Report 22 & 23 November
By Dirk

Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 November we are invited by Malcolm Forest to visit the Veteran Car club Do Brasil in São Paulo.
We leave at 8.30 AM. Santos in the rain.
It is about 50 miles to our meeting point in São Paulo and we have to cross a mountain pass of 2400 feet.

raining while leavingSantos

On our way it is getting dry and at 10.30 we arrive in São Paulo.
São Paulo is the biggest city of South-America with more than 20 million inhabitants.
It is also the economic centre of Brazil.

driving in Sao Paulo

We are cordially welcomed by our classic car friends at the first fuel station that we pass in São Paulo.

meeting Sao Paulo

meeting Sao Paulo

meeting Sao Paulo

meeting Sao Paulo

meeting Sao Paulo

meeting in Sao Paulo

A picture near the famous Ipiranga Museum is a must of course.

Ipiranga museum

One of the club members invited us to see his car collection.
He started collecting cars when he was 16 years old.
Beautiful cars and all in the same condition as he found them.

car collection

car collection

car collection

car collection

This weekend there is a great car show in the town: The Auto Esporte Expo Show.

Foto Bill board of the car show

Bill board car show

We are invited to visit this show with the Model T.
The Model T gets a special spot between all the beautiful polished cars.

at the car show

at the car show

The next day, Sunday, our friends pick us up at the hotel and offer us a emblem of the Veteran Car Club Do Brasil.
We immediately mount it on the Model T.

emblem

emblem 2

Our friends of the Veteran Car Club Do Brasil escort us to the border of the city.
There we say goodbye.

saying goodbye

These two days in São Paulo were a beautiful finish of this part of our World tour through South-America.
Friends of the Veteran Car Club Do Brasil: thanks for that.

Arrival in Santos

After 16.000 miles in 173 days, started in Cartagena Colombia we arrived today in Santos, Brazil.
The end of our travel adventure with the Model T through South-America.

foto arrival in Santos

arrival in Santos

Report 16th of November
By Robert

We drive from Cajati to our final destination Santos.
We prepare ourselves for the last day of travelling in South America. We check the route on internet, to see if there will be any flat parts. It seems that the hills end at Peruíbe, on the coast. We will try and disconnect the Model T there, so Dirk and Trudy can drive it into Santos.

Liza checking the Land Rover

Checking for flat ground

On the road we see many banana trees and stands where they sell fruit.

Banana trees

We stop at the stand of an old man. He lives behind his stand and everything he sells, has been grown on his own land. We order five glasses of sugar cane juice, which is being pressed on the spot. We finalize with a short tour through the orchard.

Pressing the sugar cane

Drinking sugar cane juice

When we reach the flat coast, we disconnect the Model T. Dirk and Trudy drive the car to Santos, on the outskirts of São Paulo and our final destination.

Preparing Model T for last trip

We celebrate the arrival with a toast. Dirk and Trudy have driven the Model T for 16.000 miles. From Cartagena in Colombia to Santos in Brazil, crossing eight countries in 173 days.

arrival in Santos

Liza and Wouter joined them for some 5.600 miles, from Calafate in Argentina to Santos.

Liza and Wouter in Santos

From Buenos Aires in Argentina Robert joined the team as well.

Liza, Robert and Wouter in Santos

We end with a happy driver and co-driver…

A happy driver

A happy co-driver

PS.
We have had a beautiful trip through South America and we have met nice and friendly people here.
We hope you have enjoyed our travel reports during this 3th part of our Worldtour.

Trudy & Dirk

Report 15th of November
By Robert

We drive from Guarapuava to Cajati with the Model T behind the Land Rover.
Today Liza and Trudy sit in the Model T. It’s a lot colder than yesterday, so they dress up extra warm.

Liza and Trudy in Model T

It must be strange for Dirk to sit behind the steering wheel of the Land Rover.

Dirk driving Land Rover

The road is beautiful once again, especially the last 100 km when we drive through forested hills. Some hills have trees with big pink flowers which makes to hill seem al pink instead of green.

The road

Trees with pink flowers

Report 14th of November
By Robert

With the Model T behind the Land Rover, we drive from Matelândia to Guarapuava.
We connect the Model T to the Land Rover. Two people have to sit in the towed Model T because the Land Rover only fits 3 people. Trudy and Robert take the first shift.

Connection Model T to Land Rover

The Model T is not visible in the mirrors of the Land Rover, so Dirk makes us an emergency flag. Sticking it out means we have to pee, waving it means there’s something seriously wrong.

Emergency flag

It is essential that we don’t steer or put the car accidently into gear while it is being towed, so Dirk fixes all the levers with straps.
It might look a bit silly sitting in the towed Model T, but actually it’s a great way of travelling. People honk their horns, wave, film, take pictures or laugh out loud, when they see us drive by.

Trudy and Robert in towed Model T

The road is beautiful, and it’s as if we have managed to get the best seats in the theatre. Brazil is a very green country. We see endless farming land, alternated by forests. Every now and then we pass a village or town. We also see an umbrella-like pine trees, called araucaria.

Landscape on the way

Araucária

Every so many kilometres we pass a police checkpoint, and each time it’s a bit exciting if they will let us pass. But most of the time they are to flabbergasted when they see us and just wave. It gets really exciting when a police car catches up with us and stays behind us with his flashing lights on. We deliberately don’t look back and after a few minutes he passes us and fortunately drives on.

Report 13th of November
By Robert

We drive from Puerto Iguazú on the Argentinean border to Matelândia in Brazil.

Crossing border into Brazil

We are a bit behind schedule, so we are in doubt whether we should visit the falls on the Brazilian side as well. We decide to do it and it turns out to be the right choice. The falls are even more beautiful from this side!

Iguazu falls on Brazilian side

Iguazu falls on Brazilian side

Iguazu falls on Brazilian side

After our visit to the falls, we drive for another few hours and spend the night in Matelândia.