We barely made it from Rio to Belo Horizonte, driving winding roads during heavy rain where we noticed at least 4 serious accidents on the sides of the road. I was told this is normal. About 2/3 of the way La Terminator decided it had enough again and refused to accelerate when I pushed my foot against the pedal. For a few miles we drove with our blinkers on at 10mph, then suddenly and for no apparent reason the car started cooperating again so we made another 40 miles before the problem returned and in such a manner we finally arrived in Belo Horizonte. I should mention that just so we'd get a bit more excitement driving La Terminator, while we were descending some steep hills the car's engine suddenly turned off along with it all electricity, thus turning off power steering and brakes. There was a curve around a steep cliff and I gave out a deathly grunt as I slammed my foot against the brake pedal and with all my strength tried to turn the stubborn steering wheel to the right. Thank God I was able to avoid flying off the cliff and ending the expedition in a climactic/cinematic fiery wreck. My father later told me that he thought I had a seizure when he heard me yell while we kept driving straight towards the cliff. Let's just say that from then on I drove much slower.
For those of you who had never been to Belo Horizone it is a city spread over steep hills. Imagine I'd get a bit nervous driving up these hills waiting for the accelerator to stop and down the hills waiting for the car to turn off thus eliminating most of the vehicle's braking power.
After arriving to our sanctuary in aunt Geni's house, I was ready to sell the van or light it on fire and push it down a cliff. My father however convinced me to give it a one more try and have a local mechanic look at it. Few hundred dollars and few days later La Terminator was ready to keep pushing north through Brazil and the mechanic was convinced it would make it to the end of its planned journey.
While waiting for the vehicle repairs and arranging my father's return flight to Europe, I had some time to explore the city. Below are some of my favorite photos of this bustling urban megalopolis.