Brasil

Itanhaém

The target of the week of June 20th consisted in approaching the border of Uruguay to even cross it. Indeed since yesterday weather is gloomy with a sealed sky and a fine drizzle. The morning was a succession of rain and breaks. The road curves in the hills bordering the sea, look at contours of the map of the road alignment. Moreover this coast is called: Costa Verde. Being of passage at Itanhaém I did not settle in the CCB camping; I bivouacked opposite the entry on the very windy and cold beach, 15°C under my truck. Moreover the sea was dismounted…

Antonina

The day of June 22nd was worse than the preceding one, rain, rain in clouds. The road climbed up to +810 meters high. Obviously the devil appeared. The set of tires of my truck is that of origin, it has +86,300 km. Alas I had not permuted, as with my MAN truck, the wheels every 10,000 km. Consequently the rear tires were more worn than those in the front. In a rise the right rear tire, more used, burst on the sides close to the tread; it rained. I put approximately an hour to change the wheel. And I discovered that the threading of a pin was crushed. I have enormous difficulties of unscrewing it and I didn't put it again. I, personally, had never dismounted any wheels. Not only I have to change the other tires but I have also, as soon as possible, to change this pin and perhaps others! I arrived at Antonina at the beginning of afternoon. The descent in laces from the highway to Antonina during 20 km is very dramatic, alas under the rain. The city is in sad state. Only the downtown area around the public garden at the bottom of the church was renovated. As my predecessors travellers I bivouacked on the carpark at the bottom of the church.

Visit Antonina, click the picture

Joinville

On Thursday, June 23th I had two targets, to find the  nearest Mercedes-Benz garage for a pin and a nut to rear wheel then a dealer of BF-Goodrich tires to buy four new ones. I entered the town of Joinville and I got information near the hostess of the Renault dealer while presenting to me as no-speaking Portuguese French . By the means of Google I explained to her that I looked at Mercedes-Benz and BF-Goodrich. Bingo group DVA is dealer of Mercedes-Benz and BF Goodrich. They are almost one beside the other. An official car of Renault led me at DVA. I started with the tires which will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. On the other hand I have less happiness at Mercedes-Benz. The pins and nuts for rear wheel are not available in Brazil. The delivery estimated time could be at least 45 days! I bivouacked during two nights in a parallel street. The morning was still rainy in the mountains with an altitude close to 1,000 meters.

DVA-Pneus

On Thursday, June 23rd in the afternoon I presented myself at DVA-Pneus. The four tires BF-Goodrich 285/75 R16 KO2 were delivered. The assembly started around 16:00 to finish around 17:30 after balancing of the wheels and correction of the parallelism of the rear axle. The pressure of tires inflation poses problem to me. PSI-Azalaï recommends for the road 2.5 bars at the front axle and 2.8 bars at the rear. Personally I put 3.0 bars at the two axes. DVA put 2.6 bars at the two axes. Who is right? I sent e-mail at Mercedes-Benz in Montevideo for changing the pin of the right rear wheel! I returned to my bivouac in the parallel street.

KO structure	KO2 structure

Praia Capri

On Friday morning the June 24th I returned to DVA to make saw the defective part of the pin in order to aim at a nut. Then I moved towards São Francisco do Sul of which the historical center is worth the two hours visit. Most frontages of the houses were repainted with color sharp. Finally I sought a bivouac at the edge of a beach which I found in Praia do Capri. The day was gloomy.

São Francisco do Sul, click la photo

On riverside

On Saturday, June 25th I wished to bivouac on a beach of Illha Santa Catarina of which Florianopolis is the tentacular main city. I visited two beaches of which carparks on this Saturday were crammed and out of price. I went my way to find a nice bivouac at the edge of a river.

Ponte do Illha Santa Catarina	Bivouac, on riverside

Balnéãrio Arroio do Silva

In the southern hemisphere the season is winter. Today June 26th the sun was shown timidly at the end of the morning with an icy wind. In Balnéario Arroio do Silva I bivouacked at seaside in a dead end. The village was almost dead and the houses were closed, neither summer tourist nor to surf on the beach contrary with Florianopolis.