Hiking Salkantay gallery
I met many horses one the way which are carrying goods over the pass for other hikers or the people who live on the valleys. I also saw some horse bones on the way and horses which looked as if they soon might collapse. Made me feel good about not loading my bagpack on one of them as painful as it was to carry it.
One evening when I put up my tent this calf came looking what I was doing and when I stretched out my hand extended his neck and licked my finger, only to jump away frightened by its own courage.
His mom kept me company during breakfast the next day
Pyramids gallery
cusco gallery
Cartagena gallery
colombia gallery
mureals gallery
Tikal gallery
alaska gallery
reposted, sorry for the bad quality of the pictures, the originals are long back in Germany...
The zen of hiking a mountain in high altitude
I had not booked the Inka Trail and after some research (thanks to the South American Explorer Club) I found out that armed with a map and my hiking gear it would be possible to hike the Salkantay trail, over the pass of the holy mountain of Salkantay, on my own.
The trail starts at around 3000m altitude, going up to 5000 when passing the mountain. I hiked for four days, carrying my own gear, a method I can only recommend to the most stubbornly independent or simply masochistic hikers.
The air is so thin up here that even lying in my sleeping bed I feel out of breath. In the mornings I experience dizzy spells and even packing up my tent makes me pant.
I have never had a great lung capacity, when we tested it in Cardio-Vascular classes in University my teacher actually asked me if I suffered from Asthma. Hiking up mountains and carrying out a conversation at the same time has never been possible for me. But up here, even walking a straight path feel like hiking up hill.
Especially the second day was frustrating, seeing the path in front of me, which I normally would have walked at my normal walking speed, but now stopping every 20 steps to catch my breath, thus it seemingly taking forever.
One has to develop rather a Zen mindset as described by Michael Ende much better than I could:
Manchmal hat man eine sehr lange Straße vor sich.
Man denkt, die ist so schrecklich lang;
das kann man niemals schaffen, denkt man.
Und dann fängt man an, sich zu eilen. Und man eilt sich immer mehr.
Jedes Mal, wenn man aufblickt,
sieht man, dass es gar nicht weniger wird,
was noch vor einem liegt.
Und man strengt sich noch mehr an,
man kriegt es mit der Angst,
und zum Schluss ist man ganz außer Puste
und kann nicht mehr.
Und die Straße liegt immer noch vor einem.
So darf man es nicht machen.
Man darf nie an die ganze Straße auf einmal denken, verstehst du?
Man muss nur an den nächsten Schritt denken,
an den nächsten Atemzug, an den nächsten Besenstrich.
Und immer wieder nur an den nächsten.
Dann macht es Freude; das ist wichtig,
dann macht man seine Sache gut.
Und so soll es sein.
"Momo" by Michael Ende
So I walked, step for step and breath for breath past the holy mountain of the Inkas. I met people who live along the trail, it is not primarily there for the benefit of the tourists, but serves as a lifeline and a connection between the mountain communities. I slept in their backyards with the cows and beneath the mountain.
It was the hardest hike I have ever done, but an adventure! and I'm proud of myself for surviving it...
Busrides and bad movies
Another long busride was looming before me, this time to the town of Trujillo in Peru. I settled in for 20 hours of uneasy sleep and bad movies.If I have to rate the experience of bustravel in each country according to movies shown, Ecuador would lose and Mexico would win.
Not that the movies shown in Mexico were brilliant masterpieces, they were the typical mindless Hollywood comedies or action movies, in other countries these were mixed up with some B-movies no one had ever heard of for good reason.
Ecuador bus companies seem to have collected the worst of the worst and the gem of the collection is Magma a film designed to make vulcanologists cry. They also managed to traumatise me (and probably everyone else on the bus, especially the children) by showing a (good) movie about the Rwandan genocide http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400063/, but they followed it up with Piraña, which was much more fun, especially the ending and probably more appropriate for the children present, at least I did not feel like in need of a hug afterwards, though I might not be too keen on going swimming in lakes....
To Puno I will go by train.
I arrived in Tujillo, a surprisingly beautiful town
in the middle of the desert. A town of wide blue skies and pretty courtyards.
I recovered from my busride and went to the desert the next day to see some pyramids. Yep, desert, pyramids, this would not be the last time I'd feel as if I were in North Africa. Pictures
Although Ecuador wins the price of most horrible movies shown in buses, Peru wins the price of ugliest dog:
I'm hiking in the rain
Before hiking the 5 day inka trail in Peru I wanted to test how the altitude is treating me and went to the Cajas National Park near Cuenca on a two day hike.
I did not go alone, but with two German guys and a Frenchman, who wanted to fish or trout in the countless lakes.
I had met them ,as well as a girl from the Netherlands, on the bus to Cuenca and we had walked to town together. The centre was pretty much closed down for traffic as a festival was going on. For the same reason we ended up sleeping in the unfinished rooms in the attic of a very friendly hostel (Hogar Cuencano), because there was no (other) room for us in the inn.
