Sunday Mar. 16, 2008
Leaving Parati was difficult because it was so beautiful, but the dirty campground was not cheap and I was looking forward to a solution to Buzz's backfiring with this silly fuel. Some of the explosions were quite strong, and I thought one recently had blown the airbox right off the engine. They were happening more frequently too and I was beginning to worry that they would damage the engine before I could get out of Brazil.
I'd asked my friend Javier with Suzuki Colombia to help me find a dealer in Brazil that was capable of helping me with this problem, and the next day in Parati I received an E-mail from Carlos, a service engineer at the Suzuki factory in Sao Paulo inviting me to visit. We spoke a few times before I left Parati and Carlos was extremely helpful, but in the end when he couldn't convince me to enter Sao Paulo, he provided me with the name of a dealer in Rio de Janeiro where I was headed next.
Without question, the most difficult and frustrating part of this trip is rolling into a strange place and trying to find accommodations. It can transform even the most peaceful monk into a raging lunatic. And Rio turned out to be the worst so far for me. With its one-way streets, overpriced and unfriendly accommodations, early darkness, intense heat and humidity I spent the worst 5-6 hours of my life trying to find my way around to a reasonable bed.
The next day I didn't even want to touch Buzz. I walked along the famous Copacabana & Ipanema beaches where all the sun worshippers and beach volleyball players hang out in the intense sun. I also tried to find a decent restaurant, store and Internet connection, but didn't have much luck with any of them and was left feeling frustrated again by this big city.
As something I've wanted to do since I started this trip, I decided to take in a huge football (soccer) game. It was the final match between two Rio teams in the world's largest football stadium, and my hostal had organized a group so I jumped in. It was incredible! Somewhere around 84,000 rowdy Brazilians (and a couple of tourists) nearly filled the huge stadium, which shook and bounced in harmony with the crowd's thunderous chants. I have to admit I probably wouldn't have gone alone because of the sheer number of people there.
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Actually, I was more interested in solving Buzz's backfiring problems than anything else in Rio, and so I didn't waste any more time before heading over to Ego Suzuki where the owner, Manuel Vechina, was expecting me. I wasn't there 5 minutes and the friendly guys from the service department dropped what they were doing and started working on Buzz. I was hoping they could connect a computer to the electronic control module and make a simple electronic adjustment allowing Buzz to work with their gas, but they didn't have a computer and I've since learned that because Buzz is a 2002 model, he doesn't have the necessary computer connector anyway. They removed the throttle bodies and cleaned them, removed the fuel injectors and ultrasonic cleaned them, changed the spark plugs to a cooler temperature type, changed the air filter and tie-strapped the airbox down to the engine (helping it to not blow off when it backfires). They told me they all agree that Brazilian gas is bad and it's difficult even for their models to run smoothly with it.
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I took Buzz out for a short test ride to see if their changes made any difference. That's when my whole trip just about ended.
I got caught up in a bunch of traffic and made a stupid mistake landing me right in the back of a parked car - right in front of another Ego Suzuki location! Having flown over the bike and car and between a concrete wall and pole, I remember lying on the concrete sidewalk on my back for a few seconds doing a quick inventory of all my senses. Everything seemed to be working so I stood up and I was relatively fine. God was obviously riding with me that day.
I only hurt my thumb and knee, and incredibly, aside from the forks, Buzz wasn't looking too bad either. But the car (obviously made of recycled beer cans) was badly damaged. Oddly, the car ended up belonging to one of the guys in the second dealership, but Vechina showed up and reassured me that everything was going to be alright. This didn't look good and I kept thinking my trip was over right then and there, but Vechina dealt with everything like he was my very own brother. He spent hours dealing with the troublesome police and their annoying attempts to make a problem out of my now expired International Drivers License (which I completely forgot was only valid for a year because in 17 months on the road I've never used it). But after paying them a little money we received our copy of the accident report and they left. Then he talked to his employee Adrienne about his car - who was very understanding about the whole thing - and they decided all I needed to do was pay his deductable and it would be fixed in a few days. That was fine with me and just left me wondering how to get new forks for Buzz. But Vechina insisted they could be repaired, so I let them try.
