Ross Wrenn disappeared to South America for several months. Let’s hear about it.

Where did you go in South America?
In Brazil I stayed about 150 kms to the southwest of the capital, Brasilia. That’s about 1200kms from the coast. In Argentina I visited friends in La Paz (several hundred kms north of Buenos Aires), it got to 40 degrees at the time I was there in January, it also rained making the dirt roads impassable too. On my return in July I stayed and travelled and stayed with friends within the Buenos Aires province.

How long were you there?
I was in Brazil for six months and for three weeks in Argentina.

Tell us about the weather.
In Brazil, January to March was wet (rained most days, thunder and lightening), daytime max 30 degrees and at night 25 degrees. In the dry period from May the temp dropped to 25 in the day, and the night surprisingly cool, less than 20 then to 10 and even a frost one morning! (We were at 1000m above sea level, often with a clear night sky).
There were huge areas of slightly rolling land, great for cropping along with tropical pastures for beef production too. Crops of soya bean, maize, sugar cane coffee (in places) were all very impressive.

What were the best attractions you saw?
As a tourist I went to Pirenopolis, an old mining town nestled in a hilly region, cobbled streets, well maintained old buildings, scores of eating establishment that are well patronised on holiday weekends. Like tramping, water falls and swimming it’s all their a thousand kms from the coast.
Rio Quente (“hot river” in English) has a hot water pool complex managed to thehighest standards. We were there for a triathlon and certainly enjoyed the whole atmosphere.
Florianopolis, actually the Ilha de Santa Catarina is a coastal beach and tourist destination and site of the Brazil Ironman at the northern end of the island (Praia de Jurere) in May. Plenty of great beaches complete with bars, restaurants, fish and fishermen, beautiful people and warm clear water for swimming and surfing.

What differences did you first see?
Out from customs, I first noticed the long legs of the women, or was it that? Maybe it was the high heeled and fancy shoes they wore, so striking!

What language is spoken in Brazil?
Portuguese (not Spanish).

Did the language pose problems?
It does limit what and how you might do things or what you might say. I went to afternoon classes for 6 weeks, so have some knowledge of the language. The boys on the farm had no English so communication had to be in Portuguese, a strong incentive to learn. English is not common in the rural areas but in major cities often people will delight in practicing the English they have learnt at school or later in life.

What are the people like?
Friendly and helpful. They had to be patience to understand my version of Portuguese. Bus travel (not tourist buses) is a great way to meet and talk to the locals. What a great way to make time on your backside most rewarding, time just flies by. We had a maid in the house 5.5 days a week, very very helpful, she had a great family too.

What was the food like?
Rice, beans and maize form the basis of the diet. Chicken was the most common meat eaten, pork and beef followed. All the normal veges along with local tropical types. The basics were cheap; you could graze out at a “Self Service” restaurant, pay by the weight on your plate, really good quality and variety for very little.

And the fruit and juices?
Amazing, delicious, quenching, just how do you describe the tropical fruit juices? With ice, with milk, what ever, very necessary in a hot climate!

Other drinks, coffee etc?
I thought coffee would be a big thing, aromas coming out of every door! Alas very much no, almost nil coffee cafes. Free coffee, small, strong and sweet was frequently available in many stores, service stations etc. Beer is common, available almost anywhere and at any time. Cachaca, a high proof spirit made from sugar cane is strong enough to fuel a car, only to be taken in small quantities. All priced right to quench a hot climate thirst.

Is it safe there?
Where ever I went it was always safe. But there will be places, I think in some of the biggest cities where care would be needed or you are better not to venture. In the rural areas it was great. But watch out for the drivers on the pot holed roads.

What’s the traffic like?
In the big cities, like organised chaos (not nearly as organised as the colonies of ants taking supplies back to their nests). Numerous motorcycles line up at the head of the queue at the traffic lights (entertaining though). Count down and the races were on (Brazil has produced numerous well performed racing car drivers). On the highways speed had little limit; neither did the traffic accidents! Really bad!
There are thousands of kms of motorways (the cost of this infrastructure must have been enormous, but necessary), some in good repair but many a bit lacking. Some secondary roads are peppered with potholes, the local drivers were well versed in manoeuvring their vehicles to minimise the impacts. (The numerous tyre repair shops indicate the extent of the damage). Unsealed roads and there were plenty of them would be a delight to the rally fraternity, the 4WD manufactures, for many years.
Cars were generally small in size and most fuelled by alcohol derived from sugar cane (Brazil was sure doing its bit for the environment)!

You were there a long time, what were you doing?
I was there helping to convert a farm to dairying, using NZ principles to guide the development and management. A start from scratch and milk will be flowing in March 2009. It’s a large project (1000 cows), fences, water system, heifers, animal health, mating, buildings, pastures, other feeds, staff just to name a few of many parts of the jigsaw puzzle.

What sports did you do while you were there?
I took up swimming again with some friends who were training for triathlons. Sure I was not in their league but it certainly stretched my muscles. I managed to fit in some sailing at the Iate Clube de Brasilia (the Brasilia Yacht Club); it’s much more than a yacht club, many more sports and a host of social activities too. Security at the entrance and plenty of paid staff etc. The “commodores table” of which I was welcomed at was well supplied with wine, something a little stronger too, cheeses, breads, deliciously prepared meats (a tradition that could be started at Ngaroto) and good people and conversation. A Samba dancing lesson was sprung on me in Argentina and later abseiling (and surviving both).

What wild life did you see?
Ants taking leaves and seeds etc back to their nest were abundant, all shapes, sizes and colours they even explored our house. I saw one spider at least as big as my hand (not that I touched it), a snake about 1.2 metres long and got both on film. Bats spent the day in an old derelict house on the farm. Large frogs croaked away at night, I captured some on the camera along with colourful green lizards, an ant eater, and an opossum like creature. Buzzards that quickly devoured any creature that had died, a few groups emus roamed over the farm, colourful toucans would occasionally be seen flying, woodpeckers attracted attention by knocking on hollow trees. I didn’t see any freshwater crocs but they were around; monkeys evaded me too.

Your best moments?


I was very proud to see the Kiwis on the Podium at the Rio Quente triathlon and doing very well at Brasilia (6th) and the Brazil Ironman 82nd from an international field of 1200 competitors. My host family, their friends and relatives and the farm staff saw to it that my stay would be enjoyable and not forgotten. I will always remember the smiles on the faces of people when I gave them their family photos that I had taken. The local village school-church fund raising dances and talking to the locals were very satisfying times.

Are you planning to go back?
The invite has been given, I cannot let it go by, but when I am not sure yet.