we had seen further south in far less touristy areas and so being doubting Thomas’s we thought that there had to be a catch like maybe there was no cachaca in them… Therefore when we saw a spot offering well priced plates of fried chips (our favorite beach side snack/lunch) and caipirinhas we had to stop and try.  Needless to say our doubts were baseless, so much so that we stopped back at the same kiosk later in the afternoon for another “quality check”.

We had booked a full day city tour that would allow us to see and tick-off all the must see sights and so the next morning was an early start for us as the tour operator only offered hotel pickups at certain hotels in the area, we had chosen one close to ours but still wanted to make sure we got there in advance of the designated time.  The walk went quicker than planned and so when we arrived with 30 minutes to spare we decided to take a short stroll around the neighborhood which turned out to be a fateful move as the bus driver, unbeknown to us arrived and left in the 20 minutes we were gone.  In the meantime, we were back standing on the street corner and getting more and more nervous that we had been conned as the minutes past the designated pickup time ticked over.  Eventually Stuart managed to get hold of the tour company and after a very heated exchange they offered to accommodate us on the following days tour, this was far from ideal as we had only booked a hotel for two nights and would mean we we would only finish early on the 3rd evening but thankfully as Mr J was only a relatively short Uber ride out of the city we figured we could return straight to him from the tour.

All clouds have a silver lining and, in this case, it allowed us another “free” day which we could use up for taking in sights like the Copacabana fort and Ipanema beach.  In addition, the weather had become quite cloudy which may have meant both Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf would have been shrouded in cloud and so not ideal for visiting whereas the next day had much better weather.

The following day, thankfully the pickup went as planned and we were able to join the “selfie taking” masses as we got shuttled from one attraction to the next.  Over the course of 9 hours we got to see: Rio Cathedral, Estrada steps, Macarena stadium, Carnival boulevard, Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf.   We are glad “we have been there and done that” but in the end feel like we have had more authentic experiences seeing the carnival on IlhaBela and the mosaic artwork near Sao Francisco Sul, to name a couple.

Our final stop at Sugar Loaf mountain gave us a great view of an encroaching storm, and the accompanying winds made the cable car descent interesting, and by the time we had been dropped back in Copacabana it was dark and raining heavily.  A few more anxious moments followed as we tried to get an Uber and the first four cancelled on us (probably because we were heading out of the city and away from their main business), so we were very relieved when the 5th driver accepted. Our relief was short lived however as the car was a proper skedonk (South African slang for a beat up old car), with a fuel gauge showing empty, windscreen wipers that hardly worked, lights that were candles and a serious grating of metal if the driver selected first gear which he naturally tried to avoid. Knowing that our destination was halfway up a mountain and fairly far away, we both subconsciously voiced concerns to each other about whether we would be getting home to Mr Jones that night, thankfully however we did.

Before we fled the big city, we had one more set of tasks to take care of, shopping for slightly high-end personal care items from “The Body Shop” and so forth together with a general stock up of freezer items which we had run down in anticipation of spending time away from Mr Jones.

The much feared, drive through Rio de Janeiro and northwards turned into a non-event, partly because we hit the road quite early on a Sunday and also because the combination of our GPS and Google maps running simultaneously meant we did not take any wrong turns and end up in a favella. Our destination for the day was 200km north, in a little spot called Arraial do Cabo which we had read was nicknamed the Caribbean of Rio state thanks to its white sand and crystal clear blue water.

Just as there is no common standard electrical plug type around the world, there is no common valve or thread size for LPG gas bottles.  It seems that there are even more variations for gas than there are for plug types, we were expecting this and had come as much prepared as possible.  Firstly, we have two bottles, to buy time for finding a place that can fill the main bottle and secondly, we have a bag full of potential adapters. When we first arrived in Uruguay we were very lucky as one of the adapters suited their thread type and the first place we tried filled gas and not only swopped bottles, so we quietly hoped that it could be as easy when our main bottle ran out here in Brazil.  After a day a day of driving around to multiple gas bottle depots and then hardware stores to see if they would fill or we could buy a suitable adapter Stuart eventually accepted defeat and purchased a Brazilian 5kg bottle and regulator, hoping that as it is a different shape to the South African one that we could, with some adaption, still fit it on to Mr Jones existing gas bottle bracket.

Our running around for gas had in the meantime brought us closer to the town of Buzios which Stuart had read had some decent surfing, unfortunately the camping was a rather long walk from the beach and also not that great so we decided on only one night.   Stuart got absolutely hammered as the waves were big and heavy when we arrived, thankfully the next day produced milder conditions and so we spent a lovely day on the beach before heading back to Arrial do Cabo.

