Hi Folks:
We are sitting in beautiful Sao Paulo, Brazil waiting for our plane tonight to Chicago, with an onward flight to Dallas. This city is really spectacular, clean and very ärty¨. We are on Avendida Paulista, one of the main streets and it is really a must see street. The architecture is marvelous and every building seems to be having a display of art of some sort. We are hoping to get back to the MASP (Museo de Arte Sao Paulo) this afternoon which has the greatest collection of great paintings that I have ever seen. But more impressive is the obvious delight of `Paulistas´in their art. We have trouble getting down the street without discovering a new display. The cars are another thing that surprises me, as all the cars here are small, almost without exception. That doesn´t mean that they are not new and expensive, in some cases, but they are just consistently small. Given the high use of bio-fuels, I guess that that shouldn´t surprise me, but it does.
We spent three relaxing nights in the Patanal and so now I can say that I fished in Brazil, like my good buddie `The Fenceman´. Of course, I was only fishing for Piranha. It was a great time looking for animals and birds. Lots of photos and a lot of heat. Most unique sightings were of a pair of Giant Otters and Joy´s sighting of a Giant Armadillo. The birds are impossible to describe as I lost count of the types of parrots that we saw and the various storks, cranes, etc. Many hummingbirds (some quite large) and at least 3 kinds of Kingfishers. Lots of pictures to show. My favourite was a flock of bright green parrots which landed in a tree right in front of me and promptly disappeared. Who knew that bright green was such a good camoflage!
The real highlight of the trip to the Patanal was the young folk that we were touring with. We had 1 Irish, 1 German, 2 Isrealis, 1 Monacan/Belgium/? and met a variety of others from many different corners of the world. They would bounce from serious discussions of appropriate revenge for rape, to the foolishness that one might expect of young people on holiday. Some had jobs to return to after a year while others were between military and school, or between degrees, or just hadn´t figured it out yet. But what grand people and what a great hope for the World. They are not afraid of any issue and talk very frankly about what is going on in the World. Most of all though they like each other for themselves and accepted the 2 old folk. Great cervasa talks on the houseboat that doubled as our dining room and bar. We will never forget them!
Now to Texas.
Jim
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Still Alive
Hi Folks:
Sorry that there has been a gap in the postings lately, but we have been in the Patanal and away from the internet since we stepped on the ¨train of death¨ on Friday.
I must tell you a funny about me and Spanish that happened before we left Santa Cruz. I had found the Ïrish Pub¨on the main square and convinced Joy that a liesurely lunch was in order. In addition to a tendancy toward rum, I also like cervasa with a little colour and taste to it. Tough to find in Bolivia, but I knew that one company did produce it occasionally. So, I asked for it in my best Spanish using ¨rojo¨for red like Marco taught us. The woman seemed to understand and left with a big smile to bring my cervasa rojo. Things went a little off the rails when she proudly presented me with a newspaper! Back to the regular ¨Huari¨ cervasa!
The ¨train of death¨is written up in ¨Lonely Planet¨as a terrible experience with no AC, mosquitos, frequent delays, crowded cars with so much contraband and luggage that people ride on the roof, etc etc. Well, outside of the road-bed being a little rough during the first half, we were very comfortable in semi-reclining seats and Air Contitioned comfort. Everyone had an assigned seat and there was no luggage much in the car and certainly no one rode on the roof. The only time that I was a little concerned was when a small troop of police came on board and we started going backwards. They proceeded to do a very thorough search of the cars and I believed that we would stop going backwards when they were finished and dropped off. But we kept going backward until I was convinced that we were returning to Santa Cruz for some reason that no one was talking about. I finally figured it out when we stopped in Puerto Suarez about and hour later. Apparently somehow the train backs for the last 1.5 hours to the border and shortly we were at Quijarro. The border crossing went fine except for a long slow line-up at the Bolivian border for our exit stamp. This is solely to prove that we left and seems to have limited purpose. Even more interesting because they did not have a customs check, which would seem more important if the issue of drugs and contraband is that important.
Joy had decided that we had enough time for one more adventure before heading for the plane at Sao Paulo. So we met up with a tour and headed for the Patanal. More on that tomorrow.
Jim
Sorry that there has been a gap in the postings lately, but we have been in the Patanal and away from the internet since we stepped on the ¨train of death¨ on Friday.
I must tell you a funny about me and Spanish that happened before we left Santa Cruz. I had found the Ïrish Pub¨on the main square and convinced Joy that a liesurely lunch was in order. In addition to a tendancy toward rum, I also like cervasa with a little colour and taste to it. Tough to find in Bolivia, but I knew that one company did produce it occasionally. So, I asked for it in my best Spanish using ¨rojo¨for red like Marco taught us. The woman seemed to understand and left with a big smile to bring my cervasa rojo. Things went a little off the rails when she proudly presented me with a newspaper! Back to the regular ¨Huari¨ cervasa!
The ¨train of death¨is written up in ¨Lonely Planet¨as a terrible experience with no AC, mosquitos, frequent delays, crowded cars with so much contraband and luggage that people ride on the roof, etc etc. Well, outside of the road-bed being a little rough during the first half, we were very comfortable in semi-reclining seats and Air Contitioned comfort. Everyone had an assigned seat and there was no luggage much in the car and certainly no one rode on the roof. The only time that I was a little concerned was when a small troop of police came on board and we started going backwards. They proceeded to do a very thorough search of the cars and I believed that we would stop going backwards when they were finished and dropped off. But we kept going backward until I was convinced that we were returning to Santa Cruz for some reason that no one was talking about. I finally figured it out when we stopped in Puerto Suarez about and hour later. Apparently somehow the train backs for the last 1.5 hours to the border and shortly we were at Quijarro. The border crossing went fine except for a long slow line-up at the Bolivian border for our exit stamp. This is solely to prove that we left and seems to have limited purpose. Even more interesting because they did not have a customs check, which would seem more important if the issue of drugs and contraband is that important.
Joy had decided that we had enough time for one more adventure before heading for the plane at Sao Paulo. So we met up with a tour and headed for the Patanal. More on that tomorrow.
Jim
Thursday, February 26, 2009
All Quiet in Samaipata
Hi Folks:
Carnivale has ended and peace has once again descended over the land of Bolivia. Samaipata was dead quiet when we left this morning except for the milkman`s "mooing" car. When I frist heard it, I was certain that there was some ritualistic animal torture going on and had to investigate. It has the sickest sounding "moo" that you ever heard. But that is all that it is, a farmer selling bulk milk out of the back of his station-wagon.
After Joy having 2 days of painting and me reading 2 books, we were off this morning in a taxi for Santa Cruz. It was the usual 8 person micro-bus with 10 people in it. Other than a 1 hour wait for the road to be cleared after an explosion, we arrived safely in the city. We didn`t pause, but were off to the train/bus station, where we found out that we could not catch today`s "ferrobus", which is a kind of bus on rails. So we settled on tomorrow`s "Oriental Express" and will stay over tonight in Santa Cruz. The "Oriental Express" is also known as the "train of death" so we thought that it might be fun. It runs from Santa Cruz, over-night, to the border of Brazil. As we depart South America from Sao Paulo, Brazil on the 5th, getting into Brazil seems like a good idea. We will still have to cut across most of Brazil by bus, but Joy says that she loves the bus (not!).
With a view to getting into Brazil, and not wanting to be stuck at the border at least 15 hours away from the nearest Brazilian visa issuing entity, we then visited the Brazilian Consulate here and confirmed that our visas were good for 90 days from our first entry. Seems like we are good to go.
Next entry should be from Brazil, if all goes right.
Jim
Carnivale has ended and peace has once again descended over the land of Bolivia. Samaipata was dead quiet when we left this morning except for the milkman`s "mooing" car. When I frist heard it, I was certain that there was some ritualistic animal torture going on and had to investigate. It has the sickest sounding "moo" that you ever heard. But that is all that it is, a farmer selling bulk milk out of the back of his station-wagon.
After Joy having 2 days of painting and me reading 2 books, we were off this morning in a taxi for Santa Cruz. It was the usual 8 person micro-bus with 10 people in it. Other than a 1 hour wait for the road to be cleared after an explosion, we arrived safely in the city. We didn`t pause, but were off to the train/bus station, where we found out that we could not catch today`s "ferrobus", which is a kind of bus on rails. So we settled on tomorrow`s "Oriental Express" and will stay over tonight in Santa Cruz. The "Oriental Express" is also known as the "train of death" so we thought that it might be fun. It runs from Santa Cruz, over-night, to the border of Brazil. As we depart South America from Sao Paulo, Brazil on the 5th, getting into Brazil seems like a good idea. We will still have to cut across most of Brazil by bus, but Joy says that she loves the bus (not!).
With a view to getting into Brazil, and not wanting to be stuck at the border at least 15 hours away from the nearest Brazilian visa issuing entity, we then visited the Brazilian Consulate here and confirmed that our visas were good for 90 days from our first entry. Seems like we are good to go.
Next entry should be from Brazil, if all goes right.
Jim
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Fun in Samaipata
Hola All:
Before I forget about Santa Cruz, I want a tell you why it didn`t make a good first impression. The taxi driver couldn`t find the hostal that we wanted, and wouldn`t take directions from me even though I knew where we needed to go once I had seen the main plaza. he kept asking for directions from everyone else and got a real mixture of directions, eventually winding up at the Hotel Bolivia rather than the Residentiale Bolivar. Then once he got the right directions he made the wrong turn ending up with us facing another lap of the block in virtual gridlock. At that point, we got out and the trek began. It wasn`t far to the hostal that we were looking for and Joy loved the ambiance, with the palms, bananas and Toucans in the courtyard. Unfortunately, while I travel pretty simply, I do ask for a private bathroom and those rooms were all taken for Carnivale. So then we started hiking to find the perfect combination of both with Joy hoping that we had to go back. Finally, exhausted, we found the compromise place with a view of the roof-tops and a private bathroom. Then, after an hour and a half hike to find one of Joy`s selection of perfect places to eat (all either closed or abandoned) we had dinner. On the way back we were stopped by 2 of Santa Cruz`s finest fake police officers, who barely had the opportunity to get their fake ID out of their pockets before I told them (in my finest English) to "get lost" or words to that effect, and proceeded to call "Policia, policia!" at the top of my lungs. It was some sort of gut reaction based on the fact that there had been a similar stunt pulled on us in La Paz last year. You never saw a white SUV go down the road and around the corner faster than those guys. My reaction last year had been to grab Joy and run, but this new one just came out of nowhere, but it worked. It was funny that they didn`t hang around, because one of the things that we had noticed about Santa Cruz was the absolute absence of police (real ones). This was especially true after seeing the police presence in La Paz! Unfortunately, after this episode, I had some trouble sleeping. It is an old tired scam, which should have been stamped out by now.
The next day we were off early to find the taxis/buses to Samaipata. Eventually, having located the taxi driver from H---, we were off for 150kms of terror. I vaguely remember the guy shaking the car vigorously to get more gas in and seeing (most of the time my eyes were closed) a car with 6 mattresses stacked on top! The driver spent most of the 150kms on the left side of the road passing every vehicle in sight and then stopping, with some excuse, while they passed us again, so that he could start the routine again. We sis arrive safely in Samaipata to get the last room in a town packed with partiers. For the past three days (seem to be still going today) we had the cacophony of bands competing for attention with a dance party along with them, usually well lubricated with something alcohol. Of course, there are the squirt guns, water balloons and shaving cream. Everyone gets into the act! It is a great party time for those who like that sort of thing. Girls make a circuit of the main plaza, seemingly to prove that they are the most popular because they got the wettest. I don`t understand that, so it must be a female thing.
Yesterday, Joy and I went up to "El Fuerte" the nearby pre-Hispanic ruins. Very different than others as the very large rock surface at the highest point has been carved into various symbols and was used as a religious site. The work involved to do the carving without metal tools, is quite amazing to contemplate. We walked the 10-12kms back to town in the mid-day sun (isn`t there a song that says "only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun!"). The first stop for a cold cervasa was appreciated! I did say that it was hot, right?
Today is a painting day for Joy, so I will wander and chill. We have to start planning our return to Brazil.
Jim
Before I forget about Santa Cruz, I want a tell you why it didn`t make a good first impression. The taxi driver couldn`t find the hostal that we wanted, and wouldn`t take directions from me even though I knew where we needed to go once I had seen the main plaza. he kept asking for directions from everyone else and got a real mixture of directions, eventually winding up at the Hotel Bolivia rather than the Residentiale Bolivar. Then once he got the right directions he made the wrong turn ending up with us facing another lap of the block in virtual gridlock. At that point, we got out and the trek began. It wasn`t far to the hostal that we were looking for and Joy loved the ambiance, with the palms, bananas and Toucans in the courtyard. Unfortunately, while I travel pretty simply, I do ask for a private bathroom and those rooms were all taken for Carnivale. So then we started hiking to find the perfect combination of both with Joy hoping that we had to go back. Finally, exhausted, we found the compromise place with a view of the roof-tops and a private bathroom. Then, after an hour and a half hike to find one of Joy`s selection of perfect places to eat (all either closed or abandoned) we had dinner. On the way back we were stopped by 2 of Santa Cruz`s finest fake police officers, who barely had the opportunity to get their fake ID out of their pockets before I told them (in my finest English) to "get lost" or words to that effect, and proceeded to call "Policia, policia!" at the top of my lungs. It was some sort of gut reaction based on the fact that there had been a similar stunt pulled on us in La Paz last year. You never saw a white SUV go down the road and around the corner faster than those guys. My reaction last year had been to grab Joy and run, but this new one just came out of nowhere, but it worked. It was funny that they didn`t hang around, because one of the things that we had noticed about Santa Cruz was the absolute absence of police (real ones). This was especially true after seeing the police presence in La Paz! Unfortunately, after this episode, I had some trouble sleeping. It is an old tired scam, which should have been stamped out by now.
The next day we were off early to find the taxis/buses to Samaipata. Eventually, having located the taxi driver from H---, we were off for 150kms of terror. I vaguely remember the guy shaking the car vigorously to get more gas in and seeing (most of the time my eyes were closed) a car with 6 mattresses stacked on top! The driver spent most of the 150kms on the left side of the road passing every vehicle in sight and then stopping, with some excuse, while they passed us again, so that he could start the routine again. We sis arrive safely in Samaipata to get the last room in a town packed with partiers. For the past three days (seem to be still going today) we had the cacophony of bands competing for attention with a dance party along with them, usually well lubricated with something alcohol. Of course, there are the squirt guns, water balloons and shaving cream. Everyone gets into the act! It is a great party time for those who like that sort of thing. Girls make a circuit of the main plaza, seemingly to prove that they are the most popular because they got the wettest. I don`t understand that, so it must be a female thing.
Yesterday, Joy and I went up to "El Fuerte" the nearby pre-Hispanic ruins. Very different than others as the very large rock surface at the highest point has been carved into various symbols and was used as a religious site. The work involved to do the carving without metal tools, is quite amazing to contemplate. We walked the 10-12kms back to town in the mid-day sun (isn`t there a song that says "only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the mid-day sun!"). The first stop for a cold cervasa was appreciated! I did say that it was hot, right?
Today is a painting day for Joy, so I will wander and chill. We have to start planning our return to Brazil.
Jim
Saturday, February 21, 2009
A Long Way Away!
Hello All:
Yesterday started as planned with us getting the mini-bus in the village plaza of beautiful Sorata, after a solid night of rain. A night of rain causes one to worry about the road being passable, but off we went in a 15 passenger Toyota (16 on board). There is about an hour and a half climb to get out of Sorata and the road is mostly dirt/gravel with an occasional stretch of pavement. Maybe it is the other way around, but early on, the driver had to get out and move rocks off the road that had been put there by a mud-slide, earthquake, or, as turned out to be the case and errant bulldozer operator working up-hill from the road. Once past that we climbed and climbed into the clouds, with me on the down-hill side (if you don`t know by now, I don`t like heights, and these are HEIGHTS!). But I kept the van on the road and we made it to La Paz and booked for the 5pm bus to Santa Cruz. Once we got settled in the bus and Joy managed to last through the obligatory Steven Segal "shoot-em-up" movie, we had a peaceful night.
When we awoke, the world had changed! No, Obama wasn`t on our bus! But, we had gone from the Altoplano, where the predominant colour, with many exceptions that Joy will point out to me later, is "adobe brown" with touches of pale green. It is also dry and relatively cool this time of year (the rainy and summer seasons), but we love it. Suddenly the next morning it was warm/hot and humid and the countryside was Green, green! From the book I have been reading, it seems clear that this area has been the economic engine for Bolivia for the past 20 years after the mines became less important. Here there is oil, gas, soya, sugar-cane (for bio-gas) , iron ore and there was coca until the U.S. eradication program may have limited it`s economic impact. Santa Cruz has become one of Bolivia`s largest cities over the past 20 years and shows it with fewer colonial buildings and many modern ones among the usual unfinished building put up in a hurry by newcomers. After we got in we spent the rest of the day relaxing and hope to find transport to Samaipata, about 150km east of here, to avoid the worst/best of Carnivale.
Tomorrow may be another of those cozy mini-bus rides, without which any visit to South America is incomplete. I might add the over-night bus rides to that list too.
Jim (Suddenly in Santa Cruz)
Yesterday started as planned with us getting the mini-bus in the village plaza of beautiful Sorata, after a solid night of rain. A night of rain causes one to worry about the road being passable, but off we went in a 15 passenger Toyota (16 on board). There is about an hour and a half climb to get out of Sorata and the road is mostly dirt/gravel with an occasional stretch of pavement. Maybe it is the other way around, but early on, the driver had to get out and move rocks off the road that had been put there by a mud-slide, earthquake, or, as turned out to be the case and errant bulldozer operator working up-hill from the road. Once past that we climbed and climbed into the clouds, with me on the down-hill side (if you don`t know by now, I don`t like heights, and these are HEIGHTS!). But I kept the van on the road and we made it to La Paz and booked for the 5pm bus to Santa Cruz. Once we got settled in the bus and Joy managed to last through the obligatory Steven Segal "shoot-em-up" movie, we had a peaceful night.
When we awoke, the world had changed! No, Obama wasn`t on our bus! But, we had gone from the Altoplano, where the predominant colour, with many exceptions that Joy will point out to me later, is "adobe brown" with touches of pale green. It is also dry and relatively cool this time of year (the rainy and summer seasons), but we love it. Suddenly the next morning it was warm/hot and humid and the countryside was Green, green! From the book I have been reading, it seems clear that this area has been the economic engine for Bolivia for the past 20 years after the mines became less important. Here there is oil, gas, soya, sugar-cane (for bio-gas) , iron ore and there was coca until the U.S. eradication program may have limited it`s economic impact. Santa Cruz has become one of Bolivia`s largest cities over the past 20 years and shows it with fewer colonial buildings and many modern ones among the usual unfinished building put up in a hurry by newcomers. After we got in we spent the rest of the day relaxing and hope to find transport to Samaipata, about 150km east of here, to avoid the worst/best of Carnivale.
