Trip to South America / Desert, Chaco, Pampa, Mountains and Glaciers through the Andes cordillera and Patagonia / by Ton van Zutphen.

December 2023 – February 2024. Round trip Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, Chile. Main stopovers included: Santiago de Chile, San Pedro de Atacama, Uyuni, Sucre, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Asuncion, Filadelfia, Puerto de Iguazu, Buenos Aires, San Carlos de Bariloche, El Chalten, El Calafate, Puerto Natales, Santiago de Chile / by Biya Han and Anton van Zutphen

Biya flew into Santiago de Chile from Seoul via New York, and I traveled from Amsterdam via Madrid. We more or less arrived at the same time morning of 20th December; perfectly coordinated! Then we took the ‘blue line’ airport bus to ‘Los Heroes’ metro station and walked, backpacks shouldered, to our B&B. 

A few comments on traveling through this vast region: the buses are luxurious by any known standard to me: spacious, aircon, and often with full reclining and wide seats ‘full-cama’. Not always cheap but worthwhile. 

We had three trips of more than 20 hours; the longest from Bariloche to El Chalten in Argentina, driving 28 hours with a quasi-permanent view of the Andes; though we did a lot of resting, looking and sleeping. No sweat! Then we took two flights: from Santiago to Calama and from Puerto Natales back to Santiago in Chile….with a company called SKY. Interestingly the cost of the one luggage item we checked in was much  higher, almost double, than the price of my flight. Will we ever understand how airlines justify such anomalies? Then last but not least, if one travels overland into Chile, one has to use a QR code/app and fill out a form on a smartphone and send it to immigration dept. What if one does not have a phone? All very customer-unfriendly new regulations. 

Anyway, what I did not know as a European is that many countries visited on this trip have waged wars against each other and still bear the scars of these in their (unfriendly governmental) relationships…haha Chileans do not like Bolivians nor Argentinians; Brazilians and Argentinians do not like each other (certainly not when one talks about soccer), and nobody seems to appreciate the Bolivians. We talked to a lot of Paraguayans but none of them ever traveled to neighboring Bolivia.

The picture above at the Bolivian General Consulate in Santiago was taken by a staff member who courteously let us in and explained that there were no 'scellos'/ stamps available to issue a visa. These two neighbors do not until now maintain relations at Ambassador level.

Essential wars that led to borders that are now kind of definite include:

1. The Pacific War (1879-1884) between Bolivia and Peru on one side and Chile on the other. Bolivia started the war over a tax issue for Chilean mining companies and was supported by Peru. But in the end, Chile won and took large swaths of Peruvian and Bolivian territory…cutting off Bolivia’s direct access to the sea. This very bloody war, fought in part in the hostile Atacama desert (now 150 years ago on horseback and mules as pack animals!) remains still in the memory of the people living in Northern Chile (many of them of Bolivian origin).

2. The Chaco war (1932-1935) between Bolivia and Paraguay; also started by Bolivia that wanted a piece of a potentially oil-rich region in the North West of Paraguay and finally access to the Atlantic Ocean by river. Again in the end Paraguay, against all odds, won this ‘war of thirst’ in the harsh and dry Chaco region. The Bolivian army advanced as far as the town of Filadelfia where the Mennonites just before had settled from Canada and Russia. 

3. Argentina and Chile had many disputes over their Andes border in Patagonia and nearly went to war in 1978 over the ‘Beagle Canal’. Then Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982 and got a serious drubbing from Lady Thatcher. Nevertheless in the constitution of Argentina these Islas Malvinas are firmly enshrined as part of the country (although the British established themselves on the Falkland Islands from 1833). 

The road to independence for all these countries from Spain was a long process taking three centuries during which the Spanish conquistadors and their off-spring decimated the native population. Over the years, slowly a new class of mestizo / mixed race and an educated citizen cohort developed that stood up against the Spanish regime. Hundreds of nationalists, both indigenous and in part with Spanish blood in them fought local wars like Tupac Amaru II, Simon Bolivar, Antonio de Sucre, to name a few of them. And all countries gained independence around 1825, or a bit later in 1852 in the case of Paraguay. Also the vast open spaces invited immigrants from Europe; many of these adventurers and mercenaries immediately after independence, with later more regulated immigration by laborers and farmers mostly from Europe (foremost Italians, Germans, and Spanish).

Tupac Amaru II; libertador in Bolivia and Peru
(1742-1781, killed by the Spanish)

Simon Bolivar, general and libertador from Venezuela
(1783-1830)

Antonio Jose de Sucre
First President of Bolivia from 1826 to 1828

No wonder that disputes between countries remained active for more than 100 years with some serious wars. In 1936 the famous and effective US President FD Roosevelt traveled by steamer to Brazil and Argentina, and in Buenos Aires he signed an ‘Inter-American’ document during a peace-conference that stipulated that from now on all over the Americas a pact of non-intervention was to be adhered to. It meant that any third country would not intervene when two countries went to war……including the USA. It was indeed a visionary document. And this, only one year after the Chaco war had ended and the Argentinian diplomat/mediator Carlos Saveedra Lamas was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution to this peace in 1936. And indeed as far as I know wars between two American countries have not been openly/officially supported by the military of a third country. Slightly different but the USA did come close to waging wars on South American regimes openly such as with….Noriega in Panama, Castro in Cuba, Allende in Chile, Ortega in Nicaragua, others? Then, the US administration has never admitted its official role for example in the case of the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba (1961) or the overthrow of elected President Allende in Chile (1973).

Enough history; now travel highlights such as

The Atacama desert in Northern Chile with a visit to the Valley of the Moon and a bike ride to the Laguna Cejar. This desert resembles the Algerian desert with its hills and rocky mountain peaks. Extremely dry with areas not having a drop of rain in a year. Touristic, yes, with young travelers from around the globe. San Pedro de Atacama is kind of a hippie place with many shops selling locally made and ‘quasi native’ knick-knacks. Small restaurants, many hostals and competing travel agencies. And with a nice atmosphere.  Our Christmas service was in the cozy village church but there were surprisingly few attendees. In addition the priest celebrated the mass as if it was just a normal weekday morning mass. Biya and I utterly failed to understand this. Then we did notice that churches in Chile were not particulalrly inviting...doors locked during the day, not well maintained, some kind of a near desolate atmosphere around them; certainly around the cathedral in Santiago.

Nativity scene with lamas in San Pedro church

San Pedro gets its water supply from far away Andes mountains and it remains scarce. A hot hot place around Christmas. We dared rent a bike and plowed through the gravel, a 20 plus kilometers stretch to Lake Cejar. And dipped into the salty water just like in the Dead Sea. Then a shower prepared us for the 20 km back.  Hot, dusty, difficult and tiresome riding on the washboard gravel road. We did it and Biya surprised me with her riding skills. I was a bit scared of getting a flat tire as we would not have been able to repair it. In that case hitchhiking would have been the only option. For me it was a good exercise because the bus rides really make your body stiff as a plank.  Most bike riders only went one way and took a pick-up taxi back and loaded their bikes onto it. Back at the bike shop we both felt that such activities create comradeship and are the secret of a successful day!

Biya on the dusty gravel road at 40 degrees C / Atacama desert

After waiting overnight outside of the bus station in the company of many friendly street dogs, we caught the bus from San Pedro to Uyuni in Bolivia. Biya had to fork out 130 USD cash for her visa at the border. The Bolivians appear to have split up the world into those who support socialist countries and freedom movements, and those who do not. South Koreans and US citizens pay high visa costs and for Dutch the entry is (still) free. Impossible to get a visa in Korea or even at the Bolivian General Consulate in Santiago. Reason was that they had no stamps! The border crossing is in a God forsaken place along the railway line that takes out the silver ore and other minerals from the Potosi/Uyuni area to Antofagasta on the Chilean coast about 1.000 kilometers away…..grrhhhr, to think about the railroad men who built this track through the desert 150 years ago. In Uyuni we visited the famous locomotive cemetery as it was cheaper to import a new locomotive all the way from England/France than the repair costs so far away in the desert. 

The salt flats around Uyuni should be on your bucket list. We took an organized day trip and zoomed in a wide bodied, new (and expensive) Nissan Patrol V6 four wheel drive across these flats at high speed and with much comfort. Lunch and a wine apero were provided by the driver/photographer Mariscal and we spent an hour walking in the extraordinary oasis ‘Isla de Incahuasi’ amidst giant, meters high, cactus. What an experience! 

