25.12.16 Feliz navidad y “Tu estas mi novia”

So we left Marta's house in the morning of the 23^rd, to make a quick stop in Pinar del Rio and Vinales and arrive in time at the beach. As it is Cuba we left semi early and arrived finally around 4 pm in Pinar del Rio. So we decided to stay the night and really leave early the next morning. We asked the two nice old lady's at our 'casa particular' for a place to dance Salsa.

                                                                                                                                 31.12.16

So we went to the club which was located closer to the center. Already at the entrance there were some colorful gay's flirting. I was positively surprised as I wasn't sure to see homosexual people that open in the streets of Cuba. As we entered it fast become clear to us, that this was a gay club. Eduardo looked a bit scared at me and said: “If someone ask: You are my girlfriend!” I was laughing and exited for a night of dancing without guy's trying to flirt with me. Well, I did not thought about crazy, Cuban lesbians. So after the really good shows of the event and some good rum, I ended up saying to Eduardo: “Please, say you are my boyfriend!” But none seemed to care. So after a fight over me in a girls bathroom with 3 toilets I just wanted to end this crazy but as well funny night.

The next morning we enjoyed a good breakfast and left Pinar del Rio a bit hungover to Vinales. There we walked around in the beautiful colonial city center before trying to take a 'Wau-Wau' to Puerto Esperanza, a small village without tourists – as we have been told. Well, as it was Christmas eve there was nearly no public transportation. So after a while of waiting we made our way out of town and had luck with our first hitch hike. So we ended up in front of our 'casa particular' for the night. We got asked what we wanted to have for the Christmas dinner and decided to listen to the locals to have fish and lobster. First we wanted to go to our goal – The beach! But well, there is a reason why there are nearly no tourist: there is no sand at the beach. Anyway we spend a nice Christmas close to the ocean and had a delicious dinner! And for the 25^th we left hitch hiking by horses, trucks, in the back of trucks and vans to arrive at the beautiful beach of Cayo Jutias. It was more local tourists, sand, nature, rum and mojito – so everything we wanted to have for Christmas. In the night we had some troubles and fights about where to go and where to sleep. It was exhausting and after local rice and rum at a small salsa place I woke up with a bad stomach in the night. So as Eduardo believed, we don't have enough time and was short on money and I just felt more exhausted after all the throwing up, we changed the plan and went all the way back to La Habana instead of Maria de la gorda.
As we arrived things got more complicated and I felt just more exhausted. I knew I have to leave Cuba way earlier as planned and as I could not even talk to my family on the 24^th I went to change my flight to the 28^th back to Cancun. So the 27^th we spend in La Habana, which had nice and not so nice parts for me, but an amazing atmosphere. I enjoyed two days with friends at the beach and arrived two hours ago in Germany.
Sometimes we have to follow our inner feelings. But I know I will come back to Cuba.
Overall the people have been very nice and helpful. A lot out of the reason to make some money with us, but as a traveler I´m used to that.

Cuba is a very chilled island who missed around a century, with even more chilled people who want to be just as cool as the 'gringos'. It has a lot to offer and is unique for a lot of things. Nos vemos pronto!

21.12.16 Arriving in an old world

As I decided to go to Cuba, to fulfill myself this big dream, I had no idea what will happen and what a big adventure it would be.
After running to the airport in Cancun yesterday I needed to wait 5 more hours for my plane to leave. Cubana gave us a 200 Pesos voucher for food for the delay. Sandwich, water and a banana is what you get for this an an airport. So we would not arrive before 23 o'clock in La Habana, as I thought. I had no time to book any accommodation, just searched for some directions and planned to just walk around. I knew that will be complicated now. So I asked this girl about a public bus to leave the airport and if she knew a place to stay. “Yeah let's talk as we arrive.” Well, something. But there where these four people: loud, colorful and with a lot of luggage (like a lot of people. I mean some brought packages of toilet paper. I got a bit scared.) Rolling eyes. Waiting longer in the line. So now, these people enter the plane and sit next to me! Of course. Of course they start drinking their own Vodka. “No thanks.” But then it turns out my luck in traveling comes back. “Sure, I can call someone for a place.” “35 Dollar.” “No.” “OK.” And then he called his mom to ask if I can stay there for the night. Turns out Marta, the black colorful woman with the too long nails to handle a phone, is the mother of one of the men. 72. Respect. She can handle Facebook better then I. And green hair and a leggings with a fitting colorful top, well who can, can.
No question, a German girl traveling alone to Cuba without a plan will come home with her. Two offers of a bed for the night in 25 minutes, in a country, where it is illegal to have foreigners in your house without registration. Suerte.
                                                                                                                    22.12.16
As we where standing in the airport waiting for our luggage, I got an idea how Cube is: the airport never saw any renovation and the luggage got searched by hand which took them more then four hours (then our stuff was there and we left. A lot of people where still standing there at 3 in the night.)
Then we where standing a long while in front of the airport, talking to family members. Same thing in front of the house. Hey, Kata wanted to see Cuba, let's go and drive una vuelta when it is dark and I was already falling a sleep 10 times.
But I learned a lot as always:

1. The car in which we where driving around is from 1983. I think top speed was 45 km/h. Sometimes we had to stop to close a door or plug the speaker back in. I was impressed by the spirit that people in Cuba have to keep their rolling museums alive.
2. People here have time. It seems like the bus is waiting and no one has anything to do the next day.
3. Children don't have to sleep at any time in the night. Children running in and in front of the airport. We arrived around 3 in Mantilla, at Martas house and the kids where still there and no one was caring about making them sleep.
4. Everyone seems to know everyone.
   Highlight before I could finally fall in a bed in my own room (!) at 5 am in the morning, was the idea to play trompeta on the street at 4 am. (Fyi: just one woman was screaming something after some minutes.)

As I woke up I asked for the famous hotspots in the parks to check some things for my new freelance job. Well.... turned out some clever people came and blocked the free wifi signal and sell access. 1 Dollar and one hour of really slow internet. Which is expensive here. What is expensive too is beer: 1,50 Dollar a bottle of Heineken. What is cheap is Rum! 3,50-5 Dollar the bottle (Bacardi/Havana/and a lot of nice local brands). So I decided to get holiday and drink rum. We had a nice Cuban meal and went to the ¨internet house¨ in this neighborhood. 1 Dollar as long as you want. There I could work this and the next day. Slow but at least I could finish some things. In the night we heated some water for a hot wash, played domino with 72 year old Marta and had some 1 Dollar local beer and rum.
 

What luck I had to one more meet the right people. With Eduardo, a family friend from Mexico City, I warmed lemons for the first and probably last time in my life. That's what you do when you love rum and the only lemons in the house are frozen in the freezer. One who loves rum, warmes the lemons for it by hand and gently blowing warm air.

“Vamos a calentar lemones”.

And some more things:

5. Just in case you forgot what no American products means: This is the first place in the world where I can't find Coca Cola or Pepsi.
6. There are still people who think this weird gangster style from 1990/2000 is cool.
   
   

   

   Feliz navidad

   

   Different religious cults

   

   Cuban tradition: Domino

09.12.16 ...and suddenly Mexico oO

I guess I owe you guys some explanations :)

So, since 4 weeks I live in Tulum, Mexico. The first days I spend washing cloth (of course by hand), cooking healthy again, buying stuff in the supermarket, going to the beach...

Life works different in Mexico and way different in Tulum.
It was nice to stay at a place again after rushing so much. And then so many of my friends asked me: Why? Why are you rushing so much? Why are you going to Mexico. So here comes the answer: I wanted Tacos. So here I am, in a country who wasn't on the list for this travel. Not traveling, but doing other things.

I started to work in a hotel. They needed a receptionist. Turned out by that the guy meant: right hand, organizer, manager, someone for marketing and a lot more. And again as life goes, now I have a second job, working as a freelancer for a company in Austria as a marketing manager.
So, here is what I do right now. Further plans? Yes! A lot! But nothing decided yet. So thanks for following till here, I will keep you up to date.

Me at the beach in Tulum at the super moon 2016

23.11.16 Paraguay and where am I?

I arrived in Asuncion in the middle of the night. But Romania was very understanding and opened her doors for me. She is a beautiful young woman with a beautiful daughter and even a beautiful job. She might be one of the only organic farmers existing in Paraguay. She told me about her hard work every day and how little it pays. But for her it's a passion and conviction of her profession.

As I arrived earlier as planned there was still another couchsurfer in the morning, Robin form England. We spend the day walking through Asuncion. In the night I cooked for Romina and some friends and we shared the thrill with the presidential elections in the US. Of course no one was amused. The next morning I was meeting with Robin again to go to Caacupe, a pilgrims town with a big cathedral. After we continued to San Bernadino, the very quite “San Tropez” of Paraguay. It was a beautiful day and we for once got to be the attraction at a school dance, as we asked to watch the children practicing.

In the late evening I took a taxi that brought me to the airport. I took a flight and after some cookies and a few hours of sleep I arrived in Panama city. I spend a beautiful day in the Panama Viejo and even made it, very tired already, to the Panama Canal. It was very impressive!