Tomorrow may be another of those cozy mini-bus rides, without which any visit to South America is incomplete. I might add the over-night bus rides to that list too.
Jim (Suddenly in Santa Cruz)
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Peace and Quiet in Sorata
Hi Folks:
A short entry today as we haven`t been doing too much that is exciting. Sorata is a place of great beauty, but not very many attractions for the tourists. The few young tourists in town are hikers or street buskers selling their own home made articles. One young Chilean guy plays a great pipe, which is actually a piece of plastic water pipe with holes of different sizes carved in it and a sort of mouth-piece cut in the end. Sounds really good and I can hear him as I am sitting at the computer.
I am reading a book entitled "Bolivia - Between a Rock and a Hard Place" written by an "ex-pat" who runs a restaurant here in Sorata. Unfortunately it is closed at the present. The book is giving me a great in-sight into how Bolivia developed, it`s economics and politics. Between this book and the museo in Sucre and our travels to much of the rest of the Altoplano, I feel that I am coming away with a much better understanding of Bolivia than I had as a result of last years visit. The opportunity given to us by Ivor and Ivonne to visit and talk to some of Bolivia`s great artists also helped.
As we chill out by the plaza, the sounds of daily life here fill the air. The roads in Sorata are very narrow so that there are basically only two ways in and out of town. As a result all the minibuses of the 2 companies that service Sorata are parked over-night by the plaza, along with all the trucks of any size. So all day there is the call of " Lapa...Lapa.....Lapa.....La Paz" as La Paz is the only destination out of Sorata. There seem to be hundreds of youngsters hurrying off to school in unforms of wine and grey, making kids noises. The big garbage truck is doing it`s rounds with a guy on the back with a handerchief over his mouth and nose, banging two pieces of metal together and making quite a noise. Up the road, on a corner away from the plaza, I can see "La Pintura" (also known as Joy) with the usual crowd of people, adults and kids, watching intently. There is a big Volvo truck that seems to be continuously going around collecting and delivering "bombas" gas containers, and cases of cervasa (empty and full). I am amazed that such a vehicle can get around in the tiny streets, but we haven`t seem an accident yet. Women in traditional dress are scurrying everywhere and seem to be carrying the business of the town on their backs. They have shops set up selling very basic groceries, or in the "mercado" they have wonderful displays of fresh fruits and vegetables. Dogs wander everywhere, but the dogs of Sorata appear better groomed and happier than those that we ahve seen elsewhere.
Yesterday we went for a walk down the valley to the river and back up. The hills here are steep and the road we walked back on looked like it was just one step from a wash-out. This is the road we hope to use today to go and see the "Gruto de San Pedro". Hope that it holds up!
Jim
A short entry today as we haven`t been doing too much that is exciting. Sorata is a place of great beauty, but not very many attractions for the tourists. The few young tourists in town are hikers or street buskers selling their own home made articles. One young Chilean guy plays a great pipe, which is actually a piece of plastic water pipe with holes of different sizes carved in it and a sort of mouth-piece cut in the end. Sounds really good and I can hear him as I am sitting at the computer.
I am reading a book entitled "Bolivia - Between a Rock and a Hard Place" written by an "ex-pat" who runs a restaurant here in Sorata. Unfortunately it is closed at the present. The book is giving me a great in-sight into how Bolivia developed, it`s economics and politics. Between this book and the museo in Sucre and our travels to much of the rest of the Altoplano, I feel that I am coming away with a much better understanding of Bolivia than I had as a result of last years visit. The opportunity given to us by Ivor and Ivonne to visit and talk to some of Bolivia`s great artists also helped.
As we chill out by the plaza, the sounds of daily life here fill the air. The roads in Sorata are very narrow so that there are basically only two ways in and out of town. As a result all the minibuses of the 2 companies that service Sorata are parked over-night by the plaza, along with all the trucks of any size. So all day there is the call of " Lapa...Lapa.....Lapa.....La Paz" as La Paz is the only destination out of Sorata. There seem to be hundreds of youngsters hurrying off to school in unforms of wine and grey, making kids noises. The big garbage truck is doing it`s rounds with a guy on the back with a handerchief over his mouth and nose, banging two pieces of metal together and making quite a noise. Up the road, on a corner away from the plaza, I can see "La Pintura" (also known as Joy) with the usual crowd of people, adults and kids, watching intently. There is a big Volvo truck that seems to be continuously going around collecting and delivering "bombas" gas containers, and cases of cervasa (empty and full). I am amazed that such a vehicle can get around in the tiny streets, but we haven`t seem an accident yet. Women in traditional dress are scurrying everywhere and seem to be carrying the business of the town on their backs. They have shops set up selling very basic groceries, or in the "mercado" they have wonderful displays of fresh fruits and vegetables. Dogs wander everywhere, but the dogs of Sorata appear better groomed and happier than those that we ahve seen elsewhere.
Yesterday we went for a walk down the valley to the river and back up. The hills here are steep and the road we walked back on looked like it was just one step from a wash-out. This is the road we hope to use today to go and see the "Gruto de San Pedro". Hope that it holds up!
Jim
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sorata
Hi Folks:
Based partially on the advice we received on Friday night from Ivor, Ivonne, Mario and Victor, we are here in Sorata.
The day started well as we got up and checked out and got a taxi without a problem. We arrived at the minibus stop, high on the hill by the La Paz Cemetary, just in time to be placed in the bus that was about to leave. Unfortunately to accomodate the ¨gringos¨they forced others to change seats, but then with our bags on the roof, we were off. We took one of the 2 lane roads up to El Alto (see one of my earlier posts) and our driver developed a good case of road-rage with the driver of a much bigger bus. Back and forth we went blocking the angry bus driver from passing. Climbing out of La Paz is spectacular with pretty steep drops off the side and the city many, many metres below. He finally pulled off to check the load on the roof and things calmed down. At the peak of the 3 hour trip we had 20 people in a Toyota mini-van. Anyone coming to Peru or Bolivia, really must try a ride in one of these. The ride was quite smooth and level while we drove the Alto Plano to Lake Titicaca and then turned into the mountains. The last 25kms were twisty and windy as we climbed through mountain passes and down into the steepest valleys to drop people at tiny villages clinging to the side of the mountains. Eventually into Sorata, our objective.
We were looking for a place of peace and quiet, where Joy could do some painting. This seems to be it as she has already done a 1/4 sheet painting. It is a small town of about 3,000 souls, lying in a deep mountain valley surrounded by lush green mountainsides. The smell of eucalyptus as we descended into the valley was very strong and from our window there are fuscia blooming as well as Pontsettias in there natural state. At least 2 kinds of hummingbirds were zipping around the flowers as I read my new book on Bolivian development written by a resident of Sorata.
I think that things will be a little quiet for a few days, but first to eat!
Jim
Based partially on the advice we received on Friday night from Ivor, Ivonne, Mario and Victor, we are here in Sorata.
The day started well as we got up and checked out and got a taxi without a problem. We arrived at the minibus stop, high on the hill by the La Paz Cemetary, just in time to be placed in the bus that was about to leave. Unfortunately to accomodate the ¨gringos¨they forced others to change seats, but then with our bags on the roof, we were off. We took one of the 2 lane roads up to El Alto (see one of my earlier posts) and our driver developed a good case of road-rage with the driver of a much bigger bus. Back and forth we went blocking the angry bus driver from passing. Climbing out of La Paz is spectacular with pretty steep drops off the side and the city many, many metres below. He finally pulled off to check the load on the roof and things calmed down. At the peak of the 3 hour trip we had 20 people in a Toyota mini-van. Anyone coming to Peru or Bolivia, really must try a ride in one of these. The ride was quite smooth and level while we drove the Alto Plano to Lake Titicaca and then turned into the mountains. The last 25kms were twisty and windy as we climbed through mountain passes and down into the steepest valleys to drop people at tiny villages clinging to the side of the mountains. Eventually into Sorata, our objective.
We were looking for a place of peace and quiet, where Joy could do some painting. This seems to be it as she has already done a 1/4 sheet painting. It is a small town of about 3,000 souls, lying in a deep mountain valley surrounded by lush green mountainsides. The smell of eucalyptus as we descended into the valley was very strong and from our window there are fuscia blooming as well as Pontsettias in there natural state. At least 2 kinds of hummingbirds were zipping around the flowers as I read my new book on Bolivian development written by a resident of Sorata.
I think that things will be a little quiet for a few days, but first to eat!
Jim
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Last Day in La Paz......... Maybe
Hi Folks:
First let me correct my spelling.......... again! I am told by Joy that Ivor`s partners name is Ivonne not Yvonne. I am so sorry.
Yesterday we were off to a great display of watercolours on the characters of the up-coming Carnivale. Quite exceptional, as was the display of the masks of these various entities. This was all at the National Museum of ethnography and folklore. After, we went to find the place where we will catch the bus to Sorata tomorrow. It didn`t seem far on the map and is up the hill past the Witches Market by the cemetary. It seems much harder hiking up the hills here with no pack, than the hills of Virginia with 40 lbs on your back. Once again I swear to get back into shape. We were puffing by the time we got up there and it looks like it will be a crowded minibus for 3 hours tomorrow. On the way down we shopped! You should see Joy bargain, which the women seem to enjoy! She should be made Minister of the Budget when we get home!
Today we visited Tiahuanico, an early (about 1000 years before Macchu Picchu) temple complex near the shore of Lake Titicaca. I was embarassed the other day when I had to confess to Ivor that I hadn`t been there. The site is not the spectacular mountain/river valley of MP, but the middle of a gentle valley on the Alto Plano at about 4,000m in altitude. The excavation is really just in it`s early stages, but the work seems to be proceeding quickly. The temples are partially constructed or dug out and re-constructed and the monolyths are really quite huge and special. The tour was worth it and, in addition, we were there on a Sunday and knew that the market was in the town square that day. Our tour guide didn`t want us to go into the town, but rather to go to the scheduled lunch (I am pretty certain that there is a commission involved), but Joy insisted and we were given 30 minutes. After the sprint to town we saw the church built in the 1500s, partially of stone from the temples. The square was filled with Cholitas in trasitional dress and Joy went wild. We then sprinted back to find out that the group had barely given their orders.
We came back to town to a big meal and ice cream (Pasas Ron is exceptional here......... oh yea Rum and Raisin) and now to pack. Tomorrow, if all goes well, we will be in Sorata, chilling for a week until we figure out how we will get to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the flight home. Joy has some paint boxes for the kids of Sorata and she hopes to do some serious painting.
Jim
First let me correct my spelling.......... again! I am told by Joy that Ivor`s partners name is Ivonne not Yvonne. I am so sorry.
Yesterday we were off to a great display of watercolours on the characters of the up-coming Carnivale. Quite exceptional, as was the display of the masks of these various entities. This was all at the National Museum of ethnography and folklore. After, we went to find the place where we will catch the bus to Sorata tomorrow. It didn`t seem far on the map and is up the hill past the Witches Market by the cemetary. It seems much harder hiking up the hills here with no pack, than the hills of Virginia with 40 lbs on your back. Once again I swear to get back into shape. We were puffing by the time we got up there and it looks like it will be a crowded minibus for 3 hours tomorrow. On the way down we shopped! You should see Joy bargain, which the women seem to enjoy! She should be made Minister of the Budget when we get home!
Today we visited Tiahuanico, an early (about 1000 years before Macchu Picchu) temple complex near the shore of Lake Titicaca. I was embarassed the other day when I had to confess to Ivor that I hadn`t been there. The site is not the spectacular mountain/river valley of MP, but the middle of a gentle valley on the Alto Plano at about 4,000m in altitude. The excavation is really just in it`s early stages, but the work seems to be proceeding quickly. The temples are partially constructed or dug out and re-constructed and the monolyths are really quite huge and special. The tour was worth it and, in addition, we were there on a Sunday and knew that the market was in the town square that day. Our tour guide didn`t want us to go into the town, but rather to go to the scheduled lunch (I am pretty certain that there is a commission involved), but Joy insisted and we were given 30 minutes. After the sprint to town we saw the church built in the 1500s, partially of stone from the temples. The square was filled with Cholitas in trasitional dress and Joy went wild. We then sprinted back to find out that the group had barely given their orders.
We came back to town to a big meal and ice cream (Pasas Ron is exceptional here......... oh yea Rum and Raisin) and now to pack. Tomorrow, if all goes well, we will be in Sorata, chilling for a week until we figure out how we will get to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the flight home. Joy has some paint boxes for the kids of Sorata and she hopes to do some serious painting.
Jim
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A Day of Art
Happy Valentines Day everyone!
Yesterday started with a visit with Ivor and Yvonne, to the Academia Nacional de Belles Artes with introductions to the Executive Director, Max and many of the faculty. We sat around a table while greetings were exchanged and Joy showed them the sketches that she had done on this trip. I was so proud of Joy when she explained to them the value to her, as a painter in Nova Scotia, of the opportunity to view and paint another culture. She explained how it helped her see the culture and environment back home through refreshed eyes. She is quite the budding ambassador for Nova Scotia. The faculty of the Academia is obviously dedicated to their students but lack the facilities and equipment to support a student enrolment of 300. We all agreed that an association with a school like NSCAD would have a great impact and be beneficial to both institutions. We viewed a display, in the school´s gallery, of student work made completely from recycled material. Ivor sponsors an annual competition among the students.
After Joy and I went to the Museo de Arte Contemporaria and later (after cervasa and ice cream and siesta) we went around the corner to the Nacional Museo de Arte. We had a wonderful guide and the access to the collection has improved greatly since last year. It is housed in a beautiful "colonial" house with and alabaster fountain and stairs in the main courtyard. There is also a new section on contemporary art and we immediately recognized the Mamani mamani because of our meeting with the artist the night before.
In the evening we met Ivor, Yvonne and 2 of the greats of the Bolivian art scene; watercolourist, Mario Conde Cruz and sculptor, Victor Hugo Echeverria, at Villaserena. The restaurant includes a gallery, of course and serves the finest in Bolivian cuisine. We were ably assisted in our selections by Ivor and Yvonne and had the finest wine and absolutely delectable food. That plus the delightful company of Mario and Victor, both charming and interesting gentlemen. Despite the language issues it was marvellous when Joy and Mario started to compare techniques and I couldn´t understand either side of the conversation. Then we managed to get Mario and Victor arguing, good-naturally, over whether painting was more difficult than sculpture.
I was able to ask both of them what was the biggest issue facing the arts in Bolivia. They agreed that the lack of government funding for the arts was the biggest area of complaint, as the available funds are all spent on the promotion of the various festivals and the colourful dances which are the centre-pieces of these events. It is interesting to compare our 2 societies in this regard, as there are galleries all over La Paz and most of the other cities that we have visited, while in Canada where there is some support for the arts from government, we have only one gallery in Halifax plus the one at NSCAD. The evening was thoroughly enjoyable and we owe a huge debt to Ivor and Yvonne for providing us with 2 exciting days which have been the high-light of our trip so far.
Our plans from here are still being formulated. We are unable to get to Aucapata as originally planned, so we have to find an alternative peaceful place for Joy to do some painting. I prepared a list of possible options and asked the dinner table last night for their suggestions. They narrowed the list to 2 places; Samaipata and Sorata. Both have a reputation for being quiet and beautiful, so we may try both.
Off to another gallery for a watercolour show and then the Witches Market for trinkets to bring home.
Jim
Yesterday started with a visit with Ivor and Yvonne, to the Academia Nacional de Belles Artes with introductions to the Executive Director, Max and many of the faculty. We sat around a table while greetings were exchanged and Joy showed them the sketches that she had done on this trip. I was so proud of Joy when she explained to them the value to her, as a painter in Nova Scotia, of the opportunity to view and paint another culture. She explained how it helped her see the culture and environment back home through refreshed eyes. She is quite the budding ambassador for Nova Scotia. The faculty of the Academia is obviously dedicated to their students but lack the facilities and equipment to support a student enrolment of 300. We all agreed that an association with a school like NSCAD would have a great impact and be beneficial to both institutions. We viewed a display, in the school´s gallery, of student work made completely from recycled material. Ivor sponsors an annual competition among the students.
After Joy and I went to the Museo de Arte Contemporaria and later (after cervasa and ice cream and siesta) we went around the corner to the Nacional Museo de Arte. We had a wonderful guide and the access to the collection has improved greatly since last year. It is housed in a beautiful "colonial" house with and alabaster fountain and stairs in the main courtyard. There is also a new section on contemporary art and we immediately recognized the Mamani mamani because of our meeting with the artist the night before.
In the evening we met Ivor, Yvonne and 2 of the greats of the Bolivian art scene; watercolourist, Mario Conde Cruz and sculptor, Victor Hugo Echeverria, at Villaserena. The restaurant includes a gallery, of course and serves the finest in Bolivian cuisine. We were ably assisted in our selections by Ivor and Yvonne and had the finest wine and absolutely delectable food. That plus the delightful company of Mario and Victor, both charming and interesting gentlemen. Despite the language issues it was marvellous when Joy and Mario started to compare techniques and I couldn´t understand either side of the conversation. Then we managed to get Mario and Victor arguing, good-naturally, over whether painting was more difficult than sculpture.
I was able to ask both of them what was the biggest issue facing the arts in Bolivia. They agreed that the lack of government funding for the arts was the biggest area of complaint, as the available funds are all spent on the promotion of the various festivals and the colourful dances which are the centre-pieces of these events. It is interesting to compare our 2 societies in this regard, as there are galleries all over La Paz and most of the other cities that we have visited, while in Canada where there is some support for the arts from government, we have only one gallery in Halifax plus the one at NSCAD. The evening was thoroughly enjoyable and we owe a huge debt to Ivor and Yvonne for providing us with 2 exciting days which have been the high-light of our trip so far.
Our plans from here are still being formulated. We are unable to get to Aucapata as originally planned, so we have to find an alternative peaceful place for Joy to do some painting. I prepared a list of possible options and asked the dinner table last night for their suggestions. They narrowed the list to 2 places; Samaipata and Sorata. Both have a reputation for being quiet and beautiful, so we may try both.
Off to another gallery for a watercolour show and then the Witches Market for trinkets to bring home.
