Arica

So I am in Arica...
I took the train in the end... to be honest it wasnt so cool as the museum,
but at least it was chaep and easy. I didnt have anyone to cross the border with,
and I didnt feel like facing all the bargaining and hussle alone.

But Arica had only one hostel I could find online, and that prooved to raise prices
considerably, so I am taking a bus to next city overnight instead, which is more
or less the same price.

Even though at first sight, when we were crossing the border, Chile looked like
Austria compared to Peru, the center an terminal are quite sketchy. So Ill move on,
no reason to fall behind my schedule. And it IS more expensive here.

Mpre news from Angofasta perhaps, or, If I get a good connection, from Santiago or
Valpo.

Tacna . monday

Tacna saw us in the morning at around 10 AM.

One good thing about Peru - lots of tourist facilities. So in this smalltown terminal there was a tourist info office (part of i-peru net - the smae Ive used in Lima). So I got map and all the info, left my bag in a storage room and went for a walk.

My destination - besides the center - was a local Railway Museum. Well I bravely claimed I am a student and then enmtered for 2 soles - less then 1USD. The guy didn't check. The museum only has two rooms, but they basically don't care about what and where you do, and let you explore their whole junkyard with lots of old trains, vehicles and weird machines. I was fascinated and spent there a very relaxing 2 hours. Some of the machines are Brittish from 19th century... And its all in these rundown deserted shops, where they nevertheless still take care of some ocassional maintenance. Even the artist Skala would be happy there, and - what a coincidence - my camera this time worked nonstop for the whole two hours - so I should have some good pictures.

I am currently considering the option to actually cross the border by this romantic train - its very convenient as the migration officers come on board, and then perhaps stay one night in Arica and take another connection in the morning.

I really like these little town, they are a lot less stressful, also quite economic. Only here I had the oportunity to try local specialty - ceviche - which is a meal prepared from raw fish. You should eat it before 3PM cause those are the morning fish. We are at the shore and I had it at 1 PM, in quite a reputable restaurant, where lots of local had it too. And it was an entree - a part of a menu - which alltogether cost less then 2 $ - couldn't get it so cheap in Lima I think.

transfer to Tacna - monday

The bus ride from Lima involved some curious passages, especially in the night. I forgot to mention that I had again first floor seat in the first row, so view better then the busdrivers.

Around midnight we were going through a sequence of sharp curves in the mountains, that readilly illustrated why Peru's roads are deemed dangerous. Two lanes, rock on one side, abyss on the other - much like the old school Acolade Test Drive game. No space for mistakes. Leave the curb and gameover succeeds.

And then, in that good old game you drove like a swift sports car... now imagen this 20+ tons mastodont, 5 meters high... And there were slow trucks. And sometimes rocks fallen on the roads surface - up to the size of a decent fridge - no kidding.

Then in the morning (and I was thus glad that I took a reputable company this time) another lengthy passage through dessert. Peruvian shore is all dessert, so it seems.

Lima III - sunday

Sunday was a bit hectic. After getting myself together in the morning, I had to call some bus companies to see when I could go to Tacna.

I found one viable option but wasnt able to reach like a half of the carriers. So Ive decided to go to the terminals area and ask personally and evt bargain. Alas, everything is far in Lima, so at 1 PM I was still stuck with only one safe option, which was leaving at 2 PM.

Ive made impossible happen, took the bus, run to the hostel, checked out, took a taxi, and made it to - another- place where the bus was leaving from at 2:00 PM straight. I got a seat and boarded right on.

This time it was 80 soles against 50 from Tumbes, but, the bus was way better. First time since Colombia I have used my blanket and waem clothes - there was airconditioning! The bus was Volvo / Busscar doubledecker, really nice, leather seats, TV, personal lights, cup holders, curtains, tainted windows and god knows what else. They did not take any people from the street... they did not let in not even the snack vendors, which was a pitty, as I didnt have time to eat properly and was hungry. But, in the end they even gave us a little dinner and breakfast! And when they'd put the last Fast and Furious sequel on, I couldn't have been happier.

