We were supposed to leave at 5.30am. Alejandro wasn't sure but he believed that there is a bus at 7am from San Lucas to Charcas. In that case we wouldn't have to walk for another 4 hours ... We should walk 1.5 hours for the same way we needed 2 hours last Friday. But we only left at 5.50am. Will we make it?
As it was still early in the morning and it hadn't rained a lot during last night it wasn't as muddy and slippery and we were quite good in walking. In fact, we managed the hike in only 70 minutes. And there even was the truck. Great - weren't we lucky?
2 hours later we were back in Coban, and we were looking forward to a hot shower. But in the new hotel - the other one was fully booked - they spoke about hot water ... but not in the shower. :(
We had once again a nice breakfast and were quite lazy for the rest of the day. Tomorrow we have another day in the bus and need to be fit!
Sunday, June 27, 2004
Friday, June 25, 2004
Coban - Chicacnab
At 9.45am we were at the "Ecoquetzal" office. As since South Korea we don't have our sleeping bags with us anymore, we rented a blanket each which we will certainly need during the next two days. Then we had to wait. Our Guide Alejandro was already there but ...
About an hour later we were on our way. We had to take the bus to Charca (approx. 15 minutes), and again 1.5 hours in a kind of cattle carrier. With that though they don't carry cattle but people.
At 1.30pm we started our hike from San Lucas to Chicacnab. It was supposed to take 2 - 3 hours. But it immediately started steep uphill. On top of that it was ever so muddy and soon we had big dirt blobs on our shoes. But it didn't make sense to clean them as soon we would have new ones. Although it was quite stickily, greasily and slippery and we had to be careful not to fall into the mud we enjoyed the hike.
In fact after only 2 hours we were at an altitude of 2.500m and thus in Chicacnab, where Alejandro lives. We immediately were greeted by his three boys (the youngest cannot walk yet otherwise he would have been there as well). Alejandro showed us his house, a wooden house. The floor was dirt. Ramona and I got a separate room with two beds. It was only obvious that it will be freezing cold the two next nights.
In Chicacnab, a small village of about 100 people, there is a church in which they pray every Sunday for four hours and a soccer field which is as camel-bucked and humpy that our kids would definitely not play soccer on it. Alejandro, however, was so proud to talk about it.
For lunch we got egg with beans and of course tortillas, which Angelina made on the open fire in the middle of the kitchen. We got also served coffee. And even I (Nicole) drank it as it was really good - it smelt like coffee but tasted like tea. Mmmmh!
The kids in their torn clothes and runny noses reminded us of the kids in Lhasa. They went to play soccer at 5pm and we helped Angelina doing the dishes - outside in the freezing cold with freezing cold water. As washing-up liquid she uses washing powder. Ramona and I in our fleece jackets were ever so cold but Angelina only wore a t-shirt. Brrrrr!
Back in the warm kitchen we sat around the fire. As there is no electricity we had candles. I had the little baby on my lap which didn't wear anything but a T-Shirt. It was obvious that sooner or later he would pee on me. But no-one reacted. Alejandro and Angelina only laughed about it and said "mucho agua" (lots of water)! Well, that's also a way of seeing it. :)
About an hour later we were on our way. We had to take the bus to Charca (approx. 15 minutes), and again 1.5 hours in a kind of cattle carrier. With that though they don't carry cattle but people.
At 1.30pm we started our hike from San Lucas to Chicacnab. It was supposed to take 2 - 3 hours. But it immediately started steep uphill. On top of that it was ever so muddy and soon we had big dirt blobs on our shoes. But it didn't make sense to clean them as soon we would have new ones. Although it was quite stickily, greasily and slippery and we had to be careful not to fall into the mud we enjoyed the hike.
In fact after only 2 hours we were at an altitude of 2.500m and thus in Chicacnab, where Alejandro lives. We immediately were greeted by his three boys (the youngest cannot walk yet otherwise he would have been there as well). Alejandro showed us his house, a wooden house. The floor was dirt. Ramona and I got a separate room with two beds. It was only obvious that it will be freezing cold the two next nights.
In Chicacnab, a small village of about 100 people, there is a church in which they pray every Sunday for four hours and a soccer field which is as camel-bucked and humpy that our kids would definitely not play soccer on it. Alejandro, however, was so proud to talk about it.
For lunch we got egg with beans and of course tortillas, which Angelina made on the open fire in the middle of the kitchen. We got also served coffee. And even I (Nicole) drank it as it was really good - it smelt like coffee but tasted like tea. Mmmmh!
The kids in their torn clothes and runny noses reminded us of the kids in Lhasa. They went to play soccer at 5pm and we helped Angelina doing the dishes - outside in the freezing cold with freezing cold water. As washing-up liquid she uses washing powder. Ramona and I in our fleece jackets were ever so cold but Angelina only wore a t-shirt. Brrrrr!
Back in the warm kitchen we sat around the fire. As there is no electricity we had candles. I had the little baby on my lap which didn't wear anything but a T-Shirt. It was obvious that sooner or later he would pee on me. But no-one reacted. Alejandro and Angelina only laughed about it and said "mucho agua" (lots of water)! Well, that's also a way of seeing it. :)
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Cobán - Lanquín
This morning we were a bit lazy. We hadn't planned much for the morning anyway and only wanted to get some information on a possible hiking tour. Our bus to Lanquín only leaves at noon. Thus we stayed a bit longer in bed today. But at 8.15am we got ants in our pants. A hot shower was waiting for us - it was really hot we almost burned ourselves. But it was great anyway!
After a long and delicious breakfast we went to the office of "Ecoquetzal". We were given a folder of information on the offered tours. But unfortunately all are only for 3 days and 2 nights. Hmmm, we don't have that much time left anymore.
As time was running to get our bus we wanted to think about it and call them again tomorrow. We had five minutes to get to the bus station. It was obvious that this couldn't work. It was just obvious that this wouldn't work for us. Also because we didn't find the bus terminal immediately. When we eventually got there it was of course too late! Actually, there should be buses all the time. There were some but not to the place we wanted to go. Thus we just walked a bit further ... and even found a minibus which took us to Lanquín. On the radio we listened to the match of the Germans against the Czechs. But we would have better avoided that. :(
We arrived in Lanquín about 3.20pm - just in time to go to the cave. We quickly checked in at Posada Ilobal and were on tour again. The cave leads several kilometers into the earth but still there is not everything explored yet. The first hundred meters are signed and lighted, but still most of the underground remains untouched. The soil was very muddy and slippery. It was also unusual that in this cave it was quite hot. And we of course were still carrying our jumpers! But we were ever so happy that the cave for us was only a few hundred meters long. So many stalagmites and stalagtites. They were breathtaking. We didn't even know where to look first. The cave was very big and high and we partly felt like being lost. Yes, until all these tour groups arrived who were so loud. Gone was the calm. Still we lingered around the formations which almost all look like animals (elephant, tiger, lion, owl ...). It was almost 6pm when we left the cave.
We sat down in front of the cave's entrance and waited for the sunset. This is the time when hundreds if not thousands of bats fly out of the cave. Almost 45 minutes we sat there, listened to the rushing of the river, looked at the forest opposite of us - we thought to have seen monkeys there - and observed the many fireflies surrounding us. Then, about 6.45pm the spectacle started. In fact, lots of bats came out of the cave which on the sky flew around like crazy. It was amazing to watch how close they fly next, over or under each other not bumping into each other. Also the leaves of the trees didn't move at all although the bats were flying into the trees. We followed the game for about half an hour and then walked back in the light of our torches.
We had just sat down in Café Semuc and oredered when there was a power cut and it started to pour down with rain. Weren't we lucky? We had a delicious burger and had an early night.
After a long and delicious breakfast we went to the office of "Ecoquetzal". We were given a folder of information on the offered tours. But unfortunately all are only for 3 days and 2 nights. Hmmm, we don't have that much time left anymore.
As time was running to get our bus we wanted to think about it and call them again tomorrow. We had five minutes to get to the bus station. It was obvious that this couldn't work. It was just obvious that this wouldn't work for us. Also because we didn't find the bus terminal immediately. When we eventually got there it was of course too late! Actually, there should be buses all the time. There were some but not to the place we wanted to go. Thus we just walked a bit further ... and even found a minibus which took us to Lanquín. On the radio we listened to the match of the Germans against the Czechs. But we would have better avoided that. :(
We arrived in Lanquín about 3.20pm - just in time to go to the cave. We quickly checked in at Posada Ilobal and were on tour again. The cave leads several kilometers into the earth but still there is not everything explored yet. The first hundred meters are signed and lighted, but still most of the underground remains untouched. The soil was very muddy and slippery. It was also unusual that in this cave it was quite hot. And we of course were still carrying our jumpers! But we were ever so happy that the cave for us was only a few hundred meters long. So many stalagmites and stalagtites. They were breathtaking. We didn't even know where to look first. The cave was very big and high and we partly felt like being lost. Yes, until all these tour groups arrived who were so loud. Gone was the calm. Still we lingered around the formations which almost all look like animals (elephant, tiger, lion, owl ...). It was almost 6pm when we left the cave.
We sat down in front of the cave's entrance and waited for the sunset. This is the time when hundreds if not thousands of bats fly out of the cave. Almost 45 minutes we sat there, listened to the rushing of the river, looked at the forest opposite of us - we thought to have seen monkeys there - and observed the many fireflies surrounding us. Then, about 6.45pm the spectacle started. In fact, lots of bats came out of the cave which on the sky flew around like crazy. It was amazing to watch how close they fly next, over or under each other not bumping into each other. Also the leaves of the trees didn't move at all although the bats were flying into the trees. We followed the game for about half an hour and then walked back in the light of our torches.
We had just sat down in Café Semuc and oredered when there was a power cut and it started to pour down with rain. Weren't we lucky? We had a delicious burger and had an early night.
Monday, June 21, 2004
Santa Cruz La Laguna - Nebaj
I (Nicole) woke up already at 4.15am - diarrhoea! Great, haven't had that for ages. Why only today when we were supposed to be on a bus all day long? I still wanted to risk it - after a few more times on the toilet we left the hotel at 7.15am and took the ferry to Panajachel.
From here we wanted to take the bus to Chichicastenango (Chichi) but the young guy of the passing bus waved to us. Jump on here, that's faster. He was right. About half an hour later we got to the new village from where we could take the bus to Chichi. We were in fact surprised that this ride was cheaper than the first one but didn't think about it more. We were dropped off and asked for directions to Nebaj. It was really cold up here and it was raining. We stood under a shelter and let a few buses pass as there was none saying Nebaj on it. We were wondering and asked - well, we are still not in Chichi. But get on here. You'll have to change one more time though. Gee, was that complicated.
After 7 hours in total we arrived in Nebaj where we went for a nice room including hot shower and TV. Nebaj itself is nothing special and we went further to explore the surrounding areas. We walked 3 hours but we didn't see the breathtaking landscape as described in our travel guide. Maybe it was because of the rain pouring down or because of all the rubbish in the river and along the road.
For dinner we had a really good pizza and went to bed early.
From here we wanted to take the bus to Chichicastenango (Chichi) but the young guy of the passing bus waved to us. Jump on here, that's faster. He was right. About half an hour later we got to the new village from where we could take the bus to Chichi. We were in fact surprised that this ride was cheaper than the first one but didn't think about it more. We were dropped off and asked for directions to Nebaj. It was really cold up here and it was raining. We stood under a shelter and let a few buses pass as there was none saying Nebaj on it. We were wondering and asked - well, we are still not in Chichi. But get on here. You'll have to change one more time though. Gee, was that complicated.
After 7 hours in total we arrived in Nebaj where we went for a nice room including hot shower and TV. Nebaj itself is nothing special and we went further to explore the surrounding areas. We walked 3 hours but we didn't see the breathtaking landscape as described in our travel guide. Maybe it was because of the rain pouring down or because of all the rubbish in the river and along the road.
For dinner we had a really good pizza and went to bed early.
Saturday, June 19, 2004
Antigua - Santa Cruz La Laguna
Already at 6.30am we were on our way to the bus. We wanted to take the local bus instead of the more expensive shuttle which is offered especially for tourists. But when we walked around the corner ... What's that? Why are here so many tourists? Unbelievable - the whole bus full of tourists. Where will this end?
We got to Panajachel and headed straight for the dive shop. It was closed though and we were told to go to Santa Cruz La Laguna. As there is also accomodation and Panajachel - we had already realized that on our way to the dive shop - a real tourist centre is, our decision was quickly made.
With a lancha (small boat) we rode over Lake Atitlan to Santa Cruz La Laguna. This lake is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in the world. It is a collapsed caldera (On top of volcanoes craters are often built in consequence of sinking lava in the chimney after the volcano has calmed down. Sometimes this crater gets so deep that the walls get instable and collapse. This leads to a wide dip which is called Caldera. Its diameter can be up to several km).
The boat ride over the up to 320m deep lake to Santa Cruz took only 10 minutes. Shortly after that we had checked in a hostel. All great but no electricity! Generally no problem at all but where do we watch the football match now?? We had no choice - it had to be without our support.
Instead of watching football we went for a walk. Santa Cruz is a really small village, spread over the hills. Quite exhausting if one wants to get to the last house. On our way we met a local who was listening to the radio. Football? Yes ... but still no goal. Great! Only 10 more minutes. Knowing the German team it's already obvious that nothing will happen anymore.
We booked our high altitude course in the hotel and spent the rest of the day doing nothing. For dinner we had a barbeque with all the guests of the hotel.
We got to Panajachel and headed straight for the dive shop. It was closed though and we were told to go to Santa Cruz La Laguna. As there is also accomodation and Panajachel - we had already realized that on our way to the dive shop - a real tourist centre is, our decision was quickly made.
With a lancha (small boat) we rode over Lake Atitlan to Santa Cruz La Laguna. This lake is supposed to be one of the most beautiful in the world. It is a collapsed caldera (On top of volcanoes craters are often built in consequence of sinking lava in the chimney after the volcano has calmed down. Sometimes this crater gets so deep that the walls get instable and collapse. This leads to a wide dip which is called Caldera. Its diameter can be up to several km).
The boat ride over the up to 320m deep lake to Santa Cruz took only 10 minutes. Shortly after that we had checked in a hostel. All great but no electricity! Generally no problem at all but where do we watch the football match now?? We had no choice - it had to be without our support.
Instead of watching football we went for a walk. Santa Cruz is a really small village, spread over the hills. Quite exhausting if one wants to get to the last house. On our way we met a local who was listening to the radio. Football? Yes ... but still no goal. Great! Only 10 more minutes. Knowing the German team it's already obvious that nothing will happen anymore.
We booked our high altitude course in the hotel and spent the rest of the day doing nothing. For dinner we had a barbeque with all the guests of the hotel.
Thursday, June 17, 2004
San Salvador - Antigua (Guatemala)
Armando was already waiting for us. For the last time we wanted to drive with him. To the bus terminal in order to get to Guatemala City. The ride was short and already at 7.45am we had our tickets. We took our bags out of the car and said good-bye to Armando. But stop - didn't we forget something? Right, we hadn't paid him yet! Of course, he should get his money. But why hadn't he said anything?
The ride in the fridge bus took 5 hours. Again the air conditioning worked too well. Cold as ice we arrived in Guatemala at 1.45pm. We took a taxi to another bus terminal in order to get to Antigua.
Antigua is a small colonial town, surrounded by 3 volcanos. The town reminds us of Granada (Nicaragua) with its many colourful buildings and the cobblestone streets.
After checking in at the hotel "Place to stay" we went to explore the town. We also booked the tickets for tomorrow's tour to Monterrico.
The evening we spent on the Internet. We haven't been online for quite a while and there were so many emails waiting for us.
The ride in the fridge bus took 5 hours. Again the air conditioning worked too well. Cold as ice we arrived in Guatemala at 1.45pm. We took a taxi to another bus terminal in order to get to Antigua.
Antigua is a small colonial town, surrounded by 3 volcanos. The town reminds us of Granada (Nicaragua) with its many colourful buildings and the cobblestone streets.
After checking in at the hotel "Place to stay" we went to explore the town. We also booked the tickets for tomorrow's tour to Monterrico.
The evening we spent on the Internet. We haven't been online for quite a while and there were so many emails waiting for us.
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
San Salvador
As agreed we got picked up at 7.30am by Armando. We wanted to go to Cerro Verde. This mountain is a National Park on an old volcano. From here one has good views on the Lago de Coatepeque as well as on the still smoking volcano Izalco. Until 1770 Izalco only was a hole in the earth and only gradually the volcano was built and grew to its actual height of 1,910 m. Because of its activities - ejection of smoke, boulders and flames - the Izalco is also called light house of the pacific. In 1957 the volcano stopped its activities, after 187 years of continuous eruptions. Still the volcano is an active one.
At the entrance to the National Park we had to pay $1 per person entrance fee plus $0.69 parking fee. On the parking however we learned that it is to dangerous to climb the Izalco on our own. We should wait until 11am then we could go with a guide and a police man. Only at 11am? This is still 1.5 hours. Why is it dangerous? Because of bandits hanging around, it only is for your own security. Hmmm... And why is the park open at 8am already when the tour guides only appear at 11am? This is only during the week. Grrrrrrr! What shall we do? We used the opportunity to at least walk the 1,300 m long circle trail and got thus to the look-out for the lake and the volcano Santa Ana (2,365 m).
We were back about 10am. Armando who had walked with us and who hasn't been here before enjoyed it as well. As we didn't want to wait another hour for a guide we decided to drive to Suchitoto. Like that we could do two things which we originally had planned for two different days.
Armando agreed to drive us there. Unfortunately though he didn't take the route we wanted. It was much further via Santa Ana he said. A gaze on our map showed that this was not true but he wasn't interested. He just drove the way back to San Salvador. Well, it's us who pay so we should also decide on the route ...
We made it to Suchitoto which is 47 km north of San Salvador, at an altitude of 380 m. Some of the earliest fighting in the civil war began in Suchitoto and went on for 13 years. Since 1993, the city's colonial legacy has been impressively restored. We wanted to have a look at the colonial buildings, the cobblestone streets as well as the Lake Suchitlan.
Around the lake it just looked as back home: lush green grassland, on which the cows were grazing, on one side the lake, in the background the mountains. Nice and idyllic. Just perfect to hang around. We had a cold coke in a "cafe" and enjoyed the calmness.
Back in San Salvador we did our chores and Armando took us back to our hotel. We gave him the agreed amount of money but he wanted more. We didn't mention Suchitoto to him yesterday? This is indeed correct but we had booked him for the whole day, had asked him for his daily price. I (Nicole) stayed ever so calm and was so happy that I knew the correct Spanish words in the right moment. In the end Armando agreed - whether it was because I mentioned that we wanted his service tomorrow as well?
This evening we had football on the program. Germany - Netherlands, a big hit! The match was long over but as we didn't know the result we watched the match. For us it was just as if it had been live. A shame though that they didn't make it, the Germans. However, we were quite surprised by the German team in general.
At the entrance to the National Park we had to pay $1 per person entrance fee plus $0.69 parking fee. On the parking however we learned that it is to dangerous to climb the Izalco on our own. We should wait until 11am then we could go with a guide and a police man. Only at 11am? This is still 1.5 hours. Why is it dangerous? Because of bandits hanging around, it only is for your own security. Hmmm... And why is the park open at 8am already when the tour guides only appear at 11am? This is only during the week. Grrrrrrr! What shall we do? We used the opportunity to at least walk the 1,300 m long circle trail and got thus to the look-out for the lake and the volcano Santa Ana (2,365 m).
