Goldman Space

Entering Bolivia turned out to be much easier than we had expected, just get a stamp in one's passport and then fill out a form at the migration's office. On the other side of the border (Villazon) the contrast with Argentina was immediately noticeable, instead of some poor people in the streets asking you for money everyone here seemed to be poor. I had already started to get troubles with the altitude, for which I was recommended to have a cup of home-made coca-tee which kicked back my dizzyness a bit.

 

 

To get to this town (village style) we took a train that only leaves three days a week, so I guess we were lucky to get it on the same day. This train belonged to the category of old-fashioned ones, you know the ones that go at running pace and start bumping as soon as they want to accelerate. Quite to our astonishment they showed movies on the train (all dubbed into spanish obviously), so 10 hours went by pretty fast.

The morning after we were off for a 3-day tour around the region, including salt deserts, lagoons and getting up at 4 a.m to see steaming geishers and then heat up our frozen bodies in a 35 degree thermal bath at 4200 above sea (defintelely the best moment of the whole tour).

On the negative side, however, goes spending about 10 hours a day in a boiling jeep with nasty people whose arrogance increased for each day.

 

 

Straight back from the desert tour we jumped on a bus to our next stop, the world's highest city (4070 m). Having spent just about the whole day since 4 o clock that morning in that jeep the idea of 6 hours inside yet another squashy means of transport didn't seem that appealing at

first, but since we had already purchased our tickets we both agreed on torturing ourselves a bit more that day.

The major attraction in Potosi is the mines. Before entering them we got changed into mine worker's outfit (including a helmet so as not to bash our heads once inside the dark mines) and then we were taken to the miners' market to buy gifts for the miners. These gifts were a fairly odd mix of coca-leaves, soda, cookies and dynamite (we were told that anyone can buy dynamite here and they won't even ask you what you're planning to do with it!). Before we got into the mines our guide gave us a demonstration blast (with a reasonable security distance, even though the blast was clearly audible!). In order to cope with the high altitude and the lack of oxygen inside we were given coca-leaves to chew and also a bite on some sort of mineral that apparently works as a catalyst and extracts the resulting juices from the leaves. This is what the mine-workes have for lunch because it makes them insensitive to hunger and fatigue! It was really sad to see the horrible conditions under which these people keep working (many of them below our age), conditions that don't seem to have changed much since the middle-age. We were told that because of the toxic environment these guys don't have more than 10-20 more years to live from the day they start working there

 

 

The name of this town makes every French-speaking person think of something white and sweet, which is precisely the two adjectives I would use to describe it. It's situated in a valley protected by low mountains and white seems to be the universal colour here. This is a place I could spend more time in! The people here seem more friendly than the surly population in the south. My number one favourite hang out place became "Cafe Gourmet Mirador" which is situated right underneath the town's main view-spot. For about 10 bolivianos (1 euro) you can order a refreshing fruit drink and lay out in a chaise longue and enjoy the paronamic view of a white town unfolding right beneath your feet. Who said travelling in Bolivia can't be relaxing sometimes?

 

 

When we arrived in this city we our usual strategy of finding a hostel without booking in advance didn't work out that well this time because of the meeting of South America's presidents that was to take place the day after. I guess 5 o'clock in the morning is not the best time for that either. Luckily we eventually found a hotel to crash at (about 8 times more expensive than the hostels we had been staying at up until then). This city was quite different from the towns in the altiplano we had been to before, however I didn't find it very charming to be honest, or maybe one would need to stay a bit longer there to soak up the real atmosphere. In this city I experienced the heaviest rainfall I have ever seen. The streets was completely flooded with water and to avoid spending the whole night in the restaurant where we had had dinner we had to wade through it with water up to our knees (to make things worse both Chalak and I had forgotten the address to our hotel so ended up spending quite some time in that dirty water). From now on I'll be travelling without my dear travel partner Chalak, who will be staying a bit longer in Bolivia. I will miss you man!

 

 

Now this city (Bolivias next biggest one after la Paz) was really different from all the other Bolivian cities I had been to up till then. To begin with, the climate is hot and very humid since the city is located close to the Amazon forest (no blankets needed at night this time). Two, people here actually have the decency to look at you when you talk with them. Three, people look different also, I would say like a mix between people from Argentina and Brazil. And believe or not, sometimes you even get to see one or two blondies walking up the streets! I got to know a native-born who had the kindness to take me for a ride in his comfortably air-conditioned car. He told me Bolivians say that Santa Cruz is their version of Miami (but hey they ain't got no beach!).

