When we arrived to New Orleans we checked in to this quite lousy hostel. But it was the only hostel as we were in New Orleans during the Jazz Festival!! At this hostel we met up with some of Abby's friends she had met prior on her trip, Raphael from Germany and Birralee from Australia. We also met Simon from Australia here, and we had a great time in New Orleans.
The first night we went out to here some music - this time jazz (the festival hadn't started yet) - and we found a place that sold tickets for 10 dollars. So we went in here and listened to the band, and suddenly Elvis Costello jumped on the stage and performed! After the concert we went out and partied in the streets of New Orleans. This city is crazy and if they say New York never sleeps, then New Orleans have serious insomnia problems. A great city with everything to offer - great food, great people, beautiful locations in the city and warm weather (some times maybe to humid though).
We entered the Jazz festival the day Pearl Jam had a concert (no, not a Jazz band, but who cares). Before they performed we went to various concerts such as Big Brass Bands, African music, country, Band of Horses and we also joined some parades. When it finally was Pearl Jam's turn for a concert New Orleans was blown away. A very cool concert from a band I didn't expect that much from. A great day.
The last day in New Orleans I spent with Abby and Raphael checking out the French Quarter in New Orleans which is very untypical for the US. An old neighborhood that hasn't been changed into a big American society. Beautiful.
After New Orleans I traveled alone to Charleston, South Carolina, where I stayed with some of Renee's friends, Myra and Robert. Here I got the chance to paddle surf, which was friggin' cool. There was dolphins the first half hour we were out surfing to say hi. I also got to see the city, which was an important city during the Revolutionary and Civil War. This whole trip across the USA has brought me back in time, as I started in the mid 1800's with California and now start-mid 1700's with the south east. A great trip back to the Atlantic Ocean, which I hadn't seen since Uruguay!!
After Charleston I traveled to Washington DC, to stay at my Dad's place - where I am now. Here I met up with my good friend Abby for another couple of days, before she traveled to New York and on to Central - and Southern America. In DC I have so far had a mix of relaxation (much needed!) and work as my Dad and Renee has recently moved, so this place sometimes more looks like a construction place then an apartment. I've also had the time to do some sight seeing which is a must do in this great city. It is great to be here again and tomorrow we are leaving for Buffalo to celebrate my Dad's birthday. After that I will travel by my self to Toronto for some days before I come back to DC again via Buffalo.
Forza la grande Lazio
lørdag den 15. maj 2010
The Bible belt!
After the great time in Colorado I now went to St. Louis, Missouri. Here I had mixed experiences.
1.) Great history, an important factor in the expansion of the USA in the start 1800's. The fact that I had no idea about how important this city was surprised me a lot and gave me a load of more information about this country.
2.) Bad environment between people in the city.
3.) I was the only person at my hostel, except a homeless man, and the drunk, farting owner, who only could talk about his vegetables he was growing. Great experience as this was my first trip alone on my whole journey after Mads went home.
So apart from the museums in this city, and the zoo, St. Louis doesn't have that much to offer. I therefore traveled through some of the most religious states in the US to reach Nashville, Tennessee. On the bus ride I noticed signs along the road as "Jesus saves". "Say no to abortion" and all kind of trap. I had a way better time in Nashville, which is just a very cool city by it self with non stop music, happy people and a lot of sights. The city is called "Music City" and right so, as this is the home town for country music. The hostel here was amazing as well, where I got the lucky opportunity to meet Abby, who I went sightseeing with and ended up traveling with to New Orleans. In Nashville we were under this curse, where everything we talked about happened later the same day... Very weird.
In Nashville the hostel arranged a trip on Sunday to go a church down on Broadway - it was a bar, that had a priest playing the guitar and praying, and playing religious songs. all very entertaining. We saw one of the performers later on the same stage very drunk. Religious alright...
In Nashville I finally got the chance to talk football again, as I might an Italian guy named Edoardo, who knew everything about Italian football as well. After 1,5 months in a country, where the call the sport "soccer" (sorry,wtf?!) this was a relief.
After Nashville I got a ride with an Australian guy called Neil to Memphis, where we on the way stopped by Jack Daniel's distillery. On the trip to Memphis I saw more religious signs such as "Vote JESUS at next election", "We and God support our troops!" and "God doesn't want your prayers, he wants your obedience". Sometimes quite scary...
We met up with Abby again in Memphis and we went straight to hear some music here as well. After a load of country music in Nashville we now ended up in the blues city of Memphis.