We were back about 10am. Armando who had walked with us and who hasn't been here before enjoyed it as well. As we didn't want to wait another hour for a guide we decided to drive to Suchitoto. Like that we could do two things which we originally had planned for two different days.
Armando agreed to drive us there. Unfortunately though he didn't take the route we wanted. It was much further via Santa Ana he said. A gaze on our map showed that this was not true but he wasn't interested. He just drove the way back to San Salvador. Well, it's us who pay so we should also decide on the route ...
We made it to Suchitoto which is 47 km north of San Salvador, at an altitude of 380 m. Some of the earliest fighting in the civil war began in Suchitoto and went on for 13 years. Since 1993, the city's colonial legacy has been impressively restored. We wanted to have a look at the colonial buildings, the cobblestone streets as well as the Lake Suchitlan.
Around the lake it just looked as back home: lush green grassland, on which the cows were grazing, on one side the lake, in the background the mountains. Nice and idyllic. Just perfect to hang around. We had a cold coke in a "cafe" and enjoyed the calmness.
Back in San Salvador we did our chores and Armando took us back to our hotel. We gave him the agreed amount of money but he wanted more. We didn't mention Suchitoto to him yesterday? This is indeed correct but we had booked him for the whole day, had asked him for his daily price. I (Nicole) stayed ever so calm and was so happy that I knew the correct Spanish words in the right moment. In the end Armando agreed - whether it was because I mentioned that we wanted his service tomorrow as well?
This evening we had football on the program. Germany - Netherlands, a big hit! The match was long over but as we didn't know the result we watched the match. For us it was just as if it had been live. A shame though that they didn't make it, the Germans. However, we were quite surprised by the German team in general.
Sunday, June 13, 2004
León - Choluteca (Honduras)
We were already quite excited, the youngest and most active volcano in Nicaragua was on our program today - the Cerro Negro. Only by accident we had heard of it, in our travel guide they didn't mention it at all.
At 7am it knocked on our door. We got picked up in time. Only now we learned that we had to check-out by 11am. If we stayed only 30 minutes longer we would have to pay an extra night. Gee, they are picky here! We packed our stuff and left our room.
10 minutes later we were off. With us the bunny with who we had booked the tour yesterday, her father and her boyfriend. Then we picked up her mother and a tour guide. Ramona and I didn't realise yesterday that we had booked a family trip.
We asked them whether they would go there regularly and the bunny answered positively. Oh, this must be boring for them. But she must have misunderstood - it certainly wasn't because of our Spanish :) - as we realised pretty soon that noone knew the right directions. Gee, what did we book here? In fact there were signs but not at every crossing. Obviously sooner or later we would take the wrong one. The father got really loud and angry, it probably was just too embarrassing for him. Ramona and I could only laugh. We'll make it somehow ...
At 8.20am it was time - let's climb the 726 m high and still active volcano. We had to walk over the big and small black lava stones. This volcano was totally different to all the others we had seen so far. At some parts the stones were even yellow, white or red. Red like burning lava. Ramona and I were quite fit and soon our tour guide and the bunny's friend couldn't follow us any longer. It really wasn't that steep ... and the tour guide was here to show us the way. Ph! What do we need a tour guide for?
We had a closer look at those parts where the volcano was still smoking. The smell of the sulfur was so strong that we had to cough lots. Thus, we couldn't stay there for long and continued to walk to the summit.
The view was gigantic: the black sand of the volcano's last eruption in 1992, inbetween the lush green of the trees. Awesome! The view from the summit into the crater took our breath away. It was undescribable.
The higher we got the more insects and beetles were there to see. They not only were around us, no they even sat down on us and our clothes. In no time we were full of insects ... as long as they don't bite us...
Today's descend should be special. No pain in our knees, no blisters on our feet ... We went to the sandy part of the volcano and wanted to just slide it down. It was very steep though and it cost us quite some effort. But soon we knew how to do it and almost ran down the steep slope. We even triggered off a sand- or stone avalanche - it was so much fun! Almost as good as sand skiing. But far too fast over!
At noon again we had to leave. We at least wanted to get to Honduras. The first bus ride to Chinandega was soon over. There we had to wait a few minutes for the next bus to Guasaule. No problem. Ramona had just bought a hot dog when slowly the bus to Guasaule passed us. I started to run immediately, wanted to get the bus stopped. We after all don't have time. Some men helped me and screamed. In fact, the bus stopped. Great. I ran back to Ramona, we took our backpacks and ran back to the bus. It was already coming backwards towards us, the door wide open so we could easily jump on. We had been just sat down when we realised it. The bus drove further backwards and stopped. Good that we had hurried up so much in order to get on a parking bus! 10 minutes later only we left Chinandega.
The ride was like hell as it was mostly on unpaved roads. This however was of no interest to the bus driver who drove like crazy. Sometimes we jumped from our seats because he drove through big potholes.
We were ever so glad when we eventually got to Guasaule. Because of all the dust and dirt we were almost as black as chimney sweepers. Whether we'll get over the border like that?
A young guy offered us his driving service - with his special bike he wanted to take us to the border to the migration office, yes, even to our next bus. Good. We wouldn't have liked walking 3 km in this heat.
At 5pm we left Guasaule and only one hour later we were already in our hotel for the night. For 5$ we got a quite big clean room, towels, soap and even a TV. However, the water in the shower could have been colder. And it would have been also nice to have some water in the toilet - but as this is only for one night ...
At 7am it knocked on our door. We got picked up in time. Only now we learned that we had to check-out by 11am. If we stayed only 30 minutes longer we would have to pay an extra night. Gee, they are picky here! We packed our stuff and left our room.
10 minutes later we were off. With us the bunny with who we had booked the tour yesterday, her father and her boyfriend. Then we picked up her mother and a tour guide. Ramona and I didn't realise yesterday that we had booked a family trip.
We asked them whether they would go there regularly and the bunny answered positively. Oh, this must be boring for them. But she must have misunderstood - it certainly wasn't because of our Spanish :) - as we realised pretty soon that noone knew the right directions. Gee, what did we book here? In fact there were signs but not at every crossing. Obviously sooner or later we would take the wrong one. The father got really loud and angry, it probably was just too embarrassing for him. Ramona and I could only laugh. We'll make it somehow ...
At 8.20am it was time - let's climb the 726 m high and still active volcano. We had to walk over the big and small black lava stones. This volcano was totally different to all the others we had seen so far. At some parts the stones were even yellow, white or red. Red like burning lava. Ramona and I were quite fit and soon our tour guide and the bunny's friend couldn't follow us any longer. It really wasn't that steep ... and the tour guide was here to show us the way. Ph! What do we need a tour guide for?
We had a closer look at those parts where the volcano was still smoking. The smell of the sulfur was so strong that we had to cough lots. Thus, we couldn't stay there for long and continued to walk to the summit.
The view was gigantic: the black sand of the volcano's last eruption in 1992, inbetween the lush green of the trees. Awesome! The view from the summit into the crater took our breath away. It was undescribable.
The higher we got the more insects and beetles were there to see. They not only were around us, no they even sat down on us and our clothes. In no time we were full of insects ... as long as they don't bite us...
Today's descend should be special. No pain in our knees, no blisters on our feet ... We went to the sandy part of the volcano and wanted to just slide it down. It was very steep though and it cost us quite some effort. But soon we knew how to do it and almost ran down the steep slope. We even triggered off a sand- or stone avalanche - it was so much fun! Almost as good as sand skiing. But far too fast over!
At noon again we had to leave. We at least wanted to get to Honduras. The first bus ride to Chinandega was soon over. There we had to wait a few minutes for the next bus to Guasaule. No problem. Ramona had just bought a hot dog when slowly the bus to Guasaule passed us. I started to run immediately, wanted to get the bus stopped. We after all don't have time. Some men helped me and screamed. In fact, the bus stopped. Great. I ran back to Ramona, we took our backpacks and ran back to the bus. It was already coming backwards towards us, the door wide open so we could easily jump on. We had been just sat down when we realised it. The bus drove further backwards and stopped. Good that we had hurried up so much in order to get on a parking bus! 10 minutes later only we left Chinandega.
The ride was like hell as it was mostly on unpaved roads. This however was of no interest to the bus driver who drove like crazy. Sometimes we jumped from our seats because he drove through big potholes.
We were ever so glad when we eventually got to Guasaule. Because of all the dust and dirt we were almost as black as chimney sweepers. Whether we'll get over the border like that?
A young guy offered us his driving service - with his special bike he wanted to take us to the border to the migration office, yes, even to our next bus. Good. We wouldn't have liked walking 3 km in this heat.
At 5pm we left Guasaule and only one hour later we were already in our hotel for the night. For 5$ we got a quite big clean room, towels, soap and even a TV. However, the water in the shower could have been colder. And it would have been also nice to have some water in the toilet - but as this is only for one night ...
Friday, June 11, 2004
Laguna de Apoyo
We had breakfast at 7.30am: Gallopinto with egg, the typical Nicaraguan breakfast - rice with beans and egg. Delicious even if rice is not everybody's cake so early in the morning.
Our dive master Lorenzo was late but at 9.40am we could start. Got all our equipment and 20 minutes later we were in the water. As today we were diving in a crater lake we didn't need to take a boat. We could walk into the lake and after a few meters there was a steep drop and we could descend. But Ramona, where are you? Ramona was still up on the surface, she couldn't make it down. Well, she seems to need some more weight. Lorenzo gave her a few stones from the bottom but they were just useless. The stones here don't weigh a gramm. Lorenzo had to go back. The second time it went better and Ramona could descend. Unfortunately the visibility in the lake was not as expected, maybe just about 5m. The bottom was sandy with a few stones. There is not much underwater life but what we saw was unique. 3 different kinds of fish which are only to be seen here in this lagoon. Amongst those even fish which have eyes but cannot see but also fish which don't have eyes at all. These really looked weird. In addition to that we saw a relatively large crab which was something special here in this lake. How did it only get here?
After the second dive we had a quick shower and at 2pm we were on the road again. Off we were to León - founded in 1524 by Francisco Fernández de Cordoba. Today's city is based about 32 km from where it was originally founded, at the foot of volcano Momotombo. In 1610 this volcano caused an earthquake by its activity and destroyed the old city. Until 1857 León was the capital of Nicaragua (today it is Managua) and nowadays is one of the few cities which are clearly signed with street signs.
We explored the city for a bit and had a hot dog in front of the cathedral. These are sold here in every corner, thus something local people seem to like.
Our dive master Lorenzo was late but at 9.40am we could start. Got all our equipment and 20 minutes later we were in the water. As today we were diving in a crater lake we didn't need to take a boat. We could walk into the lake and after a few meters there was a steep drop and we could descend. But Ramona, where are you? Ramona was still up on the surface, she couldn't make it down. Well, she seems to need some more weight. Lorenzo gave her a few stones from the bottom but they were just useless. The stones here don't weigh a gramm. Lorenzo had to go back. The second time it went better and Ramona could descend. Unfortunately the visibility in the lake was not as expected, maybe just about 5m. The bottom was sandy with a few stones. There is not much underwater life but what we saw was unique. 3 different kinds of fish which are only to be seen here in this lagoon. Amongst those even fish which have eyes but cannot see but also fish which don't have eyes at all. These really looked weird. In addition to that we saw a relatively large crab which was something special here in this lake. How did it only get here?
After the second dive we had a quick shower and at 2pm we were on the road again. Off we were to León - founded in 1524 by Francisco Fernández de Cordoba. Today's city is based about 32 km from where it was originally founded, at the foot of volcano Momotombo. In 1610 this volcano caused an earthquake by its activity and destroyed the old city. Until 1857 León was the capital of Nicaragua (today it is Managua) and nowadays is one of the few cities which are clearly signed with street signs.
We explored the city for a bit and had a hot dog in front of the cathedral. These are sold here in every corner, thus something local people seem to like.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Moyogalpa - Granada
Already at 6.45am (!) we were on the ferry back to the mainland, got on a taxi there which took us to the bus station. The bus to Granada only leaves at 10.30am - oh no! Well, we'll take the bus to Managua and change buses later. We didn't get up so early for nothing. After an hours bus ride we had to change - our luggage was faster than we were. We couldn't follow our backbacks so quick had the guys thrown them in the arms of another guy who then took it to our next bus. Really fast these guys.
As it was already quite hot here again the windows were all open. The breeze was really nice! ... But yak, what's that? We get wet. Where does that come from? It's not raining! Well, there must be something dripping from the roof. We closed the windows. It didn't take long though and we knew what it was - a pig which had been carried on the roof thought it should pee. Now we know why the people in the bus had laughed so much!!
At 10.30am already we had our accomodation in Granada. We left immediately for Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Here we wanted to finally book our flights, find out more about the volcano skiing. But it all took so much longer than we had expected. Mind you, we managed to book the flight but didn't get any information on the sand skiing. For that we would need to go to Leon from where they offer these tours.
Thus we took the bus back to Granada - we'll have to phone them tomorrow and try to find out. Let's see whether we can manage this with our Spanish!
Granada is the only city enduring in its original settlement, making it the oldest city in the Western Hemisphere, as it rests in the same site where it was founded in the year 1524 by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba. Despite being the most besieged city by pirates, sacked during the civil wars and destroyed by the Filibuster William Walker in 1856, Granada is one of the most beautiful cities in Nicaragua. The city really is impressive with all its colourful baroque and renaissance style buildings, amongst them the outstanding colonial building, the Iglesia de San Francisco, the oldest in Nicaragua. Granada really is beautiful - so peaceful and quiet. We just couldn't stop taking pictures.
As it was already quite hot here again the windows were all open. The breeze was really nice! ... But yak, what's that? We get wet. Where does that come from? It's not raining! Well, there must be something dripping from the roof. We closed the windows. It didn't take long though and we knew what it was - a pig which had been carried on the roof thought it should pee. Now we know why the people in the bus had laughed so much!!
At 10.30am already we had our accomodation in Granada. We left immediately for Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Here we wanted to finally book our flights, find out more about the volcano skiing. But it all took so much longer than we had expected. Mind you, we managed to book the flight but didn't get any information on the sand skiing. For that we would need to go to Leon from where they offer these tours.
Thus we took the bus back to Granada - we'll have to phone them tomorrow and try to find out. Let's see whether we can manage this with our Spanish!
Granada is the only city enduring in its original settlement, making it the oldest city in the Western Hemisphere, as it rests in the same site where it was founded in the year 1524 by Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba. Despite being the most besieged city by pirates, sacked during the civil wars and destroyed by the Filibuster William Walker in 1856, Granada is one of the most beautiful cities in Nicaragua. The city really is impressive with all its colourful baroque and renaissance style buildings, amongst them the outstanding colonial building, the Iglesia de San Francisco, the oldest in Nicaragua. Granada really is beautiful - so peaceful and quiet. We just couldn't stop taking pictures.
Monday, June 07, 2004
Tamarindo - Moyogalpa/Isla de Ometepe (Nicaragua)
About 9am we were on our bus to Liberia. Today we want to leave Costa Rica und travel to Nicaragua, the country of volcanos and lakes. It was our plan to get as far as Moyogalpa... We had to take our luggage on the bus. No problem at all we thought, but it got more and more crowded and we ended up with our heavy backpacks on our laps, squeezed on our seats. It was ever so hot, our legs fell asleep ... how much we were looking forward to those bus rides in Central America!
In Liberia we had to wait longer than expected. Oh, whether we will still make it for the last ferry to the island? Will our plan already fail on the first day? At 12.30pm we got on the bus to Penas Blancas, the last town before the border to Nicaragua. This time we could store our luggage in the luggage compartment. The ride was supposed to take two hours - great, we can read lots then. However, it didn't even take 1.5hrs and we were in Penas Blancas.
In no time we had our leaving stamp and walked across the border to Nicaragua. We had to pay $7 for a tourist card. Only then we would get our stamp. Let's quickly get some money changed in the bank next door. At the tourist information we took some flyers and off we were to our next bus to Rivas. I (Nicole) read the flyers and got ever so excited! Here it's possible to ski on a volcano - not on snow though but on sand! Fantastic! Where is that? Cerro Negro, never heard of. Why didn't we read anything about it in our travel guides??? I should get more information on the net ... it's obvious where I will soon be.
36km we got off the bus and immediately took a taxi to the ferry. We were on time and left the mainland with a really rusty ferry at 4.30pm over the Lago de Nicaragua. An hour later we arrived at Moyogalpa. That was our plan!
The lake is with a length of 177 km and an average width of 58 km the third largest lake in Latin America. In total 45 rivers flow into it. The Isla de Ometepe ("between two hills" in Nahuatl)is the largest island in the lake and formed by two volcanoes. Volcan Concepcion, 1610m, and Volcan Madera, 1394m. Volkan Concepcion is still active though its latest eruption has been 48 years ago.
With a population of 50,000, Ometepe is dotted by small coastal settlements where people live by fishing and growing bananas, citrus fruits, maize, sesame and beans. Ometepe is famuos for its ancient stone statues and petroglyphs depicting humans, animals and geometric shapes, especially spirals.
We had quickly explored the town Moyogalpa and had dinner in the restaurant of our hotel. Eventually in bed we spent the rest of the evening reading.
In Liberia we had to wait longer than expected. Oh, whether we will still make it for the last ferry to the island? Will our plan already fail on the first day? At 12.30pm we got on the bus to Penas Blancas, the last town before the border to Nicaragua. This time we could store our luggage in the luggage compartment. The ride was supposed to take two hours - great, we can read lots then. However, it didn't even take 1.5hrs and we were in Penas Blancas.
In no time we had our leaving stamp and walked across the border to Nicaragua. We had to pay $7 for a tourist card. Only then we would get our stamp. Let's quickly get some money changed in the bank next door. At the tourist information we took some flyers and off we were to our next bus to Rivas. I (Nicole) read the flyers and got ever so excited! Here it's possible to ski on a volcano - not on snow though but on sand! Fantastic! Where is that? Cerro Negro, never heard of. Why didn't we read anything about it in our travel guides??? I should get more information on the net ... it's obvious where I will soon be.
36km we got off the bus and immediately took a taxi to the ferry. We were on time and left the mainland with a really rusty ferry at 4.30pm over the Lago de Nicaragua. An hour later we arrived at Moyogalpa. That was our plan!
The lake is with a length of 177 km and an average width of 58 km the third largest lake in Latin America. In total 45 rivers flow into it. The Isla de Ometepe ("between two hills" in Nahuatl)is the largest island in the lake and formed by two volcanoes. Volcan Concepcion, 1610m, and Volcan Madera, 1394m. Volkan Concepcion is still active though its latest eruption has been 48 years ago.
With a population of 50,000, Ometepe is dotted by small coastal settlements where people live by fishing and growing bananas, citrus fruits, maize, sesame and beans. Ometepe is famuos for its ancient stone statues and petroglyphs depicting humans, animals and geometric shapes, especially spirals.
We had quickly explored the town Moyogalpa and had dinner in the restaurant of our hotel. Eventually in bed we spent the rest of the evening reading.