I made it to the airplane taking me to Los Angeles. As I finally made it through all the silly security process, Cosmo was already waiting for me with a car! I met him as he was an Airbnb guest in my home in Gerlingen. He took me with his lovely girlfriend to an In&Out for real American burgers and after to his place t taste some good American beers. We had a good, of course political, talk. So I could just get 2 hours of sleep before taking my Uber to the airport again. And then I finally arrived in Tulum, Mexico.

Escuela J.H. Pestalozzi

17.11.16 Las cataratas

So it´s a while that I was still in Brazil.

In the morning of the 3^rd we left to go slowly to Balneario Camboriu to see some of the beautiful beaches in the area. Our first stop was Porto Belo. A very nice and quite beach. After some more stops we arrived in Balneario Camboriu, where we took another room, for the last time. The next morning they left to travel more up in Brazil and I would spend the day at the beach and walking though town. Around 7pm my night bus to Foz do Iguacu left. Expensive again.
So Saturday the 5^thin morning I arrived in the border town next to the cataratas de Iguazu. At the terminal a Colombian girl asked me for help, as I was speaking Spanish. So I took her to my couchsurfer to ask him for a hostel. We decided to go to the Brazilian side of the waterfalls right away and together. It was just amazing. Breathtaking. I an just recommend everyone to go there. And to go to the Brazilian side first. Cause everyone tells you the Argentinian side is more beautiful. After that day I couldn't believe there is existing such thing as 'more beautiful' for what I've seen. On Sunday I needed to relax, do laundry and we spend some time in the mall with Maria and Dieuner. On Monday I got up early, as it is a long trip with public buses and the Argentinian side should be even bigger.
I spend all day to walk through all the different path getting more impressed by this piece of work from nature. Back to Puerto Iguazú and with another bus to Foz do Iguacu. Shower and running to the bus station for the bus to Paraguay. We weren´t sure what time the last bus was leaving. It turned out if left already. But a guy from Paraguay missed it too. So he found a taxi from Paraguay and explained, that thooe are way cheaper then taking one from Brazil. Stamp, bridge, stamp. I realized some differences even before we entered Paraguay as the driver and the guy just released their seat belts. But this part you already know.

07.11.16 Where am I?

Too much to tell again. In such a short time so many things happened.

Today I woke up in Brazil, went to Argentina, back to Brazil and 2 hours ago I arrived in Ciudad del Este in Paraguay.

So far the people are really nice, but the town looks fucked up after being in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Let´s wait for Asuncion, where to I´m heading right now. I arrived here with a taxi that I shared with a guy from here, as we both missed the last bus from Foz de Iguacu. First difference I noticed was, that right after leaving Brazil being on a bridge of 'no man's land', the taxi driver and the guy just released their seat belts.

At the bus terminal I needed to find money and a bus. The guy at the cheap 'Palma Lomos' booth was very helpful and took care of my luggage as I went to get money for the ticket. I came back and he safed me 1.000 Guarani`s as he didn´t had change. Then insisted I eat my bread in his booth talking about languages.

I start to understand what people meant by 'Paraguay is so cheap'. I payed 600 for a bread in the supermarket and 60.000 for a 7 hours bus ride to Asuncion (6.327 Guarani`s are 1 €). Finally a country I feel richer again. But not all will be that cheap.

But let`s finish the stories about my last days.

So the 2nd we spend all day driving to as far up as we could get in Brazil. So nothing special happened, except crossing a boarder with absolutely no control. Nada. I had to go and ask for a stamp. And I had a little drama in a bank as the ATM said my action was successful, but gave me none of the 350 Reales I asked for.

We arrived around midnight in Florianopolis and decided to not spend the night at the island, as it was dark already. We found a nice and payable hotel and shared a room.

After a good breakfast we drove to the island. The two just laid on the beach and my search for a doctor on an island on a public holiday began. As I woke up that day with an awful pain in my head. Long story short, I booked a flight the night before and I knew it was the cold that I had in Chile 4 weeks ago that finally got bad. 5,5 hours. First bus. Wait. Next bus. Hospital. Wait. Farmacia. Wait. Bus. Walk.

I mean who wants to enjoy the first really warm day in Brazil at a beach, watching the world championship in surfing, when he can have this?!

But I learned something: Going to a public hospital is free. Even for me. The infusion against the pain would have been too. As I thanked the doctor and told her how good that is, she said: 'Well the antibiotics you have to buy, as I can´t give it to foreigners. And you needed to wait.'

I could just lough. Try to wait less in a German hospital – on a public holiday. Or just simply when you have made an appointment weeks before. And no one wants to pay that bill.

