Road Trip up Baja California

We made it to Ensenada two days ago after 3 days of heavy driving. After comparing the prices with the bus it turned to cost almost the same to rent a car, so we decided to go for the latter to get a bit more freedom on our journey.
Most of the driving was done by me and the other Dane on our trip since we are the only ones having valid drivers licenses. The roads were good, straight and empty- so driving was pretty straight forward. After bargaining with the rental place we got a good deal on a Dodge Stratus with Automatic gearing and plenty of space for four people. Even thought it had plenty of space I am though surprised by the low quality of the car. It was impossible to drive faster than 120km/h. The car felt so wobbily that non of us dared to - in addition the drivers seat had so few adjusting settings that my neck constantly hurt. Non the less we had a very good 1400km drive and saw a lot of beautiful nature.

As we got further north it got colder and we are now forced to wear pants and sweaters in the night - not exactly comfortable when you are used to shorts, flip-flops and t-shirt.
On our trip my friend managed to lock the keys into the car(I still wonder how that happened). However within 10 minutes (i promise you, no more than 10 min) a friendly Mexican had found some tools to break into the car with, without damaging anything. Quite impressive. I wonder how long that had taken in Denmark or Canada. So yeah - we gave him a heavy tip and drove on. (Im sure he had done that a million times before - maybe Mexicans are as skilled at braking into cars as Danes are at opening beers....who knows)

The next couple of days were going to spend here in Ensenada relaxing and partying. We need to find a good place to chill for new years eve - seems like there are enough options around.

Well, its getting warmer outside - so I think ill head back out to get some heat. Need it.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Christmas in Baja California

Ive been on the Baja California for allmost a week now and Im really enjoying my time.

My term ended pretty stressfull with an exam which was postponed due to bad wheather conditions. Instead of writing it on the friday - it was turned into a take home due sunday. I was suppose to spend my weekend skiing and chilling at whistler, but instead i ended up spending a lotof time writing my essay.

I spent a day back on campus after my whistler trip before I headed off to Seattle. To girls from my school live in seattle, so i was lucky to get a ride down with them.
I spent a day there relaxing in their house eating delicios homemade food before i headed off for mexico. In Mexico I met up with two guys from my school and a 3rd guy who is danish, and did an exchange at my school a few years back. (he knows one of the other guys).

Ive spent most of my time laying on the beach tanning, while drinking cold beer. Not a bad way to spend my christmas holiday if you ask me. Were staying for 10$ a night, so its pretty cheap. Yesterday I went scubadiving off this little island called Isla Espiritu. We dove with loads of sealions - a really amazing experience. The evening we spent drinking rum and beer and "beating the shit out of Santa".
My friend bought a big full-size Santa shaped Piñata, which we enjoyed batting. Hilarious activity - which I will try to turn into a tradition. Much better than dancing around the tree as we do back in Denmark - and in addition, It felt nice getting revenge; how many times havent santa touched small boys a girls on inappropriate places in the big malls? Santa had it coming and he got what he deserved.

Tomorrow we're heading up norht bycar. We bargained a bit with a rental place and got a pretty good deal- so we now have a car for 4 days. It turns out to be cheaper than the bus - and lots more fun as well.

We have to make 1300km in 4 days - so its quite a drive - especially since we want to stop and see a lot of places on the way.

Other than that Im really enjoying my time. We've found this little stall that sells 7 peso tacos-> super delicious! (even though I wonder what my father would say if he saw their hygene level...)

Ive spent a few hours on the beach every day - and im seriously thinking of making this a tradition. Going somewhere warm and lovely every single christmas. Its much better than sitting home in some cold rainy place and stressing around getting presents etc.

If I find some proper internet, ill try to upload some pictures, if I dont - youll have to suffice without.

Merry Christmas!

Room

Just figured out that my cellphone(that Michael gave me) can take Panorama Pictures- so I decided to take one of my room and share it with you guys.
(click on picture to see a bigger version)

En lille update

Ingen nyheder er gode nyheder. Begynder at lyde some en dårlig cliché. Ikke desto mindre er det sandt. Skolen er virkelig kommet igang, og selvom jeg kun har 4 fag har jeg utroligt meget at lave. For at bibeholde det scholarship jeg har fået, skal jeg have et snit på 3,5. Svarer sikkert nogenlunde til 10 på den danske skala. Så ja, det skal der arbejdes en del for - især fordi jeg ikke endnu helt kender systemet og ej heller har været studieaktiv i over et år.

Generelt er jeg ved at falde rigtigt godt til. Har været rigtig heldig med mit "floor" - virkelig moresomme og sjove mennesker som bor omkring mig hvilket jo er herligt.

Jeg er faktisk på vej til aftensmad(der går rygter om roastbeef og bagtekartofler)

Vil dog lige uploade nogle billeder først:


Ja, det er sandt. 3 $ eller 15kr er hvad jeg må smide for en bakke sushu. (og det er endda på et af de dyre steder)

Mit Værelse:

Udsigten fra Parken 5 mins gang fra mit værelse. (Vancouver downtown can skimtes i baggrunden.)
Det danske bidrag til B.C. Liquor Store.

