Finish, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

After 32 days on the road, 5 countries and 14,500 kilometres we are very pleased to be in Rio de Janeiro! This has been a fantastic rally, we have been to some incredible places and seen some marvellous things, a chance of a lifetime and a privelidge to be a part of. Many thanks should go to Bart Rietbergen and his team for putting together such a well organized event. The days have gone really quickly and there has not been much time to think about anything outside the rally. Some crews were not so lucky, there were quite a few hire cars tagging along by the end, only 25 cars out of the 30 which set off from Buenos Aires a month ago made it to Rio.
We had very few problems in the scheme of things, although The Mighty One was sounding pretty rattly by the end. Most of our ailments centred around worn suspension bushes and shock absorbers, a result of the terrible road conditions, but pretty easy to sort out when the car gets home. Special thanks should go to Brian Morris who prepared the car, that's 13 rallies without a DNF!
We took the car over to the port this morning, it went straight into a container and should be back in Amsterdam by Xmas. After lunch we went to see Jesus, aka Christ The Redeemer, the giant statue which overlooks Rio from the top of Corcovado Mountain, another one of the seven wonders of the world, and an incredible spectacle.
Our hotel on Copacabana beach is hosting a football world convention this week and there are lots of important football types here from all over the world, we have seen numerous famous faces around the place, they are preparing for the 2014 World Cup which is being held here. None of them seem to recognize us though.
The prizegiving last night was a great night out, it was on Sugarloaf Mountain, we went in a cable car to get there. Our final result was 7th overall and third in class, the Brits did pretty well, Sean Arnold won, with Jon and Chris second, Richard and Nicola won the 4x4 class (having set off in a Mk 2 Jaguar) much to the chagrin of the Dutch, but there you go.
Thanks for reading, that's all for now...

Day 32, Pouso Alto to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

After a bit of a wild night last night in the hotel, numerous caipirinhas were put away, much fun and laughter had by all. Feeling slightly jaded we had a fast and furious sprint around the hotel grounds which was pretty hot but two of the cars hit a wall with some front end damage, anyway we were second fastest to Jon and Chris. The Brits are starting to come good! Then it was a pleasant run through the mountains down to Rio, we arrived mid afternoon to a noisy reception and lots of champagne spraying. Will keep this short and report back properly tomorrow, going for a swim in the sea and then a vintage champagne party compliments of our Finish friends Martii and Pirkko, then gala dinner tonight...
Great to be here!

Days 30 and 31, Londrina-Campinas- Pouso Alto, Brazil

We left Londrina heading east, feeling a bit jaded due to food related technical issues and a general lack of sleep, but rally drivers are a tough breed so we soldiered on...
Brazil has turned out to be a lot more civilised than we expected, more organised and neat and tidy, in fact very European in it's appearance.  If it wasn't for the palm trees and the glorious wall to wall sunshine every day, you could imagine you are in England. There is no sign of a recession here, most of the people look well to do and business like.  It is getting hotter the further east we go, well over 30 degrees in the afternoon now, some like it hot.
Our afternoon time control yesterday was in a big garage forecourt and half the town came out to greet us, the local classic car club was there in force with a wide variety of unusual cars.  There was a TV crew doing a piece for the evening news slot, I was interviewed by a rather fetching young lady who was interested in our car, one of the most famous rally cars in the world, so I told her.  Must have been a slow news day and she looked a bit tired by it all. She did about four takes as a fly kept landing on her nose.
Our hotel tonight is a small but friendly spot own by a bloke called Carlos, they all seem to be called Carlos, he has a small collection of cars on display around the place with pride of place going to a Brazilian built Bardahl in the reception area which seems to be made of Corian worktop material.
I can hear roars of laughter coming from the bar, where they apparently serve wonderful Caparinho's. Must go.
Tomorrow Rio de Janeiro!  

Day 29, Foz do Icuacu to Londrina, Brazil

A short distance from Iguacu we visited a circuit which looked really good on paper but turned out to be a kart track when we got there, anyway we blasted round with Tyres squealing, looking quite spectacular in a Mr Bean sort of way and did quite well we thought, until it came to stopping astride of two cones at the end, our enthusiasm got the better of us, stopping with three brake isn't as easy as we imagined.
Moving on, we headed east on the main road and were quite surprised how neat and tidy everything is, quite a step up in terms of sophistication from Argentina, and two centuries ahead of Bolivia. It all looks very european, emerald green field and bright rust coloured soil. There were huge fields of soya growing, as far as the eye can see and for hundreds of miles. It is getting hotter by the day, getting on for 30 degrees and very sunny.
The highlight of the day was a visit to the Autodromo Ayrton Senna, the smartest circuit we have been to yet, but still a bit hick. We thought we performed brilliantly, the idea being to do four laps at exactly the same times, using a trip meter and a couple of stop watches. No doubt we will have cocked it up somehow but until we get the results we are revelling in the glory of getting it right. Short blog today as we are both completely goosed!