Jim
Friday, February 13, 2009
Meeting Folks from Home
Good Morning:
Happy Friday the 13 th! Afterwe recovered from the bus ride on Wednesday we spent the day renewing our familiarity with central La Paz. We ate at the same places as last February and went to the information kiosk to get a map. Nothing too adventurous. The police presence was noticeably increased with small groups of bored riot police on many street corners, complete with shields, body armour, and tear-gas projectors. Not certain whether it was because of the questioning on charges of corruption of the president of the government oil company or just the small indigenous demonstrations that no one seems to understand. The police presence slacked off to normal by yesterday. We are located very close to the centre of political action so the near-by square always has something going on.
I have another "Joy-ism" to share. I should start a collection of these. I must first confess that I made just as many mistakes as Joy does, but she forgets mine and hers are cute. This time I was ordering lunch in my finest Spanish (thanks Marco) and was expected (by agreement) to order a large cervasa for both of us. I started by ordering a sandwich and Joy jumped in to ensure that there were "dos copas" (2 glasses) included. The waiter really did a double-take wondering why the nice lady wanted to get 2 glasses with my ham and cheese sandwich! Things went downhill for a while, as I tried to explain that either she wanted them with the cervasa that I hadn´t ordered yet or that she was under doctor´s care back home.
Yesterday we were picked up by Ivor Mendez and Yvonne and off we went to "El Alto". I would like to tell everyone more about Dr. Mendez, but I will limit it to the fact that he is a neurosurgeon from Halifax, of Bolivian origin and has been terrifically active in various projects in Bolivia, including the arts. He is a wonderful sculptor and photographer on the side. A little about "El Alto". It is an area above La Paz which has been a collecting point for indigenous people coming into the city from the country. It has grown in size so that it now is larger in population than La Paz itself, although still considered a satellite city. The airport for La Paz is located in "El Alto". Yvonne took us to the Museo de Arte Antonio Paredes Candia, which is virtually unknown and is located in an old water storage tower which has been re-built into a beautiful facility. But it is what is inside that is so special. It certainly houses the finest collection of Bolivian paintings that I have seen, and the same can be said of the sculptures. Absolutely spectacular! This was the first time Ivor had seen this museo and it houses the best collection of "Mollo" culture ceramics he had seen, which come from the area in which he has one of his projects. It is a very special place and should be on the "must see" list for anyone visiting La Paz. As an additional treat the sculptor Victor Sapana was working on a sculpture in front of the museo and we were invited to take up the chisel and hammer for the honour of taking off some rock. What a great opportunity!
In the afternoon, we went to get our 30 day visas extended and found it a very simple process. Once we obtained the requisite photocopies, we were quickly (and the process was free!) given 90 days. We thought that the original 30 day visas might make it a bit rushed trying to get out of Bolivia, depending on what we decided to do from here. We also went up and down hills in the market area hunting for bloomers. Don´t ask! I am finding that the hills and altitude combination is a little more difficult this trip. I guess because I am not in as good shape as I was last year.
We were picked up again and after juice and some Bolivian munchies with Ivor and Yvonne, we met the man who is probably the most successful artist in Bolivia, Roberto Mamani Mamani. We went, in a terrific rainstorm (picture boulders being washed down the streets), to Zona Sur which is the other direction of expansion of population around La Paz. This is further down the valley below La Paz centre and is affluent and up-scale. Roberto, being a good businessman as well as a great painter, located his gallery there. Roberto is a charming individual with a quick smile and a resemblnce to his friend, Evo Morales, the president. He is very proud of his Aymara heritage and it shows in the beautiful colourful paintings which have been shown all over the world. It was a delightful visit and it was fun to watch he and Joy comparing notes through their volunteer interpreter, Ivor Mendez. They talked business, prints and serigraphs, and the amount of agreement and commonality across cultures and thousands of Kms was very impressive. It would be nice to have a Mamani Mamani show in Halifax.
Thanks Ivor, Yvonne, Victor, Roberto, and many others for a marvelous experience and the honour of seeing and learning about this intriguing and beautiful country. More adventures today.
Jim
Happy Friday the 13 th! Afterwe recovered from the bus ride on Wednesday we spent the day renewing our familiarity with central La Paz. We ate at the same places as last February and went to the information kiosk to get a map. Nothing too adventurous. The police presence was noticeably increased with small groups of bored riot police on many street corners, complete with shields, body armour, and tear-gas projectors. Not certain whether it was because of the questioning on charges of corruption of the president of the government oil company or just the small indigenous demonstrations that no one seems to understand. The police presence slacked off to normal by yesterday. We are located very close to the centre of political action so the near-by square always has something going on.
I have another "Joy-ism" to share. I should start a collection of these. I must first confess that I made just as many mistakes as Joy does, but she forgets mine and hers are cute. This time I was ordering lunch in my finest Spanish (thanks Marco) and was expected (by agreement) to order a large cervasa for both of us. I started by ordering a sandwich and Joy jumped in to ensure that there were "dos copas" (2 glasses) included. The waiter really did a double-take wondering why the nice lady wanted to get 2 glasses with my ham and cheese sandwich! Things went downhill for a while, as I tried to explain that either she wanted them with the cervasa that I hadn´t ordered yet or that she was under doctor´s care back home.
Yesterday we were picked up by Ivor Mendez and Yvonne and off we went to "El Alto". I would like to tell everyone more about Dr. Mendez, but I will limit it to the fact that he is a neurosurgeon from Halifax, of Bolivian origin and has been terrifically active in various projects in Bolivia, including the arts. He is a wonderful sculptor and photographer on the side. A little about "El Alto". It is an area above La Paz which has been a collecting point for indigenous people coming into the city from the country. It has grown in size so that it now is larger in population than La Paz itself, although still considered a satellite city. The airport for La Paz is located in "El Alto". Yvonne took us to the Museo de Arte Antonio Paredes Candia, which is virtually unknown and is located in an old water storage tower which has been re-built into a beautiful facility. But it is what is inside that is so special. It certainly houses the finest collection of Bolivian paintings that I have seen, and the same can be said of the sculptures. Absolutely spectacular! This was the first time Ivor had seen this museo and it houses the best collection of "Mollo" culture ceramics he had seen, which come from the area in which he has one of his projects. It is a very special place and should be on the "must see" list for anyone visiting La Paz. As an additional treat the sculptor Victor Sapana was working on a sculpture in front of the museo and we were invited to take up the chisel and hammer for the honour of taking off some rock. What a great opportunity!
In the afternoon, we went to get our 30 day visas extended and found it a very simple process. Once we obtained the requisite photocopies, we were quickly (and the process was free!) given 90 days. We thought that the original 30 day visas might make it a bit rushed trying to get out of Bolivia, depending on what we decided to do from here. We also went up and down hills in the market area hunting for bloomers. Don´t ask! I am finding that the hills and altitude combination is a little more difficult this trip. I guess because I am not in as good shape as I was last year.
We were picked up again and after juice and some Bolivian munchies with Ivor and Yvonne, we met the man who is probably the most successful artist in Bolivia, Roberto Mamani Mamani. We went, in a terrific rainstorm (picture boulders being washed down the streets), to Zona Sur which is the other direction of expansion of population around La Paz. This is further down the valley below La Paz centre and is affluent and up-scale. Roberto, being a good businessman as well as a great painter, located his gallery there. Roberto is a charming individual with a quick smile and a resemblnce to his friend, Evo Morales, the president. He is very proud of his Aymara heritage and it shows in the beautiful colourful paintings which have been shown all over the world. It was a delightful visit and it was fun to watch he and Joy comparing notes through their volunteer interpreter, Ivor Mendez. They talked business, prints and serigraphs, and the amount of agreement and commonality across cultures and thousands of Kms was very impressive. It would be nice to have a Mamani Mamani show in Halifax.
Thanks Ivor, Yvonne, Victor, Roberto, and many others for a marvelous experience and the honour of seeing and learning about this intriguing and beautiful country. More adventures today.
Jim
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
We´re Home ......... Not Really
We are now in La Paz and in the same room in the Hotel Torino that we were in last February. I don´t think that it has been occupied since, but it has a window that looks over the roof-tops and the Cathedral roof. We get the hourly chimes really clearly!
I apologize for not being as regular with my blog entries, but it has to do with "regularity" and the fact that Dukerol, the vaccine that we took before coming to prevent intestinal problems obviously isn´t 100% effective, or Bolivian bugs are serious, unstopable organisms. Both Joy and I have been "sick" of and on for the past week, but soldiered on. As a result I will not give our last 2 stops the coverage both deserve.
Potosi:
This was the first town since Asuncion, Paraguay, in which the history is palpable. Over the city is the incredible "Cerro Rico". The mountain was literally bi-sected by east/west veins of silver, which funded the Spanish empire for hundreds of years. There is a saying locally that I liked that says; "Enough silver came out of the Cerro Rico to build a bridge to Spain and still have silver left to carry across it!" Probably an exaggeration, but the mint in Potosi provided all the silver coinage for Spain until it closed in 1953. Now Spain provides all the coins for Bolivia, except the bi-metallic 5Bs piece which is made in Canada. The most recent (about 20 years ago) finding of a Spanish galleon off Florida was loaded with Potosi silver, in bars, coins and various other pieces. The value was 100s of millions of dollars and the folks at the Potosi mint (now a museum) received only 2 coins and feel a little put out about it. Understandable when you realize that 8 million slaves and indigenous people died over the 300 years that the Spanish were taking the silver and that wreck contained some of the results.
On the positive side, we were both able to get out of bed long enough to see the miners annual festival. We did not take the tour of the mines because of asthma and plain "chickenness" (me), but were up the mountain for the morning start to the celebrations. The miners, who still mine on a cooperative basis, in terrible conditions (cramped, dangerous, silica dust, gases, etc), get up the mountain and start the celebration with drink and dynamite. Against the back-drop of the periodic explosions moving closer down the mountainside, they have the most colourful and long parade of dancers and bands representing various mines and coops. We were sitting on a wall with 2 new friends; Mike, a motorcyclist from Holland, and Alister, a chap closer to my age from New Zealand who has been travelling the world for the past 5 years, when we were noticed by a radio guy doing a live broadcast of the event. When I waved to him after I heard him mention that even tourists were watching the parade, he immediately came over to find out our names and where we were from. I managed my best "Soy Jim de Canada". After that it was down-hill! When the parade stopped (as all do) we had a chance to interact with dancers and bands and get a share of the orange and alcohol, which seemed to be the standard drink. We had learned to spill a little on the ground for "Pachamama" or Mother Earth, and this had a side advantage of reducing the amount that you reserved for yourself. What was left had to be "thrown back". It was a great morning despite the water bombs and squirt guns that are part of any celebration around this time of year. Tourists are not normally targetted, but with the amount of water air-borne you are bound to get wet. There is a real economy around selling water bombs, shaving cream, and ponchos. Alister and I were sitting in a cafe having coffee and watching a great battle surging back and forth between to groups of about 50 teens each. One would charge until they ran our of ammunition and then the other would charge. To and fro they went while a police officer held up traffic on a cross road when the groups went by that point.
Sucre: This was the capital of Bolivia (Alto Peru) during the Spanish rule and the early years of independance, until there was a battle with La Paz and the title was wrested away. As a result the only national function left in Sucre is the Supreme Court of Bolivia. Sucre is beautiful and a little lower (2600 metres) than we have been used to recently. There are many colonial period buildings and someone who had lived in Spain said that it was just like old Spain. We went to a great textile museum which is private and run by an anthropological foundation. They are trying to promote weaving amoung local indigenous groups to show them how valuable and worthwhile these skills are. They even have a group of men who have had to learn the skills anew and are developing their own male style and art form. There were 2 women there working away with their rough wooden looms, producing the most beautiful designs and each one is orginal and they cannot reproduce them.
The next day there was a demonstration near the Plaza, which is not an uncommon occurance. In this case, a group of indigenous folk had come into town and sat in one of the important intersections, effectively snarling traffic. The police stood around very peacefully and not too much seemed to happen. We strongly suggest that any visitor to Bolivia who wants to get a grasp of Bolivia´s history go to the Casa de la Libertad, on the main plaza in Sucre. This is a former Jesuit church, then the university, and finally the first seat of government for independant Bolivia. A spectacular building, in which the Bolivian Declaration of Independance was signed in 1825. The English tour guide gave a very balanced view of Bolivian history and also was able to clarify for us many of the questions we had about current Bolivian politics and affairs.
That evening we took our still less than certain digestive systems out for the 12 hour bus ride to La Paz. When we got there we were told that we were up-graded to "Cami" at no extra cost. "Semi-cami" are reclining seats which go back to 45 degrees. "Cami" recline into a bed, which sounded like the answer for an over-night bus ride. It was a big new-looking yellow busand all "cami", but after a short way some short-comings became apparent. First the "bañyo" (bathroom) was locked and not available. The air circulation system was only put on for 4 short blasts during the entire trip so the air got stale and hot. Then at 2:30am they let on another passenger for whom there was no seat so she ended up sitting on a ledge beside me which made using the "cami" awkward as her face was right against mine if I reclined all the way. The bus crew, I suspect, pocketted her fare and I was told that she was only on for a short time. Turned out the short time was the rest of the trip. However, we did get here and both got lots of sleep.
Now I am caught up! Whew!
Tomorrow we hope to make contact with Ivor Mendez and get to see the Bolivian Academy of Arts. We are a little psych for that.
Jim
I apologize for not being as regular with my blog entries, but it has to do with "regularity" and the fact that Dukerol, the vaccine that we took before coming to prevent intestinal problems obviously isn´t 100% effective, or Bolivian bugs are serious, unstopable organisms. Both Joy and I have been "sick" of and on for the past week, but soldiered on. As a result I will not give our last 2 stops the coverage both deserve.
Potosi:
This was the first town since Asuncion, Paraguay, in which the history is palpable. Over the city is the incredible "Cerro Rico". The mountain was literally bi-sected by east/west veins of silver, which funded the Spanish empire for hundreds of years. There is a saying locally that I liked that says; "Enough silver came out of the Cerro Rico to build a bridge to Spain and still have silver left to carry across it!" Probably an exaggeration, but the mint in Potosi provided all the silver coinage for Spain until it closed in 1953. Now Spain provides all the coins for Bolivia, except the bi-metallic 5Bs piece which is made in Canada. The most recent (about 20 years ago) finding of a Spanish galleon off Florida was loaded with Potosi silver, in bars, coins and various other pieces. The value was 100s of millions of dollars and the folks at the Potosi mint (now a museum) received only 2 coins and feel a little put out about it. Understandable when you realize that 8 million slaves and indigenous people died over the 300 years that the Spanish were taking the silver and that wreck contained some of the results.
On the positive side, we were both able to get out of bed long enough to see the miners annual festival. We did not take the tour of the mines because of asthma and plain "chickenness" (me), but were up the mountain for the morning start to the celebrations. The miners, who still mine on a cooperative basis, in terrible conditions (cramped, dangerous, silica dust, gases, etc), get up the mountain and start the celebration with drink and dynamite. Against the back-drop of the periodic explosions moving closer down the mountainside, they have the most colourful and long parade of dancers and bands representing various mines and coops. We were sitting on a wall with 2 new friends; Mike, a motorcyclist from Holland, and Alister, a chap closer to my age from New Zealand who has been travelling the world for the past 5 years, when we were noticed by a radio guy doing a live broadcast of the event. When I waved to him after I heard him mention that even tourists were watching the parade, he immediately came over to find out our names and where we were from. I managed my best "Soy Jim de Canada". After that it was down-hill! When the parade stopped (as all do) we had a chance to interact with dancers and bands and get a share of the orange and alcohol, which seemed to be the standard drink. We had learned to spill a little on the ground for "Pachamama" or Mother Earth, and this had a side advantage of reducing the amount that you reserved for yourself. What was left had to be "thrown back". It was a great morning despite the water bombs and squirt guns that are part of any celebration around this time of year. Tourists are not normally targetted, but with the amount of water air-borne you are bound to get wet. There is a real economy around selling water bombs, shaving cream, and ponchos. Alister and I were sitting in a cafe having coffee and watching a great battle surging back and forth between to groups of about 50 teens each. One would charge until they ran our of ammunition and then the other would charge. To and fro they went while a police officer held up traffic on a cross road when the groups went by that point.
Sucre: This was the capital of Bolivia (Alto Peru) during the Spanish rule and the early years of independance, until there was a battle with La Paz and the title was wrested away. As a result the only national function left in Sucre is the Supreme Court of Bolivia. Sucre is beautiful and a little lower (2600 metres) than we have been used to recently. There are many colonial period buildings and someone who had lived in Spain said that it was just like old Spain. We went to a great textile museum which is private and run by an anthropological foundation. They are trying to promote weaving amoung local indigenous groups to show them how valuable and worthwhile these skills are. They even have a group of men who have had to learn the skills anew and are developing their own male style and art form. There were 2 women there working away with their rough wooden looms, producing the most beautiful designs and each one is orginal and they cannot reproduce them.
The next day there was a demonstration near the Plaza, which is not an uncommon occurance. In this case, a group of indigenous folk had come into town and sat in one of the important intersections, effectively snarling traffic. The police stood around very peacefully and not too much seemed to happen. We strongly suggest that any visitor to Bolivia who wants to get a grasp of Bolivia´s history go to the Casa de la Libertad, on the main plaza in Sucre. This is a former Jesuit church, then the university, and finally the first seat of government for independant Bolivia. A spectacular building, in which the Bolivian Declaration of Independance was signed in 1825. The English tour guide gave a very balanced view of Bolivian history and also was able to clarify for us many of the questions we had about current Bolivian politics and affairs.
That evening we took our still less than certain digestive systems out for the 12 hour bus ride to La Paz. When we got there we were told that we were up-graded to "Cami" at no extra cost. "Semi-cami" are reclining seats which go back to 45 degrees. "Cami" recline into a bed, which sounded like the answer for an over-night bus ride. It was a big new-looking yellow busand all "cami", but after a short way some short-comings became apparent. First the "bañyo" (bathroom) was locked and not available. The air circulation system was only put on for 4 short blasts during the entire trip so the air got stale and hot. Then at 2:30am they let on another passenger for whom there was no seat so she ended up sitting on a ledge beside me which made using the "cami" awkward as her face was right against mine if I reclined all the way. The bus crew, I suspect, pocketted her fare and I was told that she was only on for a short time. Turned out the short time was the rest of the trip. However, we did get here and both got lots of sleep.
Now I am caught up! Whew!
Tomorrow we hope to make contact with Ivor Mendez and get to see the Bolivian Academy of Arts. We are a little psych for that.
Jim
Saturday, February 7, 2009
The Rest of the Tour
On day three of our tour from Tupiza we awoke with everyone at least a little sick, including our driver and cook. About the only food we had in common was the wine that we had had the night before. Mandy and I seemed in the worst shapem but we pressed on to the ¨stone tree¨which is a group of lava rocks in unusual shapes. I found a small daisy-like flower in the gravel that doubles for soil at these altitudes, but while it was rooted there was no sign of a plant, and the flower was green with the centre being a slightly lighter green. Gerardo thought that it was the beginning of a mound of moss waiting for water to arrive, but .......