Lima II

Well so my first day in Lima was ended by a walk downtown - ints one hour far from the hostel on bus. The center is pretty and looks much like downtown Prague - lots of pedestrian rtraffic only areas, houses repaired.

Lots of shops, fastfoods incl. KFC and Mc, cheap stores for clothes.

I have walked there for some 2 hours, from plaza San Martin to plaza Mayor, then over stone bridge, up to a church where surroundings were getting a bit ugly and it was getting dark too, so Ive turned around.

On my way back O visited museum on Plaza de las Armas (Mayor) where there was big exhibition of urbanistic progress, things theyve improved, things they build etc... The "before" section looked like what Ive expected... kind of tough. But places tyhat still look like that are scarce now, at least in the center.

Then, there was an exhibition of contest of painters under 33 years - free - there was some good stuff so Ive shoved some interest and received catalogue for free.

I then pocked up some food and went home.

Lima - a surprise!

So, at the moment I write from my hostel in Miraflores, Lima.

(I kind of follow footsteps of heroes of the book La ciudad y los perros (http://www.hacer.org/pdf/Vargasllosa04.pdf) and "the poet" was from Miraflores... its a good neighbourhood, so thats where I am. However, the hostel is only 5 USD / night, and they'd even let you sleep on a mtrace on the floor or on a couch for less (casa del mochillero, miraflores, viz. Lonely Planet).

Once again I was lucky. My transport from Tumbes wasn't what it seemed at the first sight. Marcopolo bus looked pretty from outside but was quite worn inside. No AC, windows hardly possible to open, seats dirty etc. Then, we left the terminal with like 5 ppl on board, only to take much more for a cheaper price down the road, which is kind of upsetting, too. At the beginning I thought I'd have to check my stuff all the time and not sleep, then we took a highschool trip on board, by which the number of trustworthy people quadrupled. So I calmed down and submerged into thinking and reading.

(however two of these kids really had their camera and money stolen)

Travelling really is like a pilgrimage or some kind of religious experience for me, having everything in one small backpack really does not give you much to worry about. Bus rides just force you to think - there's not much to do, and the changing landscape helps... in the end its like tourism on foot in that respect. And packing light and good is just another ritual that makes me feel happy and secure.

The ride was only made more exciting by some Peruvian comedy show on TV (lots of jokes about violence and homosexuality, curiously) and stops at transit bus terminals. On the stops traditionally people crowd in and offer everything from pillows to food... actually quite convenient to get a soda and a sandwich.

The route was through the seashore desert... it looks much like Mexican desert from movies.. like the one where Sarah Connor found refuge in Terminator II. Or maybe "No Country for Old Men". Very poor houses with flat roots. Some public spaces. Election campaign ads painted on houses. Keiko Fujimori - daughter of the former president - runs for the office... her nema everywhere makes you feel like in japanese comix.

Also another thing to confess is that being amongst people with so strong Indian traits made me feel quite uncomfortable at first. (so thats where xenofoby comes from)... gradually I got used to it and also in LIma the mix gets better :)

Before Lima also Ive been lucky again, my neighbor, a little uptight businessman, took charge of my wellbeing in Lima, that is, told me to get of at the outer terminal which is more secure than the central one and then sat me on a bus to Miraflores, where I luckily arrived.

After some snack in the luxurious shopping center I called and visited the hostel. And after that even went downtown. But Ill write about that later. So much for today.

And thus I got to Peru

So, I finally reached Peru.

Right now I am sitting in an internet place in Tumbes, quite a bizzare little place.

Yesterday night, I spent last few moments watching quite an interesting movie, whose name I don't know, in the hostel, then I had to run to the bus station without knowing how it ends.

I have to confess that I find it a great achievement when bus companies are concentrated in one big bus terminal (as it is usually in Colombia). It's like a bus ride supermarket, you know, besides you are quarded by security personel, and the only disadvantage is that prices of food are in general higher than on the street - a small price to pay for the comforts.

