Couchsurf In Curitiba, more photos that Andichatta, picha worf a fousand word ...so here you have it.... a big writeup!!

Jarques, Gloria, Ellen and I with the local Brasil Rider

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We stayed three nights taking in an excellent city tour with Jarques, we also did our own walkabout to a Polish settlement and also a spectacular museum which is a feat of engineering.

The Polish settlement, Ewa ...one for you!!!

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Check this out, stunning piece of engineering

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Curved exit worthy of MotoGP status

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Huge timber cones laying about as art

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Curitiba has a beauty that other cities can only wish for with fountains nearly more popular than cars.

Some more local art and a some dodgy people .... ruff area I think

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Looking up a stairwell inside a building built by the Dutch

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Some misc stuff

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An open market with a beautifully made steel structure with curved members very pleasing to an engineering eye.

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A van with interesting graphics

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For the rest of Curitiba you will have to go there and yes for a city it is worth going :clap

A huge thanks to Jarque and Gloria for hosting us and showing us the city

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Arriving at Tibagi our day came to a screaming halt as we were the victim of a hit and run, the guy came around the corner too wide and looking backwards then T boned us then fled the scene.

We both hit the ground pretty hard as well as Maya and more to the point the Jesse luggage had taken beating of epic proportions.

As the car sped away onlookers who saw it all unfold rushed over to help us pick up Maya cos she was spilling petrol from an almost full tank.

A quick assessment of Ellen and I we were both ok, my right shoulder took a hit but my gear did a lot to stop injury.

A quick inspection of Maya was not so good, the left hand Jesse case had taken the brunt of the hit tearing and shattering the bottom support out and the case parallelograming itself from the impact and tearing in the corners.
The left hand side Jesse rack also twisted and folded in, the rear latch damaged badly as well.

After all the good in Brasil we have been let down by a hit and run and the Police at first were not helpful until anger stepped into the equation.
We finally left the scene of the accident with the Police saying we will look for the car …. sure.

As we headed off to our Pousada you would not believe it the car was parked on the side of the road in full view … unbelievable, Ellen took photos of the car, the house and calmly waited as dusk fell and I went to get the Police again saying we found the car, it was an epic mission to mobilize anyone with language barriers and lack of interest from the Police, again I insisted and stuck to them like shit to a blanket until we got action.

We went and found Ellen and came back to the Police station, the Police then went back to the house and the car was gone, we then went back, found out who he is and wear he lives so that was the next thing in line to go to his house, surprise surprise he was not there either, the lady saying he was at church.

I guess after leaving the scene of a hit and run accident you can go to church and wash it off , he had already left from the church...quick wash!!:cry

We then went to his work and he was not there either so we went back to the Police station at which point the prosecutors said we will have to schedule a time to see him, at that point he Fabio (The wanker who left us for dead) turned up at the police station.

To say I was angry was an understatement but I had to kept my cool, we sat down in a meeting and he confessed to the accident, he DID NOT look at either of us in the face the whole time, no apology or anything, ****en arsehole.

We won't see anything from this and we would have $2000.00 in damage, not to mention the frustration of spending hours in the police station and the shit of a mission I am faced with tomorrow to to and straighten everything on a Sunday, election day in Brasil.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

I think Klim need a huge thanks, my jacket is virtually unmarked and there is no doubt the armour took a lot of impact out of it for my ol body, this gear rocks clap

And yes, the Jesse case took a hell of hit, as said above the bark buster strong frame is bent 10 -12 mm so it shows the force at which it went down, I did not notice it until today when we rode and I started eying things up.

I am astounded how well we have managed to get the case back into shape after being torsionally twisted, dented and parallelogramed out of shape, the lid now closees pretty good, we have RTVed the cracks up.

So it when from this

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To this clapclap:clap

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Al Jesse design and engineering at its best :clap

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Real sorry to hear of the accident. Praise the Lord you two were not hurt. Looks like once again you have done a great job with repairs. So the police wont make the scum bag pay for damages? I have had two such problems here in Kyrgyzstan. I was hit by a drunk, he chased me all the way off my side of the road and still creamed me. Did $3000.00 worth of damage and ended up paying $2000.00. then not long ago my son was riding with his wife and was hit, they were fine but the bike took $1200.00 to fix it and I have not see a dime. It shames the people here, so far I have not found a man among them!
I had never road with all the safety gear before. Just a helmet, jeans, and a jean jacket. Not that I did not like nor wanted them but could not afford it. My sons had just bought me a jacket and I had invested in a new helmet too. Had ridden about 100 km before the drunk hit me. I believe the jacket saved me a lot of hurt. My forearm had hit the windshield post and it was broken, but so slightly that if it were not for the knot on my arm I would not had gotten an x-ray. Praise God for the safety gear!
Keep on riding and we will keep on praying. Looking forward to more of the great R\R...