We passed atotal of five lagunas (lakes) all with Flamingos, and got some great close shots at the one lake of at least 2 types. We finally passed an active volcano, although the steam was only rising from a side vent. But we has lunch in the middle of an old lava flow, looking at a field of rocks which had been thrown there during a previous erruption. That evening we arrived at the Salar de Uyuni and bunked down in a building made of salt blocks, on beds of salt. They were actually quite comfortable and we slept well. Joy did a nice painting in the village and made some new friends as she always does when she gets her paints out.
Naxt day we were up and on our way by 5;30am to catch the sunrise on the Salar. The Salar is a huge salt lake about 12,000 sq. km in size and up to 20+ meters deep (or is it thick?). It is etched by a pattern of lines amd was quite beautiful in the morning light. We stopped at one of the ïslands¨in the salar, and this one is made of coral attached to volcanic rock, indicating the 2 phenomenons which created the salar. Joy did a lovely painting of the island and then did sketches for Gerardo and Sylvia, while our 2 Australian friends were off with Matthew (from London) doing funny photos out on the flats. We later saw holes filled with salt water from springs beneath the salt. We were a little nervous because it felt like walking on thin ice back home. We visited the famous salt hotel which is now a museum and has been replaced by new salt buildings near-by. We also saw the salt workings and arrived at Uyuni after a visit to the ATM.
Uyuni is mainly used for a military base, railroad town, and salt mining. One of the few tourist sites in town is an area of scrapped railroad equipment and Joy and I decided to walk the three Km to see it the next morning. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I spotted 2 young men heading out from town on an intercepting course. You must realize that the three kms cover flat, but desolate area with no people and the train wreckage would be the perfect place for us to be freed from the weight of our cameras. I could not think of any reason for them to be going out there, so we spun on our heels and walked briskly back to town. They carried on for a short while and then returned the way that they had come. They may have had some reason for their walk but they were paying a lot of attention to us, so it was right to skip the train graveyard.
Nect post I will fill you in on our visit to Potosi, once the richest city in the world, and the miners festival that we stumbled on to.
Jim
We passed atotal of five lagunas (lakes) all with Flamingos, and got some great close shots at the one lake of at least 2 types. We finally passed an active volcano, although the steam was only rising from a side vent. But we has lunch in the middle of an old lava flow, looking at a field of rocks which had been thrown there during a previous erruption. That evening we arrived at the Salar de Uyuni and bunked down in a building made of salt blocks, on beds of salt. They were actually quite comfortable and we slept well. Joy did a nice painting in the village and made some new friends as she always does when she gets her paints out.
Naxt day we were up and on our way by 5;30am to catch the sunrise on the Salar. The Salar is a huge salt lake about 12,000 sq. km in size and up to 20+ meters deep (or is it thick?). It is etched by a pattern of lines amd was quite beautiful in the morning light. We stopped at one of the ïslands¨in the salar, and this one is made of coral attached to volcanic rock, indicating the 2 phenomenons which created the salar. Joy did a lovely painting of the island and then did sketches for Gerardo and Sylvia, while our 2 Australian friends were off with Matthew (from London) doing funny photos out on the flats. We later saw holes filled with salt water from springs beneath the salt. We were a little nervous because it felt like walking on thin ice back home. We visited the famous salt hotel which is now a museum and has been replaced by new salt buildings near-by. We also saw the salt workings and arrived at Uyuni after a visit to the ATM.
Uyuni is mainly used for a military base, railroad town, and salt mining. One of the few tourist sites in town is an area of scrapped railroad equipment and Joy and I decided to walk the three Km to see it the next morning. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I spotted 2 young men heading out from town on an intercepting course. You must realize that the three kms cover flat, but desolate area with no people and the train wreckage would be the perfect place for us to be freed from the weight of our cameras. I could not think of any reason for them to be going out there, so we spun on our heels and walked briskly back to town. They carried on for a short while and then returned the way that they had come. They may have had some reason for their walk but they were paying a lot of attention to us, so it was right to skip the train graveyard.
Nect post I will fill you in on our visit to Potosi, once the richest city in the world, and the miners festival that we stumbled on to.
Jim
Friday, February 6, 2009
The Great Attempt at Words
Hi Folks;
Before I try my best to describe what we saw during our 4 day tour, there are a few more routine matters to finish.
The day before we left Tupiza, we chilled out around the pool reading, before we went on the search for the illusive Tupiza ATM. I will warn you now that no matter what you are told, there is not one in all of Tupiza. This probably makes it unique in all of Bolivia, but there isn´t one. Fortunately, we were allowed to wait until the end of our tour to pay the final installment. I picked up and extra layer of clothing just in case we were cold as we were warned that the temperature would go down to -2C. Another nice, but fragile Alpaca sweater will be coming home with me.
THE TOUR: I hope that everyone has read Joy´s poem on this part of the trip. She comes as close as possible to catching the feeling of the event. Those that have taken the tour pretty much agree that we humans have not been given the capacity in our many languages to capture the majesty of the Salar and the Conservation area South of it. We had amazing sight after amazing sight, all set among towering volcanic mountains, coloured lakes, and absolute grandeur. I would have loved to have been dropped off anywhere for a day just to sit and absorb the peace and quiet, only interrupted occasionally by a recognition of the absolute insignificance of we mortals.
To the details because those are much easier, as long as it is understood that the scene for all of these events is the most spectacular spot on Earth.
The first day, after meeting Gerardo, Sylvia, Steph and Mandy we climbed into a Toyota Land Cruiser of unknown vintage and went up and up on a twisting gravel road. We quickly gained confidence in Gerardo as he navigated past wash-outs as the road hugged the cliffs. As we got higher the scenery became more special as the views down from the cliff-side. The first animals we came across were Llamas with many cute babies. We stopped for a great car-hood lunch among some Llamas, as thunder roared around us, but didn´t destroy the picnic. We shared the pasture with 2 other cars from Tupiza. We would pretty much stay with them for the entire trip. A deserted adobe villege was next with a loveny little church. A short drive on we came across our first Flamingos and a small flock of South American Ostriches. A corral filled with Llamas a little while later answered my question about how they sheared Llamas; in the field or corralled. Joy thought that it was a cemetary which is understandable because the Llamas all have bright ribbons in their ears or fleece and the bunch crowded together behind adobe walls looked much like the cemetaries in this remote area. We stopped in a village under snow-capped mountains at 4000 metres. Joy did a nice sketch of a little girl and gave it to her. The chica them decided that it would be nice to have Joy´s paint box, too. Later that evening we had a thunderstorm with hail changing to snow so that we awoke to the white world that we thought that we had left in Portaupique.
The next day we were up and off, in the snow, before 6am. We did some more climbing in the snow until we crosed the highest point on the trip at 5000 meters. On the way we saw lots more Flamingos and were reduced in importance by the volcanic peaks all around. We visited hot bubbling mud geysers which didn´t do much more than bubble and steam. The various coloured ¨lagunas¨followed; a green lake, a white lake, and a red lake, all with flocks of flamingos. We saw an area which was the subject of a painting by Salvador Dali, and lots of Llamas, Donkeys and Vicunas. The later are a wild, slimmed, down version of Llama. Llamas are domesticated and used for food and wool. Vicunas are wild and protected. Next, your intrepid travellers were off to the deserted mining village of ¨Fantasma¨which was started in the 16th century and then more recently another attempt was made (which failed). The village was filled with large rabbit-like creatures called ¨Piscatchio¨(I hope that the spelling is right). Although they have rabbit-like ears, they have a long tail and seemed to hop like a kangaroo. Outside of a flat tire, which didn´t hold us up at all, and Joy mistaking wart-remover for lip-balm, it was a great day. That evening we met up with another 6 of the Aussie women that Steph and Mandy are travelling with and Joy and I taught them how to play ¨Wizard¨. Great fum and what wonderful young people. Joy and I are so lucky to meet these great people (mostly young) from all over the world.
Enough for now. I will try to catch up the other 2 days, our time in Uyuni and what we are seeing here in Potosi.
Jim
Before I try my best to describe what we saw during our 4 day tour, there are a few more routine matters to finish.
The day before we left Tupiza, we chilled out around the pool reading, before we went on the search for the illusive Tupiza ATM. I will warn you now that no matter what you are told, there is not one in all of Tupiza. This probably makes it unique in all of Bolivia, but there isn´t one. Fortunately, we were allowed to wait until the end of our tour to pay the final installment. I picked up and extra layer of clothing just in case we were cold as we were warned that the temperature would go down to -2C. Another nice, but fragile Alpaca sweater will be coming home with me.
THE TOUR: I hope that everyone has read Joy´s poem on this part of the trip. She comes as close as possible to catching the feeling of the event. Those that have taken the tour pretty much agree that we humans have not been given the capacity in our many languages to capture the majesty of the Salar and the Conservation area South of it. We had amazing sight after amazing sight, all set among towering volcanic mountains, coloured lakes, and absolute grandeur. I would have loved to have been dropped off anywhere for a day just to sit and absorb the peace and quiet, only interrupted occasionally by a recognition of the absolute insignificance of we mortals.
To the details because those are much easier, as long as it is understood that the scene for all of these events is the most spectacular spot on Earth.
The first day, after meeting Gerardo, Sylvia, Steph and Mandy we climbed into a Toyota Land Cruiser of unknown vintage and went up and up on a twisting gravel road. We quickly gained confidence in Gerardo as he navigated past wash-outs as the road hugged the cliffs. As we got higher the scenery became more special as the views down from the cliff-side. The first animals we came across were Llamas with many cute babies. We stopped for a great car-hood lunch among some Llamas, as thunder roared around us, but didn´t destroy the picnic. We shared the pasture with 2 other cars from Tupiza. We would pretty much stay with them for the entire trip. A deserted adobe villege was next with a loveny little church. A short drive on we came across our first Flamingos and a small flock of South American Ostriches. A corral filled with Llamas a little while later answered my question about how they sheared Llamas; in the field or corralled. Joy thought that it was a cemetary which is understandable because the Llamas all have bright ribbons in their ears or fleece and the bunch crowded together behind adobe walls looked much like the cemetaries in this remote area. We stopped in a village under snow-capped mountains at 4000 metres. Joy did a nice sketch of a little girl and gave it to her. The chica them decided that it would be nice to have Joy´s paint box, too. Later that evening we had a thunderstorm with hail changing to snow so that we awoke to the white world that we thought that we had left in Portaupique.
The next day we were up and off, in the snow, before 6am. We did some more climbing in the snow until we crosed the highest point on the trip at 5000 meters. On the way we saw lots more Flamingos and were reduced in importance by the volcanic peaks all around. We visited hot bubbling mud geysers which didn´t do much more than bubble and steam. The various coloured ¨lagunas¨followed; a green lake, a white lake, and a red lake, all with flocks of flamingos. We saw an area which was the subject of a painting by Salvador Dali, and lots of Llamas, Donkeys and Vicunas. The later are a wild, slimmed, down version of Llama. Llamas are domesticated and used for food and wool. Vicunas are wild and protected. Next, your intrepid travellers were off to the deserted mining village of ¨Fantasma¨which was started in the 16th century and then more recently another attempt was made (which failed). The village was filled with large rabbit-like creatures called ¨Piscatchio¨(I hope that the spelling is right). Although they have rabbit-like ears, they have a long tail and seemed to hop like a kangaroo. Outside of a flat tire, which didn´t hold us up at all, and Joy mistaking wart-remover for lip-balm, it was a great day. That evening we met up with another 6 of the Aussie women that Steph and Mandy are travelling with and Joy and I taught them how to play ¨Wizard¨. Great fum and what wonderful young people. Joy and I are so lucky to meet these great people (mostly young) from all over the world.
Enough for now. I will try to catch up the other 2 days, our time in Uyuni and what we are seeing here in Potosi.
Jim
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
I´m In Awe!
Hello Again,
This may require more than one blog. First for the mundane. As soon as we got in to Bolivia, I broke down and bought a bottle of Bacardi Dark, my favourite rum. The very next store had the illusive ´mickey´(small bottle) of rum, and every store since has it. Love Bolivia!
I strongly encourage everyone to read Joy's blog about the last few days. Not only can she create beautiful paintings of what she sees, but she also paints with words. My first reaction was to record a lot of minutia about what we saw and the events as they occurred, but that hardly is sufficient to do justice to one of the most amazing areas on the face of the Earth.
First, we were very fortunate in our choice of Tupiza Tours, as we met 2 wonderful folk in Gerardo, our driver and guide, and Silvia, our cook. At the end of the four days we developed a close friendship with them both, and both were great at their jobs. Driving sounds like an easy job, but try wrestling a 4x4 over twisty, rocky ground for 4 days. For Sylvia, it was hopping out and whipping up great hot meal for the 6 of us, 3 times a day, and making certain that she had the ingrediants with her. And they do it every week! Fortunately, Joy was able to present them with sketches of themselves before we left the Salar de Uyuni. The jokes that were flying around as Gererdo was poising for his! He has been at this for 9 years, and knows the ground intimately. We hardly noticed the 2 flat tires, as they were fixed and back on while we were resting or eating. We will remember them.
The other friends we made were our 2 Aussie lasses. When you are our ages (mine anyway), you have never stayed in a coed dorm and it has the potential to be a somewhat uncomfortable situation and was what I dreaded on the tour. These 2; Steph and Mandy, were just the greatest travelling companions and we got along like the proverbial 'house on fire', despite my twisted sense of humour. It was a riot watching them trying to make the perfect strange photo. That is the reason why there is a photo amongst ours which has Mandy holding out her hands with Joy and I apparently standing on them. They are both 22 years old and at various stages of their university, having already hade many life experiences, and strong families at home. I even had to pretend that they were my daughters when a 'creepy' guy came along. We later met another 6 of their friends who were going the opposite direction to us. The coed sleeping arrangements proved to be no problem as is usually the case with those fears. Our 2 Aussies made it easy.
I will have to leave my description of the trip for another blog, but if you only see one thing in your life, it should be this. I love Canada very much, but this area of the world defies description.
Off for the laundry.
Jim
This may require more than one blog. First for the mundane. As soon as we got in to Bolivia, I broke down and bought a bottle of Bacardi Dark, my favourite rum. The very next store had the illusive ´mickey´(small bottle) of rum, and every store since has it. Love Bolivia!
I strongly encourage everyone to read Joy's blog about the last few days. Not only can she create beautiful paintings of what she sees, but she also paints with words. My first reaction was to record a lot of minutia about what we saw and the events as they occurred, but that hardly is sufficient to do justice to one of the most amazing areas on the face of the Earth.
First, we were very fortunate in our choice of Tupiza Tours, as we met 2 wonderful folk in Gerardo, our driver and guide, and Silvia, our cook. At the end of the four days we developed a close friendship with them both, and both were great at their jobs. Driving sounds like an easy job, but try wrestling a 4x4 over twisty, rocky ground for 4 days. For Sylvia, it was hopping out and whipping up great hot meal for the 6 of us, 3 times a day, and making certain that she had the ingrediants with her. And they do it every week! Fortunately, Joy was able to present them with sketches of themselves before we left the Salar de Uyuni. The jokes that were flying around as Gererdo was poising for his! He has been at this for 9 years, and knows the ground intimately. We hardly noticed the 2 flat tires, as they were fixed and back on while we were resting or eating. We will remember them.
The other friends we made were our 2 Aussie lasses. When you are our ages (mine anyway), you have never stayed in a coed dorm and it has the potential to be a somewhat uncomfortable situation and was what I dreaded on the tour. These 2; Steph and Mandy, were just the greatest travelling companions and we got along like the proverbial 'house on fire', despite my twisted sense of humour. It was a riot watching them trying to make the perfect strange photo. That is the reason why there is a photo amongst ours which has Mandy holding out her hands with Joy and I apparently standing on them. They are both 22 years old and at various stages of their university, having already hade many life experiences, and strong families at home. I even had to pretend that they were my daughters when a 'creepy' guy came along. We later met another 6 of their friends who were going the opposite direction to us. The coed sleeping arrangements proved to be no problem as is usually the case with those fears. Our 2 Aussies made it easy.
I will have to leave my description of the trip for another blog, but if you only see one thing in your life, it should be this. I love Canada very much, but this area of the world defies description.
Off for the laundry.
Jim
The Train Ride
Hi Folks,
Given the date I have some catching up to do, so this will be a multi part blog(more than one today, if I can pull it off). First let me correct one of my many spelling mistakes. Last blog I referred to Tupizi when it is Tupiza.
We got our train tickets for Tupiza as I had been looking forward to trying out one of the few Bolivian trains left that provide passenger service. There are 4 trains northbound from Villizon, 2 are express and the other are the Wari Wari. We booked on the express as that was the one available on the day that we were leaving. The Wari Wari is a mixed train and has a reputation of being less reliable. We decided that the price to Tupiza was so reasonable that we would go executive class which included dinner, for which we received a chit. The scenery was quite beautiful and there were many opportunities to see the engine as we twisted down into valleys. The ride to Tupiza was only a few hours and we arrived on time. The meal was a sandwich (ham and cheese of course) and coke, served to us in our seats. Everyone else, who were not as fortunate as us, had to go and sit in a lovely dining car with flowers on the table and silverware as well. Poor folk, having to suffer while us upper class types had our sandwiches in our seats.
Tupiza has a great market on Thursday which made Joy very happy, so after we hiked up into a canyon to view some great scenery, featuring ´fins´which are mountainous slabs of red coloured conglomerate left after erosion, we visited the market. Joy revels in any market that is part of local life and not geared for tourists.
We quite enjoyed the Mitru hotel in Tupiza which is a little more than we wanted to pay, but has a lovely ambience, especially around the pool. Unfortunately, they also have a bar which was near our room and the subject of some revellry, which went well into Saturday morning. I recommend staying there, but not in room 114. It is also the home of Tupiza Tours which seemed to be relatively highly recommended by folks on ´Thorntree´the ´Lonely Planet´posting site. So we also signed up to leave on Saturday morning for a 4 day tour with them. It cost B1200 each which is probably at the top of the prices for this tour, but we were willing to pay a little extra based on their reputation. There are a number of tour agencies in Tupiza and many, many in Uyuni, and choosing is a bit of a crap shoot. We picked well as you will see from my next blog.
Got to go pick up photo cds.
Jim
Given the date I have some catching up to do, so this will be a multi part blog(more than one today, if I can pull it off). First let me correct one of my many spelling mistakes. Last blog I referred to Tupizi when it is Tupiza.
