Meeting Foreigners; Finding a Beach

While we were in Curitiba for two days more than we intended we did find ourselves sort of back on the tourist route, if only the route known to Brazilians not foreigners. 

This part of Brazil, Paraná State, isn’t know to foreigners but it is an industrial hub and a crossroads of sorts for Brazilian travelers. Our tour guide at Iguazu Falls is from here and Jessica said there was nothing to see in her hometown, which is a slight exaggeration. We did meet one Brazilian van lifer of note called Rafa who got a lot of attention in his country after visiting 17 states in his VW van. He has a lot of posts on his Instagram called Mapa Nomade but stopped posting in 2024 which is a shame. 

It was an all too brief encounter but the Kombi van is a popular van life vehicle  as it is widely available and it is hip. They built them in Brazil until 2014 and parts are everywhere. I struggled mightily with a 6 volt van from the 60s in my youth which did get me to Mexico and back, and later  a Vanagon in middle age which blew up repeatedly. But I do admire Brazilians and their Kombi love, wherever we see them:

In our campground at So Trailers in Curitiba we met a fascinating couple

He is Taiwanese (“not communist” he said with a laugh) who came to Brazil 40 years ago and married a Brazilian of Japanese descent. I first met her at the bathroom in the Curitiba campground while I was looking at all the stickers posted by South American travelers, no one we knew.

She had a Chihuahua next to her unleashed and her eyes boggled when she saw Rusty, leashed per campground rules. I hate when people ask me if he bites because when I say no they ignore me. That was her protocol so I never got to talk to her even in mangled Portuguese. I chatted with him a bit but communication was difficult as he couldn’t seem to read Google translate and I don’t know what language to translate into. But they were very sweet and helpful. Language barriers are such a pain.

I have no idea how they communicated, most likely I suppose in Portuguese. Love overcomes all obstacles they say.

Our plan was to leave the capital city of Paraná Stare and drive two hours to the coast. 

The weather has been much cooler and drier inland in the hills but we figured it might be time to get some sea air.

First we had to drive across this city of 1.8 million people. With railroad crossings included. 

Thereupon in the fullness of time appeared a classic Niemeyer structure: 

Layne thought it looked like a mushroom. 

Rusty thought nothing of it.

We left him in the van with the rooftop a/c cooling him nicely and walked up the ramp to go inside.

The signage is useless and when we go to the top of the ramp a security guard told us it was exit only. 

We turned around and found the ticket office where we got free tickets as we are over 60. Then we got a couple of magnets to decorate our home from the souvenir store. 

When I asked where to pay for monkeying I was directed to a blank wall with a self pay booth. Only later did I see a small sign saying credit cards accepted. The usual way is bank transfers. So I asked to pay in person and  they directed me to a booth across the rear lot.

When I got there I discovered it wasn’t a fixed price but I would have to come back to pay after we left. Then we were told no bags are allowed in the museum. So after we finished we’d have to wander around locating the parking payment booth and the bag lockers and in and in…

In a fit of ill tempered pique we paid the five bucks for the parking and scuttled back to Rusty and left. 

We regretted our hasty decision at our leisure as we started down the freeway to the beach. 

Like everything in South America when you know you know but the learning curve is steep as signage is feeble and no one knows how to explain procedures clearly. 

The road to the beach wound through the mountains with our fair share of road works in our direction and broken down vehicles in the opposite direction but somehow traffic kept moving.

Above you see a typical Brazilian mannequin waving its electronic arm to warn traffic of what’s ahead which is below: 

There were no gas stations or truck stops on our side of the highway to encourage us to stop early for the night. Boo hiss. 

The beach town looked like any typical community on the water, this one a bit rundown but with beach buns and odd characters hanging around well worn by the sea sun and sand lifestyle. It reminded me of Fort Myers Beach in the 80s.

There’s a vet if you need one! Good to know. 

We found our spot in a surprisingly crowded beach campground, with ocean glimpse. 

Rusty found his place observing the traffic flowing by and the joggers and his tail went up in a string sign of approval as we explored the facilities. 

There is one vehicle apparently from Argentina otherwise we are the only foreigners. Our neighbor turned out to be a Swiss emigre who has lived in Brazil for forty years, recently sold his company and at age 75 doesn’t know what to do with himself in retirement. 