Regn og Sol i Vancouver

Nu har jeg snart været i Vancouver i 2 uger, og er så småt begyndt at finde mig til rette. De første 2 uger er gået enormt stærkt, og har næsten ikke haft noget tid til overs til at sætte mig ned og genoplive min halv-døde blog. Internettet kom først ordentligt op at køre i går, (og nu skulle det også virke til fulde), så har ikke egentligt ikke rigtigt haft mulighed for at sætte mig ned i ro og mag og skrive.

Den første uge var en introduktions uge, som bestod i en masse forskellige præsentationer af livet her på Simon Fraser University osv.

Anden uge var første uge med klasser.
Jeg har 4 "courses"; The World Economy, Introduction to International Studies, Intermediate Spanish og Problems in Human Geography.

Har fri hver fredag, og møder tidligst kl. 9.30. hvilket passer mig fint.
Vancouver er en virkelig dejlig by og utroligt smuk. Folk er enormt flinke og rare og utroligt hjælpsomme. Alle studerende på SFU får et U-pass (alle zoners transportkort), og offentlig transport er rigtig god - hvilket gør det herligt let at komme rundt.

Af interessante facts kan det nævnes at Sushi er absurd billigt. Spiste mig mæt i sushi den anden dag for 45 kr. (måtte faktisk bede om hjælp til at spise op, fordi jeg simpelthen ikke kunne presse mere ned..)

Den kommende uge starter skolen rigtigt, og har en del lektier jeg skal have lavet - som jeg hellere må komme igang med. Imorgen står dagen i strandens tegn, da vi for en gangs skyld har fået lidt sol vores vej.

Og sol og strand kan man jo ikke klage over.

Machu Picchu og Barnedaab!

Hans og jeg I kirken sammen med vores nye guddatter Celina*. (Praesten kom ellers til at doebe hende Celinda)..... Til aftenmads hos Celinas familie efter barnedaaben. (Menuen stod paa kartofler og marsvin)

Stor sten ved Sacsaywaman.

Inkaerne lavede huller i stenen, som de saa bandt tagbelaegningen fast paa. Temmeligt imponerinde haandvaerk.

Aftensmaden:-)

Serveret....

Hans og jeg paa Machu Picchu!

Et Gammelt Inka Tempel, paa vejen til Puno.

*Nogle vil sikkert gerne vide lidt mere om hvordan Hans og Jeg endte som Gudfaedre til en katolsk barnedaab. Men den historie maa i vente med til jeg har faaet lidt soevn. Jeg kan dog afsloere at det var en meget spaendende og begivenhedsrig dag.

Peru - Land of the Incas.

Ankom til Peru i forgaars. Moedte som planlagt Hans I lufthavnen og alt gik som planlagt. Efter lidt prutten om prisen fik vi en lille (skod taxe, som Hans kaldte det) hen til vores Hostel.

Meget andet er der ikke at sige end at vi sov, og tog ud til lufhavnen kl. 4 igaar morges og fangede pyjamas flyveren til Cuzco.

Vi ankom godt traette til Cuzco ved. 7 tiden og fandt et billigt hotel i en sidegade til Plaze De Armas(Centrale plads).

Selvom Cuzco er enormt turisted, og der vrimler med tour-agencies og andet goegl, er det alligevel en utroligt smuk by.

Cuzco ligger i 3,300 meters hoejde. Hoejdt nok til at man lige skal snappe efter vejret naar man kommer ud af flyveren.

Efter at have hoert flere farlige historie, og ogsaa efter selv at have oplevet hoejdesyge i Guatemala. (af alle lande.....) Saa, tog jeg godt imod de raad min gamle vaerelseskammerat fra Bolivia gav mig. Drik Coca Te.

Jo, kaere skeptikere. Det er de samme blade som man bruger til at lave cocain af. Men der skal bruges 500g blade til 1 g cocain, og det skal forarbejdes paa 100 maader. Saa ja, teen er ufarlig, og saa hjaelper den med at forebygge hoejde syge.

Hans var lidt haardere ramt, og brugte det meste af igaar eftermiddag i vandret stilling.

Imorges var det endnu vaerre og vi taenkte faktisk paa at rejse ned til lavere hoejder, for at sunde os. Men den kaere rare dame i receptionen havde en flaske ilt til raadighed som jeg administrede til Hans.

Men han kalder ikke sig selv "Indiana Hans" for ingenting, saa et par timer senere var han oppe og gaa igen og vi tog sammen ud og koebte 2 "vidunderlige" huer, som vi har udnyttet til fulde

Vi hoerte om et sted 2 km, uden for Cuzoc som hedder "Sexy Woman" (Staves vist Sacsaywaman, men hva faaen,...) og der maate vi jo op. Sexy Woman er en kaempe gammel Inca Ruin som blev brugt til at forsvare Cuzco med. Det er ufatteligt hvordan de bar sig ad med at baere disse gigantiske sten op i saaden en hoejde, og faa dem til at passe sammen, ned til mindste detalje.

Senere tog vi ned og noed to kolde lokale (meget soede) oel paa vores hotel vaerelse.
Skaal!Havde egentligt taenkt mig at skaane jer for de kommende billeder, men et godt grin skal i vel ikke snydes for:-)

Hans med sin fine nye Hue, ved siden af en Lama og en (knapt saa sexy) Peruviansk woman. (Sacsaywaman Ruinerne kan ses i baggrunden)
Mig og min fine hue. (Plaza de Armas kan skimtes i baggrunden)

Panama

Er paa vej imod Panama City idag.