As I came walking back the street to the beach, I realized that it might take a while for us to leave the parking close to the beach, as everyone wanted to leave now. I just wanted to lay in a bed and sleep, as I felt like shit and had still this very strong pain (painkiller is just not for me), but my luck didn´t came back the whole day. It took us 4 hours to leave the parking. One more to give up searching a cheap accommodation on the island, so we ended up in the same hotel as the night before.

(I know why this bus was 30.000 cheaper. Except from the old bus with a strong smell, it looks right now as in a public bus in Sri Lanka.) Guess it will be another night without good sleep for me.

Isla Florianopolis

Isla Florianopolis

01.11.16 It´s about to change

As I arrived in Atlantida I had no idea where to spend the night. The couchsurfer I had just canceled some hours before. So I started to walk around with all my heavy stuff and ask for the prices. But what I found was not worth the money they wanted. So I went back to the high way and put my thump out another time. An older man approached to me to let me know I´m at the wrong place for that. So he went to bring me to the right spot and payed the bus for me (number 5!). And as everyone he gave me his contact in case I need something. Funny as life is a Chilean with an Argentinian girlfriend picked me up and as we where talking I changed my plan and instead of seeing Priniapolis I went with them to Punta del Este.

The next day we went together to Isla Gorriti, which was nearly empty and had a beautiful beach.

In the night I decided to go with them to Brazil the next day.

Punta del Este

Punta del Este

Isla Gorriti

Isla Gorriti

Isla Gorriti

Punta del Este

Gull landing on a seal

28.10.16 Montevideo

Finally I have some time to write my first impressions down. I got so many by just being in this country for 5 days. But let me start with how I got here:
I had to leave Rosario in Argentina in the evening and would arrive in the middle of the night. Not the best times but the only. I was lucky that my couchsurfer in Fray Bentos had the day off on Monday, so he was willing to wait for my late arrival. But I wasn´t very lucky with the bus. As I was the only passenger who wanted to go to Fray Bentos they decided to not go and just let me at the highway next to a gas station at 2:30 am. And here my experience with Urugayans started. The guys from the station have been very helpful and friendly to find a taxi getting me at that time. But there was none. Neather cars going in the direction so they could take me. So in the end Guille, who´s car was broken, came with his little moto to pick me and my 3 bags up. We kept talking till 6 am. On Monday he showed me the little, but beautiful Fray Bentos. In the evening I got a Zumba lesson for free (second experience how nice people are here) and I ended up cooking “Spätzle mit Linsen” for everyone. Desert was “Kaiserschmarrn” and some really good artesania ice cream!
 

Fray Bentos

Fray Bentos

Fray Bentos

Fray Bentos

Theater in Fray Bentos

Spätzle mit Linsen

The next morning Guille took me to Mercedes, where I met a very nice couple and their 4 cats and one dog. I walked around town, enjoyed a vegan dinner and we ended up joking about Trump and having serious conversations over a lot of beers and self-made liquor Guille gave me.

On the 26^th Virginia and her Boyfriend left me at a spot next to the town where I left hitch hiking. A very nice guy from Montevideo took me to town. On top of taking me for free he invited me to lunch (number 3). I waited in the center for Gonzalo to take me home with him after his work. We had a chilled night with his friends. Thursday it was cold and very windy. So I just sat in a cafe place and went to do the theater tour and some yoga.

(29.10.16) But on Friday I saw the sun for the first time in days. I went to do the free city tour. I learned a lot more about the history and the political situation of Uruguay. As I bought a snack in the street a guy bought me one with his favorite taste, just so I will try it (number 4).

In the evening I went to the theatro Solis with Astrid and Gonzalo. I could´t understand all, but it was amazing! We went there for 75 Pesos (2,50€). The national plays are all around that price. Just foreign operas and plays are more expensive. After the nice play we went for some beers, gin tonic and dance.
The next day we spend a bit hungover in the public park and walking along the Rambla. So we spend a normal Saturday in Montevideo. It was nice to meet Astrid in our couchsurfers place. In the evening we went for an asado, but they made very jummy pizza instead of meat. It was a very nice party with really cool people.
Sunday Astrid left ot Colonia and I left to Atlantida.

Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo

Theatro Solis

23.10.16 The long way to Argentinia

I´m sitting in a bus about to leave Rosario and with it Argentina. My stop will be Fray Bentos in Uruguay and this will be the first stop of my travel in South America. After visiting my friends in Chile for a month I wanted to make a stop in Argentina before starting in Uruguay for real. This last four days I spend in Rosario to visit a very nice family who I met couchsurfing their house 3 years ago. I´m happy I could stay there again, but it´s time to leave this country now, as it will not be part of my travel this time.