Saturday, June 05, 2004
Playa del Coco - Tamarindo
Already at 8am it was so noisy that we couldn't sleep any longer. Why today? It's Saturday! We mocked about and went to the dive shop again to visit Kevin. Only at 11.45am we were sat in the bus to Filadelfia. Unfortunately without the two guys from yesterday.
We had to wait an hour in Filadelfia for our next bus to Tamarindo. It was quite bumpy on our way there and so hot that we were quite happy to finally get off.
Immediately we were offered a room for 10$ per person by Victoria, an Italian woman. Gee, that's quite expensive ... but with kitchen, hot water, it's clean, safe ... We went for a look. In the end the prices in the restaurants convinced us that it is cheaper to cook our own meals. Thus we booked for one night!
We went shopping to the supermarket and then were off to the beach. There was an unpleasant smell of fish and the beach itself wasn't really nice. So we went further direction National Park where we wanted to see turtles but it's not their season at the moment. We didn't go far anyway as it started to pour down with rain. We spent almost an hour underneath a shed... then it got dark and we started walking back. A really successful day! Maybe we should stay for another night and try to go surfing tomorrow? 20$ for 2 hours that doesn't sound bad ... tomorrow at 2pm we'll start!
For dinner we had delicious pasta with cheese and we spent the evening reading our travel guide and planning our last weeks. Travelling with a plan will be different for us ... let's see when we'll first change our plan!
We had to wait an hour in Filadelfia for our next bus to Tamarindo. It was quite bumpy on our way there and so hot that we were quite happy to finally get off.
Immediately we were offered a room for 10$ per person by Victoria, an Italian woman. Gee, that's quite expensive ... but with kitchen, hot water, it's clean, safe ... We went for a look. In the end the prices in the restaurants convinced us that it is cheaper to cook our own meals. Thus we booked for one night!
We went shopping to the supermarket and then were off to the beach. There was an unpleasant smell of fish and the beach itself wasn't really nice. So we went further direction National Park where we wanted to see turtles but it's not their season at the moment. We didn't go far anyway as it started to pour down with rain. We spent almost an hour underneath a shed... then it got dark and we started walking back. A really successful day! Maybe we should stay for another night and try to go surfing tomorrow? 20$ for 2 hours that doesn't sound bad ... tomorrow at 2pm we'll start!
For dinner we had delicious pasta with cheese and we spent the evening reading our travel guide and planning our last weeks. Travelling with a plan will be different for us ... let's see when we'll first change our plan!
Thursday, June 03, 2004
La Fortuna - Playa del Coco
Today we want to go to Playa del Coco. It's supposed to be the best dive spot in whole Costa Rica, a must for us! It was going to be a long day in four different buses for us:
08.20 - 11.20am: La Fortuna - Tilaran
11.30 - 12.15pm: Tilaran - Canan
1.00 - 2.25pm: Canan - Liberia
2.30 - 3.30pm: Liberia - Playa del Coco
We were quite surprised how smoothly everything went. We never had to wait longer than a couple of minutes for the next bus.
Playa del Coco is a small village at the Pacific coast. Unfortunately, also here quite touristy though one cannot tell from the choice of accomodations. The cleanest - a clean room and our room are not the - for $8/person!! Gee! But we'll only stay for one night.
There is not a lot to see here so we booked our diving trip for tomorrow and had an early night.
08.20 - 11.20am: La Fortuna - Tilaran
11.30 - 12.15pm: Tilaran - Canan
1.00 - 2.25pm: Canan - Liberia
2.30 - 3.30pm: Liberia - Playa del Coco
We were quite surprised how smoothly everything went. We never had to wait longer than a couple of minutes for the next bus.
Playa del Coco is a small village at the Pacific coast. Unfortunately, also here quite touristy though one cannot tell from the choice of accomodations. The cleanest - a clean room and our room are not the - for $8/person!! Gee! But we'll only stay for one night.
There is not a lot to see here so we booked our diving trip for tomorrow and had an early night.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Manuel Antonio - San Jose
It was only 7.45am and we were already in front of the Manuel Antonio National Park entrance. It is one of the most popular National Parks in Costa Rica and also the smallest. This has led to intense pressure on both the park and the area: too many visitors, too many hotels and too much impact on the wildlife and environment. Therefore, the park is closed on Monday and limited to 600 visitors on other days.
At the entrance we saw a lot of tour guides offering professional tours. No doubt that the tours will be professional but $20 per person? Out of question! We will go on our own: our mission was to find a sloth without a tour guide. Ramona was already quite excited as she always wanted to see a sloth in nature. Here in Central America it is the opportunity. But it´s not that easy ... but we are clever! Slowly we walked through the park, in front of us a tour guide with a group, behind us another tour guide with a group. Where they are, there must be something to see. Well, and like that we saw our first sloth. It was hanging in the tree, not moving at all. These animals are really world champions in camouflaging, they are hardly distinguishable from termite nests.
We spent more than 3 hours in the National Park and in the end we even managed to find two sloths without the help of tour guides. Thus, we were right: What do we need tour guides for?
At noon we were already sat in a bus to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, with a population of 330,000. For us, San Jose will only be a stop over as tomorrow we will head to La Fortuna.
We had chosen an accomodation near the bus terminal which was really cheap. Only $5 for the two of us. But we would soon realise why! Just as in a prison cell. Which crime have we only committed? Well, it will only be for one night.
In San Jose we walked a bit around. There is also a pedestrian street here and we almost felt like being in Trier. Everywhere people, quite hectic, one has to watch out not to bump into someone. We really did not miss that!
Information on sloths:
The sloth only moves in slow-motion - always with its back downwards and with the belly up. Its because of its moving that the sloth got its name. It is considered to be the slowest mammal in the world. Its average moving ´speed´ is 0.27km per hour (about 270m per hour).
In order to put one leg in front of the other it takes up to 1.5 minutes. On the ground lying on their belly they can tediously move forward, about an hour for 120 to 200 meters. In the water though they are quite good.
Still the sloth asks us riddles. Until today one is not sure about how old sloths can get, assuming 30 - 40 years. They can weigh up to 10 kg.
Sloths are hanging climbers with a round head similar to monkeys. Their head is markedly flexible. Just as with birds it can move its head by 180° to its back. Their ears are hidden in the fur. They have strong round claws and a dense, longhairy fur. They don´t have incisors and they eat leaves.
The sloth is moving so slowly in order to use as less energy as possible and therefore not to have to eat too much. Their muscles are only half as much developed compared to most of the other mammals. It can take up to a week until the food is gone through their digestion system. Their thick fur decreases the heat and energy loss.
When sloths sleep (about 15 hours a day), they hang in the branches of the trees. They don't need a nest or another firm sleepling place. They protect themselves while rolling up their head and legs to a ball. In this position they sleep safely and are protected.
At the entrance we saw a lot of tour guides offering professional tours. No doubt that the tours will be professional but $20 per person? Out of question! We will go on our own: our mission was to find a sloth without a tour guide. Ramona was already quite excited as she always wanted to see a sloth in nature. Here in Central America it is the opportunity. But it´s not that easy ... but we are clever! Slowly we walked through the park, in front of us a tour guide with a group, behind us another tour guide with a group. Where they are, there must be something to see. Well, and like that we saw our first sloth. It was hanging in the tree, not moving at all. These animals are really world champions in camouflaging, they are hardly distinguishable from termite nests.
We spent more than 3 hours in the National Park and in the end we even managed to find two sloths without the help of tour guides. Thus, we were right: What do we need tour guides for?
At noon we were already sat in a bus to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, with a population of 330,000. For us, San Jose will only be a stop over as tomorrow we will head to La Fortuna.
We had chosen an accomodation near the bus terminal which was really cheap. Only $5 for the two of us. But we would soon realise why! Just as in a prison cell. Which crime have we only committed? Well, it will only be for one night.
In San Jose we walked a bit around. There is also a pedestrian street here and we almost felt like being in Trier. Everywhere people, quite hectic, one has to watch out not to bump into someone. We really did not miss that!
Information on sloths:
The sloth only moves in slow-motion - always with its back downwards and with the belly up. Its because of its moving that the sloth got its name. It is considered to be the slowest mammal in the world. Its average moving ´speed´ is 0.27km per hour (about 270m per hour).
In order to put one leg in front of the other it takes up to 1.5 minutes. On the ground lying on their belly they can tediously move forward, about an hour for 120 to 200 meters. In the water though they are quite good.
Still the sloth asks us riddles. Until today one is not sure about how old sloths can get, assuming 30 - 40 years. They can weigh up to 10 kg.
Sloths are hanging climbers with a round head similar to monkeys. Their head is markedly flexible. Just as with birds it can move its head by 180° to its back. Their ears are hidden in the fur. They have strong round claws and a dense, longhairy fur. They don´t have incisors and they eat leaves.
The sloth is moving so slowly in order to use as less energy as possible and therefore not to have to eat too much. Their muscles are only half as much developed compared to most of the other mammals. It can take up to a week until the food is gone through their digestion system. Their thick fur decreases the heat and energy loss.
When sloths sleep (about 15 hours a day), they hang in the branches of the trees. They don't need a nest or another firm sleepling place. They protect themselves while rolling up their head and legs to a ball. In this position they sleep safely and are protected.
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Chirripo Base Camp - San Isidro
2.45am - finally, the alarm-clock rang. I (Nicole) couldn´t sleep anymore from 9.20pm onwards. Was that because of the altitude? We got ready and at 3.20am we were off.
Of course, it was still pitchdark outside, some stars were to be seen. Maybe we will really see a nice sunrise. In the light of our torches we started. Just as when climbing Mt. Fuji ... old memories! Hopefully it won´t get as exhausting!
However, it started with a steep part. Must this be? In fact, it should only be 5.1 km to the summit but this also were 427 meters in height. And we are supposed to make this in two hours?
Only about 15 minutes later we met the Canadian couple who we had met yesterday already. Their torches didn´t work any longer. What? How can one want to climb a mountain at night and not carrying enough batteries? We couldn´t believe it. But of course they can walk with us ... but she didn´t like our speed. It didn´t take long and we had to stop. Gee ...
At 4.11am we got to the first sign - still 2.8 km to the summit. Unfortunately, the height wasn´t mentioned. But 2.8 km, that´s not too far. It will be steep though and take us at least one hour. We saw a last sign which showed us the way to the summit at 5.12am. No height was mentioned. It wasn´t really necessary as we could already see the cross at the highest point. It looked really pretty steep!
Gradually the sun showed up behind another mountain and we saw a beautiful sunrise. We were lucky as there were hardly any clouds.
Let´s go now, final spurt. The German guys are almost half way up. We followed them and noticed that the air got thinner and thinner. But I was even more struggling with the high steps. I was ever so happy that sometimes I had to really climb, use my hands. Like this I could pull myself up with my arms. Slowly, very slowly I got closer to the summit. But where is Ramona? I coud´t see her anymore. But I had to continue, it was going quite smoothly for me. Only ever so often I had to stop for a short break. Ramona will be doing the same. She also is an old pro in climbing mountains!
At 5.32am I was at the summit, had climbed the Volcano Chirripo. Ramona followed only a few minutes later. Now, up on 3,820 m we were so proud. The view made up for all the exertions of the last hours. As it was pretty windy and damn cold up there - our fingers were almost frozen - we soon started to descend.
We reached the Base Camp at 7.30am, got our stuff and had a hot chocolate before continuing our walk down. It was 8am when we left the Base Camp to San Gerardo.
It was lovely weather, the sun was shining and everything went smoothly. We were both really good even though Ramona complained about her painful soles of foot after about 5 km. After only 2.5 hours we had managed half of the hike and we took a long break. The German guys joined us and together we continued walking. Ramona went ahead and at the beginning the boys were still following but soon we were on our own again. *smile*
If Ramona keeps on her pace we will be really good. But not only the pretty muddy path, no, also our feet and knees started to hurt. We still had 7 km to go but my knees didn´t want any longer. Every step was like a cut with a knife. Ramona didn´t feel good either.
We didn´t speak anymore. We both had enough to do with our pain. I tried to get distracted but everything only lasted for a second or so. The meters were an endless haul. But what could we do? Somehow it needs to work. How much we looked forward to every km sign ... and how much we were disappointed when we still didn´t see it after the next bend. Time was flying, but we didn´t get far.
I got to a point where I only looked at the ground in order to be sure not to slip or twist my ankle. This though led to pain in the neck and I clenched my shoulders. Not to mention the blisters on my feet.
Ramona was quicker than me, within seconds she was several meters in front of me. For the first time descending was worse than climbing a mountain.
We were ever so happy when we eventually reached kilometer 0. But how far is it to the hostel? We couldn´t remember but wanted to make it by 2pm. It didn´t take long though to realize that this was impossible. Our bus to San Isidro leaves at 4 pm - will we manage it? We were lucky ... a local seemed to suffer with us, he took us to the hostel so we didn´t have to walk the last couple of km.
Totally exhausted and tired we sat down. Tired, knackered, full of pain. We didn´t want to move at all. Tonight we will have an easy evening in our hotel in San Isidro. Something to look forward to!
At 4pm we took the bus to San Isidro. Luckily, it wasn´t far from the bus terminal to our hotel - however, with our heavy backpacks it was still too far! We got the same room as last time. Walking upstairs was like hell. Nevertheless, we went off again to get some instant noodles. After a luke warm shower we had these for dinner.
We were ever so happy to finally lay in bed and not to have to move anymore.
Of course, it was still pitchdark outside, some stars were to be seen. Maybe we will really see a nice sunrise. In the light of our torches we started. Just as when climbing Mt. Fuji ... old memories! Hopefully it won´t get as exhausting!
However, it started with a steep part. Must this be? In fact, it should only be 5.1 km to the summit but this also were 427 meters in height. And we are supposed to make this in two hours?
Only about 15 minutes later we met the Canadian couple who we had met yesterday already. Their torches didn´t work any longer. What? How can one want to climb a mountain at night and not carrying enough batteries? We couldn´t believe it. But of course they can walk with us ... but she didn´t like our speed. It didn´t take long and we had to stop. Gee ...
At 4.11am we got to the first sign - still 2.8 km to the summit. Unfortunately, the height wasn´t mentioned. But 2.8 km, that´s not too far. It will be steep though and take us at least one hour. We saw a last sign which showed us the way to the summit at 5.12am. No height was mentioned. It wasn´t really necessary as we could already see the cross at the highest point. It looked really pretty steep!
Gradually the sun showed up behind another mountain and we saw a beautiful sunrise. We were lucky as there were hardly any clouds.
Let´s go now, final spurt. The German guys are almost half way up. We followed them and noticed that the air got thinner and thinner. But I was even more struggling with the high steps. I was ever so happy that sometimes I had to really climb, use my hands. Like this I could pull myself up with my arms. Slowly, very slowly I got closer to the summit. But where is Ramona? I coud´t see her anymore. But I had to continue, it was going quite smoothly for me. Only ever so often I had to stop for a short break. Ramona will be doing the same. She also is an old pro in climbing mountains!
At 5.32am I was at the summit, had climbed the Volcano Chirripo. Ramona followed only a few minutes later. Now, up on 3,820 m we were so proud. The view made up for all the exertions of the last hours. As it was pretty windy and damn cold up there - our fingers were almost frozen - we soon started to descend.
We reached the Base Camp at 7.30am, got our stuff and had a hot chocolate before continuing our walk down. It was 8am when we left the Base Camp to San Gerardo.
It was lovely weather, the sun was shining and everything went smoothly. We were both really good even though Ramona complained about her painful soles of foot after about 5 km. After only 2.5 hours we had managed half of the hike and we took a long break. The German guys joined us and together we continued walking. Ramona went ahead and at the beginning the boys were still following but soon we were on our own again. *smile*
If Ramona keeps on her pace we will be really good. But not only the pretty muddy path, no, also our feet and knees started to hurt. We still had 7 km to go but my knees didn´t want any longer. Every step was like a cut with a knife. Ramona didn´t feel good either.
We didn´t speak anymore. We both had enough to do with our pain. I tried to get distracted but everything only lasted for a second or so. The meters were an endless haul. But what could we do? Somehow it needs to work. How much we looked forward to every km sign ... and how much we were disappointed when we still didn´t see it after the next bend. Time was flying, but we didn´t get far.
I got to a point where I only looked at the ground in order to be sure not to slip or twist my ankle. This though led to pain in the neck and I clenched my shoulders. Not to mention the blisters on my feet.
Ramona was quicker than me, within seconds she was several meters in front of me. For the first time descending was worse than climbing a mountain.
We were ever so happy when we eventually reached kilometer 0. But how far is it to the hostel? We couldn´t remember but wanted to make it by 2pm. It didn´t take long though to realize that this was impossible. Our bus to San Isidro leaves at 4 pm - will we manage it? We were lucky ... a local seemed to suffer with us, he took us to the hostel so we didn´t have to walk the last couple of km.
Totally exhausted and tired we sat down. Tired, knackered, full of pain. We didn´t want to move at all. Tonight we will have an easy evening in our hotel in San Isidro. Something to look forward to!
At 4pm we took the bus to San Isidro. Luckily, it wasn´t far from the bus terminal to our hotel - however, with our heavy backpacks it was still too far! We got the same room as last time. Walking upstairs was like hell. Nevertheless, we went off again to get some instant noodles. After a luke warm shower we had these for dinner.
We were ever so happy to finally lay in bed and not to have to move anymore.
Friday, May 28, 2004
San Isidro - San Gerardo de Rivas
It was already after midnight and we were still not sleeping. Outside it again was pouring down with rain and we were happy to be lying in a warm bed. Hopefully it won't rain when we want to climb the highest volcano in Costa Rica, Chirripo. We must have fallen asleep eventually.
We first went to the bank in order to change our US-Dollar into Colones. We had to queue for a long time. The queuing line was marked on the floor, just as at the airport. After about half an hour - luckily they had a TV - it was our turn. Changing money was not possible with the ID, only the passport was accepted. Everything needed to be right.
After the bank we were off to the post in order to send two little parcels. Again we had to queue. When it was our turn we learned that we couldn't buy envelopes here. For that we need to go to the shop, 50m back. Really ...
At the supermarket we bought some food for our hike tomorrow. Time seemed to fly and it was time for check-out. As again it was raining and our bus only left at 2pm we used the time to have breakfast. Cold pizza - the last bits from yesterday. Yammy!!
The bus ride to San Gerardo took 2 hours. Here at our accomodation El Bosque we should even have hot water ... negative! At the ranger station opposite the hostel we paid entrance fee for the national park and booked accomodation at the Chirripo Base Camp for tomorrow night.
Today it was an early night, as the alarm-clock will ring at 4.30am already.
We first went to the bank in order to change our US-Dollar into Colones. We had to queue for a long time. The queuing line was marked on the floor, just as at the airport. After about half an hour - luckily they had a TV - it was our turn. Changing money was not possible with the ID, only the passport was accepted. Everything needed to be right.
After the bank we were off to the post in order to send two little parcels. Again we had to queue. When it was our turn we learned that we couldn't buy envelopes here. For that we need to go to the shop, 50m back. Really ...
At the supermarket we bought some food for our hike tomorrow. Time seemed to fly and it was time for check-out. As again it was raining and our bus only left at 2pm we used the time to have breakfast. Cold pizza - the last bits from yesterday. Yammy!!
