Flight Zurich - Sta Cruz via Paris, Sao Paulo and Asuncion with TAM. There are no exaggerated long waiting hours at the transit stations,so it's not too bad.
12.02.05I planned to break the journey in Asuncion, but my baggage was not there, so I went straight back to the transit hall and took the connection flight to Sta Cruz and, surprise, the bag was in Sta Cruz
13.02.05Spent all day in a tennis club in Sta Cruz.
14.02.05Booked the bus trip from Sta Cruz to Asunción for the 17. The 30hr journey cost 50 USD.
Went by bus to Concepción leaving Sta Cruz at 5 pm and arriving in Concepción at 10 pm.
Spent all day in Concepción.
16.02.05Spent all day in Concepción.
17.02.05Back to Sta Cruz in the afternoon and boarded the coach to Asunción at 9pm.
Planned departure time from Sta Cruz is 8pm. The bus leaves one hour late. Most of the passengers are Collas (Bolivians from the highlands) travelling to Ciudad del Este where they buy merchandise; most of it smuggled or fake stuff. The rest of the pax are Menonites, a few Paraguayans and two backpackers, one of them a Peruvian guy and the other am I. The first few hours are passing smoothly. At about 5 am we arrive at Boyuibe. From there a gravel road in quite a good condition leads us to the Bolivian border. 7 am, one hour customs check. All Bolivians have to undergo extensive examinations and fill out tons of forms which are bombarded with stamps. Time for having a coffee for the rest of us and watch the Bolivian army drill in front of us. It is getting warmer. I am starting to sweat. Don't know how the Menonites deal with the heat wearing these medieval clothes. Finally the journey is going on. Inside the bus it is nice and airconditioned. The road is getting bumpier. It's not graveled anymore. It is dry soil with a layer of finest dust on top. Somebody has the great idea to stop the aircon and open the windows because of dust in the bus. So far the journey was bearable, now the situation is changing. Dust in the bus, heat and a bumpy stop and go journey through a never changing landscape; low dense bush. Two hours later we reach the Paraguayan check-point where there is a quick passport and passenger list check. A few dogs roam around, one with only three legs. These must be the notorious drug dogs. After the check, once again, bumpy road, dust, heat, sweat. Dead straight, dead straight, dead straight through bushland. No soul anywhere. What was the goal of the Chaco war? Hours and hours pass by. Finally we arrive in Mariscal Estigarribia. It's 6 pm. Paved road, what a luxury. A few minutes later we stop in front of a building. Lots of military people around. A Dobermann in a cage. We have to unload all our luggage and put it in a line. Everybody stands behind his bags. The dog runs out of the cage and sniffs around the luggage like mad. But there's nothing to be found. After that, everybody has to show his belongings. Nearly every item is being checked. All this takes about 2hrs and a half. Finally we continue our journey. But there's another stop at the other end of the town. Passport check and entry stamps. Bolivians have to undergo a similar procedure as on the other side of the border early this morning. Finally at 10 pm the journey goes on. The worst is, we are about half way through. But the road is paved, straight and there is no traffic. Anyway, it is getting unconfortable. I start counting the minutes. There's a lot of police checks on the way. They are all keen on checking our bus which seems to be cram full with cocaine. Finally at about 4am we arrive at the bus terminal of Asunción.
All day on the bus
19.02.05Took a cab from the bus station to the city center after a short walk around the blocks near the bus terminal where there was no hotel around. Stayed in Htl. Sagaró for 13 USD a night. The place was quite in the city centre where Presidente Franco meets 15 de Agosto and was fairly ok. Spent the day walking around in the center. There was the Government Palace, the cathedral, Panteón de los Heroes and that was about it. There was a strip of shanty town along the riverfront. So it was not advisable to go down to the banks of river Paraguay which wasn't that impressive as I imagined. Neither was Asunción. Most probably it was the heat. 47 degree celsius at 4 pm. People spend their spare time in shopping malls. That's where I had my dinner. Finishing the day off with a few beers in Britannia Pub which was a lively place not far away from the city center. Took the cab back to the hotel as the night workers standing around all everywhere didn't give me that sort of safety feeling.
