Sailing the Galapagos

My last few days of my trip were dedicated to the Galapagos. The first day I went diving. The scenery under water is not fantastic: mainly volcanic rocks and stones - no corals and not many small fish around. However the "big stuff" is simply amazing: white tipped reef sharks, galapagos sharks, sea lions, mantas and turtles were swimming around with us. Unfortunately I did not get to see the hammerhead sharks - can't be lucky every time!

Then I joined a 5-day cruise around several of the many islands. What probably impressed and surprised me most, is how different the islands are: not only is the vegetation very different on each island, but the animals living on them change also from island to island.

Before I go into the details of all I did see, I just wanted to mention a big THANK YOU to our guide Fatima and to my fellow travellers. We were a small group of 9 people and I very much enjoyed our days together!

On the first day we admired the giant land turtles living on Santa Cruz islands. They just walk around the fields and eating their grass. Some of them stand in the middle of the road - then you just have to wait until you can drive around them. They also defend their territory and when another turtle comes to close suddenly they can move very fast. Although it was raining I had a very good time just watching them.

Having sailed all night, we arrived close Isla Floreana in the morning. There we went to see the local post office - an old barrel where people used to deposit their mail to be picked up from other sailors travelling back home. Today many tourists continue this tradition and have postcards hand delivered from fellow travellers who go to the destination of their messages.

In the afternoon we got to see a wonderful lagoon with plenty of pink flamingos - the colours were just amazing.

Highlight of day three, around Isla Española were in the morning the magnificent beach were plenty of sea lions were already waiting for the tourists. In addition to the sea lions there were pelicans and plenty of marine iguanas.

In the afternoon we did a lovely walk, seeing blue footed boobies and land iguanas, as well as a sea lion kinder garden. This is a quite zone were all the sea lion babies can safely play around, well guarded by large sea lion males, making sure that no enemies come and take the babies. We did also see some albatross babies learning to fly - as they have such a wide wing span, they need quite some training before they can take off!

Main attraction on day four on Santa Fee and Isla Plaza were again iguanas and sea lions. Amazing here were especially the country side: red plants, blue sky, green trees, light grey rocks - wow!

On the last morning we went to Isla Seymour Norte, were we watched many birds. Highlights were frigates and the blue footed boobies.

Every day we also went snorkeling, were we could admire the underwater world. Not that many fish and corals around, but I had a lot of fun swimming with the sea lions and the turtles.

With regards to the sea lions: they are on every island and I enjoyed watching them a lot. They lie around in the sun, play together or swim in the water. Amazing is how little they take notice of the people walking past. All animals on the islands are absolutely not afraid of the people and the visitors have a huge responsibility to make sure that it remains this way!

Below are many of my pictures, probably too many, but I found it very difficult to make a smaller selection as I had sooooo many nice pictures.... so here we go:

Guayaquil

From Cuenca I travelled to Guayaquil. It was a bit a strange feeling to walk around in the place I was born and not recognising anything. I had not learned much about Guayaquil from my fellow travellers, except that it had a reputation of being unsafe! So I booked myself into a nice hotel in the center of town, close to the Guaya river and started cautiously to explore....the riverfront, El Malecon 2000, has been redeveloped as a recreational area with parks, play grounds and even a shopping center.

Just north to the Malecon is La Peñas: a small area which has been restored and renovated and which is a delightful place to walk around and discover. The houses, all very colour full, the art galleries and the views over the city and the river from the light house at the top (444 steps to get to the light house, all of them numbered). The area is very safe, there are so many security guards around that you always have one in sight - that felt very good!

One morning I went to see the area and the house were I lived the first three years of my life: the house is in a richer area of the city and all houses have lovely gardens and trees - but all well hidden behind high walls and lots of security guards around. I even had to explain to one of them why I was taking pictures of this one particular house...



Otherwise I went to shopping malls and to the artisans market....it was time to think about all the Christmas presents to be organised!

Riobamba, Baños and Cuenca

From Quito I travelled to Riobamba, where I had planed to take the train to the devil's nose. Unfortunately this was already fully booked. As Riobamba is a middle sized city with a few lovely colonial buildings - but otherwise not much more to offer I decided to travel to Baños.

Baños seems to be one of the major get aways to the tropical forest and as added to the tourist trail in the last few years. There are plenty of hostels and nice restaurants which cater for the tourists all needs. But as I did not fancy any jungle adventures combined with wild river rafting or bungee jumping, I soon left Baños as well for Cuenca.

Cuenca, 3rd largest city in Ecuador after Quito and Guayaquil, has a beautiful historical center. I slept in the Hostal Colonial, an old an lovely colonial building overlooking a small square. The first evening I was treated with music and dance from Cuba which I could enjoy directly from my balcony!

