Rusty

We took the tour yesterday  I took 200 pictures but I have figured out Brasilia.

Does this city layout look like a hummingbird to you? 

It was an excellent tour but I need time to sort it all out. 

Before Alberto drove up to collect us at the Lakeside Apartments Rusty had his rind in the grass.  

For some reason Rusty decided he wanted to walk next to the Brasilia Palace Hotel which we later learned in the tour was the second building built in Brasilia right after the Presidential Palace down the road.  

I met the hotel grounds keeper herding the guinea fowl while clutching a blue plastic bag. He spoke Portuguese of course as he hustled the gray birds back into the compound. He opened the bag to reveal a dead bird. I don’t speak Portuguese but it was clear he was mad at the cars speeding by on the dead end street and killing his bird. 

It turns out the guinea fowl and the hotel peacocks perched on the perimeter fence are guard animals. 

They did not find Rusty as cute as I do and they made their displeasure known. 

My good dog ignored them and walked calmly by. Good dog. 

It’s hard to leave him in the apartment but it’s not hard for him to be left. He enjoys relaxing and if he wants to go for a walk he’ll bug me to take him out. When he’s ready to come back knee walks me straight to the elevator. 

He has it worked out. 

Rusty has learned he’s not going to be abandoned when we leave him at home and he has figured out how to relax in our absence. 

From the tour a few more: 

Another Day

It’s lucky I’m not writing this page to make money because if I were I’d need to go back to Key West and beg for my job back. I need better click bait titles. Living in an apartment even in an exotic (to us) location, Brasilia to be precise, is not that exciting. So here’s a picture of Rusty on yesterday’s morning walk. 

By the time you read this I am expecting we shall have taken the long awaited city tour starting at 9am Atlantic time on Thursday. And I am also hoping it will be good. Have you ever seen a police station that looked like this? 

Layne glimpsed it from our Uber as went into town to look for a vet. Rusty’s fine but we need to give him his monthly Nexguard anti parasite pill. In these countries it’s critical so we carry several in the van but GANNET2 is in the shop getting a new alternator.  The first vet we went to gets 5 stars on Google Maps but doesn’t sell medicines. She directed us to another place. Layne called an Uber and we sat in the waiting room.

Across eighteen countries and that’s including the US I’ve never seen a dog bed in the vet waiting room…

Five minutes in the second Uber and we were in something that looks like a Pet Smart with a 24 hour veterinary surgery attached.  

I trust it is apparent that medicine for humans and services for pets are as modern here as you might find at home. 

It had a self service shopping area for birds, fish, cats, reptiles and dogs. We chose our pill, took the card to the cashier and walked out with three Nexguard for the low, low price of $80 (400 Reals) but fortunately Rusty is worth it. 

Now we have a new Fiat Ducato windshield installed on our Promaster we need to seal the lower edge to prevent raining dripping on the engine. Castelo Forte to the rescue.

They sell sealant and I bought a large tube of silicone, not the adhesive but sealant, and an applicator. I last did this in Ecuador 18 months ago and it works quite well.  We’ve been living with cracked windshield since Manaus but decided to replace it in Brasil after we had finished with dirt roads in the Amazon region. Then we took an Uber to go food shopping. 

Layne wanted to check out Bellavia supermarket as an alternative to our usual Carrefour (the French chain prominent t in Brazil. I liked their dog holding station while you shop:

We are invited to our RV mechanic’s Christmas family lunch but NewYears Eve we have a special event thanks to Layne. 

But we did want to try some Brazilian wine. I’ll let you know if Chile or Argentina should be anxious but I doubt it. 

The Garibaldi white is 81 Reals, or US$15 which I figured should give us a decent chance of enjoying the stuff. I also came across the fire water they use to make Caipirinha, the national cocktail. It’s sugar cane alcohol…

And in a corner of the store they had everything you need for Churrasco which is grilling, the national pastime in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil. We are going to collect our Scotti gas grill from GANNET2 so as an experiment Layne bought some Brazilian dry rub. 

And in case you were wondering, Hershey has a factory in Brazil. That surprised me: 

And that was our morning down the drain.

I snagged some pictures from the Uber on the twenty minute ride home loaded with groceries. It’s not all bad being a passenger.

A cathedral, Our Lady of Health, below. Not exactly soaring Spanish colonial architecture. 

Chinese JAC compact: 

I’d like to think the tricycle below is Hollywood inspired.  At least in the movies we will I hope continue to reign supreme…

And then the rain set in for the afternoon. Predictable Brasilia.