The dutch girl did not feel like hiking, but when I came back she was still in the hostel, which was nice. Hanging out with these four people was very relaxing and natural anyway, there is something like a European mindset, maybe something to remember as all the discussions about Europe these days are focusing only on money.
In the Park there is also an inka trail as the empire did extend all the way from Peru to Ecuador, so in a way I was already on the way to Machu Picchu.
The first day me, the Germans and the French guy hiked together, ridiculously out of breath after every little hill because of the altitude, but with no other problems. We arrived on the big lake where we wanted to camp early afternoon and the Germans started fishing. And then in started to rain and it rained and rained and rained...
At some point I went to bed, to be awoken at 5 am as the French guy wanted to catch a bus in the afternoon, but it was still raining and dark outside, so I decided to spend a few more hours in my sleeping bed. I got up and packed up in the short time it wasn't raining, but after one hour of hiking it started again. And did not stop.
The trail transformed into a mudpit or a stream, forcing me to jump from slippery stone to slippery stone. I had thought the second day would be easier, as my map indicated it was going downhill all the way, but it was a steep and tricky climb.
I have never been that miserably wet during hiking, and most of the hiking I did in my life was in Iceland! The only highlight of the hike was passing two Alpakas, who were staring at me relaxed and warm in their thick fur and I swear I heard them snicker at me behind my back. I was glad when I reached the end of the trail and could walk on a road towards the highway, at least I was not wading through mud anymore!
I had learned the value of gaiters and my rescue sheet during the hike, thanks to by brother Stefan and my sister Andrea for the advice!
When I was walking to the highway a local Rancher saw me and as he was on the way to Cuenca anyway offered to give me a lift, not before giving me some hot tea and cookies. His house was built into and around the rocks on his ranch, so some of the walls were rock, which looked really cool.
Back in Cuenca I had a very long hot shower. I hope it will not rain that much in Peru.
A stand up comedian in Cuenca
A day at the beach
I went to the beach near Puerto Lopez to hike around a bit and take pictures...It is a beautiful place, I did not in any way enhance the colours in the pictures.
I went by tuk tuk (the badass version with a motorbike, not a scooter) and got to drive my first motorbike until the driver started to feel anxious...
At the beach he accompanied me for a bit and I got an idea of the misconceptions about Europeans in general and Germans in particular that exist in Ecuador. Some more entries for my book of generalisations! Or maybe he was pulling my leg by asking strange questions.
On the way back to town this happened:
But it had nothing to do with me driving it before, it was simply a flat tire.
Galapagos - almost
I did not go to the Galapagos Islands, I had failed to rob a bank on my way to Ecuador and am running out of rich relatives as well. Instead I went to the alternative for poor people like me, an island of non-volcanic origin, but with similar wild life.So here they are, the famous blue-footed boobies (I double checked the name, for obvious reasons :) being in love:
and the result of that love:
As I had to join a tour to make it to the island (swimming was not an option) I ended up spending the day with adventist missionaries. I was smart enough to avoid the topic of religion, though (or to be honest about my view on organised religion or missionary activities in general) and got rewarded with a nice dinner as they were really friendly people.
A new hat!
I lost my hat a long time ago and never really felt like buying a new one, but from Panama on was haunted by the Panama hat.
Contrary to the name the hat is traditionally from Ecuador and the art of making them is dying out, thanks to cheap Chinese copies made out of paper instead of palm leaves. So I ventured to the old town of Montecristi
to see them being made and even try to weave a bit myself
a real Panama hat is waterproof (to an extend of course, not a whole day of pouring rain) and can be rolled up for storage, two requirements I have of a hat. Plus they look cool!
I wonder what the door did....
Rambeling through Colombia
For the rest of my days in Colombia I slowly travelled south, stopping in more or less random places and spent some time hiking or cycling around.I saw a beautiful small town (Villa de Leyva),
where people from Bogota hang out at weekends, and which does not only have an Oestrich farm nearby,
but also has an awesome Café, one of the only places which understands that coffee with milk is not the same as milk with coffee and that coffee should always come with cake :)
The other town I went to could not have been different, there were horses grazing on the townsquare
and I stayed in the only hotel/resaurant in town. Buying cheese ment knocking on random houses, asking if they are selling it. I hiked a bit around and looked at ancient tooms
in the beautiful area around St. Augustin
Going further south, stopping in random towns on the way, I saw a lot of the everyday Colombia. It is a surprisingly (considering its reputation) easy country to travel through. Pictures can be found here.
Vampires in Colombia
Mompos is cool, if there are vampires in Colombia here is where they live. In the whitewashed houses and cobblestone streets. Dead bugs are everywhere and bats fly around town at night. On the cemetery live a bunch of black cats
and the town is empty during the hot day, but the in the night the locals sit in rocking chairs in front of their houses or in the courtyards with the door open to the street.
Probably waiting for an unsuspecting tourist to pass by...
"Best journey"
The way to Buchamaranga is described by the Lonely Planet as the best journey in Colombia, an "exciting" two day journey, with a stop over in the river town of Mompos.If you read "scary" as "exciting" it might have a point.