In our nearly two months in Brazil this has been the first time we have “backtracked” on our route and headed South instead of North.  The reason was twofold, firstly by chance we had learnt that the next stage of the World Surf League Championship tour (WSL) would be taking place nearby and South Africa had two surfers who would be competing so we figured it would be fun to witness and also wave the flag in support.  The second reason was, that the time when we could apply for an extension on our visa was drawing near and Tania’s research showed you could do this at the local airport in Cabo Frio which was far more appealing than attempting it in a big city as we had done a month prior in Santos.

While we waited for the WSL event we made the most of the white sands and good weather n Arraial do Cabo, including pumping up our StandUp Paddle board (SUP) and making a trip to a nearby island.  After a fun paddle we chilled on the beach for a while and were just getting ready to carry the SUP back to camp for lunch when there was this massive BOOM and the SUP flew over our heads – it had delaminated at one of the seams and rapidly deflated.  It’s doubtful that it is repairable but for now we have put in back in the roof box and will keep our eyes open for places that repair the large inflatable power boats.

A couple of days prior to the start of the surfing competition we headed down to Saquarema hoping against hope that we would find somewhere to camp as we had read that 40 000 people descend on the little town each day and that most accommodation is booked up months in advance.  In addition, we had only been able to identify, online, two possible camping sites, both of which were very small.  Luckily for us, a new one was in the process of being developed which we passed as we drove in and they didn’t have a booking system running so had no idea at that stage how many people might come so we quickly secured a spot for the week.  The only challenge was they only had 100v electricity whereas we need 220v for our battery charger and the site was very shady but with some careful positioning we placed Mr Jones so that he would get at least 6 hours of sun each day, which we hoped would be adequate for our solar panels to keep the fridge battery charged.

We set an alarm (a rarity for us these days) on the morning of the first day of the competition so that we could get down to the beach in time for what we believed was the start time and not miss the first South African who was scheduled in one of the earlier heats. As it turned out we needn’t have been such eager beavers as the beach was practically deserted at that time and also the women heats take place first but it did mean we could secure prime positions right in front of the athletes change room and so could proudly display the flag as they exited for their heats. This we repeated for two days.

Each day the crowds swelled in size throughout the morning until there was literally no room between the incoming water and people which made for some amusing sights when a larger wave would roll up. Sadly, our boys didn’t do so well with only one of them getting through to the last 16 but it was a fun couple of days and incredible to observe the passion and feel the energy from the crowd when a Brazilian was surfing. 

It would appear we like to attend big and fun events at the end of each month we have spent in Brazil, last month it was the Carnival on Ilabhela island and this month the WSL event, it also meant that we were now in the window period that is allowed for requesting an extension of our tourist visa. So, with Saqaurema in our rear view mirror we popped back up to Arrial do Cabo, unlike last month when we tried to do it too early this time it was a piece of cake and within a few hours had been granted, which means we can stay in Brazil for a total of 6 months if we want. If our experiences of the first two months are any indication to go by, it is going to be a great further 4!

As always, below you can find links to additional items which complement this post:

Gallery: Brazil (June 2022)

Captain(s) Log: June 2022 (The highs and lows of life on the road)

Captain(s) Log: May 2022 (The highs and lows of life on the road)

Cost of Living analysis: Brazil – May & June 2022

Practical Information: Brazil (Visas & extensions, obtaining a local SIM card, etc)

Maintenance Log

Our first South American border crossing at Chuy (northern Uruguay) into Brazil was quite possibly the easiest we have ever had.  It is an interesting border crossing from the perspective that the town of Chuy sits in “no mans land” and enjoys a tax free status, so both Uruguayans and Brazilians travel there for cheap shopping and in doing so don’t actually pass through the border controls.    We of course need to ensure we got an exit stamp from Uruguay together with the cancellation of Mr Jones temporary import permit and then to obtain the opposite in Brazil.   The time taken for this was probably only 15 minutes or so, although Tania would have probably preferred the Brazilian side to take longer due to the customs officers “eye candy”…

Approximately 100km into Brazil the road passes through a nature area where it is possible to see the Capybara animal.  To describe a Capybara, you can either use our “HippySquared” analysis which says it’s like a Rock Hycinth/dassie on super steroid’s or a more official version which says it’s the largest rodent found in South America.  And they are large, roughly the size of teenage pig!