The next day Abby and I went to the Civil Rights Museum, which was located at the motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed. A very weird place to be, as you get the chance to stand right next to the same spot as he got shot. After seeing thousands of pictures and video clips of this during the tour in the Museum, this was a very weird moment. We also saw the bus Rosa Parks sat in the day she didn't stand up for the whites in the bus. By far the best museum I've been to so far.
After this we met up with Neil again and went to Graceland! Elvis' house. We didn't only get to see his impressive (though not as big and glamorous as I'd expected) but also his huge car collection and his two airplanes. I'm not a huge Elvis fan, but this was great!
We traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana after Memphis, where we had to drive through Mississippi. Some days before there had been a tornado here, and we crossed paths with its route where it had destroyed woods. Massive stuff.
FORZA LAZIO!
1.) Great history, an important factor in the expansion of the USA in the start 1800's. The fact that I had no idea about how important this city was surprised me a lot and gave me a load of more information about this country.
2.) Bad environment between people in the city.
3.) I was the only person at my hostel, except a homeless man, and the drunk, farting owner, who only could talk about his vegetables he was growing. Great experience as this was my first trip alone on my whole journey after Mads went home.
So apart from the museums in this city, and the zoo, St. Louis doesn't have that much to offer. I therefore traveled through some of the most religious states in the US to reach Nashville, Tennessee. On the bus ride I noticed signs along the road as "Jesus saves". "Say no to abortion" and all kind of trap. I had a way better time in Nashville, which is just a very cool city by it self with non stop music, happy people and a lot of sights. The city is called "Music City" and right so, as this is the home town for country music. The hostel here was amazing as well, where I got the lucky opportunity to meet Abby, who I went sightseeing with and ended up traveling with to New Orleans. In Nashville we were under this curse, where everything we talked about happened later the same day... Very weird.
In Nashville the hostel arranged a trip on Sunday to go a church down on Broadway - it was a bar, that had a priest playing the guitar and praying, and playing religious songs. all very entertaining. We saw one of the performers later on the same stage very drunk. Religious alright...
In Nashville I finally got the chance to talk football again, as I might an Italian guy named Edoardo, who knew everything about Italian football as well. After 1,5 months in a country, where the call the sport "soccer" (sorry,wtf?!) this was a relief.
After Nashville I got a ride with an Australian guy called Neil to Memphis, where we on the way stopped by Jack Daniel's distillery. On the trip to Memphis I saw more religious signs such as "Vote JESUS at next election", "We and God support our troops!" and "God doesn't want your prayers, he wants your obedience". Sometimes quite scary...
We met up with Abby again in Memphis and we went straight to hear some music here as well. After a load of country music in Nashville we now ended up in the blues city of Memphis.
The next day Abby and I went to the Civil Rights Museum, which was located at the motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed. A very weird place to be, as you get the chance to stand right next to the same spot as he got shot. After seeing thousands of pictures and video clips of this during the tour in the Museum, this was a very weird moment. We also saw the bus Rosa Parks sat in the day she didn't stand up for the whites in the bus. By far the best museum I've been to so far.
After this we met up with Neil again and went to Graceland! Elvis' house. We didn't only get to see his impressive (though not as big and glamorous as I'd expected) but also his huge car collection and his two airplanes. I'm not a huge Elvis fan, but this was great!
We traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana after Memphis, where we had to drive through Mississippi. Some days before there had been a tornado here, and we crossed paths with its route where it had destroyed woods. Massive stuff.
FORZA LAZIO!
Campin' Colorado
Well we camped as much in Utah as in Colorado, the title just sounds better like that.
Dave, Mads and Me were planning our trip to see Colorado, but we ended up seeing not only Colorado but also Utah. When Dave was explaining us what he wanted to show us it went something like this: "we can see this... oh, this we have to see as well. OH WE CAN'T MISS THIS PLACE. LET'S GRAB OUR BAGS AND JUST SEE EVERYTHING," with his eyes lighting as a child seeing the Easter Bunny.
So what started off early with our bags and Abby Road (one of the dogs) and drove south to see the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. We sadly left Lori behind who had to work.. On the way south we drove past beautiful snow capped mountains on long roads seemingly never to end. Dave drove for ages and ages, and when we finally came to the location he had driven for up to 10 hours! Just before we reached the Sand Dunes we stopped to look at a waterfall. There was no waterfall - it was frozen instead what might have made it even more beautiful We could walk straight under it, and see how the water iced right where the water usually was streaming down during the summer.
When we arrived to the Sand Dunes we made our camp and me and Mads started to walk towards the Sand Dunes. The Sand Dunes is a big strange place, where the sand in the middle of nowhere gathers by the wind and creates these massive hills (mountains if you're living in Denmark) which seems more like the Sahara dessert than anything else. It took Mads and me 1,5 hours to reach to the top, which was very, very tough as we didn't only have the sand to climb up but also some massive winds.
