WATCH OUT, THE HIPPIES ARE COMING

SONG SESSION WITH CHRISTIAN AND ROBERTO

Bolivia is not the territory of the Bolivians, it is the land of the Argentinian hippies. They came, they saw it was cheap and they conquered literally every spot. One of their biggest fortresses is Samaipata, a small, picturesque town close to Santa Cruz. Everywhere you go, you will meet an Argentinian artisan, musician, poet or painter. The only time their dominance is threatened is during holidays, when armies of weekenders from Santa Cruz invade the town with SUVs and raggaeton.
I was lucky enough to end up in the main hippie-base: Hostal Camping Jardin (note: if you look for Argentinian hippies, follow the campings). We ended up staying 10 days in hippie Samaipata which gave me some time to study the species more closely. So let me introduce some of them to you:

Roberto

Technically, Roberto is from the Canary Islands but at heart he is a real Argentinian hippie. My best guess for his age is somewhere between 30 and 50. Roberto followed the Greatful Dead around the US, he jammed with Jimmy Page, he lived in a Spanish hippie community (with two wives and a couple of daughters), he plays a mad guitar and - he has seen and done everything, he knows everything - and will tell you all about it (100 times a day).

Joao

Joao is Brazilian but was adopted by the Argentinian hippie community in Samaipata. In 10 days I think I was the one who had the longest conversation with Joao. It lasted about 2 minutes. There are people that smoke weed, there are people that smoke a lot of weed, there are stoners and then there is Joao. He is all about love and peace. Literally, these would usually be the only words he ever uttered. Wherever we'd run into Joao he'd greet you with a big smile and his mantra: "amor e paz".

Diego

He was the leader of the Argentinians. Diego went out to study the concept of time of some Quechua communities in Bolivia and came back a new man. We could never find out what it was exactly that he had seen or learned with the Quechua - he would never say. All he ever mentioned was that he found the essence of life and I swear whenever he talked there was a big bright light around him (It might have been because he always sat underneath the kitchen light, smoking his pipe ...).

Pablo and Madlene

Pablo to me embodied the true spirit of the Argentinian hippies: Travel the world, try everything (even if it is dancing Capoeira at 5 AM), be friendly with everyone, love and respect nature and sing beautiful songs. Pablo had a girlfriend (Madlene) who actually managed to talk less than Joao but she had the most beautiful voice. I am not sure if they were re-born hippies, angels or elves but there was something magical about them.

Ryan

Ryan is Argentinian but not a hippie. He was the true punk-rocker of the hostel. And he was bloody honest. One time he said: "Awww, I don't really care about all this hippie love and peace stuff, I just like to smoke weed." You just had to love him!

Christian

Christian was a poet, painter and musician from Buenos Aires and probably the only Argentinian hippie in Bolivia who doesn't smoke weed. He wrote happy love songs (even though a Colombian girl had just broken his heart) and he was at a point in his life where he was practicing detachment - so I ended up with a necklace, a bracelet and a purse (maybe he started realizing that it's a bit odd if a MAN has all these things...).

Rocky

Rocky was Joao's dog and a true Argentinian hippie. He was always happy (as long as he had a sock he  could chase), he was always singing (no joke: he didn't bark, he sang!) and dancing, he loved nature and being with Joao, he inhaled so much marijuana smoke that he was constantly high.

What did I do in 10 days in Samaipata? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ... and it was wonderful! LONG LIVE THE ARGENTINIAN HIPPIES!

Twiddledum and Twiddledee

These two German friends are one of the funniest couples we ran into so far on this trip. We met Twiddledum and Twiddledee in a hostel in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Actually, they are called Simon and Markus but I lovingly baptized them Dum and Dee (though they are a much skinnier version of the original duo) - for the smashing duo they make. Let me introduce them to you.

Twiddledum (Simon):
Tall, skinny, chatty and bald (although he skilfully hides it with an impressive collection of straw hats). He calls everybody "man) and he's the living life of the party. Having done all the weed smoking he could in Europe, all the beer drinking possible in Australia and all the opium smoking manageable in Asia, he is now on a coke quest throughout South America. He usually shows up around noon with a wild story from last night (usually involving at least on crazy Australian, various girls and a drug of your choice) and with his wits and charms always manages to still get breakfast. He's friends with everybody - and I mean literally everybody: The staff, the hostel lodgers and every person he might meet on the street, buying pizza or dancing salsa.

Twiddledee (Markus):
Short, skinny, puppy dog eyes and quiet as Twiddledee is talkative. He has been Dum's travel sidekick for 10 years now and that is about as much information as he will give you. Dee is soft-spoken and almost too timid to say "hi". There's a good chance you don't see or hear him if Dum's anywhere near him. Dee's the one who makes sure they check out on time, find their way back home and don't spend their entire budget on drugs.

Twiddeldum & Twiddledee:
I cannot imagine one without the other. Dum's rare pauses are congenially filled by Dee's remarks. Whatever one can't remember, the other one can and vice versa. They come as close to a married couple as heterosexual male friends can get. If you ever run into them (they're not hard to miss), just lean back and listen - they're great fun!

The Colombian Connection

Asunción is pretty much like any other capital - “big” city (for Paraguay that means about 500.000 inhabitants): government buildings, malls, many people and a lot of traffic, bars and cultural events. So far, so expected. I didn't expect however to meet Eric. I am sure every tourist in Asunción will meet Eric at one point. You will meet him at artisan fairs, in a park or just walking around the city. Don't worry, you don't need to look for him, he will find you. Eric is Colombian, 32 years old, father of two kids, married and a traveling “artisan”. His name is probably José, he might be anything between 25 and 40 years old and if he is married, he does not take that very seriously. He is Colombian though – that is the only confirmed fact – and THE drug dealer in Paraguay. His drug business is cleverly spread. He has a drug base in every major city in Paraguay and 4 partners who work for him. He travels around the country from franchise to franchise and stays in each place for a couple of months to check up on his partners, the business and to keep in touch with each base. If you have ever watched the TV series “The Wire”, he is sort of a Stringer Bell with dreads. I asked him how he became a drug dealer. “It's all about independence, man. Look around you – all these people are slaves of the money. They are not free. I wanted to be independent and not be anybody's slave any more!” I pointed out that some people that buy drugs from him are just as dependent on drugs as other on money – so his job makes other people his slaves. (Now I am thinking – girl, did you have nothing better to do than start a moral discussion with a drug dealer??!!) But Eric has it all figured out. “You are right,” he told me, “and if it was just for me, I wouldn't do large scale drug business. A little bit of weed here, a little bit of coke there, that would be enough for me. But I have a family to feed. I gotta provide, ya know. So the way I see it, if it's not me, it's somebody else.” What can I say, Eric is a great salesman. Not only does he know how to sell his life style but also, in less than 30 minutes he makes you buy any drug if you want it or not. Right now he is working on an international expansion, next destination: Santiago de Chile. So Chileans: watch out, the Colombian connection is coming!