In Quito I was destined to a small terminal of Esmeraldas transport, a company that takes one to the border for 10 $. Having bought the ticket before I only crossed the few blocks to the station even though it felt a bit adventurous... I got a bit shook by the composition of the people at the station, tehy did not look very trustworthy, so I decided for the first time to check in my backpack and only take necessities on board as to not to have to look after it all night. The bus however was nice and after all people going to my destination looked quite allright too, in the end.

So the night passed - we even got a snack - and a movie - it is a Christian movie called "Fireproof" - I do not know what makes it so popular with busdrivers here, but I swear its the third time they put it on... I could by now retell most parts by myself:( well, perhaps drivers deep inside, as good christians, have some evngelist ambitions? Or maybe it is a redemption quest laid upon them during the holy confession?:)

Morning found me quite o.k. but a bit distracted, so I almost got of the bus too early, the driver wasn't so very helpful but in the end he has dropped us off correctly by the Ecuatorian immigration. By then I acquainted one another of the confused passangers, who turned out to be Peruano living in Ecuador for several years already and being a sales representant for some clothes companies.

He was kind of a happy-go-lucky person - as a good sales representant should be - and somehow he ended up as my guide through this border crossing, which was a very lucky coincidence, as he knew it all very well and so we got together through really fast and sharing the taxis which for sure prevented me being ripped off. So much for my lucky charm, because this border is characterized as one of the sketchiest in all South aMERICA (by one of the guide books) and it indeed does look so.

We parted with my new friend in Tumbes, after he had shown me the street where the bus terminals are, and gave me some tips. Again, no central terminal, fortunatelly I also got tip where to change money safely, so I changed some and went strolling down the avenue with some terminals. The offers are varied, with luxurious buses for as much as 40 USD incl. dinner and breakfast. After asking in cca 5`places I ended up with a ticket that suits my timetable and budget - it cost me some 18 $ and I'll arrive to Lima at 9 AM, so I can conveniently find a hostel. The buses are quite new double deckers by Mercedes and I even got the top-floor seat for the same price.

So now I had lunch - Peru really is cheap, as I had a menu plus my first ever Inca Cola for some 2 $ - and I am waiting for my bus, looking a little bit around Tumbes, which as I had just said has some bizzare features in architecture etc.

So much for Peru so far

CArs in Ecuador

Well well, its a good place here to observe some weird stuff.

Obviously, South America was a big export for Japanese producers since many years. So there are some archaic Toyotas, Mazdas, Nissans to observe. Including VERY old Toyota LUV pickups = must be from 60s, as well as some Corrolas and Mazda 1300s. Also, Volkswagen had quitely developped some products here... there is something evolved from the beatle architecture but with a lot more modern body, its called Brasilia I think. Then there is also "Santana" - basically 2nd gen passat slightly facelifted and produced long beyond ceisure from "developped" markets.

Oh, and East Europe products have representation too. Beyond omnipresent Zhiguli I sam some Samaras and even 5=door Niva, which seems quite rare to me. Then, some of them are badged as FIAT so it might be really FIAT products, and there are also "Polski FIATs" - perhaps as FIAT.
SKODA is present, since the FAVORIT/ FORMAN. Seen some Favo pickup. Then there is continual presence until latest models... Ive even seen a RUMSTR.

And buses... the Ecovia / Metrobus system, which is basically the same as Transmillenio in Bogota, uses also Volkswagen, Volvo and Mercedes chassis... bodies are built locally I think even though there are some Busscars which should be Colombian. Other buses are numerous, when it comes to bodies... One think is special - strong presence of HINO chassis. You can see some pretty old trucks here, too. Now HINO is that brand that was the first to break line of TATRA wins in Rallye Paris - Dakar in early nineties. Then for us it was an unknown asian brand... well they must have known it well enough in Ecuador...

MY COKE ADDICTION

What a title!