Having fun during the raid

Finally I had Biya in the palm of my hand

These salt flats cover an area as large as the Netherlands. Hundreds of tourists participate in these raids, every day. And all that for just 30 bucks per person/day. I do not understand the business model here. I estimate we drove some 250 kilometers that day, six tourists, …how can they make money? Bolivians working with foreigners complain a lot about their socialist government and about the manner in which they let foreigners pay for their stay in-country. But for a pensionado/jubilado like me Bolivia is bottom cheap; with top nice people. Perhaps some ‘coca’ related money seeps into the tourist industry here. I saw small farm coca plantations all along the road from Uyuni, to Potosi, to Sucre. And was offered some on the bus; I chewed on it, it tasted not bad. A bit bitter and I understand that a good chew shall get you soon in a wonderful modus of blissful happiness. Later on in Paraguay (be careful at the border town of Mariscal Estigarribia, named after the famous general from the Chaco war) our bus was routinely checked on ‘coca/cocaine’ by sniffer dogs. What in Bolivia is openly accepted will get you many years in prison in Paraguay! 

Bolivia in 1988 legalised coca cultivation under certain conditions
but cultivation is now quasi nation-wide and over 50% of the production
escapes government control

Bolivia has a lot of charm and the towns we stayed in like Sucre and Santa Cruz de la Sierra gave us this nice ‘colonial’ atmosphere like many towns in Mexico with a central Plaza de Armas. 

We trucked on, crossed the endless Chaco in Paraguay, drove into Asuncion and were welcomed by Monica Kneup-Villa Alba, the online Spanish teacher that Biya twice weekly skypes with. We had planned to do 10 lessons to improve our Spanish with Monica and were invited to stay in the cozy villa of her darling  mother Esther who is a former music professor with her dog Callomera. 

'We love Asuncion' on the boulevard of the Paraguay river
Esther and Biya

The whole family looked very well after us, took us to church and town, to Fernando, her husband and his anniversary party and even to a Burger King resto! How fortunate Biya and I always are! By the way I was upgraded for my Spanish to level B!! Then we met Monica’s friends in the settler’s town of Filadelfia another 550 kilometers westwards in ‘Mennonite country’ in the central Chaco area. The Mennonite family Friedbert and Regina Loewen took us to their farm….a pasture of some 400 hectares with 400 cattle. Wow, there is still land in the Chaco and cattle roam around free without serious predators and sicknesses. Now and then a puma, but no animal related epidemics like we have in Europe with our (labor) intensive animal farming. A picnic overseeing the pastures in the Chaco while the sun goes down, that is what we enjoyed! A pity the Mennonites do not drink beer! Menno Simons (1496-1561), a Catholic priest from Friesland, NL turned into a fervent Protestant and created his own peace-oriented form of Protestantism and he/his followers had to flee all over the world until the end of World War II. Mennonites are serious workers, love the land they till, keep traditions and large families and refuse to bear arms. Many of them emigrated to Canada and the USA and even to Siberia. Under Stalin they were prosecuted and a few hundred of them reached Paraguay from Russia via Harbin, Shanghai, Marseilles, Le Havre and Buenos Aires in the 1930s…then settled in hostile Chaco-land and built up the still German-speaking towns/villages of Filadelfia, Neuburg, Fernheim and Orloff to name a few. I spoke German with them and hope to meet with the Loewen’s family again in Europe. We were offered a family dinner with a focus on grilled buffalo Chaco meat….and potato salad: home cooking and charcoal roasting. Yummy!

from left to right: Biya, Anton, Monica, Esther (daughter and mother)
Friedbert, Regina (husband and wife)

‘Einmalig’: the Iguazu Falls. Possibly the Spanish conquistador Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca (cowhead) stumbled as the first European on these marvelous horseshoe-shaped falls in 1541. He may have thought he had discovered a kind of ‘Eden’. Indeed, these falls are the most beautiful falls I have seen in my life. Colors, gurgling water masses, rocks, the wild vegetation: fascinating that nature can be so overwhelming. You can visit the falls from three countries: Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. Dead easy, just ride a bus, pay some entrance fee into the national parks and walk around for hours getting as close to the falls as 50 meters. A ‘Mecca’ for photographers as one can take pictures from all angles and from tens of specially built ‘miradors’. I reckon the Argentine side offers more variety. There is a serious  risk of bad weather, so bring a raincoat. Biya and I wandered for some eight hours over two days along the routes bordering these falls. And never got tired of admiring this wonder!

Iguazu Falls, Brazilian side

Here is a list of arguably the 7 most beautiful/impressive water falls in the world:

1. Plitvice Falls in Croatia / visited in 2023

2 Niagara Falls in USA/Canada / visited in 2005

3. Iguazu Falls in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay / visited in 2024

4. Dudhsagar Falls in Goa, India

5. Yosemite Falls in USA

6. Gullfoss in Iceland

7. Victoria Falls in Zambia, Zimbabwe / visited in 1976

We arrived in Buenos Aires after a long bus ride from Puerto Iguazu. And settled in a small apartment, in the center of town. I immediately felt comfortable in this city. Looks very European, lots of small shops and restaurants, hustling and bustling, and plenty of monuments and sights to see. And steaks for a nickel and a dime! Plus nice people. Definitely the place to visit as nr. 1 capital on this trip. So what did we do for four days in Buenos Aires apart from eating large quantities of beef in a restaurant called ‘Parrilla Lo de Tuca’? 

Everything Anton likes is on the menu!

Here are some of the sights not to miss:

Cemetery la Recoleta, Plaza de Mayo, Florida street / hawkers-hustlers-money changers, Museum Bellas Artes, mass at Iglesia del Pinar, Catedral Metropolitana (where Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio celebrated before becoming the Pope), the Museum General next to the Casa Rosada (interestingly without information about the period of the Dictators Galtieri and Videla!), a walk along the boulevard bordering the swamp-like Rio de la Plata, and sipping good beers like Quilmes and Schneider!

A Buenos Aires hair cut done professionally for 3 US dollars

Here is a list of famous Argentinians:

Carlos Saveedra Lamas      / Diplomat, Nobel Peace Prize 1936

Juan Manual Fangio           / 5 times World Champion formula 1 car racer in the 1950ies  

Jorge Luis Borges              / Poet, writer (1899-1986)

Juan Peron                         / President (1946-55 and 1973-74)

Eva Peron Duarte (Evita)   / Wife of Juan Peron; died of cancer in 1952 age 39   

Che Guevarra                    / Professional Revolutionary; killed in Bolivia by the police in 1967 

Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi / soccer players and national heroes for ALL Argentinians

Francisco                           / Current Roman Catholic Pope

Messi #10, Biya #1
I guess 1 million Argentinians walk around even today in this Messi-shirt.
Hit the ball girl!

Juan Peron was an exceptionally talented populist leader who could not get Argentina out of the economic morass in the 1950ies. He developed into a Dictator and ‘lover of young girls’ later in his life. His 2nd wife was Eva Duarte, a nightclub dancer whom he fell in love with. She won the hearts of the masses because of her empathy and work for the poor.

Juan-Eva official portrait. And Eva's grave memorial at La Recoleta cemetary which is the most visited one; still people crying at her grave when we were there.

Juan Peron himself was notorious for protecting and employing Nazis that sought refuge in Argentina after World War II.

The Dutch soccer team had two most serious encounters with ‘archrival’ Argentina: in 1978 the Dutch lost the final against  host Argentina in Buenos Aires; we should have won…but could we have won against 80.000 shrieking Argentinian fans? And in 2023 we lost the semi-finals against Argentina after a penalty shoot-out.

I have always been interested in German history and read many books about the World Wars it started and fought, including the horrible holocaust it caused. Until today some Paraguayans believe that Adolf Hitler escaped and was sighted in a hotel close to the railway station in Asuncion. Then as of late 1945, he disappeared to never be seen again. Too weird a story to believe. Then it is true that hundreds of Nazi officers, many of them members of the SS and Gestapo escaped via Italy to Buenos Aires and found some sort of organized welcome in Argentina and Paraguay. Presidents Peron and Stroessner actually enlisted some of them as advisors…all of this was known to the Allies and Israel.  Incredible that Nazis like Mengele, Eichmann, Priebke, Kutschmann, and the Croatian ‘Ustase’ leader Pavelic were not extradited. Mengele finally died in a swimming accident in Brazil and Eichmann (who worked for Volkswagen in a factory in B. Aires!) was kidnapped by the Mossad out of Buenos Aires and hanged for war crimes in the Ayalon prison, Ramla, Israel. Only when Carlos Menem became President of Argentina in 1989, Nazis like Priebke were extradited to Germany or Italy. Priebke lived under his own name for over 40 years in the pretty town of ‘Bavarian/Swiss-like’ Bariloche.

Anyway this kind of chapter can be definitely closed! The war is now nearly 80 years behind us and I reckon none of these infamous characters are still alive.

We spent a few days in San Carlos de Bariloche, a bigger town than I had expected. We needed a good rest before moving to El Chalten another 600 plus kms further South. There is a famous hotel at the end of bus line 20 called Llao Llao and from there several hiking paths start. We just had an expensive cup of coffee (Vienna style with a glass of water and small sized chocolates), and enjoyed the view over the lake. 

