Chile Part 2

This border into Chile was a bit special, very severe and at 4500m altitude. Chile is very strict with things you can bring in, so after scanning all our bags the dogs were sent through to find drugs or any food products. Even tea bags are not allowed.

But after that I could enjoy the great views during the ride down to Santiago.

In Santiago I did some sightseeing and met Cecilia again. She offered me to stay with her family in their house. It was so nice I got a home away from home and her mom made a big family dinner and tried to make everything perfect for me. Simply a mom. ;-)
I went out with Cecilia to some bars and I met some of her friends. Even my time was short I enjoyed it very much. Hope to come back soon. Thanks to Cecilia and her family!



After so much welcoming kindness, it felt hard to continue. But I went to Valparaiso to see the graffiti arts and enjoy a few days at the coast. It was colder than in Santiago and had more wind but sunshine all the time. Perfect weather for a stroll through the streets and to check out some of the view points, art works and cafes.





Then I took a bus north along the coast to get to Calama and then San Pedro de Atacames. Long empty surfer beaches for hundreds of kilometers, dry desert landscape and in the background the Andes with some volcano peaks. And the closer I came to San Pedro the drier it got. The Atacama desert is the driest place on earth with no rain the whole year. And you can feel it, within minutes you are thirsty and your skin dries out. But the landscape is an odd beauty, sand dunes and canyons and the rock formations seems to be from the moon.
I visited the worlds largest copper mine and for a short while I had the feeling to be back at work with a helmet on my head being on a construction site. ;-)


But I enjoyed the strange landscape and wanted to see more of it on the other side of the border.
So I tried to get one of the buses to Bolivia. There are only four a week and its hard to get tickets. As well the border office is only open at this time when the buses cross. But I was the first one in the ticket office and got a seat for the next day early early morning. The road is not paved and so the ride took 5h for 200km and another 5h to Uyuni in Bolivia. The border was the loneliest place I have ever seen. The border town is more a ghost town, there might be only ten people living and on the Bolivian side even less.
But it was a good experience and interesting to see.
And I was finally in Bolivia.

Argentina Part 2

A look out of the window of our bus showed a very deserted landscape in both countries Chile and Argentina when we crossed borders again. There was wide empty grassland wherever you look. This is how Patagonia looks like too, it is not only mountains.
But our first stop was way north in the mountains again in El Calafate. The town looked very clean and touristy and so it was expensive as well, but like all over Patagonia. But you gladly spend the money to see all the beauty.

We came to see the Perito Moreno glacier there. And it was amazing, the glacier was incredible, blue ice from a 74m high and 5km long wall melting or more crashing in bits and peaces into the lake. You can hear the noise like a thunder when blocks brake/fall down from the glacier end every few minutes. It's a very special place and so beautiful. And this glacier is one of biggest outside the north and south pole areas that is still growing and not shrinking like most. We spent an afternoon enjoying the view and then went on the next fabulous stop. El Chalten.

This little village lies at the entrance of a national park with great trekking and camping options. We hiked up the Condor view point and for a day trek into the park to see Mt. Fitzroy. What a gorgeous place. The colours of autumn were over the fields and in the trees and we had blue sky. And at the end of the trek we got rewarded with a view over a turquoise glacier lake and the impressive peak of Mt. Fitzroy. Well I think I can say I love Patagonia, it's so stunningly beautiful and well organised for travellers.

From El Chalten we took two long day buses to get to Bariloche. The routa 40 is not paved and only passable by day. On the way we saw many people who travel this famous route by motor bikes. That must be an awesome experience, too.
Finally in Bariloche we enjoyed the atmosphere of a German/Swiss styled town and very good food. This place is famous for chocolate as well. So we spent one afternoon just sitting on our hostel terrace on sunbeds enjoying the sunshine and, to top it all off, having red wine and chocolate. What a hard life... ;-)

We met some hiking friends again and explored the place together. A little hike with everybody up a view point to see the lakes was easy and nice. Great views again like everywhere in Patagonia. The lake district in general with all the lakes and green hills is perfect for outdoor activities.
On top I even got to stay in a luxury time share in Bariloche that two American guys offered us. With a fireplace and a jacuzzi really special and a welcome change to dormitories although the hostels in Patagonia are very modern and comfortable.

But after a few days I continued traveling north to Mendoza to explore the most famous wine area in Argentina. And the first thing to do is to join in a wine tour through the vineyards and enjoy drinking! So that's what I did for the next couple of days, drinking red wine and eat delicious food. But the area has more to offer, so I went to see the highest mountain in whole America, Mt. Aconcagua 6964m, an old natural Inca bridge, a canyon and the impressive Cristo statue at the border between Chile and Argentina, at 4200m. What a great finish for my time in Argentina!