Wouldn`t you expect something like that from a person that spent 10 months in THAT part of South America?

But actually it refers to a marketing policy that the (in)famous Coca Cola company has for South America... obviously the drink would not be accessible to many people with European pricing. So these smart guys came up with an idea - Coke in glass bottles should be hell cheaper.

And so it is. 350 ml bottle in Colombia is 1000 pesos (cca 50 cents). In Ecuador 300 ml bottle costs 40 centavos (= 40 cents). The trick is that you get coke in bottles in restaurants and these small shops only... you also have to return the bottle... theoretically (Ive seen them pouring it over into a plastic bag for kids XD ). Don`t you look for it in the supermarket, though! there you`ll find plastic bottles with more usual pricing.

With these prices Coker has become my most common street refreshing drink.

Mitad del Mundo

So I´ve visited this place, Mitad del Mundo.

Its a border between southern and northern hemispheres. So finally I am in the southern haha. "Jsem na Jizni polokouli, mne snad z toho rupne v kouli". Well, at least I could do a little bit of the good old "a na sever, a na jih". Hopefully I have a video too.

Then I visited there an etnographical museum, where there were presentations about all the native cultures... and of Galapago`s - now that was interesting: Darwin kind of based his wild theory on samples from there... and they have turtles that live up to 250 years and can have some 250 kilos.

Quito - Ecuador impressions

I have decided to write in English for now, so that my international friends also can follow my experiences during travels...

So yesterday in the afternoon I went walking down from Mariscakl Sucre to Old Quito. Have tio say that Old Quito has interesting atmosphere with a poetic of its own. Especially because the old center is situated on quite a hilly terrain.

Quito has basically two seasons, summer and winter. Now there is winter, with temperatures dropping as low as 10 degrees. Its quite similar to central -european autumn, so once again it brings memories of Prague, Ostrava or Budapest.

Yes, these three cities fit the most as for my experience, because some of the early 20th century buildings in between old center and Marisco fall a bit in disrepair, even though the economic activity goes on strong, so that qives it ther slightly "worn and schmutzig" feel.

There are a lot of parks - some quite nicely maintained, and lots of public transportation, including trolley-bus line through the cnter which I find quite romantic.

I should not forget two weird olfactoric experiences, where I found a houseware shop, which emited smell quite equal to Grandmother Zachova's flat (is it a common olfactoric fenomen for all houseware retailers???:) and there was in turn a shop with sanitary ceramics emitting smell quite similar to that of my other grandmother's flat. Weird indeed.

I shall now recall two notable experiences with local people... somehow I think in both cases it has to do with toxicity, but who cares, right?:)

So the first one - as there are obviously quite a few "children of the street" - while I was waiting for the downtown bus at the terminal asnd eatying some already worn waffles a cca 10 yrs old boy came, looked me down and then addressed me with the jovial "vale" (comrade) and pointed at my waffles. He was dirty and had a bowl with some noodles in his hand. So I gave him a waffle, he thanked, and then I gave him a rest, too. He was black and had this reallyt laidback Will-Smith like attitude.

Then a funny thing happened: once receiving the waffles (which was not a lot of food after all) he again with such a contented and superior look threw his bowl of noodles into garbage right in front of me, accompanying this act with a jovial "eso no sirve" (this doesn't work) then he lifted the waffles, smiled and said "eso sì sirve" (this does work) and walked away in his very laid back, slow manner, then leaning against the front of a nearby bus (which was about to take of which in turn contributed to my impression that the kid is high on something - which wouldn't be surprising when it comes to these "Huckleberry Finn's of the streets".)


The second experience occured later in the afternoon and really made my day. As I stroolled down the Old Center, occasionally taking picture with my quick-fixed cammera, which since needs attention comparable to that provided to manual cameras, I got to visit the most famous squares and churches. Unsuspectingly I also entered plaza San Francisco, where from I intended to turn to St. Domingo and take a trolley home from there.

