In the cold but beautiful Chilean Patagonia, somewhere along the shores of Lago General, there is a beautiful area of marble and granite stone formations hallowed out by water over thousands of years. The patterns remind me of Gaudi's art and actually surpass it by its fearlessness, imagination and colors. I took a day trip to see the "catedral" along with a group of mostly Chilean tourists. This was one of the highlights of my Patagonian journey.

It was a sunny but chilly day, the water was even colder but clean with a turquoise tint and I had the uncontrollable urge to set aside common sense and go for a swim. Everyone shivering in the boat thought I was crazy. Needless to say the water felt like thousands of needles piercing my skin but soon I forgot all about it as I was overwhelmed by the beauty of my surroundings. This was by far the highlight of my Carretera Austral journey through Chile.

The drive around the Lago General was my favorite in South America, rivaling only the Alaskan Highway. One of my favorite flowers, wild roses, were everywhere and their aroma filled the air. One day I hope to return and spend a month or two here.

Argentinian southern Patagonia is a land of rolling sandy hills with sparse vegetation inhabited by gauchos (Argentinian cowboys), oil drilling industry workers, thousands of species of llama and millions of sheep. What one notices immediately is the enormously powerful and unrelenting cold wind. It makes it hard to walk and brings with it particles of sand that always seem to find their way into your mouth. I constantly felt the grains in between my teeth, to which I never got used to.
Normally this would be a rather monotonous drive but here is where our vehicle problems began. As we pressed down on the acceleration pedal nothing happened and the van started losing speed. Then the engine sputtered for some time and we regained acceleration. Then we lost it again and this kept repeating. The odyssey visiting mechanics began. Nevertheless we managed to reach the Strait of Magellan that was the dividing line between us and Tierra del Fuego.

Driving through Tierra del Fuego and finally arriving at Ushuaia (the disputed southern-most city in the world) I felt a mix of deep sense of accomplishment (thinking how the hell did I drive my van there from Chicago via Alaska?!), worry (the vehicle might not make it much farther), disappointment (I didn't have enough money left in the budget to travel to Antarctica), and relief (one major section of my expedition was successfully behind me).

While waiting for the car parts I ordered from Chicago to arrive to Rio Gallegos, we decided to take a trip by bus to El Calafate and from there to El Chalten to do some hiking in arguably the most beautiful region of Argentina. The famous mountain Fitz Roy famously seemed to always be obscured by clouds but I think I got a couple of pretty good shots.

Just like wild Alaska but easier to hike, the mountains and forests around the small town of El Chalten offer gorgeous views and very enjoyable walks, despite the strong winds and quickly changing weather. This was my father's favorite location in South America.

Perito Moreno is one of the most beautiful glaciers I have seen. It is located in the Los Glaciales National Park in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. It's 30km long and a part of an ice field that is the world's third largest reserve of sweet water. The day I came there were clouds rolling over it reflecting in many hues the deep blue color of the densely packed ice of the glacier.

Most people drive this huge stretch of roads exhausted coming back from Ushuaia and nearly everyone complains of the monotony of the Argentinian pampas. Well, if you know how to look you will find excitement and beauty and hopefully I was able to reflect it through these photographs.

The "Paris of South America", Buenos Aires is a huge and vibrant city full of culture, music, fashion, wealth, poverty, crime, and life. My time here was partly spent in utter frustration and anger while I tried to claim the oil pan that I ordered from Chicago. That will take an essay to explain, which I will perhaps write later. Another part of my stay was pure joy drinking deep the sights and sounds of this proud and bustling city. So much can be felt here- the pure romance of tango in the evening, the art novou through post modernist downtown, the smells of the diverse restaurants, the high fashion shops, and the ghettos.

