Surf and turtles - San Juan Del Sur I didn't get to see to much of San Juan as I was still sick. At least we had a nice hostel with a roof top area full of hammocks and a very impressive coastal view with nice sunsets. The town also features a Rio de Janeiro style jesus statue high on a cliff looking back to Costa Rica and the southern coast of nicaragua. Very scenic. The place to be if you have fever, aching eyes, pain in the knee joints and are tired all the time. Pretty much the symptoms of Zika or Dengue fever. Unfortunately by the time I dragged myself to the doctor it was Saturday which meant that all the laboratories doing tests were closed and I had to wait another two days. ... read more

Panama city We flew into Panama city and coming from Cuba the city seems like a different world. A large, busy, modern airport and skyscrapers galore. The difference in wealth between Panama and Cuba is striking. We setup camp in the old town of Panama which is part crumbling and part superbly renovated, home to the president and several wealthy Panamanians and yet situated only metres away from a very poor community and dodgy "don't go ther after dark" neighbourhood. Up until recently this was not a desireable location and most of the buildings were in ruins. Then someone discovered that tourists like old colonial towns and started to renovate. Now the whole place is either renovated, being renovated or waiting to be renovated. It will be quite beautiful in the near future. There are many ... read more

Vinales After the big city we left the smoke and pollution behind us and went to the countryside to a place called Vinales. It is one of the many UNESCO protected sites in Cuba and is famous for its limestone mountains that have been formed due to some geological abnormality in this area. This time we didn't have accommodation pre booked and did it the good old backpacker way of getting off the bus and getting harassed by casa owners where everyone has the best place. Turned out well though as we found a nice place including rooftop terrace with view of the mountains. Vinales is a small rural town where a lot of cowboys still ride horses in the streets or drive horse carts. These are as much part of the street scene as trucks ... read more

Click on the pictures. There are about 180 of them. Enjoy Click on one pictures to get a larger image and then on the numbers underneath The next button doesnt seem to work ... read more

Check out the video of Germany and Austria which I uploaded. Germany and Austria in 30 seconds Click here for the video. Password is warta It's our last day in this stunning country as I sit to commence the blog it has been a whirlwind of beauty, adventure and valuable catch ups with our German friends and family. It feels like we have been here a lot longer than we were. Last night Mum departed Munich home to Sydney having arrived 33 days ago in Frankfurt, only hours before we flew in from Russia. Cologne, the Romantic Rhine and Heidleburg Our first German summer days did nothing to make Ralph feel homesick as they were wet and cold. Cologne was destination number 1 and we were greeted by the familiar bright smiling faces of Jens and ... read more