So we were cruising slowly, i.e. within the 60km speed limit applicable for this stretch,  keeping our eyes open and attempting to spot these oversized rodents all while being overtaken by every other vehicle and truck on the road, when up ahead we saw a small laybye and what looked like Capybara in the water below so we pulled over.  Also in the laybye was a Volkswagen Beetle (fusca in Portuguese) with a “half beetle” trailer attached.  

When we stopped we noticed that the bonnet was open on the fusca and so being Land Rover owners who by necessity always “pay it forward” for that just in case future moment we naturally asked if they had broken down and needed help, which fortunately they hadn’t nor did they need help.  We did however get chatting and found kindred spirits, them interested in our journey and us learning that that very fusca and trailer had been many places including Moscow for the 2018 soccer World Cup. Before we drove off contact details were swapped and an invitation received to visit them at their house in Pelotas,  if we passed that way in the next week.

Our small attempt at paying it forward, most definitely paid huge dividends over the next 48 hours.  Firstly because they were able to assist us in getting a local SIM card for our cellphone which without their assistance may otherwise have been impossible due to Brazil’s requirements for registering these.  And secondly as our initial attempts at getting a SIM card had failed, we were incredibly fortunate to find their house based on a WhatsApp pin drop which naturally requires data/Wi-Fi when navigating and of which we had none!  Along the way we did one more good deed by helping to extract a car that had reversed into a ditch – paying it forward for next time.

With no cell signal and therefore limited Google translate the entire recovery was made with hand signals as can be seen in this video

Nauro, Gabi & Sophia made us feel like family and as mentioned were invaluable in sorting us out with a SIM card so when Gabi asked if we could give a talk at Sophia school regarding our journey, it was a wonderful opportunity to return the favour and possibly give some teenagers an alternative view of the meaning of success. What followed was another unique and fun experience which we won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

It would have been easy to stay an extra night after the school talk, as we are sure, there were some of their friends we were yet to meet, but Brazil is huge and we have limited visa time so after the school talk we made a hasty exit.  Hasty because there was a weather warning out for a severe storm system developing and as we drove out of town, it looked like Armageddon was approaching in the rear view mirrors with huge dark clouds covering the sky and a massive tailwind to push Mr Jones along.

Over the course of the next few days we wandered northwards and slightly inland, trying to keep ahead of the storm although it caught up with us most evenings which meant a few nights of cooking and chilling inside instead of being outside as we prefer.  The inland section in this southern most state of Brazil is dominated by a mountain range which rises to 1000m within roughly 100km of the coast so apart from having many spectacular roads it is also incredibly lush and wet.  We had been told that the town of Gramada  and it’s surrounding areas was very pretty and styled along a Swiss mountain ski village.  It didn’t disappoint in terms of description or in the fact that, just as for a fancy ski village, it was very touristy and full of beautiful people competing for selfies in front of the various attractions. We stopped, took the obligatory photos and then moved on as Mr Jones (plus ourselves or at least Stuart in his shorts) looked quite out of place.

Leaving Gramada we drove the back roads along the high Plateau toward Cambara do Sul, where we made a spontaneous decision to visit the Fortalesa  Canyon.  The views across the canyon and edge of escarpment are quite spectacular but somehow we were more entranced by the little things like a pretty little cascade.  The detour meant it would be a hard push to get to the spot we had in mind for an overnight stay so instead we pulled off the road at the top of a pass which heads back down to the lowlands and spent a peaceful night camped behind some bushes and hidden by the swirling mist. This pass is dirt and sees practically no traffic after dark so we probably didn’t have anything to worry about but we felt better being hidden and slept really well.

As we were enjoying the scenery and spectacular roads, we decided to descend from our overnight spot, skirt along the bottom of the mountain range and then ascend another pass, the spectacular Serra da Rocinha,  before seeking out an overnight camp spot.  This was not our best decision as the GPS led us along some interesting tracks at the bottom of the mountain, to the point were we were convinced there was no way through but not wanting to do an extensive backtrack we persisted as the track got narrower and narrower but thankfully did eventually pop out of the forest near the tar road at the bottom of the Serra da Rocinha pass. This is a spectacular tar pass but sadly is still a work in progress which we discovered near the top when the tar ends and there is a boom across the track ahead.  Patiently parked in front of the boom were a couple of local cars, so we figured that perhaps the next section was an alternating one way track and we joined the group but after 30 minutes of no action and with rain clouds rapidly moving in, Stuart hopped out and with the help of google translate attempted to discover if and/or when the road would open.  The resulting answers probably got lost in translation but it was either going to be in 3 hours or at 15:00 and also the rain possibly would influence this opening.  So being none the wiser for asking and not sure what awaited on the other side, a quick decision was made to head back to the lowlands and rather find a camp spot towards the coast.