Det er maerkeligt at taenke paa. Jeg mindre end 4 uger tilbage af min rejse, og flyver til Peru paa mandag. Det foeles som om tiden er gaaet alt for staerkt. Ofte ville jeg oenske at jeg havde ubegraensede midler, og bare kunne rejse for evigt. Jo, det kan nogle gange godt blive en smule ensomt, og engang bliver man traet af at starte praecis den samme samtale med alle man moeder.

Hej, hvad hedder du?, hvor kommer du fra?, hvor laenge har du rejst?, hvor startede du?, hvor skal du hen?, hvad var dit hoejdepunkt?hvad laver du derhjemme? osv.

Det er selvfoelgelige normale og naturlige spoergsmaal, og jeg stiller dem da ogsaa selv af oprigtig nysgerrihed - men nogle gange bliver man bare lidt traet af 2 minutters venskaber. Da man ved at alle folk man moeder ogsaa rejser som vinden blaeser.

At Rejse er at Leve.

Forlod Rob(har rejst med ham siden en uge foer Cuba) imorges. Han har en uge mere end mig i Panama, saa han havde ikke saa travlt med at komme til Panama City.
Selvom jeg klart stadigvaek foretraekker at rejse alene, saa har det alligevel vaeret rart at have en at rejse med hvor man ikke behoever forklare alt igen og igen og igen.

Efter Cuba brugte vi 2 dage paa at komme til Bocas del Toro i Panama. Bocas er et vidunderligt sted, hvor man kan baade surfe, dykke, drikke og sole. Lige noget for mig. Det bestaar af en masse smaa caribiske oer som ligger i det nordlige Panama. Virkelig skoent.
Moedte en amerikansk fyr(Ryan) I bussen paa vej til Bocas for en uges tid siden, som "house-sitter" hele Juni og Juli for sin onkel, som er ved at bygge et hus paa en af oerne hernede. Han inviterede os ud til hans hus, og jeg tog sammen med Rob, og en dansk pige der hedder Cathrine(som vi stoedte ind I i forgaars) sammen ud til Ryans onkels hus. Virkelig fantastisk beliggenhed med jungle og havudsigt og privat strand. Alle burde leve livet paa denne maade.

Ryans nabo, Carlos sejlede mig ned ad kysten til en lille landsby hvorfra jeg fangede en bus til David, en stoerre by hvor jeg i oejeblikket venter paa natbussen til Panama City.
Skal ind og se Indiana Jones om en halv times tid. Taenkte at jeg hellere maatte finde paa noget fornuftigt at tage mig til istedet for at side her og skrive blogs.(og saa kostede billetten kun 13 kroner...super nice!)

Yihaa! Vi ses.

Cuba part 2

Efter Trinidad tog vi op til Santa Clara for at besoege Che Guevara Monumentet. Meget spaendende og interessant, i hvert fald anderledes. En kaaaaempe plads, med en stor statue af ham , og en et mausoleaeum hvor der braender en evig flamme taendt af Hr. Fidel.

Dagen efter vendte vi snuden tilbage imod Havana. Endnu engang blev vi overrasket over Havanas skoenhed og atmosphere. Om aftenen tog vi op til en kaempe stort gammelt fort bygget halvt af spanierne og halvt af englaenderne, og saa en lille ceremoni, hvor en kanon blev fyret af. (alle vagterne var klaedt som 16th century engelske soldater, og der blev spillet "skotland the Brave" paa saekkepipe. En smule mystisk i midten af Havana......).

Naeste dag besoegte vi en Cigar Fabrik, og Havana Club Rom Museet. Begge to klart anbefalelses vaerdige sevaerdigheder. Isaer Cigar fabrikken er interessant, fordi man bliver vist rundt mellem alle folkene der sidder og ruller cigarer og laerer om cigarernes betydning og historie. Meget spaendende.

Dagen efter gik turen tilbage til San Jose, hvor vi noed en stor saftig boef som det aller foerste.
Mad paa Cuba er nemlig ikke noget hoejdepunkt.
(til gengaeld var vi overraskede over at se hvor mange folk der sov paa gaden I San Jose, da der paa Cuba ikke var en eneste)

C for Cuba and Country of Contrasts...

Cuba har indtil videre vaeret et af hoejdepunkterne paa min tur. Ikke at det var det sted jeg foelte mig bedst tilpas, men klart det mest interessante sted, hvad angaar historie, kultur og politik.
Isaer Havana er helt fantastisk. Dets historie og kultur, bringer samtlige amerikanske byer til skamme. Ingen anden by I nord eller mellem amerika har sammenlagt haft saa stor betydning siden Colombus foerst sejlede over atlanten i 1493.

