Warszawa

Wednesday, 16. February

At 5:30 am I had my flight to San Paulo in Brasil. At 1 am I took a taxi to the airport, after I met two friends from Buenos Aires whom I knew from beforte: Ofelia -  we met in Rio de Janeiro and Hernan, whom I knew from Mendoza. Taxi... What have in common my taxi driver from Rio de Janeiro and this one from Buenos Aires who brough me to the airport? They were notoriously falling asleep when driving. Me too, but when I saw them sleeping and driving I was immediately very awake. At 5:30 I took a plane to San Paulo (with one 20 kg backpack) and... with three hand luggages. I was sure that somehow it will work out - with brasilian Gol sure, but with german Condor and Lufthansa - hmh, maybe? Of course, I managed...

5:30 flight to San Paulo, from San Paulo to Salvador (which was my first estation of my travel), from Salvador to Frankfurt am Main, from Frankfurt am Main to Warszawa!

In Salvador I had actually the only situation during my whole travel which really costed me some nerves... When I was about to pass the pass control, the policeman prooved very exactly my pass, controlling stamps (Maybe he did not like that I was entering and leaving Argentina so often, or my short visit to Bolivia and Santa Cruz, which is one from the nodal points in drug smuggling from Bolivia to Argentina was suspect). He had a look at me and told me, that they will take my luggage back (my big luggage which I had checked in before) and that he is going to check my luggage together with me. I said of course, trying to look relaxed and trying to give him an impression that getting back my luggage from the plain for a special detailed control at the brasilian airport is one of the most normal things for me. Oh yeah, so boring. I was bored to death... huuuuhm. They told me to sit not far from them and wait for 10 minutes. I had 1,5 hour to departure of my plane to Frankfurt. But 30 minutes passed, 1 hour... ten minutes before the planned departure they brought my luggage from the plane. And did not allow anybody to enter till my luggage was checked. huh, wow. Just the red carpet was missing... During these long minutes I was asking myself what did they find in my backpack... I was trying not to think of that someone could put into my luggage a pack with drugs, which is unfortunatelly quite a popular way to use innocent people (and yes, I was innocent!!!) to smuggle drugs. If you say it is not yours... nobody would believe you, por supuesto... Guys put my mochila on the x-ray scanner. It passed once. The guy made a strange face and put it again through. He asked me to come and open the backpack... OOOps. In my mind I had these few items which I though maybe they are not allowed to have... (I dont tell you what...). I opened my bag and then the guy took out this thing which was so suspicious... It was my Lonely Planet guide which I got from 2 girls for my PhD... Did it look like a pack of cocaine in x-ray??? They did not tell me and I did not ask ueberfluessige questions. Ufff, as you can imagine, I felt suddenly very relaxed. I dont have to spend the rest of my life in brasilian prison...
Finally, I got into the plane. And my backpack stayed with custom officers. I was a bit worried if the custom officers put my backpack into the plane... I asked them k i n d l y not to forget my backpack... I will see in Frankfurt.
I was so happy to have a window seat on the emergency exit during all four flights... and during my 10 hours flight from SSa to FRA I was sitting alone in my row, hooooow nice :). And: my backpack arrived with me!

The last coffee in Cafe Dorrego in Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo, Buenos Aires

Reunion with my friends: with Hernan...

...and with Ofelia.

My travelling family - unfortunatelly one member from Bolivia had a small accident which resulted in a black half of face.

At the airport in Buenos Aires: one backpack, three hand luggages

I was as happy to leave South America as happy was my face

The last view of Buenos Aires

The sunrise above BsAs

My most probably last in this year sandwich con jamon y cheso, brasilian Gol Airlines

Salvador

My first travel photo, my small and big backpack, Goettingen, 26. October 2010...



Way from Frankfurt to Salvador on 27.10.2010

Way from Salvador to Frankfurt 16.02.2011...

As I did not tell my family that I am coming back, my sister Gosia, the only one involved in this such a conspirative action, was expecting me at the Warsaw Chopin airport...

I was very happy to meet so many people who made my trip a very special experience... Here I wanted to write names of just these, which had the most impact on my travel... It was a pleasure to meet you, exchange our thoughts and experiences with you, have fun and travel with you! And forgive me if I forgot somebody...