The bus ride to San Gerardo took 2 hours. Here at our accomodation El Bosque we should even have hot water ... negative! At the ranger station opposite the hostel we paid entrance fee for the national park and booked accomodation at the Chirripo Base Camp for tomorrow night.
Today it was an early night, as the alarm-clock will ring at 4.30am already.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Cerro Punta - Paso Canoas (Costa Rica)
Only slowly we got up today. What should we do? Hiking with John in Cerro Punta? Take a bus to the other side of the volcano, to Boquete? Or should we go straight to Costa Rica? Wir decided for the latter.
John didn't feel like hiking as it was raining cats and dogs. Thus we all three took a bus direction David. Ramona and I got off at the office of Maria and Raphael. Both were really happy to see us again and Raphael even took us to the bus to Rio Sereno. There we wanted to cross the border to Costa Rica. The road to Rio Sereno is supposed to be as one of the most fascinating in Panama. It really was great: narrow streets, lush, many bends ... The mountainous landscape was immersed in fog and clouds. Really beautiful. I wonder whether back at home I will appreciate thouse kind of things or whether I will rather complain because the sun is not shining.
In Rio Sereno we had to walk a bit from the bus station to the border. But the woman there refused us. This border is not for tourists any longer. Oh no! What do we have to do? Cross the border in Paso Canoas. 2 hours with the bus. If we had known this we would have taken the bus with John to David...
The bus to Paso Canoas only went at 4pm and some hours later we arrived. We got the exit stamp without any problems. After crossing the border we got our stamp for Costa Rica. Luckily no-one asked for an onward ticket.
Originally we wanted to immediately take a bus to Santa Elena. But there were no buses anymore. Thus, we looked for an accomodation. Our first impression of Costa Rica was not really a nice one. Dirt, everywhere rubbish on the street. We didn't have this for a long time.
After dinner we went online.
John didn't feel like hiking as it was raining cats and dogs. Thus we all three took a bus direction David. Ramona and I got off at the office of Maria and Raphael. Both were really happy to see us again and Raphael even took us to the bus to Rio Sereno. There we wanted to cross the border to Costa Rica. The road to Rio Sereno is supposed to be as one of the most fascinating in Panama. It really was great: narrow streets, lush, many bends ... The mountainous landscape was immersed in fog and clouds. Really beautiful. I wonder whether back at home I will appreciate thouse kind of things or whether I will rather complain because the sun is not shining.
In Rio Sereno we had to walk a bit from the bus station to the border. But the woman there refused us. This border is not for tourists any longer. Oh no! What do we have to do? Cross the border in Paso Canoas. 2 hours with the bus. If we had known this we would have taken the bus with John to David...
The bus to Paso Canoas only went at 4pm and some hours later we arrived. We got the exit stamp without any problems. After crossing the border we got our stamp for Costa Rica. Luckily no-one asked for an onward ticket.
Originally we wanted to immediately take a bus to Santa Elena. But there were no buses anymore. Thus, we looked for an accomodation. Our first impression of Costa Rica was not really a nice one. Dirt, everywhere rubbish on the street. We didn't have this for a long time.
After dinner we went online.
Monday, May 24, 2004
Pedasi - Cerra Punta
We checked out and asked for the bus station, we wanted to get to Boquete today. A small village near Volcano Baru. But what was the good old lady of the hotel talking about? Strike, no buses, petrol prices increased ... Did we really understand her?
On our way to the bus station a taxi driver stopped. He took us to Las Tablas for $2. Same price as with the bus so why not? In Las Tablas he even took us to the right bus. Further to Divisa than to David. Everything went so smoothly, we didn't have to wait long at all. Not one sign of a strike. We probably had misunderstood the good old lady.
We got to David at 3.50pm and had missed the bus to Boquete by 5 minutes. No problem though, the next one already leaves in 15 minutes. But the people surrounding us said something like "no bus to Boquete" ... ??? Why is that? Strike! So it is true! When will the next bus leave? Maybe later in the afternoon, maybe tomorrow. No-one knew about it. Hmmmm... what shall we do? We decided to go to Cerro Punta instead. It's on the other side of the volcano, just opposite of Boquete.
The ride to Cerro Punta was a neverending story and we only got there at 7.30pm. In the Pension Primavera we got a room of 2.5m x 2.5m. Really not something to be mentioned but the cheapest in the village.
On our way to the bus station a taxi driver stopped. He took us to Las Tablas for $2. Same price as with the bus so why not? In Las Tablas he even took us to the right bus. Further to Divisa than to David. Everything went so smoothly, we didn't have to wait long at all. Not one sign of a strike. We probably had misunderstood the good old lady.
We got to David at 3.50pm and had missed the bus to Boquete by 5 minutes. No problem though, the next one already leaves in 15 minutes. But the people surrounding us said something like "no bus to Boquete" ... ??? Why is that? Strike! So it is true! When will the next bus leave? Maybe later in the afternoon, maybe tomorrow. No-one knew about it. Hmmmm... what shall we do? We decided to go to Cerro Punta instead. It's on the other side of the volcano, just opposite of Boquete.
The ride to Cerro Punta was a neverending story and we only got there at 7.30pm. In the Pension Primavera we got a room of 2.5m x 2.5m. Really not something to be mentioned but the cheapest in the village.
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Chitre - Pedasi
I (Nicole) was again awake so early. 5.50am, far too early to get up. I turned around and around and I got to a point where I couldn't stand it any longer. I took a shower and went to buy these 10 ballpens I had seen yesterday. It's not that I needed 10 of them but they were only $1. When I got back, Ramona was up already. TV was switched on ... what's that? A German movie, with Spanish subtitles!
Just about 10am we were sat in a bus to Las Tablas. Somehow riding buses in Panama is not like we had imagined it. It's not noisy, not really cramped, music if there is any is ok. It really is not adventorous. What a pity!
In Las Tablas we changed buses to Pedasi, a 3,000 village near the Pacific coast. The bus driver dropped us off just in front of our hotel where we got a room for $4 per person. Without bathroom and TV of course. But who needs a TV?
At the only dive shop in Pedasi we booked our diving for the next day. Next door at the tourist office - we were actually really surprised that there is one in this tiny little village -we tried to get some information about Pedasi and its surroundings. The man didn't speak any English and we hardly speak any Spanish. Still ... somehow we got the information we wanted. The man really made efforts.
We were then off to the beach where we went for a walk. Barefoot. The sand was quartz-coloured and wet. Obviously as it's the rainy season.
Already from far away we had seen birds on carrion. What's that? Seals? No, there were 3 dead sharks lying in the sand. Certainly one had caught them illegally. Let's hope that we will still see some tomorrow in the sea.
At the supermarket we bought some food. The salesman there was cool. He had a book with all the continents and most important countries worldwide. Every tourist who buys stuff in the supermarket is supposed to mark his/her home. We were lucky as no-one from Cadenberge or Serrig had been here before.
A few meters further, in the Dulceria Yely, we tried the best cake of Pedasi. The woman is famous for her cake in whole Panama. That place apparently is a must for every Pedasi visitor. But honestly, the cake was ok but nothing special ...
We spent the evening with diary writing and reading about other countries in Central America. What is there to see?
Just about 10am we were sat in a bus to Las Tablas. Somehow riding buses in Panama is not like we had imagined it. It's not noisy, not really cramped, music if there is any is ok. It really is not adventorous. What a pity!
In Las Tablas we changed buses to Pedasi, a 3,000 village near the Pacific coast. The bus driver dropped us off just in front of our hotel where we got a room for $4 per person. Without bathroom and TV of course. But who needs a TV?
At the only dive shop in Pedasi we booked our diving for the next day. Next door at the tourist office - we were actually really surprised that there is one in this tiny little village -we tried to get some information about Pedasi and its surroundings. The man didn't speak any English and we hardly speak any Spanish. Still ... somehow we got the information we wanted. The man really made efforts.
We were then off to the beach where we went for a walk. Barefoot. The sand was quartz-coloured and wet. Obviously as it's the rainy season.
Already from far away we had seen birds on carrion. What's that? Seals? No, there were 3 dead sharks lying in the sand. Certainly one had caught them illegally. Let's hope that we will still see some tomorrow in the sea.
At the supermarket we bought some food. The salesman there was cool. He had a book with all the continents and most important countries worldwide. Every tourist who buys stuff in the supermarket is supposed to mark his/her home. We were lucky as no-one from Cadenberge or Serrig had been here before.
A few meters further, in the Dulceria Yely, we tried the best cake of Pedasi. The woman is famous for her cake in whole Panama. That place apparently is a must for every Pedasi visitor. But honestly, the cake was ok but nothing special ...
We spent the evening with diary writing and reading about other countries in Central America. What is there to see?
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Panama City
This is not true. What is the time? - 11am! We wanted to get up at 8.30am. Quick now. Have a shower and off to the canal.
Where is the bus station? Gee, that far? Let's take a taxi to the bus station. The driver offered us to take us to the canal for only $5 so we agreed. Why not? We were late anyway! 15 minutes later we were there. $10 admission - to the museum, restaurant, souvenir shop and to the viewing platform ... Hmmm! This is not cheap, but what can we do?!
The next ship only passes through at 1.30pm thus we still have 1.5 hrs to explore the museum. It is on 4 floors informing about the construction of the canal, the importance of water in general and for the canal, the animal world in the surrounding jungle and the importance of the canal in the world. The time passes quickly and we need to go to the viewing platform. From here we can see how several ships pass through the Miraflores locks. Basically the same as at the locks in Serrig but still ... a masterpiece! Nearly 14,000 ships pass through the canal each year. Ships worldwide are built with the dimensions of the Panama Canal's locks in mind. Ships pay according to their weight, with the average fee US$30,000. The highest amount paid was US$184,114.80, paid in January 2000 by the M/V Sisler, a 950-foot US-registered container ship; the lowest amount was US$0.36, paid in 1928 by Richard Halliburton who swam through. It took him 10 days.
We took the bus back to Panama City where we strolled around in the pedestrian street. In the park Cinco de Mayo we enjoyed the sun and tried to plan our further travels. Again not so easy and we have to find out costs tomorrow.
INFORMATION TO THE PANAMA CANAL
How does the Panama Canal work?
The Panama Canal is a lock-type canal, approximately 80 kilometers long, that unites the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at one of the narrowest points of both, the Isthmus of Panama and the American Continent. The Canal officially opened its doors to international trade on August 15, 1914, and since then, more than 880,000 vessels have transited the waterway.
The Canal's three sets of locks, each of which has two lanes, operate as water lifts to elevate ships 26 meteres above sea level to the level of Gatun Lake, in their transit of the channel across the Continental Divide, and then lower them back to sea level on the opposite side of the Isthmus. During these lockages, which use water obtained from Gatun Lake, the miter gates seal the locks chambers and gravity drains the water to the lower levels. Approximately 197 million liters of fresh water are used for each lockage and ultimately flushed into the sea. Each set of locks features a Control House on the center wall of its higher chamber, from which this entire operation is directed.
Though vessels use their own propulsion for the greater part of their Panama Canal transit, they are assisted, when passing through the locks, by electric locomotives which use cables to align and tow the ships. Working in pairs, locomotives move on rails and keep the vessels in position within the locks chambers. Depending on its size, a vessel can require assistance from four to eight locomotives.
The 12.6 km Gaillard or Culebra Cut is the narrowest stretch in the Panama Canal and represents 15% of the waterway's total length. The Cut, extending from Pedro Miguel Locks to Gamboa, crosses the Continental Divide.
General information on the Panama Canal
- Locks chambers are 33.5 meters wide and 305 meters long
- Instead of using salt water for its operations, the Canal uses fresh water from the rivers of the watershed. For the canal to use salt water, it would have to be pumped from sea level, 26 meters below the waterway channel. The cost of installing and maintaining such pumps would be exorbitant, while the salt water would corrode locks mechanisms and destroy vegetation.
- The tallest (25m) and heaviest (730 tons) Canal miter gates are on the Pacific side at the southern entrance of Miraflores Locks (where we have been) and were designed to handle the Pacific cast's extreme tide fluctuations.
- During Canal construction days, over 152.9 million cubic meters of material were removed, almost half of which came from Gaillard or Culebra Cut alone. Were this material to be placed on railroad flatcars, it would circle the globe four times.
Principal trade routes using the Canal
- From the East Coast of the US to Asia
- From the East Coast of the US to the West Coast of South America
- From Europe to the West Coast of the US and Canada
Principal commodities
- Containerized cargo
- Grains
- Petroleum and Petroleum products
Where is the bus station? Gee, that far? Let's take a taxi to the bus station. The driver offered us to take us to the canal for only $5 so we agreed. Why not? We were late anyway! 15 minutes later we were there. $10 admission - to the museum, restaurant, souvenir shop and to the viewing platform ... Hmmm! This is not cheap, but what can we do?!
The next ship only passes through at 1.30pm thus we still have 1.5 hrs to explore the museum. It is on 4 floors informing about the construction of the canal, the importance of water in general and for the canal, the animal world in the surrounding jungle and the importance of the canal in the world. The time passes quickly and we need to go to the viewing platform. From here we can see how several ships pass through the Miraflores locks. Basically the same as at the locks in Serrig but still ... a masterpiece! Nearly 14,000 ships pass through the canal each year. Ships worldwide are built with the dimensions of the Panama Canal's locks in mind. Ships pay according to their weight, with the average fee US$30,000. The highest amount paid was US$184,114.80, paid in January 2000 by the M/V Sisler, a 950-foot US-registered container ship; the lowest amount was US$0.36, paid in 1928 by Richard Halliburton who swam through. It took him 10 days.
We took the bus back to Panama City where we strolled around in the pedestrian street. In the park Cinco de Mayo we enjoyed the sun and tried to plan our further travels. Again not so easy and we have to find out costs tomorrow.
INFORMATION TO THE PANAMA CANAL
How does the Panama Canal work?
The Panama Canal is a lock-type canal, approximately 80 kilometers long, that unites the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at one of the narrowest points of both, the Isthmus of Panama and the American Continent. The Canal officially opened its doors to international trade on August 15, 1914, and since then, more than 880,000 vessels have transited the waterway.
The Canal's three sets of locks, each of which has two lanes, operate as water lifts to elevate ships 26 meteres above sea level to the level of Gatun Lake, in their transit of the channel across the Continental Divide, and then lower them back to sea level on the opposite side of the Isthmus. During these lockages, which use water obtained from Gatun Lake, the miter gates seal the locks chambers and gravity drains the water to the lower levels. Approximately 197 million liters of fresh water are used for each lockage and ultimately flushed into the sea. Each set of locks features a Control House on the center wall of its higher chamber, from which this entire operation is directed.
Though vessels use their own propulsion for the greater part of their Panama Canal transit, they are assisted, when passing through the locks, by electric locomotives which use cables to align and tow the ships. Working in pairs, locomotives move on rails and keep the vessels in position within the locks chambers. Depending on its size, a vessel can require assistance from four to eight locomotives.
The 12.6 km Gaillard or Culebra Cut is the narrowest stretch in the Panama Canal and represents 15% of the waterway's total length. The Cut, extending from Pedro Miguel Locks to Gamboa, crosses the Continental Divide.
General information on the Panama Canal
- Locks chambers are 33.5 meters wide and 305 meters long
- Instead of using salt water for its operations, the Canal uses fresh water from the rivers of the watershed. For the canal to use salt water, it would have to be pumped from sea level, 26 meters below the waterway channel. The cost of installing and maintaining such pumps would be exorbitant, while the salt water would corrode locks mechanisms and destroy vegetation.
- The tallest (25m) and heaviest (730 tons) Canal miter gates are on the Pacific side at the southern entrance of Miraflores Locks (where we have been) and were designed to handle the Pacific cast's extreme tide fluctuations.
- During Canal construction days, over 152.9 million cubic meters of material were removed, almost half of which came from Gaillard or Culebra Cut alone. Were this material to be placed on railroad flatcars, it would circle the globe four times.
Principal trade routes using the Canal
- From the East Coast of the US to Asia
- From the East Coast of the US to the West Coast of South America
- From Europe to the West Coast of the US and Canada
Principal commodities
- Containerized cargo
- Grains
- Petroleum and Petroleum products
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Panama City
I was shocked when I woke up: 11.30am - we really must have needed some sleep.
2pm and we start to explore Panama City. At the reception of our hotel, which is near the centre, we got it marked on our map and only a few minutes later we were already in the pedestrian-only shopping street. By the way: We haven't seen pedestrian-only streets for ages and we still remember having looked for a cafe on them in different countries. Whether we will find a cafe here?
No, although the pedestrian-only street is about one km long, there's no cafe. Instead of this inbetween McDonalds and Burger King are department stores offering i.e. 3 pants for $1. Here again everything is just dirt-cheap. A Hamburger and a coke for just $1. It's obvious what we'll have dinner on the street.
But first we were off to the colonial part Casco Antiguo, also called San Felipe or Casco Viejo. This area juts into the sea on the southwestern side of town and is one of the more interesting parts of Panama city. Sadly, nowadays many of the buildings are dilapidated. In our travel guide it is said that it's unsafe to walk here at night and we must be careful walking down side streets even in the daytime. But we feel quite safe, also because the tourist police is cycling everywhere. Unfortunately, their English needs still to be improved but mixed with our Spanish knowledge a short conversation is still possible.
On the tip of the area is the Plaza de Francia. Large stone tablets and statues tell the story of the French role in the construction of the Panama canal. Unfortunately in Spanish! The plaza is dedicated to the memory of the 22,000 workers, most of them from France, Guadeloupe and Martinique, who died working on the canal. Most were killed by yellow fever and malaria, and among the busts is a monument to Carlos J Finlay, who discovered how mosquitos transmit yellow fever. His work led to the eradication of the disease in Panama.
We went further to the museum of the Panama canal. We were lucky then today is "International day" and therefore free entrance. Well, not that $1 would have been a lot of money. :) The museum was well put in place and also interesting if not again all the information had been only in Spanish. Not even one word in English. In fact, we did understand the one or other word but ...
When we got out of the museum at 5.30pm it was still daylight! Fantastic! But there were a lot of clouds - it won't take long and it'll rain. We shouldn't be surprised though as it's the wet season here.
We had a jumbo hotdog for dinner. A sausage with some Kraut (typical German, isn't it?) in a breadroll some ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise on top of it. For $0.50. Perfect! Served with Chicha, THE drink in Panama - a fresh fruit juice, sweetened and mixed with water.
As Internet is also only $0.50/hour we spent our evening there. We have to make good for the last weeks, haven't we?
2pm and we start to explore Panama City. At the reception of our hotel, which is near the centre, we got it marked on our map and only a few minutes later we were already in the pedestrian-only shopping street. By the way: We haven't seen pedestrian-only streets for ages and we still remember having looked for a cafe on them in different countries. Whether we will find a cafe here?
No, although the pedestrian-only street is about one km long, there's no cafe. Instead of this inbetween McDonalds and Burger King are department stores offering i.e. 3 pants for $1. Here again everything is just dirt-cheap. A Hamburger and a coke for just $1. It's obvious what we'll have dinner on the street.
