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My flight from Sao Paulo to Quito was quite a desaster...After more than 16 hours at the Sao Paolo airport (and no departure because of fog - according to wikipedia: "this airport was put in the world's third place in number of delayed flights") and another 9 hours at the Lima airport (because I missed one of the two available flights to Ecuador), I ended up having a 13h delay and arrived in Quito in the middle of the night. I hopped into a taxi and drove to the highly recommended Hostal Centro del Mundo. I was so tired that I barely noticed the vomit on the floor, the noise from the party in the hostel or the very bad smell in my room (most probably from the cacaroches and the other insects swirling around).
I slept fantastic (and changed the place the next day)...
Since this first somewhat unfortunate first impression of Ecuador, many things changed. The next day Franziska arrived from Switzerland (with a short between stop in Miami) and we had 5 weeks ahead of us in Ecuador with no plans at all...The first couple of days we stayed in Quito - also to get accustomed to the thin air on 2800 meters above sea level - seems to be a very multifaceted city.
We decided to head towards the beaches first and drove to Atacames, a party destination for all Ecuatorians with amazingly cheap (1.5$) and tasteful Caipirinhas (and Caipirons and Caipivodkas and so on...). The little wooden beach houses invited to dance and Franziska even convinced me (after a few of the drinks mentioned above) to hit the dancefloor as well and copy some of the steps here - was great fun!
Afterwards we headed to a small surfer paradise called Mompiche, hung around on the fantastic beach which stretches for miles and miles with barely any people on it and tried some of the waves with our rented surfboards. I even stood on two of the waves (Franziska on a couple more :) ). We also got accustomed that there was no ATM, only one computer with internet (with a mobile, very slow and very expensive) and no electricity every evening for at least one hour.
There was also a jaw-dropping black beach nearby and we built our own little wooden house there and used the black sand to paint our faces. You'll see on the pictures :)
We stayed 6 days there and then headed back to Quito - now we enjoy being back in the civilization (for a beginning it was just fantastic to find some other food than fish here).
We decided not to spend another CHF 500 on a flight to the Galapagos Islands (even though they sound amazing) but to head towards the region around the Cotopaxi volcano, then come back to Quito for their Independence Day and afterwards for 10 days to the Amazon rainforest in the region of Tena.
PS: My efforts just before my departure were a success...I just found out that I passed the Proficiency examination... :)))) I think the 1st of August just got a whole new meaning for me :) - Enjoy the fireworks back home!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Wild animals in the Pantanal wetland and the sharp contrast of Rio
After (another) 20h bus ride from Foz do Iguazu, I spent the last couple of days in very basic houses on wooden pillars in the middle of a wetland area in Pantanal, Central Brazil, which is an absolutely fascinating place to spot wildlife (as I heard even better than the Amazon-region because the animals are more centralized in a smaller region). First things I spotted were frogs in my shower and massive cockroaches in my room...and already on the first day, we saw some fascinating alligators which got kind of common during the next couple of days (there are 3.5 Mio of them in this area alone). Unlike the crocodiles, they're not really aggressive (as far as they told us...). Highlights were definitely the different very colorful birds (650 different species), giant otters who ate with their hands, a giant anteater and many smaller mammals.
Although I had to join a tour to go into this area (it was not allowed to do it on my own), it was a very spectacular and at the same time very relaxed experience. We went horseriding in the area, on a boat trip, a safari, a sunset- and a night-walk...everything very nice, but the most fascinating experiences were by far the tubing/swimming in the river which is full of alligators and piranhas and the piranha-fishing.
The tubing was somehow extremely intense especially because all the alligators who were lurking at the beach came into the water when they saw that we passed by with our tubes...I was quite relieved to go out of the water especially because I got bitten by one of the piranhas while fishing at the bank just before and therefore had an open wound...
The fishing was great! I was actually rather successful and got 9 piranhas in about 2 hours. The only problem was that 6 of them were baby-piranhas (as they called them) and we threw them back into the river....I tried to take one of these little beasts off the hook myself and throw it back, but somehow I held it not the right way and it caught my finger...quite a bloody matter...
