jürgen.müller

Barometer 6

19.03.2012

Lang ist’s her, das letzte Lima-Barometer. Doch diese schöne “Tradition” will ich nicht aufgeben, zumal die Zeit in diesem Land ja für uns begrenzt ist. Ich habe mich einmal durch die ersten Barometer geklickt, nachdem ich dieses letzte erstellt. Wie gut, dass sich alles doch letztlich zum Guten wendet, die Erfahrungen, das Lebensgefühl und der Umgang mit der provisorischen Heimat.

Bei der Ankunft aus Santiago, vorletztes Wochenende, hatte ich plötzlich das Gefühl, nach “Hause” zu kommen, so wie es mir, wie es uns bisher immer bei jedem Posten ergangen ist, auch wenn uns in der Zwischenzeit die Kinder “abhanden” gekommen sind, die immer so offen und einfach mit diesen Wechseln umgegangen sind und mir das Leben erleichtert haben.

Im Detail zum Barometer:

Alte Heimat… nun ja, wer will schon während der Olympischen Spiele in London sein…
Wie gesagt, Lima ist das Zuhause, auf Zeit, aber jetzt im Sommer ist’s ohnehin leichter.
Infrastruktur: Es hat sich ja nicht viel getan, außer dass jedes Jahr 30-40 Tausend neue Autos in Lima zugelassen werden.
Wie haben wir das gute peruanische Essen während der Reise in Argentinien und Chile vermisst!
Wetter: gegen den Humboldtstrom kommt man eben nicht an, also akzeptieren, so gut es geht.
Spanisch: wird nie so gut wie Englisch oder Französisch werden, aber fühlt sich trotzdem leichter an.
Sport: Das kompensiert so viel. Und jetzt kann gibt es in San Isidro noch ein Fitness-zentrum wird die Bewohner – gratis! Und laufen am Malecon oder an der Costa Verde!
Stadt, Leute: ich bin halt kein Fan von großen Städten, jedenfalls nicht zum dauerhaften Leben darin. Ich einmal neulich ‘mal hoch gerechnet: Am Tage wird ca. 4’000 Mal vor unserer Residenz gehupt – einfach wunderbar, v.a. weil’s so sinnlos ist, wenn alles verstopft ist.
Land, Leute: Freue mich jedes mal wie ein Schneekönig, wenn’s raus aufs Land geht. In 14 Tagen geht’s nach Nasca und Ayacucho, wieder etwas Neues entdecken.
Neue Rolle: Ist eben nicht mehr neu…
Sicherheit: Angesichts der heute veröffentlichten Kriminalstatistik und der nach oben zeigenden Tendenz wächst das Gefühl der Unsicherheit, aber nur sehr leicht.

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Exploring Patagonia

17.03.2012

How lazy I have been, at least in terms of looking after my blog. Though there were many things to write about but the latest highlight was our trip to Argentina and Chile (Santiago).

Buenos Aires’ charme de belle époque, the distant but permanent sound of tango, and an atmosphere somewhere between decline and raise is unforgettable. As it reminds you of many European cities making you sometimes believe to be in Paris, Madrid, London, Naples or even Berlin. However, Buenos Aires’ sound will tell where you are!

This sound of Tango changed into the one of huge ice blocks falling into glacier lakes in Patagonia. The crispy, cristal clear sky is still in my mind, like a silent echo from another world, one without almost no people (300’000 on a surface of 900’000 square km, approx. 22 times Switzerland’s size). The steppe is endless and after 28 hours and 2’000 km on a bus drive through the same landscape you start believing it will never end at all!

But finally you arrive in Mendoza, still in the desert but amidst the biggest wine growing area in South America – lucky you are! Whether you like the local Malbec type, the classic Cabernet Sauvignon or some of the more rare grape variety, a vineyard tour is a must and everybody will find its favourite. Spend the whole Sunday in the thermal springs of Rio Mendoza in the mountains, and you will a lot about local people and their customs.

Finally, we crossed the Andes again heading for Santiago. You climb up to more than 3’000 meters, very slowly in 5 hours without noticing, surrounded by the highest Andean mountains, of which the Aconcagua is the highest with 6.962m. You survive the severe Chilean custom check: no fruits, no undeclared organic material at all. After the checkpoint you will decent again, but this time 3’000m in 1 hour…

The Chilean capital welcomes you with its sun (and smog as well) shining more than 300 days a year, and its Sanhattan skyline indicating that Santiago is the vibrant centre of a very successful economy. (However, it also reminds you that the grey Lima sky is still waiting in a couple of days…).

It is still difficult to describe all the experiences and feelings we had during this three weeks’ trip. And for those who prefer watching photos, here is the link: Argentina and Chile

Happy New Year 2012

31.12.2011

To all readers: I wish you a happy and peaceful New Year. May 2012 be a year of focussing on values different from greed and growth, the gods so many people worship.

Looking back to 2011, it was a year with new experiences, deceptions and success, grief and joy. It was also packed with a lot of activities, events and travel.

