Dia 138 - Tuesday April 26, 2011: Rio to Saquarema Area

We stopped at a Cambio to exchange $5K as money goes out fast here. We picked up the Porsche and were on our way to the next destination by noon. We are very appreciative of the excellent and collegial Porsche service in Rio.


Anisa was an excellent navigator. We had only 2 wrong turns and both were occasioned by incomprehensible signage. The drive through Rio and its harbor was scenic. Damage from the deluge last night was being cleared and it continued to rain on & off all day. Once out of the urban zone, the area was mostly a jungle forest preserve. We lunched on empanadas at a roadside combo market and prepared food place. The “Torpedoes” or Kibbi and the empanada with a beef and egg filling were the tastiest. We arrived at the “Paradise” country inn mid afternoon ready for a well-deserved rest. Which was more stressful: driving or navigating? We are now positioned for serious driving in Brazil’s Central East. Tomorrow, the plan is to cover 450KM to Victoria. I estimate 4 hours, but Anisa & Steve think that it will be more than 6.

Our dinner with the duenos of “Paradise” was full of laughs as we told each other our stories. They are a lovely German expatriate couple with a 2-year-old son.

Dia 137 - Monday April 25, 2011: Porsche Repair and Golf at Gavea

The phone rang at 5:40 to let us know that the flat bed was ready to pick up the Cayenne. Anisa & I went in the flat bed too. The assistant had to ride in the car on the flatbed. We were at the locked gate to the Porsche repair shop by 7:15. As things turned out, the gate did not open till 9:00. The shop people got to work on the car immediately. They ran a full computer check of the car’s systems. (I hope that future models might be programmed to communicate with my computer and thus directly to me.) The Cayenne has 2 fuel pumps. Both are used to start the engine and when the gas is floored. Once the car is moving the computer switches from one to the other depending on the fuel level. The low level one is bad. Fortunately, the shop had one in stock, as these cars need them as they age. We had other maintenance such as replacing the brake pads. We are due to pick up the car tomorrow at 10:30 and only have 100KM to our next destination. Once again, my hat off to Porsche service for their attentiveness and help. (The Navigation map disc for Brazil covers only Sao Paulo and Rio so the disc is of no further use to us.)

In the meantime, Carol and Steve taxied to Gavea GC awaiting us. The course is cash only so I stopped at a Cambio to change $1,600. Anisa & I arrived at Gavea at noon but that passed Carol’s time window so she went back to the hotel to get ready for 5:30 ride to the airport. The course was magnificent though short. I threw the party and Anisa kicked butt. 13 of the holes were on the hilly mountainside. It was like playing in the botanical garden without the monkeys. The 5 seaside holes were familiar to us. We enjoyed ourselves. I have to exchange more $$ because the round ate up half of my Reals.

Carol was happy to see us back at the hotel. She was happy to be going home, her part of the LatAm mission concluded successfully. She was sad to be leaving us and the adventures ahead. The feeling is mutual.

Dia 136 - Sunday April 24, 2011: Rio’s Jardin Botanico

The major events of the day were visiting Rio’s exquisite Jardin Botanico and dinner. The palm lined walkways and collection were started in 1858. I had no idea palms lived that long. When one dies, it looks like 25-year-old specimens are planted as replacements. We visited a number of fine dedicated sections: Medicinal plants, lovely orchids, cacti, water lilies, Japanese garden and so on. One of our favorites was the sylvan section, which had monkeys and a backdrop of a natural hillside jungle. It amuses me that the chief monkey made eye contact with me and shook the branch he was on. He we clearly telling me: “Don’t think about it.” The he went on with his business. We departed just as it started to drizzle.

We went back to the neighborhood fish restaurant in Santa Teresa. We had octopus with broccoli rice and Moqueca-style Wreck fish with white rice. Excellent! Steve and I tried the local ATM to no avail. We got back to Hotel Santa Teresa shortly before a deluge started. We thanked Chac & congratulated ourselves for our good fortune with an excellent bottle of Mendoza, Argentina champagne. Tomorrow, Anisa & I are going to the Porsche dealer first thing, then to a bank to convert $$, and then for a round of golf at Gavia GC for our fearsome foursome. Sadly, Carol goes back to the good life in LA tomorrow after dinner. We have had a wonderful time together for over 4 months of the Lat Am adventure. I miss her already just thinking about it.

Dia 135 - Saturday April 23, 2011: Stranded in Rio at the Relaix & Chateau

We planned on a leisurely start to the day for arriving to a late seaside lunch, planning to reach up the coast an hour or two. Unfortunately or fortunately, with the car very fully packed and less than a few blocks on its way, the engine just cut out. Several times, it started but cut out in less than a minute: It seemed like a fuel cut out. The car was parked out of the way of traffic, but in the heart of the neighborhood. The car from California and our being there taking care of its breakdown were part of the lively street action. Many people came to visit with us, and touched or had their pictures taken with the car in the picture. A nice lady, who spent ages 17 & 18 in Hollywood doing design, spoke reasonable English and helped us navigate the information to get assistance. Two different mechanics confirmed my diagnosis but were unable to handle the repair on the spot. The second also had a flat bed for taking the car to the Porsche dealer nearby, but only on Monday. We are stranded, but what a place. Hotel Santa Teresa was able to accommodate us again. I think that Carol prefers being stranded in the Santa Teresa neighborhood of Rio better than being stranded at Emiliano in the Jardin area of Sao Paulo.

