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.

Nicaragua

It felt strange to leave the island, I kind of felt home on Utila. But somehow I was too curious of what would come next. Well, I'm proud to be a dive master, but there is so much more to see, discover and learn.

First place in Nica was Leon, a nice colonial town. And what to do there? Of course the famous volcano boarding. That was awesome and you could get your speed boarding down there. I wasn't too fast but one of our group broke the record and got on the top five speed list with 85 kmh.

After some great party and the boarding I went on to Granada another beautiful colonial town. Spend a day just relaxing in the courtyard cafes reading my new book. Stieg Larsson books, I'm addicted. Went as well to the islands in the lago Nicaragua to see some local families and their typical life.

Next day I got on the ferry to Isla Ometepe where I met Tine and Jay (Norway and Canada/Australia girls I met on Utila) again. Ometepe is a big volcano island in lago Nicaragua. We went to a hostel in the middle of the forest far away from everything. But nice to relax, go hiking, meet other travelers and party with them.

There are two volcanos and we decided to hike the smaller one, Maderas, which was scheduled with 8h and thats enough hiking for one day. The conditions on top were muddy and slippery because it is always covered with clouds. But we could still get some good views. Just the crater lake at the top was in fog.
The day before we rented some horses and had a nice ride along the beach and to Ojo de Agua. That is a little water place with crystal clear water from the volcano. It was perfect to get a little refreshment. My legs were so heavy after these two days of action, I could hardly walk. ;-)
And Tine and me, we were lucky, at night there was somebody in our dorm and stole her and my bag, the night guard caught him on his way out and brought our stuff back. So lucky, but so creepy as well, none of us heard a thing and woke up while the thief was next to our beds!
And I had a strange kind of allergic reaction and went to the doc who gave me a little sheet of paper with some prescriptions, I should get in the pharmacy, including 4 shots I had to get. But she didn`t tell me how to do it. So I got some huge injection needles and the little vials and should give me the shots myself. Haha, never done this before, aaaahhh help! But all ended up good, cause it turned out that Tine is a doctor and she was happy to help me.


After all this it was nice to go to the beach and relax for a bit! The pacific coast and its beaches around San Juan del Sur are so beautiful! We went to Hermosa and Maderas beach. I tried some surfing again and enjoyed the times with the girls. And we partied every day there, even we didn`t want to. Somehow we couldn`t stay away, hehe!

But that was as well the end of my Nicaragua trip. We split up into several directions from there. Tine went to Mexico, Jay to Panama City and I took the bus to San Jose in Costa Rica. Nicaragua is a great place, it`s so definitely worth a visit!!!

UTILA

My days on Utila! Well I could write a lot about this amazing place, the nice people I met, all the things I learned, the parties almost every night and the sunny weather.
But I think I just give a slight overview. Haha and it would be better not to tell everything...

