AgAir Update - Agricultural Aviation's Newspaper

A summertime trip to southern Brazil

Unique to this year, the Louisiana AAA trade show was moved to an earlier week in January. This created a two-week time window that opened up a first-time opportunity for me to travel in Brazil during its summer. The Mississippi AAA convention ended on Thursday and 24 hours later I was starting the additional 24-hour journey to the south of Brazil, Cachoeira do Sul in Rio Grande do Sul State. 

My normal route departs Atlanta, connects in Miami, then on to Sao Paulo with another connection to Porto Alegre. However, when I tried to book a ticket, the price was outlandish. I got creative and booked one flight from Atlanta to Montevideo, Uruguay on American Airlines. Then a completely separate flight on Pluna Airlines from Montevideo to Porto Alegre, Brazil. That saved about $700, but in the process created another whole set of challenges. I’ll save telling those for another day. 

I have two representatives in Brazil, Ernesto Franzen and Gina Hickmann. Ernesto’s real job is a federal policeman and he lives in Porto Alegre. For ten years though, he was an ag-pilot in Brazil. Gina is a school principal, teaches English and lives west of Porto Alegre in Cachoeira do Sul (CdoSul).

Ernesto met me at the Porto Alegre airport. We went to his mother’s apartment to unpack. For dinner, we enjoyed a very nice churrascaria at “Nao Brasil” restaurant. The following day, Ernesto kindly drove me the 2.5 hours of hard driving to CdoSul. Believe me when I say it is good to be riding with a federal policeman on Brazilian roads.

I have traveled to CdoSul numerous times. When you enter the city by car, you pass under a large entrance sign that reads, “The National Capital of Rice” (of course, it is in Portuguese). 

Gina is very good at arranging visits for me. Sometimes these visits are not ag-aviation related, as was my first day and night in CdoSul. By now, it is Sunday afternoon. I left Georgia Friday afternoon. Monday will start a week of visits to operators in southern Brazil. However, not before Gina has her opportunity to entertain me Brazilian-style. 

First, I go to her family’s river cabin for the afternoon. They have a large barbecue and a couple of boats to water ski; not unlike families do in America. Afterwards, I returned to the hotel to freshen up so that I can attend a celebration at a samba school. Samba is a traditional Brazilian dance that is highlighted during the annual Brazilian carnival held in February. This school teaches children in a poor area of town the dance and how to play the drums for the dancing. It is really something to see. This all starts at 10p. Eating and entertainment is always a late night thing in Brazil! 

Tomorrow, I will rent a Cessna 182 and visit an ag-pilot school in a city to the north, Carazinho. Good night!