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Latin America Adventure
  • Nina De Pina
  • Eike Dinogore
  • Nina De Pina
  • Eike Dinogore

Latin America Adventure

Nina and Eikes three month trip to Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, and maybe Chile Weiterlesen
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  • Latin America Adventure

    Day 49, Uyuni

    23. Februar in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We arrived exactly on time in Uyuni, 06:00. The bus ride was too hot because the heater was on full. In Uyuni it was quite cold (7°), and Uyuni is about 1000 meters higher than Sucre, so we felt that too. We were a bit quickly out of breath again and a bit fuzzy in our heads, but that was gone after a few hours.
    We waited at the bus station untill there would be more light and life in town, so we wouldn't get robbed again.
    We went for some overpriced breakfast and went to the hotel. We could drop our bags, but had to wait untill 11 to check in.
    So we walked around the town, which has a big wild west atmosphere. There is sand and dust everywhere. There are also a lot of old trains everywhere. We were wondering if we should say hello to the sheriff of the town, but we didn't. 😝
    Wifi is really bad here. At 11.00 we checked in, and the lady wanted to give us a room, but we booked a train 🤭 she made a mistake and we got the key of our train wagon. We went out to book a tour through the Uyuni salt desert and after that went shopping for our trip. It was really dusty and hot, we had to protect our eyes because of the sand, that was flying around because of the wind. We went back to the train, but it was super hot. We tried to nap anyway. Nope. Too hot. Then we decided to eat something, and discovered that carnaval is not over here yet, but we had enough. Went to the wagon ( it was not that hot anymore) and made some instant noodles for dinner, it was not that bad. After dinner we went to bed, watched some netflix and get some rest and save energy for our trip tomorrow    Weiterlesen

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    3311

    Day 50, a salty but sweet day

    23. Februar in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    We made it to the hotel breakfast! It was quite nice with fruit and yoghurt. We went out for more coffee and got some money. Then we checked out and went to the tour office, where Louis tied our stuff on the roof of the car. An English pair, a woman from Paraguay and a guy from the Philipines are also with us. The first stop was the train cemetary. It was full of people. All the tourists from all the tours that started today were there, because all the tours start at the same time 🙄 It looked like they were waiting for the next train 😅
    We had lunch at a village close to the salt flats, that sold only tourist stuff. It was not so nice. After lunch (llama, which was good) we went into the salt desert. There were still a lot of people at the first stop, but the further we went, less people were there. We made some funny pictures and went to look for water in this white salty dessert for more funny pictures. We found water but sadly there was too much wind so the reflection was not so sharp. We drove some 2 to 3 hours over the complete white sea of salt, to see the sun set, but it was very cloudy. We didnt care because it was so beautiful anyway! It was also getting a bit cold. It felt also colder because the salt looked like snow.
    Louis gave us some wine, but we left when the flashes from a storm got closer. We couldn't really see the sun set, but it was a nice view anyway, with the dark clouds. We drove another 2 hours over very bumpy sand roads with huge cacti next to the road (3meters tall), untill we got to the hotel, which had walls made from salt and everywhere salt on the floor. There was even salt on the table! Here we got our dinner with some music on tv, and then we went to bed, because it will be a long day tomorrow, and we were also very tired. We will have breakfast at 7.    Weiterlesen

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    I choose you! PIKA! PIKA!1111