I came to Utila to do some diving with Nora (the German girl I met in Belize) and do my rescue diver certificate. But it happened to me what happens to so many people, I stayed for more than 2 months.
Haha, yeah but I really had such a great time and enjoyed every minute.
Was so nice to dive and party with Nora, but she had to go back soon. When she left I started the rescue course and in the end I decided to do my dive master there as well. I thought it might be useful while traveling to stop and work from time to time.
The dive center was Alton's and I got there through a friend that worked there and who I met a year before in Egypt diving of course.
My dive master training included not only learning skills, I had to work in the shop and do all the stuff that I would have to deal with if I worked there for real. That meant be there at 7 am in the morning to get all equipment ready for the divers, prepare the boat and start smiling! Same for the afternoon boat or whatever was scheduled for the day. So this is how I learned all about how a dive shop works for a dive master.
The rest of the time I spent in the hammocks on the dock reading, well studying my dive master manual. Or I was out partying with all my new friends I met at the shop as well tourists that came along. Most of the parties were at Tranquila bar and I have really good but also bad memories of this place. Hehe, Tequila Tuesdays were the worst! 10 Limpiras for a shot of Tequila what is only a few cents, so for about few Euro you get 10 shots and that is enough to do many stupid things after having them. Sometimes I wish my friends form home or my brother would be there to party with me. But luckily it never happened anything bad to me, like one friend who lost her 4 front teeth after an extensive party there. Somehow there were lots of loose teeth and they were always connected to me, uh! It wasn't me! But after most nights you just have a hard time getting up next day and survive the morning boat. ,-) But since I love diving I don't mind an early start.
Especially when we had dolphins around the boat playing with us, so that we could go in snorkeling with them. Those days were the best and of course every time we went to the north side of the island for some diving. So good diving there. That was as well the place for the lion fish tournament. Since the lion fish is an alien species in the Caribbean everybody goes hunting for them. At the tournament appr. 500 fish were killed and it was so delicious food what the local girls cooked out of it.
Another great event was Halloween when we all got dressed up and had good times partying at Alton's, Cross Creek and Tranquila. Another great party spot was the bar in the bush, but it was only open certain Fridays.
When I finally finished my dive master my last skill to fulfill was the snorkeltest, which is a funny drinking game. You get a mask on and snorkel in your mouth with a cutted bottle attached on top. This was filled with a mixture of alcohol and juices what you have to drink straight because it won't stop pressuring down. Good fun and got drunk early, big night out, haha.
After I was certified I started working for Alton's to get some more experience in being a diving tour guide. They even wanted to hire me for the main season but I only stayed for two more weeks and then followed my original plan of traveling.
I really enjoyed the job as a dive master and the place. Thanks to all the people who work there and to my new friends I found on the island. You made my time there so special and I am so happy that I was part of it. I learned a lot, had new experiences and so much fun in these two months. Met as well so many great people traveling. One thing is for sure, I will definitely come back to Utila to see what's going on someday!
But every great time comes to an end eventually, so I decided end of November to go on and start traveling again. Next stop Nicaragua!

I mean as I said I could write so much more about the island, new friends, great times, yummy dinner we cooked, loads of alcohol, diving experiences, parties, boys or funny things that happened around me but I think you got a good idea of how it was. :-)

Belize

Belize, that sounds like beach and sun! Yeah. That was the plan after seeing some more caves and ruins. But when I heard the prices of tours in Belize I changed my plans even not beeing in the country yet. ;-) So when I booked the bus ticket it was straight to Belize City not stopping at the caves or ruins as planned. Too expensive and I had all that in Guatemala already so I thought let's go and do some diving!

In Belize City I took the ferry to Caye Caulker and ended up in a very nice hotel for a change, that was almost luxury compared to what I was used to. I shared the room with girl from New Zealand (Gina) and met some other nice people from Guatemala City (Belen and Hugo) and the states (Agnieszka). Also Sibila and Cecilia were there. And it was great to hang out with all of them at the Lazy Lizzard sunset bar for happy hour every day. ;-)

We had big lobster and shrimp BBQ for only 7 Dollar per plate, amazing!

Of course I had to visit the blue hole for a dive. That was a full day trip, two hours ride to the outer Cayes, lunch on Halfmoon Caye and beautiful diving. A perfect day! It was rainy season so every price was somehow negotiable and so I got some great deals even in expensive Belize.
After a few days on Caye Caulker I travelled to Placencia in the south of Belize. I met a nice German girl there, Nora, and we spent some time together. Almost every day we went to Lisa's place for some homemade ice tea and chocolate cake! Super tasty! We went out diving on Silk Cayes and decided to go to Honduras Utila together. But before that she went back to Belmopan and I enjoyed some lazy days in a perfect little beach cabana.

All I did was hanging out with some local new friends (not many tourists around in low season), eating more chocolate cake, reading three or four books, lying in my hammock and celebrating independence day there. The party was over the weekend and they were dancing the whole time. Their dance is called Punta. I am a big dancer but this is something I don't want to learn! ;-) If you can imagine this style is like sex on the dancefloor, haven't seen anything like this before! Crazy!