We brought some frisbees with us which we used downhill when we had the tail wind and the pleasure of running down the hills... That night we camped and it was freezing, below 0 Celsius.
We traveled to Utah the next day, once again with Dave doing his marathon driving. We were amazed once we reached Utah, as it wasn't the Utah we knew of from Salt Lake City. It was filled with these big rock formations in the southern part. We camped close to these rock formations and the next day we were waiting for the Arches National Park. this night it wasn't as cold as the previous night!
Arches was a beautiful National Park, which was filled with - not only Arches - but huge rocks which you could climb and view beautiful scenarios from. We spent 2-3 hours here and saw various locations. We then had to head back home, with another big car journey in front of us. The long rides didn't matter as we had good company and great music the whole trip.
When we came back to the house we spent some days with Lori and Dave and watched movies, played mini-golf, made a little trip to Boulder and just had a great time. The dogs and cats helped to the entertainment as well, especially little Eleanor who just was one big Duracell battery!!!! Mads left while I was here, as he went to New York and after wards back to Denmark. Lori and Dave held a big BBQ the day after he left (not because of he left of course) and I got to learn how to play horse shoe. Great Success!! Happy, happy times.
Forza Lazio!
Dave, Mads and Me were planning our trip to see Colorado, but we ended up seeing not only Colorado but also Utah. When Dave was explaining us what he wanted to show us it went something like this: "we can see this... oh, this we have to see as well. OH WE CAN'T MISS THIS PLACE. LET'S GRAB OUR BAGS AND JUST SEE EVERYTHING," with his eyes lighting as a child seeing the Easter Bunny.
So what started off early with our bags and Abby Road (one of the dogs) and drove south to see the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. We sadly left Lori behind who had to work.. On the way south we drove past beautiful snow capped mountains on long roads seemingly never to end. Dave drove for ages and ages, and when we finally came to the location he had driven for up to 10 hours! Just before we reached the Sand Dunes we stopped to look at a waterfall. There was no waterfall - it was frozen instead what might have made it even more beautiful We could walk straight under it, and see how the water iced right where the water usually was streaming down during the summer.
When we arrived to the Sand Dunes we made our camp and me and Mads started to walk towards the Sand Dunes. The Sand Dunes is a big strange place, where the sand in the middle of nowhere gathers by the wind and creates these massive hills (mountains if you're living in Denmark) which seems more like the Sahara dessert than anything else. It took Mads and me 1,5 hours to reach to the top, which was very, very tough as we didn't only have the sand to climb up but also some massive winds.
We brought some frisbees with us which we used downhill when we had the tail wind and the pleasure of running down the hills... That night we camped and it was freezing, below 0 Celsius.
We traveled to Utah the next day, once again with Dave doing his marathon driving. We were amazed once we reached Utah, as it wasn't the Utah we knew of from Salt Lake City. It was filled with these big rock formations in the southern part. We camped close to these rock formations and the next day we were waiting for the Arches National Park. this night it wasn't as cold as the previous night!
Arches was a beautiful National Park, which was filled with - not only Arches - but huge rocks which you could climb and view beautiful scenarios from. We spent 2-3 hours here and saw various locations. We then had to head back home, with another big car journey in front of us. The long rides didn't matter as we had good company and great music the whole trip.
When we came back to the house we spent some days with Lori and Dave and watched movies, played mini-golf, made a little trip to Boulder and just had a great time. The dogs and cats helped to the entertainment as well, especially little Eleanor who just was one big Duracell battery!!!! Mads left while I was here, as he went to New York and after wards back to Denmark. Lori and Dave held a big BBQ the day after he left (not because of he left of course) and I got to learn how to play horse shoe. Great Success!! Happy, happy times.
Forza Lazio!
mandag den 12. april 2010
Wild West
After a great time in Frisco and met up with some cool friends at our hostel I was on the road again to Salt Lake City. A 15 hour ride through the Nevada desert. It was like looking at a white screen with some rocks and sand for the whole time. Not much to see, but I had two seats for myself in the Greyhound bus so it helped.
I met up with Mads in Salt Lake City, which is located in a very beautiful scenery. The city is sorrounded by mountains and the weather was nice. We went to Temple Square. which is the place the Mormons settled for 150 years ago and built their church. Utah state has 70 % Mormons. We went inside the Square and had a tour by the sisters. Interesting city, but too clean and tidy for our taste so we left for Denver the day after.