    Day 51, the Bolivian desert

    23. Februar in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    On this second day of our tour, we woke up at the sol y luna hotel in San Juan, and had pancakes with fruit for breakfast.
    We left around 7:30, and our first stop was somewhere in the middle of nowhere to look at the amazing mountain view. We drove further, over the Chilanian border to look at an active volcano (Ollagüe), where steam was coming out. Under it was a beautiful volcano rock formation that would not look misplaced in a Star trek episode.
    Somewhere we went back over the border into Bolivia (we don't know exactly where, because there was no border).
    The road was just a sandy dust road with holes and rocks, and it was very shaky 😊 We went on our way to the first of 4 lagoons, when we saw some vicuñas. They are a type of llama, but these are protected. If you kill one, you can go to prison for two years. They live in herds of up to 40 vicuñas, with only one male. Llamas and alpacas are eaten and bred for their wool, but vicuñas live in the wild. After the vicuñas we also saw some nandus, a kind of small ostrich, who were also really cute 😊
    When we arrived we saw our first flamingos of this trip. There are three kinds of flamingos living in this area, with the andean flamingo being the biggest. The view was amazing! The mountains, the water (it had a bit of turqoise color), the sunny weather, and the pink flamingos were stunning! 😍
    After a while we drove to another lagoon, where we also had lunch. At this lagoon were much more flamingos. They were everywhere! 🦩 different kinds together. They make funny noises. Some sound like geese 🪿
    After lunch we stayed a little bit longer, because Luis (our guide) wanted someone else to look at the car, because he thinks something is wrong with one of the wheels. We didn't mind, because safety first and we could look at the flamingos some more 🤭
    We went on our way again, through the desert sand, and passed beatiful mountains and landscapes, and came to a few rocks that looked funny. It was really windy here, and Luis told us the rocks were shaped by the wind and sand.
    We went 'on the road' again (there is no road, it is just driving through the desert), and the next stop would be for a surprise animal. After half an hour we came at a funny rock formation, and saw some small furry animals sitting on and under the rocks. They were real life pikachu's! Viscacha's are family of chinchilla's and have a brown/grey/yellowish fur, with ears a bit like a bunny, and a long tail. They were very cute, but other tourists were feeding them, and that was very sad. We did not see a mango tree growing anywhere in this desert at 4400 meters, so we do not think that is on their menu. Maybe they can get sick! After the cuteness overload and to see all the animals in their natural habitat, we quickly went on our way again, and Luis was driving quite fast now. At some point he said we should close our eyes and open them when he said so. When we were there, and opened our eyes, we arrived at the next laguna at the national park! It was beautiful! There were so many colors, and the lake itself was red! It only turns red in the afternoon. This is the algae where the flamingos get their color from. We walked around a little and gazed at the scenery. And then we saw a swiss camper from Bern, and a VW transporter from Schwäbisch Hall on the parking lot 🤭🤑
    We went further and higher across the bolivian mountain side. It remembered us also a bit to be on another planet, like mars, because the sand was a bit red here. After a while we dropped by at some geysers at an altitude of 4884m. (It was the highest altitude Nina had measured with the app) We could stay here only for max. 10min because of the 'schwefeldioxid', 'zwaveldioxide' (sorry, don't know the english word. The gasses that smell like farts that came out of the earth). You could hear and see the mud boiling. Like blubb sounds.🌋 It was very cold and smelly, so nina did not mind we were only there for 10 minutes, but Eike could definately explore some more! 😅
    Our sleepingplace was only 20 minutes away, and it was at another lagoon, where there were also hot water springs. At the hostel it was still cold, eventhough it was 400 meters lower. The sun was going down and we had dinner. Spaghetti bolognese and wine from bolivia, the wine was fruity and delicious!🍷 After dinner we went out and looked at the stars. There were so many, we could not even find Orion so easily! The milkyway was super bright and beautiful. We didn't manage to make a picture, but Mali did, and send it to us. 🌌Thanks Mali!
    We could use the hot springs all night if we wanted to, but we were too lazy. The springs were about 150 meters away, down. At 4400 meters the way up feels really like climbing a mountain. Instead we looked at the stars some more, and at the thunderstorms that were having a light show at the horizon ❤️ it looked like a war was going on🎇
    The electricity in the hostel was going off at 22:00, so we went to our room that we share with Mark from the philipines, and went to sleep. There was no signal on our phones at all.    Weiterlesen

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    Day 52, crossing another border

    27. Februar in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We watched the sun rise over the mountains and lagoon this morning. But we had some breakfast too, surprise! Surprise! (Toast, cheese, sausage, egg, dulce de leche, cereal)
    When we were eating, Luis changed the tire he was already looking at before, and tied our bags on the roof.
    Then we went to Salvador Dali's desert. He painted a desert from his imagination, but it exists here in real life. He was aparently never here.
    We went to our last lagoons, the green one and the white one, and there were two perfect volcanoes there ❤️ Bolivia is so amazingly beautiful!
    But sadly we had to go, and the next stop was some pre bolivian border office, where we showed our tickets for the national park and our border control QR code. Without this, we could not leave the country. Then came the next Bolivian border office 🤷‍♂️ there was an 1,5 hour line, but Luis hassled for us, and he got our passports stamped via the backdoor 🤭
    We said goodbye to Milo from paraguay and Luis, and went into a minibus to Chile. We gave our 'leaves' already to Pachamama (mother earth) yesterday, because they are illegal in Chile. You also can't bring anything that is opened, and fruits or vegetables. 🤷‍♂️
    The crossover went ok, and Eike forgot an apple in his bag, but they didn't make any problems. From the border at 4400 meters we drove in half an hour to San Pedro de Atacama at 2400 meters. The landscape changed quickly to something totally different. From high mountains into a giant slope, into complete flatness. All in 30 minutes 🤭There were also a lot of llamas next to the road, all dressed up with colorful thingies on rheir ears. When we arrived we drank a coffee and got some free internet. We decided to take a bus to Calama today, because we are a little bit in a hurry. Nina still wants to see andean condors in Arequipa (peru), and Eike wants to see the nasca lines (peru), but our flight to costa rica goes the 10th of march from Lima.
    So we stay one night in Calama and see if we can go to Iquique tomorrow.
    The busride was only about 2 hours, but the views were amazing! We drove through the atacama desert, and through the valley of death and the valley of the moon 😍
    Calama (2200m) is a city in the middle of the desert, and is surprisingly green. But apart from that, it is not very interesting. We don't feel bad that we don't stay longer.
    It was siesta when we arrived, but luckily we found a bank that was still open so we could get money and something to drink. It was very hot and sunny. We walked to the busstation and got tickets for tomorrow morning to Iquique.
    Eike wanted to drink a beer, but the kiosks are not allowed to sell alcohol, and it is forbidden to drink on the street. It was also really not so easy to find a bar that was open, but after a while we found one.  A woman with a very short blue dress took our order. When she left, we realised all four waitresses were wearing the same very short and revealing blue dresses. It was a bit weird. It had a strange atmosphere, so we quickly drank our beers and left to the hotel. Our hotel room is this time a container 😅 the tv is working, and there is even working netflix on it, so we watched a movie and went to sleep.    Weiterlesen

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    Day 53, on our way to Iquique