And 2012? New Year’s resolutions? Don’t take everything too serious, don’t look back in anger, enjoy the little things, look forward to all the travelling scheduled for the next year, the sound of the Pacific, the silence of the deserts…

I hope and look forward to hearing from you or even better seeing you in 2012.

Protected: Respect & privileges

3.12.2011

Time flies

26.11.2011

Yes, indeed, this commonplace still has its meaning. Suddenly, with the year 2011 almost behind me, I am getting aware about the remaining months in Peru likely to be not more than 10 altogether!

And, taking a glance into the next one already, I notice that 2012 will likely be the last full year in Peru though the time for me in this country will even be shorter. I do not “plan” to leave yet, but the brevity of the time remaining strikes me though… and there is so many things to see here, still.

(Travel) plans have been made already. The next year will be packed again and trips to Argentina, Switzerland, Ecuador and maybe Cuba as well are on the schedule. This will shorten the time in Peru even more. However, trips to Puno / Titicaca, to Kuelap again and to Pucallpa are in the pipeline as well.

In October, my mother’s 80th birthday will bring me to Germany as well. So, by end 2012 I will be remembering again… time flies.

The jingle bells in Lima…

24.11.2011

… and Holy Night dudels in the supermarkets. Plastic or iron Christmas trees covered with artificial snow try to create a cosy winter atmosphere but without snow, ice and almost permanent darkness it’s only half the fun. Really difficult to develop the “one and only” Christmas feeling here in the tropics (yes, we are in the tropics), and especially when the Lima spring blossoms…

…but stop, this is just my ethnocentric perspective. What about ice and snow in Bethlehem? And, celebrating Christmas in India and South Africa, together with the kids did not really depend on the weather but the atmosphere you create among the family.

And that is, still today something I look forward to, when we will meet in Switzerland with family members coming from different parts of the world.

Protected: Little things

21.11.2011

A journey into the deepest Peru

29.07.2011

Looking back to the Rio Marañon valley

Back in Lima, after about 2’700 kilometres on Peruvian carreterras, pistas and dust roads; from the coast up to almost 4′ooo metres altitude; from deserts to mountains and lush forests; from rice fields to banana plantations and coffee mills; from colonial cities to Inca tracks and from Chacha culture to Moche pyramides.

This country is magical place overwhelmingly full of different cultures, climate zones and spectacular landscapes and sceneries. The most impressing and stupendous part of this trip in terms of landscape certainly was the leg between Cajamarca and Leymebamba where we had to climb up to 3’500 metres above sea level than back down to the Rio Marañon (one of the two Amazonas headwater streams) and than up again to almost 4’000 metres just to go down again to 2’500 metres to reach Leymebamba and its Mummy Museum where we staid a night… These approximately 240 kilometres on narrow dust and dirt roads where you hardly could cross another vehicle, where the mountains go up a 500 metres on you right side and 1’000 metres down on your left side, took us 9 hours of driving. We got over three mountain passes, crossed numerous rivers, shivered at 8° centigrade and sweated at 35°.

We spent a night with the mummies in Leymebamba and had a enlightening sight seeing at Kuelap with Peter, a historian from Germany living in this area for about 30 years and knowing almost everything about the Chachas, their culture and their history.

At Túkume and Lambayeque we then could learn about the art of Moche culture, their adobe pyramids, their ceramics and sophisticated agricultural irrigation systems enabling them to bring desert soil to flourishing land still used today – as we experienced when visiting a banana, mango and passion fruit plantation providing organic and fair trade fruits and juices for the US, Japanese and European markets, and, not to forget, our visit to a coffee mill producing organic cafe verde for the the same markets.

Luckily and exceptionally, on the long way back to Lima, along the Pacific Ocean we had a lot of sun, colouring the coastal desert into a mystic picture of sand, stone and rocks…

I am still overwhelmed by all these different impressions and experiences and trying to digest what we experienced.

Links to the roadmap and photos (more photos still to come).

Sonne schadet nur!

15.07.2011

Das kann es tatsächlich geben: zwei, drei Stunden Lima-Sonne im Juli, selten genug aber deshalb umso verwirrender. Nicht nur das, sie schadet auch. Menschen leiden unter Sonnenallergie, die blasse Haut färbt sich schnell knallrot und – auch das gibt es – die Fernbedienungen für Garage und Tor streiken… “Con sol el tele comando no funciona mas.” Auch die Elektronik scheint sich an 80-90% Luftfeuchtigkeit zu gewöhnen…

Drei Tage Regen

5.07.2011

Seit drei Tagen “regnet” es in Lima – unglaublich, das erste mal seit 2 Jahren. Niesel zwar, doch die Brillen beschlagen und sanfte Tropfen wabern durch den Tag. Das sonst so vertraute Geräusch der Autos auf nasser Straße erscheint hier völlig deplatziert und surreal. Zum ersten Mal auch, dass Tropfen aufs Autodach “trommeln”, wenn man unter Bäumen steht und wartet. Ozean und Horizont verschmelzen zu einer undurchdringlichen Einheit aus Grau, durch die Wohnungen im 20. Stock zieht der Küstennebel von Zimmer zu Zimmer. Die Tage erscheinen noch kürzer als eh schon.

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