Tuesday - December 01, 2009
259 days in Brazil
1. Our route
2. Money matters
We had the following experiences with ATMs:
- Bradesco and HBSC banks: always successful.
- Banco de Brasil: sometimes successful, sometimes not.
- Most of the time ATMs at other banks didn't work.
- Sometimes we would succeed at an ATM in a big shopping mall.
The rate is 2.61 Brazilian reals to a euro [Dec '09]. In writing they use R$. Compared to Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia, Brazil is more expensive [hotel, food and beverage] – similar to Chile.
3. Documentation
Visa
At the border we got a 3 months' visa, free of charge [if my information is correct, US citizens have to buy a visa beforehand]. According to the customs official at the border it is possible to extend your visa in any big city where they have a customs department.
We extended our visa in Rio de Janeiro at the Policia Martima Building, at Avenida Venezuela in Centro [April '07].
Requirements:
- you have to be present in person [Coen could not arrange it for me]
- passport
- import document [immigration slip, you always have to fill in this paper when entering a country]
- 67 reals per person
Procedure was easy, only the waiting took some time.
The second time we visited Brazil [Oct '09], we crossed the border at Caceres into Bolivia for one night to renew our visa. Easy [no idea if it had been possible to arrange an extension in Caceres, we forgot to ask].
Carnet de Passage
Carnet is not needed, at the border you obtain a Temporary Import Document which is valid for 3 months. We extended it in Rio de Janeiro. The customs building is next to the Policia Maritima Building [see above at "visa"].
Arranging both extensions took us one day.
4. Border crossing
When entering Paraguay coming from the Pantanal [Brazil], remember that you can't cross at Bela Vista because there is neither immigration nor customs office. You have to go to Ponta Pora, which is an easy border crossing on both sides.
From Guajará Mirim [Rondônia] to Guayaramerín [Bolivia]
There is no regular car ferry plying between two towns [only for pedestrians]. When on the Brazilian side, you have to go to Bolivia [or ask somebody to go] to arrange a boat there to pick you up. No, this can't be done by telephone…
Price car ferry [boat]: 250 bolivianos ferry + 30 bolivianos fumigations [appr. 28 euro, Dec '09].
5. Car, diesel, petrol stations, roadmap
Diesel and petrol stations
Prices of diesel lie around 2.25 reals per litre [85 eurocent]. Sometimes it is possible to get a discount when you pay cash, this is called "a vista". Petrol stations may be found everywhere.
Car
For more information about a Toyota garage and a place to fix your exhaust [both in São Paulo], check out the gps overview.
In Belo Horizonte we had some work done on the leaf springs in the front, for more info check out the gps overview.
Traffic
Brazil is easy to travel through, with generally reasonable to good roads. Main roads are tarmac, although some of them have lots of potholes. As soon as you leave the main roads you hit unpaved roads.
The main arteries are toll roads [southeast Brazil] which can be quite expensive, up to 6 reals for every 25 kilometres. In Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso we didn't encounter andy toll roads.
Road maps
Reise Knowhow kaart of Brazil [1: 1.385.000] is not detailed enough.
We found the following options in Brazil:
1. Guia quatro rodas. These maps are divided per region or province. The scale differs per map [e.g. Paraná 1.950.000 / Santa Catharina 1.650.000].
Guia quatro rodas also has a book with detailed maps of the whole country.
2. Mapa de Estradas- "Brasil", by O guia Mapograf. Available in separate maps per region or in one book of entire country. The latter costs about 30 reals.
Quatro rodas is mostly used by the Brazilians. We chose number 2. Graphically number 1 looks much better but we feel that number 2 has many more details. We found it a good choice.
6. Paid accommodation and bush camping
So much space, so few people. Brazil is an awesome country for bush camping. Besides bush camping we often camped in the parking lot of a hotel, where they often let you use their toilet/bathroom facilities.
In big cities we were grateful for the help we got from members of the hospitalityclub [www.hospitalityclub.org].
Maybe strange, but after four years we finally discovered the possibility of staying at 24 hour petrol stations. This worked out great, especially the showers were inviting!
For the gps waypoints, check out the gps overview.
7. Internet
Available in every town, costs around 3 reals per hour. WIFI is available in some places but you have to search for it.
Internet cafe is called a 'Lan House'.
WIFI is called 'Rede sin fil'.
8. Tourist information
The southern part of the country has many tourist information centres. They vary from very good, with interesting information and maps, to places where they are only interested in selling you a guided tour.
In Minas Gerais the tourist information centres were poor, with the exception of Ouro Preto.
Mato Grosso has few Tourist Informations. In case they do exist they are more or less useless. Better ask at hotels, at the Prefeitura or Secretaria do Turismo.
For those who love shopping: remember that the shops downtown are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Supermarkets and shopping malls are often open in weekends though.
9. Food and beverage
Water
We drank water from the tap without getting into problems. At petrol station they often have water coolers – this should be [but you never know for sure] filtered water.
Food
We became addicted to the Kilo restaurants. You take your pick from a buffet and pay according to the weight [prices vary from 10 to 25 reals per kilo]. Sometimes they have a system where you pay a fixed price and you can eat all you want.
A cheaper alternative is "Marmitex", often available at the same restaurants but also at Lanchonettes. For about 5 to 7 reals you get a meal to go. This consists of fesjão [beans with rice], sometimes pasta and you can often choose between different kinds of meat.
Articles on Brazilian food