20.02.05Went to the bus station in the morning and bought a ticket to Montevideo for about 50 USD. I could convince the vendor to bord the bus at Encarnación even though the coach was supposed to run non stop. The journey from Asunción to Encarnación took about 6 hours. The bus stoped at nearly every angle. For me it was pleasant. I got to know some friendly Paraguayans, me the only tourist on the bus and one of a few in the country.
Spent the following two nights in Hotel Viena which was a cheapie. The room in fact was too sticky and I was the only guest.
Visited Jesuit ruins Trinidad and Jesus which are both recognized as UNESCO world heritage sites. There are no organized excursions, so just go to the bus station and ask somebody which bus to take. The bus trip takes about half an hour to the junction for Trinidad. Ask the ticket guy where to get off the bus. The ruins are about 500 meters away from the road. Trinidad is a huge field of ruins. You wander around for about an hour or so and there's nobody else around. I even woke up an owl.
Jesus is about 12 km away from the main road, so you either have to take a bus or a cab. I took a taxi. It was probably the worst vehicle I've ever ridden. The driver had to push the car first in order to start its engine. The ruins are smaller, but the walls of the main ruin are higher than the ones in Trinidad. The taxi cost about 5 USD both ways including one hour waiting time at the site.
At the junction I only had to wait a few minutes until a bus passed by.
Back in Encarnación I went to the lower town which is one big street market. People from Argentina come over the Paraná by boat to buy all sort of cheap stuff. There's a lot of electronics goods and faked brands. Most of it incredibly cheap and as probably expected ...low quality. The town ends at the banks of Paraná river which is incredibly wide. At the other side you can see the skyline of Posadas, Argentina.
Spent the morning in the Mercado of Encarnación. I had to catch the bus at the Paraguayan side of the bridge which connects Paraguay with Argentina. The bus was supposed to be there at 5.30 pm and it was there at 5.30 pm. I was glad to escape from the heat and have my double seat in a comfortable half empty airconditioned bus. Brujula was the name of the company. I didn't even care to undergo border checks which took us three hours until we finally entered Argentina. On our trip to Montevideo there were still another two borders to be crossed. There was a short part between Uruguaiana and João Fagundes in Brazil. The hostess collected our passports and identity cards when entering Brazil and handed them back as we left the country. So we were free of any custom checks
23.02.05Arrival at Montevideo in the late morning. I booked a room in hotel Pricipe which was supposed to be in the city center. The taxi driver, who gave me a ride to the hotel, had ancestors from Switzerland, he was surprised that I had a clue where his name, Schwegler originated from. My first impression of the city was positive. It was lively, bright, friendly in contrary to Asunción which was sort of sluggish, unapproachable. And first impressions are always important. The hotel was just fine, situated where Juncal meets 25 de Mayo close to Plaza Independencia with night life next door at Bartolomé Mitre.
I had lunch in the Mercado del Puerto. The place is absolutely fascinating. The market hall, an impressive wrought iron superstructure shelters dozens of parrillas where people sit at the bar and eat 12oz barbecue steaks. So did I. It it was probably the best Entrecôte I ever had. Barkeepers are forward and funny similar to the ones in Spain.
I was planning to stay about two full days in Montevideo, but after walking through the old town, crossing Plaza Independencia with the impressive Palacio Salvo and the somewhat run-down glass building on the opposite side, going all the way up Av 18 de Julio, I was somewhat ready for the beach and decided to depart at the other day.
In the evening I went in one of the music bars close to the hotels. But night-life starts late in these countries (Uruguay and Argentina), so I went to bed after a quick beer.
Went on a short bus trip along the coast-line to Punta del Este after breakfast. Travellers mentioned, Punta del Este was too posh, everything expensive. I found a nice, inexpensive and friendly hotel (Residencial 32) next to the bus station, 5 minutes walk away from either beach. In the afternoon I went to the atlantic beach near the famous giant fingers and had a refreshing swim. A Capoeira Band from Brazil was performing a dance-show on the beach. In the evening tourists stroll along Av. Juan Goriero and have dinner in one of the numerous restaurants. Nightlife does not start before midnight. Between 1 am and 2 am pubs and dance-clubs at the yacht port are packed with people.