Right before entering Uruguay through Colon, La Terminator (our vehicle) decided it wouldn't cooperate again. It was a Friday afternoon and no mechanic was interested in helping us as everyone was getting ready for the weekend. That would mean that we would be stuck in Colon until at least Monday. Kind souls made a ton of phone calls and talked a mechanic into taking us. The fuel pump was changed in couple of hours, the electronics were cleaned and we were alleviated of $2000 pesos. We parked along the river Uruguay and had an amazing night swim. The next morning we took another swim and then drove to the border. Just because the car problems were solved (temporarily) too quickly, I realized that I was missing the Argentinian Aduana vehicle documentation. I always place all the immigration documents in the same plastic folder yet on this occasion I just couldn't find them. The border officers suggested they would impound La Terminator, which would mean another protracted delay. In the end kindness and rational thinking prevailed and we were allowed to pass. Driving through Uruguay was a serene experience. We encountered very few people on the road and all around us were farms and fields. The gasoline was more expensive than in Argentina, actually everything seemed more expensive, almost on the level we encountered in Chile. We drove all the way to Salto, from where we entered Argentina for the last time in order to get to Iguazu and Paraguay.

I often wondered how Iguacu Falls compare with Niagara Falls. I visited the latter many times and now I was fortunate to see these. Niagara waterfalls seem more concentrated, louder and more powerful. Iguacu waterfalls are wider, more dispersed and yes, more romantic. Both should be on everyone's short list of places to see.

Curitiba to Sao Paulo:
I was tremendously excited to have finally arrived in Brazil! And having done so in my van that I drove all the way from Chicago made it so much more special. The southern part of Brazil is very similar to Argentina or Uruguay, both demographically and culturally. What is very different, of course, is the language. Even though I felt comfortable speaking Portuguese in Chicago, it took me some time to get my brain cooperating when I had to speak and understand it all the time. Curitiba (the home of Anderson Silva) was a very pleasant and welcoming city. On the other hand Sao Paulo was imposing by its humongous size, chaotic and full of energy. I hope that next time around I will have time to explore this megalopolis.

Rio de Janeiro is a marvelous city of extremes: opulence vs. poverty, pretty colonial buildings and modern villas vs. run down favelas, laid back atmosphere of the beaches vs. non stop energy of the night clubs. One day all the rich people are relaxing on Copacabana beach, then suddenly the whole favela descends down on them and everybody is running for their lives. Here is the penultimate place where we had our vehicle, La Terminator repaired. I was weighing selling the van and continuing on the bus, but gave it another chance. That chance got us as far as Belo Horizonte.

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.

Our vehicle (La Terminator) was repaired for the last time in Belo Horizonte and by this time I was skeptical of any local mechanic's competency that I felt it prudent to test the van by driving 100km to a nearby town called Ouro Preto. It is an old 17th. century Brazilian colonial town would make you think you were back in Europe. Ouro Preto was a focal point of the gold rush and a golden age under Portuguese rule. The town was an artistic playground for Aleijandinho, the Brazilian Michelangelo.
It was an amazing one day's journey and one of the highlights of my South American travels. La Terminator drove back to Belo Horizonte without any technical problems.

The night before the carnaval Dani (my long time friend who lives in Belo Horizonte) and I went to pick up Nicola (the Swiss traveler I met in El Chalten in Argentina) at a bus station. I was very excited to have a competent and pleasant travel companion to be a final part of the Know No Borders expedition through Brazil. After getting some well deserved rest at night, Dani took us to see what was a "low key" pre-carnaval preparation. From the distance we could hear the party buses blasting the currently popular MPB and Pagode songs, dancers on top of them were performing choreography relevant to each song and people in the streets were moving along the music, drinking and having a blast. This appeared to be a very liberal crowd as many of the photos portray :)

A few hours driving from Belo Horizonte there is a river with many waterfalls and cascades where people cool off in the hot summer months. We spent one long day there swimming, goofing off and resting before resuming the drive north to Salvador through the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia.