The decision to head towards the coast was a good one, as it turned out that a weather warning had been issued for severe rain over the next few days so being up in the highlands would have been a wet and miserable affair.  Fortunately for us the campsite we found had an indoor lounge area in which we could relax and when bored play with the very cute puppy that lived there.  Stuart did manage to sneak in one quick surf before the rains arrived and thus log his first “Brazilian board meeting” of the trip.

When the rain started to ease up, but with the seas still a mess from the storm, we took the opportunity to head north to Florianopolis and the famed island of Santa Catarina. Ilha Santa Catarina is a popular tourist destination and renowned for it’s beaches and scenery,  we however were not that awed by it. This may be because it is better suited to tourists of the rich and famous or wannabe famous kind who are there to throw money around for a lounger on the beach and a day of expensive cocktails followed by expensive dinners in order to be instagram worthy rather than independent travellers in an old Landrover.  The number of “multi-story” motor yacht parking facilities we passed was staggering and we can only imagine that in the summer time the island must heave with pretentiousness.  

In our quest to find a nice sandy beach to chill on and ideally surf from, we moved off the island and up the coast to Porto Belo and the peninsula of Bambinhos.  It was another spectacular day of narrow twisting roads, interspersed with small coves and beaches but we struggled to find somewhere that tickled our fancy or we felt was suitable for us to stop and spend a few nights in Mr Jones.  A common practise for many travellers is to overnight in a side street or in the beach parking lot, this they can do because they usually have a van setup of some sort and so are perhaps slightly inconspicuous whereas when we lift Mr Jones roof he makes quite the statement of “hello I am here to sleep”.  Eventually, feeling more than a little frustrated with our lack of success we pulled into what can best be described as an RV parking lot and desperately hoped that our neighbours to be did not snore.

In respect to access to the beach and promenade this parking lot was fantastic as it was right on it, but it did leave us feeling liking zoo animals as Mr Jones drew attention and more than one evening stroller may have gone home that night with a crick in their neck.  On the positive side, many people did stop to interact and apart from continuing to be amazed at the general friendliness of Brazilians we did get to improve our pronunciation of “Desculpe, eu não falo português” (Sorry, we don’t speak Portuguese).

Thankfully our neighbours did not snore and we woke up feeling quite refreshed and ready for another day of seeking out “our kind of” beach and so made a short one hour hop further north to a little village called  Estalareinho. The beach was exactly what we had been looking for, relatively wide open sandy sections to lie on,  sandwiched in a bay which on both ends was bookended by spectacular hills.  The only downside was there were no waves for surfing but it was a place we felt we could stay a while and rest after many days of continuous movement.

Leaving Estalareinho we continued to be amazed by the spectacular scenery and roads as we wound our up and around various headlands, all blanketed in dense rain forest, on our way to Ipapepa and then further north via a ferry or two to Sao Francisco.  Here we discovered a surfing spot (Prainha) within walking distance from the campsite that had some appealing waves.  The camp attendant was both fascinated with Mr Jones and Africa so over the course of the next couple of days we alternated between long winded google translate conversations explaining Africa and then taking time out for some surfing and time in the sun.  As an added bonus, a surf photographer caught some nice shots of Stuart in the water.

Next door to the campground was a small soccer field whose dedicated caretaker not only maintained the field and surrounding access road but had also over the years built an incredible garden with a variety of mosaic artworks, as can be seen in the below video. Each evening he would come down, put out a speaker and pump out the music (anything from eighties pop to classical) while setting about maintaining the surrounding environment, his dedication was truly inspirational.  

We had learnt from some fellow campers in the campground of a spectacular road called the “Estrada da Graciosa” which is an ancient cobblestone road that climbs from sea level to 900m in only 13km and as we anyhow had to divert inland due to an impassable coastal section we chose to take this scenic route.   We chose to drive over it on a Sunday, which meant it was very busy with local tourists out enjoying the route whether it was via bicycle, motorbike or car and  there was quite a party atmosphere at the top which was once again a reminder of how Brazilians always seem to have a joy for life.

That evening we pulled into a large gas station and truck stop for our first experience of Brazilian gas station camping.  The one we had chosen was very large and also catered to the long distance busses, this meant there was a very large cafeteria where you pay for your food by weight and bathrooms with showers.  We tucked ourselves around the back, slightly away from the main truck parking and settled in for what turned out to be a surprisingly restful evening.         