We got our train tickets for Tupiza as I had been looking forward to trying out one of the few Bolivian trains left that provide passenger service. There are 4 trains northbound from Villizon, 2 are express and the other are the Wari Wari. We booked on the express as that was the one available on the day that we were leaving. The Wari Wari is a mixed train and has a reputation of being less reliable. We decided that the price to Tupiza was so reasonable that we would go executive class which included dinner, for which we received a chit. The scenery was quite beautiful and there were many opportunities to see the engine as we twisted down into valleys. The ride to Tupiza was only a few hours and we arrived on time. The meal was a sandwich (ham and cheese of course) and coke, served to us in our seats. Everyone else, who were not as fortunate as us, had to go and sit in a lovely dining car with flowers on the table and silverware as well. Poor folk, having to suffer while us upper class types had our sandwiches in our seats.
Tupiza has a great market on Thursday which made Joy very happy, so after we hiked up into a canyon to view some great scenery, featuring ´fins´which are mountainous slabs of red coloured conglomerate left after erosion, we visited the market. Joy revels in any market that is part of local life and not geared for tourists.
We quite enjoyed the Mitru hotel in Tupiza which is a little more than we wanted to pay, but has a lovely ambience, especially around the pool. Unfortunately, they also have a bar which was near our room and the subject of some revellry, which went well into Saturday morning. I recommend staying there, but not in room 114. It is also the home of Tupiza Tours which seemed to be relatively highly recommended by folks on ´Thorntree´the ´Lonely Planet´posting site. So we also signed up to leave on Saturday morning for a 4 day tour with them. It cost B1200 each which is probably at the top of the prices for this tour, but we were willing to pay a little extra based on their reputation. There are a number of tour agencies in Tupiza and many, many in Uyuni, and choosing is a bit of a crap shoot. We picked well as you will see from my next blog.
Got to go pick up photo cds.
Jim
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Bolivia At Last
Hello Again:
Before I leave Tilcara, Argentina, I must tell you of one of those special moments. During one of my walks while Joy was out painting, I came across the flag, which represents one of the indigenous groups. It is multi-coloured with squares arranged diagonally and I know that the group it represents, Aymara or Quechuan, is identified in something that I have read, maybe even Dr. Mendez book of Bolivian photographs. Anyway, while I was looking at the flag, a man came out of the restaurant, and we began talking. Turned out that he was the musician featured at the restaurant that evening and he invited me to return later. He offered to sell me the flag, as it turned out that he owned the restaurant as well. I foolishly declined. I told Joy about my new friend and she suggested that we return for dinner. We did and he played a mixture of jazz and traditional music on the pipes and the saxaphone just for us, as we were the only ones there. After he joined us and we had this great conversation with him about his career of over 30 years in Paris. Given our obvious fluency in Spanish it was an unusual conversation, about equal parts English, Spanish and French. I really had to dig back for the French that I had learned in the '60s. It was a fun evening and he was a very interesting person with an interesting life. He had returned to his roots in Tilcara, although he planned to return to Paris for a few months every year. By the way, the Llama steak that I had was something else. Don´t worry Yolande, this one died of old age, for certain.
The delightful bus trip to the border, half spent in the front seats of the top floor of one of those double-decker buses, climbed through a very dry river valley to about 3900 meters and then down to the border. The colourful cliffs were rippled and lined with a veritable artist´s palette (I promised Joy that I would get that one in) of colour. You should read her blog for the correct description through an artist´s eye. We slowed down for a herd of burros on the road, and then Llamas, and, later, goats. The fences didn´t seem to be effective.
We walked across the border to Villazon and found a nice hostel for $13 and walked to the train station. There are two train routes still operating passenger service, and as a train lover, I have been dying to try it. There was absolutely no difficulty getting tickets for "Exectivo" class for today, so we are off to Tupizi at 3pm.
One last observation on Argentina. The buses are generally in very good condition, there are lots of them and they are not expensive. They are usually on time, although our last one was the 9:15am bus which eventually left at 11:00am. That is the joy of being in no rush. My habit of wondering "what´s the worst that can happen?" is very useful at those times.
You must read Joy´s next blog about the young women in Tilcara. She really has a way with words.
We are in Bolivia, where the cultures are obvious and very different from what we are used to. It is funny, but it has a comfortable and safe feeling, even though this is a border town.
Enough for now;
Jim
Before I leave Tilcara, Argentina, I must tell you of one of those special moments. During one of my walks while Joy was out painting, I came across the flag, which represents one of the indigenous groups. It is multi-coloured with squares arranged diagonally and I know that the group it represents, Aymara or Quechuan, is identified in something that I have read, maybe even Dr. Mendez book of Bolivian photographs. Anyway, while I was looking at the flag, a man came out of the restaurant, and we began talking. Turned out that he was the musician featured at the restaurant that evening and he invited me to return later. He offered to sell me the flag, as it turned out that he owned the restaurant as well. I foolishly declined. I told Joy about my new friend and she suggested that we return for dinner. We did and he played a mixture of jazz and traditional music on the pipes and the saxaphone just for us, as we were the only ones there. After he joined us and we had this great conversation with him about his career of over 30 years in Paris. Given our obvious fluency in Spanish it was an unusual conversation, about equal parts English, Spanish and French. I really had to dig back for the French that I had learned in the '60s. It was a fun evening and he was a very interesting person with an interesting life. He had returned to his roots in Tilcara, although he planned to return to Paris for a few months every year. By the way, the Llama steak that I had was something else. Don´t worry Yolande, this one died of old age, for certain.
The delightful bus trip to the border, half spent in the front seats of the top floor of one of those double-decker buses, climbed through a very dry river valley to about 3900 meters and then down to the border. The colourful cliffs were rippled and lined with a veritable artist´s palette (I promised Joy that I would get that one in) of colour. You should read her blog for the correct description through an artist´s eye. We slowed down for a herd of burros on the road, and then Llamas, and, later, goats. The fences didn´t seem to be effective.
We walked across the border to Villazon and found a nice hostel for $13 and walked to the train station. There are two train routes still operating passenger service, and as a train lover, I have been dying to try it. There was absolutely no difficulty getting tickets for "Exectivo" class for today, so we are off to Tupizi at 3pm.
One last observation on Argentina. The buses are generally in very good condition, there are lots of them and they are not expensive. They are usually on time, although our last one was the 9:15am bus which eventually left at 11:00am. That is the joy of being in no rush. My habit of wondering "what´s the worst that can happen?" is very useful at those times.
You must read Joy´s next blog about the young women in Tilcara. She really has a way with words.
We are in Bolivia, where the cultures are obvious and very different from what we are used to. It is funny, but it has a comfortable and safe feeling, even though this is a border town.
Enough for now;
Jim
Monday, January 26, 2009
A Short Entry
Hi Folks:
This is mostly aimed at those that may be part of any search party that may be mounted to look for two old fogeys lost in South America. While this place is beautiful and the setting couldn´t be beat, it is a little more than we wish to pay for just about everything. It seems to be the #1 vacation destination for hoards of 20 somethings. I am not certain why, or what they are looking for, but we certainly don´t fit. So tomorrow we are off for Bolivia, which was our target in the first place. This time we had to cross the continent (writer´s licence) to get there, but we are sure that it will be worth it.
Last year, our first and last days in Bolivia were memorable, as some of you will remember. After we crossed the border into Bolivia last year we had to get off the bus and decorate it and ourselves, in the process, because of Carnivale. We found the welcome and the people extremely friendly. Our last day, was the day that Jim got invited to assist in the blessing of the cars in Copacobana. A kind and generous family at the end of the line with 3 vehicles got the strange looking tourist to run around their vehicles (at 4,000 meters in altitude), spraying them with beer. Anyway that was last year, and we are wondering what Bolivia has in store for us this year.
Today, Joy has been painting up a storm and has finished 3 1/4 sheet paintings so far. She also did sketches of the 2 cleaning staff and gave them to the women. They went home happy with their ¨Lakings¨. Joy is really happy when she is painting, but I fear that she will run out of paper. She has already done more paintings than last year. I have been wandering around and keeping out of trouble. I visited ¨Pucara¨which is a pre-Hispanic village on a prominent hill in the middle of the relatively narrow valley in which Tilcara rests. It is a naturally defensible position and there were adobe houses built there up to 1957. I have to admit that I was more impressedby the garden that they have just inside the entrance to Pucara. I will never tire of seeing flowering cactus and when I bring my pictures to your place, I am sure that you won´t either.
Anyway siesta is over and it will be dinner time soon.
Jim
This is mostly aimed at those that may be part of any search party that may be mounted to look for two old fogeys lost in South America. While this place is beautiful and the setting couldn´t be beat, it is a little more than we wish to pay for just about everything. It seems to be the #1 vacation destination for hoards of 20 somethings. I am not certain why, or what they are looking for, but we certainly don´t fit. So tomorrow we are off for Bolivia, which was our target in the first place. This time we had to cross the continent (writer´s licence) to get there, but we are sure that it will be worth it.
Last year, our first and last days in Bolivia were memorable, as some of you will remember. After we crossed the border into Bolivia last year we had to get off the bus and decorate it and ourselves, in the process, because of Carnivale. We found the welcome and the people extremely friendly. Our last day, was the day that Jim got invited to assist in the blessing of the cars in Copacobana. A kind and generous family at the end of the line with 3 vehicles got the strange looking tourist to run around their vehicles (at 4,000 meters in altitude), spraying them with beer. Anyway that was last year, and we are wondering what Bolivia has in store for us this year.
Today, Joy has been painting up a storm and has finished 3 1/4 sheet paintings so far. She also did sketches of the 2 cleaning staff and gave them to the women. They went home happy with their ¨Lakings¨. Joy is really happy when she is painting, but I fear that she will run out of paper. She has already done more paintings than last year. I have been wandering around and keeping out of trouble. I visited ¨Pucara¨which is a pre-Hispanic village on a prominent hill in the middle of the relatively narrow valley in which Tilcara rests. It is a naturally defensible position and there were adobe houses built there up to 1957. I have to admit that I was more impressedby the garden that they have just inside the entrance to Pucara. I will never tire of seeing flowering cactus and when I bring my pictures to your place, I am sure that you won´t either.
Anyway siesta is over and it will be dinner time soon.
Jim
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sorry Skipped to Tilcara
Hi Folks:
Sorry that I am a little slow with this entry as I promised one from Salta. After a long, but relatively quick bus ride from Resistancia, we arrived early (6am) in Salta. It appears that Resistancia was as far South as we will get on this trip, as we turn North from here.
Salta is a very beautiful city, in a valley surrounded by hills.
As usual, following the guide in the ¨wee¨hours of the morning, we ended up at the Hotel Colonial, which, while perfectly placed on the main square, was more than three times the cost in the guide. We have come to expect an increase, but the Argentine increases are ridiculous. The hotel had everything; computer, AC, TV (Joy hates the last 2) and breakfast (Joy´s favourite) included, so we stayed. That and the early morning arrival.
The next day we toured the many historical and art museos, although we skipped the one with the 3 mummies (only one on show at a time) that had been found in the high mountains (virgin sacrifices you know). Salta has 2 very interesting aspects; one good and one bad. They have 2 parallel streets blocked off as pedestrian malls (about three blocks each) near the central square. People go around and around on these and there is always something happening. You can have a mime or Barney the dinosaur. Last night we had these 2 young guys doing an impromptu gymnastic show with some breakdancing thrown in. Watching the one young fellow do ¨no hand¨cartwheels on concrete was enough to draw a gasp out of even a hardened traveller like our Joy. He also had his shirt rolled up to show that his BFI was pretty darned good! Joy appreciated that.
The high-light of the first day was Joy seducing (sorry kids) me onto the gondola for the ride up Cerro San Bernardino, which over-looks the city. I want it on record that I did not take one of Dr. Karen´s flying pills nor any rum (haven´t been able to find that yet). I made it and quite enjoyed it as long as I looked forward. We did have to walk down, though. Yesterday, Joy did a beautiful painting of one of the many gorgeous balconies in this very colonial city. After we solved the mysteries of the municipal bus routes to go to the Artisan market. That brings me to the other thing about Salta. The standard fare for a bus anywhere in the city is 1peso and 25 centavos. But it is almost impossible to get a 25 centavo piece, so many tourists end up paying 1 peso and 50 centavos. There either should be more 25 centavo pieces in circulation, or they should change the rate. That is my rant for the day!
This morning we were up early to get the bus to San Francisco de Jujuy which everyone just calls Jujuy, which is pronounce ¨Who-whooie¨. Not certain what the city fathers were on to come up with that. Maybe my ethnocentricity is showing, but .......... We got our tickets and found our bus, loaded our bags and then located our seats. One was upstairs at the back and one was downstairs. When I pointed it out, I was told to sit anywhere. As there were only 2 others on the bus and it was 25 minutes to departure, I found that strange. About 2 minutes later, we pulled away from the dock and were on our way with the downstairs of one of those bigs 2 floor buses to ourselves. Talk about the lap of luxury. Then there were no stops and we were in Jujuy in an hour and a half.
With a one hour lay-over we were on our way to Tilcara, which the guide said was beautiful and an artists colony to boot. When we got here we found party central as the place was filled with young Argentinian hikers. The scenery here and on the way here is spectacular and the town is more our size, but prices are very high and it is not our scene. We are in a beautiful place that we cannot afford, but we will try another day and see, before moving on toward Bolivia.
Time for siesta. The weather cooled down and they have Guilmes Red cervasa here which is really good. Oh yes, despite the weather cooling somewhat, it is still in the eighties, so a cervasa break is essential!
Jim
Sorry that I am a little slow with this entry as I promised one from Salta. After a long, but relatively quick bus ride from Resistancia, we arrived early (6am) in Salta. It appears that Resistancia was as far South as we will get on this trip, as we turn North from here.
Salta is a very beautiful city, in a valley surrounded by hills.
As usual, following the guide in the ¨wee¨hours of the morning, we ended up at the Hotel Colonial, which, while perfectly placed on the main square, was more than three times the cost in the guide. We have come to expect an increase, but the Argentine increases are ridiculous. The hotel had everything; computer, AC, TV (Joy hates the last 2) and breakfast (Joy´s favourite) included, so we stayed. That and the early morning arrival.
The next day we toured the many historical and art museos, although we skipped the one with the 3 mummies (only one on show at a time) that had been found in the high mountains (virgin sacrifices you know). Salta has 2 very interesting aspects; one good and one bad. They have 2 parallel streets blocked off as pedestrian malls (about three blocks each) near the central square. People go around and around on these and there is always something happening. You can have a mime or Barney the dinosaur. Last night we had these 2 young guys doing an impromptu gymnastic show with some breakdancing thrown in. Watching the one young fellow do ¨no hand¨cartwheels on concrete was enough to draw a gasp out of even a hardened traveller like our Joy. He also had his shirt rolled up to show that his BFI was pretty darned good! Joy appreciated that.
The high-light of the first day was Joy seducing (sorry kids) me onto the gondola for the ride up Cerro San Bernardino, which over-looks the city. I want it on record that I did not take one of Dr. Karen´s flying pills nor any rum (haven´t been able to find that yet). I made it and quite enjoyed it as long as I looked forward. We did have to walk down, though. Yesterday, Joy did a beautiful painting of one of the many gorgeous balconies in this very colonial city. After we solved the mysteries of the municipal bus routes to go to the Artisan market. That brings me to the other thing about Salta. The standard fare for a bus anywhere in the city is 1peso and 25 centavos. But it is almost impossible to get a 25 centavo piece, so many tourists end up paying 1 peso and 50 centavos. There either should be more 25 centavo pieces in circulation, or they should change the rate. That is my rant for the day!
This morning we were up early to get the bus to San Francisco de Jujuy which everyone just calls Jujuy, which is pronounce ¨Who-whooie¨. Not certain what the city fathers were on to come up with that. Maybe my ethnocentricity is showing, but .......... We got our tickets and found our bus, loaded our bags and then located our seats. One was upstairs at the back and one was downstairs. When I pointed it out, I was told to sit anywhere. As there were only 2 others on the bus and it was 25 minutes to departure, I found that strange. About 2 minutes later, we pulled away from the dock and were on our way with the downstairs of one of those bigs 2 floor buses to ourselves. Talk about the lap of luxury. Then there were no stops and we were in Jujuy in an hour and a half.
With a one hour lay-over we were on our way to Tilcara, which the guide said was beautiful and an artists colony to boot. When we got here we found party central as the place was filled with young Argentinian hikers. The scenery here and on the way here is spectacular and the town is more our size, but prices are very high and it is not our scene. We are in a beautiful place that we cannot afford, but we will try another day and see, before moving on toward Bolivia.
Time for siesta. The weather cooled down and they have Guilmes Red cervasa here which is really good. Oh yes, despite the weather cooling somewhat, it is still in the eighties, so a cervasa break is essential!
Jim
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Argentina!
Hello Again:
First to close the book, maybe, on Paraguay, as we are now in Resistencia, Argentina. I must correct my last entry as the great little spot that we stayed in in Asencion was ¨Pension(e) da Silva¨. Highly recommended in downtown Asencion and with 2 great restaurants right by.
Asencion is a beautiful city with some of the nicest colonial architecture and great old buildings within walking distance of the pension. Also,the houses out in the area of the embassies are quite spectacular. There were a number of galleries and museos in the downtown and most were open except on Sunday. We will always be grateful to Arnaldo Benitez, our Paraguayan friend,for helping us with our itinerary when we dropped in to his office in Cuidad del Este, following the guidebook.
We left for the bus depot at about 10am, hoping to catch the 1pm bus to Resistencia, and as sometimes happens found out that the bus leaves at 3pm. So we hung out at the bus depot watching people and using the internet, etc. When we had arrived back at our room, we has a nice note in our door from Bryan Wattie, a nice man from Perth-Andover, N.B. via Pearson College on Vancouver Island. He addressed it to the ¨lovely NS couple¨and said some very complementary things about the old guy that he had net the previous day. That would be me, surprisingly. We did have a great talk and I learned again that the world is in good hands with people like Bryan coming along to care for it. He and a friend from Pearson (new grads) are in Brazil to work on projects and attend a conference. I am now firmly convinced of the value of programs like Pearson. I must say that being a ¨lovely couple¨is a come down from last year´s trip when we were called ¨the most beautiful couple she had ever seen¨by a young woman, whom we hadn´t even met. Don´t you love young folk with great eyes and good judgement!
Once we got on the bus, it was a short ride to the border. Borders are always an adventure and this was a 2 hour adventure! The immigration folks has their act together as the wickets for Paraguay and Argentina were side-by-side and that part of the process went relatively quickly. Customs was another story, as they had 5 of these big buses to check out and everyone had to get out their bags and put them through a scanner, before re-loading. Long, hot process!
As a result of the time at the border and the 1 hour time change we didn´t get into Resistencia until 11pm, but were able to get a bed and get to sleep.