The next evening I experienced the city with full power cut for several hours (in these moments you are very happy that you always carry your head lamp with you). Although there was no power they life goes on and the dinner I had that evening (thanks to generators and candle light) was excellent!

The following day I travelled to Guayaquil via the Caja national park.

Quito and Otavallo

From Arequipa I did fly to Quito as I was starting to run out of time and really want to visit Ecuador. On my first day in Quito I got my camera robbed - in the middle of the day with lots of people around me. All just watched, nobody tried to help me or stop the thief. So here I was again without a camera for a few days....

I went to Otavallo, small city north of Quito, which is famous for its markets - rightly so. Spent a lot of time walking around both the food market, as well as the handicraft market, selling many beautiful items. Stayed one night in Otavallo before heading back to Quito.

Colca Canyon - where are the condors?!

A popular place to visit from Arequipa is the Colca Canyon - the world's deepest canyon according to the locals - and a good spot to see condors fly!

So off I went on a two day tour to this region. The tour was very excellent and our guide, Yrene, did an excellent job explaining everything in both Spanish and English. This was great, because this was free Spanish lessons on top of the tour!

Anyway, back to the Colca tour: we there is quite a bit of traveling involved from Arequipa, but the landscape is great and Yrene explained us a lot about all the differences between Viguñas, Llamas and Alpacas - who were all well represented along our journey.

In the afternoon of the first day we went for a nice walk to see the views and the agricultural terraces, which the farmers have been using even since pre-Inka times. The walk was followed by a visit to the local thermal bath (very nice and warm!) and then by dinner with a some folkloric dances and music.

The next morning we did set off early to travel into the Colca Canyon - all the way to the Condor's view point. Needless to say, that this again was a point where many, many tourists were gathered - all hoping for some condors to fly. And fly they did! We did get to see 5 - 3 of them quite far up in the air, and especially one did fly pretty close. In that moment I got to appreciate how big they are - and they are! Next to the Condor we did get to see giant Hummingbirds fly - they as well were lovely to watch.

After our morning watching the condors, it was time to travel all the way back. I enjoyed the tour, but was disappointed that the way home was the reverse of the way there. And the canyon is maybe very deep, but as we were all a long traveling at it's top we had no way of really appreciating that it is a canyon and how deep it really is.

PS: the dot on one of the pictures - it is not dirt, it is, yes it is a condor....!

Arequipa and its Santa Catalina Convent

Having arrived in Arequipa on a night bus form Cusco, I was a bit tired and looking for some quite and relaxation, which I found in a marvellous place - the Santa Catalina convent. This convent, today a museum, covers a large area in the center of town and was built over centuries. For each nun who joined the convent, her family built her accommodation - luxurious or simple depending on their wealth. The convent has so grown to a city within the city - quite, with beautiful architecture and simply a marvel for everybody to enjoy today. (A small part, not accessible to the public is still a convent). It also houses a small cafe set in a small patio, which serves the most delicious jacked potatoes - I can highly recommend the museum just because of its cafe!

As you can guess from the above, I loved my morning in the Santa Catalina convent - it is among the best places I have seen over the last months!


In the afternoon I did a 2hours sightseeing tour by bus of the city and its surroundings - ok, but by far not the best tour I have ever done...

Machu Picchu

So the day to visit Machu Picchu had arrived. As advised I headed up early morning and started the visit just after 7 in the morning. This was a good decision because there really are less people around in the morning and on that particular day fog came along and it started raining sometime between 9 and 10!

What to tell about such a famous place, what pictures to show?! No I don't have any new angels or shots than what all the million of other tourists have taken. The fog is probably a bit different - that was interesting to watch, how suddenly the whole valley and archeological site were swept in fog and nothing was left to see for a while!

Watching my fellow travelers is also always of interest - especially in so popular places as the Machu Picchu. Check out the pictures below and see what all is included in the services guides provide!

And about Machu Picchu itself? Well the site is imposing: its location, its size and the magnificence of all the buildings or their foundations. The views are stunning and it is hard to imagine how the Inca built this whole city stone by stone - it is soooooo huge, and the mountain sooooooo steep!

All in all, and despite the rain, an interesting visit, but not the most amazing or fabulous place I have been too. Probably because it is so very touristy and everything is so smooth and well prepared to handle the thousands of tourists streaming up to the ruins every day! I also think that the famousness of the place creates such high expectations, which are hard to be fulfilled once you are there. But maybe all looks very different when the sky is blue?!

Ollantaytambo - Inka city in the sacred valley

On my way to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu I also visited Ollantaytambo, one of the many Inca cities in the sacred valley. The ruins and city were interesting and well worth stopping for. Unfortunately the weather was not the best, but hey I can't have a blue sky everywhere!