I left Chile from Los Andes at the 19th by bus to cross the border in the Andes to Argentina. First the bus was 1,5 hours late, then we needed quick 5,5 hours at the border it self. I´m used to wait in South America, but that was even here very long. As I finally arrived in Mendoza I had 15 minutes to figure out which bus to take, get money, buy the ticket and get in the bus. The ATM didn´t wanted to give me money so I had to buy the ticket with my visa card. In the end it costed me around 130€ and 20 hours to arrive in Rosario, where I had to pay 6€ at the ATM to finally get Argentinian pesos. Next time I fly.

And wow, I could feel Chile is more or less German price level now, but Argentina... - Super caro! I´m not expecting Uruguay is gonna be cheaper, but I have hope for the bus prices.

I spend my days here going out and meeting very nice people, having Argentinian asado (BBQ) and feeling very much at home. Now I´m leaving the comfort zone of the known to he new and unknown Uruguay. But of course as always I´m super exited.

Asado

Budin de pan con dulce de leche

Rosario - Rio Parana

 

30.05.16 Back in Germany

So in the morning of the 28th we got up early and went for a quick shopping trip to the market in Kandy. And finally: We tool a train! We where lucky that just some days before, the trains where able to run again. So we had a typically full train experience to Rambukkana to visit the Millenium Elephant Foundation. For 2.000 Rs we could scrub an elephant laying in the river and in return we got to sit on his back and he showered us with his trunk. So normally I don´t support touristy thins with animals, but it seemed "OK" and was a nice experience. This time we took the slow train for the rest of the way to Colombo. We where lucky and nearly no one was in "our" wagon.
We arrived at our last stop and last couchsurfer Shehan in the late afternoon. We had a fun night at a local food court and later with drinks at home. 
Last day but still so many things to buy. So we went at a market and supermarket and back to Shehan`s and to the airport.
And suddenly that was it. 15 days in Sri Lanka.
I enjoyed it a lot even if we did so much! I got to know amazing people, saw great nature, new animals and I was eating and tasting and eating all the good food!
I hope to be able to go back one day! I can recommend the light version of India to everyone.
Sri Lanka has a lot to offer!

27.05.16 Blue Haven in Kandy

Right now Luisa is drawing some henna on my left hand and we had a beer at the pool of the Blue Haven. It might not be the best guest house but they have a small pool and are located in the hills over Kandy, far away from all the crazy city traffic and with a nice view.
So we arrived late - as usual - in Trincomalee at the 23nd. We just went to the cheapest place we could find online, which was a more or less fucked up hostel with dorm beds and tents, a very lovely old cooking lady, helpful staff and a lot of European backpackers. We had some beers and met a bunch of nice people. We slept in the tent right at the beach. I just had a really good sleep in the colder tent with fresh air and waking up to the sound of the weaves. I loved it. But Luisa couldn´t sleep at all.
The next morning I made Kaiserschmarn to show the old lady in the kitchen some of my traditional food (yes, it´s Austrian - yes, you don´t eat if for breakfast, but my experiences while travelling showed me it is one of the easiest dishes to do in foreign countries and people love it). After breakfast we went to the Uppuveli beach and I booked 2 dives with a nice Spanish girl - Barbara. The first dive was with 6 people and we saw a giant moray, which was pretty impressive. As 3 had another course and 2 didn´t want to go down again, it was just me and the dive master at the second dive. I enjoyed it a lot to be under water again. And we had a really challenging dive with two little caves.
Meanwhile Luisa was finding us another place to stay, closer at the main beach and in a room, so she could sleep again. We had dinner with Barbara and went to bed, as we all have been exhausted. The next morning Luisa and I went to the Pigeon Island to snorkel. We saw amazing fishes and Luisa even found 5 of the sharks in the bay in front of the island. I wasn´t that lucky but saw another time a sea turtle.
As the heat was hitting us hard again at midday and we already have been tired from the trip we decided to give us a little treat at a Spa. We found a really nice place, sadly they didn´t really know how to do a pedicure. I liked the relaxing hours anyway.
Sadly our time at the beach in this holiday was over that day. We left Trinco in the evening of the 25th to Dambulla.
Barbara recommended us the really nice and really cheap Blue Sky guest house. We called to make a reservation and the guy even organized us a Tuk Tuk to get us from the bus stop.
The next morning we made our way with the local bus to Sigiriya - the Lions Rock. We just arrived on the top of the 200 meter Rock right before the midday heat. It was beautiful and impressive and in the end easier to climb as we thought. But the entrance fee - fucking unbelievable 30 Dollar! They really tool the Dollar price and counted it back to Rupees: 4.260 Rs!
Even when our nice guy from the Blue Sky told us, without a Tuk Tuk we will never do both in a day, we took the local bus again to Polonnaruwa. There we did something illegal which saved us some money and we just made it till dawn to see all the impressive ruins of the place. I enjoyed it a lot, as it reminded me a bit of Ankor Wat and some places in India. Exhausted we arrived late at our place and told the guy a bit proud we made the two. But had to admit, that we couldn´t do the third - the Dambulla cave temple. So we stayed another night and went today in the morning to the Golden Temple. The old paintings and Buddha figures in the stone have been nice and impressive. The walk up not so nice after all the walking we just did the day before. We left with a bus again to Kandy. The ride took much longer than expected and so we arrived around 2pm in Kandy. Throwing our bags in the room and up to the botanical garden. After we took the express Tuk Tuk to the traditional dance in the town hall and rushed to the holly tooth temple for the evening ceremony. Indian fast food and a beer at the pool, but that part you know already. Over and out.

