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Argentina to the US in search of healthcare access for Latin America

More of Salcar's story is on the homepage if you're interested in reading!
:brow

Thank you Mandy!!!
here is the link to the article for those of you that don??t want to read all the blog posts.

http://www.bmwmoa.org/features/healthcareaccess.htm?pg=1

the article talks about the first part of the trip - preparations to departure. so much happened that it was hard to pick what to put in. if anyone have any questions i??ll be happy to reply to them. :type
 
From paradise

Thinking, thinking, thinking, thinking in Florianapolis.... and doing busy work such as uploading pictures.

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Dreaming big Brasil

IÔÇÖm still in Florianopolis, Brasil and I rented and apartment here for the next 3 weeks. When I got here I took 2 weeks of Portuguese classes and stayed in the house of a Brazilian family in Santa Barbara. Classes were to expensive to keep taking them so now IÔÇÖm trying to learn on my own. So far I think I made good progress. I can communicate and understand most of the conversations when they talk slow. Also I understand most of the television programs.

After Santa Barbara I stayed 5 days in Cannasviera which is in the north part of the island. I stayed with Marcio a motorcyclist that I met in Argentina. He is thinking about doing the rest of the trip with me and then to continue alone and do the rest of South America. He is 24 years old and has little money to do the trip. So he is thinking about buying a Yamaha YBR 125cc and is borrowing gear form his friends. We spent quite a bit of time talking about possible routes and I helped him brainstorm for his journey.

The carnival was not as big as the one in Rio Janeiro but it was still a lot of fun. There were a lot of people on the streets partying and enjoying themselves. There were parades on the streets, big private parties, big club parties and big boat parties. I got see a bit of all of them.

Now IÔÇÖm trying to figure out a way to stay in Brazil and develop my healthcare project that is slowly taking shape and direction. However, not speaking fluently the language, not being a Brazilian resident and the loans that I have to pay is making it very difficult to find a job here. I would love to stay in Brazil for many reasons but the most important are that the economy is growing and analyst are comparing it to the one in China and India. The people are very friendly, the food is great and the landscape is a paradise.

Now, IÔÇÖm at cross roads where I need to start making decisions on what to do with my future. The journey will soon be over and IÔÇÖll be out of money. Should I keep following my dreams and save the world but also risk going bankrupt and poor or should I be realistic and just focus on finding a job that will allow me to pay off my loan fast. Some days I feel like taking the risk and keep following my dreams but then I wake up and realize that IÔÇÖm just going crazy. Other days I feel IÔÇÖm trying to undertake too much and I should just settle with a fun job that allows me to make the minimum payments and enjoy being a motorcycle vagabond around the world.

Today Im following my dream. And Im dreaming big with open eyes!
 
Crossroads hmmm? Consider alternative methods to maintain the momentum and expertise you have created. Seek our the Red Cross, WHO, etc to act on their behalf as a researcher. Even the Brazilian governement Health Office. Find the largest medical hospital, University and seek the largest grant office for a role. Go to work at the Beemer shop. Work for a major resort as a tour guide. Start a small sandwich shop. Go to the emb assy and find the expatriates business group and network. Teach motorcycle riding. Operate a motorcyle tours for medical professionals.

Make a job of getting a high value job. Think big.
 
Crossroads hmmm? Consider alternative methods to maintain the momentum and expertise you have created. Seek our the Red Cross, WHO, etc to act on their behalf as a researcher. Even the Brazilian governement Health Office. Find the largest medical hospital, University and seek the largest grant office for a role. Go to work at the Beemer shop. Work for a major resort as a tour guide. Start a small sandwich shop. Go to the emb assy and find the expatriates business group and network. Teach motorcycle riding. Operate a motorcyle tours for medical professionals.

Make a job of getting a high value job. Think big.

portugues is the big barrier now. i stoped taking clases bc they were to expensive and without portuguese is hard to find a job hear. however, it is getting better by the day and i can understand 80% and can make myself understand. i have a few business ideas cooking and also networking to find a job here.

i was planning to go to Paraguay in a couple of weeks but there is a huge dengue fever out break. not so sure if i??ll go. i??m heading north on April 7th and hope to be done with this journey at the end of May the latest. if i have time and money i will like to take the amazon boat from Belem, Brasil to Iquitos Peru which will take approx 2 weeks to and from there.

