Oct30-Nov12 2008

New Zealand is almost a perfect country for holidays: all over the country the landscape is just stunning, the people are very helpful and friendly, there are thousands of very well organised things for the traveller, the food and wine is excellent, as well as the water. Actually, the only problems are that the country lies a little bit too far for an European, and that the prices are on an almost European level - it was impossible for us to stay as long as we would have wanted. However, we both really hope there will be another visit, and then surely with more time than the two weeks allotted to the country this time. Lue lisää »

October 20th-22nd

A new part of the world, Oceania, and a country where one speaks English, New Zealand! Unfortunately, after a long night flight with only some sleep in not so comfortable conditions, we were not really fit to appreciate these facts in the very early morning of Monday the 20th. Our hostel was not yet open, so  we had to wait for the opening by having a second breakfast in a nearby café - delicious, by the way. When City Groove Backpackers opened at half past eight, we could luckily have our room immediately, and really needed four more hours of sleep before starting to explore the city of Auckland. The hostel was the most expensive on our trip till now (double with shower 65NZD =ca. 32e), and the bed was wide and comfortable. On the other hand, the room was damp, the view consisted of a brick wall, and the shower gave only cold water. (The next morning there was some hot, too). Lue lisää »

October 3th-13th

Our first stop in Bolivia, Isla del Sol, was a breathtaking experience. Arriving there, quite literally: to reach the village of Yumani we had to climb at least 300 Inca steps - this done with 20kg in your backpack and 8kg in your frontpack, in the altitude of 3800m, was an experience which left no words for the souvenir sellers we met on the way up. Luckily, we survived to the very top, and found a tiny room in a hostel which had had its salad days in the 60´s but still offered the best views on Lake Titicaca, at a price of mere 50 Bs (ca.5e). The other breathtaking part were, of course, the serene views and peacefulness of the holy lake of the Incas - and this time not enjoyed as a part of a trek, but in peace just between the two of us. Lue lisää »

Lahdimme eilen, lauantaina 18.10 Santiagosta klo 23.45. Lento kesti 13 tuntia, ja perille Aucklandiin saavuimme klo 4.45 aamulla - mutta maanantaina 20.10. Meilta jai siis sunnuntai 19.10 kokonaan valiin; ylitimme lennolla kansainvalisen paivamaararajan.

Viela hassummaksi juttu muuttuu ylihuomenna: lahdemme Samoalle, takaisin itaan pain keskiviikkoaamuna aikaisin, mutta perille tulemmekin tiistaina. Tiistain 21.10 elamme siis kahteen kertaan, mutta seuraavan viikon torstaita emme taas ollenkaan.

Samoallakin kuulemma on internet: siispa taydennamme kertomuksemme Chilen ja Aucklandin osalta vasta siella.

Yesterday, October 18th, we left Santiago at 11.45 p.m. The flight took 13 hours, and we arrived in Auckland early in the morning, at 4.45 a.m - on October 20th! Thus we missed the Sunday 19th totally - during our flight we crossed the International Date Line.

And this is not all: flying back to east, to Samoa the day after tomorrow, we are going to live the Tuesday 21st two times and, coming back, miss again one day, the Thursday of next week.

In Samoa we are told that there will be internet: lying in the beach we will have time to tell you about the missing parts in our story: Bolivia, Chile and Auckland.

It would be too much to say that Peru has been a nice surprise for us - of course we could expect that the places we had chosen to see would be great experiences. Still, it was a pleasure to notice that there were no safety problems (we had learned to take the precautions, and, above all, were too tired to stay out late at night), the food was good, somtimes even excellent, all the lodgings were tidy, the people we got to know were very friendly - and even the sights proved to be more stunning than we had expected.

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Peru on jatetty taakse, kohta  riennamme Copacabanan satamaan laivaan, joka vie meidat pariksi paivaksi Isla del Solille, yhdelle Titicaca-jarven saarista. Taas varman netin ja kannykan ulottumattomiin.

Now we have left Peru, and soon we will take a boat to Isla del Sol, one of the islands of Lake Titicaca. All about Peru later!

More than two weeks in South America have passed, and we have got as far as Cusco in Peru. In two days we have (almost) acclimatized to the thin air, and in two days we will be ready to start a 5-day trek to Macchu Picchu, and immediately after that a four-day visit to the Amazonas jungle.

The two weeks in Argentina left us hungry for a new visit there. Buenos Aires, a city of contrasts, offered so many kinds of such city life that we really enjoy, and the magnificent Iguazu falls were just one good example of the natural wonders the country has to give.

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Vamos a la playa!

Preparations

Finally, we are on our way! Having planned and prepared this trip for about a year,  in August we really started to long for the take off.

(Click ¨Lue lisaa¨to read more)

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