And so I crossed into Chile again over the Andes and saw the famous ski area between Mendoza and Santiago. Well it had no snow at that time but might be interesting to check out in winter as well.

Chile Part 1

Rio Gallegos itself is not very interesting but a good start to go south. So we took a bus to Punta Arenas which was only few hours away. From there it was easy to cross over to Tierra del Fuego and some islands to see some sea lions and penguins, my new favourite friends! They are so cute!

And then Jay and me went to Puerto Natales to prepare for our big trekking trip in Torres del Paine. First we planned on staying in Refugios and take it as an easy walk but after meeting other travellers we somehow let them convince us to camp. So we bought food for five days, rented camping gear and packed our bags. Oh man 14 or 16kg must have been in my bag. I was excited but as well already regretting the camping decision a little bit but there was no way back, cause the bus was booked and without reservations no Refugios would have space.
And then we went into the park and started our tour into an amazing scenery.
After one hour of hiking I hated my backpack and wished I had only a day pack there. Haha. But the landscape and the views would just make up for it. After a few hours we got to a glacier that melted into a lake and the view was just breathtaking. It was so worth it even this area of the park is burned down.
Later the first day it rained while putting up our tent and everything got wet but that couldn't bother us. We had a hot noodle soup and warmed up in our sleeping bags and got ready for the next day.
The second day was the longest and hardest for me. It was about 8h of hiking with the heavy bag on to the next campsite where we had mashed noodles and fell asleep already eight in the evening. But then the third day was a hike into the french valley with only water and your camera. We left the tent and our heavy bags behind cause we would return to that place later again. Our shoulders were just so happy that day! The views and the landscape in that valley were just incredible. I loved it there and the sun was putting all the colours into the right light. Stunningly beautiful!

The fourth day was as well a wonderful sunny day and led us to the final valley with the Torres towers.
Again beautiful scenery and a cute little campsite at the end of the trail.
Cause it was so sunny we were convinced it will stay like that but over night the fog and clouds came in. So for my birthday we got up early in the morning to hike up the last hill to see the sunrise over the towers but it turned out to be a little disappointment. We could still see the amazing three towers over the turquoise glacier lake but the glowing from the sun wasn't there. It was a big birthday present and when we got back that day to Puerto Natales we had a great birthday party with all my new hiking friends. In the end it was an awesome day for me!
And I was so proud I made it through the five days with this heavy bag on my back.


Whoever likes hiking and trekking, the Torres del Paine is a must do when you are in Patagonia. Incredible place so deep in the south of America!
And we did not have enough from mountains and glaciers, so we travelled north further into Patagonia and back into Argentina.

Argentina Part 1

Just a 20 minutes bus ride and my brothers and me went from Fort de Iguazu to Puerto Iguazu and were in Argentina. And what is the most important thing to do there? Have a nice dinner with steak and red wine!
Then we headed again to the waterfalls and this time we had sunshine the whole day. What an amazing place!
The devils throat with all the noise and steam is breath taking. I spent half an hour there just staring at the huge amount of water running down this waterfall. Then we started hiking the little trails to see more and more waterfalls and the big ones from different view points. Definitely a highlight of my trip.


With a luxury overnight bus we then went to Buenos Aires and continued the nice life style with great food and funny night life. We explored the neighbourhood, the famous cemetery where Evita lies, of course had dinner in one of the best restaurants in BA - La Cabrera, went to colourful La Boca and saw a football game of the Boca Juniors which was crazy.

I met up with Jay again to go together to Patagonia. And so we booked a flight from BA down to Rio Gallegos where we started our tour through the deep south.

Brasil

Brasil was all about Carnival. That was the main reason for me to go there in February. And to see Rio and the mighty Amazon of course. And that's where my tour started.

The border to Colombia was just a little road block, so I walked over from Leticia in Colombia to Tabatinga in Brasil to get my passport stamped and to find a boat going down the Amazon to Manaus. I ran into a friendly old man who drove me around with his little motor bike. He showed me the harbour, bought the ticket with me, got my bags from Colombia into Brasil, showed me around town, where the best restaurants are and next morning he drove me to the boat at 5am in the morning.
The actual boat ride down to Manaus for 1100km was boring but the Amazon itself is not. I saw some special places with Piranhas and the typical jungle animals, the meeting of a black and a white river stream that doesn't mix into each other because of temperature, speed and density. The rivers flow for a few kilometers side by side which is a weird phenomenon. After this looong time on the boat I got to this surprisingly huge city in the middle of the jungle, Manaus. Could enjoy the pre-Carnival celebrations in the streets and got an idea of what awaits me in Salvador.
Apart from that Manaus is not very nice, only the trips to the little side streams are very interesting.