Under Kolonitiden da det meste af Latin og Sydamerika hoerte under den spanske krone, var Havana knudepunkt for alle skibe der sejlede med suger og mineraler fra Den Nye Verden tilbage til Spanien. Dette bragte stor rigdom til Havana, og den gamle Koloniale del af Havana er derfor utrolig smuk. Helt indtil Revolutionen I 1959 var Cuba USA's "Bitch", og den tidligere Diktator Batiasta, vandt et coup d'etat med stoette fra den Amerikanske Mafia som levede hoejt I Havana.
I tyverne og trediverne var Havana feriested nummer 1. for amerikanere der ville gamle, drikke og feste uden for Prohibition USA. Ogsaa i denne periode floed Havana med rigdom.

Idag er historien en helt anden.

Cuba er fuldt af kontraster. Alle boer vaere ens, da det stadigvaek er et kommunistisk land, men de folk der arbejder med(eller for) turister tjener mange gange mere end alle andre.
Bl.a. fordi turister bruger Cuban Convertible Pesos, til at betale med ting for, hvorimod alm. Cubanere bliver betalt I National Pesos, som er 24 gange mindre vaerd.

Den normale loen for en laege er omkring 30 usd om maaneden, hvorimod en taxa chauffoer med lidt sort arbejde let kan tjene over 100 usd.

Jeg tog dertil sammen med Shira fra Israel, som en Hollands fyr jeg moedte i Mexico satte mig I kontakt med, og sammen med Rob fra Botswana som jeg ligeledes moedte i Mexico, og stoedte ind i igen i Nicaragua.
Paa flyet moedte vi en svensk fyr(Jon) som rejste til Cuba alene, og besluttede os for at dele en taxa ind til Havana. Vi endte med at gaa ud og spise med ham samme aften, og efter det rejse vi 4 sammen resten af tiden.

Vi brugte de 3 foerste dage af vores tur I Havana. Flere gange blev de lokale vi snakkede med paa gaden afhoert af Politiet bagefter, for at sikre sig at vi ikke snakkede Politik.
Efter 3 dage tog vi til Vinales, hvor vi besoegte en tobaks mark, og saa en masse fine klipper.
Dagen efter tog vi ned til Maria La Gorda paa Den Cubanske Vest kyst og dykkede. Cuba har noget af Caribiens bedste dykker muligheder og Maria La Gorda var ikke en undtagelse. Utrolig god sigtbarhed, fantastiske koraler og massere af flotte fisk. Bedste dykning jeg har fortaget indtil videre.

Vi tog en privat bil(sikkert ulovligt) til Trinidad. Det kostede det samme pr. person som med bussen, og gik meget hurtigere og lettere.

Trinidad er en gammel Colonial by som skulle vaere utrolig smuk, ingen af os var dog synderligt imponeret, og maden var rent ud sagt elendig. Til gengaeld havde de(maerkeligt nok) en fantastisk bar/diskotek nede i en grotte. Virkelig anderledes og original setting.

Fortsaetelse foelger......

Costa Ribia and Costa-lot!

Bookede billetter til Cuba sidste fredag. Skal af sted sammen med Rob fra Botswana og Shira fra Israel. Vi fungerer rigtigt godt sammen, saa jeg er sikker paa at det nok skal blive sjovt. Det vil sige vi skal lige have ordnet de sidste ting foer rejsen. Cuba er ikke lige let at tage til som backpacker, som f.eks. Costa Rica eller Nicaragua. Chancen for at vores kreditkort ikke virker er temmelig stor, dvs. vi skal have en masse Euro med i kontanter(da de ikke tager USD), Euro er tilgengaeld ikke helt let at fremskaffe i store summer her i Costa Rica, saa det gaar vi og grubler lidt over.

I loerdags tog jeg sammen med Rob til Tortuguero paa den Caribiske kyst. Indtil videre mit favorit sted i Costa Rica. Virkelig fredeligt stille sted, midt I en stor national park. Vi saa krokodiller, massere af aber og en stor groen soeskildpadde laegge aeg paa en nat-tur paa stranden. (en venlig skildpadde frivillig fortalte os en masse om skildpadden saa vi ogsaa blev lidt klogere hvad det angaar).
Efter to dage der, tog vi baaden ned til Cauhita som er en lille hyggelig Caribisk by, ved siden af en rigtig laekker strand. Vi tog paa en fin snorkeling tur, og saa en masse fisk og andet soeohoej.
Igaar tog vi saa bussen tilbage til San Jose.

Generelt kan det siges om Costa Lot, at ting her er meget dyrere end de er i de omkring liggende lande. Dette kan virkelig maerkes paa tegne bogen. Bruger ca. det dobbelte pr dag.

Efter Cuba tager jeg ned til Panama, og bliver der et par dage inden turen gaar videre til et endnu uvist sted.

Og saa gaar turen vel en eller anden dag ogsaa hjemad. Det er i hvert fald planen.
Er lidt traet, saa det bliver ingen billeder idag. Proever at uploade nogle naar jeg kommer tilbage fra Cuba.

Adios!

Diving!

Moedte en fyr igaar, som jeg dykkede med paa Corn Islands. Han tog en del undervands billeder da vi var der. Kunne vaere fedt at have et undervandskamera!

Three, Two, One...JUMP!!!