25.02.05The first and only rainy day of my trip. Somehow I was glad not to strain again my sunburnt skin. On the other hand a rainy day at the beach is no fun. So I was wandering around the peninsula.
26.02.05Went to Colonia by bus changing it half-way at Montevideo. Colonia is a beautiful old town at the Rio de la Plata, the widest river in the world. In fact it is rather a gulf than a river. Probably due to the soil which is putting the entire bay in a golden-brown color it is still called river. Colonia is situated on the opposite side of Buenos Aires, one hour away by hydrofoil from the capital of Argentina. There's quite a few oldtimer cars parked in the narrow cobbled alleys, always ready for a picture rather than for a drive. The lighthouse is open for tourists. The evening hours are quiet after day tourists have left the town. Hotel Posada del Rio is all right, in the centre and not expensive.
27.02.05Trip by ferry from Colonia to Buenos Aires at 10 am. The cruise took an hour and cost about 40 USD. The centre (Florida, Lavalle) is walking distance from the ferry pier. So I went to find a hotel on foot. The streets were empty at Sunday lunchtime and the hotels fully booked. Nevertheless I found a room in Hotel Uruguay where Taquari meets Av. de Mayo.
I had a fantastic milanesa in a nice little italian style restaurant somewhere in San Telmo. One of the highlights of my trip was the Sunday flea market at Plaza Dorego in San Telmo. I have never seen such a variety of antiques before in my life. Steet musicians in punk outfits were playing Tango. Another performer was dancing with a doll. Somebody was selling antiques to other traders sitting next to me in a street cafe.
La Boca on the other hand was completely touristy. The buildings are painted with bright colours, Tango dancers are running after pictures. The district looks like Disneyland. The two Asian guys who were running after some imaginary thief, shouting like mad and reeking like dog-shit remembered me to be in one of the unsafest cities in South America.
The occurrence with the Asians and later after sunset all the people who were looking for food in the waste-bags should actually have warned me to be more attentive. But the couple who I met in the Kilkeney Pub succeeded in pinching my camera and some cash money. They pretended to be some expats living in the United States and visiting their family. The pill in my drink was too strong for me. So I ended up gaining one more expensive experience. Conclusion is: never have a drink with strangers. Sounds paranoid, does it? Two or three days later I accepted a fruit juice from a group of young guys doing publicity on the streets. I didn't fall asleep and I didn't even get robbed.
All day asleep.
01.03.05The Recoleta cementery is exactly what the guides say, a city in the city. One mausoleum after the other. Some have windows where you can see the coffins inside. And I found the tumb of Evita Perón (Her maiden name was Duarte, that's just a hint.).
Spent some time in the National Museum de Bellas Artes which is recommendable.
The bus trip from Buenos Aires to Mendoza by Cata in the sleeper compartment was probably the highlight of all my bus journeys. A large leather seat which I could put in a nearly horizontal position. Dinner with wine and a whisky afterwards. Plankets and cushion. The 12 hours passed quickly and I had a good sleep. And it cost 35 USD all in all.
My first impression of Mendoza was positive. Friendly people. Almost every street lined up with trees welcoming sources of shade. Hostal Andino where I spent two nights was a bit outside the centre at Aristides Villanueva an extension of the Colón boulevard, very lively at night with dozens of open-air cafés.The staff in the hostel was very friendly, but the only single room was overpriced for what it offered.
I tried to get on a trekking tour in the Aconcagua national park. But there was no travel agent offering something affordable. Fact was, that the season was over and all camps were closed. Mules, tents and food had to be organized individually and there was generally no demand. Result: Mendoza is not a trekker's paradise.
The wine excursion in the afternoon was all right. The wines which were offered, were far off top quality but visitors prefered having a drink and a good meal to buying wine. And in fact the meal was extraordinary. It was in a bodega of a winery. They served olives, smoked ham, different types of saussages, grapes, cheese, chillies and wine of course.