23.05.16 In a bus to Trincomalee

Not as early as planned but still in the morning of the 20th we left Vivek´s home and took another time 3 buses to arrive around 7pm at the beach in Arugam Bay. We found the easy but lovely Etnico for 2.500 Rs a night. People looked confused as we run screaming in the huge weaves of the ocean, as it was already dark. But after leaving the cold Nuwara Eliya in Jeans and all our jackets on, we found ourselves sweating in buses all day, as the degree went higher with every kilometer we drove to the east.
The next day we did a lot: laying at the beach, fighting huge weaves, eating, drinking cool drinks, doing nothing, enjoying life and especially enjoying to be finally in the heat again. Luisa even made the afford to get a sunburn. As well we did a bit shopping in the small surf shops around.
In the morning of the 22nd I went to a Yoga class and we left again with a bus to Batticaloa. We tool a Tuk Tuk over the Dutch Fort and the lighthouse from 1913 to the Riviera Resort. So far our priciest stay with 3.000 Rupees but for that we could enjoy a huge pool in the evening and in the morning again. The resort was huge and located at the lagoon side. We as well walked to the beach side where, for the first time, we could find some fisherman and local people enjoying the beach. Sadly it was very polluted.
After the check-out at 11am we left to Paseekuhda, where we spend half day sitting at  a huge resort, drinking iced coffee we could barely afford. Then we took a bus to arrive in the evening in Trincomalee.

19.05.16 In Vivek´s house

So as we arrived in Ella we asked for the train and the next one was at 7pm. We where happy to have some hours to have lunch, go shopping and have a beer before finishing our travel for that day. Just as we set down for the beer, some one told us, that they canceled the train cause the heavy rain caused some problems on the way.
Kindness was leaving us as we thought about our options. People said we need to take 3 different buses again. But worse: it was already 6pm and we might not make it today. I texted Vivek, our next host and we decided to give it a try. It just took us 2 buses in the end and we arrived at 22:30pm in Nuwara Eliya and Vivek got us from the station. He cooked for us and we talked till 2am.
The next morning it was raining. I can´t even tell anymore if it was again or still.
So we just went to town to buy some food and see the market. As it was raining again in the afternoon we decided to give ourselfs a little treat for the weather and coldness and went to a Spa next door. After 1,5 hours we came home freezing as hell as the covered us in a super cold room with still wet towels and we where full with oil. But our clothes had still been at the laundry service.
After we could finally shower Vivek took us to the bar of his Hotel. We had a blast being the only guests there and came home very late after a late-night chees and egg Roti.
After a little breakfast and ignoring the hangover Luisa and I left to the Muckwood Tea Estate. We even got some hours without rain. It was a beautiful drive there and a even better view at the museum. The evening we spend with Vivek again.

17.05.16 Bus to somewhere to Ella

So first the end of the Unawatuna story:
After we packed our stuff and decided where to go next, the rain stopped for a bit and we decided to go and see the beach. A weave surprised Luisa and as she jumped her phone felt our of her pocket and was never seen again. I tried to get it back from the ocean, but the weaves have been too rough and I could not see anything.
Just the day before I left Luisas last dry pants and my completely new shoes in a Tuk Tuk. We hope Sri Lanka is not all about loosing things.
So we left Unawatuna with a bus to Mirissa. We found a very chilled beach and some hours without rain. After talking to the guy at the bar we made the decision to got to Tissamarama in order to do a Safari a the Yala national park. So we needed to take a bus to Matara first. Then change in another. As usual we arrived when it was already dark. The second we stepped out of the bus we got offered a Safari tour. As it was late and we where tired we took it.
So today started a 4:30 am and we had a nice Safari with goanas, water buffalos, jaguar, deer, birds, crocodiles and even a bear! I really enjoyed it, even with the 'need for speed' driving style of our guide.
Right after we came back we left to get a bus to Wellewaye to change to Ella. We hope to be able to travel with trains from there on.

