Slowphil gathers momentum

[Slowphil]

Originally Posted by ElReyDelSofa

QUOTE=Slowphil;20832516]

and a lollipop to the first one who correctly names this one, if I had the money I would have hung around and bought it

That would be one of Colin Chapman's finest, just like the number a Lotus Super 7[/QUOTE]

Man your some fast Buddy, okay the lollipops already on its way to you in the great State of Denial

[Slowphil]

When I got to the border with Brazil I tried clearing out of Uruguay, sailed through migration with no problem and they sent me off to the aduana. There were 4 guys from Guatemala clearing their bikes and they kindly offered me the information that all I needed to do was hand in the paper that cleared the bike into Uruguay. Paper? what paper? UH OH, I explained to the aduana in english, broken spanish and sign language that no I hadn't been issued a paper and after a couple of go rounds he looked at me and said okay go ahead, WOW

Urugyuain customs


heading down the highway it was hot, when I stopped I even hid the bike in the shade



now at the Brazilian gas stations they have the peculiar tradition of setting an excellent buffet lunch set out which you pay for by the kilogram, so all you pay for is what you want, its great



arrived in Torres hoping to stay a couple of days on the beach ,not for the first two days, rain rain rain



Torres is a sort of new tourist town











but when the sun shines it's great







the breakfast at the hotel nwas unbelievable



all sorts of nifty machines running around



after a day on the beach headed off to the Ilha de Santa Caterina at Florianopolis a days ride

found a funky little hostal on the island, Retro House Hostal



sitting area













as you can probably tell I really liked this place, it was a great place to be laid back but it seems to be a bit of a trap if your not careful, it's easy to spend your days here relaxing, surfing, laying on the beach and time just slips away and become a lotus eater

next up, on the beach and down the road

[C-Stain]

Right on, Phil!

Nice to see some posts again. My better half was asking for ADV Access the other day so she could catch up on your RR. Nice to see you're still having fun!

(And! By the way, its nice to see the 5 Star RR! You and Jan want to go to Africa with us? )

[Slowphil]

Originally Posted by C-Stain

Right on, Phil!

Nice to see some posts again. My better half was asking for ADV Access the other day so she could catch up on your RR. Nice to see you're still having fun!

(And! By the way, its nice to see the 5 Star RR! You and Jan want to go to Africa with us? )

Hey C: sorry about the delays but photobucket has changed their site from being really awkward and clunky to just awkward, clunky and refusing to upload most of my pictures. If anybody out there can tell me what is going on I'd appreciate it. Now I've downloaded Weebly and will spend today learning it and getting back in business HOOHAW

[C-Stain]

No need to apologize - you're on a motorcycle vacation. I'll see pics when they're ready.

Or when I book you as a presenter at an ACTUAL tech day.

[Slowphil]

It was suggested by someone better at blogs than me that to help people with slow internet I cut the size of the pictures so lets give it a try

The hostal we're at here in Foz de Iguazu is fairly simple, there's 3 motorcycles and a land rover here and since we all met in Ushuaia at Christmas it's like old home week

Werner, Claudia, Neill and Julie inspecting the rover



Ernie was complaining he wanted to go for a ride on Werners bike so anything to shut him up





we had a big barbeque the night before we went to the Falls





then off to Iguazu Falls

[Slowphil]

The van picked us up and hustled us across the border into Argentina once again, the falls are amazing I got a pile of great pictures, if you ever have the chance to visit grab it, this is one of the new seven wonders of the world



while we were waiting for the train Werner explained how he used to fight off the kangaroos



map of the falls



of course since we were on the Argentine side thats all they showed but heres a overveiw of both sides



the tour guide wasn't very good he didn't explain all that much



as a matter of fact he was rather grumpy



first view

[Slowphil]

we're right in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm so had to post the last in a hurry, anyway back to the falls





the whole area is covered with metal walkways



the coatamundis are well fed and while not aggressive they show absolutely no fear





along with the friendly iguanas





I figured I should explain this shot, I'm on a footbridge staring straight down the gorge





excellent friends

















here's one for my wife



this is the Iguazu river feeding the falls, the land on the left of the river is Argentina, to the right is Brazil and up the river is Paraguay



Werner and Claudia packing for the trip north, they have to be back in Colombia on the 2nd of April to catch the Stahlratte to Cuba



big feed of spaghetti, which was delicious as evidenced by Neill mowing down on his plate

[C-Stain]

Excellent stuff!

Looking forward to your return home to hear ALL the details!