Later in the week Nora came back to Placencia and we took the boat down to Porto Cortes in Honduras together. This is when my time on Utila started.

Back in Guatemala

I could still hear the Harleys roaring but Guatemala was calling. I went back again because I haven't seen Cemuc Champey and Tikal yet. It was again a long bus ride to get there and I had to change several chickenbuses. One bus (to Coban) broke down in the middle of nowhere and I was surrounded only by locals, so that was the first challenge to proof my Spanish. We all had to catch other buses that were going the same direction. Finally I arrived in Coban and after a long walk with all my heavy bags, for good an hour, to find a working ATM, I was lucky to catch the last bus down to Lanquin. Wow and that was a bumpy ride!

I stayed in the El Retiro hostel what turned out to be a big party place. Every night big yummy dinner buffet, cheap drinks and dancing. These places make you stay longer than planned... ;-)

I did a tour where you go inside a cave with only a candle light in your hand, did some river tubing and swam in the pools of Cemuc Champey. This is a great place in Guatemala and apart from all the cockroaches, bugs, ants and mosquitos (and even drunk people peeing in your room at night) I can highly recommend a visit.

I had a blast there and met Cecilia (Chile) and Sibyla (Bulgarien) who travelled with me to Flores as well.

Flores is a little village on an peninsula at Lago Peten Itza. From there you can reach Tikal easily, it has a relaxed atmosphere and good restaurants.

Finally I got to see Tikal these big Mayan ruins that are so famous. And it was beyond expectations. We (Sibila and me) went there early in the morning, got up at 4 am and entered the park at 6 am as soon as the gates were opened. Skipped the breakfast in the luxury hotel at the entrance, picked up a good advice from one of the guides and started our private tour. When we arrived at the main plaza, we were the first two individuals there, nobody else around. That was so cool!!! We hang out there for 2h, enjoyed the silence, played with the monkeys and had a nice little breakfast.

Then we continued exploring the park, we climbed the Templo 4 with the great views and made it back to the main plaza when the sun was burning. Even we had 6h in total, it was not enough time for us to see the whole place. But on the other hand it was good to leave the hot and sticky jungle and get some fresh air at the lake.

The next day we relaxed at Flores and took a short boat ride to San Andres on the other side of the lake to get some village impressions.

Then I booked a bus ticket to Belize. Time to leave this wonderful country again. Guatemala is one of the most beautiful places in the world!!!

Side trip to Honduras

Early in the morning we continued our journey (still this one: from Tacuba, El Salvador to Copan Ruinas, Honduras) that we stopped in Guatemala, because it was too late to cross the Honduran boarder. When we arrived at Copan Ruinas we checked into Hostal Manzana Verde and then went for a late brunch.

In the afternoon we visited the ruins and that was a good decision, because the tourists were almost all gone. Luckily we were six people so we could share the costs for a guide and it was worth the tour! The site is still covered by the jungle and only 15% are excavated and restored. The special character for this archeological site is that there are so many sculptures and statues preserved that show the kings from all Mayan periods. We stayed at the site until it closed and then we had drinks and great food in town. Copan Ruinas is a nice little town with good restaurants and an existing nightlife.

After dinner we ran into a Harley-Davidson annual reunion party. That was amazing, they had life music and cheap drinks. We all had a great night out partying with them.

You don't expect these bikers to be so friendly and nice because with their black leather clothes and tattoos they look a bit scary sometimes. And the very interesting part is what they do for work in their normal lifes. One is the manager of the best hotel in town, one is the German consul and one is the former CEO of Ericsson Honduras....

They offered us a ride the next day, well who could resist when three pretty ladies ask... ;-)

So we met at ten in the morning and started a full day trip through the Honduran highlands to Santa Rosa de Copan. That was awesome, the landscape stunning and the Harleys were really comfortable. It felt more like sitting in a car than on a bike! :-)

Unfortunately we had rain on the way back but after all that was a great day in Honduras!