16.05.16 First days in Sri Lanka

Unawatuna - another rainy morning. We just wanted to leave to the beach in Unawantuna to see more then just our room in the Sea View (2.000 Rs) and the restaurant, where we lived in clover just the night before, but just in that very moment the monsoon rain started again.
So far we weren´t able to see a lot of the places we went, as there was heavy rain.
We arrived at the 14th in Colombo in the middle of the night and made, as the only travelers, our way through Colombo till Mount Lavinia with the public transports. There we met Graeme, a couchsurfer who kindly gave us a shower and a bed to sleep in for some hours, as we hadn´t found any sleep during the flights. He showerd us the beach and we kept heading south with the bus, as we missed the last train that day. 
In Hikkaduwa lived the Russian family who invited us over couchsurfing to sleep in their empty hostel. The season already ended here. And it didn´t tool us long to figure out why: rain. It started as we arrived and was still going on as we woke up. So as the water and Wi-Fi broke with the storm, we left Eduard and his family to head south.
Galle was our next stop. But with rain and backpacks we didn´t want to do much. We just peeked at the UNESCO world heritage - the Fort. Then we took the next bus to Unawatuna, where the rain was already waiting for us.

31.01.16 Flugzeug nach Stuttgart:

Meinen letzten Abend in Manila verbrachte ich mit anderen Couchsurfern bei Nuki. Erst gab es leckere Pasta von Paolo und dann lustige Trinkspiele. Dann ging es wieder ab in die Hostel Z Bar und noch weiter in den Club Time. Hier gab es mal wieder ein "typisches"-Kathrin-Happening - aber "What happens in Manila, stays in Manila". Es sei nur so viel gesagt: viel von der Stadt wollte ich am Samstag nicht sehen, nachdem ich um 8 Uhr ins Bett bin. Aber einen kleinen Eindruck von der riesen Stadt konnte ich mir machen: groß, wirr, dreckig und wie auch z.B. Bangkok: die Stadt funktioniert auf ihre eigene Weiße und man braucht etwas Zeit um diese zu verstehen.

29.01.16 Flugzeug nach Manila:

In Taglibaran haben wir uns für eine Unterkunft auf der Insel Panglau entschieden, um zumindest nochmal in Strandnähe zu sein. Das Mabuhay Breeze Resort bestand aus einfachen Bambushütten - hatte aber einen schönen Gemeinschaftsbereich und einen Pool!
Stefanie war sehr hilfreich und so haben wir schnell einen Fahrer für unsere Tour am nächsten Tag gefunden. Ahmet, ein netter deutscher Immigrant ;) hat sich uns angeschlossen. So sind wir 3 am 26. früh um 7 Uhr zu den Chocolate Hills aufgebrochen. Leider hat das Wetter zum ersten Mal nicht mitgespielt. Es hat den ganzen Morgen geregnet. Auch der Versuch mit der Schmetterlingsfarm Zeit zu schinden hat leider nicht geholfen. So standen wir bei Nieselregen auf einem der Hügel und haben mehr Wolken und Nebel als die mehr als 1000 braunen Hügel gesehen.

Chocolate Hills

25.01.16 Fähre nach Tagbilaran:

Trotz einem flauen Magengefühl durch Instand-Chicken-Nudelsuppe und starkem Seegang versuche ich mal zu schreiben.
Heute Morgen haben wir uns als erstes Tickets für die Fähre nach Tagbilaran um 15 Uhr gesichert, da nur ein Boot am Tag von Negros auf die Insel Bohol fährt (Ocean Jet). Da Mell in 2 Tagen nach Manila fliegt mussten wir die letzten Tage genau planen und organisieren.
Vor der Fähre blieb uns noch etwas Zeit für ein typisches Filipino McDonalds Frühstück. Und ich konnte noch den Rest für meine letzten 3 Tage allein auf den Philippinen organisieren.
Gestern, den 24.01.16 sind wir früh aufgestanden und der Tag begann mit einem kulinarischen Highlight. In dem gemütlichen Aaah Inn Hostel war das Frühstück inbegriffen und einfach nur reichhaltig. Von Omelett über Reis und Fleischküchen zu Mangos und Bananen. Die Reste ließen wir uns für ein super Lunch einpacken.
Dann sind wird dem Rat eines Schweizers, welchen wir beim super Abendessen in einem Restaurant von einem Ami getroffen haben, gefolgt und sind mit einem Jeepney von Dauin nach Malatapay gefahren. Von dort aus fahren Boote nach Apo Island. Dort wollte ich unbedingt Tauchen gehen, da es hieß vor der Insel gibt es Schildkröten.
Doch als wir schon spät am 23.01. in Dauin ankamen konnte ich leider von dort aus keinen Tauchtrip mehr organisieren. Wie sich herausstellte, war dies aber gar nicht so schlimm.
Zusammen mit einem Paar mieteten wir uns für 2.000 Pesos ein Boot und kamen gegen 10:30 Uhr auf Apo Island an. Die Fahrt in dem kleinen Bambus-Ausleger war eher wie eine Fahrt in einer Wasserbahn.