The journey included going down a river on a small Lancha in the dark and bumping into logs while lightning lit up the sky. I don't know if the man next to me praying or the fact that they actually provided life vests worried me more.
Glad to be on land again I changed to the back of a motorbike (my backpack was resting on the tank). We drove at breakneck speed over country roads dotted with potholes with the headlight threatening to go off every minute or so. The much to big helmet I had been given was sliding around on my head.
I forgave everyone who had ever wronged me, promised to appreciate all the good things in the world and be in general a much nicer and better person, just let me survive this universe!
But no worries, I'm already back to my normal horrible self again.
Cartagena
My sailing trip ended in Cartagena, said to be one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in South America.It was an awesome place to start my South American adventures with, and I could not stop myself from taking lots of pictures.
Sailing to Colombia
I spend 5 days sailing the San Blas islands and to Colombia. It was a lot of fun, first time on a sailboat and only one time seasick. There is not much to tell, no adventures, just sun, beach and sea... Here are some pictures to cause some jealousy :)Panama City
Finally a real city again. I never went to Guatemala City or Tegucigalpa as I everyone told me to avoid them if possible. Managua is not much of a city either, after an earthquake it was decentralised, leaving an empty city centre and suburbs. San Jose is not a nice place, it just seems like an endless sprawl of dirty streets and impossible to find busstations.
Panama City is everything that makes a city a city. Each part has a completly different feel. There is the sparkely business district, a place of designed living where the real life takes place in the smoking corners next to the buildings or behing the electricity box where the cleaning staff has his lunch and cats sleep in the shadows surrounded by pigeons. The high class cafes are empty and people huddle around the food carriages coming in from lower downtown.
Lower downtown is defined by the typical array of dirty streets, small shops and low hanging electricity lines defying all safety standards. These are the streets you might want to or avoid walking at night. In one people might be coming out to play, shops being open to cater to the night crowd and beers being drunk on plastic chairs under beach umbrellas on street corners. Others might be deserted and the only person you meet is the one that robs you.
An then there is Casco Antigua, combining the above with the Historical Centre.
It is crumbeling, there are ruins everywhere, next to nicely renovated houses, mostly hotels or restaurants, while the locals live in dark rooms in the crumbeling houses. One has a view of the glass towers of the business district from here.
Close to the city at the entrance of the Canal is the causeway. It has shops, reastaurants and amusement venues for the yachties and rich Panamians, but also space, fishing places and a beautiful view on the city and the waiting ships for the rest of us and the pelicans.
Costa Rica 10 days
La Fortuna/Monteverde 4 daysTortuguero 4 days
Uvita 2 days
10 days in Panama
or more or less, originally I thought I just go immediately to Panama City and then up to Cólon and Portobelo (where the sail boat leaves), but then I read the guidebook, so here is my new itinerary:Cerro Punta (4 days)
hiking up a volcano in tropical heat, it is going to be so much fun, especially as I will probably take camping equipment with me to go camping at the top (sunset/sunrise!) From the top both the Atlantic and the Pacific ocean can be seen, so it is worth the climb. The hiking treck is 23km and is called: Sendero los Quezales
there are also more more hiking opportunities from cerro punta if I feel diligent.
Near Boquete (end of trail)there is a sanctuary for orphaned animals called Paradise Gardens
Golfo de Chiriqi (3 days)
Another hiking opportunity and a place to see lots of wildlife, one of the prettiest coastal areas in Panama. It is also a place to see turtles, so maybe I should do this instead of
Utila, or Utila instead of this
Panama City (2 days)
the Parque Natural Metropolitano offers a good view over the city and the channel
I will take the train from PC to Cólon along the channel and from there to Portobelo and the hostel where the sailboat leaves (in Puerto Lindo)
If I have to spend some time waiting for the boat I can go diving to an old boat and plane or enjoy the rare sight of a black sanded beach :)
I have to remember that it will not be possible to get money out after Cólon, but best to get it in Panama City, Cólon has one of the highest crime rates in Central America, because of a free trade zone, which increased the income gap dramatically!
And then my 4 day sailing trip to Colombia starts!
Wildlife!
Costa Rica seems to be all about animals. I might encounter Monkeys, Parrots, Turtles, Whales, Lizards, Manatees and lots more during the 10 days I will spend there. Here is the itinerary:From La Fortuna to Monteverde or St Elena (Horeseback!)
La Fortuna is right next to an active volcano, which gives me the perfect excuse NOT to climb a mountain (unless I feel like dying). But I can hike around lava streams and bath in hot springs. Sound familiar? From La Fortuna it is possible to g by horseback to Monteverde a nature reserve with many independent hiking options and a butterfly garden.
From Monteverde I will find my way to San José, just to go on to Tortuguero, the Reserve next to it is also called a mini-amazon with the possibility to travel around by boat and see countless animals. See www.tortuguerovillage.com
Last I will stop at Uvita, especially if I have not seen turtles (i'm a bit out of season for the ones in Tortunguero) in the Parque Natinal Marino Ballena I cannot only observe turtles, but also lizards and maybe even Humpback whales!
San Blas Islands gallery
