South/Cental America #15 - Costa Rica > Panama > Columbia

Photos: Costa Rica | Panama | Columbia

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1. La Fortuna
2. Monteverde
3. San Jose
4. Puerto Viejo
5. Isla Bastimento
6. Panama City
7. Colon
8. San Blas Islands
9. Cartagena
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Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Years.

I certainly have had a different year this year and I definately had a different Christmas and New Years but more of that in a little while. First and foremost a big congratulations to some of my best friends Glenn and Katie on their engagement. wish I was there to help celebrate.

Me, well another couple of countries have found their way into my passport and the legs keep on trudging along, 10 months or 300 days days have passed since I left my beloved shores of Sydney but I have hardly suffered.

After leaving school we crossed the border in Costa Rica and immediately felt the change of the people, economy and the influx of tourists, we took off for La Fortuna to glimpse one of the worlds most active volcanos, but only saw cloud. So we went to see a cloud forest near Monteverde, and only saw cloud, oh and rain. So no volcanos and no pristine forest, and after meeting an American girl Tanya it was not hard for her to convince us to go to the beach, 5 hours later we were sitting on the Pacific beaches of Costa Rica, long cresent baeches with palms supporting our hammocks and pina coladas watching sunset and I think we made the right move. Alberto was eager to talk to three Italian ladies we met and we all went horse riding through the jungle and finally along the beach at full pace with the sun setting on another day, loved it.

We then had to go and meet Cam (my brother) in San Jose, great to see him again and I am sure that we will be having some funny adventures over the next 5 weeks. We had one day in San Jose and managed to meet up with a local girl who in the space of 12 hours, bought us a coffee each, invited us around to dinner (we all cooked) and then took us out to some great clubs in San Jose...we came within a whisker of getting her to drive us the 5 hours to the next location, Puerto Viejo. San Jose I think has more Americans than most of the US, it was crazy how many of them have moved down there.

PV is a great town on the Carribean coast (yes we can not get enough of the beaches), great culture of the Garifuna people (rastas) and some great surf. The only problem is that the rain was bucking down and we had to wait it out....the three brothers (Alberto, Cameron and I) were joined by Ti from Sacremento and Marjolein from Holland so the waiting was not too bad. One of the best days in ages was spent cycling along the coast, we saw a lot of monkeys, some sloths (had been searching for them for ages) and went for a great body surf in some almost perfect waves.

Next up we took a bus, taxi, boat, boat combination to some amazing islands on the Carribean coast of Panama. Staying on a small island certainly has some advantages, no roads, beaches to only yourself and your buddies, invitations to multiple Christmas parties. Days on the beach after walking 15 minutes through the hills covred in lush forest with mud up too your shins and then appearing before a great break in the warm Carribean waters. Christmas Eve we went out to the bigger of the islands....and did not return until 4am.

So Christmas was a little shaky to begin with and then add in the island traditions and it was cornflakes a coffee and then the first of many rum and cokes thrown into our hands. The rest of the day was spent walking from house to house requesting food and trying to not accept more rum and cokes. It was a Christmas that was certainly different.

I got to celebrate 300 days on the road with a 10 hr bus ride across Panama (I hope that is the last big bus trip) and arrived in Panama City and immediately wished I was back on the islands. we asked around for some work through the canal, but none to be had so we visted the locks, really cool to see one of the modern wonders of the world as two super tankers passed through. Moved onto Colon, which is really a huge getto, one of the few places that I was worried walking down the streets during the day. We asked and asked again for a boat ride across to Columbia but ended up having to pay this crazy Swedish guy to take us over...

Well drama after drama unfolded on our little boat, changed plains, lost communication channels and well a great deal of fun. We finally set off and stayed the night in Portobella, arriving after a beautiful sunset and slept the night in a secluded bay. Woke early the next day and sailed for 25 hours straight, big waves and always into the wind made the going slow and somewhat upsetting to the stomach, Alberto turned a little green and slept most of the day. Yes folks this was New Years eve and at the stroke of midnight 2005 I was at the wheel of a 40´ boat sailing directly into the moonlight as my brother and great friend slept below, but it is a NY that I will never forget, very beautiful.

We arrived at the islands of San Blas and they are amazing, a chain of 360 islands scattered along the coast of Panama, some only big enough for two palm trees (prefect for the hammock). We sailed through to a safe caye (Holondaise), spent the day swimming, snorkling and collecting cocnuts. We planned on leaving the next morning but the winds had increase so we waited out the day by more snorkling and laying around in paradise...Hasse the captain refused to put the dingy in the water so we had to swim everwhere (remind you of anything Rob and Glenn). We waited another day and with the reports of continued winds of 60km/hr and 4 metre waves we gave up and fly back to Panama City and then within the hr we were on a plane bound for Columbia.

