Workdays in Nova Iguacu

Weekdays start at 7 AM with wakeup. Routine morning and some quick e-mail to keep things moving, like welding, customs, spare parts etc. Taxi to Marfran Logistics garage. Temperature is boiling the brain there, but still a lot better than minus 10 Celsius at home. Different works every day. First cleaning and organizing all stuff, left in the car. Only washing the sea salty items took 3 days. Next, smaller repairs, bents left from lifting hooks, pump connections change, broken lights repair. Even broken light and flag masts get repairs. As until spare key arrives, the wheel is locked not everything can be done at storage area. No cutting, drilling or oiling there.

Amphibear with its costly neighbours. No wonder, that cutting is prohibited. Nobody needs copter with holes in it from sparks of repaired amphibious car.

Marfran Logistica owner Marcelo Marques (right) and financial director Jose Franco

At 6 PM have to finish. Somehow need to get to hotel and ordering taxi here does not seem to work. So I relay on some help from leaving workers or later discovered option some bus lines. Walking is considered not safe way, as criminal record around the place is real. At hotel quick dinner, some e-mail, blog and facebook, and day ended again. And some think I am in vacation here, in Rio in Brazil...

Weekend has more fun. Then it is time to evaluate discoveries made by teammate Peeter. Peeter is master of finding places. So we go from one shop to another and I get needed spare parts, hoses, connectors, rubber shock absorbers. Only thing not discovered here remains the canisters. Seems there is no shop selling these kind of weird items. But I need ones, as they form part of sleeping place and were lost on resque.

On sunday we took Nova Iquacu Nature Park visit. A lot of photographing of butterflies and watching the nature. This one is native (Tijuca was 150 years ago planted). Somehow I get the feeling that all nature paths in tropics have the same idea. First to walk you to exhaustion. Then give you half meter of cool water to sit on cool down and glorify this place as heaven. Then walk back and feel proud of conquering another nature path. But you do not see monkeys in nature every day. We saw. Still happy.

Some streets after rain at walk to national park. Not much left.

Weird bicycle parking at the gate of national park. First time saw this type.

Who finds, sucs. Who has not found flatters around and does not let you to take a picture.

Joy of tropical paths, knee deep water to cool yourself. With clothes. These are wet anyhow from sweating.