Over the course of the next couple of days we covered the distance to Santos which is on the coast next to Sao Paulo, Mr Jones had overnighted in the port of Santos while on the RORO from South Africa but we did not stop here as a trip down memory lane for him but rather as we were hoping to extend our 90 day visa to 180 days. Based on the information we had from iOverlander there was an office here at a military base where you could do this which is how we found ourselves driving up to a heavily guarded airforce base and the bemused looks of the guards on duty.   While struggling to use our phone to translate why two foreigners in a strange Land Rover with the steering wheel on the wrong side wanted entry to the base, one of the guards realised we spoke English and interrupted our pained efforts with “you speak English?”. What followed was another fantastic experience we wont easily forget, we got directed through the security barricades and were then assisted by the English speaking guard and his Captain as they tried to find out where in fact we needed to go.  With new directions in hand we headed off for another ferry crossing and then a traverse of Santos to the Policia Federal offices, sadly though our efforts failed – simply because we had been eager beavers and tried to extend the visa too early.  We shall have to try again in 40 or so days time.

By now we were both pretty tired from the many days of constant movement and really needing to find a spot were we could stop and chill for a few days, the coastline north of Santos is littered with little coves all of which had the potential for a lengthy stay but sadly there were either no real camping options and when there were, they were either closed or ridiculously priced. After another long day in the car we finally ended up parked opposite a skate park in the town of Sao Sebastiao. The good thing with this location was that there were other squatters like us and it was only 200m from a police station so seemed like it should be safe. The other “squatters” were all in vans or Kombis so far more inconspicuous than Mr Jones and being still newbies at this urban wild camping thing we were quite nervous that the police would in fact move us along but when they had driven past for the 3rd time without even pausing we relaxed and once again slept surprisingly well.

Despite a relatively good nights sleep our sense of humour quickly left us the following morning when we woke to wet and cold weather and a failed linear actuator!  The actuators are a recent new addition to Mr Jones and have been a game changer in terms of opening and closing the roof in that they make light work of a very heavy roof but with the one now stuck in the up position we could not close the roof, eventually Stuart cut the wires to it and unbolted it from the brackets so  that it was not obstructing the roof movement. 

With the roof finally closed, the goal for the day become to simply find a campsite were we could stop for a few days and rest.  Thankfully just across the channel in front of our overnight parking was the island of Ilabhela which appeared to have a few good options for just that, all that stood in our way was a rough ferry crossing which before we could board required the hiding of our gas bottle inside Mr Jones – not our idea but rather that of the ferry payment clerk in order to avoid waiting for a dangerous goods ferry…

Over the course of the next few days, we remained stationary, the sun come out and we enjoyed sundowners on the beach below camp and in the process we regained our joy for travelling  and Brazil.  As an added bonus after dismantling the actuator motor, drying it out and applying new grease, it worked perfectly and was re-installed.

When we had disembarked from the ferry we had seen signs advertising a Carnival and after a little bit of research discovered it was taking place in the historical town district of the island and that there was a small camping/parking area within walking distance.  The carnival was relatively small and not touristy in any manner but nonetheless it was quite the spectacle (as can be seen in this video) and a perfect end to our first month in Brazil.  

Below are links to various other pages “supporting” this chapter in our life:

Overnight stops / our route

Gallery: Brazil (May 2022)

Captain(s) Log: May 2022 The highs and lows of life on the road

Cost of Living analysis: Brazil May 2022

Feeling invigorated after having made the decision to “travel” a little bit by going to Mozambique, we headed up the Natal South coast with a tail wind for a change and so were able to stop in Ballito before lunch for some shopping (mostly wine as it is prohibitively expensive in Moz) and to purchase the required Mozambique 3rd party insurance for Mr Jones. With tasks divided, Tania headed off for the shopping and Stuart to purchase insurance.  After having purchased insurance Stuart was wandering back towards Mr Jones and looking for Tania in various shops when he spotted a person with a big great white beard peering inside Mr Jones and taking pictures. It took a moment to realise that the newest member of Mr Jones fan club was none other than the great African explorer, Kingsley Holgate!  If you are unsure who he is, check this Wikipedia link .  Unfortunately, Stuart was too slow to get across the car park and greet him, it would have been wonderful to grab a selfie with such a well known Land Rover fanatic…

The following day after a hassle-free drive further up the Natal coast we crossed into Mozambique and experienced two new firsts for us.  The first one being, passing through the tiny Kosi bay border post which was by far our easiest entry into Mozambique, ever, and the second taking our first Covid test.  It is hard to believe that despite all the moving around, within SA, that we have done since the start of the pandemic and therefore in theory being higher risk this is the first PCR test we have taken in 23 months.  Thankfully we both “failed”, i.e. tested negative.