The drive from Belo Horizonte to Salvador was long and challenging. The roads were in various state of disrepair and the truck drivers in the opposing lanes didn't think us a worthy adversary and would overtake other trucks expecting us to veer out of the way by driving on the shoulder.
Bahia has a distinct culture from the rest of Brazil. It is more laid back, lazy, colorful, musical, vibrant and perhaps violent than most other regions of this great country. Even though our hosts warned us, we ventured at night to see the carnaval where we were assaulted multiple times. This episode was described earlier in our blog. This city has a rich architectural heritage easily comparable to Rio de Janeiro yet no one seems to be taking care of the old houses, palaces and churches and they are slowly falling apart. We loved the food and the music. I purchased a carnaval compilation that I listen to in my car regularly.

Here are some miscellaneous photos of us slowly making our way north through Bahia, Brazil.

The Pipa beaches are some of the most famous in Brazil. We didn't take the direct route, that would be too easy. We took a dirt road rolling up and down hills and ultimately crossing a river delta on a small wooden ferry pushed by just one guy wading through the water. The trek was worth it for we discover a few pristine beaches with clear warm water teeming with fish. And it seemed all the crowds missed these beaches, settling for the famous Pipa beach about 20km farther up the coast.

On the way to Natal from Pipa we encountered the ever returning problem with our vehicle's acceleration or lack there of. All parts that could have been replaced were replaced, our budget was shrinking fast and so I made the call to sell it and continue the trip by bus/boat/foot. Right outside of the hostel where we stayed was a taxi hang out and I quickly negotiated a sale of our beloved La Terminator. Although it was a huge relief that we won't have to stress waiting where we will get stranded next, it was a melancholy feeling partying ways with a "companion" who was with me for 50,000 km and is inseparably intertwined in my memories of the myriad of exciting experiences gathered over the course of the journey. I picked the most essential things and fit them into my backpack, sent a box filled with some important items to Chicago and left the rest behind. Nicola and I purchased an over night ticket to Fortaleza and thus began new adventure.

We took an over night bus to Fortaleza. There we stored our back packs at a safe storage at the bus station and took a local bus to the city center beach. We had an amazing time eating, sleeping, swimming and simply enjoying a full day devoid of worries. The following night we hopped on another bus and started our journey to Sao Louis.

Over night bus took us from the modern city of Fortaleza to the colonial Sao Louis from where we immediately took a taxi (3hr ride that we shared with our two new Israeli friends) to a small town of Barreirinhas, which is the gateway to the national park Lencois Maranhenses. Here you can observe the traditional north Brazilian rural life with a caveat: poverty moderated by tourist income.

One of the most stunning places on this planet, (on par with Salar de Uyuni, Chilean Patagonia, the Galapagos, San Blas Islands, the cascades of Hierapolis, and the Yukon Territory) this national park is located in the Northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhao. It encompasses about 580 sq miles and is a seamless mixture of Sahara-like sand dunes with crystal clear sweet water lagoons.

It is so hard to pick my favorite or representative photos out of the 400 on file. From afar this scenery may seem similar to once you've seen one you've seen them all but upon closer look one finds surprising diversity and each photograph has its own magical mystery that captivates me and pulls me in.

Life on the Perguica river
Faint signs of a more prosperous past: abandoned large boats, unfinished or abandoned brick buildings slowly being eaten by the jungle. Small urban bastions resisting the siege of the ever hungry trees.
The people live in resigned tranquility. Happy.

Sailing down the river Perguica we came across a small village that seemed to have a well balanced coexistence with a tribe a small monkeys. They lived in the surrounding trees/bushes but would come down to the village and drink water, eat the food the people leave for them, hang out on the hammocks and playfully interact with us the visitors.

Walking around the small town of Barreirinhas, Norther Brazil at night I came across a group of Capoeira dancers/fighters who were standing in circle, playing the berimbaus (the long wooden instruments that look like bows) and performing a no contact fight scenes. I've always wondered how effective this fighting system is in the real life. Nevertheless, it's great fun and it's undoubtedly good exercise.