    27. Februar in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We woke up early, booked a hotel in Iquique, and packed our bags. There was nobody there to check out, so we left the key in the room. On our way to the busstation, about half way, Nina realised she forgot her passport in the hotel room 🤦‍♀️ We walked quickly back and luckily someone came who knew the code of the gate, so Nina could ran in and grab her passport. We started walking back and got a taxi. After bit of waiting we realised we were 30 minutes early... 😅
    We got a nice coffee and not so nice sandwich, and went into the bus. It is supposed to take 5 hours, but the bus is taking the long way, so let's see.
    We arrived in Iquique (8m). It is a city at the sea, surrounded by huge sand dunes of a few hundred meters high. It is very warm (28-30°) and sunny. We walked a bit around and to the beach. There were really huge waves!
    We ate a vegetarian schwarma in a nice alternative looking surf place. We were tired and went back to the hotel where it was very very hot and the ventilator is not really blowing any wind 😅 and it has only one tiny window. But the room has a nice atmosphere with nice graffiti paintings on the walls. We watched some movies on the big tv and went to sleep. The shower is cold, but perfect with this heat. We also got towels! But no toilet paper 😅    Weiterlesen

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    11

    Day 54, Iquique

    27. Februar in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    After breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs, we went to the beach. We met a homeless person who lived on the beach and was very happy with that. After talking with him for a while, and some ice cream, we walked further. On the side of the promenade were some stone cliffs, we thought it would be possible to walk there but it was a dead end. But we saw some big lizards laying there and enjoying the sun. We walked back and passed the swimmingpool. It was closed, but the black vultures went in anyway, enjoyed the not salty water, and hung around at the side of the pool 🤭 We walked further and sat at a kind of theatre at the beach were you could look at the sea and watch the waves. There was the 1st youth body board championship going on. The waves were high and perfect for this contest. Everybody has to go in a group of 3 or 4, and every person gets a colored tshirt (white, red, blue or yellow). Then they get 20 minutes to ride the waves and do tricks. We enjoyed our selves and sat at the beach watching the contest untill it was over for today. Everybody left so we left too, to eat some dinner. We had some boring fettucine, with nice beers at a beer bar. They had quite a lot of beer and even one that was called Tubinger, but it was made here in chili 🤷‍♂️ we went back to the beach to see the sun set, and we saw something in the water, close to the shore, that was not a human. It popped up a few more times, and it turned out to be a sea lion 🦭❤️
    After a nice day at the beach, we went back to the hotel and watched some movies. It was not so hot anymore because we closed the curtain and let some fresh air in our room. We did get burned though, and we both have permanent sunglsses on 🤭, eventhough we used a lot of sunscreen.    Weiterlesen

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    Day 55, another sunny day at the beach

    27. Februar in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Today we had a bit of a slow start somehow. But it was nice to sleep a bit longer then the days before. We woke up at around 10.00 and went out for some coffee, after we bought us some empanadas for breakfast. Then we walked to the bus terminal at the harbour to buy tickets for tomorrow to Arica, which is 20km away from the peruvian border. The sun was burning, so eike wanted to pick up his long sleeve from the hotel, but the hotel didn't open, so we went to drink a beer somewhere and then we tried again. They opened the door this time and eike quickly got his sleeve.By the time we finally arrived at the spot where the body board championship was, it was already over. The son of the guy we were sitting next to yesterday, became 3rd place!
    There was a band playing. It looked a bit like a boyband (teenagers) but the guitar player was quite good. Eike played around at the fitness machines.
    Another band was going to play, and it was some kind of metal core. It was nice to finally hear some loud music again!
    When it was finished we went to eat some pizza, packed our bags, took a shower and watched a movie. It was again a nice day at the beach😍    Weiterlesen

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    Day 56, going back to Peru

    27. Februar in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We left the hotel early, because our bus to Arica was going at 09:15. But the bus was late. Very late. We finally got into our bus, and then we stopped in the next town and had to wait for another bus, because our bus was not working properly. After 40 minutes we finally got into the next bus, and that one still had to load up gas, so in the end we left that place around 11:30.
    We enjoyed the watching the dessert while sitting in an airco bus. The dessert of chile was beautiful. It has also every few kilometers some green oasis. Most of it was flat, but at the end we came to some big sandy mountains, and the people in the bus including us had to get checked by the Chilenian police, supposedly for drugs (but they only checked our passes). But it was half way to Arica, good so we could smoke😝
    When we arrived in Arica, we decided to see if we could get to Tacna, the first city over the border in Peru. It sounded easy to take a collectivo (shared taxi) to there, and it would take only an hour!
    It was too good to be true. At the border there was such a big, big, BIG line, that it took 2 hours for us to cross the border, but then the taxi driver and the car had to be checked too, so then we were waiting for him when he was in line 😅
    But everything was ok, so after 3 hours we could finally go.
    When we arrived in Tacna, Peru, we had no internet again, and no money. Eike changed our leftover bolivianos, so we could take a taxi to the centre, since the sun was going down already, we list some euros because it was a not songood changing course, but better then nothing. The taxi driver was really nice and showed us some things in this city, and helped us find a hotel. It is a bit on the expensive side, but it is ok for tonight.
    We were very hangry, so we quickly went to find simething to eat. A hamburger it was. We had also a fancy cocktail in fancy glasses afterwards. We took a short walk around the block, and went to the hotel to catch up with all the penguins.    Weiterlesen