At lunch when the Piranhas got served, I enjoyed the little monsters even more :)
I met some great people during my time at the Pantanal and so it was a little strange to move directly to the huge city of Rio de Janeiro. After another exhausting bus ride of 28 hours I came from the calm region of the Pantanal into the dazzling city of Rio where I strolled around today, also visiting the Copacabana. Looks like a very interesting city and I even had the pleasure to meet a very famous Chilenian painter called Selaron who painted a staircase in a very special way in the streets of Rio.
Because I already heard about 3 armed thefts in Rio during my time in Brazil, I decided to take nothing with me but a couple of Rias (that also means no camera and therefore no pictures of Rio)...But I'll try to upload some of the Pantanal-area within the next days...
Although I had to join a tour to go into this area (it was not allowed to do it on my own), it was a very spectacular and at the same time very relaxed experience. We went horseriding in the area, on a boat trip, a safari, a sunset- and a night-walk...everything very nice, but the most fascinating experiences were by far the tubing/swimming in the river which is full of alligators and piranhas and the piranha-fishing.
The tubing was somehow extremely intense especially because all the alligators who were lurking at the beach came into the water when they saw that we passed by with our tubes...I was quite relieved to go out of the water especially because I got bitten by one of the piranhas while fishing at the bank just before and therefore had an open wound...
The fishing was great! I was actually rather successful and got 9 piranhas in about 2 hours. The only problem was that 6 of them were baby-piranhas (as they called them) and we threw them back into the river....I tried to take one of these little beasts off the hook myself and throw it back, but somehow I held it not the right way and it caught my finger...quite a bloody matter...
At lunch when the Piranhas got served, I enjoyed the little monsters even more :)
I met some great people during my time at the Pantanal and so it was a little strange to move directly to the huge city of Rio de Janeiro. After another exhausting bus ride of 28 hours I came from the calm region of the Pantanal into the dazzling city of Rio where I strolled around today, also visiting the Copacabana. Looks like a very interesting city and I even had the pleasure to meet a very famous Chilenian painter called Selaron who painted a staircase in a very special way in the streets of Rio.
Because I already heard about 3 armed thefts in Rio during my time in Brazil, I decided to take nothing with me but a couple of Rias (that also means no camera and therefore no pictures of Rio)...But I'll try to upload some of the Pantanal-area within the next days...
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Nature´s Majesty
After a 16h bus ride from Sao Paulo to Foz go Iguazu, I finally arrived near the Iguazu Waterfalls. The first day I visited the Brazilian side of the falls.
Colorful butterflies swirling around in the middle of the jungle next to one of the most amazing natural wonders I´ve ever seen. At least three times as big as the Niagara Falls in the USA, the Iguazu falls show enormous amounts of water thundering down lava stones and building a picture which cannot be described by words and hardly be shown in pictures (even though I tried of course)....absolutely stupendous!
The next day I visited the Argentinian side and it was even more spectacular! Fantastic walkways very close to the falls, a little exploring on your own (even though it's quite touristic and all the paths are clearly marked...) and some great views on the biggest falls (there are 275 of them...).
In the evenings in Foz do Iguazu I experienced a somehow stranger time. I was sitting with some people from the Netherlands, Spain and Chile outside in our yard when the owner of the hostel told us some stories about robbings, kidnappings, rapings and murderings in this region. He also explained us that the drug traffic from Paraguay (which is just beyond the nearby river) caused these incidents and that there were shootings every night. Even though we took his explanations seriously, we thought this would all happen somehow far away. And then...shots...just nearby, a couple of hundred meters...at least 20...a strange feeling! The following night I even heard a machine gun very clearly and very close just between the hostel and the river in the slums...
Even though I had a fantastic time with the falls and the people here in Foz do Iguacu, I'm kind of relieved to leave this place today...heading for some safer regions :)
Colorful butterflies swirling around in the middle of the jungle next to one of the most amazing natural wonders I´ve ever seen. At least three times as big as the Niagara Falls in the USA, the Iguazu falls show enormous amounts of water thundering down lava stones and building a picture which cannot be described by words and hardly be shown in pictures (even though I tried of course)....absolutely stupendous!
The next day I visited the Argentinian side and it was even more spectacular! Fantastic walkways very close to the falls, a little exploring on your own (even though it's quite touristic and all the paths are clearly marked...) and some great views on the biggest falls (there are 275 of them...).