A long bus ride took us to El Chalten where we hit the first bad weather…cold rain  and heavy winds. Lots of tourists come here to walk the FitzRoy trail but for us the weather was too bad. The hostal manager of Complejo Don Joel advised us definitely not to go because of the adverse weather circumstances that had turned the paths into muddy and slippery trails. We walked just to the close-by falls and the next day Biya went up a bit further and spent a day in the rain walking whilst I read an old science fiction classic ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’ by Robert Heinlein. We stayed in a dormitory of four and Biya cooked her first ever chorizo steak. Nice with some good red Malbec! I think the dormitory wasn’t that clean because the following days Biya got skin rash all over her body from bites we could hardly locate. She suffered from itching day and night. Fortunately, it was over after a week. It is always Biya that gets bitten, never me. Anyway, ‘dorms’ are the usual place where mites, fleas, lice and other bugs do well! 

Our final destination in Argentina, a country we had started to like more and more, was the town of El Calafate close to glacier ‘Perito Moreno’ and its lake. We walked and even took a boat that brought us as close as 40 meters to the blue ice wall of this glacier. Impressive and stunningly beautiful. Now and then a couple of tons of ice broke off and created some waves; it being summer and warm in Argentina this was a normal sight.

End of glacier Perito Moreno;beginning of the lake/river

We had checked into an apartment that had a surface of more than 130 square meters with two large bedrooms, an open kitchen/bar and enough space to invite a football team. I had found an excellent butcher and knew what kind of part of the cow was best: either chorizo or quadril. We had not known it was that large a lodging and immediately thought of inviting ‘Heymook Sunim’, a Korean lady monk we had run into at the bus station. She, Heymook (65 years young and surprisingly well preserved!) had recognized Biya and they had engaged already in a long conversation. These situations occur regularly and I am ok with such. I just back down and let the waterfall of words go on for a while. Heymook understands some English and I found out that she entered the monastery when she was 20 and spent more than 40 years meditating/working. I called her a ‘zen-monk’ as she behaved so cool and balanced. No wonder of course when you are used to getting up at 3am every morning then pray/meditate 8 hours during the day, work another 6 and study the rest of the remaining time. For 40 years. She walked like a young lady and acted very sure of herself….not speaking any Spanish and having little money. She just radiated confidence and humility. Wow! I had cooked a lot of meat (by order of Biya who by now devoured the Argentine beef!) and we shared a bottle of red…it was only the second time in her life Heymook drank alcohol. Then I filled up her glass at least three times and it seemed to have no effect on her. She also enjoyed the meat and ate all that was served. She appreciated this once-in-a-lifetime privilege to leave the monastery to see the outside world and its crisp and unspoiled nature. Then we had a wonderful photo session; all laughing and acting funny! I hope we can visit her sometime in the future at her monastery in Kuang-ju in Southeast Korea. 

Heymook Sunim and Anton

Then into the bus again and cross into Chile on our way to Puerto Natales. We had booked a one-day trip only to the Torres del Paine park as we were running out of time. I had not planned to stay for over one week in Bolivia nor had we planned a long trip into the Chaco in Paraguay. Now we had to make ends meet and cut short our stay in Southern Patagonia. After all, our total trip was going to be 49 days out and back together, in Seoul. If ever I, or Biya, and preferably together will get another chance to visit Torres del Paine again we shall do the three or four-day walk and stay overnight in the refuges (pre-booking essential!).

Classic picture of Torres del Paine massif in Chile

Then Patagonia must offer many extraordinary sights. It was 30-40 years before ‘discovered’ by the wealthy so-called ‘eco-barons’ like Ted Turner, Luciano Benetton, George Soros who  bought vast tracts of lands and fenced it off (to protect against overgrazing…) True or not. Even the leisure clothing company ‘Patagonia’ did many years ago acquire an area as large as Switzerland and was later accused of moving people out of its new property. Then handed it over to the Argentine government which turned it into a new national park with an environmentally friendly program. Depending on the location a hectare of Patagonia was as cheap as 10 USD (some 15 years ago). 

From Puerto Natales which has little to offer we flew back to Santiago de Chile. Unfortunately, this capital also has few sights worthwhile for tourists so we spent the last day in colorful and bustling Valparaiso, a town I could live in for a few months. We got caught by a severe forest fire, then the bus driver decided to drive through it. This fire was indeed a biggie. World news. We were surprised that the fire departments did not close off the main roads. In the end, nothing happened to us but thousands of homes and shops were destroyed and perhaps as many as 500 people died around Vina del Mar.  We still feel very sorry for the Chileans.

Rich-Poor: the case of Argentina.

Argentina from about 1880 onwards throughout 1940 benefitted from huge and qualified immigration and cheap production costs of its export products mainly meat and grain. It was considered a rich country in 1940 even by European standards. Then…huge borrowing for dubious investments, subsidies, and increasing labor-related costs turned the country into a debt-ridden client of the International Monetary Fund. Near bankruptcy and many tough devaluations caused a poverty increase that can be seen in the streets of Buenos Aires: ramshackle apartments, old cars, many bagmen, beggars and addicts in the streets. We learned what to say to the numerous beggars ‘no tenemos plata’. A sad story that has been ongoing for more than 50 years now. The recently elected President Javier Milei wants a hefty change: fewer subsidies, a change to a stable USD economy and privatization of numerous public budget guzzling state corporations. Example….a (subsidized) metro ticket in Buenos Aires today costs 20 euro cents…in Amsterdam it is about 3 euros (15 times more!). For starters he devalued the peso with 50% around New Year. When we arrived in Argentina a week later we did not notice any serious manifestations. Probably tough on the majority of the working class but hardly to avoid; and that is what many Argentinians may believe now as well. The story goes that if all Argentinians took out their hidden US bucks away from under their mattresses and put these into the system the crisis could be over soon. We shall know more and perhaps better by the end of 2024! Success Milei; he may be an unusual and sometimes crazy politician but maybe that is what is needed now for Argentina! Give it a try! Biya and I changed our ‘blue dollars’ into pesos in the street which is openly done by all foreigners and Argentinians who have access to foreign currencies. So the country turned out to be as cheap as Bolivia with the best meat money can buy in the world. Far better than Zimbabwe or South Africa! 

What did we miss…..Visit Uruguay, Walk up to the FitzRoy track, Peek into the Potosi silver mine in Bolivia, Ushuaia town, the Beagle Canal, Puerto Arenas in Chile, Salta town in Argentina, Tango in Buenos Aires, 

Relevant music:

‘Roosevelt in Trinidad’, a calypso song performed by Attila the Hun in 1937 and covered later by Ry Cooder (1970) and in an extravagant way by Van Dyke Parks (1972). Roosevelt was a calypso fan (a ‘calypsonian’) and visited Trinidad on his return from Argentina in 1936.

‘Don’t cry for me Argentina’, sung by Madonna

Relevant books:

The Motorcycle Diaries/trip through South America by Che Guevarra (1953) with a movie based on the book in 2004 

Pablo Escobar; a biography by Nico Verbeek, in Dutch only (2015)

A Quiet Flame / a  well researched detective novel about Nazis in Argentina in the 1950ies by Philip Kerr (2008)

Relevant movies:

‘Missing’ by Costa Gavras about the overthrow of the Allende regime in Chile (1982)

‘The Mission’ by Roland Joffe about the Jesuit missions in South America (1986)

‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ by George R. Hill about two American bank/train robbers with other outlaws ‘the wild bunch’ (1969). They fled the USA by steamer from New York to Buenos Aires in 1905. And remained for years in the Chubut region of Patagonia in Argentina where they bought a large farm close to Cholila of over 6.000 hectares but continued also  their criminal work. We passed the hotel where they once stayed when they planned to cross into Chile. The hotel 'Parador la Leona'' is on the Ruta 40 which runs from the south of Argentina all the way up to Bolivia.

Possibly Butch and the 'Kid'  were shot in Bolivia but their bodies were never identified. More recently DNA checks have been done on bones in assumed graves around Potosi but all results have remained negative. Increasingly, experts now believe they returned incognito to the USA to live happily ever after….

Hotel Parador la Leona, border Argentina-Chile

‘Evita’ film-musical by Alan Parker about the life of Eva Peron (1996)

‘The Settlers’ by Felipe Galvez-Haberle about the genocide on the Indian population (in particular the Selknam) in Southern Patagonia, Chile (2023)

Museums to be visited:

Sucre: Casa de Libertad offers a beautiful collection of paintings depicting the history that led to the signing of the independence of Bolivia. As a matter of fact Sucre remains the constitutional capital of Bolivia until today.

Filadelfia: the Mennonites community built its own museum in the center of town with artifacts elaborating the identity of this religious community, historical documents and a volunteer who explains it all in detail. Impressive! 

Filadelfia: a few kilometers outside the town we visited the exposition/museum created by the government that focuses on life in the Chaco region, its native people and history.  

Buenos Aires:  Cemetery La Recoleta, which offers a detailed insight into how the rich and famous buried their families. Incredible architecture.

