The bad karma can be traced back to Cuba - probably around the time they stole our wallet. From then on it’s been down hill all the way. On the first day in Brazil we found out that our ‘internet friend’ Manuel, did not arrange for the Africa Twin to be transferred to a nearby dry port (as discussed), where storage fees are supposedly US$20/month. Instead, the bike was sitting in the Santos port for a whole 2 months! Also it was now 1,000km away from us, near Sao Paulo (a place we had just come from). We questioned the logic from the start but believed that the trusted brokers will do the job promised and get the bike to us. So we waited… and waited… the phone was silent. Only when we pushed to call the broker, did we get an update.

Unfortunately, it was one excuse after another and not what we wanted to hear. Something wasn’t right. Our ‘friend’ had also lost interest by this stage and one day simply told us to get on the bus to Santos and fix the problem ourselves. Incredible!! He’d screwed up the process and felt no responsibility to fix it. And was asking us to pay him money back for telephones and used petrol.

Anyway, we jumped on a bus and 24 hours later found ourselves in Santos. Homeless and depressed we tried to find a cheap hotel. Impossible. It was the school holidays and the whole of Sao Paolo had come to the beach. Just as it seemed that things

couldn’t get any worse, we met Reynaldo. A former Navy/UN pilot and fellow motorcyclist (BMW 1200GS), he took us in and treated us like family. Thanks Reynaldo, we wait for you in Amzaon…For the next two weeks he went with us to the joke of a broker that our motorcycle was in the hands of - Rivaldo. He had us sign and notarize (everything must be notarized in Brazil) a dozen documents, but didn’t actually submit the application to customs until after a week of badgering. We had had enough by this stage!! We took matters into our hands again and went to the customs guys directly, our best ‘desperate tourist’ faces on display. The custom guys turned out to be a fantastic bunch and expedited the issuance of our Temporary Import Permit. We thought we finally had our golden ticket - but it wasn’t to be. That was on Monday. On Tuesday morning we turn up at the port only to be told our paperwork was sent to the wrong place. Arrrggghhh!!! A few more hours of rushing between offices and we finally succeeded in getting a customs inspection. The dusty Africa was still in one piece and all our luggage there too. We were getting somewhere…

It was too late in the day to pay the storage charges and port fees, so we had to leave it until Wednesday. We spent half a day waiting for the final invoice which almost knocked us off our feet! Begging and pleading our case with the senior management (that it wasn’t our fault our bike was still here and that we cannot afford to pay such a high sum), we managed to get the price reduced by about 70%. It was still a lot of money and frustrating to be paying for the mistakes of somebody else, but what can you do when you get taken for a ride… On the positive side the broker didn’t get one cent from us Back at the port we’re told at the last minute minute that there was still one document missing - a declaration that we don’t have to pay VAT. This was costing us grey hairs, but we had no choice and again went back home without the Africa. Thursday finally turned out to be the day. Our briefcase full of documents in hand, we once again charged the fortress of Port Santos. This time, after another 1-2 hours of paper checking we were starting the bike. Initially the engine didn’t want to turn over, not surprising given it was sitting in a crate for four months, but after a change of spark plugs it finally roared into life and we were on our way!

We’ve spent the last two days servicing the bike and washing/mending our riding gear. After 2 years on the road (including a loop of Africa) our stuff looks like it belongs in a bin rather than on us, but we’ve grown attached to it and besides, now is not a time for us to spend money on anything other than petrol and food

So far, Brazil has failed to captivate, although most of our time has been spent in offices. Apart from the beaches, it’s quite developed and resembles Europe in many ways. For example the prices! On the other hand it has it’s own special atmosphere - the whiff of Carnaval is in the air, everyday is a beach day (ie. air temp = 40deg celsius & water temp = 27deg celsius) and the people are very laid back. There’s plenty more of Brazil to see and we plan to re-enter in the north, in the Amazon. Reynaldo says he will join us - we will hold him to his word

For now it’s just great to be mobile and on the road again. Starting tomorrow we head south for Patagonia. We can’t wait!!

P.S. We’ve added some new pics in the gallery.