But first we were off to the colonial part Casco Antiguo, also called San Felipe or Casco Viejo. This area juts into the sea on the southwestern side of town and is one of the more interesting parts of Panama city. Sadly, nowadays many of the buildings are dilapidated. In our travel guide it is said that it's unsafe to walk here at night and we must be careful walking down side streets even in the daytime. But we feel quite safe, also because the tourist police is cycling everywhere. Unfortunately, their English needs still to be improved but mixed with our Spanish knowledge a short conversation is still possible.
On the tip of the area is the Plaza de Francia. Large stone tablets and statues tell the story of the French role in the construction of the Panama canal. Unfortunately in Spanish! The plaza is dedicated to the memory of the 22,000 workers, most of them from France, Guadeloupe and Martinique, who died working on the canal. Most were killed by yellow fever and malaria, and among the busts is a monument to Carlos J Finlay, who discovered how mosquitos transmit yellow fever. His work led to the eradication of the disease in Panama.
We went further to the museum of the Panama canal. We were lucky then today is "International day" and therefore free entrance. Well, not that $1 would have been a lot of money. :) The museum was well put in place and also interesting if not again all the information had been only in Spanish. Not even one word in English. In fact, we did understand the one or other word but ...
When we got out of the museum at 5.30pm it was still daylight! Fantastic! But there were a lot of clouds - it won't take long and it'll rain. We shouldn't be surprised though as it's the wet season here.
We had a jumbo hotdog for dinner. A sausage with some Kraut (typical German, isn't it?) in a breadroll some ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise on top of it. For $0.50. Perfect! Served with Chicha, THE drink in Panama - a fresh fruit juice, sweetened and mixed with water.
As Internet is also only $0.50/hour we spent our evening there. We have to make good for the last weeks, haven't we?
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Sydney - Miami
Last night´s red wine wasn't good for me (Nicole) at all. I didn't feel good. Why today when we have to be on a plane the whole day?
Yes, we had to say good-bye. Good-bye to Antonia and Thomas, to a flat, to good food and wine, to a daily shower - yes, indeed it was a good-bye to home!
After having given recommendations to the two of them (they will still travel to Thailand, China, Japan and Tibet), we were taken to the airport by them. They picked on us that we will be back home already in two months whereas they will be still on the road for at least another six months. Grrrr ...
Our flight to Los Angeles was at 2.45pm. We arrived at 10.45am. ??? Yes, it's right. We arrived earlier than we had left and thus live May 16, 2004 twice. A weird feeling. But apart from that there was nothing spectacular as we again had to take a flight to Miami.
This flight was at 2.55pm where we arrived at 10pm. Where should we stay for tonight? Our flight to Panama City is only tomorrow morning. Well, the floor at the airport should do. And we shouldn't complain after so many nights on a good mattress. I (Nicole) laid down immediately whereas Ramona preferred to read for a bit. Until we caught the attention of an elderly man from Costa Rica. He offered Ramona to stay overnight in his hotel room. But Ramona was good and said no. Who knows what this guy wants? The guy went off ... and came back now offering not only his bed but the whole room. He would find somewhere else to stay. He has an early flight anyway and doesn't need his room any longer. ??? Apparently he has travelled a lot as well and now just cannot see that we have to sleep on the floor. Well! OK. Before he beats us ... He gave us his room key and as if it was the most normal thing in the world we walked into the hotel, room no 414. There were two big beds in the room and we jumped on them immediately. Switched the TV on - who had thought that we would have it that good? ... Well, not for long as it didn't take long until someone knocked at the door. Oh no, what´s going on now? Ramona should join me in my bed. She opened the door and a drunken man from Costa Rica entered. He apologized a few times that he would now need the room. I pretended to sleep, didn't want to have a conversation with him. Bernie really was drunk as he thought I was addicted to drugs (because I was asleep!), talked of himself as a demon, repeated everything at least twice ... We both were really careful, but nothing happened. He eventually fell asleep - and we as well.
Yes, we had to say good-bye. Good-bye to Antonia and Thomas, to a flat, to good food and wine, to a daily shower - yes, indeed it was a good-bye to home!
After having given recommendations to the two of them (they will still travel to Thailand, China, Japan and Tibet), we were taken to the airport by them. They picked on us that we will be back home already in two months whereas they will be still on the road for at least another six months. Grrrr ...
Our flight to Los Angeles was at 2.45pm. We arrived at 10.45am. ??? Yes, it's right. We arrived earlier than we had left and thus live May 16, 2004 twice. A weird feeling. But apart from that there was nothing spectacular as we again had to take a flight to Miami.
This flight was at 2.55pm where we arrived at 10pm. Where should we stay for tonight? Our flight to Panama City is only tomorrow morning. Well, the floor at the airport should do. And we shouldn't complain after so many nights on a good mattress. I (Nicole) laid down immediately whereas Ramona preferred to read for a bit. Until we caught the attention of an elderly man from Costa Rica. He offered Ramona to stay overnight in his hotel room. But Ramona was good and said no. Who knows what this guy wants? The guy went off ... and came back now offering not only his bed but the whole room. He would find somewhere else to stay. He has an early flight anyway and doesn't need his room any longer. ??? Apparently he has travelled a lot as well and now just cannot see that we have to sleep on the floor. Well! OK. Before he beats us ... He gave us his room key and as if it was the most normal thing in the world we walked into the hotel, room no 414. There were two big beds in the room and we jumped on them immediately. Switched the TV on - who had thought that we would have it that good? ... Well, not for long as it didn't take long until someone knocked at the door. Oh no, what´s going on now? Ramona should join me in my bed. She opened the door and a drunken man from Costa Rica entered. He apologized a few times that he would now need the room. I pretended to sleep, didn't want to have a conversation with him. Bernie really was drunk as he thought I was addicted to drugs (because I was asleep!), talked of himself as a demon, repeated everything at least twice ... We both were really careful, but nothing happened. He eventually fell asleep - and we as well.
Friday, May 14, 2004
Sydney
Again we had a shower to start the day with. Should we really get used to having a shower on a daily basis? And even a hot one?
Breakfast with Antonia as Thomas had to go and work. It goes without saying that we spent again a lot of time telling and talking.
In the afternoon we went for a bit online and then to Paddy's market where one can buy souvenirs and little things for dirt cheap.
Highlight of the day was definitely our trip to the supermarket. With Antonia and Thomas we have found two people who have learned to love to go shopping. But on top of that today it was supposed to be a special supermarket. ALDI South! In Sydney. Ramona and I didn't want to believe it. We have to go there. People there thought we were crazy when we asked them to take pictures of us in front of the ALDI sign. But otherwise you wouldn't believe us, would you? We took a trolley and went in ... yes, unbelievable. We felt like being at Aldi in Saarburg. On the left side jam, then bread, ... it even smells the same! Now, we are in paradise!
Tonight we had Mexican food for dinner with guacemole made by Antonia. We all couldn't move anymore after that. Luckily we had planned a video night. You won't believe how nice it can be not to do anything but lying in front of the television and doing nothing else.
Breakfast with Antonia as Thomas had to go and work. It goes without saying that we spent again a lot of time telling and talking.
In the afternoon we went for a bit online and then to Paddy's market where one can buy souvenirs and little things for dirt cheap.
Highlight of the day was definitely our trip to the supermarket. With Antonia and Thomas we have found two people who have learned to love to go shopping. But on top of that today it was supposed to be a special supermarket. ALDI South! In Sydney. Ramona and I didn't want to believe it. We have to go there. People there thought we were crazy when we asked them to take pictures of us in front of the ALDI sign. But otherwise you wouldn't believe us, would you? We took a trolley and went in ... yes, unbelievable. We felt like being at Aldi in Saarburg. On the left side jam, then bread, ... it even smells the same! Now, we are in paradise!
Tonight we had Mexican food for dinner with guacemole made by Antonia. We all couldn't move anymore after that. Luckily we had planned a video night. You won't believe how nice it can be not to do anything but lying in front of the television and doing nothing else.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Sydney
Jesus Christ, 6.15 am and I (Nicole) am again awake. Why is that? We only went to bed about two hours ago!
I read a bit in the German magazine "Stern" - for once a German magazine, it really didn't matter which one it is - and had a shower. When I got back, Ramona was awake as well. Antonia slept better and we only woke her up at 10.30am as we had to bring back our van by noon. But there was still time enough for a nice breakfast!
We drove the van to the wicked office, Antonia followed us with their firered 20 year old van, and left it there without any problems. Antonia took us back to the flat where we again chatted for a while. Girlie talk ... how nice!
Later in the afternoon we managed to go for a walk. Over the harbour bridge - gee it was so cold and windy - to the Opera House where we asked about tickets for Swanlake. We have to come back tomorrow.
For dinner we cooked Kraut, mashed potatos and sausages - very delicious - and spent the rest of the evening talking, talking and talking. It really is nice to talk to people from back home. About people everybody knows.
I read a bit in the German magazine "Stern" - for once a German magazine, it really didn't matter which one it is - and had a shower. When I got back, Ramona was awake as well. Antonia slept better and we only woke her up at 10.30am as we had to bring back our van by noon. But there was still time enough for a nice breakfast!
We drove the van to the wicked office, Antonia followed us with their firered 20 year old van, and left it there without any problems. Antonia took us back to the flat where we again chatted for a while. Girlie talk ... how nice!
Later in the afternoon we managed to go for a walk. Over the harbour bridge - gee it was so cold and windy - to the Opera House where we asked about tickets for Swanlake. We have to come back tomorrow.
For dinner we cooked Kraut, mashed potatos and sausages - very delicious - and spent the rest of the evening talking, talking and talking. It really is nice to talk to people from back home. About people everybody knows.
Monday, May 10, 2004
Pambula - Cooma
Today we slept a bit longer and only got up at 7.45am. We drove South to Eden which is supposed to be a nice place - well, not really special for us though.
But they have a killerwhale museum here. If we cannot see them alive, we want at least learn about them. The huge skeleton of whale Tom was already quite impressing. Tom has in the 20ies worked together with whalers from Eden. One can hardly believe it but Tom was one of the killerwhales, which helped the whalers to catch baleen whales. They would alert the whalers of their prey’s arrival by “flop-tailing”, (thrashing the water with their tails), and the chase would be on.
After the whale was harpooned, some of the killers would expedite its death by rolling over its blowhole to stop it breathing, and others would swim below it to prevent it sounding.
When the whale was dead, the killers would take the tongue and lips as their reward and leave the carcass for the whalers to bring ashore. Whaling from Twofold Bay continued until the late 1920’s, by which time, on this scale, it certainly could not have been a profitable concern. The last whale was taken in 1928.
Tom’s body was found in Twofold Bay on 17th September, 1930. His remains were treated and his ORCA skeleton is now on exhibition in the ‘Davidson Gallery’ at the Eden Killer Whale Museum.
Today we had breakfast at the Disaster Bay of which we had read in the museum. It was a long drive on gravel road - is that the reason for its name as it was actually quite nice and lonely at the bay.
And again we drove inland. Via the tourist drive, which we weren't allowed to take as it was again a gravel road. Who cares? It's only for about 50 km.
We arrived in Cooma where we wanted to go online but in this town they have Internet but only during the day. Gee, where are we?
As we didn't want to cook tonight we went for a burger at McDonalds. Here I (Nicole) saw the good news in an Australian newspaper that Werder Bremen beat Munich and is thus German Champion. Now, it didn't matter that we couldn't go online. It made my evening. :)
But they have a killerwhale museum here. If we cannot see them alive, we want at least learn about them. The huge skeleton of whale Tom was already quite impressing. Tom has in the 20ies worked together with whalers from Eden. One can hardly believe it but Tom was one of the killerwhales, which helped the whalers to catch baleen whales. They would alert the whalers of their prey’s arrival by “flop-tailing”, (thrashing the water with their tails), and the chase would be on.
After the whale was harpooned, some of the killers would expedite its death by rolling over its blowhole to stop it breathing, and others would swim below it to prevent it sounding.
When the whale was dead, the killers would take the tongue and lips as their reward and leave the carcass for the whalers to bring ashore. Whaling from Twofold Bay continued until the late 1920’s, by which time, on this scale, it certainly could not have been a profitable concern. The last whale was taken in 1928.
Tom’s body was found in Twofold Bay on 17th September, 1930. His remains were treated and his ORCA skeleton is now on exhibition in the ‘Davidson Gallery’ at the Eden Killer Whale Museum.
Today we had breakfast at the Disaster Bay of which we had read in the museum. It was a long drive on gravel road - is that the reason for its name as it was actually quite nice and lonely at the bay.
And again we drove inland. Via the tourist drive, which we weren't allowed to take as it was again a gravel road. Who cares? It's only for about 50 km.
We arrived in Cooma where we wanted to go online but in this town they have Internet but only during the day. Gee, where are we?
As we didn't want to cook tonight we went for a burger at McDonalds. Here I (Nicole) saw the good news in an Australian newspaper that Werder Bremen beat Munich and is thus German Champion. Now, it didn't matter that we couldn't go online. It made my evening. :)
Saturday, May 08, 2004
Karuah - Minnamurra
Can you believe it!? Again we are just turning from one side to the other. What's the time? 5.45am. Unbelieveable!
We couldn't do this for long and were on the road again at 7.30am. First we went to Lake Macquerie, the biggest salt lake in Australia. It is three times as big as Sydney's harbour. We drove around the lake and enjoyed the beautiful and idyllic area.
We then went further to 'The Entrance'. The Entrance is named after its location at the Tasmanian Sea, Entrance to the Lakes of Tuggerah. Back near the water it was time for our breakfast. Today we didn't only observe pelicans and sea gulls but also all the people who passed us like being on a catwalk.
We then found out that not far from us there is a festival of the local salvation army. Including Harley and Oldtimer meeting. We had to watch that. But there was not much to see except for the crazy looking rocker.
Off through Sydney - Ramona was ever so happy that she didn't have to change lanes too much - until Minnamurra. There we had to go to the supermarket again which here in Australia really is one of our favourite places where we could spend hours.
We had packed everything in the car and wanted to start. Fasten the seat belts and ... hey, what's Ramona doing? I couldn't believe it. She holds the holding device for the safety belt in her hand. How did she do that? Innocently she looked at me "I didn't do anything!" Well ... let's have a look tomorrow in the daylight.
At the rest area we did some pasta which we had for dinner in front of our television. Australias Popstars - really the same as back home - and after that "In the line of fire" with Clint Eastwood.
We couldn't do this for long and were on the road again at 7.30am. First we went to Lake Macquerie, the biggest salt lake in Australia. It is three times as big as Sydney's harbour. We drove around the lake and enjoyed the beautiful and idyllic area.
We then went further to 'The Entrance'. The Entrance is named after its location at the Tasmanian Sea, Entrance to the Lakes of Tuggerah. Back near the water it was time for our breakfast. Today we didn't only observe pelicans and sea gulls but also all the people who passed us like being on a catwalk.
We then found out that not far from us there is a festival of the local salvation army. Including Harley and Oldtimer meeting. We had to watch that. But there was not much to see except for the crazy looking rocker.
Off through Sydney - Ramona was ever so happy that she didn't have to change lanes too much - until Minnamurra. There we had to go to the supermarket again which here in Australia really is one of our favourite places where we could spend hours.
We had packed everything in the car and wanted to start. Fasten the seat belts and ... hey, what's Ramona doing? I couldn't believe it. She holds the holding device for the safety belt in her hand. How did she do that? Innocently she looked at me "I didn't do anything!" Well ... let's have a look tomorrow in the daylight.
At the rest area we did some pasta which we had for dinner in front of our television. Australias Popstars - really the same as back home - and after that "In the line of fire" with Clint Eastwood.
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Ballina - Wollomombi
I (Nicole) was already awake at 5.20am. Why only? It was late for us last night! Ramona, too, was awake and we kept on turning from one side to the other.
We again had breakfast - as always - somewhere near the water. It was windy and quite cold but it didn't matter to us. During breakfast we observed huge pelicans.
Today again we drove inland. We wanted to see the mountains again. Or at least some hills. :) The way to Glenn Innes and Armidale took ages although it only was about 200km. In Armidale the waterfall highway back to the coast starts which we want to drive tomorrow.
We stopped in Wollomombi and at its National Park. We should stay overnight here as well, it gradually gets darker. But we are not allowed to camp/stay overnight in National Parks. Well, there's a camping ground over there but... we don't want to pay. Let's drive to the picnic area instead. Here we were on our own and didn't have to pay - unless someone catches us! But who would stroll around in a national park at night?
As it was already dawn we started to cook immediately. Peel potatos, cut them in slices, cut and steam onions and garlic,... the fried potatos were delicious!
In order to burn our calories we walked to the look out - 75 metres. We couldn't see much although it was full moon. It actually was quite scary and we didn't want to walk any further. We were surrounded by trees but there were no noises at all. Not even crickets! We packed ourselves in our blankets and again it was going to be a long cold night.
We again had breakfast - as always - somewhere near the water. It was windy and quite cold but it didn't matter to us. During breakfast we observed huge pelicans.
Today again we drove inland. We wanted to see the mountains again. Or at least some hills. :) The way to Glenn Innes and Armidale took ages although it only was about 200km. In Armidale the waterfall highway back to the coast starts which we want to drive tomorrow.
We stopped in Wollomombi and at its National Park. We should stay overnight here as well, it gradually gets darker. But we are not allowed to camp/stay overnight in National Parks. Well, there's a camping ground over there but... we don't want to pay. Let's drive to the picnic area instead. Here we were on our own and didn't have to pay - unless someone catches us! But who would stroll around in a national park at night?
As it was already dawn we started to cook immediately. Peel potatos, cut them in slices, cut and steam onions and garlic,... the fried potatos were delicious!
In order to burn our calories we walked to the look out - 75 metres. We couldn't see much although it was full moon. It actually was quite scary and we didn't want to walk any further. We were surrounded by trees but there were no noises at all. Not even crickets! We packed ourselves in our blankets and again it was going to be a long cold night.
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Gympie - Brisbane
Again we were up at 6am and drove to Tin Can Bay to see the dolphins. Today they have to be there - otherwise yesterday we had a slacker day for nothing.
We were the first ones in Tin Can Bay and took our seats on the bench. We had four long hours of waiting spending to observe people. Some tourists are really ... funny! :) When it comes to the dolphins we again were unlucky. They have certainly realized that we come on a daily basis to see them and they want to mess about us. Well, tomorrow it's us laughing as we won't come back!
We drove to Brisbane as quick as possible. There our campervan was supposed to be checked. We had to wait for about half an hour and in the end were rewarded with an icecold bottle of champagne. Many thanks - but who's supposed to drink it?!?
Today we want to go to the Internet again. Here in Brisbane there must be Internet Cafes. Yes, indeed, there are but no car parks. At least not for us. Our campervan was too high for all the basement garages. About 2 hours we drove around and eventually we found a normal car park. For $7.50 we were even allowed to stay until tomorrow morning. Great, we don't have to look for another sleeping spot after our Internet session.
We were the first ones in Tin Can Bay and took our seats on the bench. We had four long hours of waiting spending to observe people. Some tourists are really ... funny! :) When it comes to the dolphins we again were unlucky. They have certainly realized that we come on a daily basis to see them and they want to mess about us. Well, tomorrow it's us laughing as we won't come back!
We drove to Brisbane as quick as possible. There our campervan was supposed to be checked. We had to wait for about half an hour and in the end were rewarded with an icecold bottle of champagne. Many thanks - but who's supposed to drink it?!?