Well, at the square was a stage and some kind of party going on, with traditional music a bit simillar to vallenato, and a lots of locals dancing. I went closer to the stage to take picture of the band and to see whether the femal singer is pretty or not (not so much). Then I noticed that almost everyone is drinking from the boxes of some kind of vine, nearby couple readily provided me with a sample - which together with my eternal affinity to cheap fruit vines (isn't it, Patatyn?) and these kinds of festivities led to investigation and purchase of a 1 liter box for 1 USD (a bargain, right? :). Well with the box in my hand my popularity sharply raised (and perhaps attractivity for pickpockets, but I am seasoned adventurer haha) so in a moment I found myself dancing with a group of locals- well first offcourse I was a bit suspicious, but later I decided that they are hrmaless, there was a pair dedicated to restauration of old paintings and some local shopkeepers, one of which - a middle aged lady - was quite hitting on me, but was too drunk to be dangerous:). In the end we shared few more boxes and then went for a beer, and I've learned that on that day begun fiestas de Quito which will so continue till December with a lot of program. We had quite a nice chat and then they dropped me off to the trolley home. So, I found myself sucked straight into turmoil of local social life few hours after my arrival... beautiful, isn't it?


This morning I found about cheaper and faster way to get to the border from the hostel keeper, so she grew in my eyes. I went to speak with the agency and to use net, which was inhibited by (here normal) dropout of electricity between 8 and 10 AM.

So now finally I can write, and I am going to check one more agency that advertises direct line to Lima, and I have received a free paper model of the bus, which just had tomake me happy, right?:) then pack, checkout, leave my stuff at the hostel and go to "mitad del mundo" - the park with equatorial line.

Quito

Tak jsem dojel do Quita, a je zase o cem psat...

Cesta zatim probehla dobre a vicemene podle planu, dokonce jsem sem dorazil o nekolik hodin drive nez jsem myslel.

Samozrejme dve noci po sobe v autobuse neni zadny med... je to nepohodli - zase ale hodne jine nepohodli nez v dzungli; clovek nemusi nic delat ale zato casto nemuze najit pohodlnou pozici kde by si fakt odpocinul.

Z Medellinu do Cali jsem jel s takovym cernouskem ktery mel dva kanarky, tak jsme se spratelili a pomohl mi pak jeste usmlouvat levnejsi cenu na pristi bus... nevyhodou naopak bylo ze tento bus sice vyjel z nadrazi poloprazdny ale po meste "na cerno" nabiral lidi... nejdriv to vypadalo ze vezme hippie parek s tremi detmi na dve zbyvajici mista, nevzal je kvuli psovi:) tak jsem se tesil ze budu mit dvousedadlo--- to ale nevyslo, protoze na pristi zastavce nabrali celou vesnici indianu vcetne olbrimich pytlu a krabic, nekteri dokonce spali i na pristrojove desce.

Hranici jsem pak prekrocil spolu s tremi Nemci, co se hodlali venovat kitesurfingu na pobrazi Ekvadoru. Hranice probehla az necekane hladce.

Jak jsme vjeli do tech And (coz uz bylo predchozi noci) tak se zmenila krajina i lide, taky se ochladilo. Krajina je hornata a kopcovita, trochu jako Alpy. Na lidech je videt, ze vetsina ma indianskeho dedecka nebo babicku:) Lehce pod mrakem, teploty tak kolem patnacti stupnu, rekl bych. Hned to vic evokuje ty nadchazejici Vanoce, ze.

Nemci vystoupili na pul cesty takze do Quita jsem uz dojel sam... srdnate jsem se snazil spat:) protoze tentokrat dvousedadlo k dispozici bylo a tam uz se lze napasovat v embryonalne - horizontalni poloze... no i Indiani na to trochu cumeli, ale ja si rikal muzete si myslet co chcete, hlavne ze ja se muzu vychrapatXD.