After the visit of the Inca ruins I walked around the village and in the early evening took the Machu Picchu ChuChuChu to Aguas Callientes, where quickly found a nice little hostel and spent the night.

Cusco - not only getaway to Machu Picchu!

Cusco is a lovely little town where loads of tourists come to because it is the starting point to exploring the Sacred Valley and especially Machu Picchu. But Cusco in itself has plenty to offer: it is full of nice small hostels, bars and especially restaurants (have not eaten so well and in nice places as since I have been in Cusco). But it also has plenty of historical buildings and museums to explore: it was the center of the Inkan administration and was taken over by the Spanish as cultural and clerical center in South America. The cathedral of Cusco is very imposing and definitely worth a visit!

From Puno to Cusco with the Inka Express

Cusco, 7 hours away from Puno, is the getaway to Machu Picchu and my next destination. To render the trip interesting for tourists, there is the Inka Express, which stops a few times and allows tourists to see different attractions on the way. First stop was Pukara a small town famous for its pre-Inka archeological findings.

Next stop is La Raya - where the road moves from one valley into another valley at 4335m. From here two rivers start in opposite directions, it is possible to see white coated mountaintops and of course there are merchants around to sell the tourists whatever they need (or don't need).

Lunch was in Sicuani and was accompanied by lovely local music. After lunch came the most interesting stop: Raqchi, an old Inkan city and archeological site. The scenery here was great, with farmers working their land just next to the Inka ruins.

Last stop before arriving in Cusco was the church of Andahuaylilllas, which is famous for its mixture of European and local cultural features and is one of the churches her around, which features the "Cusco School of Art".

All in all a very pleasant way of travelling to the next destination and getting some culture at the same time!

Los Uros - floting islands in the lake

From Puno, where I stayed for 2 days, I visited the famous Uros people. They live on artificially built islands, which float in the lake. Historically they are very peaceful people I am told and moved to the islands to escape from fights and pressures from different other ethnic groups.

Today unfortunately they are overrun by the tourists and their primary (if not their only) source of revenue is tourism.

Each boat load full of tourists is taken to a different island and family and is shown their traditional way of life. The introduction about their life and how the islands are built of reed is very interesting. But after that it is time to sit down with the ladies and they intend on selling their products and they are very difficult to resist! At the end of the tour they proudly tell us that they are the second most important tourist destination in Peru after Machu Picchu!

Lago Titicaca

From La Paz I joined a three day tour to Lago Titicaca. In the beginning I was very surprised to be the only participant of this tour. But my guide, Juan Antonio put me quickly at ease and he was a wonderful guide explaining me so much about Bolivia, La Paz and of course the history of the people of the Lago Titicaca.

We spent the first night in Huatajata, where the travel agency has built up a small museum and traditional village together with the local population. It is a great introduction to the lake and its history.

On the following day we travelled to Isla de la Luna and Isla del Sol, where I stayed a night. This island is a gem: no cars and modern features are coming slowly. Walking around the island, you get to see the local population farming, looking after the animals and of course selling souvenirs to the tourists walking around. The views from Isla del Sol are breathtaking. We went for a walk at sunset and although it was partly clouded, the lights and the clouds were just incredible!


On the following day we travelled per boot to Copacabana were we visited the church before I traveled on to the boarder and then to Puno.

La Paz - amazing city

I enjoyed my few days in La Paz, although getting around is difficult: at over 4000m breathing is hard and walking up and down the hills is tuff - but still an interesting city to explore.
Unfortunately my stay in La Paz was shadowed by me being robed my camera, my mobile phone and some money. Luckily I managed to keep passport, credit cards and I was not harmed - which is the most important. And for future/fellow travelers, here is how they got me:

I walked up to the cathedral a sunny morning and a fellow tourist, who told me she was from Uruguay, asked me if I could take a picture of her. Having had this request many time of course I agreed and wanted to take the picture outside the cathedral, but she wanted to have it taken inside. I asked if this was permitted in this church as it is usually forbidden. But she said it was ok... so of I went and took her picture. An "official" arrived up to us and said that pictures are not permitted and that we were to show him our passports. She showed hers at once, so I did the same. He said we had to go to the police station and as he had my passport I could only follow. He called a taxi and I had no choice than to follow. The car stopped 300m further down the road and he explained that many tourists have falls money and credit cards as well as they carry drugs - so he has to check our bags. I said that I was fine to do so, but at the police station, not in a car in the middle of the road.... but the other tourist handed her bag. He checked it and then insisted on seeing mine. After that he tried to worm our pin numbers out of us in order to "check that the credit cards are no false card". There I protested strongly, saying that he was not allowed to ask for that information. At that moment he got upset with me, put my cards and my passport back into my bag and ordered me to get out of the car at once.
Standing there in the street I felt worried to for the other tourist, so I went to the police and explained what had happened. At one point I wanted to check the time (I had a tour in the afternoon) and that is when I realised that my mobile phone, my camera and some money were gone. And that was the moment when I (finally!) realised that my fellow tourist was working together with this other guy and that she had completely abused my confidence!
I must say, I felt quite stupid for a while and I hope that by telling my story, others will not be tricked into the same situation. Although speaking to fellow travelers I hear many different stories - there are new tricks every day!

