January update.

From Bombinhas we drove to Gramado, there we felt transplanted to the Black Forrest in Germany. Gramado in famous for its Christmas decoration and the lights at nite. At the campground we met Darlou and Sandra, both are retired professors and Darlou has a book published. Thy went with us in to town and showed us the sights, thy are Brazilians and have travelled Europe extensively so we had a lot to talk about. From Gramado we drove to Uruguay and the border crossing went smooth. Purchased some parts in Montevideo and drove on to Colon were we had visited before and spent the nite to take the ferry to Buenos Aires in the morning. It is a 3 hour ferry ride.

We are now in Buenos Aires at Norbert's brothers place.

We had advertised the camper for sale at the end of March but all the inquiry's we got , thy wanted it the latest mid January. So we decided to sell it to 3 young people from Minnesota and 

British Columbia. 

We took the ferry from Colon, Uruguay to Buenos Aires. Lucky that we have Manfred's place to station. It took us a while to find a notary to do the paperwork as it is vacation time here and most professional offices are closed from mid January to mid February.

Today we met with the new owners of our Blue Wonder and I am happy to pass her on to the very nice young owners.  Tomorrow we will go with them to buy insurance.

The Blue Wonder has been wonderful for us and I am sure she will be for them as well.

This brings our South America Adventure to a close, we have seen many amazing things, met wonderful people, learned about other cultures. Of all the places we visited and saw, I am very happy to call Vancouver home. This adventure has shown me how fortunate we are and that we have too many possessions. Also that people everywhere want the same things, most of all love and respect . Also that the people who have the least are the most generous. I have learned that fear can hold you back from exploring or attempting many things. Above all I am thankful for the many wonderful people in my life.

Love and hugs to you all.

Norbert and Greti

We left Aldeia de Paz on December 29th with a spectacular send off.

Everyone waiving white kankies, later I discovered that the nuns had filled our camper with so much food stuff, sister Tahita had baked a big container of oatmeal cookies and Sister Maris a Christmas cake and for Norbert a case of beer and lots of chocolates and other sweets also Macaroni and rice. No  surprise we left with a heavy heart and miss them already.

We drove to Goias where we parked at a hotel, and visited the historical town. Next day we went to Caldas Novas after our GPS send us on a 200 km detour and to top it off the road was very bad, full of potholes which made max. speed 20km ph. When we got to the hot springs thy wanted 320 Reales for camping, so we said thank you and drove on towards Uberlandia.

There we found a nice gas station with a Churasceria (steakhouse) free showers and Internet where we spent the nite. Next day on to Ilha Comprida were there was a fiesta and a grass field next to the beach for camping. There we met Jao and Nathalie and their family. Thy invited us for lunch and a nice walk on the beach. As usual, everyone wanted to see the camper and take pictures. All afternoon people came over and asked if thy could see the camper and take pictures. Everyone wanted to kow about our travels, where we had been and how we like Brazil.

That nite it rained very hard and when we woke up the field had transformed in to a lake, lucky we made it out.

Next stop was Bombinhas, again a terrible road in but the town and beaches are well worth it.

There is an entrance fee of 48 Reais and when we went to pay it turned in to 72.0

We went to the tourist office to complain and were told that the rate had changed on the computer on 1-1-2016 but thy had not received the new sheets to post them.

Antonio Olimpia, director of the office tried to reimburse us but as we had to pay with credit card, thy could not apply a credit.

Antonio offers to take us in his car on a tour of the area and we got to see many places tourists do not see and also learned the history of Bombinhas. After lunch we also got to use their internet. Thank you Antonio and staff.

We found a nice place to park right by the beach in a residential area were we spent the afternoon on the beach.

Many Argentines vacation here and we met some from Entre Rios Arg. That evening we talked to the owner of the house across the street and so we met the Nicoletti Family. Celso and Bete and Breno (13 who speaks English very well) and Lara, (9 also starting to speak English) and extended family. We were offered the use of their bathroom and shower and invited for pizza.

Breno played the guitar and all did some singing. We had a very nice and late evening and were also invited for breakfast which was delicious.

The hospitality and friendliness of the Brazilians is wonderful, wherever we go we are treated as family. Nowhere else on our travels has this been so pronounced. 

We Love Brazil and its people.

By now our camper must be the most photographed automobile in Brazil, anywhere we park, people take pictures of the front, back and license plate. On the freeway people honk, give us the thumbs up and waive, and without fail, out comes the cellphone or camera. Some have even followed us in to the gas station and given us a gift.

Lucky I did bring some Canadian souvenirs to give, but now I have run out so I give Canadian coins.

So far we have seen only three foreign campers here and thy were from Europe so Canada is rare.

Hugs to all.

Norbert and Greti