Yesterday we spent the day wandering Resistencia, looking at sculptures (they are everywhere and this is called the city of sculptures). They also have a convenient Tourist Bureau in the central plaza. Unfortunately many of the museos were not open or difficult to find. We also discovered that they follow the very sensible ¨siesta¨routine here. While a number of stores were closed for vacation, after 12:30pm or so, the city closes until 5pm. It is anazing for us to see the roads empty in the middle of the day, but in the heat, you quickly realize the intelligence of taking it easy in the shade.
In the course of our wandering later (after siesta), we did have one of those magic events which are the high-points of our style of wandering. We found a cultural centre, which was closed at the same time as a young fellow tried the door. We followed him around to a back door and decided to risk following him in. As a result we were treated to a beautiful musical concert, which was obviously a rehearsal for a subsequent event. The voices were absolutely beautiful and, even though I did not understand the obviously emotional spoken parts, I admit to being almodt in tears at the beauty of it all. At these times, you stay against the back wall and hope that the people allow you to stay and understand how much the opportunity means to you.
One last note in comparing Paraguay with Argentina, the cars are different. The traffic in Paraguay had many buses, notocycles, and trucks and not as many cars. But the cars that were there all seemed to be Mercedes. Here there is more of a variety of cars with a variety of ages and mostly smaller. But there are more cars, and many bicycles, and scooters, as opposed to motocycles. Still none of the honking that I remember from Peru and Bolivia.
Enough for now as we should start planning our siesta and the trip to the bus terminal. If things go well, my next post will be from Salta, in NW Argentina as we make our way to the Bolivian border.
Jim
First to close the book, maybe, on Paraguay, as we are now in Resistencia, Argentina. I must correct my last entry as the great little spot that we stayed in in Asencion was ¨Pension(e) da Silva¨. Highly recommended in downtown Asencion and with 2 great restaurants right by.
Asencion is a beautiful city with some of the nicest colonial architecture and great old buildings within walking distance of the pension. Also,the houses out in the area of the embassies are quite spectacular. There were a number of galleries and museos in the downtown and most were open except on Sunday. We will always be grateful to Arnaldo Benitez, our Paraguayan friend,for helping us with our itinerary when we dropped in to his office in Cuidad del Este, following the guidebook.
We left for the bus depot at about 10am, hoping to catch the 1pm bus to Resistencia, and as sometimes happens found out that the bus leaves at 3pm. So we hung out at the bus depot watching people and using the internet, etc. When we had arrived back at our room, we has a nice note in our door from Bryan Wattie, a nice man from Perth-Andover, N.B. via Pearson College on Vancouver Island. He addressed it to the ¨lovely NS couple¨and said some very complementary things about the old guy that he had net the previous day. That would be me, surprisingly. We did have a great talk and I learned again that the world is in good hands with people like Bryan coming along to care for it. He and a friend from Pearson (new grads) are in Brazil to work on projects and attend a conference. I am now firmly convinced of the value of programs like Pearson. I must say that being a ¨lovely couple¨is a come down from last year´s trip when we were called ¨the most beautiful couple she had ever seen¨by a young woman, whom we hadn´t even met. Don´t you love young folk with great eyes and good judgement!
Once we got on the bus, it was a short ride to the border. Borders are always an adventure and this was a 2 hour adventure! The immigration folks has their act together as the wickets for Paraguay and Argentina were side-by-side and that part of the process went relatively quickly. Customs was another story, as they had 5 of these big buses to check out and everyone had to get out their bags and put them through a scanner, before re-loading. Long, hot process!
As a result of the time at the border and the 1 hour time change we didn´t get into Resistencia until 11pm, but were able to get a bed and get to sleep.
Yesterday we spent the day wandering Resistencia, looking at sculptures (they are everywhere and this is called the city of sculptures). They also have a convenient Tourist Bureau in the central plaza. Unfortunately many of the museos were not open or difficult to find. We also discovered that they follow the very sensible ¨siesta¨routine here. While a number of stores were closed for vacation, after 12:30pm or so, the city closes until 5pm. It is anazing for us to see the roads empty in the middle of the day, but in the heat, you quickly realize the intelligence of taking it easy in the shade.
In the course of our wandering later (after siesta), we did have one of those magic events which are the high-points of our style of wandering. We found a cultural centre, which was closed at the same time as a young fellow tried the door. We followed him around to a back door and decided to risk following him in. As a result we were treated to a beautiful musical concert, which was obviously a rehearsal for a subsequent event. The voices were absolutely beautiful and, even though I did not understand the obviously emotional spoken parts, I admit to being almodt in tears at the beauty of it all. At these times, you stay against the back wall and hope that the people allow you to stay and understand how much the opportunity means to you.
One last note in comparing Paraguay with Argentina, the cars are different. The traffic in Paraguay had many buses, notocycles, and trucks and not as many cars. But the cars that were there all seemed to be Mercedes. Here there is more of a variety of cars with a variety of ages and mostly smaller. But there are more cars, and many bicycles, and scooters, as opposed to motocycles. Still none of the honking that I remember from Peru and Bolivia.
Enough for now as we should start planning our siesta and the trip to the bus terminal. If things go well, my next post will be from Salta, in NW Argentina as we make our way to the Bolivian border.
Jim
Monday, January 19, 2009
Still Here
Hi Folks:
Still in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay.
Yesterday, being Sunday none of the museums or stores were open down town, so we planned to bus out to the ´Big Mall´. Unfortunately the day started with a twist as Joy decided (as I got out of the shower at 9am) that we should change hotels as she felt trapped in a room with a noisy air conditioner and a tv that was on accasionally. So we rushed to visit the new place which has much more character and is more atractive in a rustic way. We rushed back to pack and them checked out and ate the free breakfast at the hotel we were leaving and got settled in at the new place by 10:30. I must admit that I grumbled about the move, but it is much more to our liking and a little cheaper. It is called Residential San Roque and has two of our favourite (see how fast you can settle in?) eating places on the same corner.
After we settled in, we were off to try the local bus system to head to ´Museo del Bario´and ´Shopping del Sol´. We had checked out the buses and I followed carefully on the map. Good thing because this particular bus used a slightly different route than expected. The city buses go fast and somewhat recklessly (the term kamikaze is used in the guide book). The city gets so quiet on a Sunday that it was not nearly that exciting. Anyway, I figured a corner that was somewhat close and we got off and walked. After about a 2 hour walk in heat and more heat, we found the museo, to discover that it wasn´t open (although it was supposed to be). Fortunately the air-conditioned mall was open by this time and we were saved!
The main reason for going to the mall was to get some English language books, as Joy was out and I was getting close. While we found the books very expensive, particularly by Paraguayan standards, we bit the bullet and bought quite a few. Then it was off to the food court to think about lunch while sipping some cervasa (did I mention the heat!). Then the power went off in the mall, probably due to the storm passing over, and we could not get food, and had to settle for Cervasa. Back on the bus and this time I was able to get us off within a few blocks of our abode. We ate in a nice Peruvian restaurent around the corner.
Unfortunately, this morning Joy has awoken with stuffed head and so we are laying lowat least for today. We did go out to check on the boat trip up the Paraguay River to Concepcion and found out that the water level was too low for any shipping in that portion of the river. We felt a little better after breakfast at the ´Lido Bar´one of the favourite eating places for locals and tourists alike. Joy ordered ´sopa Paraguayan´as the guide book told her she must, expecting a bowl of soup. The locals around looked at her funnily when she tried to get bread to go with it. When it arrived it turned out to be a cake-like affair made from corn and peanuts and not a liquid soup! She did quite enjoy it though.
We have been talking to a couple of folks at the hostel (he from Iran, she from the UK) and they are heading out tonight for the 30 hour drive to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, across the Chaco. This route is considered somewhat risky (extra long) during the rainy season. However, given that water levels in the 2 rivers we have seen so far are very low, maybe the 20 hour time frame they were given by the bus company may be more accurate. I think that tomorrow, or the day after, we will head to Bolivia via Argentina, assuming Joy is feeling better.
Bye for now,
Jim
Still in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay.
Yesterday, being Sunday none of the museums or stores were open down town, so we planned to bus out to the ´Big Mall´. Unfortunately the day started with a twist as Joy decided (as I got out of the shower at 9am) that we should change hotels as she felt trapped in a room with a noisy air conditioner and a tv that was on accasionally. So we rushed to visit the new place which has much more character and is more atractive in a rustic way. We rushed back to pack and them checked out and ate the free breakfast at the hotel we were leaving and got settled in at the new place by 10:30. I must admit that I grumbled about the move, but it is much more to our liking and a little cheaper. It is called Residential San Roque and has two of our favourite (see how fast you can settle in?) eating places on the same corner.
After we settled in, we were off to try the local bus system to head to ´Museo del Bario´and ´Shopping del Sol´. We had checked out the buses and I followed carefully on the map. Good thing because this particular bus used a slightly different route than expected. The city buses go fast and somewhat recklessly (the term kamikaze is used in the guide book). The city gets so quiet on a Sunday that it was not nearly that exciting. Anyway, I figured a corner that was somewhat close and we got off and walked. After about a 2 hour walk in heat and more heat, we found the museo, to discover that it wasn´t open (although it was supposed to be). Fortunately the air-conditioned mall was open by this time and we were saved!
The main reason for going to the mall was to get some English language books, as Joy was out and I was getting close. While we found the books very expensive, particularly by Paraguayan standards, we bit the bullet and bought quite a few. Then it was off to the food court to think about lunch while sipping some cervasa (did I mention the heat!). Then the power went off in the mall, probably due to the storm passing over, and we could not get food, and had to settle for Cervasa. Back on the bus and this time I was able to get us off within a few blocks of our abode. We ate in a nice Peruvian restaurent around the corner.
Unfortunately, this morning Joy has awoken with stuffed head and so we are laying lowat least for today. We did go out to check on the boat trip up the Paraguay River to Concepcion and found out that the water level was too low for any shipping in that portion of the river. We felt a little better after breakfast at the ´Lido Bar´one of the favourite eating places for locals and tourists alike. Joy ordered ´sopa Paraguayan´as the guide book told her she must, expecting a bowl of soup. The locals around looked at her funnily when she tried to get bread to go with it. When it arrived it turned out to be a cake-like affair made from corn and peanuts and not a liquid soup! She did quite enjoy it though.
We have been talking to a couple of folks at the hostel (he from Iran, she from the UK) and they are heading out tonight for the 30 hour drive to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, across the Chaco. This route is considered somewhat risky (extra long) during the rainy season. However, given that water levels in the 2 rivers we have seen so far are very low, maybe the 20 hour time frame they were given by the bus company may be more accurate. I think that tomorrow, or the day after, we will head to Bolivia via Argentina, assuming Joy is feeling better.
Bye for now,
Jim
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Downtown in Asuncion
Hello Again from S.A.:
We left the ¨mountain-top¨as planned first thing yesterday morning and went down the mountain by taxi to the town of Atyra. After dropping our packs in the town office and finding out that they closed at noon, we did a walking tour of the beautiful town. It is really picturesque and it is too bad that there did not seem to be any over-night accomodation, or we would have been tempted to stay over another night or two. The hi-light of our walking tour was Joy´s ride on an ox-cart. The people here are very friendly and when I showed an interest in him hitching up his team (or is a brace?? I am certain that my terminology is offending ox people everywhere), he offered a ride which I let Joy take. She is prettier than I am and looked good in the chap´s hat on the back of his cart!
We then tried to make sense out of the bus system again and sat at the back of the very rustic bus terminal where we were assured the buses always passed. We were comfortable with the idea of catching a bus to Caacupe or to Asuncion and settled in with a cervasa grande (did I say that it was very hot!). We managed to get our packs aboard a bus bound for Asuncion and then found that all roads lead through Caacupe, but this time it was a paved road all the way, unlike the dirt road on our way to Atrya. The 60kms took 2 hours which were filled with watching the sights, sounds, and people of Paraguay. Anyone who comes to one of these countries and misses the rides on the local buses, really is missing out. In her blog, I know that Joy will tell about all the various vendors who get on the buses to sell everything up to underwear to the passengers before getting off at the next opportunity.
Anyway, we got here and using the handy guide which is accurate sometimes we are in a nice hotel in the heart of old Asuncion. On the negative side, we are close to the river and, although we have not seen a mosquito since Sao Paulo, there is a concern with Dengue fever here and we wear ¨Ben´s¨everywhere. Also the area between here and the river is somewhat dangerous and the police turned us back yesterday afternoon when we headed that direction. We were a little nervous last night when we went to pick up our laundry after dark. We even have a metal screen for our window in the hotel, even though it is a second story window!
Today we did the walking tour of downtown and saw many of the historical and cultural sights of the city. There were some beautiful colonial buildings and the legislative building is a spectacular mirrored design which happened to be reflecting a wonderful sky. It has also included what appeared to be a facade of an old building imbedded in part of it. Some of the houses that we were in dated to 1750 and included the house in which Paraguayan independence was arranged. We also saw the train museum and I again took some great pictures for Derm English, like I did last year. Derm is one of those train people and he would have loved this place. There are no more trains in Paraguay except one weekend tourist train that goes a short distance to a lake near the capital. Of course, there are very few trains of any kind operating in South America as roads and buses have taken over. But every little village has a bus coming or going from it and they are heavily used and cheap.
I am sure that Joy will talk about the restaurent that we went to a noon today. Of course, it was highly recommended in the ¨guide¨, but the meal was tasteless and will take it off our list of places to eat. Tonight we will try another, once the temperature starts to drop. It is easy to see why people don´t eat until after 7pm and why businesses tend to close at noon on Friday. In the heat it is hard to do much.
Our future plans are still in the formulation stage. The boat up the Paraguay River to Conception doesn´t go until Wednesday morning, so we are considering heading to Resistancia in Argentina. We are here until Monday at least.
Enough for now.
Jim
We left the ¨mountain-top¨as planned first thing yesterday morning and went down the mountain by taxi to the town of Atyra. After dropping our packs in the town office and finding out that they closed at noon, we did a walking tour of the beautiful town. It is really picturesque and it is too bad that there did not seem to be any over-night accomodation, or we would have been tempted to stay over another night or two. The hi-light of our walking tour was Joy´s ride on an ox-cart. The people here are very friendly and when I showed an interest in him hitching up his team (or is a brace?? I am certain that my terminology is offending ox people everywhere), he offered a ride which I let Joy take. She is prettier than I am and looked good in the chap´s hat on the back of his cart!
We then tried to make sense out of the bus system again and sat at the back of the very rustic bus terminal where we were assured the buses always passed. We were comfortable with the idea of catching a bus to Caacupe or to Asuncion and settled in with a cervasa grande (did I say that it was very hot!). We managed to get our packs aboard a bus bound for Asuncion and then found that all roads lead through Caacupe, but this time it was a paved road all the way, unlike the dirt road on our way to Atrya. The 60kms took 2 hours which were filled with watching the sights, sounds, and people of Paraguay. Anyone who comes to one of these countries and misses the rides on the local buses, really is missing out. In her blog, I know that Joy will tell about all the various vendors who get on the buses to sell everything up to underwear to the passengers before getting off at the next opportunity.
Anyway, we got here and using the handy guide which is accurate sometimes we are in a nice hotel in the heart of old Asuncion. On the negative side, we are close to the river and, although we have not seen a mosquito since Sao Paulo, there is a concern with Dengue fever here and we wear ¨Ben´s¨everywhere. Also the area between here and the river is somewhat dangerous and the police turned us back yesterday afternoon when we headed that direction. We were a little nervous last night when we went to pick up our laundry after dark. We even have a metal screen for our window in the hotel, even though it is a second story window!
Today we did the walking tour of downtown and saw many of the historical and cultural sights of the city. There were some beautiful colonial buildings and the legislative building is a spectacular mirrored design which happened to be reflecting a wonderful sky. It has also included what appeared to be a facade of an old building imbedded in part of it. Some of the houses that we were in dated to 1750 and included the house in which Paraguayan independence was arranged. We also saw the train museum and I again took some great pictures for Derm English, like I did last year. Derm is one of those train people and he would have loved this place. There are no more trains in Paraguay except one weekend tourist train that goes a short distance to a lake near the capital. Of course, there are very few trains of any kind operating in South America as roads and buses have taken over. But every little village has a bus coming or going from it and they are heavily used and cheap.
I am sure that Joy will talk about the restaurent that we went to a noon today. Of course, it was highly recommended in the ¨guide¨, but the meal was tasteless and will take it off our list of places to eat. Tonight we will try another, once the temperature starts to drop. It is easy to see why people don´t eat until after 7pm and why businesses tend to close at noon on Friday. In the heat it is hard to do much.
Our future plans are still in the formulation stage. The boat up the Paraguay River to Conception doesn´t go until Wednesday morning, so we are considering heading to Resistancia in Argentina. We are here until Monday at least.
Enough for now.
Jim
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Lost on a Mountain-top in Paraguay
Hola All:
Joy is much more poetic about this place. We left Caacupe with a plan. Arnaldo had told us of this village called Atyra which was famous for it´s beauty and had competed for one of those ´most beautiful town´awards. So we packed our bags and headed for the street that the buses stopped on. Thanks to Zulma from the Caacupe municipal office, we knew which bus to look for. Of course, that meant standing in the heat for about 45 minutes. On the bus and off for $1 each and admising the beauty of the country when the road turned to a dirt road. Oh well, as Joy is tired of hearing, in for a pound, in for a penny (or is the other way around). Anyway we arrived in Atyra and got off in what appeared to be the middle of town. By now I was over-confident in my Spanish and we asked the nearest lady where the hotel might be. That resulted in a heated discussion with another lady passing by and then our new ámigo´took us to the municipal office. We had been alerted by Zulma that Gustavo worked there, but it turns out that he doesn´t. They were very helpful but the only hotel seemed to be about 3 km out of town, which by the way, does seem very beautiful.
The chap that was helping us decided that the ´Casa delmonte´was the answer to our needs and got us a taxi (we thought that it was a free ride by a friend, but it turned out to be a $10 cab ride). Well, the Casa delmonte turns out to be an up-scale resort on the top of one of the small mountains that dot the Paraguayan landscape. More expensive than we are used to and very isolated. Joy, being a good sport, said that we could use the days off and proceeded to do 2 portraits of me (a waste of good paint many would say). So we have basically ´vegged´and swam and sipped cervasa for 2 days.
Tomorrow we plan to get back to Atyra early and spend the day wandering around the town before grabbing a bus back to Caacupe in hopes that we can get a room back in the same hotel. Meanwhile it has rained (some thunder and lightning) since last night, so the temperature is down to a comfortable 20C or so.