Today we want to go to the Internet again. Here in Brisbane there must be Internet Cafes. Yes, indeed, there are but no car parks. At least not for us. Our campervan was too high for all the basement garages. About 2 hours we drove around and eventually we found a normal car park. For $7.50 we were even allowed to stay until tomorrow morning. Great, we don't have to look for another sleeping spot after our Internet session.
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Gympie - Noosa Heads - Gympie
We were ready to leave at 8.30am when I (Nicole) read about Tin Can Bay on the information board at the rest area. There are supposed to be dolphins which one can even feed. Every day from 7 - 10am. Let's go ...
We arrived at 9.20am. We saw a few boats, a few jet skis, but dolphins far and wide not to see. We are probably just too late. Damn! What shall we do now? We changed our arrangements ... and only drove to Noosa Heads for a day in order to spend the night in Gympie again. Like that we can drive to Tin Can Bay tomorrow morning again.
In Noosa Heads we found a parking slot just next to the entrance of the National Park. Originally we had planned for the beach. But now we first have breakfast, it's already noon! Here in Australia there are barbecues everywhere and the locals go there not only at the weekend to have a picnic. We joined them - without meat but with our ever so beloved cheese and bread. Even the birds seem to love that. Ramona was about to eat her last piece of bread when such a black-white bird came out of the blue and took the cheese of her bread. One couldn't look as fast!
That's the result if one sticks to the rules and doesn't feed the wild life. The animals come and get the food anyway.
As this morning we didn't see any dolphins we wanted to go for the Koalas. We walked about 7km through the Noosa Heads National Park but the koalas seemed to have hidden from us as well. We only spotted many many different and colourful butterflies. Again no dolphins at the Dolphin Point - everything just ganged up on us.
We arrived at 9.20am. We saw a few boats, a few jet skis, but dolphins far and wide not to see. We are probably just too late. Damn! What shall we do now? We changed our arrangements ... and only drove to Noosa Heads for a day in order to spend the night in Gympie again. Like that we can drive to Tin Can Bay tomorrow morning again.
In Noosa Heads we found a parking slot just next to the entrance of the National Park. Originally we had planned for the beach. But now we first have breakfast, it's already noon! Here in Australia there are barbecues everywhere and the locals go there not only at the weekend to have a picnic. We joined them - without meat but with our ever so beloved cheese and bread. Even the birds seem to love that. Ramona was about to eat her last piece of bread when such a black-white bird came out of the blue and took the cheese of her bread. One couldn't look as fast!
That's the result if one sticks to the rules and doesn't feed the wild life. The animals come and get the food anyway.
As this morning we didn't see any dolphins we wanted to go for the Koalas. We walked about 7km through the Noosa Heads National Park but the koalas seemed to have hidden from us as well. We only spotted many many different and colourful butterflies. Again no dolphins at the Dolphin Point - everything just ganged up on us.
Friday, April 30, 2004
Rockhampton - Childers
Gee, what a cold night. My face was icecold and I (Nicole) sometimes had to put my head under the blanket. No wonder, the thermometer only showed 8 degrees Celsius!
Today we drove to the inland and did a lot of kilometer. The landscape in Australia has still a lot to offer but compared to seven years ago it is not as attractive to me anymore. The places along the East Coast are too touristy; the tourists we meet are much younger and only think of partying all the time. You don't realise an Australian culture - is there one at all?
However, we enjoy being independant with our campervan. We are no longer dependant on buses and trains and thus can drive and stop where we want. When it comes to food we are more than happy. After the long time in Asia we here feel like in cockaigne!
I was quite bored during the whole day and I read a lot about Panama and Costa Rica. I´m really looking forward to that.
We stopped in Gladstone and went to the Scenic Lookout! But what's here to see? A few islands but even closer you look at the industry harbour. Really nice!
Next stop was at Agnes Water - we went to the beach. Again one of these kilometer long beaches and hardly anyone is there. We could only spot a few surfers in the water.
We wanted to stay overnight at the Rest Area near Childers. Thus, we still had to drive a bit. But we were stopped. By the police and Ramona had to use the breathalyser. It was a normal control and of course, Ramona hadn't drunken anything and we could drive further to Childers.
Today we drove to the inland and did a lot of kilometer. The landscape in Australia has still a lot to offer but compared to seven years ago it is not as attractive to me anymore. The places along the East Coast are too touristy; the tourists we meet are much younger and only think of partying all the time. You don't realise an Australian culture - is there one at all?
However, we enjoy being independant with our campervan. We are no longer dependant on buses and trains and thus can drive and stop where we want. When it comes to food we are more than happy. After the long time in Asia we here feel like in cockaigne!
I was quite bored during the whole day and I read a lot about Panama and Costa Rica. I´m really looking forward to that.
We stopped in Gladstone and went to the Scenic Lookout! But what's here to see? A few islands but even closer you look at the industry harbour. Really nice!
Next stop was at Agnes Water - we went to the beach. Again one of these kilometer long beaches and hardly anyone is there. We could only spot a few surfers in the water.
We wanted to stay overnight at the Rest Area near Childers. Thus, we still had to drive a bit. But we were stopped. By the police and Ramona had to use the breathalyser. It was a normal control and of course, Ramona hadn't drunken anything and we could drive further to Childers.
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Airlie Beach - Mackay
We were picked up at 7am by a big bus. Whether we will really be 150 people on the boat?! Please not! ... In the end we were about 80 on the fun boat. Luckily not everybody wanted to go diving.
We divers had to fill in a form and Ramona and I - honest as we are - filled in that we were taking anti malaria tablets. This however was almost fate as the dive master wanted to check first whether we were allowed to go diving at all. It wasn't of interest to him that we dived only three weeks ago. Fortunately though, the nurse on the boat allowed us to dive.
At 10am we got our first briefing and a few minutes later we arrived at Reefworld. This is a station anchored at the reef where activities like snorkelling, diving, helicopter flight, boat with glass bottom, ... are offered.
There was an extra corner for us divers and everything had already been prepared. Two dive masters could say at first glance which size we need. Same for the weight. They even put the weight belts on. With fins and masks in our hands we went downstairs straight into the water. Gee, that is cold!
We had been a group of four divers plus Dive Master. Very good! But that's about it. The sight was more than poor, the corals were neither colourful nor were there a lot of different fishes. It in fact got really boring.
Diving was quite disappointing for us - we had imagined the greatest reef of the world differently. Even the buffet which was included in the price didn't make up for it. There is no need to mention the second dive at all. :(
At about 5pm we were back at the caravan park where we had a quick shower. Then we were off on the road again - but not far. Ramona stopped the van. What's going on? She hesitated, didn't want to answer .... Come on, tell me! Before having a shower she had put her wet clothes and towel over the buffer bar and forgot to take them off. Now her bikini was missing and she had to run back to find it.
We then drove to the rest area near Mackay and after a delicious piece of bread with cheddar cheese we had an early night.
We divers had to fill in a form and Ramona and I - honest as we are - filled in that we were taking anti malaria tablets. This however was almost fate as the dive master wanted to check first whether we were allowed to go diving at all. It wasn't of interest to him that we dived only three weeks ago. Fortunately though, the nurse on the boat allowed us to dive.
At 10am we got our first briefing and a few minutes later we arrived at Reefworld. This is a station anchored at the reef where activities like snorkelling, diving, helicopter flight, boat with glass bottom, ... are offered.
There was an extra corner for us divers and everything had already been prepared. Two dive masters could say at first glance which size we need. Same for the weight. They even put the weight belts on. With fins and masks in our hands we went downstairs straight into the water. Gee, that is cold!
We had been a group of four divers plus Dive Master. Very good! But that's about it. The sight was more than poor, the corals were neither colourful nor were there a lot of different fishes. It in fact got really boring.
Diving was quite disappointing for us - we had imagined the greatest reef of the world differently. Even the buffet which was included in the price didn't make up for it. There is no need to mention the second dive at all. :(
At about 5pm we were back at the caravan park where we had a quick shower. Then we were off on the road again - but not far. Ramona stopped the van. What's going on? She hesitated, didn't want to answer .... Come on, tell me! Before having a shower she had put her wet clothes and towel over the buffer bar and forgot to take them off. Now her bikini was missing and she had to run back to find it.
We then drove to the rest area near Mackay and after a delicious piece of bread with cheddar cheese we had an early night.
Monday, April 26, 2004
Bilyana Rest Area - Peter Faust Dam
It was still raining when we woke up. Whether it will stop raining at one point? We are in Australia!
We drove to Townsville and had breakfast near to the beach. Although in the car as it was still raining. We then went off to get some information about diving here. But this all was out of question - far too expensive!
Thus we drove further - direction Airlie Beach - and stopped in Bowen as it's supposed to be nice. It was 4.45pm, still raining. But we didn't care. Let's go swimming! We quickly changed to our bikinis and ran into the water. Again here they had stinger nets. But we were on our own - and the waves belonged to us! We had a hell of fun, but with every wave we lost parts of our bikini. If one had seen us ... that person would have had a lot of fun, too.:)
After our swim we had a shower at the beach. We then parked our van a bit outside the village in order to stay overnight. Ramona has just found two programs in our TV (yes, we even have a TV in our van) and we ate the rest of our potato salad and meat balls when someone knocked at our door.
We are not allowed to stay overnight here. OK, we only had dinner and we'll drive further now. What a shame! Do we really have to leave now? It's already 10.30pm.
The next rest area on which we were allowed to stay overnight is about 100 km from here. It's good that we've hardly any petrol left in our tank. It took us at least 15 minutes to get out of Bowen and we luckily found a petrol station. Thus, we could easily drive to the rest area.
We drove to Townsville and had breakfast near to the beach. Although in the car as it was still raining. We then went off to get some information about diving here. But this all was out of question - far too expensive!
Thus we drove further - direction Airlie Beach - and stopped in Bowen as it's supposed to be nice. It was 4.45pm, still raining. But we didn't care. Let's go swimming! We quickly changed to our bikinis and ran into the water. Again here they had stinger nets. But we were on our own - and the waves belonged to us! We had a hell of fun, but with every wave we lost parts of our bikini. If one had seen us ... that person would have had a lot of fun, too.:)
After our swim we had a shower at the beach. We then parked our van a bit outside the village in order to stay overnight. Ramona has just found two programs in our TV (yes, we even have a TV in our van) and we ate the rest of our potato salad and meat balls when someone knocked at our door.
We are not allowed to stay overnight here. OK, we only had dinner and we'll drive further now. What a shame! Do we really have to leave now? It's already 10.30pm.
The next rest area on which we were allowed to stay overnight is about 100 km from here. It's good that we've hardly any petrol left in our tank. It took us at least 15 minutes to get out of Bowen and we luckily found a petrol station. Thus, we could easily drive to the rest area.
Saturday, April 24, 2004
Cairns - Cape Tribulation
We got already up at 7.30. Great, thus we can soon get our car. We want to hire a wicked camper van and drive through Australia for the next two weeks.
Two hours later we sat in our new home for the next two weeks. In this vehicle we'll not only drive but also sleep and cook! It's great not to live out of a backpack anymore ... but out of a car! :)
We aimed at driving to Cape Tribulation, recommended by Helen from Sydney. There, the oldest rain forest (in fact older than the Amazone) meets the Ocean (Great Barrier Reef).
We stopped in Daintree in order to do a one hour boat cruise. What a good idea - we saw crocodiles, snakes and different species of birds.
At Cape Tribulation we parked our car and went on a night tour through the rain forest. Of course with a guide. Everybody got a raincoat (yellow!) and a big torch. It was great what Jo our tourguide could tell us. We saw so many different crickets, spiders, rats (they look different in the rain forest) - not to mention all the different plants. And Jo could just tell about everything. We've learned a lot and we had a fantastic time in the rain forets.
Two hours later we sat in our new home for the next two weeks. In this vehicle we'll not only drive but also sleep and cook! It's great not to live out of a backpack anymore ... but out of a car! :)
We aimed at driving to Cape Tribulation, recommended by Helen from Sydney. There, the oldest rain forest (in fact older than the Amazone) meets the Ocean (Great Barrier Reef).
We stopped in Daintree in order to do a one hour boat cruise. What a good idea - we saw crocodiles, snakes and different species of birds.
At Cape Tribulation we parked our car and went on a night tour through the rain forest. Of course with a guide. Everybody got a raincoat (yellow!) and a big torch. It was great what Jo our tourguide could tell us. We saw so many different crickets, spiders, rats (they look different in the rain forest) - not to mention all the different plants. And Jo could just tell about everything. We've learned a lot and we had a fantastic time in the rain forets.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Ramona: Hughenden - Cairns // Nicole: Cairns
Ramona: Hughenden - Cairns
At 6am we left. Our last day on the bus. The desert we had already left behind and slowly there were more and more trees. The rivers carried water again and everything was green. It really looked pretty! The first stop was at the littlest pub in Australia. 1.4m x 0.5m. Two people and the pub is full.
In the afternoon we reached the Tablelands. It looked just like in Germany. Vineyards everywhere and black and white cows. Looked very strange. It didn´t really fit in here.
Our last stop we had at Woorooneran National Park. A rainforest. A 2Km walk lead to a huge waterfall where we had a refreshing dip.
At 6pm we arrived in Cairns. Now I only had to find Nicole. Luckily we have the internet. Nicole had sent me the adress of her hostel. I started walking. Gee, that was a long way with my heavy backpack. Nicole was already waiting for me at the reception. Although, I had to leave her one more time. Our tourgroup got a free farewell dinner at the youth hostel. I can´t miss it if it´s for free. In the end it was not too much fun and I left early and walked back to the hostel.
Nicole: Cairns
As Freddie and I only got to bed at 5.30am we didn't want to hire a car in the morning. We only got up at 10.30am and during breakfast got to know Chantal, a Dutch girl. Philipp convinced us to yet hire a car.
I was the driver. Gee, it was in August since I've last driven a car. Whether I can still do it? And on the wrong side? But it all went smoothly, I didn't have any problems.
The four of us (Freddie, Chantal, Philipp and I) drove direction Port Douglas. We stopped at Ellis Beach where we were interviewed by local TV regarding the stinger in the sea. We had heard of it and that the stingers can be deadly and therefore one should only swim in so called stinger nets. But we hadn't aimed at swimming anyway.
In Port Douglas we changed our mind. Nothing could stop us from running into the stinger net and thus into the sea. The waves were huge and we really enjoyed.
We strolled around in the small town of Port Douglas and then drove to Mossman. It's supposed to be really nice there. Well, we cannot confirm that...
Philipp drove us back and we arrived the hostel at 7.30pm. Ramona hadn't checked in yet and I was just about to check my email for news from her when she entered!
Unfortunately, she couldn't join us for dinner as they had a last dinner with the group. Ramona checked in and I drove her to the restaurant.
Philipp, Chantal, Freddie and I drove again to Woolshed. Not because of the drinks but because of the food we get for free. We got a voucher from our hostel. Food wasn't really good - but for free!
Later we met Regi and some of his employees to have a drink. It again was a nice and late evening.
At 6am we left. Our last day on the bus. The desert we had already left behind and slowly there were more and more trees. The rivers carried water again and everything was green. It really looked pretty! The first stop was at the littlest pub in Australia. 1.4m x 0.5m. Two people and the pub is full.
In the afternoon we reached the Tablelands. It looked just like in Germany. Vineyards everywhere and black and white cows. Looked very strange. It didn´t really fit in here.
Our last stop we had at Woorooneran National Park. A rainforest. A 2Km walk lead to a huge waterfall where we had a refreshing dip.
At 6pm we arrived in Cairns. Now I only had to find Nicole. Luckily we have the internet. Nicole had sent me the adress of her hostel. I started walking. Gee, that was a long way with my heavy backpack. Nicole was already waiting for me at the reception. Although, I had to leave her one more time. Our tourgroup got a free farewell dinner at the youth hostel. I can´t miss it if it´s for free. In the end it was not too much fun and I left early and walked back to the hostel.
Nicole: Cairns
As Freddie and I only got to bed at 5.30am we didn't want to hire a car in the morning. We only got up at 10.30am and during breakfast got to know Chantal, a Dutch girl. Philipp convinced us to yet hire a car.
I was the driver. Gee, it was in August since I've last driven a car. Whether I can still do it? And on the wrong side? But it all went smoothly, I didn't have any problems.
The four of us (Freddie, Chantal, Philipp and I) drove direction Port Douglas. We stopped at Ellis Beach where we were interviewed by local TV regarding the stinger in the sea. We had heard of it and that the stingers can be deadly and therefore one should only swim in so called stinger nets. But we hadn't aimed at swimming anyway.
In Port Douglas we changed our mind. Nothing could stop us from running into the stinger net and thus into the sea. The waves were huge and we really enjoyed.
We strolled around in the small town of Port Douglas and then drove to Mossman. It's supposed to be really nice there. Well, we cannot confirm that...
Philipp drove us back and we arrived the hostel at 7.30pm. Ramona hadn't checked in yet and I was just about to check my email for news from her when she entered!
Unfortunately, she couldn't join us for dinner as they had a last dinner with the group. Ramona checked in and I drove her to the restaurant.
Philipp, Chantal, Freddie and I drove again to Woolshed. Not because of the drinks but because of the food we get for free. We got a voucher from our hostel. Food wasn't really good - but for free!
Later we met Regi and some of his employees to have a drink. It again was a nice and late evening.
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Nicole: Cairns // Ramona Boulia - Hughenden
Nicole: Cairns
It was already 10.30am when I got up and it really was a day to hang around. I could forget about renting a bike as it was still raining cats and dogs. Philipp and Frederica joined me in doing nothing.
Only about 3pm I went to town with Frederica who had to do her chores. At least it wasn't raining any longer. Freddie also wanted to go to a travel agent to get to know a friend of a friend of hers. I also got to know Regi and we spent the evening together.
Regi made Pizza for us and it was interesting for me to watch him. His appartement - a piece of jewelry - already made us believe that he is not a poor man. During the evening I then learned that as a 20 years old Regi played for Juventus Turin in Italy's Premier League. Today he has a travel agency in Cairns and Papua New Guinea. In addition to that he is an actor; he played in Braveheart (yes, we all have seen his naked bump), Gladiator, ... He still seems to be a normal person who loves it to cook for others.
Regi's friend Reno who lives around the corner joined us for dinner. Reno is a music producer from Sydney and is currently producing the Australian girl group Shakaya; they recently won Platinum.
This evening Shakaya performed in Reno's posh disco in Cairns and we got in for free. The music and their performance though was definitely not my taste. Still we had a very nice evening.
Ramona Boulia - Hughenden
At 7am we had breakfast. The bus stood already in the driveway. But unfortunately not repaired yet. The machanic was on his way. We had lots of time to kill. The kanguru was happy about that, because it had so many friends to play with.
At 8.45am the bus was finally running again. We spent the whole day on the road. In Willington we had lunch, BBQ. Mmmh! At 3pm we had to swap busses with a group who came from Cairns. We stopped at a junction and waited for the others. The luggage was quickly swapped and off we were again. Why all that? I have no clue!
The next stop was in a village called Winton. Here we could have a refreshing swimm in the village pool. Unfortunately only for one hour and we had to hit the road again. At 7pm we reached Hughenden. Our stop for the night. We got a room at the Grand Hotel. Sounds like first class travellers, doesn´t it? But it was just a normal hostel, nothing posh.
