http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/der-Bub/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from der Bub en-us Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:03:20 +0000 Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:03:20 +0000 In the end of a journey it is all about coming home. When the pilot boat led us through the tide lands of the Weser mouth towards the docks of Bremerhaven the sunset over the ocean was the most beautiful one of all the journey. And later walking through the harbours gate to make my way to my home town just as I had started hitchhiking German Autobahn I was sure that I had found my way around th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/District-of-Bremen/Bremerhaven/blog-79901.html Walking at night from the nearest bus stop into the harbour territory I ended up at Newark Airport. Some taxi driver who was quite familiar with the place finally got me to the right dock. But he said he had never been to this part of Newark and was unsure if this was still officially US territory and he was allowed to drive in the place with his taxi. When I finally walked up the gangway of Maers http://www.travelblog.org//blog-79900.html New York is great It's great for photography it's great to explore on foot and by subway. I loved to take the trip on the Staten Island ferry just for the view of the skyline for passing liberty island and the statue of liberty. For being on a ship as I was looking forward to the container ship passage. And for the great atmosphere at sunset time cruising just in front of lower Manhattan. I a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/Manhattan/blog-79898.html When you chose the right place and have the right passport things can work out to develop rather fast. In the internet I found '2 days' on a list of waiting times for visa applications behind the capital of Nicaragua Managua. Something that let me ignore all warnings about this dangerous city. So I had to find out for myself. When I came there and first wanted to walk a few blockes for a dinner http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Managua/blog-73590.html As horrible as everybody tells you. The Flight from Sao Paulo to Panama City was changed three times the last time at very short notice the checkin counter was deserted the office was hidden somewhere were nobody could find it. The unplanned overnight stay in Santa Cruz de la Sierra was in a lousy hotel in the ninth floor the wind blew straight throug the broken windows across the room the wh http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Bolivia/Santa-Cruz-Department/Santa-Cruz/blog-73587.html For a visit to the Caribbean coast I chose Utila.Already on the ferry boat I met a German guy and in the last moment before the ferry departure Freja and Mai the Danish girls also came on bord. Together with Freja I took some dive lessons at cross creek divers and we both finished the Advanced Open Water Diver. From the nature point of view the underwaterworld in Utila is rather disappointing. St http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Bay-Islands/Utila/blog-73593.html Copan was my intoduction to the world of the maya. And a good one With a little bit of everything it is certainly a good place to start exploring maya ruins. Some ruins are covered in jungle some are fully excavated and rebuild. There are steep steps a pyramid a place for the maya ball game with the stone ring nice stone carvings and several stelae. Colorful parrots fly around the ruins.Thoug http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Honduras/Copan/blog-73595.html Antigua is a rather obvious place to visit on a Central America tour. Everything is easy the possibilities to stay seem nearly endless and if I was hungry such etablisments like Bagel Barn Burger King and McDonalds were luring me with their typical smell. But between the more touristy places there is also a lot of old and charming houses left.When not prevented by streams of rain water from the http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Antigua/blog-73596.html Quite a special excursion I did from Antigua was the visit to vulcano Pacaya. This is a popular one in general it's easy to climb and the chance to see some vulcanic activity is good. But the latter greatly depends on the latest development.Because it had been recommended to me several time the few past weeks I decided to take a tour even for the rainy season and the bad weather.So the whole hiki http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Volcan-Pacaya/blog-73597.html The pictures from my visit to the famous maya site Tikal I have mainly colored in sepia. I think this represents best the mood I found the place in during the foggy days of the monsoon season. Imagine how the sun three hours after dawn just manages to burn away enough humidity from the night that some rays of light can touch the tree tops through the clouds. In the distance a group of howler monke http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Flores-Tikal/blog-73598.html The best possibility for some pictures in gentle light are in the early moring hours. With the pleasing coolness of the night still present the ruins of Palenque would be more enjoyable than in the hot sun of noon. Thinking that I was at the entrance of the archeological site at six in the morning just to find out that some stupid regulation says you need a special permit to enter at this early http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Chiapas/Palenque/blog-73599.html On the way to my sisters home in Guadalajara I had a look at the famous sun stone in the antropological museum in Mexico City. After the visit of different maya sites the maya section in this museum was very nice and interesting for me. Many artefacts that have been found at the acheological sites have been brought here. So I finally got to see some of that things were I before had only read in th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Distrito-Federal/Mexico-City/blog-73600.html Getting finally there where I had promised my sister to come to just around the back side of the earth was overwhelming me with the fact that I had nearly accomplished this journey around the world. That I had come so far savelyIt was time for a break before I started for the last part of the trip so I lived at my sister's for nearly a month. In a small language school I brushed up my spanish f http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Jalisco/Guadalajara/blog-73602.html Some really peaceful days in San Marcos my sister and me spent with hanging out at the beach watching the pelicans dive for fish and preparing prawn for another nice selfcooked dinner. It was like holiday during vacation. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Nayarit/Lo-de-Marcos/blog-73604.html I had organized the final part of my trip already weaks ago. I wanted to stay in New York for a few days before boarding a container ship in Newark harbour for a passage to Bremen Germany. To be in New York on time I travelled to Corpus Christi crossing the Mexico US land border catching a flight from Corpus via Houston to New York. I nearly missed the flight because I was held up at the border http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Texas/Corpus-Christi/blog-73925.html With is historical significance Leon is a place to get interested in Nicaraguas political past and present. The long oppression from the Samoza regime and their collaborators from the US and the revolutionary movement of the Sadinistas is an everpresent issue. Many buildings museums murals and of course the people are connected to this not so far away history.In Leon I also met Freja and Mai t http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Leon/blog-73592.html With the hassle of the US visa done the real holiday could start I went for a weeks visit to Isla de Ometepe to lay back at Hacienda Merida. Isla de Ometepe is a twovulcano eightshaped island in Lago Nicaragua Central Americas bigest lake. Merida is the remotest place you can go to on the island and the Hacienda Merida a ecological lodging project was the right place for me to lay back at http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Nicaragua/Isla-de-Ometepe/Merida/blog-73591.html I decided to leave out Costa Rica on my Central America trip. I was hoping to get a visa from the US embassy in Managua and made an overnight bus journey to Nicaragua straight away. Which included a change of buses in San Jose Costa Rica in the middle of the night. San Jose is said to be as dangerous in the night as all the other Central American cities. But fortunatelly a guy called 'Franco' gui http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Costa-Rica/San-Jose/blog-73589.html After about five hours of 'sleep' on the rockbottom hard floor of the airport I woke up with a pattern on my cheek that strangely resembled the floor tiling...and now in daylight dared to take the city bus downtown to Panama City. My first feeling of Central America was rather nice. Didn't seem to dangerous friendly and helpful people. I stayed at a 'testigos de jehova' youth hostel. For the pl http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Panama/Panama/Panama-City/blog-73588.html After more than nine month of travelling and three quarters of my journey done I came to Sao Paulo to visit my friend Holger. I was really happy to see him again I stayed with him and his family for about a month and soon felt almost like at home.Since Holger lives in Sao Paulo permanently now I especially enjoyed having the chance to share everyday life. It was also a time for me to recover from http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Brazil/Sao-Paulo/blog-73586.html