Me and Mads couldnt sit next to eachother in the bus, so we had different experiences in the bus. I found the person sitting next to me pretty interesting to start with talking about the politics in the country, europe and so on. But we he suddenly started talking about that he had met Jesus and Satan in his dreams, that he has made a prophecy and saw himself as a prophet and explained to me how the apocalypse would happen I started to put my iPod in my ears and Neil Young saved me. Anyway, one of the interesting aspects of this trip is to hear all the different views of how the US is holding itself up - many different views.
Mads sat next to a sick person, who apparently shit his pants.
Denver was much cooler and much more laidback. We experienced the city during the day which was very cool. Not too crowded as LA and San Francisco but not as boring as Salt Lake City. The main street was filled with musicians and a lot of nice parks to relax in. Later that night we wanted to see what the city was all about during the night, but as we both only are 19 we didnt have big expectations. But we were only outside for 5 minutes before we found a concerthouse with music inside. We went in and listened to some nice jazz. Not only did we get inside the place we also bought a beer. Great Success.
After a couple of days in Denver we are now out visiting some family 1 hour outside Denver. Here we are having a blast and staying with Lori and Dave and also among animals (3 dogs, 4 cats, 2 horses, chicken, a pet turkey, frogs etc) and experiencing the Rocky Mountains. Today we went out in the Rockies and hiked in snow. Although there is snow it isnt cold at all. Tomorrow we are going camping for 1 or 2 days in Colorado and Utah. By far this is the best State so far. Very beautiful.
On Sunday Lazio is playing against there creepy rivals roma, so I'm not gonna miss that...
FORZA LAZIO!!
I met up with Mads in Salt Lake City, which is located in a very beautiful scenery. The city is sorrounded by mountains and the weather was nice. We went to Temple Square. which is the place the Mormons settled for 150 years ago and built their church. Utah state has 70 % Mormons. We went inside the Square and had a tour by the sisters. Interesting city, but too clean and tidy for our taste so we left for Denver the day after.
Me and Mads couldnt sit next to eachother in the bus, so we had different experiences in the bus. I found the person sitting next to me pretty interesting to start with talking about the politics in the country, europe and so on. But we he suddenly started talking about that he had met Jesus and Satan in his dreams, that he has made a prophecy and saw himself as a prophet and explained to me how the apocalypse would happen I started to put my iPod in my ears and Neil Young saved me. Anyway, one of the interesting aspects of this trip is to hear all the different views of how the US is holding itself up - many different views.
Mads sat next to a sick person, who apparently shit his pants.
Denver was much cooler and much more laidback. We experienced the city during the day which was very cool. Not too crowded as LA and San Francisco but not as boring as Salt Lake City. The main street was filled with musicians and a lot of nice parks to relax in. Later that night we wanted to see what the city was all about during the night, but as we both only are 19 we didnt have big expectations. But we were only outside for 5 minutes before we found a concerthouse with music inside. We went in and listened to some nice jazz. Not only did we get inside the place we also bought a beer. Great Success.
After a couple of days in Denver we are now out visiting some family 1 hour outside Denver. Here we are having a blast and staying with Lori and Dave and also among animals (3 dogs, 4 cats, 2 horses, chicken, a pet turkey, frogs etc) and experiencing the Rocky Mountains. Today we went out in the Rockies and hiked in snow. Although there is snow it isnt cold at all. Tomorrow we are going camping for 1 or 2 days in Colorado and Utah. By far this is the best State so far. Very beautiful.
On Sunday Lazio is playing against there creepy rivals roma, so I'm not gonna miss that...
FORZA LAZIO!!
onsdag den 7. april 2010
The States
After a nice finish in Lima with Mads and our friend Emil, who lives in Peru, we flew to Los Angeles and got ready for chapter two on this trip: Travel across the USA!
Here we met up with Thomas, Sara (I believe the Starbucks staff saw her more than we did) and Fie who were coming for a two week vacation in the LA area. We stayed at Rebecca's house - a girl who went in the same class as Mads in highschool. We are still very happy that we could stay at her place!
It was a big change from South America of course. Everything was way more expensive and we could suddenly understand what people were talking about again! We were looking forward to having some nice times in LA with our friends. And we did. We chilled around in LA at places like Venice Beach, Whale watching and watching Alice in Wonderland in the El Capitan.
We then decided to use some time in Las Vegas and Grand Canyon and check it out. All though we where too young to gamble we still agreed that the city was very special with all its lights, casinos and just plain Vegas-style. We then took a day-trip to the Grand Canyon, where we only had 1,5 hours at the park. We still saw the beautiful canyon but didn't get time to walk down the Canyon. Still if this wasnt the first time I was here it is definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth.
