Nov 19 2007 - Bondequino - Brazil

Here's the aforementioned cute little 4-5 seater propane cart that shuttles residents and their guests up and down the winding cobblestone streets of the hillside gated community where I've been staying. There's even an old wooden wagon to attach when there's excess groceries or luggage.

I've been affectionately calling it a Bondequino... suggesting it's a smaller form of the cable car that runs through the publically accessible part of Santa Teresa, and just outside the entrance gate of this community. In truth, although they both run along tracks, and don't require steering, the large public bonde runs on electricity, and the cute little private bonde runs on propane. Just like San Francisco's electric busses, the large bonde's overhead extension frequently disattaches from the overhead powerlines, temporarily stranding passengers until the driver reattaches everything with a pole.