Salvador: Ben, Vanilla, Anja, Moises, Marina, Sebastian,
Rio de Janeiro: Katja, Daniela, Ali, Tendai, Adna, Ofelia, Cecilia,
Foz de Iguacu and Puerto Iguacu: Steffen, Thorsten, Christian, Walter,
Buenos Aires: Carola, Daniel, Alejandro,
Puerto Piramides: Luis, Larry, Juan Pablo,
Trelew: Anita, Mauro,
Puerto Deseado: Celine, Lisa, Anja, Magali, Martin, Pachano, Ditza, Heim,
Piedra Buena: Pepe
Ushuaia: Barbara, Kristin, Uta, Lutz, Rudolf, Margareta, Wayne, Mayke, Liam,
Puerto Natales: Susanne, Anja, Gabriel, Thimon, Jose Luis, Betty
El Chalten: Christoph, Ignacio, Rama,
El Bolson: Amit, Leo, Christine,
Bariloche: Hernan, Ben, Marlijin, Walter, Maarten, Diego, Madeleine
Mendoza: Hernan, Viktor, Cesar, Sebastian, Julietta, Flavia,
Santiago de Chile: Yercko, Joasia, Tomek, Jaime
Vina del Mar: Francisca, Ruben and his father,
San Pedro de Atacama: Mauro
Uyuni: Nicolas, Gijs, Jack, Todd, Marc, Viktor,
Potosi: Andrea, Pepe, Krzysiek, Maria
Santa Cruz: Ryan
Buenos Aires: Marije, Pablo, Brom

and many many others, travellers in buses, planes, hostels, people teaching me samba in Brasil, salsa in Chile and tango in Argentina whose names I cannot put here... ... and the oldery couple who gave me a Christmas present when I was absolutely short of money... Muchas gracias :) See you one day maybe.



... and the next travell will be...


... to be continued.



Buenos Aires

I returned to one of the most amazing cities exactly three months after my first visit here: Buenos Aires!
About BsAs I wrote already before, so this time it is just a quick minuta:

Thursday, 10. February

I ordered wake-me-up service at the reception of hotel Viru Viru in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. They should call me at 8 so that I can have a breakfast and go to the airport at 9 to catch the fly at 12:00 to Tango City BsAs. I was sleeping like a baby when the phone rang. 07:00. They told me that there are street blocades, most probably I cannot reach the airport anymore, but if - I have to leave now. NOW. Now! Great, just pity I did not packed my mozillas the dayt before... In 22 minutes I had a shower (electric shower... however cold to wake up), packed my stuff, did a bit makeup (mascara plus eyeliner, sorry, I am a lady, if I did not catch the flight it wont be because of my mascara, hmh?) and got into a taxi. It was such a crazy ride, on very bumpy roads, we passed with the light velocity some villages, visited a half of Bolivia by the way. The taxi driver was not 100% sure which way he should go, so he asked sometimes some people. Unfortunatelly I did not know it, too... Somewhow his insecurity level was proportional to adrenaline level in my blood. Dont worry, be happy, its holidays!!! We finally reached the airport od dupy strony, from lats us call it the back part of the body, and I had enought time to get on plane. Uff, Buenos Aires, Argentina, I am coming!!! Tango, 30 degrees, cafès in San Telmo, Puerto Madero, Mercado Recoleta, te quiero!

In the late afternoon I met Mayke, the dutch girl with whom I did the W-trek in Torres del Paine, in Chile and than had a reunion with Wayne in valparaíso, in Chile, too. We landed in the same room... How nice to exchange new experiences and ideas which came to our minds ion the last few weeks. Rico!

I took a very artistic hostel Art Factory in San Telmo

I feel here like fish in water

Friday, 11. February

Hmm, I started my day easy, piano, tranquillo and cosy... (like nearly always in the last four months...) with a lunch in San Telmo in the sun, writing my diary, watching street tango shows and generally thinking how beautiful the life is...

My lunch in Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo.

Saturday, 12. February

Museo Bellas Artes, next to Cementario Recoleta

Second reunion with Mayke! Here during a "coffee break"after we visited Mercado Recoleta for buying some souvenires

In the evening we went to Parilla. I took my favourite bife de chorizo. Now I eat such a steak twice a day. That depicted here was the best in my life.

Sunday, 13. February

Sunday, lazy sunday... Not so lazy - I went with my new dutch friend Maraya to tango school to watch her privat lessons and decided to hire a privat tango teacher. Afterwards we had a walk and luch in Puerto Madero.

In my fauvourite (since 3 months) café la Poesía in san Telmo

My favourite bife de chorizo in quasi alive form.

Puerto Madero, hello again!

Casa Rosada (was painted with blood of cows before and Eva Peron= Evita hold here her speaches), hello again!

In the evening I met some argentinian friends whom I had met on my way before. And with other dutch friends we went to two milongas this evening: one open air and one with a great orchestra in a well known among porteños place Perú 571. 