Mac

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Every day with the Lord is an ADVENTURE

Heya Mac

Sorry for the late reply mate.

Yeah could done without bein hit and yeah the moto gods were on our side for sure, we can't understand how Ellens leg did not get hit.

Repairs took a bit for sure the Jesses are made extremely well and they actually came up ok, good enough to get home until I can deal to them and finish them to my standard.

We found the guy the Police tried to make him pay but he just said I don't have any money... that is the end of it for us so we said press charges, they are pressing criminal charge for Hit and Run although we will not see a penny he will get dragged through the shit for his road talent.

Yes agree with the gear, mate it saved me big time from more scuffs although I felt twisted for the next few days, had I not been wearing the gear I would have lost a lot of bark off my right shoulder and arm.

All good mate, rubber side down and yes the adventure continues

Cheers Andi

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Glad you are both OK after that w&@ker clobbered Maya, poor girl she takes yet another beating. The panniers straighten up pretty good, testament to Jessie's work. Hope the driver gets whats coming to him for driving away, he needs a slap or 10, anyway could have been a heap worse than bruises, so have to look on the positive side I guess.


Hugs to you both, me and Lisa XX

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

So good that you both survived that idiot's negligence.

For me, it was a COP! that put me down.

Near Avon Downs police station (NT), he pulled me over for a breath test. dfair enough, that's his job. But he stepped in front of me (did he think that I was goingto do a runner?) and I had to pull onto the gravel. Down I went. Right foot trapped under the pannier. Fortunately, it was a soft throwover bag by AndiStraps. Bruised but not broken.

And here is the point, I suppose. If I had had your strong Jesse boxes, I might have not been so lucky.
On the other hand....

If I had been hit by a car as you were, my Andi bags would given me much less protection that your Jesse bags. Guess that we were both lucky.

Rob Hall

When shit happens you wonder to yourself …”Well How The **** Is This Going To Unfold And Come Right”

At this point you can pack a sad and withdraw from society and be a miserable bugger or you can step up and say well shit this stuff needs straightening cos we have a trip to carry on with.:clap

Add to this mix Brasil Riders and soon enough the offers of help are coming through quicker than a flash flood, this is the great side of Facebook and useful.:clap

Brasil Riders rock, period, Brasil drivers suck … well one does, still better than Peru.:rofl

Sandro contacted us and said he has a friend who lives in Telemarco Borba about 45 km north of where we were and was happy to help as he could.

We duly accepted given we had straightened things out to near useable, my biggest concern was losing the case and seeing it catapult down the road and hit someone as the bottom mount had been shattered, even with Al Jesses excellent engineering it could not withstand the impact that it did….no surprise whatsoever.

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We strapped the case tightly onto the rack at took it pretty quietly avoiding bumps where we could.

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I had time to sit back and observe the bike and established the hit was kingpin enough to bend the bark buster strong back frame in 10 - 12 mm …. that is a LOT of energy.… you ever tried to bend one in a vice??? its hard work.:huh

I was feeling second hand from the hit, nothing broken but lots stretched and squashed bits so 45 km proved to be a big day...not so good :cry

Arriving at Telemarco Borba Neto (Sandros friend) met us and took us back to his home, our knight on a shining F800GS. Netos wife spoke good English which made communication easier as well, it just gets better.clap

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We had a clothing change to human gear then an invitation for lunch at Netos friends place. The bar b q was on and all bad vibes pushed to one side to enjoy Brasil and the people.:freaky

At the conclusion of lunch and tummies full it was workshop time and how to rescue our luggage system from certain death if the mountings were left without a temporary fix at minimum.

With a small workshop, some tools, a piece of alloy angle and some Kiwi and Honourary Kiwi ingenuity we cut, ground and fabbed our way to new brackets to temporarily hold the case until our new parts arrive via Norbert and Greti Airways Canada Division.