And it was the last day with my new friend Yael. After Honduras we split up after travelling together for four weeks. I went back into Guatemala to my original route.

El Salvador, let's go surfing!

After a comfortable bus ride to San Salvador, the capital, a scary walk followed through the streets at night to find an ATM. There are warnings not to do that, don't leave your hotel after 8pm, but no money - no honey! So we (my Israeli friend and a French guy) found a fuel station around the corner where we could get money and just opposite a little food stall to have diner. Nothing dangerous in the end.

 Next day we caught a bus to La Libertad at the coast and from there towards El Zonte beach. We found a lovely hotel by the sea, we had a dorm with great sea view, a pool and several interesting pets. There were parrots, dogs, budgies and a big iguana. Well it turned out that this last one didn't like females, so one day while he was guarding his pool, I took a swim and when I did not look he attacked me! He jumped into the pool and tried to get my legs, I narrowly escaped! That was so funny though!

Pacco

We had an earthquake one evening and a big storm over the sea the other night. We all sat under a shelter watching the waves be illuminated by lightning, goosebumps feeling!

I had two surf lessons the first day and then spent all the following days trying to get on the board. Surfing is so much fun but after a few hours in the water fighting with the waves you become crazy exhausted. But I managed to stand on the board and surf straight. Yeah!! Next time I will learn how to turn. Unfortunately there is no pic of me surfing...:(

After those great days at the beach with black lava sand we took some chickenbuses and even hitchhiked to national park El Imposible. In Tacuba, close to the park, we stayed with Mama y Papa, what is the most friendliest hostel in Salvador! We did a hike through the park, followed the flow of a river and jumped whenever there was a waterfall. Well, to be honest, I skipped the last two jumps, they were way to high for me, I think one was 10 to 12 m and the other 15 m.
Another day we went to Ataco, a little village an hour away, to have a relaxed day visiting coffee farms and handicraft shops.

And eventually we left El Salvador and 10 chickenbuses later we still had not reached our destination Copan Ruinas in Honduras and had to stop over night in Chiquimula, Guatemala. But at least I can say I am a chickenbus expert user now! ;-)

Guatemala!

What can I say, I love it here! The landscape is amazing, the people are nice, food and accommodation are cheap and there is so much to see and do.
I arrived in Xela, what is short for Quetzaltenango, and I met some girls from England on the way. We did two hikes together to some volcanoes nearby, Cerro Quemado and Santa Maria, from where you can see the active volcano Santiguito.

This one erupts 10 to 20 times a day and you can see and hear it. So impressive. We did the hikes with a company called Quetzaltrekkers. That is a volunteer program where all the money goes to a school in the neighbourhood. So I found that is a good way to help the children, hike for charity.
After two days of hiking I took two days Spanish classes. And it's easy to learn, well I won't write the blog in Spanish! ;-)






And because I love mountains, I did a 3 days trekking with Quetzaltrekkers again down to Lago Atitlan. We packed food, rain gear and sleeping bags and started. The first night we slept in a school building and the second night with family from one of the villages we hiked through. The last day was the highlight, we got up early 3:30 am to hike up a hill and place our sleeping bags again. This was the perfect spot to wait and watch the sunrise. Amazing! After that we went down to San Pedro and I stayed there for two days. On the trek I met Yael, a Israeli girl with whom I traveled the next weeks.
Lago Atitlan is so beautiful, so I spent a week around there. After San Pedro in San Marcos what is a tiny little village with a great hippie vibe and then Panajachel. I loved San Marcos, it was so relaxed and I could try Yoga the first time and we had life music every night.
Eventually I left the lake and went on to Antigua.