After our 2 months in Buenos Aires it was time for our final trip, this time to the northeastern part of Argentina and then further on to Bolivia. That was just about as much we had planned when we got on the nightbus to Salta. The first day we checked out the city from inside and above from a mountain. Later in the afternoon we met up with a friend of a friend of ours in Buenos Aires who took us out to a local restaurant that evening where a "folcloric" band was performing with live music and dance. Chalak and I had decided to go for typical food from the region so we ordered "tamales" and "humitas", two starters that come from the region, however these didn't come with a instruction guide as to how to eat them, so instead of undoing the laces that held them together we both started attacking it with the sharp ends of our cutlery (luckily it didn't take the waiter so long to notice our unusual behaviour and prevent us from screwing up our starters completely). The dessert we ordered, called "quesillo con dulce de cayote" (some type of cheese with jam with nuts in it), was delicious. After dinner we carried on to nearby bar where a cover band performed with a good mix of old and new tunes (mostly latin american music of course), they had a really good vibe so when everybody suddenly stood up and started shaking their hips and clapping their hands one couldn't possibly resist.

 

Just a few hours' sleep later we dragged ourselves out of bed and got picked up by a van that would take us around Salta on a 2-day tour. In the car was Chalak, myself, an argentinian girl and of course the driver (who invited us over for lunch with his family after we got back from the tour). However, it didn't take long before our group received a new member whom our driver kindly picked up along the road. She told us that she just needed a ride to a nearby village where she was supposed to work, but as the time went by we soon realized that her adherence to the group was to be permanent (I'm not going to mention all the confusion this girl caused us. However, by the end it stood quite clear to the rest of us that her intentions weren't only about the obvious getting a free tour thing, especially when she asked Cecilia, the girl from argentina, which one of us two guys she fancied most).

This trip was really great and definetely worh the price. Beautiful landscapes (it seems like I can't get enough of them), visits to remote villages where people live in an entire different world (although every now and again one sees "locutorio" written on old, worn out houses that you wouldn't expect to have electricity) and quite a lot of wine tasting at a couple of local wineries. The weather was really nice too so in between the stops we sat at the back and enjoyed the sun and the view. Before going back to Salta I decided to end the tour in a less relaxing and peaceful way as I decided to challange my fears and try bungy-jumping off a bridge. The idea always seemed crazy to me, but as soon as we got there I set my mind upon it; if I was to break my neck, well at least I would have a nice view while doing it *hehe*. Luckily I got off scotfree and I actually really really enjoyed it, it was such a cool feeling just lean forward and then let gravity take care of the rest. I definetlely recommend it for those of you who have doubts about it!

 

The next day I had my second premiere as we went for horseback riding. When we got to the ranch we were immediately served a decent quantity of the ranch's own wine, which I suppose gave my self-confidence a little boost before I got up on the horseback. The tour went down pretty well, I even managed to make my horse galop and still keep myself in the saddle.

 

After our stay in Salta we were now ready to head towards Bolivia, but first we decided to do some manual bus-hopping between the villages located north of Salta. In between the stops we landed in a remote village called Purmamarca (900 and something inhabitants) which lies incrusted between the mountain tops right beneath the clouds. During our trek around the nearby mountain tops we came across a really strange place made of something that looked like modelling clay and turned out to be luxury hotel when we asked the reciptionist to show us the inside.

Creamfields. We bought our festival passes only a few weeks upon our arrival to make sure we didn’t miss out on this reputable event that originally started in a former airport in Liverpool and then spread around the world and has become on of the world’s biggest festivals for electronic music.  Last year´s edition of Creamfields attracted 60.000 people so you can imagine the amount of people that crowded this place! There were different Dj’s hosting at the same time, so you had to keep track of the line-up in order not to miss your favourite one. Underworld, Sasha, Erick Murillo and Sander Kleinenberg were some of the big shots. The queue just to get into the place took almost half an hour and you felt a bit like cattle being driven back and forth between enclosures. Then the party got started and we didn’t stop dancing until the break of dawn (actually after that if you have a look at one of my pics). Who needs drugs (quite a few there decidedly did) when non-stop music boosts you full with energy? (okay, and a few energy drinks in order to stay fit I admit).

