Danny - We left Florianoplis at around 10am this morning. Stopped by the local gas station filled up, check the oil, cleaned the car a bit and buckled in for a long drive about 580 Kilometers (350 miles). The drive started out smooth sailing on a scenic drive with the coast on one side and jungle/mountains on the other. The 4 hours north to the city of Curitiba felt like 20 minutes with great weather, open road and beautiful views. Our trip would take a drastic change on our drive west.
Unaware of the road ahead I expected the same drive that we experienced from Florianopolis to Curitiba. I was wrong. Finding the highway west took us on a tour through Curitiba asking everyone we saw where to go in broken Portuguese. We finally found the correct highway by sheer luck and were on our way.
In the exact opposite way that the first part of the drive felt fast, the next 3-4 hours felt like 10 hours. The highway was in and out of 1-2 lanes in what seemed to be an endless incline, winding roads through the mountains with a dense fog and mist and Truck conveys flying by at 70-100 mph. The highway near our destination (Guarapuava) would prove the worst as night fell. 43 kilometers with 0 visibility (fog/night), impatient drivers and cliffs on our right. Ive never been happier to see the city lights of a small, sleepy city like Guarapuava.
We got some food, watched the thrashing of North Korea (sort of feel for them, Kim Jung Il wont receive them with open arms) and we are going to watch Uruguay vs. Mexico tomorrow before we leave to Foz do Iguazu the border city with Paraguay and where we will stay for 2 days. Plan is to see the Iguazu waterfalls & watch the Paraguay game in Ciudad Del Est,Paraguay.
Kyle - we're all following your blog at the office! So jealous! This story sounds crazy - can't wait to hear about it in person.
ReplyDeleteDang, you see any of that isner/mahut match at wimbledon today? I know this is a soccer trip but that was some wild shit dude. Take care and good luck as the trip continues.
ReplyDelete