Our neighbor had a problem with his Starlink account which to my surprise I helped him fix. He offered me his water hose to fill our tank. It’s $16 a night with all facilities but swimming is dangerous apparently owing to the undertow so we are thinking about driving back to Curitiba to the museum and from there turning back south to more well known tourist beaches. Maybe they are well known for a reason.

Getting Things Done

This post is dedicated to Bruce in Arizona who can’t get his Toyota dealer to fix his tailgate. For some reason he is unwilling to try his luck in South America. 

When Layne and I were young and traveled by sailboat we had a saying that relates to this week in Curitiba, because when we got something fixed on our boat we’d always add the proviso “… for now.”

What you see above is the body of a Fiat Ducato picked apart at the most astonishing wrecker’s yard I’ve ever seen. I needed a rubber gasket for the cabin air intake which fit some reason had been removed and thrown away by mechanics of most likely windshield installers in Brasilia. Using iOverlander   search we came across a used van parts store which was a real bonanza and brought out the van life nerd in me. 

They of course went all nerdy over a gasoline powered Fiat Ducato that is never seen south of Mexico.

Much peering into the engine compartment. 

But here it was we found what we needed, and so organized is this place they pulled the parts off the shelf. 

This container has Sprinter van parts from 1997- 2012 year models. 

I got my parts, the original rubber gasket from a Fiat Ducato and a new used taillight I wasn’t even looking for. My own had deteriorated as moisture got in but I had given up hope of finding a replacement as new Fiat Ducatos use a different light pattern.  

They ship all over Brazil. Their parts aren’t cheap but they are what you need if you need them. 

We could have bought a South American diesel engine and transmission if we had wanted to. 

But this was what I wanted. The employee came out unasked cane up to me and said “Would you like a new tail light?” while presenting me his offering. 

So that was a huge success. Next we went to their brand new parts store in search of filters. There we had less luck. They hunted high and low but could not find the air filter our engine uses as it is (STP11950) particular to Promasters built after 2018 as it has a closed end unlike any similar van. 

It is huge and I blow it out from time to time and wait for Layne to go back to the States to bring us one. Oh well. So for our oil filters and some radiator fluid off we went to the /Jeep/Ram/Fiat dealer. And stopped for lunch on the way. 

Ground beef and cheese pastel (Portuguese for empanada), huge and filling. 

Then on to the dealer. 

It was as usual quick and easy to get my filters and fluid. I tell the parts guy I have a six cylinder 2020 Jeep Wrangler and out they pop. 

If you complicate things you get bogged down. So I turn the Promaster into a jeep to make it easy. That is why the air filter and a few other parts are unavailable because they are proprietary to the van. 

We’ve found RAM dealers to be everywhere and supplied with the bits we need. 

Then we went back to the campground feeling pretty good. Of course all I was good for was a beer and some TV so no post on Friday. Boo hiss. Friday was Croc day in Curitiba. 

We left the So Trailers campground for the last time we hoped on Friday morning and drove to Sam’s Club for some essential supplies…

…and a rest for our hard traveled dog who gives me an excuse to not traipse the aisles with Layne. 

Guess which pair I chose and not it’s the psychedelic ones. I travel in low key color sobriety in South America. My last pair I purchased in coffee country of all places in Colombia. We were in Salento in 2024. I’ve never had Crocs last that long. My new brown ones with adjustable heel straps better do as well. 

A dude walked up in the parking lot and started doing Portuguese at me. It turned out he was excited by my van and asked if he could photograph this never before seen vehicle. No one ever yells at us. They always give thumbs up and smiles. 

Brazilians are the nicest South Americans. If I could learn Portuguese at my age I’d consider living here despite the baffling bureaucracy. 

We talk about getting residence in Chile or Colombia but we don’t really see the point. As visitors we get three months, six in Brazil and up to a year in Uruguay ( our next country) I’m told. As tourists we live outside the bureaucracy that locals live with. We don’t need to buy a house or a car and pay local taxes. We don’t piss off our neighbors and if we do we just move on. Besides I still have a hankering to drive Alaska so we may head north in 2028 or so. Meanwhile we’ve got the van fixed for now and time to be tourists. 

Campground sign. “Don’t pee on the floor.” Does this really need to be said?