Terug in Belgie / de retour en Belgique

This time was the right day. I went for the second time to Ezeiza international airport in Buenos Aires (I knew my way pretty well...), and took the BA flight as foreseen. Unlike two months ago, nothing interesting happened this time (better like this), and we had a pretty smooth journey. Just, as we crossed the channel, some clouds appeared below us. Of course they had to be there. The perfect blue sky does not exist in Belgium. As a friend of mine says, you know you are at home when you are under the cloud.
So, clouds and a little bit of rain welcomed me. How charming ... Now, seriously, although I could gladly continue travelling for quite a while, on the other hand I missed having my own space, my own place, my own bed ... It's great to be back home. I guess I'm not a gipsy, and I need some how to remain in the same place for a while.
But, not so nice. I had to do some things I hadn't done for quite a while: go to the supermarket (oops, 'tis expensive here), do my own laundry, prepare my own dinner, pay a pile of bills, find a parking space, clean, iron (well, to be honest I haven't started with that one yet, but it's waiting)... You see, it's also hard having a home and trying to live in a more or less normal way. In South America you would pay somebody to do everything for you. As I discussed some time ago, manpower is cheap there. But after all, even if I have to work a bit more, I think I prefer our system in Europe. There are less social differences, and overall, the majority of the people live much much better. That's why so many of them want to come here, to a better world. I was talking to a shop assistant last Monday. He said that as an engineer I could find a job in Buenos Aires .... as taxi driver. Not very encouraging, is it? Wouldn't you try to emigrate if you were an Argentinean engineer? And what if you hadn't finished your secondary school? I really feel sorry for many people I saw. Some live in great places, but lack so many of the basics we have ... The last character that I saw trying to survive in a (for us) unusual way was a writer, selling poems from cafe to cafe. What do you tell your children your profession is? Others live really well, because if you have money, South America is full of amazing places. But social differences exist, and will continue to exist for a long long time.
Anyway, perhaps this is not the right place or time for reflections. I was just trying to close here the stories of my trip. As I presume you all have guessed, I really enjoyed my time, and had a very beautiful and enriching experience. I definitely recommend to those of you who can do something like this to go ahead with it (Sixto, have you started packing already?). I'm very sure you will enjoy it as much as I did. And it doesn't matter if you cannot find travel companions. You'll get some on the way. A lot of people travel alone, also women, and from what I saw, very few had bad experiences of any kind. Just, be careful with travelling. Some say it is addictive...
So, this time I will conclude for good. Thank you once again for reading and sending e-mails, comments, ... I look forward to showing you my pictures and videos and seeing most of you in the coming days.
Till then,
J.

A stupid mistake

You have the right to tease me for this. I actually messed up the dates of the flight. When I started the trip I circled in my calendar the date of today as the day to fly back. And for two months I believed that I had to take the plane on Monday 12th. But as I arrived to the airport this morning I discovered that there were no British Airways flights scheduled for today. Puzzled, I looked to my ticket and discovered that 13th was the D-day. So, 24 more hours in Buenos Aires, and what is worse, unpack and pack once again. I thought I was done with that for a while...

Entre boludos y pelotudos

After missing Rafa in Salta (he stayed in bed in Tucuman with a cold) and visiting some wineries in Cafayate, I flew back to Buenos Aires last Wednesday evening.In my first visit to the city I didn't get a very good impression of it. But that was because didn't have much time to walk around. I'm taking my time now, and I must say I quite like it. I'm visiting some of the barrios, Palermo, Recoleta, San Telmo ... There are some amazing old buildings spread around the city. This must have been an incredible place back in the 1920s. Unfortunately some areas have not been taken care of since then, and others would have better been left alone. Old and new mix here without any logic. Or should I say old, older and oldest, with some newer bits here and there. I cannot decide whether this is a decadent or a lively and modern city, because it's both at the same time. As Fito Paez sings in a song, everything here has been used a houshand times, but that doesn't seem to affect the selfsteem of the porteño, which remains at its highest, where else would it be.
Cafes everywhere, noisy streets, bread with your meals (at last!), confiterías, night life, shoe shops, Telefónica, BBVA, ... this could be Spain or even Paris, but it is not. The city has a spirit of its own.
It also has some mega posh areas. Hermes, Louis Vulton and Cartier have their fans here too (practical knowledge straight from the International Marketing course), and I've just visited a shopping mall only of design shops. Brussels wishes it had such a thing. Unfortunately, as somebody told me, real Argentina lies only a few "cuadras" from all that. The poorest people of the contry live within a radius of 25 km of the city centre. I haven't really met them, but I'm well aware that they are not far.
In the mean time, politicians keep doing what they are best at, blaming others for the country's problems and trying to make up a fairy tale for their voters. From today's newspaper: The president has decided to charge a fine to the main supermarket chains for rising their prices, and Suez (Electrabel), a French multinational in charge of the water distribution in great Buenos Aires has decided to leave the country asap because of the ridiculously low tarifs been set by the government. It seems that Kirchner has found his way to prevent the inflation from rising. An artificial method as the one to one exchange rate with the dollar they know so well here. Will politicians ever come to their senses in this country? I guess it's difficult to resist the temptation when piqueteros are walking around making noise. And my goodness, they are noisy. I saw them today, hitting with hammers any metalic thing they would find in town, trafic and street lights, road signs, water pipes, ... and their noise is being amplified with the coming elections in a few weeks time. Things are getting hot.
So this is Argentina. A fantastic country with endless endemic problems. Forever optimistic, pround about itself, and forever doomed with foreign debt and irresponsible politicians. I think I'll have to come back and spend some more time here. Buenos Aires is nice, but I want to visit more of the country side. I keep seeing pictures from Patagonia, and they are so amazing... I'm tempted with changing my flight and staying here another month. It's even the right season, as spring is waking up the hibernating life ... Anyway, I've made up my mind already. I'll go back to Europe, find a job, work for a while, and then take another break some time...
I think this will be my last post from this side of the globe. Unless I am bored, something very interesting happens, or I miss my flight, I will be writting again next Tuesday from Brussels. Count on a photo reviewing session next weekend in Belgium (perhaps even two, Leuven and Brussels), and an addional one in Pontevedra the following weekend. Let me know who is interested, so that I can sort it out. And by the way, I need some software to edit and put together all the small pieces of video I've recorded so far. Somebody can suggest me something I can download for that?
So, see you all soon, and thank you very much for reading, sending your comments, e-mails,..... I did appreciate them all.