The closest town to the border and a very popular one with South Africans as a holiday destination is Ponta de Oura, we however were not that impressed by the vibe and the campsite was part of the main thoroughfare to the beach so we quickly moved on to a smaller village a little further up the coast called Ponta Malongane. The campsite there is huge but right next to the beach and has many trees and coastal forest which both makes you feel closer to nature and also provides shelter from the wind and sun, we immediately felt very relaxed.  We rounded off a very good day with a swim and some fun body surfing in the crystal-clear water just in front of camp, although we did have to curtail the fun as Mozambique has a rather strange Covid regulation in place that requires everyone to be off the beaches by 4pm.

Every country in the world at some time or another has implemented a regulation to manage the pandemic that probably didn’t make much sense but we are firm believers that if you are a visitor to a country or region then you should abide by the rules and/or customs of that area and thereby respect (and perhaps help protect) the very people you are visiting.  We were thus left gob smacked when over the course of the next two days we had conversations with 2 different sets of traveler’s from Europe who openly told us of their disdain for Covid regulations in general and in the second case how for all the borders they had crossed in Southern Africa that they forged their PCR tests certificates. In the case of the latter we calculated they had probably spent in excess of USD10k renting the 4wd they were travelling in but justified their forgery based on the cost and futility of the PCR test!

After a couple of pleasant days at Ponta Malongane, we pointed Mr Jones northward for the relatively longish trek (650km), to our favorite beach in Mozambique: Tofo.  This included a first for us, crossing the spectacular, 3km long, Maputo – Katembe suspension bridge and then a traverse through Maputo proper.  A couple of quick stops were made in Maputo to draw money and source a local SIM card.  In South Africa, even we can do 650km in a single day in Mr Jones if we want too, due to the good roads and ability to maintain a relatively high average speed but in Mozambique the main road north passes through many villages and in each one the speed limit drops to 60km/h so it is far more practical to split such a distance over two days which is exactly what we did.  A late afternoon arrival at Sunset beach, saw us enjoying sundowner R&R’s (Rum & Raspberry) on the deck overlooking the Indian ocean.

An early start the following morning saw us in Tofo before lunch where we were pleasantly surprised to find that Fatima’s Backpackers was still operational.  It was time to settle in for what we hoped would be a very pleasant 3 weeks of a simple routine: wander onto the beach after breakfast for some sun & surf, then on our way back to camp passing through the local fresh produce market for some fresh pau (bread rolls) and vegetables or fruit for lunch.  In the afternoon rinsing and repeating, if we felt like it or just chilling by Mr Jones.   The only thing we wouldn’t be able to totally enjoy was the spectacular sunset Tofo beach enjoys, thanks to the 4pm curfew but that was a small price to pay for being in paradise. It was quite amusing to watch how each day at 4pm a relatively large contingent of police would arrive on the beach to blow their whistles and shepherd the surfers and beachgoers out of the water and off the sand.

We did have one concern, a large cyclone was developing off the coast of Madagascar and heading towards the Mozambique Channel, sometimes these cyclones make it down to the Tofo/Inhambane area with devastating results but the forecasts seem to show it would stay offshore which we were obviously holding thumbs for.

Day 3 in Tofo was Tania birthday and we were really looking forward to an evening out at an exquisite little Japanese restaurant called Sumi which just so happens to be run by a school friend of Tania’s and his Japanese wife.  Their food is divine and that alone would have made for a great birthday but then an even better birthday present arrived, in the form of an email from a shipping agent to say that there was a RORO vessel to South America calling in Durban during the first week of March with space for Mr Jones and were we interested?   It felt poetic that in the country were 14 years prior, we had come up with the idea to travel the world by vehicle and where we had in fact started the journey in 2019,  we finally got news that our plans could get back on track.

In the campsite with us was a German couple, Ruth & Jeurgen, who were currently winding down their time in Africa but had 10 years prior travelled South America and we really enjoyed receiving some first-hand information on South America even if it was a little dated.  They were also very keen to do an ocean safari which is something we have always thought we should do but in all our visits hadn’t, so we agreed to accompany them on one and help to make up the minimum numbers required. Unfortunately, though while the cyclone had stayed far offshore it was still creating very rough seas and so Ruth & Juergen kept having to extend their stay while waiting for a suitable day.  In the end the wait was well worth it as we had a couple of fantastic hours out on the ocean getting to snorkel with a couple of Whale sharks and Giant Manta rays.