 Bife de Lomo. I now understand why one of Argentina’s major export products is meat. I don’t know what they feed their cows with out in La Pampa, but the meat they render makes my mouth water every time my bife de lomo appears on the dinner table.

Salsa. No it’s not a mistake, I did of course try tango as well but for some reason I got the hang of salsa instead. (it kind of put me off a bit when a woman who had a long experience of dancing tango told me that the first year is all about learning how to walk correctly.. what can one achive in two months then, I thought, learning how to stand correctly?) In the beginning I had a hard time following the teachers’ instructions, not so much because I don’t have any sense for rhythm (and if I didn’t at least I think I have managed to develop some at this point) but because of the fact that these were all given in very rapidly spoken Spanish with a remarkable Argentinian accent! A basic spanish salsa vocabulary was urgently needed and I luckily obtained one after a while.

Buenos Aires outings. Eating good food, having cocktails in a bar before hitting the nightclubs  (never before 2 o’clock though or you will be disappointed by a club with no people in it), taking a taxi between all the different stop-overs and still get away with the same amount of money that you would have spent on a few “stor stark” if you’re a Swedish resident. A mi me gusta! I have also become a big fan of “Recoleta Cine Village”, which looks like a big shopping mall but is actually a big cinema where they also have a whole bunch of restaurants ranging from japanese to junky McDonald’s (the whole idea seems really American to me). Even though I like films I'm not usually a cinema freak.. well there you go, I have now become one. Other highlights include Daft Punk’s live concert, an argentinian musical, opera at the theatre Colon (more for the place itself than for the opera that took 4 hours and was in Russian) and of course seeing an authentic tango show.

Locutorios. Some may have a faster connection than others but I really need to praise the internetcafes in this country. The Atlantic Ocean lying in between us I wouldn't have been able to keep regular contact with so many of you over there. (you know who you are) ;)

 

Tomorrow we're leaving for northern Argentina and Bolivia. Sköt om er sa länge sa hörs vi snart! Take care!

 

Igar anlände vi sa till Puerto Madryn, som vanligt lite smamöra efter 18 timmars bussfärd. En snabblunch senare begav vi oss ut med privat guide till Peninsula Valdes för att se vad det argentinska djurriket hade att bjuda pa, vilket visade sig vara en hel del. Häftigaste biten var helt klart valskadningen. Med kameran i högsta hugg försökte man efter bästa förmaga fa till atminstone en godtagbar bild av en plaskande valfena (försvarande omständigheter: guppande bat, skymmande kroppsdelar fran andra ivriga personer samt en icke negligerbar fördröjning mellan avtryckning och bildtagning pa digitalkameran). Pa denna vidsträckta halvö kunde vi även beskada pingviner, guanacos (ser ut som en blandning av lamadjur och kamel fast utan pucklar typ) samt en motbjudande skara sjölejon inte nog med att vara estetiskt missgynnade dessutom gjorde sig ännu mer oatraktiva genom att visa sina könsdelar och rapa ungefär som en kinesisk familj efter en brakmiddag.

 

Det har blivit lite ändringar i vara reseplaner. Istället för att aka direkt hem härifran aker vi istället vidare söderut imorgon kväll till staden El Calafate i södra Patagonien.

 

To be continued...

 

.........

Ok, as requested by one of my friends I will give an English version as well..

 

Yesterday we arrived in Puerto Madryn, feeling the kind of roughness you ought to do after 18 hours' bus ride. After a quick lunch we then took off to Peninsula Valdes with our private guide to see what the animal kingdom of Argentina had to offer us, which turned out to be quite a lot. With the camera ready for shooting everyone tried as best they could to get at least one acceptable picture of a splashing whale fin (circumstances that made this task tricky: the bobbing boat, other people's body parts blocking the view as well as my camera's delay between pushing the button and the photo being shot). On this vast peninsula we also got to see penguins, guanacos (look like a mixture of lamas and camels without humps) as well as a repulsive group of sea lions who on top of being estethically disadvantaged showed even more unattractiveness by exposing their jewels and burp like a whole chinese family after a heavy dinner.

