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We got our rent a car, a Renaut Sandero, a model not seen in Australia in Sao Paulo’s Airport. It was raining cats and dogs when we
picked up the car from the car park. The Hertz driver dropped us in the
middle of the car park and helped putting the suitcase and bags in the
“mini boot” and told us to keep it covered so that the thieves
could not see them… as if they could not see a bulging boot cover!!!
Rosa (our cousin) came with me to show the way to their house in the middle
of Sao Paulo
where we spent the first night.
Well… I got the first taste of what is driving in a city
close to 15 million crazy drivers. I think they all must own a motorcycle and
drive like maniacs left, right and… if you change direction or wobble ( as Miguel says) in your lane without looking…
centre. Thank God my friend Andre told me to watch for them and I soon
discovered why. As soon as we got in the car, there were already half of the Sao Paulo’s
population cueing behind us and we took of without doing what I have been
thought in almost 7 years of Rio Tinto, a Take 5 risk
assessment…ahahahah!!!!
We were swallowed by the Sao
Paulo peak hour traffic without setting the mirrors,
learn how to open the windows and operate the de-misting. It was a busy and
dangerous couple of minutes while I quickly had a crash course on Renaut
Sandero and avoided being crushed by a truck, run over by a motoqueiro (crazy bike driver) and catch the right lane in the busy Aryton Sena motorway.
Fortunately with an exceptional guide, Rosa, I made it to Tia Lulu’s
house in the middle of Sao Paulo
without a scratch or a motoqueiro stuck
to my windscreen.
We had almost all the Sao
Paulo’s family visiting us that night and
although we were tired from 24 hours travelling we loved catching up with
them. I had not seen them since my trip to Paracatu in 2004 and Filomena
since Angola
30 years ago.
We had a reasonable first night sleep as we were exhausted and
after a beautiful Brazilian “café
da manha”
we headed off to a street somewhere in Sao Paulo where we could find electronic
stuff. I was looking for a map of Brazil for my GPS but they did
not know the brand Navman and I am now driving semi-blind as I could not find
yet a good map of the roads. Thanks to Google maps I have been able to print
the trip to Pontal do Sul where my parents live and hope to get there
tomorrow.
After a quick trip to the shops and the bank to get Reais (Brazilian currency) I followed
Rosa through Sao Paulo
on the way out to Guaruja where she lives. Filu and Rosa were busy catching up
on 30 years of news and never thought about this poor guy, driving a manual
minute Renaut car on the right hand side of the road and trying to stay stuck
to their bumper bar… otherwise I had no idea where I was. Now I
understand why the Brazilians are good formula 1 race drivers. They all drive
like they are on a racecourse and Rosa is no
exception. Finally we made it across Sao
Paulo and into the Emigrantes highway, heading south
to Guaruja. The photos bellow starting telling the story of our holidays.
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