Asuncion

After crossing the bridge to Paraguay at Ciudad del Este it got more fucked up as I was hoping for. Near the bus terminal was a field full of people in tents out of plastic. It looked like a refugee camp from Africa. In the bus there was a Jean Claude van Damm movie with a scratch, so we had to see half of the movie 4 times in a row. It was already getting dark when I arrived at one of the main plazas of Asuncion. And also this place was full of tents, kids running around and people cooking in the park. Later on I found out that these people were indigenous people protesting some kind of land reform.

Asuncion is not spectacular, but it has some features that make it special anyway. There are a lot of Koreans and Japanese people which also influence the dishes your getting served (Sushi,...). The presidents HQ is a very nice colonial palace and is situated only 40m from the slum. Security is tight in the center and military police is at every corner. In the evening the street fill up with whores standing next to the officers and the playing children.

I had the perfect hotel on the plaza Uruguay with a view over the indigenous people camping in the park. At night you could see children playing hide and seek and fires in front of all the tents. After travelling that fast down the South American east coast I needed some rest. So I chilled in front of the TV, did some writing and slept a lot. In five days of Asuncion I saw 5 other turists.

All in all a really rewarding city.

Foz do Iguazu

Finally almost out of expensive Brazil, I had to check out the world famous Foz de Iguazu Falls. They are more or less like every other fall that you know but much bigger. It has become a very turistic place and a money machine for the local economy, because people are flying in from all over the world. The Itaipu dam is more spectacular for me (maybe because of my backround) and got it's last generater in 2008. Now it produces enough energy for the needs of 90% of Paraguay and 25% of Brazil (14GW). Thats like 20 normal nuclear plants combined.
At the hostel I had a huge discussion with a weird, dutch scientist who claimed all sort of controversial things. Evolution doesn't exsist, there is no overpopulation problem, you can smoke as much as you want - if you get cancer you just have to smoke less - and much, much more. But one thing turned out to be right: overpopulation doesn't seem to be a problem forever. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population)

Rio de Janeiro

31 hours in the bus from Salvador took it's toll. Grumpily I took the bus to the Cocacabana and found my hostel right away. 20 beds in one room for 15$. Rio is the place where you loose money without noticeing. I wen't to the famous "pan de azucar" and walked all over downtown - for hours. The views are amazing and exactly like the picture of Rio which out of some reason hung in my childhood bedroom all my life. I also spent a day with some travellers at the Cocacabana and notice the very different type of bikini they wear there - less textils more strings and sometimes to much skin. But a lively atmosphere of playing and fun.
Going out was of course part of the experience. Just next to the hostel was a corner shop which is a hybrid between a tienda and a bar. Prices are low and people alnost allways local and they offer some nice talks. But the real deal is in the Lapa district, where everybody seem to go. It's packed, and alcohol is omnipresent. There are even venders who stroll the streets with salt, lemon and Tequilla to sell to the crowd. So I did the whole dancing thing, even though it dosen't fit me to much.
The next day I wen't to a match between Fluminense and Curibati. Fluminense got cooked. Interestingly Fluminense had two fan corners in their favor, but one seemed to be responsible for the strikers and one for the goalie. So each time one of them screwed up, the other fan block were dissing the stupid other fanclub - as far as "Scharmuetzel". The Samba drums are giving the beat during the whole game and people laugh all the time and enjoy what they like most - besides of women.

Salvador

Salvador, the african heart of Brazil, is a big city on the Atlantic. The bay area is scattered with hills and beaches in front of high rise buildings. The ethnics are really diverse, but the African branch is dominating. Crime is a serious issue. Just in four days, I eyewitnessed I robbery by daylight, a good friends friend got hit on the head and had to spent the night in hospital, an argentinian turist of the hostel was robbed with a knife and also with a knife some Austrialians at the beach. So it truly is the city to play it save. The beach front is similar like the one in malibu probably is. Joggers, soccerplayers, bicycles, etc. Almost all males are bodybuilders and taller than Europeans. A big change compared with the Andean countries, where I usually was the tallest. The hostel was pretty cool and had a great TV room and kitchen. I used both extensivly. My roommates were from Berkeley University and typiclly westcost style chilled out. They had there own car, so we were able to check out the city easily. The Pelorinio district is the historic part with great views over town and the bay with all the international cargo ships. When we left this district with the car, it only took 3 blocks and you could see the mind striking poverty. People on the cardboard boxes on the side of noisy streets, with bad clothes and even open wounds, that probably should have been taking care of weeks ago.
The coolest night out was also at the Pelorinio, where the african Brazilians danced through the narrow roads, with really loud drums. The same street Michael Jackson used as a set for "They Don’t Care About Us". I'm obviously not a good dancer, but in that moment I felt the music running through me and I danced for several hours behind the drums and I think I was good - cool experience.

Olinda

Olinda, the sister city of Recife is an old colonial town with narrow passages and over 20 churches. Recife is the ugly sister with awful high rising buildings and one of the highest crime rates in Brazil. I checked into a hostel with swimming pool and a nice garden. A brazilian Turist, who is a medic was sort of part of the hostel because he allways there. He was drinking from dawn till late after dusk and smoking weed and crack. Sometimes he was funny, most of the time he was on his planet. In my dorm was a girl, which works for the UN and a brazilian who works for a canadian circus. We had a lot of fun hanging out in the garden in the hammocks. During the day we drank at the pool, after doing some alibi sightseeing. And in the night we went out without pulling trees out of the soil.
But Olinda is truly a nice city with a lot of caracter, which I strongly recommend.

Jericoacoara

After another bumby ride through the desert and on a long strech of beach we arrived in Jeri. We found a cool place with private kitchen, bathroom and balcony. The most comfortable place I stayed at so far. It seemed so good that I almost couldn't leave the place. Jeri is pretty turisty with a lot of brazilian rednecks on winter vacation. It is on a bay between a hill and a huge sanddune, from where everybody watches the sun set. After claping everybody heads back to town. Since it was a hippy village a while ago, you can see cabuera, horses and musicians at the beach. But also the modern sports are visible at all times: Kite surfing, surfing and so on.
We didn't do a lot mentionable. The only excursion was to a nearby cliff which has a huge hole. Actually the way to get there was more impressive. With green hills, cows, donkeys, cactuses and nice views over the ocean.
We ate pretty good and drank in the evenings, just as it supposed to be.

Camocim

After the bumby ride through the night from Atins to Barreirinhas and the ferry at the end we took another 4x4 to get to Vehlo Paulino which got stuck only once in the sand. Than from Vehlo Paulino to Tutoya with yet another Jeep and a ferry. Than from Tutoya to Parnaibo with bus and since all the connections to Camocim were sold out we took a cab for the last strech. 16 hours after starting the trip we arrived in the unspectacular town. It is just the last stop before getting to the famous village of Jericoacoara. A village that used to be famous for fishing, than hippies and now sort of both with the image of a party place.