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    Day 57, kukelekuuuu! 🐓

    28. Februar in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We had not so much sleep because of the roosters on the roof of the neighbors. It is a 'tasty grill and snacks' restaurant that is never open and there must be at least 10 roosters on the roof. They started at 04:00, and one crowed after another since.
    So we had a relaxing rest day in tacna. But first we went to look for bustickets at the busterminal. It was a bit hard to find the place that sold tickets to Nasca, but we did. We are going directly to Nazca, since Arequipa is quite heavily flooded, with some deaths because of it, so we sadly have to skip this place.
    Tacna is not very big or interesting, but we walked around a lot and tried to get used to the heat. We drank a frappè and a milkshake.
    Then we found a mall while looking for the metal shop, but the metal shop was closed. On the second floor we found an arcade and played some games. Later we went to look for gifts at a traditional market, and found some! It didn't look like the market got a lot of customers and so it was very cheap and they were happy to sell us some things.
    We had bapao and eike some fried empanadas, his new favorite food aka snack, and went to hotel, but left a bit later for dinner. We went to some jungle food restaurant which was nice (but eike did not like it so much). We got place mat coloring paper and pencils for the wait. Yay! Finally us adults we also allowed to color! Amazing! They should do that everywhere! ❤️ we had some pasta with coconut sauce and some vegetables with meat. Somehow the lady didn't want to sell us only the pasta 🤷‍♂️    Weiterlesen

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    Day 58, waiting for the bus in Tacna

    1. März in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Woke up again at 04:00 because of the poor but annoying roosters.
    Had hotel breakfast with bread with avocado, coffee and fruit juice.
    We packed our bags, took it slow, checked out around 11:30, half hour before checkout, and left our bags at the hotel.
    We drank ice coffee, and went to a park and sat in shade. Today we spend most of the time like this. It is sunday and most things are closed, but we had brunch at an italian restaurant. Eike had pizza and Nina canneloni. Not that bad!
    We sat again in shade in a different park and then we went to the supermercado to get food for the bus. It will take about 14 hours.
    We thought we would have a double decker bus again, like all the busses we had before, so we picked seat 1 and 2, which were the front seats on the upper deck, with nice front view, but it was a different type of bus, and we ended up with no front view, and a shitty half window on the side 😅 luckily the chairs were the same as the other busses, so they were a bit comfy. Nina slept quite well and a lot, Eike didn't sleep so much and also not very well but at least we could watch some movies at the front tv in the bus, and party because the driver played loud music in his cabin all night long 🥳🫩    Weiterlesen

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    Day 59, arrived in Nasca

    2. März in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    We arrived later than planned, but still too early for the hotel. The room was ready so we were lucky and could check in already. We went out for breakfast and close by was some "health food" restaurant with pancakes, waffles, hamburgers, icecream and cake on the menu. 😅 eike picked pancakes with fruit, and nina a fruit salad with granola, honey, choco peanut butter, and yoghurt.
    It is even hotter here in Nasca (32°, with extreme high UV), so we did not do much today, besides going in and out of our hotel room and drank cold drinks down stairs at the small hotel terrace. Eike did reserve a place in an airplane for tomorrow morning, to fly over the nasca lines. Nina is a bit worried about having enough money for costa rica, so she decided not to go, and save 80 euros.
    We also booked a bus ticket to lima for the day after, and a hotel.
    When the temperature went a bit down, we went to get something to eat. We found a Chifa restaurant that was still open and we ordered whatever that was left 🤭 it was really nice slow cooked meat with potatoes, sweet potatoes, sichuan sauce and a little pile of raw onions 🤷‍♂️. The lady was very friendly and happy and surprised there were tourists in her restaurant (It was not in the center). But then other tourists also came in. I guess she was the only restaurant in the area that was still open. Here they eat warm in the afternoon, so most restaurants close around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and we tend to forget every day 😅
    The hotel room was hot. We dont have a direct window to the outside. It is a room within a big building, with a window opening to the hallway. It is a bit strange, but we had some hotel rooms like this before. There is no wind so the room can't really be aired. We sometimes move the door really fast to try to get some new air in 😅 there is also no ventilator or airco. During the day it is cooler than outside, but in the night it is much warmer.
    Eike lied on the cold tile floor a few times in the night to cool down.    Weiterlesen

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    Day 60, Nasca lines

    3. März in Peru ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We woke up and got ready to go to the airport. We got picked up at the hotel, picked up two more people, and went to the airport. Eike got 3 tickets, one to use the airport (30 soles), one for taxes (49 soles) and the actual airplane ticket (84 dollars). He left and Nina got a coffee and started on the penguins again. A woman came back from a flight and she was very pale and had to sit down. Nina was wondering how Eike was doing in the little airplane 🤭
    The airplane was a really small one. In total eight people would fit in, but it also depends how much weight you carry. In Eikes case were 2 pilots (one flying and the other one was talking via headset with the passangers and telling where to see the nasca lines) and 5 passengers. The flight was really fun. Eike never flew in such a small plane. The nasca lines itself were very impressive and massive if you think about it. Eike was really happy to do the flight.
    After 40 minutes eike was back on the ground and got a cerificate 😂
    We were taken back with a van to the city, and we stepped out at the plaza de armas (that is the main square). It was very hot. The desert really has a different kind of heat.
    We walked around a bit and ate a sandwich at a farmers market, but we didn't stay long in the town because of the heat. It was only 32 degrees, but it felt like 40. So for the most of the time during the day we spent at the hotels terrace and drank some beers in the shade with fresh windy air.
    In the evening we went to a restaurant that had a lot of vegetables on the menu! The mixed salad was not really salad, but cooked vegetables, and it was great! So nice to eat some vitamins! We also had some pasta.
    The man of the restaurant gave us a little book to look at during waiting. It was a 50 year old book of the woman who discovered the nasca lines, in german, english and spanish. It was nice to read, because eike did not get any information on his flight about the lines, so now we got some 😊 there are two different kinds of lines in nasca, the giant ones on the flat ground, and some smaller ones on the hills. They are made in different styles, where the ones on the hills are probably older, according to maria reiche.
    After dinner we got an ice cream and a beer and sat in a park again. Here you can rent small cars, motorcycles, or tanks, with bright colorful lights and music, that you can ride through the small park for 10 minutes. Not only for kids! It was a nice day in nasca and hopefully we can sleep better then the day before😊    Weiterlesen