 

We have now changed our travel plans a little bit. Instead of going straight back home from here we have decided to go down south tomorrow night to El Calafate, located in southern Patagonia.

 

 

Bussturen mellan Puerto Madryn och El Calafate innefattar ett byte och tack vare vart förutseende bussbolag som körde sträckan dit hade vi redan fixat biljett vidare därifran till var slutdestination El Calafate. Men med ca en timmes försening i ryggen lyckades vi precis missa förbindelsebussen, som dessutom visade sig vara den enda turen det här bussbolaget hade för dagen. Efter ett par desperata misslyckade försök att fa vara pengar tillbaka (där bägge bolagen körde pa pajkastningstaktiken: "det är inte vart fel att dom kom för sent" eller "de borde ha väntat tills ni kom fram") hann vi ett fatal minuters marginal skaka fram en ny bussbiljett fran ett annat bussbolag vars buss precis var pa vag att avga. Efter totalt 24 timmars bussresa var vi till slut framme, sa skönt att fa räta ut och ga pa sina mosiga ben som under det senaste dygnet befunnit sig i mer eller mindre konstant krökt läge. Väderförändringen mellan dessa tva städer var klart kännbar, kyliga vinder som letade sig in under kläderna hälsade oss raskt välkomna. Eftersom glaciärutflykt stod pa schemat dagen efter var det lika bra att gardera sig inför morgondagen, nere pa stan lag en liten marknad där jag lyckades hitta allt jag behövde, sockar, vantar och mössa med öronlappar, allt i hemstickat-av-argentinsk-mormor-stil :)

 

Idag fick jag med mina egna ögon beskada en livs levande glaciär (ja, dess framkant förflyttar sig faktiskt 40 cm per dag.. sa om X antal ar kanske den hälsar pa hemma hos dig!) Härlig upplevelse a det grövsta! Man fick se den fran manga olika vinklar i och med en trekkingtur runt pa berget som lag intill och även en battur som tog oss in precis framför glaciärskanten. Med jämna mellanrum bröts naturens tystnad  av pistolknallar, men som tur var var det inte patagoniska skogsfolket som attackerade oss med skjutvapen utan resonans fran den massiva glaciärens oupphörliga islossning.

 

Imorgon bär det för min egen del av tillbaka till Buenos Aires, denna gang blir det nagra timmars  flyg som omväxling mot bussandet (trakigt nog kostar det mig dubbelt sa mycket jämfört med det jag fran början hade budgeterat pga att jag som bekant är turist i det här landet.. trakig överraskning, fast a andra sidan äter man ju utsökt bife de lomo (oxfile för de icke initierade) löjligt billigt sa det väger upp det hela lite)

 

Pa tal om mat sa är det precis vad min mage kurrar om just nu. En mör halvblodig bife de lomo? Yummy

 

...........

The first paragraph is basically about us being ripped off by our bus company so I won't bother translate all uninteresting details about that part.

 

El Calafate was in brief terms cold, windy but offering splendid views of glaciars and turquoise shimmering lakes, even though I'm from the northern latitudes I never had imagined what a glaciar would look like in real.

 

Photos coming up soon!

After 18 hours' busride I arrived in Puerto Iguazu which was literally soaked in rain, but after half an hour's standing around waiting for the rain to stop I couldn't be bothered anymore and decided to go and find my hostel, which of course turned out to be easier said than done, but with half wet luggage and muddy trainers I finally got there. Despite the unfavourable weather conditions I wanted to go out to the Iguazu Park to get a first glimpse of the waterfalls but it turned out the park would already be closed by the time I'd get there. So instead, time to wander around, check out this little town which obviously lives on its tourism and therefore felt sort of over exploited. Hooked up with a nice English couple at the hostel and joined them for dinner and then chilled out at the hostel.

Today I dragged myself out of bed at 7, I wanted my whole day with those waterfalls. And like I had been told before it was absolutely amazing... standing by "Garganta del Diablo" (=the Devil's throat, see pic) made me realise how powerful the forces of nature can be.

 

Tomorrow I will go and see the falls on the Brasilian side and if possible get back on time to catch my bus back to Buenos Aires.

 

Hoppas allt ar bra med alla darhemma.. Hope you're all good out there.. je pense a toi.. ;)