After some days here we went back to LA and saw Dennis Hopper get his star at the Hollywood walk of fame. Not only did we get the opportunity to see this legend we also heard a speech from Viggo Mortensen and saw celebrities as David Lynch, Michael Madsen and last but not least Jack Nicholson! A cool experience now we were in Hollywood.
After Hollywood I went out to some of my family in Rancho Cucamonga - an hour outside of LA. I had some great days here with them, and Im grateful for their hospitality. I saw the Getty Museum, Calico Ghost Town and went hiking in the terrain close to their house. We also saw a cool exhibit about some Chinese mummies from the Tarim Basin.
Now I'm in San Francisco and leaving for Salt Lake City tonight. Frisco is definitely one of the coolest cities in the world. I met with Oliver here, as he is traveling to New Zealand and was in the US for a week. We enjoyed the city, where we also went to Alcatraz. Very neat place. We also went to North Beach to see the Beat Museum where I bought some Beat books (the book 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac is one of the reasons I'm looking so much forward to this trip cross the US). Today we went to Six Flags and had a blast in the most insane roller coasters I've ever witnessed!
Im meeting up with Mads in Salt Lake City (he is a little infront of me) and we will together travel to Colorado and experience the Rocky Mountains.
As it is such a long time ago I've updated this blog I might've forgot some things... Maybe I should update more frequently!
FORZA LAZIO!
Here we met up with Thomas, Sara (I believe the Starbucks staff saw her more than we did) and Fie who were coming for a two week vacation in the LA area. We stayed at Rebecca's house - a girl who went in the same class as Mads in highschool. We are still very happy that we could stay at her place!
It was a big change from South America of course. Everything was way more expensive and we could suddenly understand what people were talking about again! We were looking forward to having some nice times in LA with our friends. And we did. We chilled around in LA at places like Venice Beach, Whale watching and watching Alice in Wonderland in the El Capitan.
We then decided to use some time in Las Vegas and Grand Canyon and check it out. All though we where too young to gamble we still agreed that the city was very special with all its lights, casinos and just plain Vegas-style. We then took a day-trip to the Grand Canyon, where we only had 1,5 hours at the park. We still saw the beautiful canyon but didn't get time to walk down the Canyon. Still if this wasnt the first time I was here it is definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth.
After some days here we went back to LA and saw Dennis Hopper get his star at the Hollywood walk of fame. Not only did we get the opportunity to see this legend we also heard a speech from Viggo Mortensen and saw celebrities as David Lynch, Michael Madsen and last but not least Jack Nicholson! A cool experience now we were in Hollywood.
After Hollywood I went out to some of my family in Rancho Cucamonga - an hour outside of LA. I had some great days here with them, and Im grateful for their hospitality. I saw the Getty Museum, Calico Ghost Town and went hiking in the terrain close to their house. We also saw a cool exhibit about some Chinese mummies from the Tarim Basin.
Now I'm in San Francisco and leaving for Salt Lake City tonight. Frisco is definitely one of the coolest cities in the world. I met with Oliver here, as he is traveling to New Zealand and was in the US for a week. We enjoyed the city, where we also went to Alcatraz. Very neat place. We also went to North Beach to see the Beat Museum where I bought some Beat books (the book 'On the Road' by Jack Kerouac is one of the reasons I'm looking so much forward to this trip cross the US). Today we went to Six Flags and had a blast in the most insane roller coasters I've ever witnessed!
Im meeting up with Mads in Salt Lake City (he is a little infront of me) and we will together travel to Colorado and experience the Rocky Mountains.
As it is such a long time ago I've updated this blog I might've forgot some things... Maybe I should update more frequently!
FORZA LAZIO!
lørdag den 13. marts 2010
The Amazon
Ok, this was the shit!
After a relaxing week in La Paz, we decided to go to Peru. First we visited the Lake Titicaca from the city of Puno. This Lake, that is three times as big as Luxembourg, is located in 3500 m above sealevel, so it was a speciel experience.
We then went to Cusco where we had a Jungle Trek waiting for us. As our Macchu Picchu Trek was cancelled because of landslides, we decided to do this trek. Mads decided to stay in Cusco. We got picked up at 5.00 am in the morning and went over the mountains to reach the Manu district - the Peruvian side of the Amazon. After 2-3 hours in the jungle our chef Carmen, shouted from the front seat "PARE PARE PARE" (Stop, stop, stop) and we all where looking out of the window. Suddenly we shouted "OH ITS A.." when our guide, William, whispered at the top of his lungs" Shut up, shut up, shuuuuuut uuuuuup!!". We went out of the car and 10 meters from us in the top of a tree was sitting a bear and looking directly at us. It just stared at us and after a few minutes it just lay down and slept. Our guide was thrilled by watching this animal, as we found out that it is the only bear in South America - and extremely rare. William is born and has lived the most of his 28 years in the jungle - and has never seen the Spectacled Bear. We only needed about three hours.