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    Day 63, a relaxing day

    6. März in Peru ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We had a little hangover and went for the cheap breakfast again. We didn't do much and had a relaxing day with walking around a bit, going to see if they found eikes wallet (they didn't), going to the hotel, walked around a bit more, and ate some fried dough rings with honey from the street. Going back to the hotel again, watched someTv and hanging in the room.Weiterlesen

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    Day 61, a horribly stinky bus ride

    7. März in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    We woke up really early, packed our bags, said goodbye to the hotel lady and the cats, and walked to the bus station. Our bus left at 06:30. When we got in, the bus was already a bit smelly and packed with people.We guess that the bus was on the road for a while, and the people were wearing jackets, so maybe the bus came from arequipa.
    After two minutes driving, we had an hour break 😅 if only we knew that before...
    We didn't have window seats and we were not sitting together. Eike was sitting directly next to the toilet, and Nina directly in front of the toilet. Nina did not see what happened, but Eike did. A younger lady wanted to go to the toilet, but it was already occupied. So the lady had to wait for the other person to get in, too late. 🤮She started vomiting in front of the door and the floor, knocking on the toilet door to get in but still no reaction. Another splash of vomit then finally the door opened and she could get in, too late. So unlucky for us because we had to ride the bus for a while🫩. After a while a person came in to sell stuff, also wine. Eike bought a bottle to numb the smell pain, but the wine was not so tasty. Eike could vomit too but he didnt😂🍷.
    Seven hours later, we finally arrived in Lima! Finally 'fresh' air! Our hotel was not far away from the bus station, in el centro. Our room has a real window, wher at no time of the day the sun is shining in, so our room is quite cool. We have a tv that is more or less working, and our own bathroom.
    We went to el centro and got some cheap food. We then went to look for our friend Teo, whos phone is broken and we can't contact. We were only walking for a minute when we saw him 😂
    We got ourselves some beers and sat on the street. Then we went to find maxi, but he was working. Nevermind! He dropped everything and went with us 😅 we drank some more beer and in the evening we went home quite early because the street of the hotel might not be so safe in the night, and nina was tired from waking up at 05:00.    Weiterlesen

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    Day 62, Lima

    7. März in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    We had breakfast at a place where 2 coffees and two breads with egg were 2 euro! After our simple breakfast, we went with the metro bus to miraflores to enjoy the coast. It was more cooler because of the wind. We hung around there for maybe 3 hours, ate lunch, had a free cuba libre in the irish pub, and went back with the metro to el centro. The Metro was packed with people, like sardines in a can. Sweaty as fuck. When we finally got out at our station Eike realised he lost his wallet. Of course! Eike got pissed for a while because of what happend. But Nina could calm him down, it was just some money and his bank card which eike could block quickly with his phone. 😤🤷‍♂️.
    We went to the hotel to calm down a bit more, and then we went back to the metro bus station to see if somebody dropped eikes wallet at the lost and found. An eeny mini tiny chance, but it was all we could do. Nothing was dropped there yet, but the lady said we should try tomorrow. We ate some cheap street food, and got a cocktail in the park. We ended up hanging there in the park, talking to the sales men and women, listen to the music they played and drunk some more whiskey cola with them. Nina got a few self made presents from some guys. A thing made with thread in her hair, a bracelet, and a ring made of wire. It turned out to be a nice night and eike felt a bit better again 😊    Weiterlesen

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  • Latin America Adventure

    Days 64, 65 and 66. Last days in Lima

    8. März in Peru ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    We went for the cheap breakfast again, and we wanted to go to the city center again, but first we had to pick up our laundary that we brought away yesterday (i forgot to write). We took it to the hotel and then we left on our way to the center of the center. We have walked it many times, but somehow we kept walking in circles 😅 it was very warm because it was the hottest time of the day. After two hours we finally arrived in the old part of el centro. We met teo and maxi, but they were working, so we walked around a bit and drank something in a bar. We met teo and maxi when they were finished working, and drank some beers. It was 'gezellig' and got a bit late, so maxi wanted to walk us to our hotel.
    The next morning we had quite a hangover and went to the closest place to eat some fat food, but everything was closed because it was sunday, so we had to walk a bit. The rest of the day we stayed in the hotel, untill the evening, when we got a waffle with fruit for dinner. We went to the hotel, watched a movie and went to sleep.
    In the morning we packed our bags, left them at the hotel, where we checked out at 12:00. Our bus to the airport goes at 21:00 from miraflores, and our airplane at 02:30.
    It was not a special day, and it felt a lot like waiting. Nina still wanted to taste a 'queso hielo' (cheese ice cream) from one of the street vendors. It comes out of a giant bucket of ice cream. So Nina got one, and it tasted just like normal ice cream 😅
    In the evening we had one last beer with teo, and found maxi when we had to leave. We said goodbye to our friends, and picked up our bags. We took a taxi to miraflores and bought with our last soles two freshly baked breads filled with cheese at the cat park. We waited a bit more untill the bus came and went to the airport. There we had some hours to spend, so we found a quiet corner and watched some movies on the ipad. We went to eat some poké bowls, which were not even that expensive, but very nice because they had a lot of vegetables! 🥳 then we went through security where everything was fine, and walked to our gate. The plane was late, and our connecting flight in panama had only 30 minues in between planes. So when we arrived there, we ran and we ran, but there was no plane at the gate anymore. Luckily we got booked on the next one, with boarding starting in 15 minutes, so we both went to the toilet and then we could board!    Weiterlesen

