Where's Punky & Lew now?
^*-*^*-*^*-*^*-*^
^^^^^^^^^^
Date: 1-26-2003
Subject: Punky, Lew & Achi 2 in Caxias do Sul, Brazil
Hi everyone: Critter was released from Dakar Motos, supposedly in good health. We said our goodbyes at a dinner with rider friends in Buenos Aires. Rode north in the rain Jan. 19 with my friend from Quito, Ecuador, Ricardo Rocco, and crossed the Parana and Uruguay rivers into Uruguay. The border crossing was made unpleasant by a Uruguayan customs official. It irritated the hell out of me, because Ricardo didnīt have legal papers for his bike and I did. He passed through ahead of me with no problems. We spent the night in Mercedes, where we again drew the attention of a newspaper, whose office was next door to the hotel we stayed in. They took pix and wrote a story. The next day we rode to the capital, Montevideo. The starter acted up again as well as the right turn signal and headlight. A mechanic worked on Critter for 4 hours and couldnīt fix the starter or the turn signal, which have been working fine ever since. I was charged only $20 for replacing the headlight bulb. We rode on to Punta del Este in the rain, a beautiful high priced peninsula beach resort. Found an affordable room the 3 of us shared in a hotel in the low rent district of nearby Maldonado. Rode north on the cool coast past Chuy to cross into Brazil and discovered I needed a $120 visa from the Brazilian consulate in Chuy. Got pix, went to the bank for more money, jumped through hoops, got hot and sweaty, had lunch and finally returned to the border and entered Brazil without further incident. We rode on to Pelota and spent the night. Next day we rode to Porto Alegre, spent one night in a hotel sharing the room with Ricardo. Ricardo had his bike worked on and the battery replaced. Critter was worked on again for a loose mirrow that required retapping the threads, electrical problems and loose exhaust pipe. The mechanic, Juarez Kbca at KBĮA MOTOS, worked for 4 hours and charged me nothing. We met Andre Witt, a very nice Suzuki 1400 Intruder rider. He insisted we go to his house. We had intended to leave, but Andre was so nice we decided to spend the night with him. Andre gifted us with his club stickers, shirts and pins and fed us lunch. Next morning, Andre led us out of town and we rode a twisty route to Caxias do Sul. We were stunned by spectacular green scenery, which reminded me a bit of Colombia. Rode 35 km on a rough dirt road trying to visit the water falls in a national park, but it was closed and had to ride back. Ricardoīs KLR suffered a loose Supertrap pipe and a broken auxilliary headlight on the rough road. This route included a small German colony, a piece of Germany transplanted into Brazil. An Italian colony maintains vineyards in the area and produces wine. Brazilian Portugese sounds like gibberish to me. Spanish helps to communicate a little. Prices are very reasonable. Gasahol (Brazilian gas) is not. It was even higher in Uruguay. Ricardo is in seventh heaven with the lovely Brazilian chicas. Punky is still the star of the show and continues to draw attention everywhere we go. Achi continues to amaze me with ability to handle riding long distance and sometimes in difficult conditions. She isnīt always happy about it, but neither am I nor is Punky. We percevere. The good times far outweigh the bad. Tomorrow, we will ride to the coast again and enjoy the beach, if the weather cooperates. Then, on to Iguazu Falls, Paraguay, back to Brazil and Carnaval in Rio March 1. Mariola and Kris Cichon NEED help to get through the crisis caused by her accident in Africa and to allow Mariola to continue her Ride of the Heart around the world, when she is able. Please help if you can.
Later, amigos & amigas.
Punky, Lew & Achi 2
Americas Motopaseo
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Back to Where's Punky & Lew Now???
Back to Punky & Lews Homepage
Back to KLR-Mods page
Click here for My KiLleR Links Page.
Back To Homepage