Bye Bye for now
Jim
Joy is much more poetic about this place. We left Caacupe with a plan. Arnaldo had told us of this village called Atyra which was famous for it´s beauty and had competed for one of those ´most beautiful town´awards. So we packed our bags and headed for the street that the buses stopped on. Thanks to Zulma from the Caacupe municipal office, we knew which bus to look for. Of course, that meant standing in the heat for about 45 minutes. On the bus and off for $1 each and admising the beauty of the country when the road turned to a dirt road. Oh well, as Joy is tired of hearing, in for a pound, in for a penny (or is the other way around). Anyway we arrived in Atyra and got off in what appeared to be the middle of town. By now I was over-confident in my Spanish and we asked the nearest lady where the hotel might be. That resulted in a heated discussion with another lady passing by and then our new ámigo´took us to the municipal office. We had been alerted by Zulma that Gustavo worked there, but it turns out that he doesn´t. They were very helpful but the only hotel seemed to be about 3 km out of town, which by the way, does seem very beautiful.
The chap that was helping us decided that the ´Casa delmonte´was the answer to our needs and got us a taxi (we thought that it was a free ride by a friend, but it turned out to be a $10 cab ride). Well, the Casa delmonte turns out to be an up-scale resort on the top of one of the small mountains that dot the Paraguayan landscape. More expensive than we are used to and very isolated. Joy, being a good sport, said that we could use the days off and proceeded to do 2 portraits of me (a waste of good paint many would say). So we have basically ´vegged´and swam and sipped cervasa for 2 days.
Tomorrow we plan to get back to Atyra early and spend the day wandering around the town before grabbing a bus back to Caacupe in hopes that we can get a room back in the same hotel. Meanwhile it has rained (some thunder and lightning) since last night, so the temperature is down to a comfortable 20C or so.
Bye Bye for now
Jim
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
This Place is Caacupe!
Hi Again:
We left Caaguasu yesterday morning, heading, with our packs, for the noise and confusion of the bus depot. After the bus company that we ahd come to Caaguasu with, showed no interest in sending us further, one of the many guys with white shirts adopted us as one of his passengers and had us sit down and wait in his spot. These men appear to be front guys for bus companies and sell tickets and then get you on the bus. Anyway, we followed orders and sat down. A couple of guys next to us were sharing a mate´and we finally had the opportunity to share in the experience. Turns out that cold mate´is called something like ´terrera´and mate´is hot. Anyway we did try it out and found it a pleasant cool drink that did help in the heat. We exchanged Canada pins and one chap insisted that I pin his on.
Getting on the bus was a different experience as we were alerted that this was our bus by both our new friends and the bus guy and raced for it with a small crowd of others. After we got our packs checked and got to the back of the line-up they were in the process of packing people in very slowly one push at a time. Despite my visions of the bus leaving with our packs because it was full, Joy and I were the last packed in. I stood facing toward the back of the bus for 2 hours while Joy was able to get a seat at the halfway point. Such is bus travel in South America unless you pay the price and are travelling between major points.
We arrived in Caacupe and found a hotel quickly. While Joy hates the decor (I don´t notice those things), the room has an industrial strength air conditioner which is very welcome. Last night there was a spectacular lightning and thunder storm with heavy rain and today the air is a little lighter and cooler(?). We did a good tour of the town yesterday, but got a better one today. During yesterday´s walk we spotted a municiple building of some sort and today we went back. Using my Spanish (for which I am rapidly becoming known) I asked a man in an office for tourist information. He dropped everything and took us to another office and introduced us to Zulma, a young lady who he said was the department of tourist information. Turned out that Zulma knew a little English and she volunteered to take us on a 2 hour tour of the town. Hiking on the Appalachian Trail, we would call lucky events like that ´trail magic´. Anyway, the hi-light of the tour and of Caacupe is the 200 year old church. Along the walls of the stairs leading to the walk-way around the top of the central dome, is an interesting legend surrounding the creation of a statue of the Madonna by an indigenous carver. After his village prospered under the protection of Mary, it was destroyed by a flood and a few people were saved, as was the Madonna. She is the centre piece of the sancturary today. The legend was portray in the stairway by paintings on the wall as you went up. The view from the roof was also special.
Joy is out sketching, and I feel an air-conditioned siesta coming on.
Bye for now
Jim
We left Caaguasu yesterday morning, heading, with our packs, for the noise and confusion of the bus depot. After the bus company that we ahd come to Caaguasu with, showed no interest in sending us further, one of the many guys with white shirts adopted us as one of his passengers and had us sit down and wait in his spot. These men appear to be front guys for bus companies and sell tickets and then get you on the bus. Anyway, we followed orders and sat down. A couple of guys next to us were sharing a mate´and we finally had the opportunity to share in the experience. Turns out that cold mate´is called something like ´terrera´and mate´is hot. Anyway we did try it out and found it a pleasant cool drink that did help in the heat. We exchanged Canada pins and one chap insisted that I pin his on.
Getting on the bus was a different experience as we were alerted that this was our bus by both our new friends and the bus guy and raced for it with a small crowd of others. After we got our packs checked and got to the back of the line-up they were in the process of packing people in very slowly one push at a time. Despite my visions of the bus leaving with our packs because it was full, Joy and I were the last packed in. I stood facing toward the back of the bus for 2 hours while Joy was able to get a seat at the halfway point. Such is bus travel in South America unless you pay the price and are travelling between major points.
We arrived in Caacupe and found a hotel quickly. While Joy hates the decor (I don´t notice those things), the room has an industrial strength air conditioner which is very welcome. Last night there was a spectacular lightning and thunder storm with heavy rain and today the air is a little lighter and cooler(?). We did a good tour of the town yesterday, but got a better one today. During yesterday´s walk we spotted a municiple building of some sort and today we went back. Using my Spanish (for which I am rapidly becoming known) I asked a man in an office for tourist information. He dropped everything and took us to another office and introduced us to Zulma, a young lady who he said was the department of tourist information. Turned out that Zulma knew a little English and she volunteered to take us on a 2 hour tour of the town. Hiking on the Appalachian Trail, we would call lucky events like that ´trail magic´. Anyway, the hi-light of the tour and of Caacupe is the 200 year old church. Along the walls of the stairs leading to the walk-way around the top of the central dome, is an interesting legend surrounding the creation of a statue of the Madonna by an indigenous carver. After his village prospered under the protection of Mary, it was destroyed by a flood and a few people were saved, as was the Madonna. She is the centre piece of the sancturary today. The legend was portray in the stairway by paintings on the wall as you went up. The view from the roof was also special.
Joy is out sketching, and I feel an air-conditioned siesta coming on.
Bye for now
Jim
Sunday, January 11, 2009
If This is Saturday, It must Be Caaguasu!
Hi Folks:
Having made the decision to follow Arnaldos advice and head for Caaguasu first we were off Saturday morning on a great San Luis double deck bus. Watched the fight to escape the traffic of Cuidad del Este and the numerous police check-points. When the 4 lane road reduced to 2 lanes, we also watched the creative driving of the driver as he tried to make up time. The scenery was a very many fields, all quite large by Maritime standards. The crops appeared to be soy bean and sugar cane and the farm buildings were more like small factories, many owned by obviously large companies.
We arrived at Caaguasu not knowing anything about the town other than that Arnaldos wife came from here. We arrived at the confusion of the bus stop at the edge of Ruta 7 and after checking out a nearby hotel (not to our minimalist standards), we hoisted our packs and headed toward the centre of town. At the first building that looked like it might be associated with government, Joy decided that I should approach the young woman at the desk. After she tried to give us brochures for admission to a technical school (it was their office), I remembered a few words and asked for ´el hotel bonito´which I hoped meant a beautiful hotel. She seemed to understand and directed us to ´Cesar Palace Hotel´(no kidding) by the town plaza. It was a 4 block hike at 35C, but the hotel is very nice and quite reasonable. It is in the centre of town and next to a big ´supermercado´(supermarket) which is important in my search for a small bottle (mickey) of rum. But more of that later.
Caaguasu is a perfect town for us as we are away from the tourists and have a chance to see how the real people of Paraguay live (thank you Arnaldo). We are also in a smaller town and feel quite safe to wander the streets as the people are too busy with the ordinary concerns of living to worry about the 2 strangers in their midst. They are friendly and curious but not in any kind of negative way. Yesterday we wandered the town stopping for siesta, cervasa, and ice cream, and joy did a sketch. Last night we sipped wine on the hotel balcony watching the usual Saturday night activities of small towns everywhere; driving around the main roads. Joy felt right at home being from Owen Sound where they did the same thing on a Saturday night in her day. By the way, I skunked her at rummy for the second straight time.............. oh, oh I wasn´t supposed to say that!
Back to the rum search. Those that know me know that I like an occasional sip of Bacardis Black rum. Also when travelling, especially carrying a pack, I would like to find the small bottle of same (what we used to call a ´mickey´back in the day) to take with me. Well, we have discovered that people in Brazil and Paraguay seem to be invenerate Scotch drinkers! While this may be helpful when raising swine, I can see no possible reason why the supermercados would have row upon row of the most expensive bottles of this barbaric potion and yet very little of the ´nectar of the Gods´produced in places like Cuba. I continue my search and will scan every supermercado from here to La Paz, convinced of the justice of my quest. I is nice that I am not obsessive.
Joy is ready to leave the pleasure of this air-conditioned internet site, so I must go. May be siesta time.
Jim
Having made the decision to follow Arnaldos advice and head for Caaguasu first we were off Saturday morning on a great San Luis double deck bus. Watched the fight to escape the traffic of Cuidad del Este and the numerous police check-points. When the 4 lane road reduced to 2 lanes, we also watched the creative driving of the driver as he tried to make up time. The scenery was a very many fields, all quite large by Maritime standards. The crops appeared to be soy bean and sugar cane and the farm buildings were more like small factories, many owned by obviously large companies.
We arrived at Caaguasu not knowing anything about the town other than that Arnaldos wife came from here. We arrived at the confusion of the bus stop at the edge of Ruta 7 and after checking out a nearby hotel (not to our minimalist standards), we hoisted our packs and headed toward the centre of town. At the first building that looked like it might be associated with government, Joy decided that I should approach the young woman at the desk. After she tried to give us brochures for admission to a technical school (it was their office), I remembered a few words and asked for ´el hotel bonito´which I hoped meant a beautiful hotel. She seemed to understand and directed us to ´Cesar Palace Hotel´(no kidding) by the town plaza. It was a 4 block hike at 35C, but the hotel is very nice and quite reasonable. It is in the centre of town and next to a big ´supermercado´(supermarket) which is important in my search for a small bottle (mickey) of rum. But more of that later.
Caaguasu is a perfect town for us as we are away from the tourists and have a chance to see how the real people of Paraguay live (thank you Arnaldo). We are also in a smaller town and feel quite safe to wander the streets as the people are too busy with the ordinary concerns of living to worry about the 2 strangers in their midst. They are friendly and curious but not in any kind of negative way. Yesterday we wandered the town stopping for siesta, cervasa, and ice cream, and joy did a sketch. Last night we sipped wine on the hotel balcony watching the usual Saturday night activities of small towns everywhere; driving around the main roads. Joy felt right at home being from Owen Sound where they did the same thing on a Saturday night in her day. By the way, I skunked her at rummy for the second straight time.............. oh, oh I wasn´t supposed to say that!
Back to the rum search. Those that know me know that I like an occasional sip of Bacardis Black rum. Also when travelling, especially carrying a pack, I would like to find the small bottle of same (what we used to call a ´mickey´back in the day) to take with me. Well, we have discovered that people in Brazil and Paraguay seem to be invenerate Scotch drinkers! While this may be helpful when raising swine, I can see no possible reason why the supermercados would have row upon row of the most expensive bottles of this barbaric potion and yet very little of the ´nectar of the Gods´produced in places like Cuba. I continue my search and will scan every supermercado from here to La Paz, convinced of the justice of my quest. I is nice that I am not obsessive.
Joy is ready to leave the pleasure of this air-conditioned internet site, so I must go. May be siesta time.
Jim
Friday, January 9, 2009
The Off Day
Hi Folks:
Worried that as we get on the road tomorrow there may not be internet for a few days.
Last night after Chinese food in Paraguay, we played cards and for Kelsey´s benefit, I skunked your Mom at rummy.
This morning we got up with a mission, that being to find out where we will go tomorrow. I read in the guide that you could get tourist information if you went up a road to a government building and after signing in at the front desk, you asked to be directed. Well we found the building and using my best ¨Medino¨Spanish we were able to follow the front desk guy to an up-stairs guy, who then looked for another guy. He turned out to be Arnaldo Benitez who had been on a Rotary exchange to Ottawa and was able to understand our badly broken Spanish. More importantly we were able to get our wishes for the perfect visit to Paraguay across to him. As he was an International Trade Secretary, he called in the tourism secretary, Pedro, and between the 2 of them they did their best to sort out the poor Canadians. Apparently he was treated well in Canada and so owed a debt. Thank goodness that we were the beneficiaries.
Anyway tomorrow we take the bus off on the road toward Asuncion, but only as far as Arnaldo´s wife´s hometown of Caaguazu. We then have a number of stops along that road, most of which we will do before getting to Asuncion. After leaving Arnaldo´s office we were able to find the bus depot and line up a bus for tomorrow. On the way back, Joy was able to do a sketch of a beautiful tree over-hanging a display of ¨mate¨jugs for sale on the corner.
Everyone carries their ¨mate¨jugs with their ¨mate¨cups and special straws with a spoon shaped strainer at the end. If drinking ¨mate¨(a form of tea) becomes an Olympic sport, Paraguay wins hands-down.
This afternoon we vegged out watching the first of a series of thunderstorms arrive. Thankfully the air is much fresher after they pass. This being Paraguay we had lunch at a Japanese restaurent and pizza for dinner.
Off down the road tomorrow!
Jim
PS There is a bidet in the bathroom here, but I can´t figure out what it is for. You will have to ask Joy!
Worried that as we get on the road tomorrow there may not be internet for a few days.
Last night after Chinese food in Paraguay, we played cards and for Kelsey´s benefit, I skunked your Mom at rummy.
This morning we got up with a mission, that being to find out where we will go tomorrow. I read in the guide that you could get tourist information if you went up a road to a government building and after signing in at the front desk, you asked to be directed. Well we found the building and using my best ¨Medino¨Spanish we were able to follow the front desk guy to an up-stairs guy, who then looked for another guy. He turned out to be Arnaldo Benitez who had been on a Rotary exchange to Ottawa and was able to understand our badly broken Spanish. More importantly we were able to get our wishes for the perfect visit to Paraguay across to him. As he was an International Trade Secretary, he called in the tourism secretary, Pedro, and between the 2 of them they did their best to sort out the poor Canadians. Apparently he was treated well in Canada and so owed a debt. Thank goodness that we were the beneficiaries.
Anyway tomorrow we take the bus off on the road toward Asuncion, but only as far as Arnaldo´s wife´s hometown of Caaguazu. We then have a number of stops along that road, most of which we will do before getting to Asuncion. After leaving Arnaldo´s office we were able to find the bus depot and line up a bus for tomorrow. On the way back, Joy was able to do a sketch of a beautiful tree over-hanging a display of ¨mate¨jugs for sale on the corner.
Everyone carries their ¨mate¨jugs with their ¨mate¨cups and special straws with a spoon shaped strainer at the end. If drinking ¨mate¨(a form of tea) becomes an Olympic sport, Paraguay wins hands-down.
This afternoon we vegged out watching the first of a series of thunderstorms arrive. Thankfully the air is much fresher after they pass. This being Paraguay we had lunch at a Japanese restaurent and pizza for dinner.
Off down the road tomorrow!
Jim
PS There is a bidet in the bathroom here, but I can´t figure out what it is for. You will have to ask Joy!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Another Stamp!
Hello Folks
Now calling from the Hostel Austria in Puerto del Este, Paraguay and therefore, have another stamp in my passport. Only 9 pages left!
First thing this morning I thought that Joy was coming down with a problem because of the salad she had yesterday at the Parque de Iguazu, but the Dukerol kicked in and she was fine. Dukerol is an oral vaccine against Cholera with side protection against the usual Travellers D-------). So far we have not been too careful, other than using bottled water, and have not had any problems. Anyway while she rested a little after breakfast, I got our photo cards in for printing to a cd, picked up the laundry and got so Reales (pronounced hay-ice for reasons known only to the Brazilians). Then we were off to the Itaipu dam.
We managed to find the right municipal bus for the 45 minute ride to the dam. It was another clear blue sky (remember this is the rainy season) and scorching temperatures. I saw one temperature at 34C but I am certain that it hit at least 2 more degrees before the day was over. There are thunder storms forecast for Sunday so that may moderate the temperatures slightly.
The dam is no longer free as the guidebook said, but also not very expensive. You are treated to a propaganda film at the start saying how ethically responsible they were in building the dam and some of the activities they are doing now. They do not answer questions about the financing of the dam which must have been in the hundreds of billions of $s, not do they indicate the percentage of the income from the generation of 20% of Brazils power and 90% of Paraguays, that is used to carry out the good works. The dam is an impressive sight and generates more power than any other dam on earth. Even more than the Three Gorges dam in China. You drive across the bottom, under the massive spillways and back across the top. You are bombarded with engineering statistics which I am sure Joy will provide in her blog. It was worth the visit and it hurt a little when they indicated that they were acting in support of the Kyoto Accord and encouraged all the tourists to get their countries to do so as well. According to them over 32, 000 Canadians have been there in the ten years of operation.
After we gathered up our bags, we got a taxi for Paraguay. It seemed like too great a hassle to get on the municipal bus to Brazilian Immigration, then another to go to Paraguayan Immigration, and still another to the hostel . Using the same cab we made the two stops and got help with money changing (which was a hoot!) and ended at the Hostel Austria. There was no space at our first choice, Hostel Munich, which was next door and almost no space here. We had no third choice, but would have found one, I am sure. Anyway this place is so nice and air-conditioned that we decided to stay for 2 nights before heading on further into Paraguay. Another reason for the cab was the warning in the guide about the robberies on the very long bridge over the Parana River between Brazil and Paraguay. There was an obvious change in the standard of living and cleanliness as we arrived in Cuidad del Este. Anyway the hostel is great and has a number of roof top patios on which my artist wife can get away from me, the TV, and me again.
After a stroll (during which we discovered that the time had changed an hour), shopping at the Mona Lisa (an up-scale mall), a good meal at a Chinese restaurent,and a nap, we went grocery shopping. A bottle of Rum, wine, coke, water, cookies, crackers, and yogurt we paid the bill 61,000 Guaranies (about $15), but it was not Bacardis. I told you that the Guarani was a hoot. I was in the middle of this very dangerous street (according to the guide-book) exchanging $300 U.S. for 1,440,000 Guarani. Try counting that quickly! We will go to a bank next time and get a better rate, but given the circumstances at the time it was pretty bizarre.