Shortly after we found out that nature was controlling us, and we weren´t controlling nature. In the middle of the road there was a landslide. We didn´t know what to do untill William said. "Ok, out fo the car!" and we all started throughing rocks into the stream. It took about an hour to remove the worst rocks, dirt and trees and we could proceed deeper in the jungle.
On our trip to the first place where we could sleep, we saw eagles, monkeys and the Peruvian National Bird "The Cock of the Rock". The first night was filled with the most fantastic lightning and thunders I have ever witnessed.
The next day we went out to the Madre Dios River, a river that ends in the mighty Amazon River. The stream was fast and we arrived to our Bonanza Lodge by midday. We got the chance to taste and eat raw larvas. Here we rested untill it got dark. Now we went out to find the huge spider called Tarantula. William didnt have any problems picking it up and playing a little with it, but we all managed only by watching. We also found frogs and other spiders.
After a good nights sleep we ended in the weirdest situation. After a good Trek in the jungle our guide decided that we all should make our own path. So we got the manchet (a little sword) and tried to cut our way through the jungle. William said that if he started running then we should run after him - if we got in contact with a wasp´s nest. That was exactly what happened. Suddenly Jakob shouts "AV" and we all now its time, so we run through the jungle, trying to escape the wasp´s, who attack us while we run. A comic only Monty Python could have made funnier. As we were so far away from the original path we had to find a new way to go past the wasps nest - the only solution was a deroute through a little stream, where the water went up to your knees. This also happened untill the middle of the stream, where I got stuck in the mud. We asked if there was chances of snakes in the water. And when William just said "Sure" I was quickly out of the mud again.
Later that night we searched for Tapirs, but with no luck.
We were tired on the fourth day, so out only activity was fishing, wish actually was the funnest part of the trip. We catched some fish - and also a turtle! The turtle we let go, but the next day we had fish almost the whole day. When it got dark we searched for Caymans (small crocodiles). After William couldnt catch any we went back towards the Lodge. Sudenly William says "Ok boys, lets try something fun! But your bags down" and he explained that we should all look for the caymans. At the end it worked and William and Oliver catched two caymans. Unbelievable.
At the day of our departure we got the news that the road to cusco was collapsed 30 places by landslides and it would first be ready in 1 month. Some people decided to walk the whole path, but we were assured that there would come an evacution plan. The first day there was nothing. the second day was nothing. So the third day we decided to help our guides (other travel agencies where stuck aswell) who did everything to help us. So we called the danish embassy, the prime ministers office and other tourists called there embassies. So after a half day of pushing the political system (the Peruvian government wasnt really willing to help us, as the Macchu Picchu needed more help) we finally saw the helicopter arriving. Three days of boredom was awarded by a free helicopter ride!!! We were split up in two groups, and I was in the first helicopter without my friends. But the helicopter was filled with beautiful Peruvian girls, so I was more satisfied with this situation.
An adventuros trip in the Amazon was over.
After some days in Cusco I decided to fly to Lima. No more busses. Here I have met up with Mads again, and we are going to Los Angeles tomorrow morning. A chapter is soon over and a new one just to begin!!
Forza Lazio
After a relaxing week in La Paz, we decided to go to Peru. First we visited the Lake Titicaca from the city of Puno. This Lake, that is three times as big as Luxembourg, is located in 3500 m above sealevel, so it was a speciel experience.
We then went to Cusco where we had a Jungle Trek waiting for us. As our Macchu Picchu Trek was cancelled because of landslides, we decided to do this trek. Mads decided to stay in Cusco. We got picked up at 5.00 am in the morning and went over the mountains to reach the Manu district - the Peruvian side of the Amazon. After 2-3 hours in the jungle our chef Carmen, shouted from the front seat "PARE PARE PARE" (Stop, stop, stop) and we all where looking out of the window. Suddenly we shouted "OH ITS A.." when our guide, William, whispered at the top of his lungs" Shut up, shut up, shuuuuuut uuuuuup!!". We went out of the car and 10 meters from us in the top of a tree was sitting a bear and looking directly at us. It just stared at us and after a few minutes it just lay down and slept. Our guide was thrilled by watching this animal, as we found out that it is the only bear in South America - and extremely rare. William is born and has lived the most of his 28 years in the jungle - and has never seen the Spectacled Bear. We only needed about three hours.