The next day I was pretty sore so another of Vechina's awesome staff (Osmar) spent hours interpreting for me at a clinic while I was checked over. The x-rays showed a slight fracture in my left thumb and I was fitted with a temporary cast to leave on for 3 weeks, and told to ice and raise my badly swollen right knee 3 times a day.
In the end everything turned out fine just like he said, and Vechina has become my new hero. It's impossible to describe how it feels to be in trouble in a foreign culture, unable to communicate clearly, and then having a new acquaintance reach out a sincere and helping hand. Vechina remembers what it was like when he first came to Brazil from Portugal when he was 17 and worked hard to open the first Suzuki dealership, and he obviously hasn't forgotten now that he's the largest dealer.
Four days after the accident I removed the cast from my thumb and was able to continue my trip - thanks to the good people at Ego Suzuki in Rio de Janeiro.
While I was in Rio I tried to get a visa for Venezuela (something I wouldn't need if I was flying in). And even though I had previously contacted their consulate in Toronto to find out what the requirements were (and had all that I could with me), they refused to give me one because I didn't have a letter from my employer (obviously, because I don't have an employer). Without that they said I needed to go to the Canadian consulate and get a letter stating that I was a Canadian citizen - a requirement, which oddly, my passport didn't seem to fulfill. The friendly woman there agreed with me that her boss was being difficult and said I shouldn't have any problems getting it frm another city closer to Venezuela.
Because Buzz was being worked on I also got to experience the public transportation system in Brazil, which is much faster and less expensive than taking a taxi. The underground metro was great and it really helped to use my GPS which included all the locations of the metro stations. One bus trip through the center was absolutely crazy though. The driver drove incredibly fast, and very close to other vehicles and I thought we going to crash. There were times when the suspension would bottom out in a big hole and I was sure it was ready to fall out at any moment. People were being bounced out of their seats on some bumps and one lady in the back ended up flat on the floor.
When talking with a guy who lived there about his nice new V-Strom, I learned it was his fifth, after having the previous four taken from him at gunpoint in the street.
Even with GPS street-level maps, when it came time to leave Rio I somehow managed to get lost for several hours trying to get out of the city. I've come to realize that poorly marked and confusing roads out of most of Latin America cities is typical, and that I would absolutely never be able to do this trip without my GPS. This extra time resulted in an unexpectedly long day (my first riding day since the accident) that saw an estimated 200 kms (124 mi) turn into 500 kms (311 mi) in rain and sand with an annoying helmet visor that wouldn't stay up. It was the first time on my trip that Buzz felt really heavy.
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I briefly met Mauricio (Triumph Tiger) and his wife Katia (V-Strom 1000) in Rio and they were not only friendly but they had some good advice about the swelling in my knee and medications (they are both anesthesiologists). Unexpectedly, I ended up riding with them for a few hours on the highway north of Rio a couple of days later also. They are experienced riders who rode to Ushuaia not long ago, and Katia used to race motocross, so she knows all about knee injuries and it was enjoyable spending a little time with them.
The next stop was the touristy beach town of Arraial d'Ajuda for a few days. It was a nice place where I mainly focused on the Internet, trying to get more info about shipping Buzz from Venezuela to Miami.
It seems like there's never a dull day. The photos below show some of the crazy stuff I saw on the roads here. And it usually involves a moto. One store had a cold beer delivery moto equipped with cooler panniers capable of holding fourty-eight, 600 ml (20 oz) bottles!
I managed to camp once more just outside the super-ritzy beach town of Praia do Forte. But here in Brazil you are never allowed to forget this is a third-world country for long, as evidenced by the heartwrenching shacks some people live in along the highways.
Physically I was still sore, but able to ride. Mentally and emotionally I wasn't sure. For the first time I was weary of life on the road. Edmonton seemed light years away.
Then on a small ferry I met a group of 8 people on 4 motos who invited me to share their weekend trip with them just a little further up the coast to non-touristy town called to Pontal do Peba where they would take a day trip up a river to beautiful freshwater beaches. This sounded like a nice change to saltwater to me, as did the non-touristy bit, and Paulo & Rosa, Burgos & Marcia, Reinaldo & Tania, Jorge & Julie were so fun that it was hard to resist.
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