One of many advantages of staying in hotels, is that we can get on the road earlier in the day. It was by 8.15am today. Unfortunately, it also means missing out on our daily intake of porridge oats as accommodation here in Brasil, includes breakfast. Mostly, those breakfsts are good, but what’s provided, is always the same. Scrambled eggs and sliced sausage in sauce. Several cake options, sometimes including, creme brulee, bread rolls, sometimes butter or margarine supplied. sliced fruit, including papaya, watermelon & other melon, coffee and fruit juice, the later sometimes watered down.
Our tire (tyre) saga.
The spare tire we bought in Brasilia had an invisible split in the sidewall. The elderly repairman put a plug in it but it continued to leak very slightly. The option was to fit an inner tube but he decided to put in another plug, right beside the first one. Success. While I didn’t put a gauge on it this morning, it sounded full, when banged. It will certainly be fine as a spare. Interestingly, we received another WhatsApp in Portuguese from a tire supplier. I responded, that unless they can communicate in English, they are wasting their time. Immediately he replied that yes, he could communicate in English. Given our tire size he responded, I’ll get right back to you. It’s four hours since and we are not holding our breath.
Yesterday, we passed a lorry with it’s trailer laying on it’s side having jack-knifed and spilled half it’s load on the center median strip. The load consisted of bales of, what looked like, cotton lint. Several were smoldering. My guess is the rear tyres had caught fire, setting the load alight before bursting and rolling on it’s side.
It’s hot!
The weather is overcast and cooler to start with but by 11am, it’s back into the mid 30’s. Jen was reading that this part of South America is roughly 15degC above the average, for time of year. By 3pm the skies are darkening and there is an occasional shower. We are booked into another hotel, the Turis, same chain to the one we stayed in two nights ago. Poki is too tall to park under the awning but we get the nose very close to the spoiler. By 6.30pm we go down to prepare a meal in her to find that the rain is torrential.
Again, due to a poor sleep last night, I was struggling to stay focused behind the wheel, so stopped slightly down a dirt side road for some shut-eye. Not long after stopping, a large, black, shiny new ute pulled along side us. The driver, Fabio Correa, a nearby farmer, stocky, white felt stetson hat and white T shirt, was intrigued by Poki and stopped to investigate. After establishing that we were English speaking, he was fluent too, so we questioned him on farming practices. His farm is 1000 acres and yes, they spray Roundup on the land to control weeds and pests. Yes, they apply copious fertilizer to allow constant replanting. Fabio is a lawyer and also owns another farm. Needless to say, I didn’t get much rest, though most of the discussion was with Jen.
Campo Grande.
A city of just on 1 million. The capital of the Matto Grosso do Sul region. It’s in the central western part of Brasil, below the Pantanal wetlands, which we were, in two days ago. The city is the most wooded in Brasil and claims to have 93% of its dwellings, protected by shade. It would need to and I also think that is probably how it was, many years ago!..:)
We have just been reading that large parts of northern Patagonia are on fire, with 200 dwellings lost. John, we’d loved to have had your email response to Jen’s climate provocation, in the comments..:).
Tomorrow we head for Bonito, west of here and closer to the Paraguayan border.
Today has been a photo free day! Sorry.
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