Imagine walking out on bridge that crosses a valley. 100 meters below you runs a small river.
On the bridge you stop and think to yourself, "I wonder how it must feel like to jump over the edge of the bridge and fall faaaar faaar down" After pondering a bit you realize, it ll probably be the certain death. You stand there on the bridge and speculate for a while, and the thought strikes you that "perhaps if you jump with an elastic string tied to you then you wont die!"

You invent it. It becomes world popular and gets known as Bungee Jumping.

I've got no clue if this is how bungee jumping was invented, but I'm sure the story is not far from my little tale above.

Me and a Norwegian guy I met some days ago, decided that we wanted to go Bungee Jumping. Without much discussion we booked a jump last night and went out this morning to Jump of from a bridge(of course trough a certified company!)

It's pretty scary standing there, on the edge of the bridge, looking 100 meters down, knowing that your about to fall 80 meters in free fall. You also know that there's no way back - cause then you'd feel like a wimp.

"Three, Two, One-... JUMP!" - The instructor yells and you throw yourself out and fall fall fall fall, until the string tightens and you bump up and down a few times.

Falling down towards the seemingly certain death, all you have time to yell is "Hala Ye Vala".(......F.Y.!)

I can hardly encourage every single living person to try this insane, yet safe stunt. It's an amazing adrenaline rush and lots of fun.

I'll upload some pictures at some point.

Pura Vida!

Saadan siger man I Costa Rica. Hele tiden. Saadan et slang som alle bruger om alting. Pura Vida. (Oversat til Dansk betyder det noget I retning af "Rent Liv" eller "Pure Life".
Ankom til Playa Del Coco paa den Costaricanske stillehavskyst i onsdags. Mit foeste indtryk af Costa Rica var ikke videre imponerinde. Bl.a. er mange af priserne naesten danske, og derudover havde jeg haft en fantastisk tid I Nicaragua, saa det var lidt en skuffelse at komme til the "52nd state" som jeg er begyndt at kalde det. Alle taler engelsk, jeg bliver tiltalt paa engelsk af de lokale som spoerger om jeg ikke vil koebe en arrangeret tur hos deres bureau(over bliver derefter vildt overrasket naar jeg svarer paa mit gebrokne spansk). Landet er fuldt af amerikanske luksusturister, og det kan virkelig maerkes paa priserne og infrastrukturen. Hver anden foretning er en ejendomsmaegler, der vil saelge dig en byggegrund hvor du kan bygge din nye ferievilla med havudsigt. Det hele er bare - lidt for meget! Det minder mig om de middelhavsoer hvor lokale tjenere kommer loebende efter en raabende paa dansk, at de har dansk mad og dansk menú. Jeg blev 2 dage I Playa del Coco, hvor jeg tog 4 dyk. Selvom sigtbarheden ikke var fantastisk, var der et fantastisk soe-liv. Jeg saa rokker, hajer, moraener, blaeksprutter, soeheste og kaempe grupper af alle mulige slags fisk.
Loerdag tog jeg saa videre til en lille bjerglandsby som hedder Santa Elena. Santa Elena viste sig at vaere endnu vaerre hvad turisme angaar. Havde dog sagt til mig selv, at det ikke nyttede noget at beklage sig, for selvom der er mange gringos, kan stedet i sig selv jo godt vaere meget spaendende.
Santa Elena havde en smuk regnskov som jeg trekkede i et par timer om morgenen.
Paa vejen derop moedte jeg en norsk gut som jeg I gaar morges rejse sammen med til La Fortuna.

La Fortuna ligger ved foden af en stor vulkan der hedder Vulcano Arenal(sand vulkanen) , og byen har faat sit navn(den heldige) fordi den overlevede et stort vulkan udbrud i 1968. Egentligt meget spaendende, men atter en million resorts og ture og andet goegl. Nordmanden og jeg tager videre til San Jose senere idag, og saa er planen at blive der et par dage foer jeg forhaabentligtvis finder en eller anden maade at komme til Cuba paa. Det er i hvert fald min plan. Dvs. jeg kan jeg ikke just sige at jeg har en plan, maaske ville ordet "intention" vaere mere paa sin plads.
Fandt et sted med 80m bungeejump lidt uden for San José, saa det er muligt jeg laegger min vej forbi der imorgen ligeledes.
Ellers saa er min rejse aaben. Har hoert utroligt mange spaendende ting om Panama, saa jeg glaeder mig virkelig meget til at tage derned. (ogsaa hvor min tegnedreng har det bedre)
Derefter maa vi saa hvor jeg ender, et sted i sydamerika formodentligt. Har hoert fantastiske ting om Colombia - men baade Peru og Bolivia virker ogsaa enormt spaendende. Tror sydamerika er en hel rejse i sig selv.
Overvejer at tage et ophold i mine studier efter 2 aar og saa rejse gennem sydamerika. Tror det kunne vaere helt fantastisk. Men igen, saa er der jo ogsaa afrika, og Asien, og Australien man kan rejse I, for ikke at sige Europa og Gringolandia. Puhaa, verden er alt for stor.
Naa, jeg maa loebe. Tror lige jeg vil lige en time mere ved poolen(jep, mit 60kr pr. nat Hostel har pool.....(og jeg klager over at Costa Rica er dyrt?baaah... et bedre Hostel ogsaa med pool kostede kun 30kr pr nat i Nicaragua.)