Museum Bellas Artes  offers paintings, many from European masters including Goya, van Gogh, Picasso, Cezanne, all collected during the period Argentina was still wealthy

Museum General offers the history of Argentina but focuses mostly on its leaders and their paraphernalia.

Puerto Natales has a beautiful intimate museum that is managed by a local association; it tells the history of the settlers from Europe and the sad disappearance of the local Indian cultures.

Animals spotted on the road were fox, hummingbird, nandu (ostrich), lama, vicuna, owl, vulture, rose flamingo, green parakeet, plenty of predators like falcon/hawk but we saw no condor.

PS. Biya and I were together for 49 days; practically each day 24 hours. This went very well. Haha and true to the bone, we did have arguments that we realize are part of our character and culture and way of doing things like planning. Biya wants detailed planning including the seating in the bus (a window seat in bus and restaurant please, a room with a view). I am more easy going. Things will not fall apart once the general picture is clear. Then I am very security conscious and she is not…really. Now, writing this blog in Seoul 12th March I realize and acknowledge this/we/us/she and I are a fine couple! 

Baltic states travel in summer 2022 by Anton and Biya

Finally the Baltic States: a summer trip by Anton van Zutphen and Biya Han in 2022. Observations and a personal historic perspective.

The countries Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia had a short period of semi/full independence following World War 1. Then in the run-up to World War 2 these were assimilated again briefly by Germany and later fully by the USSR. This, until 1991  when the USSR under the leadership of President Mikhail Gorbatchev broke up in many independent countries leaving 'Mother Russia' as a shrunken withered old lady with its new President Boris Yeltsin to manage it. 

Right now, with the war in Ukraine and the problems Russia has at its borders with Moldova and Georgia, the impact can still be felt and is worrying many Europeans seriously.

Another border Westwards, which offers an interesting example of an 'En-Clave area' is Kaliningrad (Koenigsberg in German) a port-area that remains ice-free in winter on the coasts of Lithuania/Poland which officially belongs to Russia. One million people, mostly Russians live here and the area is connected with Russia (through Lithuania) by a railway which ferries goods and people from and to Russia. I looked out very carefully for this special railway when travelling through Lithuania but never saw it. Obviously it is shielded from views from the general public and protected by security forces in a discrete manner.

I had never been to this part of the world but read about it when I was at secondary school. My father had stamps from the Free Trade Zone of Danzig in his collection and as a boy of six I looked up in the Dutch 'Bos atlas' where this 'country' was situated.

Unfortunately Kaliningrad was now out of the question for Biya and me to visit. So we decided to start at the famous Hansa-Stadt harbour of Gdansk, or Danzig (in German). We flew 23rd July from Eindhoven airport where we had to line up some four hours before departure. All airports in the NL during Corona-time lacked staff (mainly bagage handling, security, handluggage checks); incredible but true. Staff had been let go a year earlier during the full blown Covid epidemic when travel had slowed down, and workers had not been replaced in time. Shame to the NL! In the past my country was known for its efficiency. Forget it. These days we cannot even run our railways properly.

Hansa World / Hansa Stadt / Treaty: an important concept focussing on the sea and river trade between the 13th and end of 16th century. The professional associations of traders and other 'guilds' in over 150 cities/small towns throughout North-Western Europe worked together on free trade, protection of their goods and priviliges for their members. It was a huge semi-liberal trade treaty with towns such as Luebeck, Gdansk, Tallinn, Riga, Bergen in Norway, Bremen, Hamburg, Cologne, Bruges, Antwerp, and Zwolle and Zutphen in the NL amongst others.

Gdansk, historic vessel Hanseatic trade 

YES, indeed the town from which my family must have come originally although I have never been able to justify this. Our traceable family tree goes back only to around 1740...and no mention of the town 'Zutphen', but only of the area around 'Veghel', some 100 kms south of Zutphen town, and 40 kms North of Leende. 

Biya and I enormously enjoyed visiting the trader's houses/offices and warehouses in the Baltic states / Riga is tops! Beautifully painted and enriched with many statues. Inside, all wooden panelling and high, decorated ceilings.

Gdansk mainstreet with Hansa trading houses

This important trade in grain, wood, amber, cloth, to name a few commodities, provided employment and stabilized the whole area along Europe's North-Western coast economically, and such for four centuries. I had not expected that the centre of Gdansk had been kept in style so well (and repaired with E. U. monies). We arrived in the middle of a festival and streets were crowded with people having fun. Good streetfood like big sandwiches with lard,  minced meat topped up with tomato and cornichon. Loved it! In particular with a pint of 'Tyskie Lager'.

Gdansk streetfood / yummy!

Actually the port of Gdansk is smack dab in the middle of town. And the weather: sunny with a soft breeze. Aghhhh, the weather in the summer in the Baltic states with warm winds from continental Russia is something to remember. We did not have any rain; just sun and not too hot. Evenings, all cools down but still pleasant. Swimming in the Baltic sea or better walking and sitting in it was a nice thing to do. And quiet man! Compared with the Dutch and German isles like Texel and Sylt, the Baltic shores are 'empty', and clean, and also with nude beaches and dunes to relax in. Haha, even Biya zipped down and out; and tried out the women's-only nude beach and talked with the ladies there; in Paernu, Estonia.  

Nicely called Ladies' Beach / nudist beach in Paernu, Estonia

As Kaliningrad in Russia was forbidden terrain, we took a slow train through the wetlands of isolated 'Masurenland' to the towns of Olsztyn and Elk in North-Eastern Poland, where we found a nice room, right at the lake. We had by now already agreed that if we like it somewhere, we stay at least two nights; and in the larger cities often three nights. Clearly, moving around like a grasshopper and change hotelbeds every night; NO, that is too fast and factually you won't remember anymore where you actually have been! Thus we travelled all around the Kaliningrad area into Lithuania and ended up in Klaipeda. There used to be a ferry between Gdansk in Poland and Klaipeda in Lithuania but because of the troubles with Russia and the warships going in and out of Kaliningrad it was suspended. 

So we arrived from the East and visited one of the most beautiful sites in Lithuania: the 60 metres high dunes of Nida, a sandy strip on a landtongue some 20 kms long, and preciously kept intact. Ultra-famous German writer Thomas Mann (Nobel Prize winner in 1929 and author of 'Death in Venice'), had his summer cottage on the Nida strip. His works were later, in the 'Third Reich', banned by Hitler.

The famous dunes at Nida, Lithuania

This area is protected by signs (Do not go here or, Forbidden to enter here!) though, when we wandered through the dunes close to the sea, Biya (who else?) decided to stroll a bit too far and I had to call and summon! her back because she was nearly stepping onto Russian territory. Because of the vast sandbanks and dunes the Russians could have had an easy enough shot at her from a mile upshore. We saw the bunkers Russia side, but never a clear border. And I was afraid of mines as well. 

Dune landscape Nida / the green strip is where Russia starts

Anyway, we were the only walkers that came so close; the locals knew better! From Nida there is an old road, submerged during storms, that connects with Kaliningrad and that was in existence for centuries (now closed obviously). The weekly mail-coaches drawn by four if not six horses, from St. Petersburg to Gdansk and onto Hamburg, Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris used to pass through here. That is how the mail went end of 18th century when the elite of St. Petersburg felt part of the high class and nobility of Western Europe. 'Noblesse oblige'. 

Because the Baltic shores seem endless, and well connected, we visited a few pretty beach locations like Palanga in Lithuania, Dubulti on the outskirts of Riga in Latvia, and the best one: Paernu in Estonia. We 'hotelled' twice in Paernu. Why? The weather was gorgeous, the beach idem dito, the town spacious, leafy and quiet. Our 'youth hostel' top of the pops with mouthwatering mussles. This town was the preferred holiday resort for the well to-do Russians from St. Petersburg. And many of these families still own houses / big houses! The beach has a ladies' nude section close to the dunes and men are warned that they approach an unusual location with undressed ladies. And I guess I was the only man that I saw near it. Then I walked by this section through the undeep sea and had my sight firmly onto the Northwest, direction Sweden! Honest to God!

Biya in Paernu, Baltic Sea

Like in Moldova, quite a few established Russians (from the times of the USSR) rent out their properties to tourists. Must be uneasy for the Russians these days. The independent Baltic states regularly 'upgrade' the requirements for all kinds of services and employment. True or not true but Latvia now requires people employed by government to speak, read and write the national Latvian language, the now elderly Russians never learnt. Visas for Russians are now a must. So imagine, your typical rich Russian family has had property for more than 75 years in Paernu; now because the world has changed they may not be allowed to visit it anymore, and there could be a time soon that holders of a Russian passport are not be allowed in at all. I would not be surprised if that happens in the coming two years as confrontation between Russia and NATO states deepens. Russia channels illegal immigrants into Finland, and possibly will start doing this into the Baltic states as well soon. And how do mostly young parents who have a Russian father/mother and a Latvian spouse feel now? This story is just unfolding...