Day 28, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil

Today is our last rest day before the finish in Rio and we find ourselves staying in a spectacular hotel, right next to the Iguacu Falls which just have to be seen to be believed. 550,000 cubic feet of water per second cascading over a complex of 275 waterfalls, it really is a marvel of the world and a huge contrast to the arid conditions we have experienced recently. It is in a sort of horseshoe shape, four times wider and higher than Niagara Falls, in the middle of a jungle eco system with Argentina on one side and Brazil on the other. High Force looks like an ornamental garden water feature by comparison.
This morning we mucked in with the marsalls and organisers and hired a big RIB which took us at great speed up the river to get closer to the action. We didn't realise quite how close we would get, the skipper took us under one of the waterfalls, of course we were soaked to the skin, but it was great fun.
Then we had a few hours checking the car over, we had been given special dispensation to bring our cars into the National Park, normally you have to leave your car outside and get a bus in. Our car park was right next to the swimming pool and a bit of a zoo. There was a Toucan making occasional flying visits, some lizards wandering around and a right nasty looking thing a bit like a small alligator, quite harmless we were told, could have been an iguana?
After a walk along the side of the river to see the rest of the falls close up and a swim in the pool it was time once again for a get together on the terrace for a couple of sundowners and then a nice meal the hotel restaurant by the pool with various members of our gang, Jon and Chris, Sean and Benny.
The rest day, as usual, worked out more tiring than a rally day, trying to squeeze everything in but very memorable and a wonderful place to be in November. How is the weather back home by the way? Hah!

Day 27, Resistencia to Foz do Iguacu, Brazil

It was a bit of a mad scramble to get out of Resistencia, but we made it over the Parana River and onto the arrow straight RN 12. This area, close to the Paraguayan border, is quite upmarket, there were many rather swish looking private estates and ranches with big fancy gates, Texas style. The roads are well kept with very wide verges, as is the norm in Argentina, neatly mown grass down both sides. It is fairly easy to cover big distances when the roads are so good. After the lunch stop we had a regularity section on fairly rough tracks, then it was off towards the Brazilian border. It has been getting warmer over the past couple of days, and today was quite humid. We have now entered a forested area, most of the business around here seems to centre around logging, there are many timber yards and lorries loaded with timber. We made it to the border and got through without any problems, our hotel is in the National Park, next to the Falls, and it's a "proper hotel" according to Peter, a colonial style establishment and we are off to the bar now for a couple of gin and tonics, we feel we deserve it. Hah!

Day 26, Jujuy to Resistencia, Argentina

Today is the longest day in terms of distance, 871 kilometres.  Despite having a pretty crap day yesterday spirits were high this morning, good to be back in civilisation and good to be back at a sensible altitude, we hadn't been below 3500 metres in the last week.  We didn't suffer much from altitude sickness, but it is a bit debilitating at times and definitely more difficult to sleep.
The car, once we adjusted the carbs, is going like the wind, well, by Morris 1800 standards anyway.  We have had very little in the way of problems so far, we had to replace two shock absorbers, a wheel bearing and a track rod end, all the other issues have been minor mechanical repairs and maintenance. At lunch time today we were still missing three Mustangs, two Jags and a couple of Volvo's from yesterday.  The Mighty One continues to surprise and is going well, touch wood.
After an early regularity section the rest of the day is a fast blast across flat farmland, we even went on a dual carriageway this morning! Bliss.  As I type this we are travelling along the RN16, it's a glorious sunny day and everything has gone green again, this is rich farmland with numerous huge ranches and huge wide open spaces.  We passed a cattle ranch with several thousand cattle penned into one area, you could smell it several miles away.  Coming to a table near you soon I guess.  We have mobile phone signal again and decent fuel, Fangio XXI, powerful 95 octane stuff.The highlight of the morning was the girl making the coffee at the cafe stop, it was delicious and a welcome change from some of the more basic places in Bolivia.  
We have become institutionalised by rally life, the routines, the disciplines and the lack of time to think about anything else are all consuming.  It's difficult to imagine life without a time card, road book and a GPS.  There are so many highs and lows, sometimes you feel beaten by it all, then there are euphoric moments when things go really well.  The pace is difficult to get your head around, we have been to so many places, seen so many wonderful sights, stayed in more hotels than we can remember, made lots of new friends and had a lot of laughs.
Only five more rally days and 2700 kilometres to go...stay tuned for the further adventures of Wallace and Grommitt!.