http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/steffen/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from steffen en-us Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:05:01 +0000 Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:05:01 +0000 Isla HolboxHolbox island is located on the north coast of the Yucatn Peninsula. It is just over 1km wide and 12km long and home to some 1500 inhabitants. It is not a place for the masses and it's not that easy to get to either. The island is accessed by ferry M60 from the mainland town of Chiquila which is approximately 2 hours drive from Cancun. There are no paved roads on Holbox so when I http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Yucat%E1n/blog-452154.html After I had seen the amazing ruins at Tikal I left Guatemala on a minibus bound for Melchor de Mencos at the Belize border 2h Q25. Once I was through immigration I took a taxi B20 to San Ignacio where I booked a tour to the famous Actun Tunichil Muknal cave better known as ATM cave for the next day US75 at Mayawalk Tours.Actun Tunichil MuknalActun Tunichil Muknal slept with its dark sec http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Belize/blog-426397.html After my visit to the impressive ruins of Teotihuacn I left Mexico City and spent the rest of my holiday in what used to be the Mayan empire the Yucatan peninsula.That's the Yucatan as soon as you escape the horrors of the Riviera Maya where no theme is too tacky you enter one of the most laidback regions in the world. Besides the Mayan ruins dotted all over the peninsula there is almost a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Yucat%E1n/blog-420718.html Teotihuacan is a large archaeological site located about 40 km north of Mexico City. It was built more than 1000 years before the arrival of the Aztec in central Mexico. But it was the Aztec descending on the abandoned site who gave it a name Teotihuacan which means city of the gods.A total of three pyramids reside at Teotihuacan as do temples palaces and residential compounds. The city re http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Mexico/Estado-de-Mexico/Teotihuac-n/blog-415918.html The border crossing from Mexico to Guatemala was quite unique and went surprisingly smooth. In Mexico I visited the small immigration office in Frontera Corozal where I was asked to pay M100 for a reentry visa to Mexico. Then I walked down to the Usumacinta river which forms the border between Mexico and Guatemala. I joined some fellow backpackers for the 20 minute boat ride to the Guatemalan s http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Guatemala/Flores-Tikal/blog-409537.html Cape TownCape Town is one of the most popular destinations in South Africa. It boasts stunning beaches an abundance of daytime activities and a number of cultural and natural gems with the most famous being Table Mountain.The Castle of Good Hope is a good starting point for firsttime visitors to Cape Town. It is the oldest surviving building and provides visitors with details on the Cape Town's http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/South-Africa/Western-Cape/Cape-of-Good-Hope/blog-370763.html Rome's history spans over two and half thousand years starting as a small Italian village to the centre of a vast empire to the capital of today's Italy. Rome was founded as a small village sometime in the 8th century BC surrounding Palatine Hill. The small settlement developed into the capital of the Roman Kingdom before becoming the seat of the Roman Republic at around 500 BC and then the cent http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-377676.html Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable ideaof what one man is capable of achievingJohann Wolfgang von Goethe 1787The Vatican City is the world's smallest state by both population less than 1000 and area. It is one of only three sovereign citystate worldwide and located within the city of Rome.For the best approach to the Vatican walk across the beautiful Ponte Sant http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Vatican-City/blog-378864.html Although Sossusvlei is one of Namibia's premier tourist destinations it is rather difficult to get there. There is no public transport which means to either join an expensive guided tour or rent your own car. I did the latter and took the quickest route from Windhoek south on the B1 to Rehoboth 80km on tarred road then west on various Croads through the Namib Naukluft Park to Sesriem 230km o http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Namibia/blog-365505.html No doubt about it MosioaTunya meaning The Smoke That Thunders but more commonly known as Victoria Falls is one of the most amazing sights in the world. Just a few kilometres outside the town of Livingstone the Victoria Falls are twice as tall as Niagara Falls and several times longer. The falls are some 1700m wide which makes them the largest curtain of water in the world. The thunde http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zambia/Livingstone/blog-363828.html SingaporeThe smallest nation in southeast Asia Singapore is an island country located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. Less than 140km north of the equator Singapore's climate tropical rainforest climate has no distinctive seasons. Singapore is a lively multiethnic citystate where east amalgamates with the west and tradition merges with modernity. The population of all of Singapor http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Singapore/blog-304495.html The Isle of Man is located in the Irish Sea at the geographical centre of the British Isles. It is not a part of the European Union and not even a part of the United Kingdom but a selfgoverning Crown dependency. The island is approximately 50km long and between 13 km and 24 km wide. Some 80000 people live on the Isle of Man.For centuries the Island's symbol has been its ancient triskelion thre http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Isle-of-Man/blog-310038.html Over the Atlas mountainsI left Marrakesh airport on one of the frequent airport shuttle buses that connect the airport with the city 20dh. I got out at the central bus station and was lucky enough to catch a bus towards Ouarzazate 80dh straight away. The 5 hour bus ride across the High Atlas was impressive it never got boring due to the everchanging landscape with its barren mountains wild http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/Mekn-s-Tafilalet/blog-278060.html ParisBoth long daylight and a lot of sun made the 2008 summer solstice an ideal opportunity to explore one world's most beautiful cities Paris. I stayed for three days which was barely long enough to see the main sights only. Although a bit pricey St. Christopher's Hostel was in fact one of the best hostels I've ever stayed at dormitory BB for EUR 35. Plus it is located near the Gare de l'Est http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Ile-de-France/Paris/blog-290957.html Start spreadin' the news I'm leaving todayI want to be a part of it New York New York.Frank Sinatra Theme from New York New YorkWith over 8.2 million residents within an area of 830 km New York City is the most densely populated major city in the United States. It has been the largest city in the US since 1790 and comprises five boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island and of cou http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-York/New-York/blog-257120.html JerusalemJerusalem is the capital and largest city of Israel. Its history goes back as far as the 4th millennium BC making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual centre of the Jewish people since the 10th century BC. The city contains a number of significant ancient Christian sites and is widely considered the thirdholiest city http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Israel/Jerusalem-District/blog-256478.html A visit to the pyramids is definitely one of the highlights of a trip to Egypt. However there is much more to see than only the wellknown Pyramids of Giza. There is a number of other sites where pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom. Besides Giza the most famous sites are Saqqara which features the first pyramid ever and Dahshur with its unique Bent Pyramid. Whilst it is possible to vi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-243953.html The Pyramids of Giza at the edge of the Western Desert and the great Mosque of Mohammed Ali not the boxer in the east ... between these two monuments sprawls a vast city the largest in Africa and the Middle East Cairo. Its population is estimated at around 18 million and is swollen by a thousand new migrants every day. Unlike London the amount of green space per citizen has been calculated a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Lower-Egypt/Cairo/blog-240768.html The above panoramic photo shows the funerary procession in Ramose's tombMy other Egypt blog entriesDiving in DahabEgyptian pyramids Giza Saqqara and DahshurCairoSinai Mountains and Saint Catherine's MonasteryFrom Abu Simbel to Aswan Kom Ombo and EdfuThe ancient temples of Luxor and KarnakThebesThebes was the capital of ancient Egypt during the 11th Dynasty Middle Kingdom and most of the 18th http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Thebes/blog-230861.html The above panoramic photo shows the First Pylon at Karnak TempleAs soon as I stepped off the plane at Luxor airport I realised that late November is an ideal time to visit southern Egypt. I could feel a warm dry breeze on my face when I left the plane. Humidity levels are low all year round due to the surrounding deserts so I didn't see a single cloud on the clear blue sky for the duration of my http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Egypt/Upper-Egypt/Luxor/blog-224522.html