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  • Latin America Adventure

    Day 67, Arrival in Costa Rica

    10. März in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We arrived in costa rica in the morning, and this time we were out of the airport really quick.(the first time it took us 2/2,5 hours to get out and the airport was full of people) we took the bus to san jose, and walked 3 km to a different bus station. There we got tickets to quepos (about 6 euro). The bus ride was about 4 hours. A chinese family took window seats of other people, including us, and pretended they did not understand they were sitting on our window seat. An older woman wanted to switch so we could sit next to eachother and we had a window. But we were really tired and fell asleep some times. When we arrived, we had to walk a bit back and take a ferry over the river, to get to El Cocal. Next to a small river, we saw a huge black leguan sitting in the sun!
    We couldn't get in touch with miguel, our host, so we had to walk all the way to Miguel surf camp. Nina saw two red ara's flying by, so for her it was worth the walk 🤭The way from the small ferry boat to miguels surf camp took us 30 min to walk in the hot sun with our backpacks. Sweat where dropping out of every pore. It was so hot! But we did it🥵💪
    Wow, what a place! It is very basic, with self build wooden houses, a little kitchen and community space, outside showers and toilets. Electricity is only with solar power, so during the day you can load phones and stuff, but in the night the power is reserved for the light. It mostly goes off between 22:00 and 23:00.
    The water has to be pumped out of the ground, since it is ground water. Interesting that it is not salty and perfectly drinkable too! It gets pumped into a 450 liter tank, but most people here do not realise they should be careful with the water. One morning the solar panels didn't have sun yet, and the water was out. The pump had to work with the generator, but there was no benzin. So there was no water untill a few hours later. But this didn't stop people to not be careful with the water 😅

    There is a big garden where tents and cars can stand, and lots of coconut palm trees. At the end it goes directly to the beach, where the waves are perfect for surfing and playing. The sea has sometimes stong currents, so you have to be a bit careful. Luckily it is not that deep. One of the volunteers here said that we shouldn't go past the last waves, but it would be very special if you could even get there. The surfers have a hard time to get to the bigger waves because they get pushed back towards the beach all the time.
    Our room is on the 1st floor and has a bed with moskito net, a small cupboard, a mirror, and a balcony.
    The first thing we did was taking a dive in the ocean. It was really warm but very nice! We ate a salad and sat by the fire at the beach when the sun went down. We went to bed early. We can't wait to wake up and having a beautiful time in paradise💚    Weiterlesen

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  • Latin America Adventure
    111

    Days 68 to 74? Miguel Surf Camp

    11. März in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    We booked 7 nights at Miguel surf camp, because after all the travelling we needed a vacation from our vacation 😅 The place is run by Miguel and his wife Pilar, who have a 10 year old son matthias (Matti). There are three volunteers from france (Matthias, Selena, and Olive), who help out in exchange for free sleepingplaces and use of the surfboards.
    Most days here are all the same. Waking up early, walking to the shop (if you don't do it early, you have to go in the heat and the only road has no shade), then at 09:00 the heat comes and the sweating starts. Then it is time for the first swim. The best is during high tide, because in low tide the currents are stronger. Then sitting in the shade, relaxing, watching the waves. Then it is time for the next swim. Etc etc. We didn't think we could be so lazy! 😅 the place here is so awesome!
    There is nobody at the beach. Really no other people. We are so relaxed here and we can finally let everything go. We always wanted to be able to do this, but never could. After 3 days in one place, we get restless and need to do something. But here it is real vacation vibes!
    A few more days of doing the exact same things and we are enjoying it so much!
    One day we helped Pilar with decorating the garden, because it was Matti's birthday! He turned 11.
    Eike got a nasty blister in between his toes, that opened and hurted a lot, but we wanted to rent a boat from the ferry men, to take us to the mangrove forest next to our camp, to search for crocodiles. So Nina and Joris (a german that arrived on the same day as us at the camp) went into town to get money, and eike would walk to the ferry and wait there for us. Nina and Joris saw six red ara's on the way to and from the bank!
    When they got back to the ferry, Eike was there and we got a boat with driver. We slowly went through the mangroves, and it was really nice and beautiful, but since crocodiles are nocturnal, it was the worst time of the day to see them 😅 We didn't see any, but it was a nice boat trip anyway.
    In the morning, someone was fishing in the water next to our camp, and he caught a small fish, but also with that small fish, he caught a small crocodile! Oops!
    It is also just nice to be here at this beautiful place and watch the small animals and the dogs. There are Leguans hanging around (also in our room), toads, crabs everywhere, kolibris and other birds, small green parrots, and crocodiles in the river next to the camp (but we haven't seen one yet. We did hear one, once in the night!) For sure we keep an eye on the ocean to see some wales or doplhins.
    One morning there was a horde of black vultures in our garden and were fighting over a dead chicken. The smell was not that nice😝Eike was happy to get it on his camera.
    We were thinking to get some surf lessons from miguel, but he was going on vacation today. Going off grid into the mountains. Pity for us!
    We had a nice pancake dinner one night, with us, Joris, the volunteers here, and two girls from austria and germany. It was really nice, with tropical fruits, chocolate and dulce de leche 😊
    We decided to book two more nights because we didn't want to leave yet. The vibe is too good here!
    We are a bit afraid that everything in costa rica is like the manuel antonio park, because it is high season here now. Nina read some reviews of other parks, and it seems they are all overcrowded, or not accessible without a car.
    We booked three nights 80 km up the coast, closer to monteverde and from there we will see what we will do.    Weiterlesen