It turns out to have been a treat that we were stranded on a busy & quaintly picturesque street corner (thereby becoming part of the street action) in one of the youthful, artsy and happening parts of Rio. Notwithstanding the anxiety of figuring out and arranging repair, we enjoyed interaction with all the friendly people. We were a curiosity and approachable. People let us know they had been to or had someone in California. Some just wanted to know something about our experience re “LA to Buenos and Buenos to LA”. And we were a free event! Once the disposition was sorted out, the ladies went back to the hotel to make room arrangements and chill while Steve & I went across the intersection for Cabrito & Rice till the flat bed arrived. We provided a lot of action for the street to the amusement of all.

We had dinner near the scene of infamy in a pleasant Rio Bohemian restaurant with a great musical group. The accordion (lead) player was in ecstasy as he played. There were several impromptu guests especially what seemed to be a recognized guitarist that sang his heart out. The music had me tapping the whole time. The restaurant had so much business on this holiday that they ran out of most of their menu items!

Dia 134 - Friday April 22, 2011: Rio Sightseeing

Rio de Janeiro is divided in half by a mountain range. The waterfront southern side has the beaches, lakes and a lot of the nice areas, but some favellas running up the hillside. The northern half is more industrial and has working neighborhoods. The city setting is gorgeous! See the pictures.

Stefan, our driver-guide, took us on a spirited and knowledgeable tour of the major sites. As today is the Good Friday holiday here, the crowds were too big to take the tramways to Christ the Redeemer or Sugarloaf. Stefan took us to vista-point park. We had a lot of pictures taken of us with various beautiful backgrounds. Ipanema and Cococabana beaches were next. They were full of umbrellas and even more people than at Santa Monica beach on a summer holiday. Everyone was enjoying the beautiful day at the beach. We had coco frios at Ipanema and it turns out that was our lunch too. We visited several other beaches.

Stefan was sophisticated, worldly, and very good about explaining the history and society of Brazil. For example he explained that after slavery was abolished in 1888, there was a strong drive to bring Europeans, mostly Italians and Germans, and Japanese to balance out the racial mix of the population. The most recent census weighted by DNA shows 1/3 indigenous, 1/3 African and 1/3 Caucasians & Asians. The southern states of Brazil are overweight on the Caucasian. We will next go to the more African side and then the indigenous around the Amazon basin. He took us through a number of affluent neighborhoods and ours, which is historical. We loved Selaron’s personal statement – he is an artist who uses tile remnants to make an ordinary stairway into a work of folk art. Stefan took us for a spin around the Santa Teresa area, including by his home a couple of blocks from the hotel. He is restoring a mid 19th century house.

Back at the hotel, we were happy that Carol seems to have been restored. We had an excellent meal just a 5-minute walk from the hotel. The salads were fresh mango, pineapple, heart of palm, chayote and fresh lettuce leaves. We had Conger eel with broccoli rice and a delicious fresh water fish -- “Wreck fish” in translation. We ate and ate.

Dia 133 - Thursday April 21, 2011: Golf at Itanhanga in Rio

The drive around the prosperous neighborhoods and numerous scenic waterfronts was delightful. Golf was a lot of fun in most aspects. The setting was stunning. The backdrop of granitic rock escarpment changed color as the day wore on. The course had tropical fauna and flora. There were lots of birds and gorgeous palms. The golf course threw insects and some humidity at us. Obviously, Anisa is the sweetest of all of us with 44 mosquito bites. She is even talking about being defeated by the bugs. Ja! Ja! I took her by 35 Rials and she is 5 Riyal up on The Duck.

The pro at Itanhanga went to college on a golf scholarship in Georgia. He interviewed with Eddie Merrins and almost went to UCLA. His wife was the designated English speaker at the Club. Everyone was very accommodating. This is the # 1 course in Rio and a 2016 venue for golf in the 2016 Olympics. We loved the drive both during daylight and at dusk.

Back at the Hotel Santa Teresa, we got ready for a fabulous dinner and it was! See the pics.

Dia 132 - Wednesday April 20, 2011: Sao Paulo to Rendezvous in Rio

Early wake up and breakfast in the room got us started for the rendezvous with daughter Anisa and brother Steve. I can’t say enough good things about the service at Emiliano. It was a pleasure being stranded there. Carol’s navigating was faultless again today – not even one wrong turn. Map quality is still poor, but having point to point guidance from Google available in Brazil made it possible. Exiting Sao was pretty smooth. The 4-lane Highway 116 is generally good or under upgrade.

The entry into Rio was beautiful but congested with 2 major traffic jams. The Relaix & Chateaux, Hotel Santa Teresa, is a former coffee plantation mansion on a hill overlooking the central part of the Rio. The rendezvous was in time for lunch and everyone was very happy. We spent the late afternoon at rest. We certainly wanted to enjoy dinner. As anticipated, the restaurant here is top notch. We ate everything in our starters and main courses. Sad to say, even for the fresh heart of palm salad, I was derelict in taking pictures till we finished. This is proof that my stomach is more in charge than my brain. The view of the city lights at night is lovely.

Over the next 2 days, we aim to focus on golf in the Rio area and one other major activity each day. We plan to leave the driving to taxis when in town.