Anyway we are safe in Paraguay for the next 2 nights.
Hast Luego
Jim
Now calling from the Hostel Austria in Puerto del Este, Paraguay and therefore, have another stamp in my passport. Only 9 pages left!
First thing this morning I thought that Joy was coming down with a problem because of the salad she had yesterday at the Parque de Iguazu, but the Dukerol kicked in and she was fine. Dukerol is an oral vaccine against Cholera with side protection against the usual Travellers D-------). So far we have not been too careful, other than using bottled water, and have not had any problems. Anyway while she rested a little after breakfast, I got our photo cards in for printing to a cd, picked up the laundry and got so Reales (pronounced hay-ice for reasons known only to the Brazilians). Then we were off to the Itaipu dam.
We managed to find the right municipal bus for the 45 minute ride to the dam. It was another clear blue sky (remember this is the rainy season) and scorching temperatures. I saw one temperature at 34C but I am certain that it hit at least 2 more degrees before the day was over. There are thunder storms forecast for Sunday so that may moderate the temperatures slightly.
The dam is no longer free as the guidebook said, but also not very expensive. You are treated to a propaganda film at the start saying how ethically responsible they were in building the dam and some of the activities they are doing now. They do not answer questions about the financing of the dam which must have been in the hundreds of billions of $s, not do they indicate the percentage of the income from the generation of 20% of Brazils power and 90% of Paraguays, that is used to carry out the good works. The dam is an impressive sight and generates more power than any other dam on earth. Even more than the Three Gorges dam in China. You drive across the bottom, under the massive spillways and back across the top. You are bombarded with engineering statistics which I am sure Joy will provide in her blog. It was worth the visit and it hurt a little when they indicated that they were acting in support of the Kyoto Accord and encouraged all the tourists to get their countries to do so as well. According to them over 32, 000 Canadians have been there in the ten years of operation.
After we gathered up our bags, we got a taxi for Paraguay. It seemed like too great a hassle to get on the municipal bus to Brazilian Immigration, then another to go to Paraguayan Immigration, and still another to the hostel . Using the same cab we made the two stops and got help with money changing (which was a hoot!) and ended at the Hostel Austria. There was no space at our first choice, Hostel Munich, which was next door and almost no space here. We had no third choice, but would have found one, I am sure. Anyway this place is so nice and air-conditioned that we decided to stay for 2 nights before heading on further into Paraguay. Another reason for the cab was the warning in the guide about the robberies on the very long bridge over the Parana River between Brazil and Paraguay. There was an obvious change in the standard of living and cleanliness as we arrived in Cuidad del Este. Anyway the hostel is great and has a number of roof top patios on which my artist wife can get away from me, the TV, and me again.
After a stroll (during which we discovered that the time had changed an hour), shopping at the Mona Lisa (an up-scale mall), a good meal at a Chinese restaurent,and a nap, we went grocery shopping. A bottle of Rum, wine, coke, water, cookies, crackers, and yogurt we paid the bill 61,000 Guaranies (about $15), but it was not Bacardis. I told you that the Guarani was a hoot. I was in the middle of this very dangerous street (according to the guide-book) exchanging $300 U.S. for 1,440,000 Guarani. Try counting that quickly! We will go to a bank next time and get a better rate, but given the circumstances at the time it was pretty bizarre.
Anyway we are safe in Paraguay for the next 2 nights.
Hast Luego
Jim
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
It´s Official!
Hi Folks:
No we are not expecting (10 are plenty)! We just want to make certain that anyone that comes here to see the magnificent Falls but only has one day, goes to see them from the Argentine side. We spent today in Argentina seeing the Falls after seeing them from the Brazilian side yesterday (new stamp in the passport). Finally all Marco´s hard work with our Spanish lessons paid off and I was able to order a Cervesa Grande y dos copas! I was so proud when I actually got a big beer with 2 glasses. I think that muttering something about a `gringo`was complementing me on my pronounciation.
The Argentine side of the Falls is less crowded and the walkways take you out over the edge of a number of the drops as well as down below the lip and to the bottom. Definitely a full day and a battle with the crowds all day. Definitely a worthwhile visit and the pictures will be spectacular (Joy´s). Joy was able to do a few sketches although a crowd always gathered and I have a great picture of an older Japanese lady asking Joy to move her head a little so that she could get a better picture of Joy and the sketch. Joy carries her own little crowd around in that box of paints. It really is quite interesting to watch.
I finally found a scorecard on Falls of the World in the Parque and the volume of water over the Foz du Iguaçu is about 1/3 of what goes over Niagara however it falls over a much wider area. Neither is the highest in the World, but these are certainly every bit as spectacular as Niagara.
It was another hot (32C+) day during the `rainy season`here in South America. Clear blue skies for the second day after the grey days of Sao Paulo. Tomorrow is supposed to be the same as we head for the big dam and then to ????? I think that Joy and I better have a meeting about that tonight.
Oh yes, in case I forget the important stuff, we did get our laundry in this morning!
See you next time,
Jim
No we are not expecting (10 are plenty)! We just want to make certain that anyone that comes here to see the magnificent Falls but only has one day, goes to see them from the Argentine side. We spent today in Argentina seeing the Falls after seeing them from the Brazilian side yesterday (new stamp in the passport). Finally all Marco´s hard work with our Spanish lessons paid off and I was able to order a Cervesa Grande y dos copas! I was so proud when I actually got a big beer with 2 glasses. I think that muttering something about a `gringo`was complementing me on my pronounciation.
The Argentine side of the Falls is less crowded and the walkways take you out over the edge of a number of the drops as well as down below the lip and to the bottom. Definitely a full day and a battle with the crowds all day. Definitely a worthwhile visit and the pictures will be spectacular (Joy´s). Joy was able to do a few sketches although a crowd always gathered and I have a great picture of an older Japanese lady asking Joy to move her head a little so that she could get a better picture of Joy and the sketch. Joy carries her own little crowd around in that box of paints. It really is quite interesting to watch.
I finally found a scorecard on Falls of the World in the Parque and the volume of water over the Foz du Iguaçu is about 1/3 of what goes over Niagara however it falls over a much wider area. Neither is the highest in the World, but these are certainly every bit as spectacular as Niagara.
It was another hot (32C+) day during the `rainy season`here in South America. Clear blue skies for the second day after the grey days of Sao Paulo. Tomorrow is supposed to be the same as we head for the big dam and then to ????? I think that Joy and I better have a meeting about that tonight.
Oh yes, in case I forget the important stuff, we did get our laundry in this morning!
See you next time,
Jim
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Bus Ride!
Hi Again:
We managed to get the Metro (scouting the previous day helped) and got our bus from Sao Paulo. After a long night, we are in Foz du Iguacu (or the `Foz`not to be confused with the `Fonz`from `Happy Days`). Iguacu is spelled with a ``ç`here in Brazil but across the river in Argentina it is Àguazu`and I have seen it spelled with an `s`as well. We dropped our bags at a hostel, after Joy negotiated down the price, and headed out right away for the falls (Foz) which is one of the reasons for this place existing. Amazing crowd of tourists as this is summer holidays and people come here to see the falls from all over the world. Also folks from Brazil and Argentina are here in great numbers. I must admit that I was tired and cranky after the bus and the temperature soaring to 32C didn´t help. I was quite appreciative when we got back to the room at 5pm so that I could shower and relax for a while. A few ice cold Cervaja (Yes, I learned one word in Portugese) and I feel almost human.
Oh yes, the falls. I almost forgot. They have a movement on to have them named one of the 7 wonders of the world. Well. they are no Bay of Fundy tides, but they are quite spectacular. It is not so much the height (80 Metres) but the breadth of them that impresses. After we did the line-ups and the crowds at the falls, we walked through the Park of Birds, featuring all sorts of exotic birds. We were quite disappointed that they were in cages, especially after seeing some of them in the wild in Bolivia last year.
Tomorrow looks like a semi-rest day when we will try to get some laundry done. Maybe in the morning we will go to see the local power dam which is the 2nd largest in the world after the Three Gorges Dam in China. So far this has been an èst`trip with the 4th largèst`city, one of the biggèst`falls and the 2nd biggèst`dam.
Off for some well-deserved sleep!
Jim
We managed to get the Metro (scouting the previous day helped) and got our bus from Sao Paulo. After a long night, we are in Foz du Iguacu (or the `Foz`not to be confused with the `Fonz`from `Happy Days`). Iguacu is spelled with a ``ç`here in Brazil but across the river in Argentina it is Àguazu`and I have seen it spelled with an `s`as well. We dropped our bags at a hostel, after Joy negotiated down the price, and headed out right away for the falls (Foz) which is one of the reasons for this place existing. Amazing crowd of tourists as this is summer holidays and people come here to see the falls from all over the world. Also folks from Brazil and Argentina are here in great numbers. I must admit that I was tired and cranky after the bus and the temperature soaring to 32C didn´t help. I was quite appreciative when we got back to the room at 5pm so that I could shower and relax for a while. A few ice cold Cervaja (Yes, I learned one word in Portugese) and I feel almost human.
Oh yes, the falls. I almost forgot. They have a movement on to have them named one of the 7 wonders of the world. Well. they are no Bay of Fundy tides, but they are quite spectacular. It is not so much the height (80 Metres) but the breadth of them that impresses. After we did the line-ups and the crowds at the falls, we walked through the Park of Birds, featuring all sorts of exotic birds. We were quite disappointed that they were in cages, especially after seeing some of them in the wild in Bolivia last year.
Tomorrow looks like a semi-rest day when we will try to get some laundry done. Maybe in the morning we will go to see the local power dam which is the 2nd largest in the world after the Three Gorges Dam in China. So far this has been an èst`trip with the 4th largèst`city, one of the biggèst`falls and the 2nd biggèst`dam.
Off for some well-deserved sleep!
Jim
Monday, January 5, 2009
Hi Folks:
Haven´t had a chance to up-date the last 2 days as the local internet hotspot was closed. Thanks to all who sent birthday greetings.
Very impressed with Sao Paulo. Before we came here all that I knew was that it was the 4th largest city in the World and very dangerous (according to the guides). We are on one of the main streets, but they do not rely on their horns to drive as was our experience in other South American cities. In fact, the silence is a little eerie, although a low pass by a jet fighter a few nights ago, and the medivac helicopters going to the many hospitals in the area have made up for it. The drivers here yield for pedestrians and signal to change lanes!
The weather here has been consistently in the low 20sC during the day with virtually continuous cloud and rain (usually very light) every day. I have picked up a few (3 so far) mosquito bites thanks to our open window and a late night visitor. I will have to be more careful especially after being handed a brochure on Dengue fever at the bus station yesterday.
I am certain that those who are following Joy´s blog will be given all the details of the galleries that we have been to over the past few days. Suffice to say that I have never seen works by so many famous artists (even Yoko Ono) in such a short time. I couldn´t help but speculate on the value of panels in the Musee de Arte de Sao Paulo (don´t check my Portugese spelling please) where you have a Gainsboroigh next to a Constable, next to Matisse, next to a (I forget, but you get the idea). And so well organized by subject matter (ie portraits, parks, domestic scanes, etc) and then by chronology showing the development of that subject over the years. We kept running into these marvellous galleries all day.
In our search for galleries we also found a great park which was filled with `Paulistas`on Sunday. Apparently everyone here runs, walks, bikes, roller blades or skateboards. It was a beautiful place with covered areas to carry on activities even if it rains. How civilized can you be. I would be remiss if I didn´t mention the spectacular architecture of the buildings and the uniform use of small vehicles (mostly new Fords, Fiats, VWs, Hondas).
Today we head out to Foz de Iguasu which is where Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina meet. The falls are supposed to be huge and spectacular. We haven´t decided which country we will stay in tomorrow night, but tonight we sleep on the bus. It is a 15 hour ride, but we do have a `cami` which is either a bed or a chair that reclines. It was an adventure, as it always is, to get the tickets yeterday, but maybe it will get easier when we get to practice our Spanish in the next country.
See you next time.
Jim
Haven´t had a chance to up-date the last 2 days as the local internet hotspot was closed. Thanks to all who sent birthday greetings.
Very impressed with Sao Paulo. Before we came here all that I knew was that it was the 4th largest city in the World and very dangerous (according to the guides). We are on one of the main streets, but they do not rely on their horns to drive as was our experience in other South American cities. In fact, the silence is a little eerie, although a low pass by a jet fighter a few nights ago, and the medivac helicopters going to the many hospitals in the area have made up for it. The drivers here yield for pedestrians and signal to change lanes!
The weather here has been consistently in the low 20sC during the day with virtually continuous cloud and rain (usually very light) every day. I have picked up a few (3 so far) mosquito bites thanks to our open window and a late night visitor. I will have to be more careful especially after being handed a brochure on Dengue fever at the bus station yesterday.
I am certain that those who are following Joy´s blog will be given all the details of the galleries that we have been to over the past few days. Suffice to say that I have never seen works by so many famous artists (even Yoko Ono) in such a short time. I couldn´t help but speculate on the value of panels in the Musee de Arte de Sao Paulo (don´t check my Portugese spelling please) where you have a Gainsboroigh next to a Constable, next to Matisse, next to a (I forget, but you get the idea). And so well organized by subject matter (ie portraits, parks, domestic scanes, etc) and then by chronology showing the development of that subject over the years. We kept running into these marvellous galleries all day.
In our search for galleries we also found a great park which was filled with `Paulistas`on Sunday. Apparently everyone here runs, walks, bikes, roller blades or skateboards. It was a beautiful place with covered areas to carry on activities even if it rains. How civilized can you be. I would be remiss if I didn´t mention the spectacular architecture of the buildings and the uniform use of small vehicles (mostly new Fords, Fiats, VWs, Hondas).
Today we head out to Foz de Iguasu which is where Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina meet. The falls are supposed to be huge and spectacular. We haven´t decided which country we will stay in tomorrow night, but tonight we sleep on the bus. It is a 15 hour ride, but we do have a `cami` which is either a bed or a chair that reclines. It was an adventure, as it always is, to get the tickets yeterday, but maybe it will get easier when we get to practice our Spanish in the next country.
See you next time.
Jim
Friday, January 2, 2009
From Sao Paulo
Hello All:
Arrived safely in Sao Paulo at 10am this morning. The flight from Texasto Washington, DC was very smooth in a tiny, 1/2 filled E170. The ride on the Big plane (Boeing 777) from Dulles was bumpy most of the way and the film quality was terrible. But I made it (thank you Bacardis and Karen).
We got settled in in a tiny room with a private bath and hot water so life is good. We are so glad that we took the Spanish classes here in Portugese-speaking Brazil. Weare almost back to last trip (sorry Marco), but we will see what happens when we get to a Spanish speaking country. We both had a power nap before checking out the neighbourhood. Haven´t found a grocery store other than one that is closed for rennovations. Of course with Joy, we quickly found the local gallery and saw a great display of Spanish development in electric light fixtures and another on Developement of chair styles over the years, including Joy´s favourite in gold by Dali.
We have eaten and found the local wine store so we will probably get some sleep tonight.
First impressions of Brazil is the driving! Unlike our previous experience in Peru and Bolivia, drivers here do not use horns just to scare the cats in the next county. That makes the city (4th largest in the world) very quiet. They also stop for pedestrians! Quite unsettling.
JIm
Arrived safely in Sao Paulo at 10am this morning. The flight from Texasto Washington, DC was very smooth in a tiny, 1/2 filled E170. The ride on the Big plane (Boeing 777) from Dulles was bumpy most of the way and the film quality was terrible. But I made it (thank you Bacardis and Karen).
We got settled in in a tiny room with a private bath and hot water so life is good. We are so glad that we took the Spanish classes here in Portugese-speaking Brazil. Weare almost back to last trip (sorry Marco), but we will see what happens when we get to a Spanish speaking country. We both had a power nap before checking out the neighbourhood. Haven´t found a grocery store other than one that is closed for rennovations. Of course with Joy, we quickly found the local gallery and saw a great display of Spanish development in electric light fixtures and another on Developement of chair styles over the years, including Joy´s favourite in gold by Dali.
We have eaten and found the local wine store so we will probably get some sleep tonight.
First impressions of Brazil is the driving! Unlike our previous experience in Peru and Bolivia, drivers here do not use horns just to scare the cats in the next county. That makes the city (4th largest in the world) very quiet. They also stop for pedestrians! Quite unsettling.
JIm
Thursday, January 1, 2009
We Are Off
Today at 4:30pm we leave for Washington, D.C. on our way to Sao Paulo, Brazil. The strange routing is a requirement of using "air miles". Anyways we have to go North to go South? We arrive in Brazil at 10 am tomorrow morning.
We have learned some things about Texas while we were here by treating this place as any other culture in which we are immersed. We discovered that Texas has culture (who'd have thunk). There is a spectacular private sculpture museum with Picasso's, Rodin's, etc in Dallas as well as a great art gallery. We also quite enjoyed the aquarium, which is worth the visit and has improved greatly since my last visit about 10 years ago. After the aquarium , Joy and I walked up to Dragon Street to view a number of private galleries in good space in old warehouses. Quite impressive! For both our trips downtown we use the "DART" rail system which combines a surface and sub-station rapid transit system which "morphs" into a street-car system downtown.
It is difficult to see the down-turn in the economy here as everyone madly goes about shopping and driving SUVs. It will be interesting to compare to Sao Paulo, as Brazil is doing well in the new "global" economy. We have not decided where we go from Sao Paulo, but it will be West or South West. We have booked a hostel in Sao Paulo for 3 nights to see some of the sights and also to get used to the environment.
Joy has done a couple of paintings here which you can see on her blog.
Jim
We have learned some things about Texas while we were here by treating this place as any other culture in which we are immersed. We discovered that Texas has culture (who'd have thunk). There is a spectacular private sculpture museum with Picasso's, Rodin's, etc in Dallas as well as a great art gallery. We also quite enjoyed the aquarium, which is worth the visit and has improved greatly since my last visit about 10 years ago. After the aquarium , Joy and I walked up to Dragon Street to view a number of private galleries in good space in old warehouses. Quite impressive! For both our trips downtown we use the "DART" rail system which combines a surface and sub-station rapid transit system which "morphs" into a street-car system downtown.
It is difficult to see the down-turn in the economy here as everyone madly goes about shopping and driving SUVs. It will be interesting to compare to Sao Paulo, as Brazil is doing well in the new "global" economy. We have not decided where we go from Sao Paulo, but it will be West or South West. We have booked a hostel in Sao Paulo for 3 nights to see some of the sights and also to get used to the environment.
Joy has done a couple of paintings here which you can see on her blog.
Jim
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)