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  • Latin America Adventure

    Day 70. A not so fun day at the park.

    13. März in Costa Rica ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    On the 3rd day we went to Manuel antonio nature park. You had to buy tickets online before, otherwise it would be sold out. We had the first time slot, and quickly walked passed a few big tour groups. We first walked though some forest. There is a pathway that leads you through the park. There were a lot of people talking loudly, so we took a path to the right, away from them. Here it was still very quiet and we saw a kind of big ginneapig, but smaller than a capybara. The forest turned in a mangrove forest and we saw some crabs. We came to the beach were there were one or two people swimming, and there were some leguans. We walked further and there were so many people! From this moment it was not like a nature park anymore. It was more like an entertainment park, where big groups of americans are being led by a tourguide from animal to animal (they didn't see more than we did, the guides just talk a lot to make it interesting), not looking themselves, not realising animals do not like loud talking. It is like a zoo. But the animals were not in cages, so they all fled for the big amount of loud people on the paths. Even the tourguides screamed so that everybody in the big groups could hear it. We heard one tourguide really screaming: "monkeys! Where are you?!"
    We saw a big group standing and watching up, and there was a sloth with a baby hanging in the tree. We think it was too slow to be able to flee the hordes of people 😢
    Because you cant take food, and no non-reusable plastic bottels, we had no water. We had to throw our bottle (that we already re-use since we are here) away... so we ordered two cola and two sandwiches (very dry, not even a tomato on it) for 24 euro. So it also has zoo prices.
    We saw some capucin monkeys when we took a path that was signed as 'hard'. We guess the hordes do not like 'hard' so it was a little bit more quiet here. We heard the 'brulapen' in the distance but they didn't show themselves. We wouldn't either.
    There was also a moment where Nina found a turtle, pefectly camouflaged between some leaves, and emediately a tourguide came almost running, screaming"and here is the turtle what i was talking about before!" He really took our spot. We were looking at the turtle in peace, but we got basically pushed away.
    Although we could be in the park 4 more hours, we decided to leave. There were also hardly any bird sounds, so it didn't make sense to stay. It was a horrible experience. We hope we will never see something like this again. It is a nature park to preserve the animals, but the animals dont want to be there anymore because of all the people. They really need to change a lot if they really want to save the animals.
    Outside of the park we finally could get something to drink again and went to the beach. There was a small piece of forest where big leguans hung out, and we went crocodile searching at the tiny river with the "watch out! Crocodiles!" Sign.
    Didn't see any. And then a group of capucin monkeys emerged out of the trees! They were very funny and tried to steal stuff from some people. They didn't manage it, so then they pulled a fresh piece of ananas and a fresh watermelon peel out of the trash cans 🤭
    It was very hot, so we went home. We could have taken a swim there, but we didn't have sunblock with us, because that was also not allowed in the park (and really really expensive her in costa rica!).
    Back at the camp, we had fun again. Playing in the waves 🩵    Weiterlesen

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  • Latin America Adventure
    1

    Day 75, 76, 77? , Jane's Beach Resort

    19. März in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    We had to check out at 10:00 and so we were packed and ready to leave. Joris from Hannover who came on the same day as us, also left with us. The road to the ferry is long and hot, so we decided to take a taxi. The car came to pick us up at the beach and in five minutes we were at the ferry. From there we had to walk to the busstation. But before that, we had to pass the tree where, since the last few days, two pairs of ara's are hanging out. So Eike finally saw them too! 🥳
    The busride was easy, and the bus stopped right around the corner of our next sleeping place. The area is more like an industrial area, so walking around here is not so interesting. They also said it is dangerous to walk outside in the night, because it is close to the port.
    The place where we stay is very fancy. They have airconditioned rooms, a restaurant, and a swimmingpool. But we sleep in the only tent they have, and our shower is the open swimmingpool shower. To really shower there felt a bit strange, and we had to keep our bathing suits on.
    We stayed here 3 nights, but it was a bit boring. Even the beach was not so nice, because it was very steep and you definately could not go swimming during high tide. Too dangerous. But we had a lot of fun playing in the pool and looking at the birds and leguans. The leguans were chilling on the walls and sometimes jumping to a palm tree and climbing up. We saw a tiny kolibri (only a few cm tall) eating from the flowers next to the pool, and some other birds bathing in the small pool waterfall. Twice a day 3 pairs of ara's were flying over, and once all 6 flew together. They usually live in groups of two or three, but we saw six!
    The dogs of the place are also very sweet. There are four of them, who are all totally different in character 😊
    We went out for dinner once, at a cheap place on the corner. Eike had nice rice with schrimps, and nina ordered something that was called 'fish coctail', but then she got chevice, the same disgusting plate we ate in Puno, Peru. It was very hard for her to eat, but she finished it, and eike left her a few bites of his nice rice 😊
    Since this place was not very interesting, there isn't much more to write about these three days. The tent was not that bad. It was big and it had two beds in it. In the night it was mostly ok, and from 9 in the morning it would start to be a sauna, but only untill 16:00 Then it started to cool down again. We got very brown here playing in the pool and sitting outside 😊
    After the last night, we packed our bags, took a taxi to puntarenas, and stepped into the bus to santa elena, in the mountains! It was a bit stupid, because the bus drove by our sleepingplace... 😖    Weiterlesen