Man burde arbejde hver sommer I Danmark, spare 5000 pr maaned, og saa leve vinterhalvaaret I Central Amerika, sikke et liv.

Pas paa jer selv. Ses til sommer.
Pura Vida!

Some Photos...

Granada seen from a Church Tower.

Vulcano Conception at Isla de Ometepe.

Some kind of loud , yet beautiful insect.

The view from Vulcano Conception.

Surfing, Spanish and Another Volcano

First of all: Big apologies for not keepin in Touch.

Det er hvad der sker naar man ikke lige sidder foran skaermen hele dagen, og naar elendige tastaturer frustrerer en til evigheder.

Jeg befinder mig I oejeblikket paa Isla de Ometepe, midt I Lago de Nicaragua.
Virkelig smuk oe, som bestaar af to store kegleformede vulkaner. (proever at uploade nogle billeder paa et eller andet tispunkt)
Igaar heikede jeg op den ene vulkan. Virkelig en smuk tur, og en fantastisk udsigt.

Sidste uge, brugte jeg I en by der hedder San Juan del Sur, hvor jeg laeste spansk 4 timer hver morgen, og surfede om eftermiddagen. Selvom surfing I starten er en smule svaert, er det virkelig sjovt og jeg tror at stoerrelsen paa boelgerne her passede perfekt til mit niveau.

Imorgen er planen at tage til Playa del Coco I Costa Rica, hvor der eftersigende skulle vaere rigtigt gode dykkemuligheder. Saa det maa jeg jo finde ud af. Ved endnu ikke helt hvor laenge jeg bliver I Costa Rica, eller hvorfor jeg tager hjem (eller hen for den sags skyld). Men det vil tiden vel vise.

Jeg vil forsoege at uddybbe lidt grundigere og uploade nogle billeder naar jeg finder en bedre computer.

Nu vil jeg gaa tilbage paa mit hostel, og se Manchester - Barcelona.
(bare fordi man er paa den anden side at jorden, betyder det ikke at de ikke har champions league fodbold).

Hasta La Vista Baby! (hvilket du ALDRIG bil hoere nogen sige hernede.....)

A Few Pictures

Thats what I look like when I backpack.

The beaches of Little Corn Island.

My (half) dry tent on Little Corn Island.

Chicken Fight in León.

Tinas's "Rancho Tranquillo" in Jiquillio at the Northen Pacific Coast in Nicaragua

Sasha(Germany), Mario(US/Iran), Tina(Owner), Dennis(Owner) - at Rancho Tranquillo

The view from the top of the Lighthouse on Little Corn Island.

Corn Islands - Paradise on Earth......

First of all. Of pure curiosity I would like to know how many people actually follow this blog. Not that it really matters if it 2 or 50, ill keep writing regardless - I would just be interesting to know. For instance, if all readers are Danish, ill stop writing in English. (why would I bother?)
So yeah - this first part is a test. If you read this please write a comment or email me and write the word "Fish".(for all the fish I've seen recently.)

So yeah - Last time I wrote, I was in León in Nicaragua. Last Sunday I went for a chicken fight - quite a weird a fairly disgusting experience. Its basically a lot of men who tease to chickens until they are really aggressive - and then make them fight in a ring(to death) while all the men are cheering and betting on the various chickens. Sick kind of entertainment. But yeah, so is bullfighting. I wanted to experience it myself thought. Which Im glad I did - but I have no plans of doing it again.
Chickens slaughtering each other for the sole purpose of entertaining people??? not my thing.

The day after I left for a place called Rancho Tranquillo. It's a small place in the northern part of Nicaragua, right on the pacific coast(in a small village called Jiquillio) - where an American women has a small hut.
I spent two days there, chatting to the locals having long walks on the beach and attempting to surf. Surfing was lots of fun - and I'm definitely thinking of surfing again as soon as I get to a place with waves.

I left Jiquillio Thursday - and made my way to Grenada in the late afternoon. Grenada is a beautiful old colonial town, with majestic churches and shiny colorful buildings.Despite the big number of tourists, its definitely worth a visit.

With intentions of returning to Grenada some day, I left it Friday morning.
Destination: Little Corn Island.

The Corn Islands are too paradise islands off the coast of Nicaragua. Little Corn Island where I am right now is stupidly amazing. No cars, no airplanes, no trucks, no factories. Just white sandy beaches, palm trees and crystal clear water. I've spent the last couple of days doing some fantastic diving here. Since its more or less untouched by tourist the coral reefs are very well preserved - which makes it ideal for diving. I've seen Nurse sharks, eagle rays, barracudas, sea turtles and even dolphins. Simply stunning! (and of course loads of other fish and beautiful corals)

As soon as I get a chance ill upload some pictures and make you all dead jealous.

Right now - im off to walk around the Island(its suppose to take 4 hours to walk all the way around....

Until I upload some pictures of my own you can check out this link:
http://www.ricanica.com/NICARAGUA/HOTELS/Corn_Islands_hotels/Casa_Iguana/beach_lg.jpg

Oh yeah - and remember to write "Fish" under comment.

The day I saw a Car Crash, drank mojito while having volcanic rocks between my balls, and saw a guy being beaten up for watching a norwegian girl pee.