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With some swift hits of a hammer and some checking of straightening, some new brackets made from the alloy angle we were soon back in business and things actually started to fit.

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Not being happy I decided to do one more go, this was an aggressive attempt that could end in tears or make the day, thankfully the moto gods were still on my side and the last hit was the winner, at that point it was a good time to quit it and leave it with everything fitting +/- ok.

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The front of the case looking a heap better than it used too, the paint marks a reminder of how lucky we were Ellens leg was not hit

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See where her legs fits :eek1

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Having lent garage space to Kevin and Karin from Guzzioverland Guzzi Overland and many others when in New Zealand and receiving extreme “thank yous” etc I found myself in the same boat being extremely grateful for a small thing but to fix a major problem, for Neto (I think) he enjoyed it and offered up good ideas and suggestion leading to the successful repair.

Done and dusted, sorted and straightened we were mobile enough and knew the case was not going to bail off which was comforting.

Saying goodbye we farewelled our new friends again and set off towards Foz do Iguacu turnimg this into a two day trip given we had turned right to Telemarco Borba for the repair.

Making it to Campo Mourão via nice secondary roads through farmland we settled in for the night, at nearly 300 km I was feeling considerably secondhand realizing the full impact of our off.

I was now sporting bruises on the inside of my left arm and had a saw elbow so I must smacked it on exit of the bike, funny shit happens in accidents.

Next day was a nice easy cruse to Cascaval, we had organized to meet Sandro at 1.00pm but we arrived at 12.30 ….it was lunchtime and we were kindly invited in for lunch at their family restaurant. :clap

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Heya Grif

Yeah he hurt my bike so hes gonna pay!!!... bastid insulting Maya.

Everything came up ok and we have new mountings on the way so not too bad, the racks will break but I can deal with them back in NZ in my own man cave.

Police are charging him with a criminal offense of Hit and Run, so he with probably end up doing 10 hours community service ... the Brasilian system!!! ... we will see nothing.

Yes we are pretty well ok, how Ellen leg was not hit is a mystery but a good one, I took more of a hit than I realized at first ... add some old age and yeap we don't bounce like we used too!! ... all good now tho mate.

Hug and kisses to you guys to (well man hug to you)

Cheers A

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Heya Rob, sorry to hear you went down too and it was the law who did it!! ... wankers.

We have thought long and hard, talked to many and had the discussions about hard and soft.

If it were me by myself I would got soft, for the two of us then hard is good (in more ways than one )

With the Jesses the angled front takes the anger out of a 90 deg point so that has helped but yes in our case, this time, on this incident the hard cases I believe saved Ellens leg, my torso took the impact from the eventual stop not from the flight or the fling.

Soft or hard depends on the crash, both offering protection or damage depending on the crash.

Cheers Andi

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Cascavel

Settled in after a good lunch Sandro took us for city tour in his car, rounding the central lake area then doing back via the man in drag we passed a few moto shops catching glimpses of new 12 Tenerës and some Kawasaki’s

The last shop was Star News BMW, we stopped here as Sandro needed to get some stuff done.

We walked into the shop and there in front of me was a R nine T retro cafe racer, having only ever seen them in picture I was like a kid in a candy shop, it was also surrounded buy around 10 - 12 F800 GS which is one of the most popular bigger bikes here in Brasil as the are now locally assembled in Manaus …. good move for BMW as KTM stuffed things up completely and there is little to no support at all in Brasil.

Back to the little hottie, I stood well clear and I didn’t have hanky or a bib as I thought I would get told off for making a mess, this “wee” bike has the 1200 boxer crammed into to a short chassis, has normal forks and the usual shaft drive. :clap

This classy little piece of kit is beautifully made all over, it is Alberto’s the shop manager and he came over and chatted with us ….and let me sit on the machine :eek1.

After straddling Maya on tippy toes two up house and contents for the last two years I slung my leg over to find that even sitting there in squid gear shorts, tee shirt and Keen shoes I could pretty much touch the ground nearly flat footed ….. it was a nice feeling.:clap

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The best bit was to come, after having this sexy wee supermodel between my legs, Alberto says bring your riding gear tomorrow and take her out for a spin ….., for a minute there I thought I was allowed to ride it so cautiously I clarified the situation interpreting Potuegringlish to find out that yes I was being handed BMWs Halle Berry and told to do rude things to her …. tomorrow could NOT come quick enough …. sorta like your first date (you young fellow remember that) :evil :rofl

We continued our city tour seeing a church that was and engineering marvel and various cool parts of Cascaval.