This city is so different than what I had seen so far from Guatemala. A lively colonial town with lots of tourists and language students. But I enjoyed it and of course I found the best cake shop in town where I had hot chocolate and some of the best cakes every afternoon, yummy! Did another two days of Spanish school and now I can almost have little conversations. So proud! ;-) But still so much vocabulary to learn...
Antigua has as well a lot of sights which could keep you busy visiting a whole week. But after a few days I went on to Guatemala City to catch a bus to San Salvador. I decided to have a short surfing break at the beaches there, which is next blog...

Mexico again!

Hola!

For my english speaking friends, here is the summary for Mexico.

My start was like a shock, I didn't expected a humidity and a heat like this. So the first days I tried to adapt to the new climate. And I hated Cancun, never seen so many hotels at one place. Can't believe people spend holidays there. So as soon as possible I got out of there and went to Isla Mujeres and had relaxing days with some new friends on a nice little island.
My first highlight there was a whale shark watching tour and we had herds of 50 to 100 of them. So so impressive, still can't believe that I swam right between those beautiful giants. This island was as well a good spot for diving, so I did some exploring under water at the wreck and at some of the shark places. One dive spot offered giant turtles which was another highlight.
After sun and water sports I went to see some of those well-known Maya ruins in Chichén Itzá and Ek Balam. Even Chichen Itza is one of the new seven world wonders, it was too crowded for me so the point went to Ek Balam. This site was less touristy and had a cenote to refresh nearby.
I stayed in town called Valladolid and I can recommend this as a good hub to explore all the ruins around. And it's a nice little town with more locals than tourists! ;-)
From there it was only a short ride to the ruins of Coba on my way down to Tulum. It was a good decision to take bike on this archeological site because the temples and pyramids are quite far from each other.
When I reached Tulum I immediately signed up for the cenote diving which I was so excited to do. And it was amazing! Saw six different cenotes and it was really worth the money. "Angelita" pit was one of the weirdest places I've ever been to and "Taj Maha" one of the most beautiful places where the halocline effect let the rays of sunlight playing games under water.
For sure I did as well the tour to the ruins and took the most famous picture of the ruin with the turquoise water.
Then I changed my plan and went down to Chiapas to see more of Mexico because everybody recommended it to me. And it turned out that I enjoyed Chiapas very much. I loved the Palenque ruins, less tourists, nice weather and all pyramids could be climbed! And I did a tour to some nice waterfalls Agua Azul and Mizol Ha to see something different than only ruins.
After only two days there I continued to San Cristobal which is a lovely town in the mountains and I stayed longer than planned. It was quite cold but so very interesting. There are a lot of old still existing Maya communities around and to visit them was amazing. There is a church that is not a normal church, they do strange rituals with chicken and pepsi in there. Crazy! Had such a great time and finished my Mexican tour with a ride through canyon Sumidero. The landscape was breathtaking and at the end of the tour we even saw crocodiles on the riverbank.
So I can say what a start in my first country on the list... :-)
I continued my trip down the Panamerican Highway into Guatemala but this will be another post.

Viva Mexico!

Hola Amigos!


Dann erzaehl ich euch mal was ueber meine ersten Wochen hier.


Als ich aus dem Flugzeug stieg schlug mir erstmal eine Feuchtsauna entgegen und man realisiert, oh oh, es geht los! Hab dann gleich noch auf dem Flughafen Klamotten gewechselt und mir dann ein Taxi mit zwei Oesterreicherinnen in die Stadt geteilt. Gut, dass es abends war und nicht mehr ganz so heiss, da fiel das Hostelsuchen etwas leichter. Im ersten Dorm waren noch vier Andere, davon ein Franzose mit dem ich die naechsten Tage gereist bin.
Cancun selbst ist allerdings als Urlaubsziel nicht unbedingt zu empfehlen, mich hat es eher abgeschreckt. Die Stadt hat nichts zu bieten und die Zona Hotelera ist nur was fuer am Pool-Lieger und Faulenzer. Der Strand ist schoen aber man liegt inmitten von tausenden anderen Urlaubern.