And Argentina again ...

In the last post I mentioned a trip in 4WD and very pretty landscapes. I'm afraid you will have to wait for the pictures, as it is difficult to describe all the variety. The excursion ended in Tupiza, from where I took again the train down to the Argentinian border, and then a bus to Salta.
I traveled down here with the same people I did the Salar trip, as we all seemed to go in the same direction. A nice bunch of people, although we are separating from here on. Nicolas -French- said as we entered Jujuy: it's like being back in Europe. Bear in mind that Jujuy is the capital of the poorest province here, that Argentinian standards are well below European, and you will get an idea of how Bolivia was like. Anyway, it is nice being in Salta and I was glad to leave the Altiplano. Oxygen was not a problem, as my body got used to heights long ago. Just my skin and lips were so dry, and nights were so cold....
Salta is only at 1,200 masl (I come from well above 4,000), temperature is mild, both night and day, and there are some nice streets and plazas to walk around. As in Buenos Aires, plenty of cafes to sit and have a drink, although people look more laid back here. This is only a provincial capital after all. The surroundings are also supposed to be very pretty, but unfortunately I won't have time to explore them. I'll just take the teleférico to a nearby mountain.
All in all, Salta is a very pleasent place to spend some time. If you remember from one of my first posts, my grandfather lived here for 5 years. I don't know how he ended up in Salta, but it seems to me like a good choice. Salta "la linda" (=the beautiful) is called by the locals, and I must say is true. There is of course some poverty around, and the unavoidable collection of old Peugeots and Renaults, but I wouldn't mind spending here some more time. Unfortunately I'm flying to Buenos Aires tomorrow, from where I'll be taking a new plane to Belgium next week. I gues my holidays are almost over, and I'll have to get a job soon not to make some of you worry. It's unbelievable that I am told to work by a funcionario (civil servant). How many hours did you say you work a week, curmán? I'm sure I'll be soon beating that by far, and then we'll talk ...

Unexpected travel companion

(written last Wednesday)

I found out that I'd been carrying a passenger with me without knowing. It was a pretty annoying one called Plasmodium. It seems that a mosquito bited me in the jungle and left me with that present.
From my last post you may remember that I mentioned having a cold and a funny stomach. Well, actually things complicated a little bit, as I started to be extremely tired and my body temperature to rise. Some aspirines did for a few hours but then I understood that it had to be something else. I checked the brochures I got from the Department of Foreign Medicine in Belgium and they confirmed my fears. It looked like malaria. I had to act fast. I was in the middle of a long trip crossing Bolivia, and it would have been too complicated to get off the train and look for a doctor. So, I took my malaria pills, and followed the instructions for first aid and self treatment. Actually I had enough pills because I had contiously asked my doctor to give me more than I needed for the prevention treatment. My reasoning was that I didn't want to be stuck anywhere without enough medication for malaria. It turned out to be good insight. The treatment consists of three takes separated a few hours, so the whole thing takes a while. For a long time I didn't see any improvement, and in fact when I arrived to my destination I could barely carry my backpack and walk at the same time. Thankfully I had arranged with a tourstic agency to come and pick me up to the station, so they helped me with the luggage. Then we tried to find a doctor, which they warned me would be difficult that late (22.30). We visited two hospitals and one small clinic, and either there were just nurses, or they simply wouldn't open the door. Resigned, they took me to the hotel, and I went to my bed. It was around midnight when I suddently realized that I had no fever anymore, and I was finally feeling at ease. I don't know if it was an answer to my prayers or the pills that finally took effect. Probably both, but at that moment I realized I was cured. As prescribed I still completed the treatment with a last take at 2.30 am, and then slept for several hours. In the morning I was feeling quite alright. Just a little bit weak, but that was normal I guess. I went back to the hospital, saw a doctor, had a blood test, and they told me the parasite was gone. The doctor that did the analysis said that she repeated the test three times in order to be sure. So I guess I can trust her. The first doctor said I could continue travelling.
(...)
Since the other day, I finally found a computer from where I could write a bit. So, some update. After staying one more night in Uyuni I continued my trip as foreseen. I'll write something more about the Salar tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Concerning my health, I'm doing fine. No more problems so far. I'm crossing tomorrow the border to Argentina.