I flew from there via Brasilia to Salvador where the big party should start. I met Gavin (Australia, met in Utila) who booked the hostel and all his Australian friends and then we got prepared for an extraordinary event. The first night out already turned into an 8h dancing and drinking marathon and the next days would continue like that. Well we visited as well the old town and a few beaches out of town for a change what was nice. The Carnival in Salvador had three circuits, each had "bloccos" that consists of trucks with loud music and people moving/dancing down the street and every circuit had different music styles. We saw the traditional show in the old town one night, the rest we spent at the beach circuit following the trucks with the best music. For Tuesday we got shirts to actually be part of the parade and to walk with one of the "bloccos". It was another 8h party pack. It was just incredible and so much fun! After four days of dancing my shoes gave up, I glued them so they kept going till I was back from the 6th night and then they were done. What an experience!

From there I went to Rio, next big highlight. The famous Rio de Janeiro with Christ overlooking everything. It was impressive, too. Saw the beautiful people at the Copacabana beach, went up the Corcovado to say hello to Mr. Christ and to enjoy the incredible views, visited the sugar loaf, followed the artists in Santa Theresa, had drinks at Ipanema beach and bicycled around the lagoon. If there wasn't that heat, it would be a nice place to live.


After party and sugar loaf I continued traveling with my new big brothers Gavin and Rodney (Aus) to the Iguazu falls. On the Brasilian side we got a nice overview of how massive the falls are and planned the next day to check it out closer on the Argentinian side.
But before I left expensive Brasil, we went shopping across the border in Paraguay. Cheap electronics paradise. Shopped for a bit and then looked forward to a nice steak and red wine in Argentina!

Colombia - mi amor !

Welcome to Colombia!

After this rough sailing trip, I finally arrived in Cartagena. And it is true Colombia welcomes you! I can highly recommend everybody to visit this unique country.
The people are friendly and helpful, food is great and it offers all kind of landscapes, from tropical beaches to snow covered mountains and from bustling cities with intense nightlife to dreamy little villages.


For me Cartagena was somehow special, because I had this romantic thought of this old movie in my head. haha The city isn't that romantic, but the old town still keeps its charm and it is nice to wonder around the old streets. But the prices there are more for the richer travellers.
A little side trip to Playa Blanca turned out to be interesting because it was fully packed with local tourists who spend their holiday month January somewhere at the beach. We barely found a tent for the night and tried to get out there by boat next day again.
Since my credit card got hacked in Panama and I tried to get a new card to Cartagena, I had to stay for a while. But it never got there. Very lucky and happy I travelled with a friend paying all my expenses during that time.

So we went on to Santa Martha and Taganga to see and dive the beautiful Tayrona National Park. We got a two nights, three days diving trip in the park and stayed at one of the beaches in hammocks. This bay and its beaches were just for us and we were only three, Tine (Norway), Grady (US) and me. A little paradise in Colombia's north. Got to dive to a coral nursery as well what was something new and cool.

From there we went south and stopped in several little mountain villages, e.g. Giron, San Gil and Villa de Leyva. I had the feeling I'm somewhere in Spain in the Pyrenees, same vegetation and look of the houses and streets.
Was really nice to hike around there, explore nature and some waterfalls. If you like rafting and paragliding, that's a good place to go. In one of these towns they had hot springs that you could swim in at nighttime with candle light, very romantic. Something more action you get if you are up for a bungee jump, like my friend. I never understand how people can do it, for me it's enough just to watch it! ;-)


After that I was ready for some cold and was looking forward to go to Bogota and to wear jeans and a jumper. Temperatures dropped down to 10 degrees Celsius at night, on the mountain even down to 3. But I enjoyed the change and Bogota, did some shopping, good dining, museums (gold museum!!) and coffee drinking. Went up the mountain, to a tower and saw a bull fight. After that, now I understand all the protests against this. What an animal cruelty! I expected something different with a fair chance for the bull, but it is just torturing and murdering poor animals. Apart from the fight the time in Bogota was very relaxing and enjoyable.

Ah and I finally received a new credit card from home and was able to travel on alone. Big thanks to my friend for lending me the money and to my parents for organising all the mail thing to Colombia.
Hope it won't happen again.
From Bogota I flew again into the heat, down to the Amazon basin. Leticia is a humid and hot but friendly little border town and I walked over to Brasil to get my passport stamps and to find a boat to Manaus.
For me Colombia is one of the top countries so far, all is very safe and friendly. Just go and find out yourself!