Yeah, things are fairly eventful down here. Who said Nicaragua was boring. Take yesterday for instance.

I woke up at some point yesterday morning, took a swim in my hostels swimming pool, and was convinced by two Canadians and an America to join them for a cultural tour of the town. Or well in other words, we were going to the revolutionary museum, depicting the rise of the Sandinista Revolutionary movement, and how they managed to overthrow the dictatorship - before being beaten up by US supported "Contras" operating from Honduras.
After that we went to get some delicious Nicaraguan food for lunch.
On our way back to the our hostel. A big jeep, crashed into the side of a normal car just 20 meters behind us. The normal car jammed into a light pole, and all the wires and streets light flashed and made noises. The driver of the jeep was alright, and so was the driver of the car(though a very shocked..obviously) the guy in her passenger seat was in complete shock, and sat very still with closed eyes without moving, only a slow breath showed that he was alive.
Fairly traumatizing experience. Lots a people came, and fortunately the accident happened just outside a medical clinic, so a doctor came within 2 minutes and helped out the slowly breathing guy.

We went back to our hostel and recovered with a cold beer.

An hour later me and the american girl, went to join the volcano boarding tour we had signed up for the day before.
Volcano boarding is, well, boarding on a volcano.
Imagine sledging 400 meters down a volcano with 50km pr hour. Well thats basically what it is.
amazingly thrilling experience.

Driving to Volcano Cerro Negro

Volcano Cerro Negro

View from the Top.The slope....

And down it goes...

When I came down I had small volcanic rocks all over my body. In my hard, in my armpits, in my ass, between my balls. Everywhere!

When we came back to Bigfoot Hostel(the ones who run the tour, but not the place I am staying) we got a big cold Mojito, and at that point I still had those small frustrating volcanic rocks down my underwear.
(A movie of another guy volcano boarding can be seen here)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvn3XL8o6SM

Later that night, I went out in town with a couple of guys.
We went to a couple of bars and in the end we ended up in this open courtyard, which apparently is a "after-party" place where people go when the official bars close at two.
At some point the Norwegian girl from my hostel, who was sitting at my table, went out to take a leak in a yard behind the place we were sitting, apparently some guy was watching her, cause on her way back to our table, some other guy to a big bat and hit him in the head. Kinda insane.
Not really sure if there was some other reasons for his reaction, but at least the guy(who got hit) was asked to leave the building.

So yeah, pretty eventful day. I think ill just spend today in the sun by the pool. I have no need for any more dramatic adventures the coming few days.

Leon, Nicaragua

I think I'm the only backpacker in the entire world, who has spent more than a week in Tegucigalpa.(Or at least it feels that way).
I left Tegucigalpa yesterday morning, and came to Leon last night.

To start with the first.
After leaving Utila I, as mention in last post, went to Tegucigalpa to visit my friend from Seminar Camp. Tegucigalpa itself is a really sketchy and kinda dodgy town, but you always get a different experience and impression when you know someone the place you go.
I had a wonderful week in Tegucigalpa. Meeting Margee's(my friend) friends and hanging out with them so much - gave me more knowledge about life and culture in Central America than any other destination on my stay has. And I'm not talking about food, dances or beer. I'm talking about the more subconscious things, the way people act, think, talk. The way the sexes interact - and the general view upon life - family, marriage, education, business, politics - everything. Or well, not everything, but many things.
So yeah, despite the fact that Tegucigalpa, might not be the most attractive city, I REALLY enjoyed my stay. (and did I mention, that people are super-friendly???)
I spent the weekend at a CISV-Workshop, where I received training to become a Seminar Camp Staff. (for those of you who reacted "WTF???" to the word "Seminar Camp", I will kindly refer to http://www.cisv.org/programmes/seminarcamp.html for more information)

But yeah, it was pure coincidence that I happened to be in Tegucigalpa when the workshop took place. I had an amazing weekend and it was really nice to chill with CISV'ers from all of Latin America. Especially since I haven't been to a CISV camp for ages.

When I can pull myself together(I mean, IF I can....) ill eventually upload some pictures.
Tomorrow I'm going Volcano boarding....and until I elaborate in my next post, ill let you sit for a while and ponder over the following question:

What the heck is "Volcano Boarding"???

Back in Tegucigalpa

After 10 wonderful days on the Island of Utila, I made my way back to Tegucigalpa yesterday.
Utila was completely amazing, and if you are into cheap diving and partying I can strongly encourage you to go there.

I took an Open Water Diving certificate, and liked diving so much that I decided to go on and take and extend my certificate to an Advanced one. This means I'm now certified to dive 30 meters down and go for night dives and other fascinating things.
Unfortunately I don't have any underwater pictures of me (or anyone else) diving. But I can assure you it was an amazing experience. Those who have have tried it, knows what I'm talking about.
Especially the wreck dive(yes, you heard right - a wreck) and the night dive was amazing!
It was really hard for me to leave.

But I finally managed to back my things and go. I took the boat back to the mainland where I can on a few different buses which eventually at 9 o'clock in the evening brought me to a dark and dodgy part of Tegucigalpa.