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The city center waterfall

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That night a dinner had been organized at Sandros with Marcos (Sandros good friend) and Sandro family joining us, the Brasilians know how to have a great time and make the most of the food with Sandros mum preparing a dish called which looked like a pasta eel….good times clap

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This is what good time looks like Cascavael style, very homely and welcoming.

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Yes tomorrow finally came (So did I .. nearly:rofl) and off to BMW we went, Sandro on his Triumph Tiger 1050 and me a on Halle Berry.

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Sandro having local knowledge I followed him out of town with my mind going overtime taking in the bike and how it all works.

Once out of town we stepped it up a bit, this “wee” bike can get up and boogie, it has no shortage of power and phenomenal torque, a quick twist of the wrist seeing me propelled to lose license speed extremely quickly, this has more grunt than a paddle full of pigs!!!

Sandro on his 1050 Tiger and me on Halle Berry

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Finally taking it back and begrudgingly handing it back to its rightful owner I had a grin on my face wider an american freeway after not only seeing this bike but getting to ride it too, thanks to Alberto, you made my day(s).:freaky:clap

Not to sit back too long a local TV station wanted to do an interview about our travels so it was back to the restaurant and discuss what we have been up too, the TV is a very local TV so we ere certainly not national news but it was cool they were interested in the time we have spent in Brasil specifically, South and Central America.

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Sandro also took us through the kitchen to see how their family restaurant dishes are made, they have a great setup and a great team making it work, I felt out of my depth here but really enjoyed seeing the heart of the place.

The restaurant is called Santa Felicidade and it is the Fadanellis family Italian Restaurant, their food is simply outstanding to say the least and highly recommended.:clap

Visiting a friend of his who has an automated grain plant on a farm we were given a tour of how it all works, talk about technology at its best right at farm level with an extremely advanced plant, the dude also had a 700 Yamy quad, he also said take it for a ride (what is it with people in this area giving away their bikes) so I resisted for 10 seconds before taking it for a squirt around the yard, once around the yard I gave it back cos the evil kid was starting to come out again, safest to give it back while I am ahead of the game!!!

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The plant

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After being treated like Kings and Queens and welcomed in (a very nice change after the Hit And Run) we said goodbye with Foz do Iguacu in sight, the three border corner with Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil and the famous water falls.

With only 140 km to get there is was a simple ride down a tar road and Sandro had organized for us to stay at a fello Brasil Riders home.

Foz do Iuacu next...just a little creek with a small drop

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

The town being much much bigger than I thought with high rises and all, I pictured a quieter border town … no way.:eek1

Finding Sampaio’s place Mrs.Garmin wasn’t quite on target, we spotting some local Policia sitting in their air conditioned car so Ellen went over to them and asked, they took this on and drove around looking for the address having local knowledge, it wasn’t two minutes and they gave us the big thumbs up.:clap

All was good and we were welcomed in.

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That night as it turned out was their club night and yes we were invited for food and drinks, it was a Chinese style dish cooked beautifully, this night the celebrated by giving this man a lifetime membership so it was cool to be there for that, next up was a very warm welcoming t the travellers, this is the norm fro Brasil Riders, and outstanding mob.

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They have members from Paraguay too and we were invited to another bar b q at km 11, thee is a free zone area within Paraguay so we could enter to the shopping zone however it will be pushing it to the bar b q ….no worries.

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Hovering around in Foz do Iguacu we took the place in, taking the bus across the bridge into Paraguay saw us go into the shopping zone, we had a small list of things if we could find them but nothing specific so a crazy day in another country, Ellen did however buy a new bra…..I got two new seals for the front wheel as we not replaced these prior. :clap

The Paraguay side in and around the shopping area is simply a busy industrial noisy dirty shithole with no attraction other than picking up something cheaper....sorry Paraguay.

Once out of the hub of town things improve as you get more into the residential zone.

We took some time to relax at Itaipu Lake, very nice place.

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Ellen made her famous dumplings and Chinese pies, you can how that was received

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Foz do Iguacu the fall next, not going to do much talking in that one as the pics can easily explain themselves.

Cheers Andi

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Two I think

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Last one:confused1:

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Look like one more....

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere