Back to Brazil

"BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion" (pbs) 02/22/2015 at 16:51 • Filed to: None

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Finally finished my road trip, which... actually felt more like an endurance. 5 days in total, 3 to go from Carazinho, Brazil, to Valparaíso, Chile, and another 2 to come back from Valparaíso to Porto Alegre, in Brazil. With about 5200 km on the clock, I averaged about 1000 km a day, plus two days in which I stayed in Valparaíso to rest/plan the way back. That's without breaking any speed limits (save for the Brazilian legs of the trip... probably) and stopping every night to rest, so it's actually possible to do the same course much faster. Along the way, I found out that a 30 pesos map is worth a lot more than a cutting edge 800 reais Garmin GPS, Argentina is a lot better to drive in than Brazil, booking hotels beforehand is never a good idea, spotted no less than 8 Chevrolet Novas and more Ford Falcons than you can shake a stick at, challenged the Andes both in the middle of summer and winter within a two days interval, and learned to drive in snow with summer tires... while going up the caracoles, near Paso de Los Libertadores on the Chile-Argentina border. I might do a better write up later on, but I really need to sleep right now...

My citroen won't start > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/22/2015 at 16:57

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You did the road trip in a Trailblazer?

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > My citroen won't start 02/22/2015 at 17:10

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Yup, my dad's 2013 Trailblazer LTZ. I got lectured at every gas station I stopped that Diesel in spanish is Gasoil, and had to explian time after time that it ran on "nafta" hahaha.... It's a great car for this kind of trip, on the way back from Chile, for example, the 4x4 really came in handy when going up the secondary dirt roads for better pictures of the snow covered mountains.

DoYouEvenShift > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/22/2015 at 19:01

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Thats awesome! I love my Trailblazer. Im gonna drive it from Texas to Florida in a week. 1800 miles.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > DoYouEvenShift 02/22/2015 at 19:07

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Nice! Is the american version the same as the brazilian though? I was under the impression tey were different models, but never actually asked anyone. Ours is the SUV based on the current S10, sold in the US as the new Colorado

DoYouEvenShift > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 02/22/2015 at 19:19

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US TB was in production from 02-09. When you said 13 I had to look it up haha.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > DoYouEvenShift 02/22/2015 at 20:12

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Ah, I see, it is a different model then. Still, these big trucks are great for long distance driving, specially in les than optimal conditions. My parents' bone stock TB did a hell of a job going up the slopes in the snow covered Andes trails, even on summer tires but it really shone as a highway cruiser on the 120 + kph autopistas in Argentina thanks to its surprising stability and poise.