Young couple takes on world tour

A NEWLYWED couple from Poland has backpacked and hitchhiked their way to Guyana and so far, is intrigued with our hospitality and simple way of life.

The 27-year-olds first met as travellers in the forest in their country four years ago. Borys Uczulka and Aleksan Uczulka are amateur journalists who are travelling the world and documenting every step of their travels through videos and pictures.

Their journey started a year ago when they decided they want to see the world because they both had completed their studies and got married.

THE JOURNEY
The Uczulkas told the Pepperpot Magazine that five months ago they hitched a ride across the ocean to Central Asia then to the Canary Islands, hoping to get a boat to South America but it is difficult since more than 100 backpackers are also trying to do the same thing.

The couple added that they waited for two weeks until they bummed a ride via boat.

However, the intended trip to South America by boat would have taken them five months so they opted to get a move on, and did so by plane from Barcelona to Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was there that their South American trip started.

The Uczulkas had only planned on spending one month in Argentina but delayed their stay for one and a half months working as teachers.

Borys told the Pepperpot Magazine that they taught the Polish language to the handful of Polish descendants who had settled in that country and, they were so in awe of how those people maintained their tradition of keeping the Polish culture alive.

They then went to Chile where they did voluntary work on a sheep farm in a remote part of that country since it was expensive to stay there.

There, Borys said, were about 300 sheep on the farm and they had to wake up early to work on the farm in a place that had no electricity and they relied on a generator. To top it off the place is very cold but beautiful, they said.

They then moved on to Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay and in those countries, they enjoyed their stay since it was relatively cheap for them to travel by bus rather than to hitchhike.

In those countries, the Uczulkas had an opportunity to embrace the culture and the food which were similar to that of Europe and they also visited the gold mining area of Bolivia which happens to be a tourist attraction.

A VERY DIFFERENT WORLD
Borys Uczulka said they also went to an illegal mining area in Peru in the city of La Rinconada, one of the highest points in that country, where they stayed for three weeks in a place where there were no running water or toilet facilities and where people had a bath once weekly in public places.

He added that because people defecate on the streets and also throw garbage around, the smell was overbearing, the place is dirty and most of the lakes are contaminated because of the high use of mercury in the mining areas.

Borys said because the area is uncontrolled, gangs have risen up and have gained control of the miners whom they attack with armed violence, people are exploited and not paid while some are selling gold.

He stated that they then visited Venezuela and also went to the national parks where there is large-scale gold mining but noted that the people there are underpaid.

The couple, however, moved on to Boa Vista, Brazil where they visited the refugee camps and also saw people who fled Venezuela sleeping on the streets, awaiting their turn to enter a refugee camp.

REFUGEES
The Uczulkas told the Pepperpot Magazine that the place was very humid in Boa Vista and the suffering of the refugees was unbearable, since about 300 of them have nowhere to go and practically walked there from Venezuela.

Borys in his dialogue with some of the folks related that they don’t have any shoes, money and literally sold their houses for little or nothing to just get a ticket to somewhere.

He added that some of the Venezuelans have expressed an interest in going to Argentina to seek a better life, while many go without food for days.

GUYANA
The couple hitched a ride via truck from Lethem to Georgetown where they were intrigued by our architecture, culture, our simple way of life and most of all our food and hospitality.

They said that on their way to the city it is one of the worse trails they ever travelled, but they truly enjoyed the sightseeing of our natural diversity which is quite different from the countries they have since travelled.

The Uczulkas said they were told many things about Guyana but now that they have visited the place, it isn’t as dangerous as was described by others who said they are afraid of coming here.

The couple is in Guyana for a week and have so far walked most places in the city admiring our colonial-style buildings. After leaving Guyana, they will journey to Suriname then to French Guiana bringing their South American tour to an end.

During their stay in Guyana, they were staying with an East Indian family in Better Hope, East Coast Demerara and they related that they really enjoyed their time here.

Of the countries they have visited, they said that Guyana is one of the most beautiful.

The Uczulkas said they will return to Poland and work out their options since they have many opportunities and will continue to travel and do documentaries and take photos of the places they visited.

As backpackers, they travel with minimal clothing, sleeping bags, a tent, filming gear and a drone. Unfortunately, they related that they lost the drone to the strong winds while in Bolivia.

Even though they travel light during their visit to several countries they were gifted items such as hammocks and cultural pieces of clothing which they have kept to take back to Poland.

The couple’s next destination is to the Middle East since they do not like to visit so-called tourist’s locations.