From Polar Bears to Penguins – Driving North to South across the Americas
Posted in Chile on Jan 8th, 2009
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Ascensor Monjas |
Colorful maze – Port on the Pacific – Poets and artists – Yummy seafood
Colorful. Maze. Steep. Food. If we had to pick words to describe Valparaiso, these come readily to the mind. Valparaiso is Chile’s major seaport on the Pacific ocean. With a narrow strip of land and many hills with colorful houses forming a dramatic backdrop, it reminds me a little of San Francisco.
Posted in Peru on Jan 5th, 2009
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Going to Church. |
A strong grip – Malevolent forces – Pishtacos – Bloody Illustrations
Sometimes when I read a book it gets a hold on me and I can’t stop thinking about it. About three weeks ago I read “A Death in the Andes“, by Mario Vargas Llosa, and The themes explored by the Peruvian author have had quite an impact on me. The novel is set in 1980’s Peru, at a time when the Sendero Luminoso or Shining Path was active.
Posted in A Long Drive, South America on Dec 31st, 2008
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Looking back |
Highlights of the year 2008
Happy New Year to everyone! We have been holed up in Rosario sick from flu in the last few days, but with the new year A Long Drive resumes as we make our way towards Valparaiso, Chile.
Posted in Brazil on Dec 21st, 2008
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Serene Christ. For Panorama click here. |
The beat – A party everyday – Razor’s edge.
The beat is loud and thick, it reverberates in my chest. All around us are bodies gyrating, dancing to a drunken singer with a voice made rough and gravelly by cigarette smoke and bad living. The favela hums with excitement and taxis crawl forward through dense million man march crowds at a speed where the needle is glued to zero. They are the spillover from the Samba school because they don’t want to pay to dance or can’t pay to dance and they dance to the music echoing from the Samba school as it mixes with home-made frog amplifiers and decibel drag racer wanna be Volkswagens. Inside the Samba school gravel guy screams over the pulsing crowd bathed with complexion unflattering neon light and lonely neglected Caiprinhas stand diluted with ice cubes. This is Rio where the meter of life is pegged to eleven.
Posted in Brazil on Dec 17th, 2008
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Favela Tour |
City of God – Violence – A paradox – “Middle class” favela – Drugs and guns – A civic challenge. (Map this!)
The very name “Rio de Janeiro” conjures up visions of gun-touting hoodlums, cars running red lights for fear of stopping and a population terrorized by the vast disparity between classes.