I took the motorcycle into the shop last week since it was running bad. they reprogram the chip, balanced the wheels and change the oil. now is doing much better but you can see that the bike is also getting tired.

life is good, life is hard but these will be the moments i??ll look back with greatest pleasure. i keep meeting people that think is unreal that i dropped everything in my life to be here and not know what the future has in store for me.

i'm planning to do some local riding and have pictures to see this paradise :heart
 
laptop help

It seems that i might be able to work for a couple of months from Brasil for my old company. however to do that i need to get a laptop. i have a friend coming to visit on March 26 and could bring the computer from the state. I was looking for computers online and once i add the software and random stuff it comes out to be pretty expensive.

So do you know of a site where i can buy a cheap laptop and software? do you have a used one you could sell me? do you know of someone that could sponsor it? i was thinking about spending 900-1200US$. the laptop needs to be a bit strong so i can take it with me on the motorcycle. any help is appreciated.
 
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Back on the road

It??s been over a month since I rode my motorcycle more than 200km. it??s time to get back on the saddle. I called the Italian embassy in Paraguay and the lady that i talked to recommended not going because the rainy season is starting and is also very hot which means more mosquitoes. She thinks that Igua?ºu falls on the Argentinean and Brazil side should be fine. i'm planning to cross the border, get the stamp and see at least the border town Ciudad del Este which is suppose to be the black market of south america.
I’m planning to leave for Igua?ºu this Friday. Then going up to Bonito in Mato Grosso do Sul which is suppose to be one of the best places in Brazil. Then I’ll come back to Florianopolis where I??ll spend 10 days. Maybe go to the national meeting of the BMW Moto Clube do Brasil in Curitiba.

On April 8th most likely do the Brazil coast since it looks like ill be able to work a couple of days which will help me cover the coast of a longer route.
 
after doing a 4100km drive to foz igua?ºu-argentina, bonito-brazil, pantanal do sul-bolivia and coming back to florianopolis. After beeing in one place for almost two months now i??m ready to get back on the road to ride the last 4 countries. this morning i worked on the bike i changed the fuel filter (i hope that stops the motorcycle from shutting off by it self) changed the subframe bolts, checked the fluids and started unpacking and repacking all my things to refamiliarize myself with what i have and where it is. i still need to get my yellow fever shot and buy malaria treatment since i??m not doing the preventive treatment. my driver license and registration have expiered and my old house mate that recieves the mail hasn??t seen the DMV renewal letter. i hope is not a problems with the cops here.
tonight might go out to dinner with an Advrider and hopefully leave by Sunday towards curitiba, sao paulo, rio janeiro and then inland to Belem...
the rainy season has started and when it rain it rains hard...
 
Have a safe journey!! looking forward to your next report :lurk :lurk
 
thank you statdawg for updating the thread. i??m in Rio after riding all day and getting lost in the city. i??m at the house of a brazilian rider that is hosting me for the next couple of days before i move into a hotel from where i??ll be attending the World Congress of Nephrology all costs covered by my previous company. trying to figure out how and where to send the replacement part. :dance
 
Some pictures from the breakdown.

I could not put the bike on the center stand or side stand. Yes a lot of stuff on the bike. But when you are on the road for 8 months in places that have extreme weather, a motorcycle that is hard to find part and a tight budget that doesn??t allow you to be sending and recevieing stuff you end up travelling like this.
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the broken part is on the other side
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my ride to the mecanic. As you can see by the time we got there it was dark. Barely in time to get it in.
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brazilriders.com.br the rider that was with me from Sao Paulo to Ouro Preto
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The Motomania Team in Congonhas that got me back on the road
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Lighten that load, are you hauling Inca Gold ?

the Inca gold was all stolen by the spaniards and other conquistadores :fight

i have a lot of spare parts and tools, also carrying a bunch of stickers, books, winter cloth and other cloth that i??ve been using to go out and not to attend the medical conferene. i guess alot of stuff tha i could get rid off but is all i have left and has been with me this whole trip. leaving it behind i would feel naked and like i??m loosing the rest of the possesions that i have. i feel that the moment i leave behind the tools and parts i??ll end up needing them. also many of the things i??m carrying where gifts and leaving them behind feels like i don??t appreciate them.