Also bin ich gleich am naechsten Tag weiter auf die Isla Mujeres (wollte eigentlich auf die Isla Holbox aber da war eine Moskitoplage und da hab ich umentschieden). Die Insel ist schmal und langgezogen, hat schoene Straende und man kann Einiges machen. Allerdings habe ich meine Aktivitaeten auf Tauchen, Walhaie und Relaxen beschraenkt. ;-)
Die Walhai-Tour war der absolute Hammer!!! Hunderte von diesen Riesenfischen und wir irgendwo dazwischen. Hatte das Gefuehl die verschlucken mich, wenn ich nicht schnell genug vor dem Maul wegschwimm, sobald das aufging!
Natuerlich war das Tauchen auch cool, waren am Wrack, bei den Riesenschildkroeten und Korallen gucken. Ausserdem habe ich noch eine Deutsche und eine Schweizerin kennengelernt mit denen wir dann mal die Beachbar gerockt haben.


Nachdem ich nach so viel Sonne und Strand erstmal genug hatte und bereits komplett zerstochen war von den Moskitos, bin ich ins Land gereist um ein Bissl Abwechslung zu haben. Nur das mit der Feuchtsauna und den Moskitos war auch dort nicht besser. Es lebe die Regenzeit in Yacatan! ;-)
Irgendwie gewoehnt man sich aber daran die ganze Zeit zu schwitzen, man kippt einfach wieder 10l Wasser nach und faengt von vorne an. hahaha


In Valladolid, meinem naechsten Stop, hatte ich dafuer einen Ueberventilator in meinem Zimmer, der war zwar gut fuer Abkuehlung aber hat mich fast aus dem Bett gewedelt und war so laut wie eine U-Bahn, die in den Bahnhof einfaehrt. Aber man hat bis dahin schon die Ruhe weg, ich ja sowieso ;-), und nimmt Alles gelassen. Man ist eben nich mehr in D.


Hatte zwei super Tage dort, es war nicht weit nach Chichén Itzá, einem der neuen 7 Weltwunder und auch nach Ek Balam. Diese Maya Ruinen waren ziemlich beeindruckend, wenn man bedenkt wie alt das Alles ist und wie die das damals schon Alles durchdacht hatten.
Ek Balam gefiel mir aber fast noch besser, da dort einfach nur ein Zehntel der Menge an Touristen waren. Und es hatte eine Cenote nur 10 min mit dem Fahrrad entfernt, in der man sich erfrischen konnte, nachdem die Klamotten schon wieder klattschnass vom Ruinenbesuch waren. Die Cenote hatte ich fast nur fuer mich alleine und ich bin wie Tarzan mit nem Seil reingesprungen. Sehr cool! :-)
Eine Cenote ist ein Loch im Boden mit Suesswasser gefuellt und meist unterirdisch in einem System von Tunneln mit Anderen verbunden. Die genaue geologische Beschreibung lest ihr aber doch lieber bei Wikipedia nach! ;-)


Von Valladolid aus gings weiter nach Tulum und auf dem Weg dahin habe ich mir noch die Ruinen von Coba angesehn. Gut, dass ich mir dort auch wieder ein Fahrrad geliehen habe! Die Wege zwischen den Pyramiden waren lang und auch nur der geringste Fahrtwind auf dem Bike hat die Schwuele dort ertraeglicher gemacht.
Die Ruinen waren toll, ziemlich hoch und interessant von der Geschichte. So ein Guide kann manchmal nervig aber auch sehr informativ und hilfreich sein. Ich habe es genossen ab und zu etwas genauer Einblick in die Geschichte und das Leben der Mayas zu bekommen. Will das jetzt hier aber nicht so ausweiten, der Blog wird ja so schon zu lang! ;-)