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  • Latin America Adventure

    Day 78, 79, 80?, Santa Elena, Monteverde

    22. März in Costa Rica ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    It was quite a long drive with the bus from puntarenas to santa elena. It took 3,5 hours up the mountains, but the views were stunning! We also could feel the temperature going down, the higher we got.
    When we arrived in Santa Elena, the sun was shining and there was quite a lot of wind. It was very fresh compared to the warm and humid climate we came from.
    We stay in the Monteverde Monkey Hostel, where we have two beds in a dorm room. The hostel has a large terrace where you can look over a piece of forest. The lady of the hostel said that breakfast was included, and it would be toast, with eggs the way you want, and some fruits. It would be between 07:00 and 09:00
    After we put our stuff in the room, we went out and discovered that this is a very very touristic town. Very expensive too. When the sun was going down we went back to the hostel and put a sweater and jogging pants on, for the first time since the Uyuni desert in Bolivia! We sat on the terrace and heard the howling monkeys (brulapen) in the distance 😊
    The next morning we woke up to go to breakfast. But there was nothing and nobody in the kitchen. There was a loaf of bread, 20 eggs, and some bananas on a table. It turned out that there was no breakfast, only stuff for breakfast that you had to prepare yourself between 07:00 and 09:00 😂 the lady really did make it sound like there was a prepared breakfast, so we were a bit dissapointed 😅 we went to the terrace to hopefully see some monkeys, but it was very windy and cold, so we decided to go back to bed.
    Later we made ourselves some breakfast and take a walk. There must be a path we can take into a piece of forest, wouldn't it?
    No. There was no way to walk in a piece of forest. The only way is to buy a ticket for the monteverde mystic forest, and walk a path that many other tourists walk. We walked around the town and were a bit bored. We still have a full day tomorrow, and hanging around like this for another day would not be so nice. So we bought tickets to the forest for tomorrow, and really really hope it is not as crowded as manuel antonio park. Since our vacation is coming to an end, we also booked our last night in alajuela already, and the last 4 days at Miguel surf camp again.
    In the evening we got ourselves an empanada, which turned out to be so big, that it was a complete meal. It was only 3,5, and so the cheapest dinner we have found in this expensive country! That is including cooking for our selves, because groceries are more expensive here, than at home. Later we sat outside the hostel, at the forest side, and a nose bear came sniffing around!
    The next morning it was very inclear where the bus to monteverde cloud forest was going, so we had to take a taxi to be able to make it on time to our time slot.
    We arrived earlier than planned so we had some breakfast there, which was again really expensive. 39 euro for 2 coffees and two omelettes.
    While waiting, we saw another nose bear walking around 😊
    Then it was time to go into the forest. We took the longest route, because it was marked as 'intermediate to hard' so that would probably be the route with the least amount of people.
    At the beginning we saw some big black turkey-like birds walking around, but we didn't see much more animals. We heard some birds that made sounds like a squeeking fence that opens and closes 😂
    The forest itself was amazingly beautiful. So many different plants and trees, and all beautiful. The amount of tourists was definately not as much as in manuel antonio, but still quite a lot. We were walking quietly when we came to a woman who was quietly standing and whispering there were two quetzal birds flying around. So we also stood still and waited, but then a lot of people passed, talking loudly, and we just gave up. It is impossible to see animals here in costa rica during high season.
    We walked futher and came to a mirador, a lookout post on top of the mountain, where you could see all over the forest. It was amazing!
    When we came back to the entrance of the park, we went to the hummingbird gallery. A cafe right next to the park, where you can dring coffee, and sit in the garden where they have many hummingbird feeders hanging, and they attract different kinds of hummingbirds ❤️
    Then we decided to find the bus back to santa elena, but we didn't find it. We had to walk the full 5 km, after we already walked 5 km in the forest 😅
    After this, we earned ourselves some nice food. We did everything only on the omelette in the morning, and it was around 4/5 when we finally arrived.
    In the evening we started talking with an older couple from Berlin at the hostel, who were supposed to go to vietnam, but because of all the chaos in the middle east, had to change their flights a week ago, to some place else, and ended up in costa rica.
    We still did not decide where to go after monteverde, because everything is expensive and touristic. Then we looked at booking, and there was 1 room left for 3 nights at miguel's, so we decided to just go there, since we had a great time there before, it is cheap, and we can maybe take some surf lessons! So we booked the 3 nights and the bus back to quepos.
    (There is now one night left, in between the nights at miguel's, where we don't have a sleeping place because on that one night miguel's was already fully booked)    Weiterlesen

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    Ende der Reise
    4. April 2026
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