Shortly after we found out that nature was controlling us, and we weren´t controlling nature. In the middle of the road there was a landslide. We didn´t know what to do untill William said. "Ok, out fo the car!" and we all started throughing rocks into the stream. It took about an hour to remove the worst rocks, dirt and trees and we could proceed deeper in the jungle.
On our trip to the first place where we could sleep, we saw eagles, monkeys and the Peruvian National Bird "The Cock of the Rock". The first night was filled with the most fantastic lightning and thunders I have ever witnessed.
The next day we went out to the Madre Dios River, a river that ends in the mighty Amazon River. The stream was fast and we arrived to our Bonanza Lodge by midday. We got the chance to taste and eat raw larvas. Here we rested untill it got dark. Now we went out to find the huge spider called Tarantula. William didnt have any problems picking it up and playing a little with it, but we all managed only by watching. We also found frogs and other spiders.
After a good nights sleep we ended in the weirdest situation. After a good Trek in the jungle our guide decided that we all should make our own path. So we got the manchet (a little sword) and tried to cut our way through the jungle. William said that if he started running then we should run after him - if we got in contact with a wasp´s nest. That was exactly what happened. Suddenly Jakob shouts "AV" and we all now its time, so we run through the jungle, trying to escape the wasp´s, who attack us while we run. A comic only Monty Python could have made funnier. As we were so far away from the original path we had to find a new way to go past the wasps nest - the only solution was a deroute through a little stream, where the water went up to your knees. This also happened untill the middle of the stream, where I got stuck in the mud. We asked if there was chances of snakes in the water. And when William just said "Sure" I was quickly out of the mud again.
Later that night we searched for Tapirs, but with no luck.
We were tired on the fourth day, so out only activity was fishing, wish actually was the funnest part of the trip. We catched some fish - and also a turtle! The turtle we let go, but the next day we had fish almost the whole day. When it got dark we searched for Caymans (small crocodiles). After William couldnt catch any we went back towards the Lodge. Sudenly William says "Ok boys, lets try something fun! But your bags down" and he explained that we should all look for the caymans. At the end it worked and William and Oliver catched two caymans. Unbelievable.
At the day of our departure we got the news that the road to cusco was collapsed 30 places by landslides and it would first be ready in 1 month. Some people decided to walk the whole path, but we were assured that there would come an evacution plan. The first day there was nothing. the second day was nothing. So the third day we decided to help our guides (other travel agencies where stuck aswell) who did everything to help us. So we called the danish embassy, the prime ministers office and other tourists called there embassies. So after a half day of pushing the political system (the Peruvian government wasnt really willing to help us, as the Macchu Picchu needed more help) we finally saw the helicopter arriving. Three days of boredom was awarded by a free helicopter ride!!! We were split up in two groups, and I was in the first helicopter without my friends. But the helicopter was filled with beautiful Peruvian girls, so I was more satisfied with this situation.
An adventuros trip in the Amazon was over.
After some days in Cusco I decided to fly to Lima. No more busses. Here I have met up with Mads again, and we are going to Los Angeles tomorrow morning. A chapter is soon over and a new one just to begin!!
Forza Lazio
tirsdag den 23. februar 2010
Bolivian rollercoaster
Wow wow.
After we visited the silver mines of Potosi we visited the Casa Real de la Moneda, where they pressed coins for 200-250 years ago, which made the city the most wealthiest and biggest city in the world. Potosi was by far the most interesting city by now due to its cultural history - Inkas lived by the mountain to use the silver for jewelry - the spaniards came and made them to slaves and use the silver to money (The Inkas first thought that the spaniards were Gods coming to save them.....) - it became the biggest city in the world untill the silver more or less was gone, but then they found led and zink, which is what they still are working for in the mountain today. All this in the worlds highest city. We also got time to celebrate Jakob and Ulriks birthday, which wasnt far from eachother!
After Potosi we went to Sucre. In Potosi we had noticed that children were throwing water ballons at each other. When we came to Sucre we found out why - carneval! For 2-3 weeks there is water attacks all over Bolivia, and we oooh did we feel it!! The first days it was fun. But when the carneval got closer and it wasnt only the kids that was throwing waterballons or spraying with their waterguns, it was the locals vs. gringos (foreigners). We couldnt go out of our hostel without getting SOAKED. Sometimes we were lucky and didnt get hit, sometimes it was the complete opposite. Usually we played along, but the last days we just got bored of it. One of the last days Oliver got so upset with it, he just went " &$&·/%·/@/(% " and bought alot of ballons and went on a one-man-mission. A sight of a life time!
