Two hours late to Lima from , we finally arrived at our hostel in Barranco, Lima, by 2 am on X-mas Day. Barranco's Backpackers Inn can really be recommended: safe area/hostel with nice rooms and great breakfast. (we were fed even though we overslept by about an hour and a half the first morning!) Having wolfed down some lovely bread, hot chocolate and a banana we headed for the beach (5 minutes' walk, downhill) as it was really sunny, and besides, the whole town seemed to be down there as well... We only stayed for about an hour though, with pasty [View Full Entry]

---

---

why do we have to be so fr**king PC? We wish family and friends (and anyone else reading the blog) a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! [View Full Entry]

---

---

We don't have a lot to compare with yet, since the US is our first country on the trip, if we disregard the few hours in Mexico. Nevertheless, the US gets top marks for nature and friendly people, and so-so for food (hard to find anything that isn't junk within a backpacker budget). People usually say Germans are very well organised, which seems generally true, but, with a few exeptions the Americans are as well. Their national parks, for instance, are very well organised. The entrepreneurial spirit is something that shines through pretty much everywhere. People seem to live by JFK's [View Full Entry]

---

---

This last day of our road trip was supposed to about surfing in the self-named surf capital of the US, Huntington Beach (HB). So we spent the night at Sea View Motel (no sea view though), just outside HB. HB definately got the surfing vibe, with loads of surf shops and surfer-friendly prices at the cafes, in addition to the most gourgeous beach. The morning started well, with offshore winds and glassy 3ft waves, but we needed some breakfast first. An hour later the wind changed to onshore (which turns the surf from glassy to messy), the waves got bigger and [View Full Entry]

---

---

The trip to Tijuana started well. We parked the car just north of the border and took the bus to Tijuna - a 15 min ride. The main street, Revolucion, was, as you expect, full of people trying to sell you anything and everything. They did lack a bit of sales technique though. Hello, welcome, come have a look, best store! hardly trigger any buying needs. Once off Revolucion, it got a bit more interesting, with vibrant street markets, street musicians and underdressed ladies. We had a very nice seafood meal and headed back to the bus. For some reason the [View Full Entry]

---

---

We used San Diego as a launching pad for a day-trip to Tijuana, and found a very central hostel in the downtown Glaslamp quarters. This used to be the seedier side of town, but is now the hippest part (so we were told). San Diego is a small town though, in comparison to NYC and LA, and it shows. We walked around for a bit, got a bite to eat and saw Rocky Balboa. Not one of the best movies we've seen, but worth a DVD-rental. Went to bed early to be fresh for Mexico... eh, Tijuana anyway. Vi anvande San [View Full Entry]

---

---

To get to the Joshua Tree National Park we drove past some interesting (to say the least) towns with names like Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms. Could it have something to do with basically the only vegetation out there higher than 5 feet being varieties of the Yucca lily (yes, it's not a palm tree at all...)? In Twentynine Palms (which hosts a massive military base and seems to be the reason the town is around at all) we were told that coyotes would come up to the car and beg for food, so we looked, and looked, and looked... D [View Full Entry]

---

---

Day 2 we drove right through LA to the other side, and the Big Bear Lake area in the San Bernardino mountains. We'd planned to see if we could find some skis and a slope and have a go, but in the end it was too cold, especially since we don't have any salopettes with us... Whimps ;) Also, past Arrowhead (close to the top of the mountain) snow chains were a requirement, and we didn't have any of those either... So we went back down again, and headed for the Joshua Tree National Park. Well worth the trip though, for [View Full Entry]

---

---

Day 1 of the road trip: Santa Barbara. We drove along the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), looked at the sea, the nature, the mountains, the pretty houses... PCH must be must one of the most beautiful roads around. It's easy to forget that you're driving and to just look at the views. Santa Barbara itself we didn't spend long in, although it was a beautiful place, we headed back to Malibu for the night... Dag 1 pa bilresan: Santa Barbara. Vi korde langs Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), tittade pa havet, naturen, bergen, de fina husen... PCH maste vara en av de [View Full Entry]

---

---

We arrived in LA on a hazy morning, and were picked up at the airport by Michael from the hostel. He gave us a quickie description of the sights from the car, then dropped us off at the hostel. We had the only private room, complete with sunken bath tub (jacuzzi too!), fridge and painted glass window with a lion. Classy! Sadly the window above the bed wouldn't close so the nights were pretty cold, but otherwise ok. After dropping off our bags we headed down to Venice Beach and the (in)famous boardwalk, complete with nutters, street vendors, old hippie types [View Full Entry]

---

---