I never thought that this country would be so beautiful, so safe and the people so friendly. The place is great, I feel safer here that 80% of the other places I have been. The old town of Cartagena is amazing and we have been out and about checking out the sights and visiting the night spots to all hours of the morning. The women here are also challenging the Argentinians at the worlds most beautiful women competition...Cam has whiplash from walking down the street.

As they say in Costa Rica ¨Pura Vida¨ or The Pure Life, this is certainly summing up my time at the moment and I do not forget that I am exremely fortunate to have this chance in life.

Photos attached ::

Roland

& Los tres hermanos de pura vida - The three brothers of the pure life

South/Cental America #14 - Guatemala > Nicaragua

Photos: Guatemala |Nicaragua

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1. Xela
2. San Pedro de Atitlan
3. Rio Dulce
4. Livingston
5. Leon
6. Granada
7. Isla Ometepe
8. San Juan del Sur
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All,

Once again I hope that everyone is fine and looking forward to a break at Christmas...I for one certainly are, I really think this year I need a holiday.

Well James took off and so I was on the search again for a travelling buddy and convinced Tyler form the US to come on a 3 day hike through the mountains of Guatemala. It was an organized hike (through a non-profit company helping schools in the area) so no getting lost this time and we took off with a group of around 10 and wondered through the local towns, staying on the outskirts in tents and playing football all afternoon. Really nice to get to walk through the towns, see the people off the travel and also to stretch the legs inside of riding on the chicken buses that are buillt for american school children or the 4 foot Guatemalans. The final day we rose at 4:30am for a great view across the majestic Lago Atitlan for sunrise with lave pouring down volcan Fuego in the background.

Walked down to the town of San Pedro and set up there for a couple of days with some really cool people from the hike, spent the next couple of days chilling out, swimming in the lake, having mini-parties in each others hotels whilst over looking the lake. One day Tyler, Jense (Denmark) and I headed up Volcan San Pedro and I thionk we must have come close to breaking the record to the top and back down again (3hrs), we almost killed ourselves on the way up from exhustion and farmers on the way down from the hell bent run with little to no chance of stopping....but of course a lot of fun, and yes the photos are the same from the last summitt.

Then took off to Rio Dulce on the Carribean coast (4 hr journey turned into 10), found a great little place to stay in the jungle, almost lost my camera and someone elses when my canoe sank in the middle of the harbour (glad I can tred water with two cameras above my head, though my head was under when the other canoe arrive / camera is fine), swam in a hot thermal waterfall, and pleaded for someone to sail me to the Bay Islands in Honduras...no one leaving for 10 days.

With the weather reporting 10 days on rain out there I was glad and took off with some good Swiss friends to Livinsgton where for some reason I got myslef a very silly haircut that resulted in almost all of the locals laughing directly in my face for the next two weeks...I know I should be used to that but this really was about 80% of the people. Next up we travelled through Honudras, stayed two nights in the capital and ate and in a very memorible restaurant and visted some nice towns up in the hills. We then continued onto Leon a great little town in Nicaragua with nice colonial homes, churches and a great game of street basketball.

Continuing through the sweltering heat of Nicaragua (everyday 30-34 and humid+) to Granada and ended up in Gringolandia once again. A nice town and yes of course another colonial town, not as pretty as Antigua in my opinion but still nice to walk around. We found a free jazz concert at night, visited another lake for a swim and tried to reduce the heat as much as possible...normally by an intake of icecream. It is also the season for celebration and every morning a bad band plays out the front of the hoste at 7aml and wakes us all up, firecrakers go off at all hours, I think as soon as someone gets drunk enough to light the 3cm fuse and run.

Moving on once again....and now 9 months into the journey can you believe, to Isla Ometepe a great island in the middle of Laga Nicaragua, formed from lava flows by two volcanos about 200m abpart it is a really cool place. We caught the boat over and met up with another Swiss guy Alberto and we all took off for a collective farm on the other side of the island, stopping to by some moon-shine rum from a little old lady with a distillery in her kitchen...she gave us the rum in a plastic bag as she had no smaller bottles than 2 litres. Seems as though I did the Dutch tour of South America and now the Swiss tour of Central America, maybe I need to move to that part of the world...