23.01.16 Bus nach Dauin:

Früh um 5 Uhr sind wir vom wunderschönen Boracay am 22.01. im Tricycle zur kleinen Fähre nach Caticlan aufgebrochen. Von dort ging es mit einem modernen Reisebus von Ceres nach Iloilo City. Diese ersten 6 Stunden waren noch recht gut abzusitzen. Mit der Fähre ging es dann eine Stunde weiter nach Bacalod auf Negros. Während der Fahrt auf Panay hatten wir eine wunderschöne Aussicht auf Reisfelder, dichte Vegetation und kleine Dörfchen.

21.01.16 White Beach in Boracay:

Paradies - evtl. weniger Menschen und günstigere Fruchtshakes. Aber viel mehr trennt diesen kilometerlangen und viele Meter breiten, weißen Sandstrand nicht vom Paradies. Darum haben wir auch beschlossen zwei Nächte hier zu verbringen.

Im Bambooze Hauz haben wir ein günstiges Zimmer mit Gasherd gefunden. So konnten wir mal Gemüse satt kochen. Gestern Nachmittag hat es mal eine Stunde monsunartig geregnet. In der Zeit haben wir ein paar Souvenirs gekauft.

In 2013 I did a semester abroad in Valparaiso, Chile. I love the people and the country so much, that I stayed to write my Masters Thesis in Santiago de Chile. If you want to read anything about my life and my travels in South America please visit my old blog: guachaca.jimdo.com

20.01.16 Nachtboot nach Caticlan:

 Am 16.01.16 bin ich bei Dämmerung in Manila gelandet. Der erste Eindruck von oben und von der Taxifahrt durch einen Teil der Stadt: groß, arm, reich, modern, am zerfallen.
Die Menschen sind sehr hilfsbereit und geben gerne (wahrheitsgemäße) Auskunft.
Wie wir in den letzten Tagen festgestellt haben leider auch oft sehr unterschiedliche, was es schwer macht herauszufinden, wann denn nun das letzte Boot fährt. Also lieber fünfmal nachfragen. Auch sind die Menschen sehr offen und interessiert. Schnell bekommt man eine "Freundschaftsanfrage" in Facebook und wird auf den Philippinen herzlich willkommen geheißen.
Englisch ist zwar 2. Amtssprache, leider merkt man das nur bei der jungen Generation oder den meisten Schildern. Oft bekommt man auf Fragen nur ein Nicken oder ein verschämtes Lächeln.
Im ersten Moment fühlt man sich zwar in Asien, aber wenn man schon andere Länder in Asien besucht hat, weiß man, dass es sich eher um eine "abgeschwächte" Form handelt. Das die Amerikaner 50 Jahre als Besatzer da waren erklärt die vielen Burger und Donuts. Doch die spanische Kolonialzeit lässt sich an Sprache und alten Häusern leicht erkennen.
Wenn man jedoch mal "hinter die Kulissen blickt" erkennt man doch eine ganz eigene asiatische Kultur. Verstanden haben wir diese an Tag 3 noch nicht, hoffen aber, sie erschließt sich uns noch.

Sonntag den 17.01. haben wir das schöne Zuhause von Nuki in Manila, nach vorhergehender Partynacht mit vielen neuen "Gruppenselfies" und Facebookfreunden, verlassen. Wir sind mit einem Bus und einem der lustigen Tricycles (wohl bislang mein abenteuerlichstes öffentliches Verkehrsmittel) zum Lake Taal gefahren.
Inmitten eines Kratersees erheben sich mehrere Vulkane. Der Taal-Volcano ist der kleinste und aktivste Vulkan der Welt. Der Weg dorthin ist staubig , steil und kein leichtes unterfangen bei der brennenden Sonne. Daher stehen dutzende Guides mit ihren Pferden bei Ankunft bereit.

Vulkan in Lake Taal

Lake Taal