[Misery Goat]

Don't you just love the buffets at the Brazilian gas stations? And the breakfast spreads I had in the hostels were some the best in LA for me. Brazilian food is right up there with the best in SA for me.

[Slowphil]

Originally Posted by Misery Goat

Don't you just love the buffets at the Brazilian gas stations? And the breakfast spreads I had in the hostels were some the best in LA for me. Brazilian food is right up there with the best in SA for me.

Have to agree I've put weight back on since I got here

[Slowphil]

Have to try and finish off Iguazu so here we go again, went to Itapu Dam, one of the biggest hydro electric projects in the world, the dam across the river is about 8 kms long and there are 20 turbines fed by the dam. The dam consists of earth and rock sections and the center is concrete, it is an example of peaceful cooperation between two countries for both their betterment. The electricity is split 50/50 between Paraguay and Brazil, it provides 25%(I think) of all of Brazils requirements and 100% of Paraguays but because Paraguay is so small they sell about 85% of it to Brazil.

Arriving with the smiling twosome



front entrance

it really is a beautiful site, now as much a tourist attraction as electrical project, both countries are proud of the achievement



the site is huge obviously so you have to ride the bus in and security is strict





the water reservoir



pistons for opening and closing gates







penstocks





looking straight up in the inside



obviously the control room Brazil side



Paraguay side



me illegally in Paraguay (no visa) and Julie in Brazil



top of turbines where your not allowed to walk





a few pictures posted of the construction, which I would like to have been part of

blowing the cofferdam to allow the water into the channel



as a matter of interest, they estimated it was going to take 90 days to fill the reservoir behind the dam, they actually had two weeks of unexpected heavy rains and the huge reservoir was full

building a turbine area



underneath the turbines at the shaft level, I had my hearing aids in and taking this picture was as long as I could stand the sound



downstream side





another point of interest, I mentioned that Paraguay sells most of it's power to Brazil, well it appears when the control rooms were built Brazil purchased it's equipment from North America, 120V 60 cycle, Paraguay purchased it's equipment from Europe 220V 50 cycle so the power is incompatable. The Paraguay power has to be converted to DC transferred to Brazil where it is changed to their version of AC, completely inefficient but such is the way of the world.

Next: an announcement to be made

[Slowphil]

First I'd like to post this picture of the sunset from the front of the Hostal



I posted this picture because it was my last evening on my trip, I sold my bike in Brazil with an offer I couldn't refuse, purchased my airline tickets and while typing this I'm at home

Toronto International airport with a 6 1/2 hour wait to get to Halifax, Ernie slopping back the beer




all my gear taken off the bike



my first sight of home in 8 months



saying hello to my dog who thought I had run away



and what the area is like around my home



I'd like to say thank you to everybody who has followed this ride report, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I liked trying to show you what life on the road in the America's is like. If anybody is thinking of doing a trip I say go, you will never regret the time you spend on the road. I have found every country has beautiful places, people everywhere are genuinely nice and extremely interested in what your doing, you'll find that when you get into Mexico and south you are truly an object of interest to the people who will take your picture, stop and talk to you as long as your willing to converse and they will try and be as helpful as they can be and when they can't converse with you you'll constantly get huge smiles and big thumbs up for what your doing.

There are downtimes as well but they are small and the rewards are huge.

I'll close this report the same way I started it, with a poem, my friend Lennie who made this trip before gave me this before I left and I appreciate it more now because I understand what it's saying. I hope you enjoy it

ITHACA

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,

pray that the road is long,

full of adventure, full of knowledge.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:

You will never find such as these on your path,

if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine

emotion touches your spirit and your body.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,

if you do not carry them within your soul,

if your soul does not set them up before you.



Pray that the road is long.

That the summer mornings are many, when,

with such pleasure, with such joy

you will enter ports seen for the first time;

stop at Phoenician markets,

and purchase fine merchandise,

mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony

and sensual perfumes of all kinds,

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

visit many Egyptian cities,

to learn and learn from scholars.



Always keep Ithaca in your mind.

To arrive there is your ultimate goal.

But do not hurry the voyage at all.

It is better to let it last for many years;

and to anchor at the island when you are old,

rich with all you have gained on the way,

not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.

Without her you would have never set out on the road.

She has nothing more to give you.



And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.

Wise as you have become, with so much experience,

you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.



Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)

[yellowknife]

A bit of a shocker to hear you are back all of a sudden but happy to hear it. See you as soon as you are ready for a visit.

YK

[Slowphil]

Originally Posted by yellowknife

A bit of a shocker to hear you are back all of a sudden but happy to hear it. See you as soon as you are ready for a visit.

YK

Looking forward to seeing all you guys again