It was already 10.30am when I got up and it really was a day to hang around. I could forget about renting a bike as it was still raining cats and dogs. Philipp and Frederica joined me in doing nothing.
Only about 3pm I went to town with Frederica who had to do her chores. At least it wasn't raining any longer. Freddie also wanted to go to a travel agent to get to know a friend of a friend of hers. I also got to know Regi and we spent the evening together.
Regi made Pizza for us and it was interesting for me to watch him. His appartement - a piece of jewelry - already made us believe that he is not a poor man. During the evening I then learned that as a 20 years old Regi played for Juventus Turin in Italy's Premier League. Today he has a travel agency in Cairns and Papua New Guinea. In addition to that he is an actor; he played in Braveheart (yes, we all have seen his naked bump), Gladiator, ... He still seems to be a normal person who loves it to cook for others.
Regi's friend Reno who lives around the corner joined us for dinner. Reno is a music producer from Sydney and is currently producing the Australian girl group Shakaya; they recently won Platinum.
This evening Shakaya performed in Reno's posh disco in Cairns and we got in for free. The music and their performance though was definitely not my taste. Still we had a very nice evening.
Ramona Boulia - Hughenden
At 7am we had breakfast. The bus stood already in the driveway. But unfortunately not repaired yet. The machanic was on his way. We had lots of time to kill. The kanguru was happy about that, because it had so many friends to play with.
At 8.45am the bus was finally running again. We spent the whole day on the road. In Willington we had lunch, BBQ. Mmmh! At 3pm we had to swap busses with a group who came from Cairns. We stopped at a junction and waited for the others. The luggage was quickly swapped and off we were again. Why all that? I have no clue!
The next stop was in a village called Winton. Here we could have a refreshing swimm in the village pool. Unfortunately only for one hour and we had to hit the road again. At 7pm we reached Hughenden. Our stop for the night. We got a room at the Grand Hotel. Sounds like first class travellers, doesn´t it? But it was just a normal hostel, nothing posh.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Ramona: Alice Springs - Boulia // Nicole: Sydney - Cairns
Ramona: Alice Springs - Boulia
At 6am my next tour started. From Alice Springs to Cairns. This time though with less highlights. We spent most of the time on the bus. But as a flight would have cost the same amount, I thought it would be nicer to travel by bus. At least I see something of the country. The country was really amazing! Every few hours it looked different. The further we got to the east, the more plants there were. We left the desert behind.
There was no real road in this part of the outback. Only a gravelroad. But that didn´t seem to bother the busdriver much. He was speeding like a Formula 1 driver. Just before sunset, he stopped abruptly. What had happened? A flat tire? No, it was more complicated than that. I don´t know what it was exactly, but the left side of the bus was laying on the tire. The driver tried to repair it, but without success. What now? Do we have to stay here until tomorrow or even longer? No, he called the farm people where we were supposed to stay tonight and they came with their cattle truck and picked us up. What an adventure! It was so noisy on the truck. How does the cattle put up with that? Luckily it was only 50Km to the farm. We got out rooms and had dinner.
Among dogs, sheep, pigs and cows, there were also 2 little kangurus. How cute! Aboriginals are still hunting kangurus for food (legal) and when they kill a mother kanguru, they take the baby to this farm. Here they raise them and set them free in a National Park. The 2 kangurus were 1.5 years and 6 Months old. The little one still had to be fed with a baby bottle. The big one had lots of fun stealing our food from our plates. Pretty strong for his age.
Nicole: Sydney - Cairns
Already at 8am I was picked up to be taken to the airport. I want to fly to Cairns where I will meet up again with Ramona on 22 April.
I've been to Cairns 7 years ago and the city has become much more commercial. I strolled around and had a look but there's still not really a lot to see. In the evening I met Philipp, a German, and Frederica, an Italian girl, with whom I went to Woolshed.
Woolshed is THE backpackers pub. On Tuesdays one gets 5 drinks for AUD 11, we'll have to make use of that. But to be honest there I really felt old! It was obvious what everybody wanted: Party, Party, Party!
Frederica and Philipp left about 11.15pm and as I still hadn't had my 5 drinks - I've started to drink slowlier (the slowliest :)) after my notorious evening in Sydney :) - I stayed and wanted to take the bus at midnight. Do I have to mention that I missed it? Well, I wanted to walk but it was raining cats and dogs. Thus, I preferred to stay... at 4.15am I feel into my bed.
At 6am my next tour started. From Alice Springs to Cairns. This time though with less highlights. We spent most of the time on the bus. But as a flight would have cost the same amount, I thought it would be nicer to travel by bus. At least I see something of the country. The country was really amazing! Every few hours it looked different. The further we got to the east, the more plants there were. We left the desert behind.
There was no real road in this part of the outback. Only a gravelroad. But that didn´t seem to bother the busdriver much. He was speeding like a Formula 1 driver. Just before sunset, he stopped abruptly. What had happened? A flat tire? No, it was more complicated than that. I don´t know what it was exactly, but the left side of the bus was laying on the tire. The driver tried to repair it, but without success. What now? Do we have to stay here until tomorrow or even longer? No, he called the farm people where we were supposed to stay tonight and they came with their cattle truck and picked us up. What an adventure! It was so noisy on the truck. How does the cattle put up with that? Luckily it was only 50Km to the farm. We got out rooms and had dinner.
Among dogs, sheep, pigs and cows, there were also 2 little kangurus. How cute! Aboriginals are still hunting kangurus for food (legal) and when they kill a mother kanguru, they take the baby to this farm. Here they raise them and set them free in a National Park. The 2 kangurus were 1.5 years and 6 Months old. The little one still had to be fed with a baby bottle. The big one had lots of fun stealing our food from our plates. Pretty strong for his age.
Nicole: Sydney - Cairns
Already at 8am I was picked up to be taken to the airport. I want to fly to Cairns where I will meet up again with Ramona on 22 April.
I've been to Cairns 7 years ago and the city has become much more commercial. I strolled around and had a look but there's still not really a lot to see. In the evening I met Philipp, a German, and Frederica, an Italian girl, with whom I went to Woolshed.
Woolshed is THE backpackers pub. On Tuesdays one gets 5 drinks for AUD 11, we'll have to make use of that. But to be honest there I really felt old! It was obvious what everybody wanted: Party, Party, Party!
Frederica and Philipp left about 11.15pm and as I still hadn't had my 5 drinks - I've started to drink slowlier (the slowliest :)) after my notorious evening in Sydney :) - I stayed and wanted to take the bus at midnight. Do I have to mention that I missed it? Well, I wanted to walk but it was raining cats and dogs. Thus, I preferred to stay... at 4.15am I feel into my bed.
Monday, April 19, 2004
Nicole: Sydney // Ramona: Alice Springs
Nicole: Sydney
Today is Al's last day. He is flying home today after one year of travelling. Gee - Ramona and I still have three months left!
Al didn't want to do a lot today so we just went to the Aquarium. It's quite good in Sydney even though some tanks are not big enough or in some tanks there are too many fish.
In the evening I took Al to the airport and went straight back to the hotel. I wanted to have an early night as I have to get up early again.
Ramona: Alice Springs
Today was a real lazy day!!! Oh, how wonderful it was. Got out off bed, lay down at the pool, got up at the pool, lay down in the parc and so on. Inbetween I had some food. And like this the whole day passed.
Today is Al's last day. He is flying home today after one year of travelling. Gee - Ramona and I still have three months left!
Al didn't want to do a lot today so we just went to the Aquarium. It's quite good in Sydney even though some tanks are not big enough or in some tanks there are too many fish.
In the evening I took Al to the airport and went straight back to the hotel. I wanted to have an early night as I have to get up early again.
Ramona: Alice Springs
Today was a real lazy day!!! Oh, how wonderful it was. Got out off bed, lay down at the pool, got up at the pool, lay down in the parc and so on. Inbetween I had some food. And like this the whole day passed.
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Ramona: Red Center Safari // Nicole: Sydney
Ramona: Red Center Safari
At 6am we got up. A quick breakfast and we were on our way to Kings Canyon. It looked gigantic! The cliffs were cut as if with a knife. Hundreds of meter deep. On the top of the cliffs it looked like on another planet. Everywhere red molehill like hills. We walked through the gorges and came to an oasis. The garden of eden, it´s called. Full of palm trees and bushes and in the middle a lagoon. Just like a dream! Unfortunately we only had 3 hours for the tour. I could have walked around the canyon for days!
In the evening, back at Alice Springs, we hat a farewell dinner at the restaurant of the Melanka Hostel and after there was a big party. Thank god I can have a lay in tomorrow.
Nicole: Sydney
We had stayed overnight at Helen's place and started the day with a nice breakfast on the balcony with a view on Sydney water. Fantastic - for Helen almost every day starts like that.
Helen wanted to take two ferries with us to go to Watson Bay but the first ferry was too late and we missed the second one. Thus, we took the bus. Watson Bay really is beautiful and good for relaxing and walking. A great idea to come here.
Then Helen got a call from some friends who have bought a boat only a week ago. Great, they can come and pick us up and we'll have our private boat. :) The friends in fact fetched us and we had fish and chips on deck.
We were then taken to Darling Harbour where the Rainbow Warrior from Greenpeace lied. Today it was free to have a look around on the boat and get some information about Greenpeace.
After our good-byes to Helen in the evening Al and I went to the observatory (Observer Tree :)). Here, I got to see the stars through a telescope for the first time in my life. I even saw the Jupiter. Really nice and interesting!
At 6am we got up. A quick breakfast and we were on our way to Kings Canyon. It looked gigantic! The cliffs were cut as if with a knife. Hundreds of meter deep. On the top of the cliffs it looked like on another planet. Everywhere red molehill like hills. We walked through the gorges and came to an oasis. The garden of eden, it´s called. Full of palm trees and bushes and in the middle a lagoon. Just like a dream! Unfortunately we only had 3 hours for the tour. I could have walked around the canyon for days!
In the evening, back at Alice Springs, we hat a farewell dinner at the restaurant of the Melanka Hostel and after there was a big party. Thank god I can have a lay in tomorrow.
Nicole: Sydney
We had stayed overnight at Helen's place and started the day with a nice breakfast on the balcony with a view on Sydney water. Fantastic - for Helen almost every day starts like that.
Helen wanted to take two ferries with us to go to Watson Bay but the first ferry was too late and we missed the second one. Thus, we took the bus. Watson Bay really is beautiful and good for relaxing and walking. A great idea to come here.
Then Helen got a call from some friends who have bought a boat only a week ago. Great, they can come and pick us up and we'll have our private boat. :) The friends in fact fetched us and we had fish and chips on deck.
We were then taken to Darling Harbour where the Rainbow Warrior from Greenpeace lied. Today it was free to have a look around on the boat and get some information about Greenpeace.
After our good-byes to Helen in the evening Al and I went to the observatory (Observer Tree :)). Here, I got to see the stars through a telescope for the first time in my life. I even saw the Jupiter. Really nice and interesting!
Saturday, April 17, 2004
Nicole: Sydney // Ramona: Red Center Safari
Nicole: Sydney
Again we had a lie-in and spent our morning/early afternoon to do our chores i.e. finish the film of the camera we had bought yesterday, get pictures developed, ...
In the late afternoon we met up with Helen, a good friend of Al, who has lived in Sydney for two years. With her and her boy-friend Andy we went for a curry in the evening and had a nice evening together.
Ramona: Red Center Safari
We had to get up early in order to see the sun rise at Ayers Rock. At 5am we packed up, had a quick breakfast and left for the rock. Just befor 7am the sun came up. The rock looked like a huge gold bar. After this nice event, we went to the aboriginal culture center. But that was more than dissapointing! Not one aboriginal worked here. There were only a few pictures on the wall and some text. A strange video was shown of aboriginals who did some traditional dances. But it looked more as if it was only made for tourists. Nothing showed how they really lived and there was noone to ask any questions.
After the culture center we went to Kata Tjuta = The Olgas. A collection of 36 round Rocks, the highest 500m tall. They can be seen from Ayers Rock. We went on a 9Km walk round the Olgas. It looked so amazing!
Our camp for the night we set up in near Kings Canyon, which we wanted to visit tomorrow. Again we slept in swags round the campfire unter the clear starry sky.
Again we had a lie-in and spent our morning/early afternoon to do our chores i.e. finish the film of the camera we had bought yesterday, get pictures developed, ...
In the late afternoon we met up with Helen, a good friend of Al, who has lived in Sydney for two years. With her and her boy-friend Andy we went for a curry in the evening and had a nice evening together.
Ramona: Red Center Safari
We had to get up early in order to see the sun rise at Ayers Rock. At 5am we packed up, had a quick breakfast and left for the rock. Just befor 7am the sun came up. The rock looked like a huge gold bar. After this nice event, we went to the aboriginal culture center. But that was more than dissapointing! Not one aboriginal worked here. There were only a few pictures on the wall and some text. A strange video was shown of aboriginals who did some traditional dances. But it looked more as if it was only made for tourists. Nothing showed how they really lived and there was noone to ask any questions.
After the culture center we went to Kata Tjuta = The Olgas. A collection of 36 round Rocks, the highest 500m tall. They can be seen from Ayers Rock. We went on a 9Km walk round the Olgas. It looked so amazing!
Our camp for the night we set up in near Kings Canyon, which we wanted to visit tomorrow. Again we slept in swags round the campfire unter the clear starry sky.
Friday, April 16, 2004
Ramona: Alice Springs - Red Center Safari / Nicole: Blue Mountains
Ramona: Alice Springs - Red Center Safari
At 6am the tour to Ayers Rock started. Our tourguide Janine, nickname Goie, was really funny. Really a goie person. Mid fourties and still has ants in her pants! We were 24 people on the bus. We went straight to Ayers Rock. Round lunchtime we arrived. Because the rock was closed so often because of security reasons, Goie wanted to check if it was open today, so if not, we would still have the chance of going tomorrow. It was open.
Half of our group descided to climb the rock. Including me. The climb was ever so steep. With the nose one scratched along the floor, that steep. It took 30 minutes to get up the steep part. It was boiling hot! On the top we had an amazing view! We could see for 100Km in all directions! Incredible! The surface of the rock was marked by uncountable gullies which were washed out by the rain. When it rains on the rock, it changes to a huge waterfall. That must look unbelievable!
As we got back down, it was time for the sun set. Ther was a special place to watch it. The rock glimmered like fire. Really pretty!
It got dark and we went to our camp for the night. The camp was just a fireplace and a lamp. Nothing else. The fire wood we had already collected in the afternoon and now the guys tried to set it on fire. The rest of the group prepared dinner. Later we got our swags out and spread round the fireplace. Now we watched the stars. It was so beautiful! We could even see the milky way! And so many shooting stars!
Nicole: Blue Mountains
I still didn't feel well when I woke up. The red wine really had harried me. We therefore changed our plans and only went to the Blue Mountains for a day.
At Sydney's station I was quite indignant as clear signposting and signposting here are two different things. It happened what had to happen - we didn't know where to go and missed our train for three minutes. In addition to that we both had forgotten our cameras. Really! One could think we are still first week travellers!
We arrived in Katoomba about 2pm and first bought a disposable camera. Then we got persuaded to take a tourist bus. Gee, we really must have been drunk yet. Only tourists - and we are amid. No, no, no! We jumped off and walked.
The walking trails and the view over the blue mountains was amazing and eventually we started to enjoy the day. It didn't matter that we wouldn't catch the bus to the train station. Then we'll walk!
Before we took the train back to Sydney we saw a very nice sunset. A wonderful closing of our day trip to the blue mountains.
At 6am the tour to Ayers Rock started. Our tourguide Janine, nickname Goie, was really funny. Really a goie person. Mid fourties and still has ants in her pants! We were 24 people on the bus. We went straight to Ayers Rock. Round lunchtime we arrived. Because the rock was closed so often because of security reasons, Goie wanted to check if it was open today, so if not, we would still have the chance of going tomorrow. It was open.
Half of our group descided to climb the rock. Including me. The climb was ever so steep. With the nose one scratched along the floor, that steep. It took 30 minutes to get up the steep part. It was boiling hot! On the top we had an amazing view! We could see for 100Km in all directions! Incredible! The surface of the rock was marked by uncountable gullies which were washed out by the rain. When it rains on the rock, it changes to a huge waterfall. That must look unbelievable!
As we got back down, it was time for the sun set. Ther was a special place to watch it. The rock glimmered like fire. Really pretty!
It got dark and we went to our camp for the night. The camp was just a fireplace and a lamp. Nothing else. The fire wood we had already collected in the afternoon and now the guys tried to set it on fire. The rest of the group prepared dinner. Later we got our swags out and spread round the fireplace. Now we watched the stars. It was so beautiful! We could even see the milky way! And so many shooting stars!
Nicole: Blue Mountains
I still didn't feel well when I woke up. The red wine really had harried me. We therefore changed our plans and only went to the Blue Mountains for a day.
At Sydney's station I was quite indignant as clear signposting and signposting here are two different things. It happened what had to happen - we didn't know where to go and missed our train for three minutes. In addition to that we both had forgotten our cameras. Really! One could think we are still first week travellers!
We arrived in Katoomba about 2pm and first bought a disposable camera. Then we got persuaded to take a tourist bus. Gee, we really must have been drunk yet. Only tourists - and we are amid. No, no, no! We jumped off and walked.
The walking trails and the view over the blue mountains was amazing and eventually we started to enjoy the day. It didn't matter that we wouldn't catch the bus to the train station. Then we'll walk!
Before we took the train back to Sydney we saw a very nice sunset. A wonderful closing of our day trip to the blue mountains.
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Nicole: Sydney // Ramona: Coober Pedy - Alice Springs
Nicole: Sydney
Today we had a lazy start. Well, this doesn't mean that we had stressful days before. But it's Al's last week and he certainly won't want to have stress. Good for me! :)
We spent the morning looking for a suitable Internet-Cafe or looking for an Internet place at all. In Manly there were plenty but here in Paddington?!? We walked along Oxford Street but in the wrong direction. Eventually we turned and walked back - and a bit further - and well, we found a place to go online!
After a few hours of writing reports and emails we went back to the hotel in order to do the laundry and have some breakfast. Toast with tomatos and melted cheese. Yammy!
Then I had to call my sister Kerstin whose birthday it is today. For AUD 10 I can call to Germany for almost an hour. Fantastic, that is cheap!
At 6.30pm we went to the movies. In fact, we managed to get tickets for the opening of the German film festival. They showed 'The miracle of Bern' and I was quite excited!
The reception - a catastrophe, we clearly didn't wear smart casual! Still we enjoyed it. And Jo Baier, the German director was there as well. :) We both really liked the film and after that we had beer and red wine as well as some snacks - for free!
At midnight we were asked to leave! Why?? I still wanted to have some of this delicious red wine. Al though was probably quite happy that I couldn't get anything anymore. I've had 5 glasses and I felt like having drunken a whole cart load.
Ramona: Coober Pedy - Alice Springs
At 4.15am we had to get up. The hostel bus to the busstation leaves at 4.45am. I was still so tired! The bus to Alice Springs was supposed to be here at 5am, but was half an hour late. I was lucky on the bus and got 2 seats for myself, so I could lay down and sleep.
