Hi there: After 4 incredible days exploring St Pete, mostly in the great company of my 2 new British friends, I can recommend it as a great destination, particularly for those who enjoy walking while exploring incredibly beautiful buidings, churches, and canals. Lot's of Russian history on the streets and museums. MOSCOW: Beautiful metropolis, fascinating churches, with fairly unfriendly people, very high prices and horrible traffic jams. That's a simplified descripition of the capital I have extensively explored on foot for 3 days. From the still enigmatic Kremlin, the sight of Lenin's body, which has been preserved since he died in 1924, to the beautiful metro underground, you are reminded of the soviet era. However, the contrasting sight of very exclusive shops, the unbelievable number of very expensive cars, and the innumerous elegant cafes/restaurants, ma ... read more

Zdrah'stvooite! No, I am not insulting you. That's how we'd say HELLO in Russian. If you guessed that I have been saying "hello" instead, you were right! I can manange "da" (yes) and "nyet" (no), and "spasee'ba" (thanks). The 10 hr flight from Atlanta to Moscow was okay. I read my "travel bible" (lonely planet) to get a refresher on Russian history, from Ivan the Terrible, to Peter the Great, to Lenin, Stalin, ... and all the way to president Putin. Than... the American by me started to talk (yeap! I was not the one talking, believe me). He happened to be working on building a facility to destroy Russian chemical weapons!!! US brings personnel and money for the plant, and contributes with other projects like hospital, orphanage, etc. According to him, the new cold war ... read more

Hello there: It's summer down in South Africa, but I landed on a rainy and cold Cape Town!!! Shunt towns around the airport area, just like the ones in Brazilian "favelas", started to appear. "Apartheid ghost?", I questioned, and right than, a huge billboard announced " Comfortable Housing for All". Hummmmm!!!!?????? At the hotel I am warned not to walk alone, for safety reasons, and right after I met a Peruvian woman who had been already mugged. My South African friends back in Namimbia had already warned me that S. Africa has a lot of crime and to be VERY careful. Well, I was careful, but how not to walk on the streets if that's where you see the locals? I did walk daily, but during the day time. The area where I stayed was where ... read more

We are now in DAMARALAND, on Northwest Namibia. Africa is regarded to be the cradle of mankind and here in Damaraland palaeontologists have found fossils of our ancerstors. Today we will be hiking to see rock art of closer "relatives". Up at 5:00, still dark, to prep and get on the road. Today is to be the most most physically challenging day. We got dust and more dust, on a very bumpy ride on this semi-desert land. Some donkeys, kudus, spingbocks didn't distract us much. THE PETRIFIED FOREST: It was hard to enjoy this geological wonder under 40C heat. The once trees have been fossilised into rocks 240 to 300 millions of years ago. The most interesting was to see the "Welwistschia mirabilis" plant, a sort of underground tree, in reality. Two leaves are exposed and ... read more

DAY 3: Elias' wake up call at 5:45am sounded like music to my ears. Happy as one rested person could be, I announced outloud that I'd gotten a full-night of sleep: 7 hrs straight! My recharged body won't have to run on adrenaline rush any more. A quick cup of coffee and to the bush we go again by 6:15am. The sunrise was gorgeous and the picts for that morning I've sent already. Breakfast was a delight to the Brits and Germans: eggs, bacon, baked beans(!!), ketchup (!!). I kept to the basics, off course, which was delicious, anyway. The whole day was spent driving through thebumping and dusty roads by the Etosha pan, and under the 38C African sun, I felt I was being cooked for a draai, Namibian barbecue. My arms are deep red ... read more