Open air milonga in Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo

Orquestra Andariwega, hermosa

Monday, 14. February

In the very morning I run to my first privat tango lesson in Escuela Argentina de Tango. Pablo is a very good teacher and a very nice guy, too. He makes everything possible. The only thing I need urgently is/are: tango shoes, with flip flops you can almost forget it. Even principiantes should work with professional shoes. Ok, I had nothing against ;) And where I should buy the best tango shoes in the world? Of course in Buenos!

First lesson - before...

Here they are. I you cannot decide which to take - nimm zwei! Black leather- for lessons, more freaky in my favourite colours - for milongas.

... and after. A bit better!

Where could we go for a dinner when not a parilla DesNivel with the best steaks ever?

The meat made us so happy...

Despite of filled with bife de chorizo bellies we were still able to dance tango...

Tuesday, 15. February

I cannot believe it, but this is my last day in Buenos Aires. The last time this time because I have to come back here again, at least for more tango lessons...

Again some privat lessons with Pablo

and with proper shoes.

¡Buenos Aires, hasta luego!

Tonight I am leaving to my next destination...

Bolivia

Uyuni


Wednesday, 2. February

Finally, after 11 hours of trip I have arrived in Uyuni. Uyuni is a city at the altitude of I dont know why, I was sure that the bus ride will take just 6 hours, but whatever... The chilean bus to the border with Bolivia was the most creppy bus I have ever had. At the frontiera passangers changed the bus to bolivian one which was ten times better than chilean one... Surprise!

¡Bienvenidos in Bolivia!

Thursday, 3. February till Saturday, 5. February

In Uyuni I spent just one night and the next morning I left for a three days jeep trip. In total we were 6 persons: me, Nicolas from Argentina, Gijs from Holanda and three australian guys: Jack, Todd and Marc. Poor Marc was sick during the whole excursion. Never brush your teeth with a tap water in Bolivia... you can get easily Vibrio choleare or some other new friends...

During the trip we visited: cementario de trenes, Valle de Rocas con Condor Petrificado, Laguna Cañapa, laguna Edionda y laguna Honda with flamingos, Arbol de Piedra (stony tree) geiser, thermal baths. at the altitude of 5000 meters... This trip was for sure one of the higlihts of my travel.

They warn you at the bolivian border of vibrio cholerae...Watch out!

Our dream...

... team

Yummy sweets for a long jeep ride...

In the front of Museo de Sal. The whole building is built of salt.

Riding the exponates...

In Salar de Uyuni

Salar in the wet season is covered by water. It gives you an impression you are not in a real world... During the dry season the surface is never-ending-white and shiny - that is the reason to come back here during the dry winter season. ¡hasta luego!

Our dream-team.

And my travelling family with two new bolivian members

On our way

 

Condor petrificado, stony condor

Laguna Cañapa

There are three sorts of flamingos here, please see below.

Flamenco andina, flamenco chileno y flamenco de james. Who the f... is james? ;)

A kuku!

Arbol de piedra

It would be a nice way to travel, too. Just the driving licence...

First evening without the electricity but with a lots of fun!

Gas station - Teo fills the tank in the front of the place we stayed overnight.

I did not expect before that vikuñas and flamingos share the same environment.

On the way we saw a lot of broken carsand we were happy it was not ours.... finally our broke, too, for maybe two hours in a middle of nowwhere. But Teo, our car driver, fortunatelly fixed it during we had a relaxed almuerzo and later we played... corrida...

Farewell pic: back to Uyuni. It was a great trip...

So we had a farewell party at a very cool bar in Uyuni... Afterwards we started to dance and some local guys tried to teach us salsa...

...offering a great variety of coctails and shots based on coca liquor, coca leavs etc. And believe coca leaf is not a cocaine!

Sunday, 6. February

In the morning I had a quick breakfast and went by bus to Potosí. Potosí is the highiest situated city of the world (city, there are for sure villages which are even higher) (about 4070m above the sea level) which was the richest city in Bolivia.  Around Potosí there are lot of minerals and before there was a plenty of silver. Spaniards built this city in a colonial style (logical) - the buildings are beautiful, but now look very poor. Potosí is a city of miñeros, the workers of the mines. A lot of agencias turisticas offer excursions for tourists to mineas, where you can watch these people while they are working, you buy some drinks, coca leaves and dynamite for them as a gifts. Agencies use to tell tourists, that the miner workers receive up to 50% money you pay for the trip. Such a bullshit! I speaked to local people and the truth is that the miñeros do  not like that tourists visit the mineries, the work under extremly non-humanitarian conditions. They chew coca the whole day to kill the pain and hunger. Children of poor people are working in mines, too.  How practical, they are so small that they can pass even narrow tunnels in minery. Starting work with circa 10 years old - a disaster. They work until they are maybe 30 years old, if they did not have any accident in minery (which is frequent). Then - they die usually due to lounges diseases. So if you should be in Potosí or any miner colony/city, just please do not go for these excursions... Actually, they are not safe, too, there is no ventilation in the minery and you have to go sometimes on your four extremities in claustrophobic narrow  and muddy tunnels. If it does not scary you - just do not go there because of the respect toward minery workers...