This video captures some of the snorkelling action

After just 10 days in Tofo we started the journey back to Durban having decided to rather get back early and have plenty of time to prepare everything for the shipment rather than be stressed and short of time, we were both super excited and nervous at the same time.

The decision to get back early was a very good one although it didn’t save us from the stress.  The first major moment of stress was when Stuart was about to do a final service and discovered a major oil leak down the side of the engine block, thankfully it turned out to be not too serious and only required the changing of an exhaust manifold gasket.

Our second big stress come in the form of the shipping agents.  We had gathered from a number of sources that shipping an overland vehicle is never easy and rarely smooth sailing but were not prepared for what in our opinion amounted to incompetence and arrogance: almost every important communication or document had errors on it, the submission to customs was done wrong  and without our approval (and only corrected when we pointed this out), we were given incorrect information about timing of customs inspections and when delivery to the port would be made, etc, etc.   With only 24 hours until the vessel was due to depart Durban and a critical customs inspection still not scheduled, it appeared next to impossible that we would make the shipment and so we set about cancelling airline tickets and losing our cool with the shipping agent. Somehow 12 hours later we got the news Stuart could take Mr Jones to the port and that all was on track.

We always expected the shipment process to be stressful (simply because Mr Jones is our house and “everything”) but we never anticipated it being as bad as it was. It is not an experience we want to put ourselves through anytime soon but hopefully we have learnt some valuable lessons as to what to watch out for and demand,  when we next ship Mr Jones across an ocean.  The Captain(s) logs (at the bottom of this post) for February and March give more detailed insight into our emotions and frustrations during this time.

Only once we got news that the vessel had actually sailed with Mr Jones tucked into its bowels did we set about re-booking tickets and getting excited about the adventure being underway.  The fun and games though were not over yet, as we ran into one more bureaucratic hurdle at the airport.  Our research had not indicated that Argentina required a return airline ticket for entry as a tourist but as we were to find out, the airlines do, in order to cover their backsides in case the country customs request it upon arrival.  We had only booked a one-way ticket as when we do fly from South America it most likely will be from an entirely different country and most definitely after the visa period for the country we were flying too had expired (we will have left in time with Mr Jones..).  No amount of discussion and showing shipment documents for Mr Jones or a rough itinerary would change the check-in counter staff’s mind and so we ended up scrambling to buy another one-way ticket (which we hoped we could cancel on arrival) just to enable us to board the plane.  This in itself was not a smooth process (and a race against time to ensure we didn’t meet the check-in cutoff time) as the internet was acting up but given that this blog is being written from South America,  all eventually ended well and we boarded our flight to Argentina.

Gallery: Mozambique 2022 & Shipping

Below are links to the “Captain(s) log” which is our attempt to reflect the realities of daily life (emotions, good times, bad times, frustrations, etc) on the road

Captain(s) Log: February 2022

Captain(s) Log: March 2022

The end of our busy week in Johannesburg brought up the end of October and time to head back to Natal for a planned month of upgrades to Mr. Jones and getting ready for Devon & Hannah holiday to visit us over Christmas.  We were feeling quite tired from all the running around and socializing so decided to split the 600km journey in two by stopping off halfway at new destination for us, Spionkop Nature reserve and dam.

The facilities are very basic but the setting of the dam is spectacular and so we very quickly decided to stay an extra day which could have turned into a few more if our Standup Paddleboard hadn’t developed a leak (another job added to the list for November).

Feeling a little rested from our mini holiday we followed the backroads across the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains as we headed back to the farm and our base for the foreseeable future as we tackle jobs and await the arrival of Devon & Hannah.  

Throughout November we followed an approach of popping down to Durban for a surf and perhaps lunch on the promenade if the weather and waves were good interspersed with ticking off jobs big and small. The most significant job and upgrade that we are most proud of is the automation of the roof opening on Mr. Jones.  We carry a lot of weight on the roof and have upgraded the gas struts that help to push it up but it still required a lot of initial human muscle power to get the process going, which is fine so long as Stuart is not sick or injured.  It had worried us for a while that Tania could not open the roof if required and we had been looking around for solutions including asking the manufacturers if they had any solutions.  Stuart had come across the concept of using linear actuators and so when in Johannesburg we had visited a supplier and purchased two.  At the time of purchase everything was very much a gamble as we couldn’t accurately assess the force required to lift the roof or whether we could attach the actuators to Mr. Jones in such a manner as to use them in a “linear” motion.  The wannabe engineer in Stuart was not deterred and so over a few days we lifted and dropped the roof a number of times as we tried to figure out the best method of installation. Being on the farm helped a lot in this process with both access to the brain of Johan and a well-equipped workshop where we could fabricate brackets and modify as we progressed.