Then how different from Western Europe: no diversity as to how people look. We hardly saw any Africans or Asians at all. Biya ran into some Uzbeks in Palanga beach market who thought she was a sister from their tribe. Certainly in a big country like Poland we did not see 'non Europeans'. Clearly their (illegal) immigrants blockage system works. Then the moment you cross from the Czech Republic into Germany wow...it is migrants all over in the trains and buses. And because we benefitted from the 9 euros one month Covid related cheap transport fee, I  thought during the trainride from Schwandorf to Nuremburg to Aachen that I/me, Anton is the exception in Germany. My looks were in the vast minority!

We travelled at the end of the summer season and met mostly Germans, a few like Joerg and Christiane on their bikes; a handfull of  Americans visiting their ancestor's places and hardly any young travellers. We saw some Israeli tourgroups in Riga, Vilnius and Prague that visited the Jewish ghettos, which are all clearly marked. The Baltic states and Poland housed large populations of Ashkenaze Jews before World War 2. The Vilnius ghetto was the largest and had more than 40.000 Jews packed in large blocks of houses and apartments with their infrastructure of schools, hospital, clinics, synagogues, and shops. When Adolf Eichmann, in charge of Hitler's holocaust programme closed the ghetto in September 1943, zero people were left. Biya and I wandered through it for hours. It is a rabbit warren of narrow streets, surrounded by a few wide avenues. It was easy for the Nazi regime to control these large areas by simply blocking off the streets with guarded walls and barbed wire. When walking through Vilnius, ghetto scenes out of the movie 'The Pianist' by Roman Polanski (2002) automatically popped up in my head. I saw the terrible places around me. Incredible that people were and are capable of doing this. One genocide after the other against ...Armenians some 100 years ago in Turkiya; Krim-Tatars, Ingushetians and Chechens during the Stalin regime as of 1944; and Tutsi's in Rwanda in 1994, amongst others. We met by chance Zydrone the sympathic travel guide-lady in the ghetto; she lived there in a refurbished backstreet apartment. The three of us spoke Spanish and English with each other and she explained how after WW2 the ghetto itself 'survived' for some 40 years before the newly established Lithuanian government started to re-arrange it. But the old hospital the Jews were managing is still there; with bullet holes all over it! 

I grew up during the Cold War with the Iron Curtain firmly closed, and having visited East Berlin quite often I was very disappointed by the looks of that place, compared to West Berlin. And of course, Berlin had been destroyed in 1944-45 and the Russians had no means to rebuild it, whereas the Americans and West Germans pumped billions of Deutschmarks into West Berlin. Then places like Gdansk, Kaunas, Riga, Tallin and Vilnius had kept their old cobbled streets and Hansa houses and 'done them up'. So colourful with the churches in perfect shape and open all the time. The squares neatly arranged with trees around them and old fashioned music kiosks for Sunday afternoon live music. 

What did strike us with the young people especially in Lithuania and Poland was....tatoos galore. And the ugly ones with deadheads, skulls, skeletons, dragons, snakes, naked ladies, abusive and negative language and so on. Men and women. Over lunch in Vilnius we were served by this pretty young lady with some horrible tatoos. Biya was frank and wanted to know 'Please tell me, what do you like about them tatoos', and she responsed sadly 'I was on holidays in Turkiya, got drunk and then had it done'. I sincerely believe that in Poland, one out of every four people between 15 and 50 years has this kind of tatoos.  In the old days; 1960...? only sailors and criminals did this in the Netherlands. Grrr, so 'filthy'. Biya and I fail to understand the message, if there is one at all. 

We had one quite long trip from Vilnius to Warsaw, onto Krakow (colourful!) and onto Prague in the Czech republic. Then entering Poland we got stuck in Bialystok railway station and spent the night on a bench outside. Biya slept nicely, covered with her sleeping bag,  while I spied on the alcoholics that hung around the station and kept an eye on our stuff haha: I did and they did! It was safe but then we were not the only ones sleeping outside; also some young girls by themselves. I guess they were used to it; and also used to the harmless alcoholics. And the railway police walking by every hour found everything in order too.  

Prague, its Castle and bridges and the Moldau river. We stayed in the Continental hotel / 5 stars for the price of 1 star / with a sumptuous breakfast outside, overlooking the Golden Domes of the city; thanks to Biya's booking.com skills. Of course we took a romantic afternoon cruise on the Moldau river. 

Garden of our landlady in Kaunas, Lithuania

OK Anton, you are in the Czech Republic; the time to drink Pilsner Urquell has started now!

Then a day and night in Karlovy Vary with its spa's / healthy mineral water all over town which people kept drinking from faucets/fountains while strolling around with a glass. What a town too: simply beautiful. I had been here in 1974 but forgotten most of it. 'Karlsbad' it was called 100 years ago. The rich, famous and free men and women  during the liberal decadent days between the two World Wars partied overhere in exuberance, fully confident of themselevs. Something like it can be viewed in the cult movie 'Cabaret' (1972), directed by Bob Fosse with Liza Minelli starring. This 'Greek or Roman grandeur' can still  be seen everywhere, reflected in the buildings. 

I had secretly planned it well before starting this Baltic trip: end up in Pilsen, Czech Republic and down a few beers with Biya at the Urquell Pilsner brewery during my birthday 22nd August. And it worked out! We arrived by train and saw the brewery from the station. Here is the place! The foremost brewery in the world where the type of beer called 'Pilsner' was brewed first; and it was here in Bohemia in 1842. And this Pilsner was developed further to a distinctful taste that no other Pilsner in the world can match. Biya, myself and our friend Gerard all agree. We had a two hours explanation tour and went through the cellars and saw the red copper, and iron/metal brewing kettles and tasted beer that had just been finished and tested for quality, and was ready to be rolled out and sold. All the Urquell Pilsner beer, wherever you buy a bottle or a can in the world, comes from this one brewery (only from red copper kettles). And the Gambrinus Pilsner (only from iron/metal kettles).

Urquell Pilsner brewery, a place to remember 

We bought Pilsner glasses and use them regularly: one in Seoul and one in Leende. Just imagine Biya and I sitting outside the brewery savouring Pilsner Urquell freshly brewed and draught, while looking into each other's eyes on a wooden bench and toasting to each other. Mutual love, Cheers and Prost!

Two days in Pilsen and then by train to Aachen in Germany. A very long day and because of the 9 euros deal and the limitation that we could only use regional trains we had to spend the night at Aachen Bahnhof (haha in Wezlar we saw the train leaving just 25 meters away from our noses; we could not make it). Aiaiai/Schade! The French would say 'Merde'.

A night in the railway station and again 'clochards', alcoholics and drugboys around. Quite a few of them. More than 20 I counted. Also other passengers that had missed the last train into the Netherlands or Belgium; two  nice Chilean ladies that loved talking Spanish with Biya.

One of the bagmen we made  happy by offering him a cup of coffee at the crack of dawn. He looked into my eyes possibly hoping for a fag. 'No way mate, I am afraid there are no smokes coming from this man'.

final trainride home from Aachen station / early morning

Then crossing into the Netherlands onto Heerlen by train and to Maarheeze by train and bus nr. 11 to Leende. Home at 11am on August 24. 

Trip finished. Baltic states off the bucket list.  

Thank you Biya dear. It was a most wonderful travel experience. All positive! I felt hunky dory.  Would like going back to Paernu beach, Estonia in the coming five years with YOU!

 By the way...and off our track...we did visit Finland for a day and took the early sunrise ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki. And strolled through rich and modern downtown Helsinki. Because we had left soooo early we slept outside a church for more than an hour on a bench after devouring our packed lunch. With arms close to each other and our stuff. I liked the looks of Helsinki. But no place for me in autumn and winter with its short days. Now, mid-August the days were still long; and we took the 9pm ferry in full daylight back to Tallinn, Estonia. Day well spent! 

Remarkable or not: I only saw one Fiat Polski but still a few Trabants. And of course Lada Niva's all over.

Remarkable:  Biya met one Korean couple who recognised her...I never heard any Dutch spoken at all. 

Remarkable and definitely true: 'Hansa Pilsener' from Dortmund in Germany is THE favourite beer from Germany for Biya. This cheapy student's beer is also a Pilsner @ 4.8% alcohol, light and fresh that I love drinking! In 2023...less than 10 euros a crate of 20 bottles of each half a liter. In 2021 the price used to be less than 9 euros!

NIGER:  Terug in de Tijd naar Zomer 1981: Ton & Cor.

 Ton van Zutphen en Cor van den Hurk, deux bons amis!

Reis met Peugeot 504 (12-RS-64 NL) van Ton ( 29jaar ) en Cor ( 32 jaar )  'tripping' van  Cadier en Keer naar Agadez / SAHARA-SAHEL

Ik werkte als landendirecteur NIGER voor EIRENE/Neuwied am Rhein/DE sinds maart 1979. Mijn eerste grote job in de ontwikkelings business. J'etais le patron. Haha.