Traveling down the river Perguica we came across more dunes. These were distinctly more yellow and compact than the previous dunes we've visited. Here instead of the sand threatening the surrounding greenery I felt the jungle and the adjacent river had these compact dunes surrounded. There were the occasional fisherman, wooden huts sprinkled along the river shore and in the distant marshes a herd of cows.

After a day on the Perguica river traveling toward its delta, we arrived at a small village called Mandacaru where we were welcomed by a bunch of kids offering to be our travel guides through the village and a bar-shack where an experienced bartender offered to mix any imaginable caipirinha from the many different flavored home-made cashacas. Needless to say we obliged tasting as many caipirinhas as we could handle.

This is a lovely colonial town in Northern Brazil. Much of it is dilapidated but there are visible efforts at preserving the beautiful Portuguese facades. Walking down the streets I felt I was transported to happier richer times where colors and sounds beamed loudly through the thick hot tropical air.

A great part of the historical Sao Luis, a city located in northern Brazil, is neglected and left in the unkind hands of time and nature. Yet this slow and melancholy decay infused these buildings with sweet romanticism that would have been captured on a canvas by the likes of Caspar D. Friedrich.

From the colonial Sao Luis we took a bus to Belem, which is a large city on the mouth of the mighty Amazon River. Our plan was to take one of the local boats up the Amazon to Manaus. Photos below are from one of the ports in Belem. This was one of the shadier parts of the city where even the taxistas were hesitant to enter yet the boat that was to take us up the Amazon River departed from this very pier. Surprise was on our side as none of the vagabonds hanging around this place had a chance to plan an assault and separate us from our belongings. I wonder what the locals thought as they saw two blond guys walking around with their backpacks asking for a boat ride to the heart of the Amazon.

I was amazed how many kids were out and about paddling small boats and canoes on the hundreds of the Amazon tributaries. Often completely unsupervised, no life vests and no fear, they were an integral part of the environment.

Traveling up the Amazon river on a local transport is either strange, uncomfortable, stifling and dangerous proposition where you can lose all your valuables or an exciting colorful adventure full of surprises. One or the other experience depends on your outlook on life.

Five days' boat ride up the Amazonas from Belem lies the comfortable, laid back town called Santarem. There are small stores and pubs lining the river pier that come alive in the evening. It is an oasis of civilization in the middle of swamps, rain forests and a maze of interconnected rivers. I really enjoyed staying here and taking long walks along the Amazon River.

Another 5 days sailing the Amazon river up to the capital of the Amazonas. We stopped at a few small towns to drop off/take supplies and people. This time Nicola and I had to be vigilant at night as there were thiefs on board who constantly looked for the opportunity to separate us from our belongings. All of their attempts were abortive however.

The capital of the state of Amazonas, it is located at the confluence of the Negro and Solimoes rivers. The city is located in the middle of the rain forest and is accessed primarily by boat and air plane. The city was founded in the 17th century but saw its great expansion during the rubber boom in the 19th century. The abundance of sudden wealth saw the city build the Teatro Amazonas which cost $10 million and many villas and palaces. The city had electricity before most European cities. After the rubber bust, the city lost its electricity and the famous theatre was abandoned. It is grandiously restored now.

Sailing upstream on the Amazon I continued up the Rio Negro and enjoyed seeing how people live on water. The river is a deeply integrated part of living, providing floatation for houses, food and a path of travel.

We went on this one day trip in the Amazonia where a couple of fishermen started up a business showing the Amazon Pink Dolphins to tourists. For a small feel they give you a life preserver to sit on while one of them has a bucket full of fish that he feeds the nearby dolphins. They are used to this free food and the extra attention and always gladly swim by to grab a piece of fish.

One of the Amazonian tribes came up with a great business idea to do a little show for the travelers who venture into the rain forests. They show off their music and dance and afterward are happy to pose for photos.

In the heart of Brazil, somewhere in the state of Amazonas, guided by the local Indians, I soaked the smells and sounds and sights of this wild and breathtaking nature.