Hard Choices

There’s a small town in Bahia, Rafael Jambeiro, on the BR-116 road as you go south from Feira de Santana. If you’re travelling from Salvador to Chapada Diamantina, you’ll probably pass through it, just as we did.

There’s not much to the place, it’s got a petrol station, a few shops, car repairs, that type of thing. The town exists to serve the travellers who pass through on their way to the interior, or truckers filling up on the job.

But it has something. It has the sign.

Somebody left their mark here. Somebody with the power to plant road signs wherever they’re needed. Somebody who wanted to tell the world their little town matters. What do you want in your future? Do you make the turn, or do you keep going? You decide now.

Continue straight on. Head to Rio de Janeiro, drink and dance to samba all night long. Wake up on Copacabana beach, watch the sunrise and realise some guy has stolen everything you own. Then do it all again.

Turn right. Drive to Brasília. Meet the rich and powerful. Make connections. Build an empire, and lose it all in a corruption scandal. You’re guaranteed to get re-elected.

We turned right, because the GPS told us to.