V Quitu mezitim probehly zmeny avizovane turistickou priruckou - notoricky podezrely terminal v centru uz nefunguje, a misto nej jsou dva nove, severni a jizni. Jezto to tam vypadalo neskodne tak jsem zavolal do hostelu a rozhodl se jet MHD, anzto za taxik bych dal vic nez za nocleh - navic ve dve odpoledne... Hostel jsem nasel, je to tam trosku studene a pani se zda byt lehce mimozni, ale na jednu noc je mi to jedno,

ted jsem si dal tady nejake mistni jidlo coz je jakasi kukurice s kusy opeceneho veproveho plus nejaka jina prazena lustenina plus se to polije jakousi korenenou omackou s cibuli a dohromady je to prekvapive chutne.

Ted se asi kratce mrknu na centrum dokud je svetlo nacez budu planovat dalsi cestu, patrne asi na zitra.

jeste k te demokracii u nas

K te demokracii, ja bych rekl, ze ten problem,
co dnes zijeme, je o krizi hodnot... slusny clovek
vlastne nevi, co jako ma delat. Chybi nejaka
vize, vse co mame z minulosti je tak nejak
zprofanovane, nabozenstvi, nacionalismus,
pokrok... asi hlavne to posledni, kdyz se vsude
mluvi o tom ze cely system speje smerem k
vaznym ekologickym problemum.
Dokud tohle nebylo, dokud lide mohli verit ze
svet "je v poradku" a ubira se spravnym smerem,
tak si myslim stacilo slusne zit a poctive pracovat.

No neslusny clovek, ten hrabe pod sebe v kazde dobe.

Kdysi meli lidi cisare a jezise, pak narod a pokrok,
a dnes mame prd, a globalni rad, ktery se zda
vlastni setrvacnosti spet do pr.....

Kdyz jsme na univerzite delali ten "vyzkum hodnot vysokoskolaku"
tak z toho vyslo, ze vetsina jsou v podstate "hedoniste", tj.
chteji si uzit svuj zivot, mit co nejvic prijemnych a vzrusujicich
prozitku. No, to je to, co "spotrebni kapitalismus" diktuje
jednotlivci. "kdo si neuzil je blbec" Ale ze by to byla nejaka
velka hodnota, nebo ze by to lidi nejak tmelilo o tom bych
si dovolil pochybovat. Ale v hodnotovem vakuu je to vychodisko.
Nebo nekdo to hleda v praci - zas aby to byl
nejak uspokojujici vztah ke svetu, tak ta prace musi byt
nejak prospesna a davat nejaky smysl, coz opet se mi zda
ze v mnoha povolanich chybi...

Ta demokracie jako takova neni sama o sobe zdrojem
nejakeho dobra. Ja jsem si kdysi uvedomil, ze demokracie
je pouze urcita spravni platforma, ktera umoznuje (teoreticky)
relativne spravedlivou soutez nejruznejsich zajmu a hodnot.
Je to proste jen jakasi forma bez obsahu... Obcane ji pak
naplni nejakymi hodnotami... pokud ty hodnoty stoji za h...
tak nemuzeme cekat ze "demokracie" samotna to nejak zachrani.
Pokud napriklad teoreticky by spolu demokraticky soutezili
nacismus a bolsevismus tak, ackoli by to melo demokraticky
ramec, by to nebyl zadny duvod k radosti.
Demokracie je takovy jako "operacni system" pocitace - pokud si do nej
nenainstalujeme zadne uzitecne programy tak takovy
pocitac pouze s operacnim systemem je trochu k nicemu,
ackoli ten operacni system je potreba aby bylo vubec mozne
tam nejake programy nainstalovat.