Just on time for the sunrise I woke up again. It looked wonderful. The sun was up and out came the kangurus. Unfortunately some of them had been jumping arround by night and got run over by trucks. Their dead bodies were now eaten by big wedge tail eagles. The biggest eagles in Australia. Their wings spread up to 2m.
At 2.30pm we arrived in Alice Springs. I took a room at the Melanka Backpackers. Then I went for a stroll through town. Gee, it was hot here. At the end of the town, ther was a small hill, the Anzac Hill. I climbed up. Half way up I came across a group of aboriginals. They were all drunk and argued. I passed them quickly. A few meters later I turned round to see what they were up to, and I couldn´t believe what I saw! The man was sitting on the elderly woman and punched her with his fist in her face and screamed: I kill you, I kill you! I stood there paralysed. What should I do? If I interfear, they might jump on me, if I do nothing, he might really kill that woman!!! To my relief 2 of the younger guys jumped up and pulled the man off the woman. Gee, what an experience. So this is now my first impression of the aboriginals. I just hope they are not all like that. The view from the hill was really nice.
Back at the hostel, I had some noodles for dinner and packed my bags for the Ayers Rock tour tomorrow.
Today we had a lazy start. Well, this doesn't mean that we had stressful days before. But it's Al's last week and he certainly won't want to have stress. Good for me! :)
We spent the morning looking for a suitable Internet-Cafe or looking for an Internet place at all. In Manly there were plenty but here in Paddington?!? We walked along Oxford Street but in the wrong direction. Eventually we turned and walked back - and a bit further - and well, we found a place to go online!
After a few hours of writing reports and emails we went back to the hotel in order to do the laundry and have some breakfast. Toast with tomatos and melted cheese. Yammy!
Then I had to call my sister Kerstin whose birthday it is today. For AUD 10 I can call to Germany for almost an hour. Fantastic, that is cheap!
At 6.30pm we went to the movies. In fact, we managed to get tickets for the opening of the German film festival. They showed 'The miracle of Bern' and I was quite excited!
The reception - a catastrophe, we clearly didn't wear smart casual! Still we enjoyed it. And Jo Baier, the German director was there as well. :) We both really liked the film and after that we had beer and red wine as well as some snacks - for free!
At midnight we were asked to leave! Why?? I still wanted to have some of this delicious red wine. Al though was probably quite happy that I couldn't get anything anymore. I've had 5 glasses and I felt like having drunken a whole cart load.
Ramona: Coober Pedy - Alice Springs
At 4.15am we had to get up. The hostel bus to the busstation leaves at 4.45am. I was still so tired! The bus to Alice Springs was supposed to be here at 5am, but was half an hour late. I was lucky on the bus and got 2 seats for myself, so I could lay down and sleep.
Just on time for the sunrise I woke up again. It looked wonderful. The sun was up and out came the kangurus. Unfortunately some of them had been jumping arround by night and got run over by trucks. Their dead bodies were now eaten by big wedge tail eagles. The biggest eagles in Australia. Their wings spread up to 2m.
At 2.30pm we arrived in Alice Springs. I took a room at the Melanka Backpackers. Then I went for a stroll through town. Gee, it was hot here. At the end of the town, ther was a small hill, the Anzac Hill. I climbed up. Half way up I came across a group of aboriginals. They were all drunk and argued. I passed them quickly. A few meters later I turned round to see what they were up to, and I couldn´t believe what I saw! The man was sitting on the elderly woman and punched her with his fist in her face and screamed: I kill you, I kill you! I stood there paralysed. What should I do? If I interfear, they might jump on me, if I do nothing, he might really kill that woman!!! To my relief 2 of the younger guys jumped up and pulled the man off the woman. Gee, what an experience. So this is now my first impression of the aboriginals. I just hope they are not all like that. The view from the hill was really nice.
Back at the hostel, I had some noodles for dinner and packed my bags for the Ayers Rock tour tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Ramona: Coober Pedy // Nicole: Sydney
Ramona: Coober Pedy
At 5.20am we arrived in Coober Pedy. Here I wanted to stop over to see the Opal town. Hopefully there are still some hotels open this late at night. Otherwise I will need to sleep on the streets. But I was lucky, there was a hostel owner waiting for another guest. I asked him if he would have some space for me and he said yes. Perfect. I had a nice surprise as we got to the hostel. It was exactly that one I read in Adelaide about. Ain´t that nice! The hostel was built under ground. It looked so wicked! I shared the room with Ana from England, who was also on my bus. We went to sleep for a few hours.
At 1pm we went on a tour through and arround the Opal town. It was so interesting. The area looked like a different planet. Everywhere little sand hills, one next to the other. That were the opal mines. They miners dig deep holes to search for opal. When they are finished with one area and move to the next, the hole has to stay open for safety reasons. This way they become more and more. At a shut down mine we got to look for opal ourselves. Of course there was nothing to find. But you never know. One might have been lucky.
In the evening I went to a pizza place with Ana. Mmmh, delicious. And already the day was over.
Nicole: Sydney
After our 3 days on the beach we had enough and decided to move to see other parts of Sydney. We searched the internet for new accomodation and then had a list of numbers to phone. After a few calls we managed to find a new place on the other side of town near the harbour in Paddington. For once we don't have a Lonely Planet and easy jobs like this take so much longer!
A 20 minute walk, a ferry, a bus and another 20 minute walk with huge backpacks and we got to our new place. In the afternoon we had a picnic in the Royal Botantical Gardens surrounded by large white cockatiels.
In the evening we enjoyed the bars of central Sydney.
At 5.20am we arrived in Coober Pedy. Here I wanted to stop over to see the Opal town. Hopefully there are still some hotels open this late at night. Otherwise I will need to sleep on the streets. But I was lucky, there was a hostel owner waiting for another guest. I asked him if he would have some space for me and he said yes. Perfect. I had a nice surprise as we got to the hostel. It was exactly that one I read in Adelaide about. Ain´t that nice! The hostel was built under ground. It looked so wicked! I shared the room with Ana from England, who was also on my bus. We went to sleep for a few hours.
At 1pm we went on a tour through and arround the Opal town. It was so interesting. The area looked like a different planet. Everywhere little sand hills, one next to the other. That were the opal mines. They miners dig deep holes to search for opal. When they are finished with one area and move to the next, the hole has to stay open for safety reasons. This way they become more and more. At a shut down mine we got to look for opal ourselves. Of course there was nothing to find. But you never know. One might have been lucky.
In the evening I went to a pizza place with Ana. Mmmh, delicious. And already the day was over.
Nicole: Sydney
After our 3 days on the beach we had enough and decided to move to see other parts of Sydney. We searched the internet for new accomodation and then had a list of numbers to phone. After a few calls we managed to find a new place on the other side of town near the harbour in Paddington. For once we don't have a Lonely Planet and easy jobs like this take so much longer!
A 20 minute walk, a ferry, a bus and another 20 minute walk with huge backpacks and we got to our new place. In the afternoon we had a picnic in the Royal Botantical Gardens surrounded by large white cockatiels.
In the evening we enjoyed the bars of central Sydney.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Ramona: Adelaide // Nicole: Sydney
Ramona: Adelaide
Today I had a lay in. At 9am I got up. What a night! One of the room mates was snoring his head off! Not even my earplugs helped. I went for breakfast and later for a stroll through the town. A different part this time. And what was that??? A market!!! Everywhere they sold cheese, meat, freshly baked bread and fruits. Uh, how delicious it smelled! I could have bought the whole place! But tonight my trip to Alice Springs starts and on the bus I can't eat anyway. :-( With my head hanging down I went back to the hostel.
At 6.30pm I sat in the bus to Alice Springs. It was already dark, so a video was shown to entertain the people. At 10pm we had a long stop to collect some parcels. These busses were also the postman in the Outback. When we got back on the bus, an Aboriginal had taken my seat. No problem, so I'll sit with the guy in front, that seat was still free. But then another aboriginal man came and set nextto me. The busdriver said it was ok, the other man could take the free seat in the back. Well, he did not agree with that. He totally freaked out. He will not move, he had paid for that seat and he will have that seat! What a jerk! So I went in the back. That's when I met an aboriginal woman for the first time. Unfortunately we could not communicate as she didn't speak any english and I didn't speak aboriginal either. She just kept asking me: you ok? She was a little big and was squashing me a bit when she fell asleep. And when she woke up she was a little worried about me. How sweet. Eventually I fell asleep too.
Nicole: Sydney
After fried potatoes for breakfast we went to go snorkelling. Al had already told me that the water here is a bit colder than in Bali but I was already freezing cold when only knee-deep in the water. Still I was tough and we spent quite a while in the water. It was amazing how many fishes we sould see, we even saw a flatfish!
After relaxing on the beach (a bit cold when the clouds covered the sun) we had some hot chocoloate and went back for more cooking.
Today I had a lay in. At 9am I got up. What a night! One of the room mates was snoring his head off! Not even my earplugs helped. I went for breakfast and later for a stroll through the town. A different part this time. And what was that??? A market!!! Everywhere they sold cheese, meat, freshly baked bread and fruits. Uh, how delicious it smelled! I could have bought the whole place! But tonight my trip to Alice Springs starts and on the bus I can't eat anyway. :-( With my head hanging down I went back to the hostel.
At 6.30pm I sat in the bus to Alice Springs. It was already dark, so a video was shown to entertain the people. At 10pm we had a long stop to collect some parcels. These busses were also the postman in the Outback. When we got back on the bus, an Aboriginal had taken my seat. No problem, so I'll sit with the guy in front, that seat was still free. But then another aboriginal man came and set nextto me. The busdriver said it was ok, the other man could take the free seat in the back. Well, he did not agree with that. He totally freaked out. He will not move, he had paid for that seat and he will have that seat! What a jerk! So I went in the back. That's when I met an aboriginal woman for the first time. Unfortunately we could not communicate as she didn't speak any english and I didn't speak aboriginal either. She just kept asking me: you ok? She was a little big and was squashing me a bit when she fell asleep. And when she woke up she was a little worried about me. How sweet. Eventually I fell asleep too.
Nicole: Sydney
After fried potatoes for breakfast we went to go snorkelling. Al had already told me that the water here is a bit colder than in Bali but I was already freezing cold when only knee-deep in the water. Still I was tough and we spent quite a while in the water. It was amazing how many fishes we sould see, we even saw a flatfish!
After relaxing on the beach (a bit cold when the clouds covered the sun) we had some hot chocoloate and went back for more cooking.
Monday, April 12, 2004
Nicole: Sydney // Ramona: Adelaide
Nicole: Sydney
We were quite excited because our accomodation included a kitchen, this meant for the first time in months we were able to cook. Next stop the supermarket and excitement at the products and food that I hadn't seen in a while. So our mission: to cook potato salad (the one we didn't have on Christmas Eve), Linguini with Tuna, garlic bread, vanilla yogurt, toast with tomato, onions and melted cheddar cheese,...... over the next days.
We took the shopping back to our room and in the afternoon walked to a nearby cliff to look for whales and dolphins. Although we spent quite a while up there we didn't see any!
After the sunset we headed back and started our cooking mission. The evening we spent either cooking or eating (and some drinking) - all delicious!
Ramona: Adelaide
Today the city was just as deserted as yesterday. Although, a few shops were open. And so was a travel shop. I went to ask about tours to Ayers Rock. In the end I spent about 3 hours there, to book all my transfers from Adelaide over Ayers Rock to Cairns. Everything was set. On April 22nd I will arrive in Cairns and meet again with Nicole.
Now it's time for sightseeing. I went to the Adelaide Goal, the first prison in Australia. In the beginning it was only a ship, later they built concrete blocks and it got bigger and bigger. The prison had been in use until 1988. Over 50 prisoners were hanged, among them even two women. Pretty creepy. I would not have liked to live in those tiny cells.
The rest of the afternoon I strolled up and down the streets of town. For dinner I had a delicious sandwich. And already my bed was calling me.
We were quite excited because our accomodation included a kitchen, this meant for the first time in months we were able to cook. Next stop the supermarket and excitement at the products and food that I hadn't seen in a while. So our mission: to cook potato salad (the one we didn't have on Christmas Eve), Linguini with Tuna, garlic bread, vanilla yogurt, toast with tomato, onions and melted cheddar cheese,...... over the next days.
We took the shopping back to our room and in the afternoon walked to a nearby cliff to look for whales and dolphins. Although we spent quite a while up there we didn't see any!
After the sunset we headed back and started our cooking mission. The evening we spent either cooking or eating (and some drinking) - all delicious!
Ramona: Adelaide
Today the city was just as deserted as yesterday. Although, a few shops were open. And so was a travel shop. I went to ask about tours to Ayers Rock. In the end I spent about 3 hours there, to book all my transfers from Adelaide over Ayers Rock to Cairns. Everything was set. On April 22nd I will arrive in Cairns and meet again with Nicole.
Now it's time for sightseeing. I went to the Adelaide Goal, the first prison in Australia. In the beginning it was only a ship, later they built concrete blocks and it got bigger and bigger. The prison had been in use until 1988. Over 50 prisoners were hanged, among them even two women. Pretty creepy. I would not have liked to live in those tiny cells.
The rest of the afternoon I strolled up and down the streets of town. For dinner I had a delicious sandwich. And already my bed was calling me.
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Adelaide - Sydney
As I wanted to meet with Al again before he finishes his travelling, and I have previously visited Uluru, I would leave Ramona in Adelaide & fly to Sydney whilst she visited Uluru, we would then meet again in Cairns.
After I had said my goodbyes to Ramona I went in search of my flight to Sydney. As it was a domestic flight I headed for the domestic terminal - a 2km walk from the international terminal that we had arrived in!
What do you mean, the flight goes from the International Terminal - how stupid! A 2km walk back with my trolley past all the things and people that I had just seen ten minutes before!! At last check-in.
After the 2 hours in the air, I had a wonderful suprise at Sydney airport. Al, who was supposed to be away camping with friends for the Easter weekend, was in the crowd to greet me from the plane!
We took a train, ferry and taxi and ended up in Manly, 'one of Syndey's famous beaches'.
We wandered around and only gradually I got used to the fact that all these people belong here and not all of them are tourists. I hadn't seen so many westerners since we left Helsinki back in August.
We decided to walk barefoot along the beach with the water gently flowing over our feet - this was pretty stupid on a beach known for its surfing. It wasn't long before a big wave broke next to us and soaked my white trousers covering them in water and sand.
As we were quite tired from our walking (me from the 30 hours it had taken to get from Bali to Sydney) we watched a video in the evening and had an early night.
After I had said my goodbyes to Ramona I went in search of my flight to Sydney. As it was a domestic flight I headed for the domestic terminal - a 2km walk from the international terminal that we had arrived in!
What do you mean, the flight goes from the International Terminal - how stupid! A 2km walk back with my trolley past all the things and people that I had just seen ten minutes before!! At last check-in.
After the 2 hours in the air, I had a wonderful suprise at Sydney airport. Al, who was supposed to be away camping with friends for the Easter weekend, was in the crowd to greet me from the plane!
We took a train, ferry and taxi and ended up in Manly, 'one of Syndey's famous beaches'.
We wandered around and only gradually I got used to the fact that all these people belong here and not all of them are tourists. I hadn't seen so many westerners since we left Helsinki back in August.
We decided to walk barefoot along the beach with the water gently flowing over our feet - this was pretty stupid on a beach known for its surfing. It wasn't long before a big wave broke next to us and soaked my white trousers covering them in water and sand.
As we were quite tired from our walking (me from the 30 hours it had taken to get from Bali to Sydney) we watched a video in the evening and had an early night.
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Kuta
After breakfast we went immediately to the beach. We had again planned to spend a day on the beach. As we didn't manage the last one in Thailand ... will we manage today?
There was hardly anyone on the beach, which is about 8km long. Only a few surfers were in the water and it was fun watching them. A few locals have earned their money since more than 15 years. Every day they sell fruits, sarongs, hats, give massages, offer pedi and manikuere ... However, it is not even half as annoying as in Thailand. Here, they are only allowed to offer their services in certain areas and only a few are allowed to walk along the beach to sell things.
We had a massage for 30 minutes and spent the rest of the day relaxing and reading.
There was hardly anyone on the beach, which is about 8km long. Only a few surfers were in the water and it was fun watching them. A few locals have earned their money since more than 15 years. Every day they sell fruits, sarongs, hats, give massages, offer pedi and manikuere ... However, it is not even half as annoying as in Thailand. Here, they are only allowed to offer their services in certain areas and only a few are allowed to walk along the beach to sell things.
We had a massage for 30 minutes and spent the rest of the day relaxing and reading.
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Moni - Maumere
I (Nicole) got already up at 5.35am. I wanted to go to the church. To the church? Yes, Al, who had been here three years ago, told us that here in Moni the singing in the church is really nice. I wanted to listen to it. Every morning at 6am people attend mass. Here, they are really (roman-catholic), however, this morning only 5 people were in the church. This changed though and in the end there may have been 20, only 3 men. Of course, I didn't understand what the pastor was praying (it was in Indonesian) but still it was interesting to watch. I only missed the choir as I could neither see nor hear them. :(
On Mondays and Tuesdays there is a market in Moni. Gee, there are so many people in this little village. As if everything was for free! People sell almost everything. Even fresh tobacco and betel nuts. You remember the Philippino chewing gum? We've seen it a lot here in Flores and here we had to be careful not to be spit at. :) We even bought an Indonesian sarong and bargaining with the ladies was great fun!
At 12.15pm we jumped on the bus to Maumere. Luckily, we were allowed to sit on the roof again. The journey was up- and downhill all the time, around narrow bends on narrow streets and we had to watch out for the perches and leafs which were hanging over the street in order not to be hit by them. People, above all children, seem to be very happy to see foreigners (white?). We felt like stars as everybody waved at us, they laughed pointed with their fingers at us.
In Maumere we made an exception and chose a *****-Hotel. Two beds with comfy mattresses, a fan which was really working, a Western-Toilet and a shower out of which there was also water running.
We bought a flight ticket for tomorrow to go to Denpasar/Bali as we didn't want to travel overland again. Then we explored the city, had PopMie for dinner - yammy - and eventually replied to all our emails.
On Mondays and Tuesdays there is a market in Moni. Gee, there are so many people in this little village. As if everything was for free! People sell almost everything. Even fresh tobacco and betel nuts. You remember the Philippino chewing gum? We've seen it a lot here in Flores and here we had to be careful not to be spit at. :) We even bought an Indonesian sarong and bargaining with the ladies was great fun!
At 12.15pm we jumped on the bus to Maumere. Luckily, we were allowed to sit on the roof again. The journey was up- and downhill all the time, around narrow bends on narrow streets and we had to watch out for the perches and leafs which were hanging over the street in order not to be hit by them. People, above all children, seem to be very happy to see foreigners (white?). We felt like stars as everybody waved at us, they laughed pointed with their fingers at us.
In Maumere we made an exception and chose a *****-Hotel. Two beds with comfy mattresses, a fan which was really working, a Western-Toilet and a shower out of which there was also water running.
We bought a flight ticket for tomorrow to go to Denpasar/Bali as we didn't want to travel overland again. Then we explored the city, had PopMie for dinner - yammy - and eventually replied to all our emails.
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