On the way to Brazil

Wotae: 10.04.2017

We spent my birthday in the treehouse 'in Peterpanland'! It was wonderful, people from Chile, Patagonia, France, Belgium, Colombia, and the Basque Country celebrated with me. The whole day felt like a festival. We sang, made delicious drinks, cooked really well, listened to music, ate delicious chocolate cake, and shared our stories. It's beautiful to experience how people from different regions of the world, with the most diverse ideas in their heads, live, share, and respect each other so naturally, without needing to discuss anything. Everyone just does what they think is right, and that's how you get invited for coffee or cook something delicious for someone else and live as if in paradise. The treehouse is a place where change happens, the change we wish for the world! Octa, the 'PeterPan' of the house, creates many projects for the community and above all, creates a space for community. He is a very inspiring and warm person! *thank you octa* Travelers from all over the world, people from the city, and especially children from the area come and go in the 'casita'. I am very grateful that we were able to visit this wonderful place together once again, and who knows, maybe we will come back here again

From Abancay we continue on a pickup truck and then in another pickup truck to Cusco. The city of the Incas, a mecca for tourists, the city has its charm and we spend a few days here. However, we don't want to take too much time, as it's really time to leave Peru. The journey continues by bus to Puerto Maldonado, a city in the jungle of Peru.
Here, everyone travels on motorcycles and even the taxis are motorcycles. There are no buses, hardly any cars, but everywhere around the city, as far as the eye can see, there is the Amazon. We climb a lookout tower and this view was really beautiful, trees that reach beyond the houses, rivers, and yes, unfortunately, we are not in the middle of it, but you can feel the power of this forest, mighty!!! It really makes you sad when at the same time, when you feel the power of the forest, images of destruction come to mind. Rubber, soybean, palm oil, tropical wood, temporary cultivation areas, etc. for these goods, the green lung of the planet is deforested, burned, and slowly destroyed

The climate of the jungle and the atmosphere are not among my favorite things, but Puerto Maldonado is a very beautiful city (because it feels more like a village). We experience incredible thunderstorms, impressive rains, a flying ant plague, incredible heat, and really good 'Yuka revosadas'.
We can sell some beautiful jewelry here and then continue to the Brazilian border after a few days.
Assis Brasil, the border with Brazil. Here I have to pay a fine because I overstayed in this wonderful country for a whole 52 days, but well, it was really worth it!
On the way, we meet Gutenberg, a young Brazilian with tattoos from head to toe. He explains to us that in Brazil, we don't pay for a hotel, but sleep on the street like normal...hmm but on this day, I don't necessarily want to do that, even though the village seems very peaceful. Yes, here everyone speaks a different language, Portuguese, it sounds like Swiss Spanish, and if you concentrate, you can understand a lot too. There are no mamitas selling things on the street, but there are supermarkets where you can buy everything nicely packaged, the beetles are as big as a fist, everything is super expensive, and yes, I don't think there is much for us to do here, we agree on that. The next morning, we head towards Brasileia, the border town with Bolivia. A bridge separates Cobija and Brasileia. Hehe here, it's probably the case that people from Brazil go to Bolivia to shop, as the price differences are massive. In Brazil, you pay with Reales, a lunch costs about 15 Reales, which is about €5. In Bolivia, you can eat for 10 Bolivianos, which is about €2.
After some border difficulties, we both have our visas and have officially entered Bolivia. It feels good to be here, and the city of Cobija, in the Bolivian jungle, has its charms, which we will now enjoy for a few days.

In the past few days, we have been discussing poor countries and rich countries.
Bolivia and Peru are considered the poorest countries in South America, while Brazil is considered relatively richer. It's strange...in Peru and Bolivia, you can buy affordable food on the streets, and here and there, you even get something for free if you ask a mamita if she can give you something to eat. There are few supermarkets, people tend to shop at markets and small stalls on the streets. The vendors usually bring their goods directly from their fields and gardens, sell them directly, and can make a living from it. Almost nothing is packaged, and big chains and corporations don't get involved here. They call it poor, poor countries???
For me, these are rich countries where people organize themselves and look for solutions on how to sell their products. Even people with little money can afford to eat something, and accommodations for one night are relatively affordable. (A good form of healthcare when you can buy natural products)
When the only food you can afford is bread, when you have to sleep on the street, and everything has to be bought in supermarkets, and some people drive around in fancy cars, yes, that's a rich country....
Police officers can be bribed here and there, there is no healthcare system - if you're sick, go to the doctor and pay directly!
A RICH COUNTRY IS ONE WHERE EVEN THE POOREST HAVE SOMETHING TO EAT!
These are some thoughts from us...so that you can get a glimpse of what's going on in our heads....