Ja si myslim, ze to je prave to, co tady lide uplne nepochopili,
a to je taky duvod proc nekteri mluvi o potrebe obcanske spolecnosti.
Ze lidi si mysleli, ze kdyz se ten spravni ramec zmeni ze socialismu
s diktatem jedne strany v pluralitni demokracii a kapitalismus,
ze automaticky se vsichni budou mit dobre... no a ono ne, jenze to
je o tom, ze demokracie pouze proste rika obcane muzete se
sdruzovat a prosazovat sve zajmy - coz taky je namaha a otrava,
kolikrat. No a kdo radsi sedi na gauci a kouka na televizi,
tak pak - v demokracii - v te televizi kouka na to, ze nekdo jiny
taky treba prosazuje svoje zajmy na jeho ukor. A ze tady byli
"aktivni" lidi, to byli, to jsou ti, co si okolo privatizace nejvic
nakradli.

Lidi si proste predstavovali prosperitu a blahobyt automaticky a
pro vsechny, pod pojmem kapitalismus a demokracie,
no a zklamali se... A ani bych se nemohl divit, kdyby nekdo
nekterym tem obrazum, co se lidem malovaly, nadaval do
"lzive kapitalisticke propagandy":) Jeste tak Klaus s tim jeho
utahovanim opasku to videl nejak realisticky... no jo.

Je sranda, ze prave tohle tady za Prvni Republiky bylo pritomno,
protoze prave vselijake organy obcanske spolecnosti, tj. spontanni
sdruzeni obcanu, ty tu byly pritomne, a s dlouhou tradici, Sokol,
Orel, vselijake krajanske a profesni a cechomilske spolky, protoze
to byla skoro jedina moznost jak v ramci monarchie sve zajmy
a ceske zajmy nejak hajit... a to vsechno se do prvorepublikove
demokracie preneslo a ta demokracie z toho tezila, ze, a lidi
v tom proste byli a meli k tomu nejaky skutecny vztah, odvozovali od clenstvi
svou hrdost a tak dale... a tyto
organy obcanske spolecnosti mely v tu chvili (prevratu) uz tradici kolik
desitek let! Vzdyt ti Sokolove v osmactyricatem jeste po
prevratu meli demonstrativni pochod Prahou a rika se, ze mel
Gottwald pekne nadelano v kalhotech.

17. Listopad

Jak pekne je sledovat oslavy tohoto svatku odnekud, kam by se clovek pred rokem 89 asi sotva dostal, a pokud, tak uz naporad.

Na druhou stranu si clovek rika proc to porad "neni ono", proc ma clovek pocit, jako by te demokracii neco chybelo? Proc si to clovek vubec mysli. No, pri srovnani s "duchem Prvni Republiky". Tak samozrejme ja jsem v te dobe nezil, ze. Ale co se tak traduje, soude podle kultury, ale i prumyslovych ukazatelu atd, tak ten "duch" byl jiny, silnejsi, zdravejsi a pozitivnejsi...


Podle mne jednak se na tom podilela "vudci osobnost" toho prerodu, jednak "forma prerodu" a jednak "svetova situace".

K tomu prvnimu jsme v situaci Masaryk vs. Havel, kde Masaryk mel onu prakticnost, tvrdost, realismus a pragmatismus, ktere umoznily aby vice a efektivneji narod vedl, i za cenu omezeni realnych demokratickych mechanismu jeho skupinou Hrad. Masaryk se stal take urcitym idolem, s nimz se narod ztotoznoval, ale spis na zpusob Mojzise, ktery narod prakticky "vyvedl" z uzkych, kdezto V. Havel je typem spise mucednika - coz nam sice zviditelnuje urcite moralni maximy, ale pro "prakticky zivot" je mene uzitecne, coz se myslim dobre odrazi v "lidovem" postoji k V. Havlovi.