Discovering the countryside in Bolivia

After Uyuni, I travelled to Potosi, large town (4th if I recall correctly) in Bolivia. The journey there took me through some amazing countryside (up and down the hills, turning left, turning right). Most of the 6h journey was not paved, and often the street was not large enough to meet another vehicle! They are working on paving the road - so I had the all the road works - but future travellers will not any longer be able to experience the dirt road anymore.

Upon arrival in Potosi (4070m) I booked into a small hostel (very cheap, but clean). Unfortunately I arrived at the week-end and Sunday the city was dead. On top of that it was raining - not the best conditions to explore the beautiful city center with it´s majestic, colonial buildings!

From Potosi I travelled to Oruro, 2/3 on the way to La Paz and stayed a night there. Not much to see here (it is mainly famous for its annual carnival) and I did not feel too safe here either. Could not even find a decent restaurant in the neighborhood of the hotel - so my dinner was coca cola and chips (rather be safe than sorry!)

Next day I travelled to La Paz (3.5h) and here I got to experience what overfull busses mean: some people were standing half way to La Paz, we were all squeezed as much as possible. (it´s good you can not take any pictures of smells!!!)

In the last few days I have finally managed to leave the gringo trail to get to see the real country. In the buses I was usually the only foreigner and also in the cities I almost never met other tourists. This is one side very interesting to experience "the real country", but did also take a lot of energy: all the time watching my belongings, not feeling safe when walking the streets, even in the hostels I could not really relax. And all this at this high altitude, were I know I have even less energy and move much slowler than what I normally do.

So now I am in La Paz and have booked myself a very nice hotel: my own bathroom, running hot water, real towels and a lovely breakfast buffet - luxury pure!

From San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) to Uyuni (Bolivia)

After my two days in San Pedro I set off on a three day trip to Uyuni (Bolivia), visiting the most amazing places.

We started off from San Pedro and travelled not only the 47km to the Bolivian border, but went up from 2800 to 4500m. The border was only a small post in the middle of many high mountains, but buzzing with people: lots of tourists doing the boarder formalities and switching from the bus to jeeps.

After breakfast at the entry of the Reserva National de Fauna Andina Eduardo Avaroa, we did set of to the Laguna Verde: a turquoise lagoon in the middle of nowhere. Already here we all agreed that the money spent on the tour was worth every penny!

Next stop were hot springs were we could go for a swim surrounded by the beautiful countryside.

This was followed by a few geysers (which unfortunately were not very active at the time we passed).

The last stop of the day was the Laguna Colorado: a Laguna colored with white, red and blue - changing colors depending on where you stand and surrounded by majestic mountains. We stopped for the night at the hostel next to the Laguna at 4500m.We did a beautiful small walk along the Laguna and watched the thousands of pink flamingos standing in the lagoon. The sceneri was just incredible!!

This walk, combined with a few (too many) cookies once back, were to much for me: I suffered terrible altitude sickness (terrible headache). So after a bit of vegetable soup and a cup of coca tea I went to bed.

The next morning I felt much better (although not yet perfect) and we set of on day two. This was a journey through wide sandy desserts, small stony roads along the mountain sides. We went past the Árbol de Piedra.

Lunch was in a small village in the Bolivian altiplano. After lunch we travelled through valleys and villages were the campesiños are cultivating their land and thousands of lamas are grazing where ever there is something to eat.

In the evening we arrived at our hostel in Puerto Chuvica, a small village overlooking the Salar de Uyuni.

The 3rd day was dedicated to the Salar, this waste landscape of salt, covering more than 10'000 square km. The views were simply unique!
We visited the national park of Isla Incahuasi - an Island in the middle of the Salar - a wonderful, peaceful place, with great views of the Salar and covered with cactuses.

We did get to see the salt crystals, a salt hotel and finally the manual production of salt in one of the small villages next to the salar.

I have seen a lot over the last months, but the landscape here were very impressive and among the most spectacular I have seen over the last few months. The colors, switching from warm to cold colors, the altitude, the blue sky and the animals (viguñas, lamas and pink flamingos) made these a special three days.

A small hello to my travel companions in the Jeep as well: Sebastian, who actually travels through Chile but decided to do this excursion to Bolivia. And Paloma and Juan from Spain who were wonderful Spanish teachers during the whole three days: muchas gracias!

