Diary Entry
After the surprise of discovering the city of Freiburg in Brazil, another surprise follows. But first, we look for a place to stay for the night, as it’s already getting late.
Although the landscape looks mostly familiar, the vegetation itself resembles a botanical garden!
On the map, I find a camping option near a farm. There, cows graze peacefully in the pastures, and it might almost feel like home, if the trees weren’t, upon closer inspection, rather strange and inhabited by toucans.
The farm belongs to an Austrian named Hohlrieder. He’s not at home, but his Brazilian wife speaks passable German with an Austrian accent. She welcomes us and assigns me a pitch and Shima a room.
Chili plants grow here alongside geraniums. Morning dawns, and we drink our coffee between cement sacks in the “kitchen,” which is a converted workshop.
Then we continue on to the next surprise. According to the map, the next town, Treze Tílias, is also very special.
Only here: geraniums next to chilies!
This can’t be true. The Red Eagle of Tyrol and an Alpine village await us!
I’d already seen on the map that there were supposed to be Alpine-looking houses here. But reality blows the lid off. Most of the houses really do look like they’re in the Alps. Large stone houses with balconies, bay windows, and painted decorations. On the map, the name of the town is even written in German: Dreizehnlinden!
The statues and parks are reminiscent of Austrians, and many people in the shops also speak German. Unbelievable!
About Treze Tílias
Founded in 1933 by Tyrolean settlers under the leadership of Andreas Thaler, a former Austrian Minister of Agriculture, the city still bears clearly visible traces of its Central European roots.
The architecture of Treze Tílias is strongly reminiscent of Alpine villages in Tyrol: half-timbered houses, carved wooden balconies, and flower-decorated facades characterize the townscape. The town’s language, customs, and culinary traditions also reflect its Austrian heritage. Many residents still speak a Tyrolean-influenced German dialect, and festivals like the Tirolerfest celebrate the culture of their ancestors with music, dance, and traditional costumes.
Economically, Treze Tílias is known for its wood carving, a craft brought by the first settlers and now a significant industry. Tourists from all over Brazil and beyond visit the town to experience “Little Austria”—a place where European traditions combine with Brazilian joie de vivre.
Source: Copilot
We leave Austria and return to Brazil. A buffet awaits us for lunch, as always.
Our tire is flat again and needs to be filled with air. I have to find a solution somewhere.
This day is pure work. We drive and drive and drive. A visit to a magnificent, large waterfall halfway along the trail is supposed to be a change of pace. But that’s exactly where we end up in a long traffic jam. When we’re finally able to move on after an hour of standing still, it turns out that 20 kilometers of the road are being rebuilt, and therefore the entire route is being closed off in alternating directions.
Too bad the exit for the waterfall is right in between. Two more such construction sites follow, delaying the already long day of driving even further. We’re all done: me, Sara, Shima, and Leon. The little one is doing well, but after seven hours in the car, he too freaks out.
It’s a long, unspectacular drive through the Brazilian province of Santa Catarina. The journey is characterized by green agriculture, heavy rain showers, and frequent traffic jams. The exciting gravel roads are gradually being paved, and the infrastructure is being expanded.
Truck traffic is also getting heavier near the Argentinian border. We’re spending the night at a campsite right in the border town of Dionísio Cerqueira. It’s teeming with cockroaches, running out of sinks and toilets in droves. Tomorrow we’re off to Argentina!
Argentina is waiting for us!
Nighttime at the campsite takes some getting used to. As I turn on the faucet on the toilet sink, three nimble, giant cockroaches immediately run towards me, happily waggling their long antennae. The place is teeming with cockroaches, running out of sinks and toilets in swarms.
Disgusted, we skip a cozy evening and go straight to bed. We finally reach the border with Argentina, which we hope to cross tomorrow as stress-free as possible.
