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And yet, the first step on the new continent were strange…demanding. Nicola goes back to Europe, a choice motivated by differences of opinions and sentimental reasons. Then, a robbery, one backpack, one camera…Everything stolen from Benjamin while they were sleeping in the trailer of a truck. The driver, drunk, lost in his craziness cheat on our trust. He went away with everything…leaving Benjamin without backpack, camera, sleeping bag, toothbrush…passport. Everything…and this young European discover what is it to be human. No paper, no expensive stuff, nothing else than his trousers, one shirt and his dream. Enough to go forward, to go freely towards a new journey…where the word Freedom takes a new sense…
The adventure keeps going, 2200 kilometers ahead, the Amazon, some days of travel across a country of contrast where more than 200 millions people live. A extremely rich country, food and energy self-sufficient, vast lands that offer impressive diversity of climates, resources, fruits you never heard of, breathtaking landscapes, cultures and population…from the overpopulated favelas, small sheds made from wrecks along the dirty and stinky sewer situated just behind the skyscrapers and the big shopping centers where thousands of « new riches » come everyday to buy some piece of satisfaction. Brazil has been growing fast in the last years, it is a impressive new economic power stimulated by a large young generation, new consumers starving for gadgets and new cars. As a result, its natural resources are dangerously diminishing, rivers are sewer where everything is thrown away, plastic, cans, furnitures… Ecological consciousness is nonexistent. Pollution, deforestation from the production of soy - ending in the stomach of our cattle - don’t appear on television. These topics are faded away by the football, the true religion of the Brazilians. The world Cup was like an hypnotist, everyone was behind his black screen…and when Brazil plays, the whole country stops, Schools are close, political quarrels stop…they are all watching the « Selecao », a beer in the hand, anxiously fixing the screen….and then…goooooal ! Eruption of joy and happiness, a rumor comes from the inside of the city, screams in the street ! More beers…the circus is on…until everything breaks away. The national team loses, their team …depression…as if everything depended from football…as if this sport was the only thing able to thrill the heart of the people. The men in power know that…they play with it. This « Selecao » is their best control machine. It makes the people united behind the flag, happy…and it makes them consume…
We wait for five days in a gas station…people are afraid. Brazilian society is infected by criminality. Rich and poors live together leaving space for hate and jealousy…rich people protect themselves always more in their high towers and behind heavy fences. At the bottom of their buildings, barefoot children who collect the garbage, plastic, cans,…they sell it for a good price, some "reals" for a kilo of aluminium. Fear is everywhere, everyone talk about it even if just few know what they are talking about. Hitchhiking is therefore not the easiest thing to do, especially when you are close to a big city such as Recife. We had to wait for Darli, our new angel who after some days of hesitation agreed to take us to Teresina in the middle of the way…a crucial step to help us to go away from Recife. We discover a complete different world. Across the desert and the savanna, Brazilian are living differently, in small towns…in a relax atmosphere. More smiles, more hello…here people talk to us, they offer us food and shelter.We don’t wait so long anymore on the road and we are running pretty fast in direction of Belem, making about 200 kilometers a day, sleeping in small towns, eating thanks to the generosity of the Brazilian who never say no. All the people we asked for food give us something…And even without asking we sometimes receive fruits and breads. Along the road, the landscapes are all more wonderful, green, diverse, there are entire forests of palm trees, jungles…
Recife was an alienated world where the true spirit of Brazil was contaminated and hidden behind the influences of the old continents and the USA. We get then to Belem without troubles…new city…ghost of Recife. No more green, high buildings instead, traffic jump…too many cars and polluted atmosphere. A chaos where inequalities rise again in front of pour eyes. Beggers and businessman sharing the same sidewalk without exchanging a look, crazy architecture, in ruin, favelas and old colonial streets, high recent tower already falling down…we get to the harbour, cross the favelas, similar to the ones in Recife, and we get in front of the Awazone. The river is grey and brown and goes far way in the horizon. A couple of barges are there. Two companies organize the crossing. We just had to ask and Ruth hold the ticket out to us. « Have a good trip ». Easy…we embark on a barge taht quickly get crowded with hammocks and people. In the morning, after recycling a bit of bread, departure of the boat…slowly we slide on the mysterious water of the Amazon. The biggest river of the world is more than a river…it’s an entire world, rich of a mysterious diversity that we can just imagine behind these high fortress of trees. The boat slalom in the numerous islands where live small communities of indigenous who come close to the boat to ask for clothes. Passengers throw plastic bags in the water and wave at the children who paddle against the current. This world is amazing, intriguating…suffering as well. The population living there have lost the connection with the nature. They all got electricity and consume plastic products that all end up in the river…From Belem to Macapa, people throw away their waste in the Amazon, as if everything was to disappear. When we get closer to the banks, plastics bags and other wrecks are taken in the branches of the Mangrove…
After 24 hours, we get to the other side, the Amapa, a region where live less than 500 000 inhabitants situated at the border with the wild world. One road, going from Macapa to Oyapock, the border with French Guyana. The rhythm is different over there…the people are more generous, more relax…living more consciously and trying to take measures for the environment. A senator tried to impulse a real change in favor of the environment but he got sacked because of economical interests. Multinational company are interested in the rich mines and the wood. Along the road we assist to a strange scenery. millions of trees organized in symmetrical rows…Eucalyptus to produce papers. 40 millions of these trees will be cut and replanted every year to satisfy the needs of China and USA. Hopefully this monoculture, natural atrocity coming from the hand of the Men is surrounded by a wonderful diversity, jungles, oasis in the savanna, huge rivers…until we get to the border with the Amazonian Forest. There is only one road to get to Oyapock, a muddy road in the middle of the jungle. A pick-up stops, two indigenous, no discussions, they invite us to go on the back. We have the best places to enjoy the spectacle. There, wind blowing in our hairs, we can appreciate the jungle, the crazy sounds coming from everywhere, we can loose our imagination the the deep forest…It feels good…
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Wow! Can't wait to meet... Roy
ReplyDeletehey,, los esperamos aki, en mexico, con los brazos abiertos,,
ReplyDeletesaludos a todos,,