Elqui Valley - Pisco tour

From La Serena the Elqui Valley goes up east. It is one of the few in Chile not running North-South. Closest to the ocean there many different vegetables are grow followed by a region where citrus fruits grow. Further up the valley, which used to be very dry, wine growing is making the valley green. Thanks to new irrigation techniques the more and more land in the valley and on the slopes is converted from semi-arid dessert to fertile, wine growing land. The grapes are used for exportation, producing wine and the famous local brandy called Pisco.

The day was a nice mixture of countryside, culture (we saw the house and school of Gabriella Mistral, the literature Nobel price winner of 1945) and visiting a Pisco factory. And of course I had to drink a Pisco in Pisco!

I am now in San Pedro de Atacama, after a 17 hours bus ride. I thought this would be far too long and too horrible - but in the end it past quickly: first a good night's sleep and then looking at the countryside, which by now was only dessert!

San Pedro is a lovely place - but unfortunately as it is the main place to discover the dessert here up north and is a gateway to Bolivia. So although it is about 30C hot and very dry, it has a distinct feeling of a ski resort: small village, one main road catering for all the tourists at extravagant prices....Tomorrow I am leaving on a 3day tour to Uyuni in Boliva, visiting the mountains, lagoons, flamingos and the largest and highest salt lake in the world. So next news will be posted from Bolivia.

Fray Jorge National Park

After a nights travel on the bus from Valparaiso, I was sitting over breakfast at the hostel El Punto in La Serena, when some people were looking for others to join a tour to the national park Frey Jorge. Not sure what decided me to go - but so far the most spontaneous actions have been the best - and this was once more true this time!

The tour was run by a Swiss German who has been living for 7 years in La Serena. Not really sure what I had signed on for, I just let it happen... first we went to the Monumento National Valle del Encanto. This is an archaeological site were petroglyphs are found on many stones. But more impressive than the petroglyphs, I found the countryside - semi-arid dessert all around us: stones, sands and many cactuses where ever you looked. Oh and impressive were wholes carved in stones: these wholes were placed in such a way in the stones that at night the stars would reflect in the water in the wholes - representing stellar constellations on the stones.

We then went up to the Fray Jorge national park. Amidst this arid semi-dessert there is a bit of vegetation and even some forest. The plants take the water from the fog and mist which is almost all the time around, thanks to the closeness of the pacific ocean. The walk up in the hills was peaceful and nice, enjoying the views and all the plants - many of which I have never seen.

Wine, culture and wonderful countrysides

The hostel I was staying offered an attractive day tour around Valparaiso - it not only sounded great, it also was a marvelous day!

First stop was at a vinyard in the Casablanca Valley: tour of the vinyards, of the production site and then finishing with some wine tasting. This vinyard belonged to William Cole, an American who started wine production in the 1990s. The vinyards are huge and flat (= they can drive through the rows with tractors) and the facilities are all brand new and modern - very different of the traditional handproduction we know back home. The wine was very nice, especially a special edition chardonney - yum!

After the wine tasting it was time for some culture. We went to Pablo Neruda's home in Isla Negra. Not only was a grand poet and politician, he also collected everything! His house, overlooking the pacific ocean, is full of all the items he collected (tainted glass, statues, any kind of items found on ships,....). Special room was the living room: big low windows allowing for great views of the ocean and a big fire place to keep warm! All in all a very special place definitelly worth the visit!

3rd stop of the day was Quintay, a small fisher village, which has stop in time. A few kids playing by the water, some workers painting the houses, some fishermen preparing the nets for the next morning. The village used to be a big walling until the end of the walling industry. Next to the village is a small hidden beach set against dropping cliffs - just wow!

All in all a wonderful day were our guide took as off the tourist track for a day to places which are not easily reached by ourselves!

Valparaiso

Upon arriving in South America and Chile, I directly went to Valparaiso, giving Santiago a miss. This was an excellent decision as I stayed at a wonderful hostel, Luna Sonrisa, in the heart of Valparaiso.

Valparaiso is built on many hills, overlooking the pacific ocean and many of the houses are painted in bright colors - giving the views over Valparaiso a special and colourful touch.

Walking the hills was fabulous: the different style architecture, the colors, the views and the deep blue sky - it was wonderful.

I also went to the local fish market, which was an experience: not only all the fresh fish, but all the animals around made it a highlight of my visit: hundreds of pelicans and many sea lions were swimming a long the shore, hoping to get some remains of the freshly caught fish - amazing to see such wildlife almost in the city center!

Here some pictures, which give a small taste of the wonderful city Valparaiso is.

Ile des Pins

My last stop in New Caledonia was the Ile des Pins. I spent four days in a great hotel (Hotel Kodjeu). It was expensive - but as New Caledonia is anyway very expensive I decided to finish my time here in style.