When we were finished with carneval in Sucre (which is a beautiful city) we went out to a little mountain village called Samaipata - write outside the jungles of where Che Guevara got killed. Here we rented some bikes and went out to see some Inka ruins. We asked if it was hilly and the agency who leant us the bikes said "well yeah, a little bit" I dont know if they dont have any clue of what a hill is or if they tried to trick us, but we ended biking the last 6 km up a pretty steep mountain untill we got to the top. It was a great experience but it was very hard! And of course Ulrik and Oliver were smart enough to rent a scooter insted.... The Inka ruins was not much of a site, but at least we got to see something, as our Macchu Picchu trip is now officially cancelled. Its crap.
When er were done with Samaipata we went to the richest city in Bolivia, Santa Cruz. And really, there is nothing good about this city - it was boooooring.
The biggest difference in all these cities is the altitude. We´ve gone from 4200m in Potosi to 400m in Santa Cruz (Sucre and Samaipata somwhere between) so we finally got down to more normal conditions in Santa Cruz - easier to breathe, not that dizzy all the time. But Bolivia is a rollercoaster - we are now in the worlds highest capital, La Paz 3700m. Back to altitude sickness, lack of breathe... but it still has its charm.
We have said goodbye to our dear friend Johanna during these last couple of weeks as she went back to Argentina. On the contrary we are now travelling with a friend of Mads´ called Martin, who lives in Helsingor in Denmark. The two norwegians are two days behind us, dont ask me how that happened..
I guess that was all for now, Take care out there!
Forza Lazio!
After we visited the silver mines of Potosi we visited the Casa Real de la Moneda, where they pressed coins for 200-250 years ago, which made the city the most wealthiest and biggest city in the world. Potosi was by far the most interesting city by now due to its cultural history - Inkas lived by the mountain to use the silver for jewelry - the spaniards came and made them to slaves and use the silver to money (The Inkas first thought that the spaniards were Gods coming to save them.....) - it became the biggest city in the world untill the silver more or less was gone, but then they found led and zink, which is what they still are working for in the mountain today. All this in the worlds highest city. We also got time to celebrate Jakob and Ulriks birthday, which wasnt far from eachother!
After Potosi we went to Sucre. In Potosi we had noticed that children were throwing water ballons at each other. When we came to Sucre we found out why - carneval! For 2-3 weeks there is water attacks all over Bolivia, and we oooh did we feel it!! The first days it was fun. But when the carneval got closer and it wasnt only the kids that was throwing waterballons or spraying with their waterguns, it was the locals vs. gringos (foreigners). We couldnt go out of our hostel without getting SOAKED. Sometimes we were lucky and didnt get hit, sometimes it was the complete opposite. Usually we played along, but the last days we just got bored of it. One of the last days Oliver got so upset with it, he just went " &$&·/%·/@/(% " and bought alot of ballons and went on a one-man-mission. A sight of a life time!
When we were finished with carneval in Sucre (which is a beautiful city) we went out to a little mountain village called Samaipata - write outside the jungles of where Che Guevara got killed. Here we rented some bikes and went out to see some Inka ruins. We asked if it was hilly and the agency who leant us the bikes said "well yeah, a little bit" I dont know if they dont have any clue of what a hill is or if they tried to trick us, but we ended biking the last 6 km up a pretty steep mountain untill we got to the top. It was a great experience but it was very hard! And of course Ulrik and Oliver were smart enough to rent a scooter insted.... The Inka ruins was not much of a site, but at least we got to see something, as our Macchu Picchu trip is now officially cancelled. Its crap.
When er were done with Samaipata we went to the richest city in Bolivia, Santa Cruz. And really, there is nothing good about this city - it was boooooring.
The biggest difference in all these cities is the altitude. We´ve gone from 4200m in Potosi to 400m in Santa Cruz (Sucre and Samaipata somwhere between) so we finally got down to more normal conditions in Santa Cruz - easier to breathe, not that dizzy all the time. But Bolivia is a rollercoaster - we are now in the worlds highest capital, La Paz 3700m. Back to altitude sickness, lack of breathe... but it still has its charm.
We have said goodbye to our dear friend Johanna during these last couple of weeks as she went back to Argentina. On the contrary we are now travelling with a friend of Mads´ called Martin, who lives in Helsingor in Denmark. The two norwegians are two days behind us, dont ask me how that happened..
I guess that was all for now, Take care out there!
Forza Lazio!
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