An extremely friendly taxi driver took me to the part of the City where my friend(Margee) lives, but since people here give their address by " its right next to the supermarket with the lions symbol across the street" the taxi driver had no clue where "Bloque 54" was. My phone was out of credit, and so was his - so we ended up stopping at a pharmacy asking random people for directions. In the end I went in to buy some credit for my phone(he was waiting outside) and called Margee. Margee didn't pick up at first, and after standing 15 minutes trying to call her I told the taxi Driver(who wanted to make sure I was ok) that he could leave and that I would be alright. Eventually she answered her phone, and it turned out I was 2 minutes walk from her house. So I eventually made it there without problems.

The whole situation makes me think about what would happen in a similar situation in Denmark. I would never be able to imagine a Danish Taxi driver being that sincerely friendly and helpful. And in general people down here(not only taxi drivers, or Hondurans) are extremely helpful and friendly, which makes its a pleasure travelling here.

I'm staying here for a couple of days together with Margee. There's some CISV thing going on this weekend, which I'm planning on attending. And then its my aim to make my way towards Nicaragua sometime next week.

When ever I see something interesting(and remember to bring my camera along) I'll upload some pictures.

Pictures

Why sit indoor in front a computer, when you can chill in a hammock, play beach volley or go scuba diving and see the most amazing coral reefs???

No clue. I won't stay here for long.. I just thought I'd upload some pictures.

My Diving Gear.

Preparing for a dive.

Me on the boat back.

My Dive center. (Underwater Vision)

My Scuba course Classmates.

Underwater Vision!!!

That's right. Underwater Vision, is what i´ve now got, and its also the name of the dive shop where I just finished my open water diving certification.! I just graduated the course today! Diving is completely amazing, and I could stay here for months if I didn´t have this grand plan of traveling south. I am at least staying for another 5 days to do my Advanced Divers course, which lets me go down to 30 meters depth, and will teach me many more skills.

So yeah, that's what i´ve been up to lately. Now I´m heading back to cook some dinner. Found some pesto at the grocery store, so I'm cooking some pasta dish with some people here.
Tomorrow I'm going diving in the morning to the north side of the Island, where there are suppose to be some whale sharks.!!! (don't worry they are completely harmless!).
And then its off course saint Patrick's day tomorrow, which means party at my hostel!

Take good care, and prepare for some amazing pictures!

Belize

(Update 10/3 - I added a few small pictures)

Hello Again.

Internet on Belize was bloody expensive, and I've spent the last two days in a bus - so I haven't been in touch for a while.

In addition, this keyboard is terrible, so this wont be the worlds longest post - yet a small post is better than no post.

I ended up staying 6 night in total in Flores. I was planing on going to Belize Saturday, but got sick Friday evening and I didn't feel well Saturday either. Sunday was better, and Monday and Tuesday I was simply to lazy to leave. I stayed in the most fantastic little cozy hostel in Flores, called Los Amigos. They had 2 dogs, a cat and a parrot - and the entire places was so nicely decorated. Like some kind of secret jungle garden. Hard to explain, but not the worst place to be sick.

I spent most of my time in a hammock reading "Kvinder som hader Maend" By Stieg Larsson(in Danish!!). I found it on the bookshelf, and then I didn't feel like leaving before I had read the entire book. (which is why is stayed Tuesday as well).

I eventually made it to Belize on Wednesday. Belize is lovely. I really enjoyed my time there. I went straight to a small Island called Caye Caulker. Even though things are 3 times as expensive in Belize compared to Guatemala, I completely loved it. The whole chilled, relaxed Caribbean atmosphere suits me perfectly. It reminded me a bit of Jamaica. with all the Rastafarian people and stuff. A really good Experience.
On Friday i went on a stupidly amazing snorkeling tour. I´ve never tried anything like that. We sailed out with a sailboat(I guess we were around 20 people) , and then snorkeled 3 different places. The first place they had the most amazing coral reefs, and it was only 2 meters deep, so you could see everything completely up close.
(and the water was crystal clear).
Second place they had more fish than I have ever seen in my entire life, all kinds and colors. I can even describe the feeling of swimming around between blue and red and yellow schools of fishes. Those of you who have tried, knows what I'm talking about.
And the 3rd place we snorkeled among Stingrays and nurse Sharks. (yes, they are quite harmless)
I even saw a sea turtle and a Morena.(the green nasty lightning-quick fish that hides under rocks..) i also touched one of the stingrays. it felt unreal.
On the way back we drank rum punch, while tanning to the music of Bob Marley. What a trip..


But not all good thing lasts forever. and the same evening big clouds appeared on the sky and the weather forecast predicted 3 days of rain. So I decided to leave towards the Copan Ruins in Honduras the next morning(Saturday). I got company by two Swedish girls, and we made it to Copan this afternoon.(after 2 looooong days in 4 different buses).
Tomorrow I'm checking out the ruins, and after that I'll either go to Tegucigalpa to visit my friend Margee, who I meet two years ago on my CISV Seminar Camp in Amsterdam, or ill go to the Caribbean Island called Utila and spend 238USD on an Open Water PADI Diving Certificate.
Doesn't sound too bad at all..
When I manage to find a computer that works better than this one, and that doesn't tell me that my camera(with all my pictures) has a Virus(I'm a bit worried), ill see if I can upload some pictures..

Hasta luego...