The first day I hired a car and drew around the island. Lots of beaches and views but also a bit of history. The second day I did a tour on a 'pirogue', a small hand built boat, sailing up the baie d'Upi. Then we walked through the forest to arrive at the baie d'Oro and its famous natural swimming pool. This place not only looks like paradise, it also is great for swimming and snorkling.

Day three and four were dedicated to diving: just a few minutes by boat and we were in amazing dive spots. Highlight this time was not the big once (although we did see several sharks). No this time I was introduced to the 'hypocampes pygmees' - tiny, tiny pygmy seahorses which were only discovered in 2003 and which you have to know were to look for them to see them! They are about 1.5 cm big and sit on big coral leaves the same color as themselves. So if you don't know they exist you don't see them. Some more info on these under wikipedia.



On day four it was time to head back to Noumea by boat (2.5h). I haven't said much about Noumea so far: it's a city (how original!), with some nice beaches, where you can find everything you would find in 'metropole' (France): shops, nice restaurants and bars. As a tourist it's difficult to understand the local culture and especially the interaction between the Kanak (original black people), the Caldoche (white people living in Caledonia for several generations) and the French community. At a first glance all seems to work smoothly, but there are undercurrents especially with regards to becoming an independent state or remaining with France. This question seems to split the society and will need to be answered in the years to come.

With regards to tourism I realised that the almost the only people travelling around the country are either French living in New Caledonia, French who have lived there or French who have relatives or friends there. Then there are a few Japanese tourists around (all taken care of by tourist operators) and then... not many more. Hence my difficulties in the beginning - but once you know you have to plan and book your days to the minute, accept that they decide when you can do something and that everything is overpriced - well then it is a fantastic place to be!

These entrees are done from Sydney. Tomorrow I fly to Chile and then it is time to discover the Latin American culture - Hola!

Ouvea - island paradise comes true (almost)

After my Grande Terre it was time to fly to one of the Loyality Islands. I had selected Ouvea as there was a dive shop on the island.

As you can see from the picture the location is a dream - when the weather is sunny. Unfortunately I got some rainy days - with nothing to do.... no diving, no tours - everything canceled. Luckily I had a few books with me and all in all I had a great stay anyway!

One day I hired a car with some fellow tourists staying on the island. Many thanks Ingrid for doing all the driving! It was rainy but we still got to see some great sights: the beach at St Joseph, the 'centre commerciale' also in St Joseph (which was a small epicerie with not much available to buy), the trou aux tortues, the cows standing under the coconut trees,....

I also got one day of diving: swimming around there is like swimming in an aquarium: beautiful corals and lots of colourful fish. And on the second dive we even got to see a big manta and black tipped sharks - plenty of them.

New Caledonia - Touring Grande Terre

I spent my first three days in Noumea planing my next steps and trying to understand how getting around works in this part of the world.... first of all I it was funny to be in a French environment: speaking French, French food, French signs and behaviour, French tourists, somehow France but actually not really....

Soon I realised that as a tourist, stuck in this part of the world, I had to accept the local rules and ways of dealing with the (very few) tourists around: not many boats or flights going to the islands, the few available expensive and fully booked... so I booked 5 days on Ouvea and 4 days on the Ile des Pins at the end of my trip (more about the islands later in other news).

Then I hired the car and set of exploring the main Island "Grande Terre" during 12 days: first the south with its big mines of nickel, red soil and hilly landscapes. Unfortunately it was foggy and raining - but this added to the special feeling of this area.

During my trip I soon found out that there are not many places to stay around: a few gites, relais or staying with the local tribues. Planing and booking in advance became essential if I did not want to get stuck without a bed - for those planing to do a similar tour the best option is to do it camping, Most places are located in beautiful spots and have a campground - so you are generally not short of finding a place to put up your tent! And don't forget to book your food (lunch if you want any and dinner) at least 24hours in advance. What, you don't know where and when you want to eat - not a problem, you simply don't eat! So stock up with biscuits and food before leaving Noumea if you don't want to plan to much.

Except for difficult logistics (and I forgot to moan about the difficulty to find a beer for the apero) Grande Terre is a marvellous place to discover. It has fantastic landscapes, which changes every few km. You have all the coastline, which changes from beautiful beaches to sharp rocks (Bonhomme near Bouraille). Grande Terre is one big lagoon. Some times the reef is very close and some times far out. So you have the beautiful changes of all types of blue - just as you imagine paradise in south pacific!

Inland the landscape is at times flat, then hilly, then mountains. The soil is red, white, black, brown - it changes all the time. And on the roads, except around Noumea, there is no traffic. At times you can drive for hours (almost) and not meet a car. Instead you meet lots of "wild life": horsed, cows, goats, dog, cats,.... they are all walking around and looking at the few cars driving past.

