… and there we went

Of course things are very different now then how things were in the 60’s or 70’s (where we are now in my story, 1968 to be exact) when the most important thing was to expand and discover your mind (at least for me and also for Salvador) and travel the world to see and live different cultures, discover the people, the good, the bad and the beauty of nature. Actually a lot of people felt like that, it was like a wave, spread out like that everywhere a bit. Now the wave is about money. Everything is in a hurry, faster and more controlled and that is scary, so money can save you, at least many think so and employ all kinds of ways to get it. Money can be a good thing but only when earned honestly and if possible with something you like and stand behind, but it is certainly not the most important thing….… To say it all in a different way ” I had enough” and that is true, did not care about the money I could earn, wanted to feel like a bird, not swim in the pool with the sharks, free to go anywhere and I cannot tell you what a great feeling it is to go somewhere without a return ticket and see what happens till a new place is calling…

We decided for Panama for some reason and took a boat from Milan with first stop Venezuela which did not look like a cool place to us, people called us aggressive words because of Salvador’s long hair and the way we were dressed, we did meet a wonderful girl who brought us to her home but back on board  we worried that Panama was much the same so we decided to get off at the next port which was Willemstad in Curacau. There the Customs kept us for hours and took off our Tape recorder (we traveled with an Akai of a considerable size), took off my magazines and our passports, went through all our luggage. They were mean and made me cry. They decided we could not stay so we had to take the next plane out, wherever it was going. No hotel would take us so we slept on a big table on the beach. The next evening the plane left for Prince-town, Jamaica, which sounded good to us but the customs were already waiting for us and they flipped over the way we looked, me in maxy fur coat and mini-dress and Salvador in leather jacket and long hair, they took one look and put us back on the plane that was now heading for George town in British Guiana where we arrived late at night, tired and hungry and they did not like us either so again back on the plane with as last stop Paramaribo, Dutch Guiana. There we had to stay about a week because there was no plane leaving anywhere, again things and passports were taken off and they decided where we had to stay, very nice Hotel indeed but also very expensive and the only memory I have of that stay is that one day when we went to the pool, there was a commotion as a little boy (son of an ambassador) was laying on the bottom of the pool so Salvador dove in straight away and got him out and tried to revive him and gave him mouth to mouth but it was too late.… so sad.… his brothers were standing around in disbelieve and horror .… something like that you never forget.

Finally a plane is leaving with destination Belem, Brazil!

…And that felt straight away very different, we were of course paranoid but the customs were very kind and there we were.… Now what? Then we met in the airport this young man, traveler like us, who told us we should go to Parati and we should look up Jose Kleber, a poet and writer who lived there, and so we did. It was a long trip via Bahia, where it was raining and raining, no Barclay bank and we had to take a small boat that took hours along the coast to Parati, located between Rio and Sao Paulo, we stayed in Rio for a day or 2 but I did not like it, all the girls were after Salvador and we hardly could walk in the streets. Since I was very pregnant you can imagine what this boat trip was like for me but we got there after very long hours and what a place, our hearts cheered up, this looked like an incredible place and it was. We were guided to Jose straight away and it was as we knew each other since always and he gave us that beautiful old Portuguese house to stay and we became very good friends. Jose was one of those persons one never forgets but keeps in his heart with the fondest of memories, like I said he was a writer and he already had his problems with the government for speaking out but he was also a lawyer and he also had a bar ” El Valhaguto” which was beautiful, half without roof and trees inside.

This pictures were taken by Jose Kleber.

Every day we made   Fabada, The famous Brazilian Rice and beans, never forget, fry the bacon and the garlic, fry the rice, put water and red beans ….… Healthy and delicious, with a green salad at the side. We spend marvellous days, in the interview below they say we woke up each day at 4 in the afternoon but that is exaggerated, we went out to the beach and to the islands around, so beautiful and unspoiled. Salvador made an exhibition of drawings  and sold some so we could get around, there were some artists there and all together we had a great time

This came out while we were there

There was a bit of commotion in the village because of the plant Salvador is holding in the window picture…… and you have to know Portugese to read it.

Parati is of course still there and became a popular place which is logic because it is one of these places that have magic. Again there are many stories to tell (no place and time here) but after a few months it became clear that having the baby born there would not be that cool, there was no hospital and the stories we heard… so I had to go somewhere else and then we met Miquel, a French journalist who had come to Parati and he had friends in LA, I should go there… and Salvador was going with him making a reportage of the Amazon and take pictures from a helicopter for Paris Match. Salvador sold our Akai tape-recorder and I took the plane for LA with only the address of the friend of Miquel in my pocket and apparently she was going to pick me up….…

LOVE and PEACE