http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/bluenazar/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from bluenazar en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:57:14 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:57:14 BST When most people think of the Czech Republic they immediately think of the wonderful majestic castles of the capital Prague. However there is much more to this country then this tourist mad city. Decin is a small town about 30 kilometers from the German border which has the beautiful Labe Elbe river running through it. The northern area of the Czech Republic is much more ru http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Czech-Republic/North/Decin/blog-194465.html Colombia was never really on the map in terms of my journey to South America but having heard such good things being here felt somehow just right. Sitting in a little outdoor bar in the quiet town of Carpugana there is a trickling of street folk milling around chatting whilst the famous Vallenato music seeps through the tepid swarmy night and heats the veins. I could not help but feel like a http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Colombia/Barranquilla/blog-191008.html Attention all those shoe stringers out there looking to get to South America quick easy and cheap. If you are one of those travelers who eats in restaurants with walls or sleeps in hotels with a concrete floor then this information is not for you otherwise please read on.There are several ways to get from Panama to Colombia. The first and most dangerous is to walk a few weeks through the Darien http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Panama-City/blog-168861.html The ferry to the Island of Ometepe from Granada is a four hour journey. Lake Nicaragua is the second largest lake in the world and it falls short of Lake Titicaca in Peru by a mere 100 sq km at 8264 km sq. Ometepe is the largest freshwater island in the world. As it goes.Irsquom a big fan of moving around in all forms of transport pleasantly sitting for hours in planes trains and automobiles. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/blog-152841.html arrive late in the morning to the bustling colonial town of Len Nicaragua. The bus terminal is of a typical Central America variety bustling with people touts pulling you by the arm to buy clothes fruit or some shoes that will probably fall apart within a week. I get a whiff of a sweet smell of smoke coming from the corners where little ladies in are frying up various kinds of meat over the o http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Leon/blog-145551.html I awake abruptly a feeling of a sharp jolting pain shooting up my leg peering around with my eyes half open I notice that im jammed between a four foot ninety year old mayan woman on one side and a fat sweaty middle aged man on the other squeezing all the remaining blood and circulation out of my leg. I needed to go to the bathroom the word urgently was a serious understatement I regret eatin http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Flores-Tikal/blog-136547.html As you cross into the Guatemalan border at El Carmen you immediately notice a difference in the surroundings. For one you stand at the feet of giant mountains most of which are extinct volcanoes bold and mighty and are quite inspiring. Another difference is the transportation long gone are the deluxe first class over airconditioned behemoth Mercedes buses and are replaced with brightly pai http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Quetzaltenango/blog-81803.html I guess the images you get of Mexico are the classic drunk Mexican with a bottle of tequilla in one hand sleeping under a cactus in the desert heat or of Clint Eastwood riding around on a horse in a poncho making lots of trouble with lots of gunslinging and punch ups in cantina bars. Unfortunately everyone gets a shock when they arrive here and it looks like a slight run down version of the http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Quintana-Roo/Cancun/blog-48779.html After running out of funds I decided to head back to england to reimburse the wallet. I really did not want to leave Mexico but i knew there really was no other choice. It was kind of daunting after so many months travelling to go back to the hustle and bustle of reality shall we put it that so many millions of people do everyday to make a living. I stayed in London for a couple months mai http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-48580.html After returning to Tucson I was ready to leave the US and go all the way down the pacific coast of Mexico. I was glad upon arriving at the bus station as the greyhound buses were all full and the one for Mexico was almost empty with much more leg room and comfort. It was really astonishing that the bus service was so much better than the American service but there was one slight hitch. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Distrito-Federal/Mexico-City/blog-16187.html After Las Vegas I headed on east and caught a bus to Phoenix Arizona. It was a long a difficult trip overnight for some reason they really like to make the greyhound bus seats extremely uncomfortable but after a restless night I was immediatly in awe of the landscapes surrounding this area and the dry heat was very appealing. The city itself is very big and it really didnt have that much char http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Arizona/Sedona/blog-12960.html Leaving the islands of Polynesia I had arrived at the epicenter of the modern materalistic western world Los Angeles. I was expecting a great deal of questions regarding to getting into the country without a visa but had no troubles whatsoever and I was quite shocked as I was preparing for a full cavity search. The weather was quite agreeable not too hot but nice enough to walk around http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Los-Angeles/blog-12023.html Huahine Forever a inscription carved on the docks at the port town of fare on Huahine is what it feels like to be on this gorgeous isle. Having survived the ardous 9 hour freighter to the Island I was met with beautiful mountain vistas along with crystal clear blue waters teeming with tropical fish practically swimming around your ankles. This island is truly inspirational. I can see how an http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/French-Polynesia/Huahine/blog-11532.html Having escaped the cold of New Zealand I threw out my jackets and jumpers for the shorts and tshirt on the island of Tahiti. Being fowarned that French Polynesia can be quite expensive I was out to find a place to camp on these magnificent islands to avoid breaking the budget. Tahiti isnt really what you would imagine Its urban sprawl along the coast brings loud trucks pollution and noise http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/French-Polynesia/Moorea/blog-11531.html After getting quite dissolutioned by the South Island I had one entire day to see the city of Auckland and note the differences between the North and South Islands. I hired a car for a day and drove around. The weather is probably the main difference I had stripped off my jacket and two jumpers and was only down to two shirts and I was happy with that. There was definitely more Maori people ar http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-9007.html Upon returning to reality all hell broke loose the fantastic Audis transmission decided to die on me and I was stuck in the middle of no where. It was just what I needed i just kept thinking why oh why do we bother with technology when all it does is just make you stress give you a headache and then leave you with an empty wallet. Anyhow luckily I found a few Czechs and a German guy to http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Fiordland-National-Park/blog-9006.html Aoraki or Mount Cook is definitely an impressive sight. Hidden amongst an entire range of snow capped peaks it stands gracefully against a teal blue backdrop that manages to make you stare for what feels like a lifetime. Certain crazy people attempt to climb the beast but not I. The weather seems to be the key component here as it changes at a drop of a hat. The wind has a personality all http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Fiordland-National-Park/blog-9005.html After leaving the warm sunny weather of Sydney I took a quick plane over the Tasman and luckily it was a clear day and saw the amazing mountain ranges of the South Isalnd of New Zealand before landing and the weather change was quite a shock to me. It felt as if I was back in Ireland and immediately had to dig out my jumpers from the bottom of my bag that I had to all but forget about for th http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Canterbury/Christchurch/blog-8855.html 3 months can go really fast when your having fun and in hindsight I could not believe i did not want to come back to this amazing country called Australia I guess after start to remove the blinkers the true colours come shining through and glisten on a grand background of gum trees as the scorching sun dissappears over the horizon. Smelling the fresh ecalyptus and hearing the kookaburra wak http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Sydney/blog-7958.html I was starting to get a taste for hiking so after coming back to Sydney and meeting with my good Swedish friend Eva we headed off west 2 hours by train into the Blue mountains to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and into wonderful natural surroundings. The Three Sisters are an aboriginal folk legend and are mountainous peaks standing next to each other at a height of almost a http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/New-South-Wales/Blue-Mountains/blog-7525.html