Floats
Floats
We´re not tourists..
Marina´s entry into the parade
Buenos Tardes Amigos!
Wow what a week it has been and let me tell you I am glad to be back travelling with Marina! We will have a little different of a type of post this week so let me just briefly tell you about what we have been up to.
After a nightmarish 55 hour bus trip from Sucre, Bolivia to Asuncion, Paraguay (by the way, do not ever try this) I was reunited with my wife. The next day we jumped a bus to Encarnacion to partake in their Carnival celebrations. If you are unfamiliar with Carnival (you will hear it a lot over the next week) its the time when all South Americans turn into werewolves and go crazy... Well the latter is actually true. They are mad for Carnival and it is an outrageous festival all over south america kind of like Mardi Gras in New Orleans. In Encarnacion we enjoyed the parades which went very late into the night. In the town you will have people driving their cars with loud music and everyone throwing water balloons and spraying foam - sounds amazing huh, well actually, I´m keeping the details a bit quiet as the REAL carnival party is next week in Rio De Janeiro.
For a more civilised bit, we went on Saturday to visit the Jesuit Missionary ruins from the 16th century.
Whats next, well we spend next week in Paraguay and will then head to Brazil!
So now you get to hear from the lady herself, my lovely wife about what has happened when she had her passport stolen.... Dated February 22nd.
Hola,
You probably all think where I am and why I’m not traveling with Dan. So, the sad truth is among the things that were stolen from me in Buenos Aires was my passport. If I were an American or British citizen I would had got a new one in a week, but with Russian embassy things are not as simple. They told me that they will give a certificate that will allow me to go back to Russia and that they can give passports only to people who is permanently living in Argentina. That was not the answer that I wanted to here and after a long useless conversation... I started crying... Ok, ok we will make your passport here, but... It may take from 1 to 2.5 month.
In attempt to get my old passport back I asked the hostel how did the girl who stole my passport book the room. They said that it was through the website, so I asked for her email. And... she replied!!! I offered her money in exchange for the passport, but unfortunately it did not seem that she wanted to give it back. We were sanding lots of emails to each other and all she wanted just to get some more money from me, asking for PIN code for my card and then for money transfer via Western Union promising to send me my passport back as soon as she receives money. The last email I received after I got my new passport, she was asking for 1000$US, I wished her to get caught by the police and asked not to write me.
Dan planed this trip for a long time and I did not want to restrict him. Ultimately we changed our plans and stayed in Argentina longer then we wanted to. So, when he went to Chile I stayed in Mendoza and tried to learn some Spanish.
After Salta Dan made his way to Bolivia and I took the bus back to Buenos Aires hoping that my passport is ready. Hostel where I stayed was really nice and the night I got there I met some fantastic people from Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and Israel))). We had A BBQ party on the roof and they all spoke English just because they wanted me to understand everything.
The next day I went to the embassy and... My passport was ready!!! I was so, so, so happy!!! That night we organized a tequila party until the sunrise!!! We had so much fun!!! And without having any rest I went to the Paraguayan embassy. The Russian expats in my embassy told me that if I want something to be done the same day I have to come early in the morning otherwise I will hear “mañana” – their favorite word. By 9am my visa was ready, and by 10am I got the letter from the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs, that missing entry stamp in my passport is not a problem. Firstly they just said that it is ok, but I insisted on the official letter with the stamp and signature.
I emailed Dan to say that I’m ready to leave!!! But as you all know he was in Bolivia on a tour, so, he asked me to wait a little bit in Buenos Aires and then meet him in Paraguay.
I cannot complain about it, I had a great time with my new friends. On Saturday we went to Tigre to the concert of a famous Argentinean singer. Tigre is a small weekend getaway town with a big market, little quiet islands and charming atmosphere. The concert was great and again we partied all night!
On Monday I had to say goodbye to everyone and was a bit sad, but we are going to meet again in Rio and Bogota!!!
So, the end of my story and my last battle in Argentina was crossing the border. I made the bus waited for 40 minutes!!! Why? The people on the border were looking for the entry stamp, police report and the letter was not enough!!! They asked me to pay the fine (100$US), but I refused then they said that they would not put the exit stamp at all!!! (By the way no one could speak English.) My point was that I needed the exit stamp and I’m not going to pay. After a long useless conversation I started crying and got the stamp within 2 minutes!!! Sometimes it is better to be weak.)))
That’s it. I am in Paraguay waiting for Dan)))
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