EIRENE was en is nog steeds een prima pragmatische ontwikkelingsorganisatie. Motivatie, doelgerichtheid, samenwerking met de armsten en een eenvoudige doch doelmatige aanpak kenschetsen deze 'Friedensdienst". Ik heb in Niger bijna 4 jaar gewerkt en heb toen het Afrikaanse leven in meerdere facetten leren begrijpen. 'Met de sandalen in het zand' i.p.v. met de klompen in de klei.

Mijn standplaats Agadez was toen begin 1979 een stad van ong. 20.000 inwoners en snel uitdijend. Edoch, het traditionele in deze meer dan 1000 jaar oude nederzetting overheerste toen nog.

Mijn beste studievriend Cor uit mijn universiteitsjaren wilde wel een poging wagen om samen een uitdagende reis door de woestijn te maken van NL naar Niger.

Zo gezegd, zo gepland. We vertrokken in juni ''81 vanuit het Centrum Ontwikkeling der Volkeren, het COV (mijn thuisbasis in NL) met een prachtige 2e hands Peugeot 504 GL. Deze auto heb ik vrijwel direct na aankomst in Agadez aan de directeur douane ter plaatse voor een leuk bedrag verzilverd. Handje contantje!

Binnenplaats COV: Agnes, Ton, Gerard, Cor, Frans, Jan v. Uden en dochter Nina

Bijna 4.000 kms te gaan via NL, Belgie, Duitsland, Zwitserland, Italie naar Genua. Met de ferry naar Napels (overnachten met bezoek aan Pompei), en verder met het schip naar Tunis. Daarna rijden door Tunesie (met een bezoek aan het eiland Djerba), en Algerije om na 10 dagen aan te komen in Agadez, 'parel van de Sahel'.

Een oud verkeersbord bij de eerste grote oase stad Ghardaia in Algerije. In de jaren na 1965 werd vanuit Algiers de Route Nationale 1 geasfalteerd tot aan Tamanrasset, dwars door Algerije van Noord tot Zuid: een huzarenstukje. Toen wij deze 'RN1' gebruikten waren er al veel slechte stukken, en weinig onderhoud. 

Nu in 2023 is de weg volledig kapot gereden. Door de grote afstanden en de weinige hulpposten was het zelfs in 1981 niet ongevaarlijk door de Sahara te rijden. Met name de laatste 400 kms van Tamanrasset via de grenspost In Guezzam naar Arlit in Niger waren berucht omdat de weg enkel uit los zand bestond. Om de paar honderd meter wel een 'carcasse de voiture'. 

Kamperen in de vrije natuur Sahara pur sang 

We sliepen in de woestijn en we hadden alles bij ons;  ook een passagier namens Marie uit Frankrijk die haar vriend in Agadez ging bezoeken. Geen enkele lekke band gehad. Motor liep als een  naaimachientje; wel vaak vastgezeten in het rulle zand. Dus rijplaten gebruiken en spitten. 

De moskee in Agadez is wereldberoemd en opgetrokken uit leem (adobe) in 1515. Een baken in de woestijn en zichtbaar van meer dan 10 kms afstand. Cor en Ton zijn ook boven geweest in de minaret, met speciale permissie. De LandRover serie 2 ( no airco) met drie zitplaatsen voorin was het werkpaard van Ton. 

Voor de deur aan de oude kamelenmarkt Agadez

Mijn belangrjkste buurman aan de oude kamelenmarkt in Agadez waar ik huis en bureau had is El Hadj, ongeveer 65 jaar en staande in de deuropening. Zijn notabele vrienden waren op bezoek. Allemaal gekleed in hun dagelijkse Tuareg plunje. El Hadj was in 1952 met en op de kameel van Agadez naar Mekka gelopen/gereden en weer terug. Dat waren nog eens tijden....Agadez, Bilma, Djado, en doorsteken naar Egypte; met de boot de Rode Zee over en bidden in Mekka.

Hij was bijna vijf maanden onderweg geweest. Un vrai pelerin! Ik woonde in het oudste gedeelte van de stad: 'Quartier de l'Anistafidet'.

Idyllisch dorp Aouderas  anno 1981 / AIR gebergte

EIRENE werkte in drie project regios: Tchin Tabisgin, Egandawel en Aouderas. Begonnen eind zestiger jaren in dit aride gebied met het slaan en verbeteren van waterputten voor het vee en de tuinbouw in de oases. Aouderas was bekend omdat de bevolking openstond voor verniewingen en omdat het een prachtig gelegen, oud dorp was in het Air gebergte.

Alle buitenlandse vrijwilligers stonden dichtbij de mensen en medewerkers. Op reis aten we samen en we overnachtten bij hen in de dorpen. Onderstaande foto is gemaakt op de binnenplaats van het projectgebouw annex huis van EIRENE in het dorp Egandawel

Ton, Cor, Mahammadou/chef project Egandawel
zittend: Mohammed jr., Miriama, dochter  van ElHadj Mustapha; en 'Miss' vrouw van Mahammadou

  
Ton met een peuter in het dorp Aouderas. Ook ik werkte in een'aviateur' = hemd zonder mouwen met gaten aan de zijkanten ter ventilatie; een simpele katoenen broek omgegord, en de typisch lederen en roodgeverfde 'Tuareg sandalen'.  

Jongedame Colona uit Aouderas ,  frank en vrij, en behulpzaam. Intelligent en nieuwsgierig en liet zich de kaas niet van het brood eten / oftewel de gierst niet van haar houten bord! Een buitenbeentje en ongehuwd. Positief  en betrouwbaar. Tradioneel gekleed in het zwart.  Drie klassen lagere school maar een bijdehandje van ong. 20 jaar jong.

Ton van Zutphen, 9/12/2023 te Leende, NL

Alle fotos gemaakt door kameraad Cor van den Hurk. Met dank!

Moldova, South Eastern Europe and Balkans: a six weeks summer trip in 2023 by Biya Han and Anton van Zutphen

I have always wanted to go to Moldova, one of the ex-USSR Republics. This is because when I was working in Vienna in the period 2000-2004, and during the major disturbances in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same period, the vision was that a number of other countries were also going to be affected like Turkey and Iran. And possibly even those countries that previously were considered to have remained under the influence of the new Russia, but were in fact discreetly moving toward the norms and values that Europe has adopted. And such primarily through the European Uninon. Moldova was considered the poorest country in terms of monetary income of the whole lot of ex-USSR Republics and therefore vulnerable to conflict and agitation from Russia. Now in 2023 this same vulnerability still exists.

The year before, during the summer of 2022 Biya and I travelled extensively through Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. It was during the early days of the war between Russia and the Ukraine. When we spoke to people, especially the younger ones, we heard that soooo many had one of their parents who were either Ukrainian or Russian. Throughout the 80 plus years of the USSR, inter-ethnic marriage was a norm not an exception. The same can be said of former Yugoslavia in the past century; and of Moldova. This fact alone is leading to huge family conflicts. What struck me in Moldova's capital Chisinau was the impression that a lot of small businesses are owned or in the hands of ethnic Russians, that make up more than 20% of its population. Many Moldovans only speak Russian and no English. And obviously the region which is de facto separated from Moldova is Transnistria: we decided not to visit its capital Tiraspol for the simple reason that one can easily get into a 'misunderstanding' with its people (many of these pro-Russia). An issue over whatever small thing could easily get out of proportion and then what? Westerners like Biya and I are considered to be in line with the current heavily pro-European government in Chisinau. We took no risks. 

For me the question remains: is Moldova part of Europe? I do not think so but as the media and communications from Brussels appear to say again and again: yes, including countries like Georgia and Armenia. The Russian bear definitely shall not like this. No country likes to loose its sphere of influence. Rightly so I would say. I would not be surprised when in the coming two years Mr. Putin will deploy more troops to the borders of Moldova, Georgia and Armenia to instill some sense of reality with fear in the people and their leaders there. 

Anyway we did not really talk politics during the trip. 

We flew into Romania on 8th August from Eindhoven airport; to Suceava, a pretty and small town close to Ukraine. We wanted to just stay for a day or two to plan our trip to Moldova. What a nice place Suceava turned out to be. Rich culture and a heroic past with huge monastries and a castle that speaks for itself. In fact this part of Romania, (Bessarabia, Buckovina and Walachia it was called 150 years ago) had been on the frontier of Christians fighting the advance of the Ottomans. Then Suceava is all walking to show this history: the famous St.John's monastry; the traditional village exposition; the centre of town which offers old and new with a nice park to stroll through. The tradional village that was built shows in detail rural life some 100 plus years ago. Clearly one sees rural Romania 450 kms away from the capital Bucarest with farms and homesteads without electricity, or running water (families and cattle sharing living quarters) and no tarred roads with people moving about with oxcarts and donkeys. 

