Burocracia - or the saga of the unpaid bill!
So far - apart from our initial visit to the State police - we have managed to keep relatively free of bureaucracy in Brazil. However, this month (for reasons which I will not go into) we failed to pay our car insurance on time. Does this mean a fine? Yes - eventually - but not before 'being put through it'.

First - you cannot just pay the fine and be done with it - you have to phone a special number - not easy when you only have mobile phones and they don't accept mobile phone calls.

Next - you manage to phone and then find you don't have all the details, forms, data that they ask for over the phone. All this is very embarrassing in the shop where you have asked if you can use their phone.

Then you return to the shop with the correct information, only to be told on the phone, after much difficulty in understanding what they want, that you have to fill in an online form.

Having filled in the online form, you will then have to wait for up to and at least 48 hours for someone to come and look at the car (yes - seriously!) and in the meantime you are not insured. Just imagine what this must be costing the country!

Then - presumably - you will have to pay the fine and will have learned that you never want to be in the position of not paying your insurance bill on time again!!

Alternatively - as a friend of ours told us years ago - you just don't bother to pay at all! I don't think we'll go for this option though. The driving here is just too horrendous to risk it!