In Potosi I had a cool hostel - Koala Den. Normally I dont do any marketing here, but they deserve it - very nice bolivian people at the reception and it was a place where you can really stay and enjoy your stay -  not stay overnight and hope to leave as soon as possible - it was definitevly NOT a claustrofobic box without window but with fungi which we (Andrea and Pepe from Chile and Nicolas from Argentina) visited before.

I was controlling if my backpack will  land really on the roof of the bus to Potosí. Vertrauen ist gut, aber Kontrolle besser...

Traffic jam in Potosí I

Traffic jam in Potosí II

Monday, 7. February

After lazy morning we went to bus terminal first to buy tickets for the ride to Sucre. They were some street blocades... Afterwards we went to a mercado (with a separate coca department) and then by a colectivo to Ojo de Inca, Inkas Eve - a small lagoon with thermal water, in crater of a vulcano. We swam, swam and couldnt stop.

The blockade style resembled a bit bolivian .mohairs (polish insider joke)...

In the mercado with friends :)

wow!

Here it is!

Ojo de Inca

Minery worker chewing coca leaves to minor hunger, tiredness and pain. Photo of a photo.

Photo of a photo.

The miner workers cementary. Many of them did not reach age above 30. Photo of a photo.

Tuesday, 8. February

In the very morning I went to the bus station. God bless you, the blocads of streets which I saw the day before where over. It is quite popular in Bolivia in case of not being satisfied with some aspacts of life - to block the streets. Fortunatellu I could leave Potosí in direction of Sucre, the official capital city of Bolivia - it is not La Paz!!!

At 7 am (ok, 7:30 am, normal) I  left to Sucre where I should catch the over night bus (12-15 hours bus ride) to Santa Cruz. In Santa Cruz I have a flight to Buenos Aires on 10th February - so I had to hurry up as the roads can be under water - in this time here rains a lot. Another possibility could be a flight from Sucre to Santa Cruz which I find out in the evening before (ok, my sister Gosia told me that AeroSur has connections from Sucre to Santa Cruz). In the bus I had a very nice conversation with an indigenous woman about minery workers. Sjhe hold a very sweet indian baby of one year old who was gazing at me the whole time with its huge huge black beautiful eyes.Shortly before Sucre the baby vomited everything it had consumed during the travel... God bless you we were at the end of travel because I almost followed the baby and vomit on the floor, too... 

My bus should arrive in Sucre at 10:00 and I knew that I wont catch the plane which should leave at 10:40... So i have arrived at 11 in Sucre, una mujer in information center first called for me airport (yes, there is a flight at 12:40 and yes, we have tickets) and than taxi. So directly from the bus I went by a taxi to an airport, wait a bit till all passangers do check in, bought a ticket, checked in and just get  into a plane which should had depart at 10:40 but the departure was postponed 2 hours. Just for me, gracias! I appreciated it very much - and maybe if you did not travel in Bolivia or any other place where it is a big deal to coordinate you transport - you do not understand why I am describing it with such an enthusiasmus...

The bus terminal in Potosí is the most modern terminal de bus I have ever seen before.

AeroSur brought me "sicurí" from Sucre to Santa Cruz in too short time - I even did not manage to write my diary.

Santa Cruz

it is still Tuesday, 8. February

On the airport I have met a nice south african guy. We shared together taxi to the center and went out in the evening in the city of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz has a 1300000 inhabitants and is at just 415 m above the sea level. The clima is very warm right now and there is a loooots of rain. The city is pretty, with a cosy and elegant main Plaza de 24 Septiembre which you can admire sitting in the balcony of... Irish Pub.

Casa de Gobierno

Wednesday, 9. February

Again, lazy morning, lazy breakfast, looking at the pool in my hostel, but too lazy to jump in, lazy day. Time to buy some souvenirs. Time to update my blog. Time to have (again and again) a good supper. It is my last day in Bolivia - tommorow I am leaving to my favourite Buenos Aires, Argentina! ¡Hasta luego!

Mercado Artesanial

I could not stop myself. My last day in Bolivia!