What can you do without a camera? I went river rafting. Once again. After my dive in the Kali Gandaki river in Nepal I swore not to do it again. But Mendoza river was supposed to be tamer than Kali having class 2 rapids only.
The three hour river journey was rough. Everybody flipped out of the raft far more than once. The guide was able turn the tame Mendoza river into a fierce devil. And I ended up with a swollen knee and a damaged rib. Needs to be mentioned, I was the oldest passenger on board. So that was my very last raft.
A vacuum flask with hot water, a wooden bowl, a tip with a filter and a bag with herbs, yerba mate. That's the equipment.
One person is the operator. He fills the bowl with herbs, pours water in the bowl and sticks the tip into the brew. He passes the bowl to a member of the group, who drinks it up in three or four swigs. He passes the cup back to the operater who does a refill for the next one in turn. That's how it works.
The brew is sort of tea. It tastes bitter. It doesn't contain neither alcohol nor drugs but is addictive. Maybe it contains sort of stimulant like coffeine.
Uruguayans, Paraguayans and Argentinans do it. Whenever friends come together for a chat, one of them starts preparing the mate.
The ceremony of yerba mate is probably the most fascinating and exotic habit ot the so called gaucho countries.
Spent a shopping day in Mendoza. The city turned out not to be photogenic at all. There's no churches, no historical buildings, just nothing to be photographed.
The bus trip from Mendoza to Salta was one of the longer journeys. It started at 9 pm and we arrived around 4 pm the other day. I had a front seat on the upper compartment of an Andesmar bus. The night was interesting. It was a Friday night and in every town we passed by people were up, sitting outside, having parties.....
At 4am entire families were up, even little kids. At 5am people were still outside, not only in the bus stations. And at 9 am there was an accident in the middle of nowhere, the driver must have been falling asleep. It was no fun, three people died, one small baby. The driver was completely carbonized. We had to wait an hour and a half until we could pass. Finally we arrived in Salta at about 4pm.
Salta is a very nice city with a handful of interesting churches and other buildings. I stayed at Residencial Elena not far from the main plaza. The street cafés around the plaza are populated until late at night which is quite uncommon nowadays in Southamerican cities. Usually people awoid city centres at night because of crime. Another nightlife spot is Calle Balcarce near train station Belgrano. If you are there before midnight, then it is too early.
Went to the museum of the Cabildo. Most of the other museums were closed. In the afternoon I went up to the Cerro San Bernardo by cable car.
Most of the day I spent organizing my ongoing trip. My plans were to enter Bolivia in La Quiaca and Villazón and travel via Tarija back to Santa Cruz. But the Bolivian population was protesting against governmental decisions regarding natural gas tax fees. Protesting means setting up street blockades. That means nearly all main roads were blocked for days.
Spent all day in Salta.
In the afternoon it turned out that the blockade in Camiri between Yacuiba and Santa Cruz had been removed. So I went to buy a bus ticket to the border town Pocitos for the following morning.
Bus trip to Pocitos. In Pocitos dozens of young guys try to carry your bag to the border. They didn't let me in peace until I handed my bag ouver to one of them. Crossing the border was quick, I payed the guy 2 Pesos, whereas he asked for 10. He was completely upset and I was angry to myself not having fixed the price before.
Yacuiba is a typical Bolivian town, a lot of inigenous people selling all kind of stuff on the streets, street kitchens under tents where you can buy soups, hamburgers and beers. It was hot and I was sweating like hell. So I tried to purchase a ticket on the most comfortable, airconditioned bus. Unfortunately the aircon did not work. The windows could not be opened. So it was completely sticky all night.
We arrived at the outskirts of Santa Cruz at about 4:30 am where the bus started to do detours. It turned out that people blocked most of the junctions in the city. The traffic was caotic already in the early morning hours. Finally we arrived about 2hrs late which was ok for me, as I don't like to wake up people.
10.03.05Spent all day in Sta Cruz
11.03.05Spent all day in Sta Cruz
12.03.05Flight Sta Cruz - Zurich via Asuncion, Sao Paulo and Paris with TAM. Waiting hours are bearable.
13.03.05Arrival in Zurich