Then King Stefan cel Mare remains the great hero of this region/also in Moldova. His long life and reign (he died at age 71! in 1504) safeguarded the interests and power of Romania, Moldova and beyond. The many castles he built in this region can count for that! I really can recommend Sucaeva as a hassle free entry into Romania and onward to Moldova via Iasi. Entering Moldova by bus I was truck by the largesse of the houses and gardens. These farmers all have vineyards and late summer they get together and still drink their own wine in the evenings on the porch. And huge plots of I guess about 2.500 square meters around their homesteads. A scene I never forget and which was told to me by my mother when she was reading fairy tales to me when I was 3 or 4 years: I really saw while in a village, riding on the bus, an elderly man herding a pack of geese! For someone like me who appreciates old fashioned scenes Moldova has lots to offer: rolling hills with wooden buildings, villages with paths and no tarred roads, people working their gardens with a hoe, a lot of vintage tractors and harvesters moving about. People in the countryside seem to be at ease. A nice place to cycle without heavy traffic at all. 

Also nice, including all over Romania, and later throughout other countries we crossed like Montenegro, Albania and Croatia: no tourist hassles from vendors or taxidrivers. Biya and I felt comfortable looking around and asking about this and that. Nobody acted like they wanted something out of our deep pockets. Then indeed we hardly saw any tourists in Moldova. There were some visiting the Cricova vineyards and the impressive tunnels where they keep millions of bottles (most of it exported to Russia). And in Orhei Vecci where one can see how the monks used to live in the caves against a beautiful backdrop of fields full of sunflower and maize.

Monastry and fields Orhei Vecci, Moldova

Orhei Vecci was a bit problematic to reach as we did not have a car but once arrived,  this location impresses any visitor: a small entry to crawl through, then reach the cave where monks used to live and where they had created/built a small church. 

Orhei Vecci: church in cave

These monks were real hermits and not allowed to leave whenever they wanted. Their dark 'slots' in which they pray and sleep in the cave ...grrr not for me. I just remember there is now only one monk left...basically to deal with visitors. Selling a lot of memorabilia. We saw the same all over with the Orthodox Churches: priests and monks sell all kinds of bibles, prints, icons to hang in there financially But it appears that being a priest remains a popular vocation. Many of them we met and talked with were youngish, spoke English and had their children studying outside the country in Western Europe. Interesting also, foodwise Moldova reminded me about Southern Russia (Ingushetia): borsjt=beet soup with sour cream; polenta/maize; lots of pork and some rice. They definitely do excellent soups. 

Moldova's capital Chisinau is small and still has houses with large gardens. It's centre very much Russian-styled with square buildings and cheap looking flats 'Plattenbau'(as was the case in Eastern Germany). All in al I did not get the impression that its people are very poor (as we are told). Rural folk mind their own business and grow much of what they eat. Only for high education, transport and modern stuff (like computers)...yeah that requires a lot of money. For me Moldova is a country to go back to: with a bicycle and pedal around in the spring when the land is green and clean and the crispy weather perfect. 

 Saint George Orthodox Church, Constanta, Romania

I had wanted to see the Danube delta with its flora and fauna but timewise this was not possible. So we crossed the border between Moldova and Romania by overnight bus and we stayed a few days in Constanta with its beaches. It is not my kind of environment but interesting to see how socialist hotels have now had a make-over and look quite 'Westernized' with all the shops and eateries. This big city on the sea has a huge port and we had a interesting drive through it. Old buildings, empty docks, quais and rusted ships with stuff lying all over. The E.U. is putting a lot of money into this kind of dysfunctional infrastructure. Now, with the war ongoing across the Black Sea, business has dropped I was told. Constanta keeps its charm with leafy quartiers and sandy beaches although seas were rough when we were there. We actually saw the Romanian airforce doing a mock attack on helicopters (to warn the Russians not to come too close). True, the beachfront in and around Constanta covers miles long of sandy beaches with the Maiama beach as the people's favourite. Fair enough and still busy by the middle of end of August with mostly Romanians. 

We took the train to Bucharest and I enjoyed this slow mode of traveling. When I first traveled through this region in 1974 railways were prime: most travelers started from Vienna to take the Orient Express train into Hungary and further to Belgrade into Yugoslavia. There were only a few direct buses for 'hippies', like the 'Magic Bus' from Amsterdam to Istanbul and as far as Kathmandu; and the special buses for Turkish guestworkers from Istanbul to Cologne and Munich in Germany. Nowadays, it is all about the bus: Flixbus and its subcontracting national companies rule the roast. Special busstations exist on the outskirts of Bucharest, Sofia, Skopje and Zagreb where one can take the long distance buses such as from Skopje in Macedonia to Paris, to St. Petersburg, to Barcelona and even to Odessa in the Ukraine. And do book early because this kind of transport is cheaper and much faster than trains. 

We traveled by train and bus in one go from Constanta to Bucharest and Sofia to Skopje where we met my trusted ex World Vision collegue-logistician Radomir Gerowski. Apart from a few grey hairs the man had not changed: conscious of himself in a nice manner, a no nonsense person, always helpful and with a 'can do' mentality. Biya immediately took to him. 

Radomir/Anton scootering /background statue Alexander the Great

 

He drove us around on his Italian scooter and showed us the two highlights of Skopje: the birthplace/spot of Saint Theresa (Mother Theresa of Calcutta) and the statue of Alexander the Great (who by the way was not born in current Macedonia but in Pella around 350 years B.C. (Pella is in Greece). The Macedonians with professional marketing have been able to convince the world that Alexander is a true son of their country only. 

Radomir, Biya, Anton at Memorial birthplace Saint Theresa in Skopje, Macedonia

It was nice to see Radomir again. A stable man with a caring family and most likely getting back the lands that the Yugoslav socialists took from his grandparents. 'It will make me a rich man' he chuckled! What a joy to see and meet someone back from the times when Isabel Gomes, Julian Srodecki and I worked on a 'winterization prgramme' during the crisis in Tetovo, Macedonia more than 20 years ago. At that time the Albanians tried to get back parts of Macedonia (mostly Muslim dominated areas) by infiltrating the country with armed groups that roughed up the countryside. We as humanitarian actors then developed a programme through which as a minimum one room of a burnt homestead was rebuilt so the family could pass the winter inside it and keep warm. Work well done! 

Radomir told us 'Ohrid is a mess, too many crazy visitors'. Then both Biya and I were fixed on this historic place and we were not disappointed: a clear blue lake one can swim in, a different church to pray in for every day of the year, a room with view on the lake and in walking distance to all the sites, especially the castle and monastry up the hill. It was my birthday and we ran into an elderly photographer/mountaineeer who in the past had worked with  Edmund Hillary in Kathmandu. We talked and he invited us to his cozy cottage. He, Rumen Kamilov thoughtfully offered us cake and a strong cherry-based Schnapps. What a nice surprise on my 72nd birthday 22 August. Actually we met other very nice people; many retired from Belgrade and Skopje who had bought years back a second home by the lake. Haha, yes we went for dinner at the 'Belvedere restaurant', where the waiter with his fat neck (no name of course) charged us one beer too many. When I told him he looked at us as if he did not know. Then he simple said 'ok'. Then I asked to pay with my card. And he said 'the machine is broke'. After paying cash, we waited for the change that never came. Every time he passed our table he pretended not to see us or waved, signalling that he would come asap. No bill and no change; we finally gave up. Yes, a professional 'tourist picker'. Biya was furious and remained so, even after I said 'Leave it to God'. Interestingly when we related the story to our new acquaintances Lenka and Rumen, both mentioned something like 'yes stuff happens', and 'no worries most waitors are ok'. 

In Ohrid and next to our apartment in the old town is a small museum with all the books by Dutch writer A den Doolaard (the wanderer). He lived here between the two World Wars in the past century and his books were part of our literature exams at school. Raw reality and traditional culture of the Balkans is what he described. I read at least five books by him: 'The inn with the horseshoe', 'Marriage of the seven gypsies' and 'The grape pickers' are three of them. Then we went onwards to Struga town, also on the lake and in no way comparable to Ohrid apart from the beach. Biya is an expert on trading 'booking.com'. She has 'Genius status' which gives her financial privileges. She found a place which marketed itself like 'bright apartment overlooking the seafront with private beach, swimming pool and restaurant'. The deal seemed perfect, only when we got there she received a message on her mobile that the municipality had cut off the electricity. And 'sorry I cannot assist you finding another accomodation'. Ha, we found out that the beach, pool and restaurant were about 150 meters away from the apartment across the street and was all public. And his apartment on the 6th floor looked grimy from the outside. Fortunately Biya found another wonderful exclusive apartment with Daniela as our host; cheapo cheapo! Generally out of 10 reservations of accomodation Biya scored 8 of them Tops!

Then onto Tirana, Albania where at the busstation the poor, old, nice but illegal taxi driver ('only euros please') could not find our rented apartment. He must have cruised around in the centre for about 30 minutes to find the Fatmir Haixhu road (who was a most famous Albanian painter!) It was stifling hot with > 40 degrees C. 