Highlight of my tour was the relais de Pointgam: at the very northern tip of the island the relais de Pointgam is located on a beautiful beach, offers great accommodation and has an excellent Table d'hote, which serves excellent cuisine. I will remember the 'carpacio de cerf' followed by the 'ragout de langouste' for a long time!

Staying in a traditional case, with a local tribue, was also a nice experience. Sadly however there was not much opportunity to interact with the locals - all tourists stayed together and were eating separately from the locals. So not exactly the experience which was advertised. Nevertheless sleeping in the case was fun.

All in all I enjoyed the tour a lot: the driving a car, the landscapes, all the beaches and the opportunities to snorkel.

5 days in Sydney - a looooooong time ago

Back in Sydney for 2 days before flying to Chile tomorrow, I have finally a decent keyboard and an ok internet access. So time to catch up on some overdue updates on this blog!

End of September I spent 5 days in Sydney. Where to start?! I enjoyed the city especially the many accesses to water. It reminded me several times of Stockholm. Especially the area called the Rocks (oldest part of the town) was a highlight with its old buildings. Unfortunately I did not check out the weather forecast as I assumed that the sky would be blue every day as it had been during my 2 months travelling around the country. Big mistake! I spent the 2 first days, when the sun was shining, with shopping, laundry and other logistics. And when I was ready to hit the beach it was poring with rain!

I nevertheless got to spend a nice afternoon in Manly - where a Jazz festival was taking place on the streets and by the beach. Some great groups and fantastic performances, also by young players were presented.

I also spent some very nice evenings with Nina, Savina and Alexa - girls I had met on the West coast and who also were in Sydney at the same time as myself.

All fine - except for poor internet access

Just to let you all know I am fine and discovering lots of places in New Caledonia. I have finished a 10 day tour around the main island (Grande Terre) and discovered many beautiful spots. Tomorrow I am heading to Ouvea, one of the Loyality Islands and "as close to paradise as you can get"!

No more pictures and no info on my time in Sydney for the moment: internet access here is horribly expensive and the keyboard completely different to what I am used to = it takes ages to write a sentense!

Byron Bay

My last stop on the east cost before Sydney was Byron Bay. Warmly recommended by my sister, who spent a year in Australia a few years ago, I just had to stop here - and enjoyed myself a lot. Next to the lovely beach, the place itself is nice as well. Lots of small restaurants and boutiques - anything to take the money from all the tourists walking up and down the streets...but I got some very nice food. Top was probably my sourdough toast with tomato, avocado and lime topping - yummmh!

As advised by my sister, I set off early for a walk, equipped with my swimmers, a pick nick and "The tears of the Moon" by Di Morrisey. After a nice and leisurely breakfast, I set of through the forest, along the hill, up to the lighthouse. Every bench (almost) I stopped to read a few pages of the book I had with me: it is set in Broome and the region I had visited there a few weeks ago and I just had to continue reading this story as well as enjoying the scenery here in Byron Bay....

The views in Byron Bay are stunning - high cliffs, big waves, people surfing, long, sandy beaches,... and lots of whales swimming in the ocean: you just had to look out at the water and you could see them blowing and coming out of the water - impressive!

I slowly made my progress around the lighthouse, then down to the cliffs, which represent Australia's mainland most easterly point. There I realised how far I have travelled over the last few weeks: mid-August I was at the most westerly point - and Australia is big, very big.

I made it to first beach, went for a swim, had my pick nick, read on my book. Then moved on to the second beach and finally to the third.... this little tour took me all day and I got to see a colorful sunset on the main beach, watching the seagulls eating what they could find, straight out of the water.

All in all a perfect day, enjoying myself, the wonderful countryside and a good book!

Fraser Island

After the Whitsundays, I spent two days, one night on Fraser Island. As many of you probably know, Fraser Island is a huge sandy island. All the vegetation and sights are dominated by the sand. But it is not all one big dessert - there is of course the beach, but also forests and fresh water lakes formed within the sand dunes. This all creates wonderful landscapes - and all very different from each other!

Transportation on the island is by 4x4 cars - all driving happens on the beach or on sandy tracks - no paved roads here. Unfortunately this has become an attraction by itself - loads of people come for the "self drive tours on Fraser" - and some of them get pretty stuck in the sand... (but maybe that is just a comment from somebody who went for the boring, guided option!) Traffic happens in the middle of activity: there are people fishing, then people driving and then people camping - all on the same beach, next to each other, with the cars slaloming around the fisher and the people. It works, but it also looks scary at times!

In the two days we had time to go for walks in the forest, watch the views and go for lovely swims in the fresh water lakes. I especially enjoyed lake Mc Kennzie: crystal clear water (you could see the sandy bottom even several meters down), surrounded by trees and the beach was white, white, white!