The end result is that while it may not be the neatest solution we have a very functional system which can now lift the roof with the flick of a switch.  For a more detailed breakdown of the installation, see this page under the section Mr Jones

As the end of November neared our excitement was growing real as Devon & Hannah long awaited holiday to SA drew closer only to be shattered when South Africa reported the discovery of the COVID Omicron variant and the world reacted with knee jerk reactions to impose bans on all travel to and from SA.  See the Captain(s) log from this time for an insight into our anger and despair.

A less successful job during this period was trying to get to the bottom of a possible overheating issue Mr. Jones was having, while we didn’t think it was a real issue it was concerning as the OEM temperature gauge occasionally showed an increase in temp.  The reason we didn’t think it was a major issue is we also have a digital aftermarket gauge which measure engine block temperatures and this was largely behaving.  Nonetheless it was concerning and we would prefer to have both gauges working as designed which meant that piece by piece Stuart removed and repaired or replaced parts of the cooling system and all along the process the problem persisted. The further he dug the more it looked like an electrical/earth fault but despite changing earth wires and so forth the issue persisted, leaving one accountant/wannabe mechanic very confused.

Having had enough of working on the coolant topic and needing to clear our heads after the Omnicron debacle we took a mini holiday down the South Coast aiming to be away until the beginning of the Christmas holiday season and imposition of exorbitant rates by the caravan parks. As an example, the park we visited charges R150 per person per day practically all year but for the Christmas period this jumps to a minimum of R950 per day per site.

By the middle of December, we were back at the farm and expecting to have a quiet Christmas when finally, some form of sanity prevailed and the “developed” world recognized that the Omicron travel bans were pointless and the UK scrapped theirs.  Sadly, and most annoyingly they did this on the very day that Devon would have originally arrived in South Africa but with the bans announced 3 weeks prior we had already cancelled all flights and other reservations.   

Within hours, Devon had rebooked a flight out for the following day and we spent the next 24 hours frantically trying to resurrect the local flights and accommodation originally booked. Unfortunately, because of all the chaos caused, Hannah was only going to be able to join us just before New Year but at least she was still going to be able to come and we would get 4 weeks with Devon and 2 weeks with them as a couple.

An anxious wait still ensued as there was still the small matter of passing a PCR test before any flights could be boarded but thankfully both did test negative and so the holiday finally took place.  The first ten days were a chilled affair as we just caught up on life, went to the beach and out for a few meals and of course over indulged on Christmas day.

New Year was spent in Johannesburg, mostly enjoying and being spoilt by the extended Goosen family which naturally involved introducing Hannah to the art of a South African braai, for a person prior to the visit was not a big meat fan she did really really well!

Hannah had only expressed one big desire for her part of the holiday and that was to see elephants in the wild.  In principle this is not a big ask but as Africans we know how difficult these giants can sometimes be to find when driving around in the bush, so when planning the trip we had weighed up options for game reserves and eventually decided that as a spoil and treat for all of us we would go to a private reserve in the Waterberg region.  Our time at Clifftop Lodge in Welgevonden was exactly as we had hoped and it was so fantastic to experience the joy of first sightings with “fresh eyes”.  Although after the first two game drives we were a little concerned that we may still not “deliver” the desired elephant sightings as the resident herd had not been seen for a few days.  Thankfully on the evening of the second day signs of elephants were spotted moving up a narrow valley and to add to the excitement a huge thunderstorm was raging all around us and the adolescents in the herd were less than happy, delivering a few mock charges for effect!  A pretty epic and exciting way to see your first elephants in the wild…  

The following morning we got to see another smaller herd and get really close to one bull in a much more relaxed setting.   Other “less significant” sightings included Leopard, Lion, Cheetah, Black & White Rhino and all the usual antelope.

After a leisurely cruise back to Johannesburg, we dropped the “kids” at the airport as they were on their way to Cape Town for a few days and we drove back to Durban where they would fly too after Cape Town.

In between all of the above, we had started to request quotes for shipping in the hope that South America would open its borders to Africans soon (they also locked us out due to Omnicron) and that perhaps we could ship mid-February and get our own adventure back on track. A combination of the borders remaining closed and a lack of vessels sailing the route we wanted meant that by the end of January there was still no light at the end of the tunnel and so we made a last minute decision to head into Mozambique for a month and have some fun.  It was one of our best decisions in a while but that is a story for the next blog post.

As always below are links to:

Gallery: Welgevonden

Captain(s) Log: November & December 2021

Captain(s) Log: January 2022

Maintenance Log