Tirana like all other capitals and major cities in the Balkans and South East Europe has changed enormously. Although Albania like Serbia has no interest to become part of the E.U. the signs of liberal capitalism are all over: shopping malls featuring the latest fashions from mainly Italy and Austria, and tall glass buildings for offices our landlord explained that have no real function. 'Making black money white', he said is what is going on; crime with drugs and corruption are all over. We did not see it! I did notice the prettiest ladies in the sub-continent though; nearly as pretty as Biya.

We went to see the National Museum to understand more about Enver Hoxha and his tyranny which lasted from 1944 to 1985. He has been called the 'mad dictator' and 'iron fist of Albania'. And indeed he was ruthless. The museum features a copy of a prison cell in which people were beaten and left to rot and die. Terrible application of what this man and his cronies ideologically stood for. Obviously I am naive but if one reads where Enver stood for he wasn't mad, though he used his iron fist. He was a pure nationalist having fought the Germans/Italians in WW2, then took power as a solid communist but subsequently made enemies with Russia, China and Yugoslavia accusing these countries (rightly so in my opinion) to abuse poor rural Albania with their imperialist motives (all these countries wanted access to the seaports, and buy local produce cheap, which Enver refused). Albania remained poor but came close to self sufficiency. The 'iron fist' modernized the backward agriculture, drove illiteracy out of the country, and installed equal rights for all in a feudal society. Not bad at all! 

BUT, by doing that, he and his spies (inside every family and in the neighbourhoods he had his paid spies) exercised terror like in North Korea and in Guinea in Africa to name similar situations. Only, Albania was inside Europe. We at school, we never understood really. After he and his party's reign finished in the late eighties there was no brake to anything wild and free. And in the museum one can see that it was a wild place from even the Roman period onwards: men on horseback and camels branding swords and old fashioned guns; steep mountain passes, bitterly cold in winter, isolated villages and a top down patriarchal society. You wink to a lady in the old days...the next day the family comes and tells you to marry her; and in case you are no game, you pay a heavy fine or loose an arm. Karl May wrote a beautiful book about this place: 'In the Land of the Skipetars', a book every boy should read. Nevertheless a beautiful country to travel in. Next time I am in Albania top of the list is a visit to the 'House of Leaves' where one can read how the sophisticated system of spying on each other worked in Hoxha's days. I am sorry but I do have a kind of a morbid taste at times to find out the big 'WHY'.

Always onwards from Tirana to Budva in Montenegro with its hot sun and sandy beaches and good food. And then onto Dubrovnik where I realise now, I should have gone to 50 years ago when I was in Yugoslavia. 

Off the walls in Dubrovnik

Indeed a world heritage site with its large city inside thick high walls, next to the Adriatic sea: a pirate's nest and formidable location to defend. I never knew that Dubrovnik was an independent country for some centuries and that its sailors went all over Africa and Europe. But when you visit the place it is easy to comprehend. And all in perfect state. Enjoy! Not to enjoy are the prices overhere in Croatia, in particular since it introduced the euro in January 2023: a cappucino, not below three euros that is for sure! When Biya went to use the restroom inside the walls they wanted to charge her two euros. We had our first rain here after which we took an overnight bus to Split and boarded a liner to the island of Vis for a few days. It was early September but still tourists moving to the isles. A quiet place, more than three hours boating from  the mainland direction Italy;  and interestingly, never occupied by the Germans in WW2. It used to be an island that lived off the finances from the Ministry of Defense and fishing. Nowadays every woman and her dog rents out rooms. We had a nice big room with a seaview and did long strolls along the shores. One may think there is a lot of fish about along the coast. Forget it; yes some, but nothing special like in Korea or in Galicia, North Western Spain. 

From Komiza village on Vis island back to Split and with the Flixbus to the nature reserve "Plivicze Jezeva' where we stayed in 'Villa Lykos' quite comfortably. WOW moments in this nature reserve, colours, waterfalls, nature, beautiful paths to wander on, fresh air. Simply gorgeous. Never to be missed. 

Plivicze waterfalls: unique! Croatia

With Dubrovnik the two absolute hits in Croatia. Further to the capital Zagreb which reminded me of Vienna and by train to Zamardi and overnight at the Balaton Lake in Hungary. Slooooow train going. Then cross the lake to Tihany village, the last 5 kms on foot up the hill toward yet another pretty apartment. We have been fortunate in finding excellent places to stay and I noticed that nearly all of our landladies had earned the money to open a B&B by working in the 'West'. Some, like Maria in Budva, for 20 years plus in Italy. Tihany is the 'princess' with its lavender fields on Lake Balaton. Indeed! Postcard vistas and Biya and I rented a bycicle and see what happened after 40 kms: she was so eager to get home that she overtook me on the last hill before the cycle shop. Would you believe that one? She said 'I knew it was the final hill and I felt inspired with God's strength'. Hallelujah and Amen. 

Biking Biya around Lake Balaton, Hungary

We spent three days in and around Tihany and then by bus to Budapest. There is so much to see and walk about in this city: 1. walk the chain bridge across the Danube 2. visit Fransz Liszt museum 3. wander through the old Jewish quarter 4. stroll in Buda around the Castle/Burg/St. Matthews Church 5. St.Stephan's Basilique and 6. the unforgettable night cruise on the Danube; table for two with a glass of bubbles! PLUS large plates of gulash soup every day! 

Selfie Szechenyi chainbridge Budapest, Hungary 

And then during a long afternoon walk in Buda my Biya became dizzy. And I realised we should/must cut down on long walks. That day we had been walking/talking for about four hours if not longer, skipping proper lunch. On average I guess we walked thoughout our trip some 5 kms each day! And much of it with a backpack. I remember the very long and hot walk from the Cricova winecellars to the main road...some five if not more kms. Really in the future we must tune down such physical toll-taking walks, especially during midday. 

Nightcruise Budapest; Guilded splendor : Parliament

Then and there in Budapest in front of the SPAR supermarket on Erzsebet Avenue we made an agreement: shopping is Anton's business. Let him do it please; he is fast and efficient and does not turn an apple around twice before taking or ditching it. Biya walked into the shop to buy one simple thing....and came out 20 minutes later. 'Lord give me patience, but be quick please'. Anyway we are both glad that shopping is Anton's discipline. In nine out of ten cases he will do just fine or good enough! 

12 September the return flight from Budapest to Eindhoven with Whizz Air. Uneventful and bus waiting for us to ride back to NS station Eindhoven and Leende home-house. We celebrated with French fries from our village cafetaria 'Klumpke' and drank large Hansa beers from Dortmund, Germany. 

A couple of addendums and special comments: 

 Food....ok we did not travel much or stayed often in the rural areas where farmer's food is the norm. But grosso modo these days there is too much of the following going around: comfort food, standing food, convenience food, easy food, finger food, fast food, holiday food, junk food, food to go. Not to speak about sliced pizza! Same look, same paper and plastic taste. I want traditional dishes please! 

The old fashioned 'Konzum' shops still exist in Croatia. Some kind of cooperative I guess. With fresh food from the farms. Whenever possible we cooked in our rooms or simple apartments. With Biya always on the look-out for noodles of course.

Yes...Jr. Walker & All Stars already in 1969 sang 'Home cookin' . And that counts! You ain't nothing if you can't cook!

 

Home cooking by Anton: Liver dish at Vis Island, Croatia

Listing all the beers we, or Anton tasted; random sequence and country of origin: 

Chisinau Beer (MOL), Birra Korca (ALB), Zlaten Dab (MAC), Tuborg (DEN), Urquell (CZE), Edelmeister (ROM), Donner (ROM), Eichbaum (ROM), Dreher (HUN), Hofbrau (GER), Steffl (HUN), Loewenbrau (GER), Soproni (HUN), Borsodi (HUN), Efes (TR), LAV (SERBIA), Becks (GER), Apativsko (SERBIA), Staropramen (CZE), Peja (ALB), Hacker-Psorr (GER), Klaas Bier (SLO), Nicziko (MON), Zipfer (AT), Elbar (ALB), Karlovacko (CRO), Ozujsko (CRO), Bergen Bier (ROM). The wines, generally the red wines are all heavy and expensive. We were surprised. All because of taxation; must be.

Interestingly and sadly, I noticed all over Romania and Moldova everywhere, even in villages a Betting Shop. Whitewashing money? What a waste of money! Then in both these countries there are more car wash installations than car (repair) shops....I would nearly say that people have their cars as absolute status and only put them on the road when cleaned. What a waste of water! 

We passed four locations that featured prominently in popular movies:

Dubrovnik streets / movies 'The Game of Thrones' 

Komiza on Vis island beach / movie 'Mama Mia' 

Ohrid Lake / movie 'Before the rain' an award winning Macedonian drama 

Plivicze nature reserve / with its landscape identical from 'Avatar' 

Never to forget: when in Zagreb, Biya ran out of one of her pills (amlodipine) and it turned out I use the same...and I had enough for an extra two weeks. Thanks God. 

6 Dec. 2023, Leende, NL

tonvanzutphen@gmail.com