In the evenings in Foz do Iguazu I experienced a somehow stranger time. I was sitting with some people from the Netherlands, Spain and Chile outside in our yard when the owner of the hostel told us some stories about robbings, kidnappings, rapings and murderings in this region. He also explained us that the drug traffic from Paraguay (which is just beyond the nearby river) caused these incidents and that there were shootings every night. Even though we took his explanations seriously, we thought this would all happen somehow far away. And then...shots...just nearby, a couple of hundred meters...at least 20...a strange feeling! The following night I even heard a machine gun very clearly and very close just between the hostel and the river in the slums...
Even though I had a fantastic time with the falls and the people here in Foz do Iguacu, I'm kind of relieved to leave this place today...heading for some safer regions :)
Friday, July 4, 2008
From steep roads in Lisbon to dark alleys in Sao Paulo (days 1-5)
It was somehow a strange feeling to hit the road again and just fly away from Switzerland, leaving everything behind. Additionally, I usually don´t really realize that I´ll be gone for a long time and that every trip will change some of my attitudes and views for the rest of my life. It comes gradually...
My first stop was Lisbon. I´ve never been in Portugal yet and I heard from many people that Lisbon was a very interesting and lively city. Although it was only a short between-stop of two nights (I travelled with Portugal Airlines), I think I catched a glimpse of this town. It´s kind of a mixture between San Francisco and a common Italian city: Very steep roads, a somehow cute little streetcar, a fascinating red bridge, shabby houses, nice architecture,... - actually a great place to visit.
While strolling around, I met Shaun, a quite tattered English guy who travelled for the last 3 years, homeless, begging and playing guitar on the street. He was kind of fascinating - told me some poetry and was playing with my camera like a little child. The contrast were three Mexican girls who´s only interest was making party somewhere somehow...a traveller who exaggerated but was very open to the world and some tourists who were shortsighted of all the other things they could have seen if they would have just opened their eyes...
After a comfortable 9.5 hours-flight to Sao Paulo and several warnings beforehand how dangerous this city is, I arrived in the city where somebody is kidnapped every second day . It felt strange in the beginning, but when you stick up to the rules, not walk around in the dangerous areas and not go out after dark alone, I think it´s highly unlikely that something happens in this enormously huge city (11 million inhabitants in the city alone).
The plan now is to travel in direction of Foz do Iguaçu, where the Iguazu Falls are nearby, which are about three times as large as the Niagara Falls - looking very much forward to that - although there´s a little catch in between: the bus ride takes about 16 hours ;)
PS: You´ll find all my pictures of my trip HERE with the possibility to comment them :)
Franziska (red) and my (blue) stops on our trip around the world:
Größere Kartenansicht
My first stop was Lisbon. I´ve never been in Portugal yet and I heard from many people that Lisbon was a very interesting and lively city. Although it was only a short between-stop of two nights (I travelled with Portugal Airlines), I think I catched a glimpse of this town. It´s kind of a mixture between San Francisco and a common Italian city: Very steep roads, a somehow cute little streetcar, a fascinating red bridge, shabby houses, nice architecture,... - actually a great place to visit.
While strolling around, I met Shaun, a quite tattered English guy who travelled for the last 3 years, homeless, begging and playing guitar on the street. He was kind of fascinating - told me some poetry and was playing with my camera like a little child. The contrast were three Mexican girls who´s only interest was making party somewhere somehow...a traveller who exaggerated but was very open to the world and some tourists who were shortsighted of all the other things they could have seen if they would have just opened their eyes...
After a comfortable 9.5 hours-flight to Sao Paulo and several warnings beforehand how dangerous this city is, I arrived in the city where somebody is kidnapped every second day . It felt strange in the beginning, but when you stick up to the rules, not walk around in the dangerous areas and not go out after dark alone, I think it´s highly unlikely that something happens in this enormously huge city (11 million inhabitants in the city alone).
The plan now is to travel in direction of Foz do Iguaçu, where the Iguazu Falls are nearby, which are about three times as large as the Niagara Falls - looking very much forward to that - although there´s a little catch in between: the bus ride takes about 16 hours ;)
PS: You´ll find all my pictures of my trip HERE with the possibility to comment them :)
Franziska (red) and my (blue) stops on our trip around the world:
Größere Kartenansicht
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