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Tuesday, March 24, 2020

The Price of Being a Slug - Telemaco Borba, Brazil - 29 April 2018

29 April 2018 – James Jr. and I got up and we rode our motorcycles out of the city on PR-239 crossing Tibagi River / Rio Tibagi, past the paper mill and then on to Harmony Club / Harmonia Clube for Brunch. This is a large facility with a dining hall, swimming pool, tennis courts etc. We went inside and chose our food from a buffet. Everything looked really good. You have to remember I mostly ate apples, bananas, peanut butter, bread and Snickers candy bars for the last six months. I met James Jr.’s uncle. I believe he worked as a manager in the restaurant.

After we finished eating, we went outside by our motorcycles and took a couple of pictures. We rode down to the main gate and spoke to another gentleman who worked as security and managed the club grounds etc. He was a Harley-Davidson enthusiast. We talked about Harleys as best we could. I told him I owned a 2010 Harley-Davidson and showed him a picture. We took pictures, shook hands and returned back to the house.

 Later in the day James Jr. recommended we go for a walk or maybe for a run. I said maybe a short walk as I haven’t really walked any distance for over six months. So, we went for a walk. James Jr. tried to walk my legs off. I would guess the walk was about 1.75 miles / 3 Kilometers. My legs really started aching after about 5/8 of a mile / 1 kilometer into the walk. The truth is I really needed some exercise. The only exercise I got was checking in and checking out of hotels. Otherwise all I did for the last six months was sit on my motorcycle.  When we got home my calves were in spasms….threatening to cramp up if you touch them. James Jr. also said walking at night or during the hour of darkness wasn’t really smart or safe. 

Later in the day Robson, a friend of the family stopped by for a visit. Robson could speak English and had been to the United States vacationing / holiday for sure once, maybe twice. We mostly talked about motorcycles and our travels. Robson like to ride his BMW GS Adventure motorcycle long hours and distances. He spoke of riding in Paraguay and Bolivia and said he got a flat tire in Bolivia. God, I hate flat tires they're nothing but a pain. I’m sure he has ridden in more countries than that but I can’t remember them. We also talked about navigational devices. I told him I used a Garmin Zumo 660. It was a pretty good GPS but Blanche my GPS still liked to navigate her way. I hate to say how frustrating that can be when traveling thru foreign cities.

When I rode through Ecuador I found out I didn’t have any GPS maps for the country. Once I crossed the border into Ecuador, Blanche went blank. There was a road under me, and then suddenly there wasn't. That was a rude awakening when you thought you had a map and really you don’t. In that situation, with Mary’s help we downloaded the maps for Ecuador on my Micro SD Card. I thought it would be another file but no, it overwrote the already existing United States maps. The United States maps were gone. No joy here. The only reason I bring this up is because I’m about to leave Brazil and go back to the United States. I would like to have the maps again when I land in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. to navigate out of that city. Robson offered to help me download the maps whenever I get a Micro SD Card. I get free U.S.A. maps for my GPS for life. I told him I would get back with him in a few days. I’m still trying sort out how I’m going to fly my motorcycle out of Brazil.

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