i know alot of nonsense... :dunno
 
it is not the greates feeling being completely naked in the back yard of a brazilian police station and being accused of trafficking drugs.

i left rio de janeiro early afternoon with temperatures around 38C, in other words really hot and the traffic getting out of the city didn??t help. once i was out of the city i stopped to get a bottle of cold water and put on my ipod. once i got moving the wind cooled me down and the music made it a nice ride. after turning right into the road that was headed to cabo frio i passed a police check point. just another police check point like the many i have passed before. i slowed down and waved at the officials by lowering my head. little did i know that a few minutes later i would see a police car cashing me and pulling me over. after i stopped the police started mumbling stuff that i couldn??t understand because of the music in one ear and a ear plug in the other one.

he asked for the documents and i told him i had them in my metal case. he said to stepped down of the motorcycle that he needed to do a body search. the other cop had a hand on his gun. slowly he started padding my body and my private parts. made me take out everything that i had in my pockets. then he started searching my tank bags. every item was taken out, inspected carefully and smelled it. all my cards he would run them in his fore arm looking for a white powder once he was done he said to open my metal cases. by that time a good half hour had gone by and i was sure i??ll soon be on the road. but i was wrong!!!

he started to pull stuff out of the case again very meticulously and smelling it. they were looking for drugs and guns. the other cop asked a few questions about the trip. the younger copped after going through many things he found something. he claimed that he found something that smelled like marijuana. of course i laughed but that didn??t helped. he told me "if you have drugs you better tell us right now. there are two ways. one is that you tell us where you have it or the other one is that we take you into the police station. you know we are federal cops and if we find something your trip is over!!"

i couldn??t believe it!!!!! i was just in shock. he took my documents and told me to drive my bike to the police station. the distance between the motorcycle and the car was less than half a meter. just in case i decided to run away they could crash into me. once i got to the police station the accusation continued and demanded to tell him where i had the drugs. the first thing was to do a body search so he took me to the back yard of the police station. i had to take all my cloths one at the time until i was completely naked. he search each item very closely. for a moment i was sure he would put a finger up my ass but thank God that didn??t happen. then he said you can just put your pants and shirt because is going to be a while to search all your stuff.

he was right! like a mad man he started to pull out all my things, opening everything that he could open, smelling everything that he could put his nose on and every fifteen minutes acusing me of carrying drugs and demanding to tell him where the drug was if not it would be worse when he found it. by that time i was really annoyed and could not believe. after the first couple hours i saw his frustration growing since he couldn??t find anything. but once again he pulled a random grocery bag and said it smelled like marijuana. the other cops that were coming and going started looking at him like he was wasting time. his frustration grew and started throwing my belongings on the floor. for a while i panicked thinking that he would put some bag of drugs in my stuff just he could claim he found something. after going through my tank bags, my two metal cases, my black bag with camping gear he repeated the same thing "you better tell me where the drug is. this is a lot of work and if i find it myself it is going to be a lot wores" by that time i had enough and got pissed. I looked straight into his eyes and told him "i??ve been traveling for the past 9 months and been stopped hundreds of time by the cops and i know it will happen again. i??m not stupid to be carrying drugs so that some cop like you can ruin my trip" but that didn??t matter. he wanted for me to open the seat and started looking all the openings in the bike - even in the gas tank. night came he he wsa still looking. finally he gave in and told me to repack my stuff.

the whole ordeal took around 6 hours to inspect all my stuff and to get it repacked. i was finally back on the road and having to drive at night. never a dull moment!
 
