Denouement Dashboard - Brazil 🇧🇷

This is the place I will cover the stats of each country as we go.

As usual, follow along at:

Anyway, let's get into it:

Brazil: 28/3-6/4/23

Tracks:

Rough rules: I will count the flight (or bus) TO that country as tracks IN that country.

Planes:

Montevideo --> Porto Alegre = 705 km
Porto Alegre --> Curitiba --> Iguazu Falls = 533 + 534 = 1067 km

Automobiles:

Bus: Porto Alegre --> Gramado = 104km
Car: Gramado --> Sapiranga --> Cambara do Sul --> Sapiranga --> Gramado = 66+138+138+66 = 408km
Bus: Gramado --> Porto Alegre = 104km

Boats:

Proabably about 2km up to Iguazu Falls

Walking:

43.2km

Total = 2433.2 km

Expenses:

Rough rules: I will count the flight (or bus) TO that country as an expense IN that country.

Will make up other rules along the way.

Total expense: $3,883.79 AUD

Total Days: 10 Days inclusive

Expense per day = $388.38 AUD/Day

Expenses Breakdown (mathematical, not emotional):

We splurged a little on accomodation to stay at a fairly swanky place at Iguazu Falls. Iguazu also accounts for a decent chunk of the 'Sightseeing' and 'Activities' line items.

Travel Bingo:

Way more 'Influencers' in Brazil. It is one of the world hotspots for plastic surgery...

An explanation of Travel Bingo is here.

Culinary Corner by a Non-Foodie:

Coffee is still ordinary.
But the meat was excellent - I tried my first picanha cooked on a sword-thing and very much enjoyed it (thanks, Tiago!!).
Brazilian barbecue is a shared event and is excellent (thanks, Cristian!!) - every house seems to have it's own woodfired grill...and I want one
In southern Brazil there is a large amount of German and Italian influence from historic waves of immigration - so fondue is a thing here and it is excellent.
Likewise, the chocolate situation is excellent, with Gramado being a hotspot for this.

Tips and Tricks:

"Brazil is not for amateurs" (a Brazilian friend, 2023) - personal safety should be taken seriously: kidnappings happen regularly; muggings/robberies can turn violent and deadly; your iphone may represent someone's annual wage
So be sensible, stick to tourist areas, don't go wondering alleyways after dark, don't be flashing your phone out to check maps on the street, don't flash cash etc etc
You will likely carry a bag/purse - carry it across your body on your front; just general situational awareness
'Rapppi' app for food delivery - it is quick and cheap
Uber works just fine
TravelSpend - get the app, document your expenses. What gets measured gets managed
Google Maps - download offline maps for wherever you are heading

Recommendations:

Gramado is a very pretty German town, that goes all out for Easter and Christmas with street decorations, and has excellent chocolate - it is very safe
The Wyndham Hotel is a short taxi ride out of the centre of Gramado and is excellent; as is Serrazul in the middle of town
The canyons of Cambará do Sul are stunning and are worth a day trip
There is practically nothing at Foz do Iguaçu (the town) other than Iguazu Falls, Hotels and tourist attractions - thats fine, you are going for the waterfalls
The Brazilian side was excellent from the perspective of walkways along the falls and out over them to a degree
The Argentinian boats seemed to go a bit closer up to the falls compared to the Brazilian boats that we were on

Summary:

Again - "Brazil is not for amateurs" (a Brazilian friend, 2023)
Brazil is absolutely massive, so we really only scrapped the surface of Southern Brazil
It can absolutely be a dangerous place, but we had no issues
Massive caveat here: we travelled mostly with local Brazilian friends (thanks, Lisi!!!) and chose to stay in very respectable hotels (with 24 hour front desk) when we weren't (as opposed to AirBnBs in the suburbs)
The food is good, the meat is excellent

Thanks for reading along.

The next country update will come... after the next country.

Weekly updates will come...weekly.

Luke.