GIVI Magazine - Novembre 2014

ENGLISH TEXT Givi Magazine Novembre 2014 - turismo  23 NOT JUST SAMBA AND CAIPIRINHA! DISCOVERING BRAZIL ON A MOTORCYCLE FIFTEEN DAYS IN THE SOUTHEAST OF BRAZIL, EXPLORING BY MOTORCYCLE THE COAST OF RIO AND THE NATURAL TREASURES OF THE INLAND, IN THE STATES OF SAO PAULO AND MINAS GERAIS. A lthough it is not clear to me why, I have noticed that Brazil is not a favorite of motorcycle travelers. The South American country is always at the top of the charts when it comes to “standard” travel tourism, but rarely in recent years have I seen bikers explore the coast or inland. When it comes to South America, the main destinations are obviously Patagonia, the Routa 40 which goes all the way to Peru, and most recently Colombia, which I personally had the opportunity to explore by motorcycle last May. Seizing the opportunity to try a brand new Honda CB500X made available by “GIVI do Brasil”, Sandro, my usual sidekick, and I flew to Pindamonhangaba, from which we started our tour of Southeast Brazil. Sandro, who for the greater part of the year lives in Recife (in the Northeast of the country), shipped his Honda Transalp from the north and also planned our route. The main objective? Prove to everyone that Brazil offers a lot more than just the beach, samba and caipirinhas. The itinerary. Travelling almost 3,000 km in 14 days, our tour hit the major resorts on the co- ast and the interior, allowing us to experience two realities that often appear totally different and almost opposite. The coast is hot, crowded and chaotic and best represented by the quintessential metropolis of Rio de Janei- ro, while the interior is much quieter and well cared for, dotted with beautiful mountains, winding roads and endless off-road stretches, to our delight as adventurers. During the first week we visited famous places like the islands of Ilhabela, where you arrive by ferry, and Ilha Grande, a pearl where there are no roads and the only vehicles are the police buggies, fire engines and the trac- tor that collects the garbage. The village of Paraty - a UNESCO world heri- tage site - was also magnificent while frankly we could have skipped Rio de Janeiro, the sprawl and traffic absurd even on Sundays. For me the highlight of the first week was the unforgettable Pontal de Atalaia near Cabo Frio. It is a peninsula to travel with a view from above, all off-road, with one side overlooking a verdant lagoon with beaches as white as sugar, and the other overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, which appears particularly wild here. It is no coincidence that the entire area, constantly beaten by strong wind, is littered with shipwrecks ranging from the 1700’s to the present day. from the sea to the mountains In contrast, during the second and last week we completely changed the landscape. We said good-bye to the Atlantic Ocean and the State of Rio de Janeiro and headed up to the mountains, to the State of Minas Gerais. Here many towns are reminiscent of Europe and especially Germany: this is mainly due to the large influx of Germans and Swiss who came here before and after the two world wars. Cities such as Nova Friburgo and Teresopolis are perfect examples. Pushing even further north we reached another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the beautiful (and expensive!) village of Tiradentes, that contrary to what its name suggests is really nice and welcoming. From there, the most northerly point of the whole tour, we headed down to the spa towns - the largest in the world in terms of the availability of healing waters - straddling the states of Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo. This area has always been a destination for royalty and dignitaries even coming from Europe. Some of them regained their health and as a thank you built beautiful churches and palaces. For our part, we took advantage of a full three days of fantastic facilities equipped with spa baths, saunas and whirlpools: a real pleasure after large stretches spent eating dust on the red clay roads in the inland of the country. the most beautiful moment The highlight of our trip, however, was the next to last night, when af- ter traveling off-road all day we did not realize that our average speed was too slow and darkness surprised us in the forest. We stopped at the first village and after asking around for information we managed to find a pousada or inn for the night. The elderly owner opened it just for us and in the evening we sprawled in front of the fireplace, as at these altitudes night temperatures drop below freezing. Luckily in Brazil the spring had just begun! The last day, before returning to Pinda and the GIVI headquarters, we visited the famous tourist resort of Campos do Jordaõ, an architec- tural mess created from nothing in 1985 inspired by Bavaria, but which Brazilians hold in the palm of their hands as if it were the same as Cortina or Saint Moritz. captions 1) THE INTERIOR OF BRAZIL HAS IT ALL. FROM THE PERFECTLY PAVED ROADS, TO THE LONG STRETCHES OFF-ROAD, IN ADDITION TO THE USUAL PICTURESQUE VIEWS WITH A LOT OF FUSCAS (THE VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE, WIDESPREAD HERE). 2) THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF OUR TOUR? GOING BEYOND THE TYPICAL TOURIST ATTRACTIONS, SHOWING HOW THE NATURE AND CULTURE OF THIS COUNTRY CAN SURPRISE TRAVELERS. 3) TWO IMAGES TO SHOW THE TWO MOST POPULAR MEANS OF TRANSPORT IN BRAZIL: MOTORCYCLES AND BOATS. 4) THE CONTRAST OF LANDSCAPES THAT RIO OFFERS ARE ALWAYS INCREDIBLE, FROM THE BEAUTIFUL COASTS ALONG THE PERFECTLY BLUE SEA, TO THE EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURE OF THE INTERIOR. EQUIPMENT: All GIVI products fitted to our two bikes proved very suitable for this type of travel. HONDA CB500X • A set of 3 Trekker OUTBACK cases on the Honda CB500X: two 37-liter OBK37A side cases and the new 42-liter OBK42A case. • A small tank bag, the EA106, ideal for holding a compact camera, sunglasses, cell phone and cash to pay tolls. • A WP407 waterproof bag, attached to the passenger seat, which, with its high visibility inserts significantly increased active safety. • A brand-specific high windscreen D1121ST • Engine guards TN1121, always recommended for this Honda. HONDA TRANSALP • Two 33-liter Trekker TRK33N side cases. • A more spacious tank bag, the EA102. • The specific D313S windscreen. SEE MORE PICTURES