If you've never traveled through this road or don't know it,
you have to be very alert because it's quite...
quite dangerous.
Maybe there is some problem ahead.
There are a lot of cones on the road.
Over time, you learn, because you go through a lot on the road,
how to deal with good and bad situations.
Police on the road...
I think we'll have some issues here.
When I was younger, I was a little less patient.
Like they say, "count to ten before doing anything,"
that's me now.
-Good morning. -Good morning.
License and registration, please.
Yes.
-How is the road, officer? -Do you intend to go down the ridge?
I want to, I'm heading to Criciúma.
The mountain road is blocked for trucks over 6 ton GVW.
According to the officer, I'll have to find another route.
They are afraid to allow heavy traffic
because the road might collapse, lower...
The reasons for the road block.
From what we can see, the cracks are huge.
You can see that we can fit a hand inside it.
I find it risky, dangerous indeed.
And now I'm looking for another route.
I started dreaming of becoming a driver, a trucker,
when I was a young boy.
My father had a truck,
and sometimes me and my cousin went on a few trips with him.
I think what sparked my passion for working with trucks
was the freedom of
getting to know new places and people.
Every day you plan to do something, and it becomes something else.
The next day is different...
Encounters like this one.
Luckily, we are on a gravel part of the road,
because if it were mud,
it would be impassable, you can't go through.
And with older trucks, a trip like this one
would be a sacrifice.
The trucks were too hard, their suspension provided no comfort at all...
And nowadays, you can see we're
driving on a road full of rocks, really bad,
and the truck drives smoothly.
I usually stop to check the cargo, the truck,
if there's any kind of leak from the valves...
I check if there's any problem.
Today I'm transporting aluminum sulfate,
which is highly corrosive.
A truck like this, with this cargo, weighs about 30,000 kg.
So, we need double caution
because, in case a cargo like this spills,
the impact on nature is horrible.
We're getting to a bridge.
According to the truckers I was talking to,
it's too narrow, dangerous to cross.
It's too low, too close to the river, so...
in the rainy season, with heavy rain,
the river actually touches the bridge
and often even floods it.
Really beautiful.
But dangerous.
You have to get on very slowly, since the bends are really sharp at the entrance.
With some patience, everything will be all right.
Family is everything to me.
There's no explanation.
You live for it, your family lives for you.
Not seeing your family for a week or even two is not easy.
Thankfully, I have my colleagues. We share joy and sadness.
That's how we lead our everyday life to endure the weight of missing our families.
I'm a driver because I like it,
not just because I need to do it, you know?
During my 20 years on the road as a trucker,
I've seen lots of changes.
One of the things I'm most proud of
is knowing everything that is transported in Brazil,
everything you see, eat, or wear is transported by truckers.
What I hope, what I would like to have in the future,
for me and other truckers,
is more recognition.