Za druhe asi prvni transformace byla vice vybojovana, a proto citena jako vice zaslouzila. Zalozeni Cs. Legii a usili prevratit svetove verejne mineni tak, aby mu zalezelo na existenci male a temer nezname zeme, to byl narocny projekt, jehoz legitimita navic byla nezrejma, alespon zbytku sveta, a to vice, nez narok naroda na zmenu vlastniho politickeho rezimu. Naproti tomu Listopad 89, jak to vidim, nam vice "spadl do klina", i si myslim, ze byl leckdo prekvapen ze "to padlo", vice zde zalezelo na tom, ze "to padalo" i vsude okolo... Nebyla tu ta zkusennost valky, kde kazdy cesky rekrut se musel nejak vyporadat s tim, ze bude bojovat za Rakousko... Take se behem 1SV skutecne za vec umiralo... to se tykalo mnoha rodin a je to velmi existencialni vec. V roce 1989 "primo" umrel jen jeden, a jeste se posleze ukazalo, ze to nebyla pravda. V roce 89. velka cast naroda se v podstate ze dne na den rozhodla, ze vzhledem k tomu jak se situace vyviji stoji za to risknout vyjadrit svuj nazor na demonstraci. To ze to vyslo, to bylo trochu jako vyhrat jackpot, a myslim ze analogicky se projevila i urcita nepripravenost ohledne toho jak s takovou vyhrou nalozit, ktera vyustila do bezohledneho oportunismu nekterych a deziluze valne casti naroda, ktera je nejak citi doposud.


A konecne svetova situace byla v roce 1918 podstatne odlisna, "prakticky" to byla doba povalecne rekonstrukce, kdy nutnost ucinne jednat a pricinovat se v dusledku zatlacila do pozadi vselijake "nalady", "teoreticky" svet byl v te fazi modernity, kdy byl pokrok dosud povazovan za slibny vselek, a jak vize rozvrzeni sveta tak vize budoucnosti byly jednoznacnejsi, cernobilejsi a vuci nasi civilizaci optimistictejsi.
Oproti tomu v devadesatych letech Cesi stale v zapade videli "neproblematicky" svet a la dvacata leta, kdezto realita, jejiz vyvoj jsme za zeleznou oponou prehledli, byla jina, komplikovanejsi, nejednoznacna. Demokracie jako zapadonemecka ci americka se uz potykaly s problemy krize hodnot, ekologickych dopadu prumyslove revoluce, nepredvidanymi dusledky socialni a imigracni politiky a konkurenci novych, cizich a tezko srozumitelnych hracu na svetovem poli (ekonomicky vzestup Asie, Islamisticke revoluce atd...).

MMM.
Bylo by na miste po teto analyze nabidnout take syntezu. Pravdou vsak je, ze nevim. Nevim, jak by mel cesky narod hledat svou identitu v Evrope 21. stoleti. Vim ale to, ze kazda identita, o kterou musime bojovat, ma daleko vetsi hodnotu.

Moje cesta - Carrera Panamericana

Behem planovani cesty, kterou hodlam uskutecnit posledni mesic pobytu v Jizni Americe jsem zjistil, ze itinerar prakticky kopiruje trasu Carrery Panamericany.

Tato dalnice spojuje Jizni a Severni Amerika a vede od Kanady az po Chile / Argentinu. Na pocest otevreni Mexickeho useku se zde pocala jezdit v padesatych letech slavna rallye, nedavno znovu otevrena. Mapu vidime zde:

Ja pojedu Cartagena / Medellin / Cali / Quito / Lima / Valparaiso (zhruba); tj. po teze trase. Coz mi jakozto automobilovemu nadsenci pochopitelne pusobi radost.

Vice k historii dalnice naleznete zde: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_Highway Ne celou trasu lze zdolat vozem, prave nedaleko Cartageny je dzungle mezi Kolumbii a Panamou nepropustna takze je nutne se premistit trajektem.

Vice k historii zavodu naleznete zde: http://theunlimitedclass.com/about/history-of-la-carrera-panamericana/ Neni bez zajimavosti, ze podle clanku prave z tohoto zavodu / dalnice jsou odvozena jmena Porsche Carrera a Panamera. Podivame-li se na mapu, tak vidime ze v Colombii Panamericana zacina od obce Turbo (tam se dostaneme lodi). Na pocest teto zastavky na Carrera Panamericana se volumetrickemu kompresoru rika Turbodmychadlo, ci primo Turbo.