Chapter Eighteen

Punta del Este to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Once we’d arrived in Brazil again we travelled along its coastal roads and stopped to relax at the many beautiful beaches, away from the hustle and bustle of Brazilian traffic. We drove to Paranagua, an old historical town situated on an estuary where Portuguese ships transported a variety of goods back to Portugal. Nearby was an island just off the coast, with an old Portuguese fortress that was strategically located to protect the harbour estuary against foreign intruders in previous war torn centuries of European rivalry. To get there, however, necessitated a drive along a sandy track that was completely covered in water in several places. We took along a local guide travelling in the same direction who was supposed to have indicated the least deep sections of this waterlogged track to drive along! Until the inevitable happened! We went too deep, so deep in fact that water penetrated the motor through the exhaust and it chugged to a halt! Disaster!! How to get out of this one! After some photographs were taken of this annoying pitfall we found some locals who helped pull us out of the water. The engine would not start however! Finally another local came along with his pick-up truck and kept towing us in a water-logged grassy field until the engine chugged back into motion, providing instant relief once again. We left the engine running for a long time to clear out any water that may still have been in the motor.

After taking a little boatride across the channel, we spent a couple of days relaxing on this appealing tropical island, going for several walks and swims and meeting up with some local people. We took the ferry back to the mainland where we would continue on the final leg of South America together. Near São Paulo I said goodbye to Raymond who had accompanied me for seven weeks. In that time we had experienced some interesting moments together as we travelled the southern half of South America. I knew that I needed to spend some time at VW Brazil for repairs and to negotiate for additional sponsorships. I felt therefore that I needed to be alone to progress through that long process.

Once again, after waiting for many anxious moments for permission to be given for the repair of the van, I was finally allowed to drive it into the workshop, where once again Helio Cassati with total generosity, was responsible for the complete overhaul of my engine and any other incidentals that I required to complete my world trip. This included new rubbers on all the doors, a new stereo cassette player, new side mirrors and new door handles, etc.

Additional international sponsorships were added with Firestone providing six of their best new tyres, Fram Filters providing a new air filter system above the engine to keep the dust out should I cross the Sahara Desert, and Arteb Lights providing two sets of fog and spot lights, handfitted with metal stone guards made up specially by their own fitter and turners to protect them. Considering that my time was limited arranging these sponsorships, I was pleased to have these. The icing on the cake of course would be to get international sponsorship from VW headquarters in Wolfsburg Germany, as well as to obtain a sponsorship from an international fuel company such as Shell or Mobil. Time finally ran out for me to arrange this before my departure on the ship.

The service, kindness and friendliness of the Brazilian people who helped me during this particular period will always be acknowledged by me as something very special indeed. In addition to all of this help and as promised by the Vice-President of VW Brazil, Christian Schuss, who was also in charge of Imports and Exports, it was arranged for me to sail to Europe on a Swedish ship owned by Wallenius Lines. The ship was a giant car carrier which could take over five thousand cars. I did not know in what capacity I would be accommodated, whether as a deckhand or as a passenger, just as long as the van and myself be provided with a passage was all that was required.

The Wallenius Lines ship, MS "Traviata" was scheduled to leave Rio de Janeiro on 12 February which meant that I would miss out on seeing the Carnival of Rio by just a few days. This was unfortunate but I was more than willing to sacrifice that spectacle to be given a passage on board a ship to Salerno, Italy. Therefore after a few days spent resting at Copacabana Beach and Ipanema Beach I finalised the paperwork that allowed my entry into the port at Rio de Janeiro where I located the enormous car carrier which was to transport me back to the northern hemisphere, across the Atlantic Ocean to another continent, where I could continue the next exciting phase of my planned six year journey.

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