Carnival is a well-known tradition in most Catholic countries. It’s the celebration that takes place right before Lent, 40 days before Easter. Its name comes from the Latin carnem levare, which loosely translated into “to put away meat”, as theoretically Catholics aren’t supposed to eat meat during Lent (this might come in handy for me as a vegetarian). In my role as a socio-cultural scientist, I went to perhaps the most traditional Argentinian Carnival — the Carnival of Tilcara, Jujuy. Very appropriately, I was accompanied by a man named Jesús.

Paraguay is definitely not the most eco-friendly or sustainable country I know. In fact, due to its rich and fertile soil, it should be a country with no lack in food, health or wealth, but this is not the case. Instead, it’s a country where much of the land is owned by foreigners, where people throw most things away without recycling and where the main basis of nutrition is meat and wheat products.

If there’s something I absolutely love it’s creating things with my hands and giving new purposes to old things. I’m the youngest of seven children, so you can take a wild guess on how much new stuff I used to receive as a child. The answer is slim to none and I’m grateful for it, because it has taught me to appreciate everything second-hand and recycled. When cycling long-distance, it’s quite heavy to carry handicraft supplies with you, so you often need to search for things to do with whatever is around. Here’s the DIY ideas I’ve come up with in Paraguay. Enjoy!

I’ve always been intrigued by individuals living from the streets. Artists, buskers, craftsmen, salesmen, shoe polishers and all those nearly invisible eccentrics for whom the streets represent an endless playground of opportunities. Not only, because there’s usually a lot of “hidden” talent on the streets, but also because people on the streets are the ones who really see it all. Streets are where everything happens. 

If there’s one South American city where cycling is a dream, it’s definitely Buenos Aires. The ciclovías (cycling lanes) span over 150kms, the mild, subtropical climate is great for pedaling all year round, there are no hills, the roads are in good conditions and most of them are one way. Some local cafeterias even contribute into make cycling more popular by offering free coffees and pastries to cyclists,

In a previous post called “10 things not to ask a long-distance cyclist“, I listed down the things I get asked more frequently when on the road. After having heard the same questions over and over again, I started thinking to myself what kind of questions would I love to answer? As I stay with locals nearly every night, I sometimes wish we could just jump through the basic questions and speak about other things instead. 

This is the second part of the blog post series Finns on Bicycles – encounters on the road. This time let me introduce to you: Antti Aittola, a 23-year-old man from Porvoo, Finland. Antti left his hometown together with his friend Lauri Ketonen in March 2014, and after spending 27 months cycling through Asia, Australia, South America and the East Coast of USA, he finally returned to Finland in July 2016.