In Tulum hatte ich mir ein suesses kleines Hostel gesucht mit Dschungelpflanzen ringsherum und meiner eigenen kleinen Huette. Und ich hab mich natuerlich gleich zum Cenotentauchen angemeldet! Konnte es kaum erwarten das zu sehn! Und wie ihr seht bin ich in keinem Tunnel stecken geblieben sondern immer noch wohlauf! ;-) Habe 6 Cenoten gesehn und jede war irgendwie anders. "The Pit" war einfach nur ein sehr tiefes Loch im Felsen (120m) mit einer Sulfidwolke, auf 20m Tiefe, durch welche man durchtaucht und dann im Dunkeln weiter unten auf 45m alte Knochen sucht. "Dos Ojos", "Calavera", "Chac Mul" und "Taj Maha" sind Tunnelsysteme mit verschiedenen Kammern, wo auch Stalaktiten wachsen und es Oeffnungen in der Decke gibt, wo das Licht wunderschoene Spielereien ins Wasser zaubert. Superschoen! "Angelita" war ein Loch, wo der Dschungel irgendwann mal zusammengestuerzt ist und man immer noch Baeume und Pflanzen unter Wasser sieht. Auch da taucht man durch eine Wolke, welche sich wie um einen Berg unter Wasser schmiegt. Das war einer der seltsamsten Orte an denen ich je war, aber einfach nur genial.

Ok ausser Tauchen habe ich natuerlich mit dem Franzosen und spaeter auch noch mit ner Deutschen bissl Party gemacht. Als die beiden abgereist sind, war ich noch mit zwei Kanadierinnen die Ruinen von Tulum anschauen, auch sehr schoen, nur leider nicht begehbar wegen Skorpionen zwischen den Steinen. Dafuer konnte man diese Riesenechsen aus der Naehe bewundern und das typische Postkartenmotiv-Foto von dem Tempel am tuerkisblauen Meer machen.
Ja in Tulum kann man Urlaub machen, fands sehr schoen da!
Am Abend bin ich allerdings in den Nachtbus nach Palenque gestiegen, um auch noch Chiapas etwas naeher kennen zu lernen.


Im Hostel in Palenque habe ich die Schweizerin von Mujeres wieder getroffen und wir sind erstmal fruehstuecken gegangen. Dann ist sie weitergereist und ich mit dem Kolektivo zu den Ruinen raus gefahren. Das waren die bisher schoensten Maya Ueberbleibsel, die ich bis dahin gesehn hab. Man konnte auf alle Tempel, Pyramiden und Palais raufklettern und es waren nur wenige Touristen unterwegs. Hab dort, glaub ich, 3h verbracht und einfach nur geglotzt, war zu schoen...

Am naechsten Morgen wurde ich im Hostel abgeholt fuer einen Ausflug zu den Wasserfaellen Misol Ha und Agua Azul. Die Wasserfaelle waren echt mal was Anderes und man konnte in den einzelnen Wasserbecken sogar schwimmen gehn. Habe dort mit zwei Australiern relaxt und spaeter noch die Stadt unsicher gemacht.
Musste dann auch endlich Tequila trinken, was ich bisher vermieden hatte, denn die in D schmecken der ja irgendwie ueberhaupt nich. War aber gar nicht so schlimm wie befuerchtet, denn hier schmiert der ja wie Oel! ;-) Jaja, ich weiss, ..., derAlkohol. ;-) Auch das mexikanische Bier schmeckt gut und laeuft super. hahaha


Trotz Feiern musste ich am naechsten Tag frueh raus um schon zeitig nach San Cristobal de las Casas zu fahren. Und wie von Anderen gehoert, war es dort kalt. Musste mich ganz schoen umstellen und erstmal die dicken Klamotten nach oben packen. Im Bus hatte ich das Glueck wiedermal deutsch plaudern zu koennen, sass neben ner netten Deutschen und wir sind auch gleich ins selbe Hostel gezogen und am naechsten Tag nach Chamula. Dann ist sie schon weiter. Viele haben nur ein paar Wochen und wollen ganz Mittelamerika sehn, da geraet man ganz schoen unter Zeitdruck, was ich irgendwie geniesse nicht zu haben.