Next day we climbed volcan Masera, it covered in cloud and us covered in mud, we did not see much besides the deep forest. Patricia and Markus left after 10 very fun filled days and Alberto and I continued on to another town in the hope of climbing the bigger of the two volcanos in the morning. But more cloud so we left for San Juan del Sur and we have now been here living on the pacific ocean for a week. We both took a week worth of Spanish classes and lived with a local family. So class from 8-12, the beach after that and then one or two lazy beers watching one of the best sunsets I have ever seen. The Spanish is still coming along and it helps that Alberto does not speak much English as it makes me practice.

Tomorrow we leave for Costa Rica were my brother Cam is meeting me in about 5 days for another stage in the adventure that has now become my life.

Roland

There is not much to be said about vocations, but if one day you change your tune and want to see the world.
remember this friend
who for you would risk his life
to help as best he can
when the moment comes.
A hug. Until it occurs to you - and until I reach where it occurs to you.
Che Guevara

South/Cental America #9 - Brazil > Bolivia

Photos: Brazil | Bolivia

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1. Brasilia
2. The Pantanal
3. Bonito
4. Santa Cruz - Bolivia
5. Buena Vista
6. Villa Tunari
7. Cochabamba
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All,

I hope that all is well back in Oz or around the globe where ever that may be. Firstly a big congratulations to Jason and Jill who gave birth to their first child, a beautiful girl Zara Hill.

I have been travelling across the inland part of Brazil trying to escape the police from Lencois, I hope they are not still looking for me. First stop was the 60´s time warp of Brasilia, another brilliant idea to build a super planned city in the 60´s. It looks great to visit as all of the buildings are designed by the same team and most of the city was built in 5 years. The place is way too planned, with hotel quadrants, living quadrants, walking sectors..etc etc. It feels a little awkward to wander around and everything is very very spaced out. But that being said I loved some of the buildings and took way too many photos of them.

Next up off to the Pantanal, a huge swampland that floods to the size of France in the wet season (December), the place is full of exotic animals. We did a 3 day camp with a tour company that drove deep into the swamp to a great little spot that has all sleeping in hammocks. Highlights included chasing down a giant ant eater over 600m through swamp savanah, horse riding and catching piranhas in chest deep water...and then eating the little suckers for dinner. I also managed to get very close to a blue macaw...see photos later. The time was great and met some great people of the trip...some old friends that last saw me being chased by the police in Lencois.

Well knowing that these people were not going to dob me in I set off with them (Rogier. Lorraine and Stefan) to Bonito...meaning beautiful in Portugese. Though I do not know how the town got that name the things to do there certainly deserve such a title. The best thing, and maybe close to the whole trip so far, was a snorkling trip down a spring fed stream. Floating for 2hrs down a stream within a rainforest that is full of beautiful fish and get this visibility is 20m+, you really do feel as though you are swimming in an aquarium. It was amazing to say the least.

Sad to leave Brazil, I truly love the country and the people, thanks to all that I met along my journey through Brazil, you made it very special, stay in touch. One day I will return...

Next up headed over to Bolivia, strange to switch back to my limited Spanish, I was just getting used to Portugese as well. Caught the overnight train to Santa Cruz, but just a big city so I high-tailed out of there after a day of rest and exploring for Beuna Vista...and no there was no social club. Met up with a well travelled Irish guy, Paul, and we set of to the national park Amboro the very budget way. Breaking all of the normal practices that were a rip off we trekked in for 10km, then after 1 hr of negoitiations with a local community we had organised for three meals a day to be cooked and served, a guide for a day, a place to stay in the NP for 3 day all for $20..in town they wanted $170. Poured rain the first 24hrs so got to know Paul and we went for some short walks, next day overcast but with guide in tow we hiked up a creek, plenty of crossings of the creek, then up a side creek where we were treated to a tight green canyon that twisted and turned for 200m and then ended with an all consuming waterfall, very beautiful. Amboro has a lot to offer and I think that in 5-10 years it will be a major tourist region..if the government can remain stable.

We then travelled onto to Villa Tunari (7hrs, 5 buses all for 200km..love Bolivia) where there is an animal refuge park, saw a Puma, a stack of monkeys and macaws. Very cool to see all of the animals even if is not the wild. I am now in Cochabamba a pretty large town that still has a great feel to it, situated in a green valley with snow capped peaks abound. Plenty of markets to walk around in and get lost.

Off in the morning to Oruro and then to meet up with Paul again in Uyuni and do the much anticipated Salt flats tour.

And now the long awaited photo update...Some of the Rio ones are a little fuzzy due to some settings in conversion, so sorry. I hope you enjoy them, I will continue to update where possible.

Keep in touch and tell me your news...

Roland