I??m in a beach town close to Fortaleza - North of Brasil:dance
today was the first day in over a month that i drove most of the ride heading West. I should be in Belem by this weekend where I??ll be taking to the boat to Macapa and then 300km of bad dirt into the Guyanas. The Guayanas have been ridden by very few motorcyclist less than 10 i bet. They are know to be expensive, dangerous and not much to see - i hope they are wrong.
i??m still waiting for customs to realease my motorcycle part and i hope i don??t have to wait in Belem for it. the bike so far is holding and the engine is still going strong. i think it adjusted to the bad fuel. :german
it has been raining a lot which makes it for very long days and by the end i??m exahusted. the rain, the bad roads, animals on the streets and crazy truck drivers are just a few of the things that i have to put up while ridding.. nonetheless i??m loving it:type
 
I’m currently in Belem where I??ll take the boat to Manaus next tuesday. Tomorrow and Saturday I??ll visiting a boat hospital that operates here in the amazon delta. Here is extremely hot and humid!!!

here a few pictures of this past few days that have involved some challenging rides.

Jericoacoara is another brasilian paradise. All the roads in the city are made of sand some of which are deep (see more pic in my smugmug account). The town is really lay back with friendly people

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In Jeri there are also many motorcyclist and a lot of sand trails for those that want some fun...
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some of the sand is deep and with a bold tire like I had was very hard. I just manage to crash one which i think was a great improvement from the: "4 bikes left, 2 returned. The Anza "figure it out" tour http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130601
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it did help to have locals giving me tips on sand riding. this guys are pros in sand.
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the town next to Jeri is still underdeveloped and poor. the people still come to the main square at 6pm to watch television that is kept secure in the green box in the pic
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nothing beats a cold beer after a long day riding in the sand with some local friends at the beach
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i think this picture captures the essence of being an adventure riding. never in my life i imagined i would be here
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one of the main attraction here are the dunes.. yes you can ride in some of them.. if you look closely you can see a black dot in one of them – it is a motorcycle
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coming in and out of Jericoacoara can be tricky. you need to pay attention to the tide if not you cannot ride on the shore since ther is a huge dune that blocks the way. also it can be very hard if you have to much luggage riding in some sections that have deep sand. i left most of my stuff with Avila in Jijoca. If you ever come this way make sure to contact him everyone knows him and he has a Churrasqueria.
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there is also a small dune that you have to cross coming in and out of town. i saw the funniest accident here luckily nobody got hurt. there was a small bike with a seat for one person and foot pegs only for one person. but of course there where two guys on the bike with no protective gear. from the shore to the next section of harder sand you need to cross 100 meters or more of really soft sand and this dune. the guys got a lot of velocity on the shore and headed out. I followed them since I didn’t know the road both bikes squirreling a lot. once i reached the top of the dune the guy sitting on the back had fallen face down and his face was buried in the sand. i couldn’t stop laughing and the other guy driving the other bike either.
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There are two ways to go from Jijoca to Barrerinhas - the longer way with the better road or the shorter way with a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. i picked the dirt road in the middle of nowhere because it was shorter and more adventurous but with a fully loaded bike and bold tire it made it for a 'fun' solo ride.

first the weather didn??t help. as soon i headed out it started raining.
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then huge water ponds started forming and no way of going around. no idea how deep they where and to many of them to stop and check the deepness. the thought of falling in one of them with no one around to help me pick up the bike in the muddy floor was scary. so i didn??t think about it and decided to stay focus on riding.
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then the dirt road became a river and i started worrying when it would stop raining.
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then the dirt turned into sand which made the ride more challenging.
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finally the sun came out and i reach firm ground. i decided i could off the bike and pee
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but i was wrong. there was more fun to come. DEEP SAND with a loaded bike and bold tire = NO FUN. i took as much air as possible from the rear tire and left it around 9lbs. and left the front one around 16lbs. slowly and pushing i made it out.
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unfortunately the asphalt was not much better. so it made it for a long day. at the end of the day i felt like a true adventure rider.
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once in Barrerinhas i signed up to go see the Brasilian dessert known as Len?ºois Maranhenses. it was fun ride on a 4x4 Toyota Bandierante
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the views where incredible
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and because it was the rainy season you could swim in the fresh water lagoons. cristal clear water with no vegetation in them. (in most of them. the larger ones have some algae and some fish that lay eggs that stay intact when the lagoon dries during the summer)
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the best sunset i have ever seen was in Jericoacoara but here was aslo beautiful.
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i have another 1GB memory card full but i think it was a virus. i can??t get the pictures!!!! hopefully i will be able to save some of them and be able to share some more stories...


i decided to skip the guyanas due to the lack of funds.. heading to venezuela next:type
 
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