San Cristobal ist ein niedliches kleines Staedtchen in den Bergen von Chiapas auf 2500m Hoehe. Im Umland gibt es noch viele alte besetehende Mayakommunen in denen noch nach deren Regeln gelebt wird.
Hatte das Glueck in Chamula eine Zeremonie mitzuerleben und auch in der Kirche, welche zwar gebaut wurde um den katholischen Glauben zu verbreiten, wurden komische Rituale ausgefuehrt. Im Inneren war auch Alles nicht so wie erwartet fuer eine Kirche. Auf dem Boden lagen Piniennadeln, die aufgrund dass jeder darauf tritt, angenehmen Duft verstroemen. Es gab keine Baenke und keine Maria oder Jesuskreuz, nur die vielen Goetter welche die Mayas anbeten. Jeder Gott steht fuer eine Sache wie z.B. Gesundheit oder gute Ernte usw. und werden entsprechend fuer das was gerade gebraucht wird angebetet. Medizinmaenner benutzen fuer ihre Rituale in der Kirche Huehner, denen sie den Kopf umgedrehen und Pepsi, um zu ruelpsen, denn damit entfliehen dem Koerper boese Geister. Verrueckt diese Mayas! Jedes Dorf/Stamm spricht seine eigene Sprache und hat seinen eigenen Kleidungsstil. Ich fands super interessant. Und sie haben auch Kreuze, welche allerdings gruen sind und fuer Mutter Erde stehen, denn Mayas leben im Einklang mit der Natur.
Nach diesem Trip sind wir noch ins Museum Na Bolom wo ein Forscherehepaar gelebt hat und ihre Arbeiten ausgestellt haben fuer die Nachwelt. Das ist auch ein Platz wo Volunteers und andere Forscher uebernachten und die Bibliothek nutzen koennen. Tolles Haus mit schoenem Innenhof und vielen alten Originalteilen des Paares Blom.


Den Tag darauf hab ich einfach nur gefaulenzt, wollte mal bisschen ausschlafen, durch die Stadt bummeln, Kaffee oder heisse Schoki trinken usw.
Nur faul sein geht natuerlich bei mir nich lange also bin ich am naechsten Tag zum Canyon Sumidero losgezogen. Wahnsinnig beeindruckende Landschaft mit einem Fluss der sich durch steile Felsen schlaengelt. Und als Highlight gabs noch Krokos zu sehn. Das war wirklich n toller Abschluss fuer meine Tour durch den Sueden von Mexiko. Denn danach gings weiter auf der Pan-Amerikana nach Guatemala und das gibts dann im naechsten Bericht.


Hasta luego!

Mexico

Hallo ihr Lieben daheim,
Danke nochmal fuer die tolle Party zu Hause! Is mir wirklich schwergefallen euch zu verlassen.

Aber jetzt mal das erste Update hier: Bin gut angekommen und geniesse die Feuchtsauna und Moskitoschwaerme! ;-) Nein, es wirklich schoen hier.
Bisher war ich aber eigentlich nur Tauchen und habe ein paar Ruinen angeschaut. Und muss jetz erstmal Fotos sortieren... :-)

Last days

My last days at work and in Germany. Still some organisation to do. But I'm still very happy about my decision and it puts a big smile onto my face every time I think about it.
Had a great farewell party with my colleagues and friends from Frankfurt. Thanks to all. And there will be another party at home with my family and friends in July. :)

Preparing my travels!

Hi all!

Starting my first blog today. Wooohooo

So for your information, I quit my job and my apartment and will be on the go from mid of July! Mexico is the first stop and everybody is welcome to visit me somewhere on the road!
But a lot of works have to be done in davance, insurance stuff etc. But everything is going well.

More information coming soon.