Panama

My expectations were high when I got to Panama because I heard so many great things about this country.
But I was a little bit disappointed in the beginning, prices were as high as in Costa Rica! And I got a cold the very first day in Bocas and lost my voice for a few days. On top of that it rained the whole week that I spent there. Hmm, not a nice start in this country.

But it should get better! And yes it turned into an amazing time at the west coast. It was a long way to Santa Catalina, had to take several buses and stop overnight. But finally there, the beach was nice, the waves good to surf, sunshine the whole day and awesome diving! Got to see a whale shark while diving out at Isla Coiba, which is a nature reserve and similar to the Galapagos Islands. I was as well surprised how stunningly beautiful the beaches were on those islands. Well preserved and protected from all people. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera that day and so I can't show any pictures of this paradise.
In Santa Catalina I met Grady (U.S., met on Utila) again and we travelled together to Panama City and for the next weeks.
Panama City is very modern and it is called Miami of Central America. Big tall buildings forming a nice skyline during day and night and best to be seen from the old town where we stayed. It was such a nice change to be in clean and modern surroundings, do shopping and eat in fancy restaurants. For Christmas they had lights and illumination everywhere and loud music in the streets. There was as well a big parade along the coast road with thousands of Panamanians celebrating. Interesting to spend Xmas like this. But as well strange for me, it was my first one away from home and family. No traditional Gluehwein, a real Christmas tree or cookies but next year I hope to be back for that.

The day after Christmas we went to see the Canal. What a huge Canal system and construction. Impressive how these big cruise liners or cargo ships go through all the gates. From the Atlantic to the Pacific it is 80 km and it takes them 10 h to pass the three locks. For my friends at my very home it must look like the little locks in the "Spreewald", just a few times bigger here. ;-)
Spent the whole afternoon there watching the big ships passing by and all the technical features.

After few days more in this cosmopolitan city we booked a sailboat to Colombia and went to Portobelo to board there. We started the sailing trip on the 30th and spent New Years at the San Blas Islands which was amazing. These islands are so very beautiful, fine white sand and turquoise water. A dream!!
But then we sailed into open water away from the coast towards Colombia and this time of the year the sea is the roughest. Well I didn't know that before I started and so it was wild! The boat went up and down the waves, normal walking was not possible and toilet breaks very difficult. haha ;-) Out of 17 people, three survived without getting sea sick. I luckily somehow managed to be one of them. And it took one day longer to get to Cartagena due to the wind and waves. But we all made it and arrived in a beautiful old colonial town and as well in South America!

Costa Rica

Well, Costa Rica must be really beautiful, but I just stopped in San Jose for overnight and in Porto Viejo at the Caribbean coast on my way to Panama.
San Jose is quite safe to walk around even at night time and the beaches on the east coast are very nice. I was not lucky, it was raining a lot. But I could manage to get a few nice pics of the place.

There is a big negative aspect for Costa Rica, it is so so expensive. Compared to the other countries in Central America prices are way higher. Somehow it feels more like being in the U.S. than in a country in Latin America.
Therefore I can recommend Costa Rica only for its beautiful nature and wildlife, but nor for exploring culture and food. It has the greatest variety of animals within the rain forests, more than all the other neighbour countries. Well, this is only my opinion, everybody should make his/her own experiences.

The beaches in Puerto Viejo are beautiful but it is dangerous to be there at night. Heard about a lot robberies.
But for two chilling days it was perfect. And then I crossed the most relaxed border ever. A little hut on the Costa Rican side of the river, then this old scary looking bridge by foot and then another little hut to get the entry stamp for Panama. Nobody is in a hurry and all is easy...

Happy New Year

Hallo meine Lieben!
Wuensche euch ein gesundes, erfolgreiches und glueckliches neues Jahr 2012!
Ich hoffe die guten Vorsaetze sind nicht schon wieder vergessen. ;-)
Macht das Beste aus eurer Zeit und geniesst jeden Tag! So wie ich das grad mach ... ;-)
Viele liebe Gruesse aus Kolumbien!
Eure Linda

Happy New Year to all my friends!

Froehliche Weihnachten! Merry Xmas!

Hallo meine Lieben!
Hola my dear friends!

Fohe Weihnachten und gemuetliche Feiertage mit Familie und Freunden!
Wish you all merry Christmas and a great time with your loved ones!

Kommt gut ins neue Jahr!
Happy New Year!

No Gluehwein for me this year, hmm, too bad, but ok I'll have a few Rumenades instead!!
Cheers.