As usual, I believe the pictures tell more than what I could ever do:



The end of the trip was a bit sad and scary: there were uncontrolled bush fires in the south of the island. To get back to the ferry we had to drive along the burning area - in the end we all came out safe, but smelling of smoke and coughing... and the pictures of the sunset are a bit unusual as well....

All Fraser pictures are located here.

Sailing the Whitsundays

One, if not the, highlight along the East Cost are the Whitsundays (group of islands). One of the best ways to explore the region is by sailing boat - so off I went and booked myself on a 2 days, 1 night tour.

I don't know where to start, but I enjoyed every minute. Sailing (or cruising along thanks to the motor most of the time) was fun and allowed to see the sea and islands. The whole group on the boat was good fun to be with and after 2 days on so close quarters we knew each other pretty well!

The best part was our stop at Whitehaven's beach. This beach, composed of silica (quartz) is so white and smooth, it is unbelievable. I stop trying to explain it - have a look at the pictures...you will understand what I mean!

Just for those to whom EMCG means something: I was on Whitehaven beach on a Monday morning and I suddenly remembered how I used to spend my Monday mornings - I don't miss EMCG's at all - but miss you all (let me know how you are!)

And here the link to all my pictures from the Whitsundays

Diving the SS Yongala

During my stay on Magnatic Island (opposite Townsville) I spent a day diving the SS Yongala. Getting to this top dive spot was long and not very pleasant (3 hours on a small diving boat, with lots of wind and waves). But the reward were 2 magnificent dives.

Already before jumping in the water, we had a turtle swimming around the boat and watching us. Below water there were so many fish (rays, groper, many don't I recall the names) that I spent more time watching the fish than looking at the wreck.

During the second dive I concentrated more on the wreck itself. It sank in 1911 and makes for a very special dive site because (i) it is still in one piece and (ii) it is home to many fish and corals as it is the only place to live and hide in a wide area of only sand. Not many pictures (have still no underwater camera...) but if you want to read more about this dive site have a look at the Maritime Museum of Townsville and the dive shop I went diving with.

If you enjoy diving, this is for sure a place to go to if you are in the region!!

Cap Tribulation and Port Douglas

From Cairns I did a three day, two night excursion to Cap Tribulation and Port Douglas. Cap Trib is in the Daintree National Park and a wonderful spot, where the rain forest meets the sea. You are walking in the rain forest and suddenly you are just standing directly on the beach! Wow! The scenery is wonderful and there are many, many trees and plants in the forest I had never seen before.

In the morning I did a tour spotting some saltwater crocodiles on the Daintree river. They were just lying in the water, hiding and sleeping. Difficult to imagine that they suddenly can attack so quickly! The afternoon I spent walking from beach to beach through the rain forest (no chance to get lost - there are prepared walks, well paved and signaled for all the tourist). I stayed the night at PK Jungle Lodge. Funny place in the middle of nowhere, but with a life band playing excellent music. This made for a nice and relaxed evening. In the morning I headed off for one more walk through the rain forest.

In the afternoon I travelled to the Port Douglas, stopping off at the Mossman Gorges. To many people swimming in the same place (aaaah we tourists!) but the water there was unbelievably clear!

Evening and following day I had time to explore Port Douglas: a fishing village turned into a tourist village. One main street full of small shops and restaurants, water and beach at both ends, all in a lovely setting!

Diving the Great Barrier Reef

From Alice Springs I flew to Cairns. One my first day here I intended to plan my upcoming weeks travelling the east coast. But while speaking to the travel agent, she told me of a great four day diving trip to the Great Barrier Reef - which was due to leave in two hours. The price was very attractive - so off I went, packed my things and ended the day aboard the dive boat!

These days diving were fantastic: the dive sites were great, with lots of beautiful hard and soft corals and lots and lots of animals and fish. We did feed the potato cods (big fish, which enjoy playing with the divers), swam along black tipped sharks, watched sea snakes, turtles and many more fish. In between dives we did eat (delicious food, prepared by an excellent cook) and relax on the sun deck. It was the first time I spent did a live aboard diving tour and I enjoyed every minute. Although doing four dives a day was tiring, having all equipment so close and always ready made it very easy - very different from the usual diving, where you carry your dive gear from the shop to the boat and back again to change your tank....

The people on board where also most my age, which was a nice change from the 20 to 30 age group, which I usual meet on the various tours. Not many pictures to share here because I have still not invested in an underwater camera... but maybe the day will come. Many of my fellow divers did take some amazing pictures - may be I will start one day as well?! Here are the few pictures I took from the boat...

I made to glad to be back on shore and even though it has been 24 hours now, I still feel as if I was still on board - rocking along all the time...

Tomorrow I leave to Cape Tribulation and Port Douglas.