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Merry Goes Round
Merry Goes Round

Merry Goes Round

traveled in 16 countries Read more
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  • Merry goes places

    Two days at the laptop

    March 14, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Don't have much to share other than I've been working lots. In this hostel, I get to enjoy a view even for work calls early in the morning with a lovely sunrise and the occasional dolphin sighting :)
    Feeling so lucky and thankful for the perfect mix of traveling and the awesome people I get to work with!    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Two days at sea

    March 12, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    My last two days in statistics: 1 freight ferry, 36 hours, 4 whales, 2 dolphins, 40 or so penguins and countless seals and albatrosses.

    The weekly freight ferry from Southern Chile to Punta Arenas also takes a few passengers on each ride and so with about 25 other backpackers and locals, I crossed the Beagle Canal and the Straight of Magellan through sunshine, thick fog, storm and mostly overcast with beautiful views.

    Besides the stunning scenery down here, the most exciting part was spotting the marine wildlife from deck. Here's some proof of our spottings :)
    https://goo.gl/photos/MjFdTM6BSKKtQ71a7
    https://goo.gl/photos/JWN9GGiHbuXLSxst9

    The last hours went through a storm, which slowed our journey by a few hours. Here's a view towards the front of the ship https://goo.gl/photos/dXVGyVaH13rpJVfA6    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Rest / work / planning day

    March 10, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Puerto Williams is a curious town. Other than being the southern most town on earth, with only 2.500 inhabitants, it offers a few shops, a fairly strong military presence, and ridiculous opening hours (for example 4pm to 7pm or "sometime after lunch").

    Things work slowly this far south, or tranquilo, as the Chilean says. So running a few errands basically took all day, working and planning my next days in between opening hours ;)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Ooh sunshine

    March 9, 2017 in Chile ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    I took it easy today, there was more to see and sunshine to enjoy. The trail went mostly through thick forest and was actually quite challenging, with giant fallen trees in the way everywhere. Thanks, you mean beavers!! ;) I climbed or scrambled over about 30 or so (see picture 2), which I am convinced would be so much easier without a 40 pound backpack...

    The last 10km went by the ocean, which I much enjoyed! Such a beautiful island - especially on a sunny day like today.

    Now time for a hot shower :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Muddy, muddier, the muddiest

    March 8, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Today I crossed the third and toughest pass. Super steep and unbelievably muddy, the path and I soon looked the same all the way up to my knees (sorry I forgot to take a picture, #2 shows my pants fairly clean before the ascend ;) ) After about an hour through this vertical mud, there was about another hour through rocks and boulders, and then a fast descend, sliding down a rocky steep hill, which was super fun.

    All of the trail has been incredibly beautiful and weather ever-changing but always on my side. So thankful I get to see the world on foot like this.

    I'm camping early today and only 2km from the trail end, but decided not to finish yet. I planned 2 more days and didn't want to spend all day in town but rather out here in the woods tomorrow :) That'll give me one rest day and then I start moving north on Saturday.    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    1

    It's cold in the south :)

    March 7, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    I'm already in love with this trek. Most day was quite challenging, but even more rewarding. I crossed 2 passes, the first one with lots of snow and the second one with beautiful views of Cape Horn (pic 5). The trail is so diverse, from meadows to rocks, swamp and scrambling over boulders. And so is the weather - rain all night, lots of snow on the pass, some sunshine in the afternoon.

    After a hot dinner, I'm now laying in my cosy sleeping bag as snow has been falling peacefully on my tent for almost an hour. Hope I stay warm :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    1

    Into the wild

    March 6, 2017 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    After spending the first half of the day in transit into Chile (Navarino Island), I finally headed out on my 4-5 day trek, called Dientes Circuit.

    It feels fantastic being back on the trails, with my gear and food packed up and only wild nature awaiting me for the next few days. I hiked about 6 hours, mostly through forest and swamps. The weather was chilly but no rain, which made me super happy :)

    Pathfinding is tricky this time as the trail is not marked so well. I lost the track twice today, but was always able to meet the trail again after a while :) Thank God for my GPS    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Fireland adventures

    March 5, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    What a fun day!

    With three new friends from France, Switzerland and Italy, I hiked up to a glacier lake. Some adventures included: hitch hiking in the back of a small delivery van, walking through muddy swamps with some of us sinking in way over our boots, river crossings, beaver dams, and gorgeous views.

    A fun new hiking tradition is greeting other hikers in random languages, our favorites today were Austrian, Italian and Japanese :)

    I also picked the nicest spot on the hike to leave an item that belonged to my grandpa there (pic 6). In the 1940s his dream had been to emigrate to Argentina, but he never made it there himself... Love you, Opa Gerhard!    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    11

    At the end of the world :)

    March 4, 2017 in Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 6 °C

    After a seemingly endless journey to the southern most city in the world (or fin del mundo as they call it here), I spent my first day working and exploring the area. The city of Ushuaia is in the very south of fireland and starting point for most Antarctica excursions. I too will be taking a boat south from here on Monday, but not all the way to Antarctica ;-)

    Besides being a small harbor and airport city for tourists, there's not much to say about Ushuaia.

    Outside the city, beavers have taken over the island and leave traces everywhere. Weather has been nice, but rain is forecasted for my entire hike next week...    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    25

    Family time

    March 1, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Some of your family you're born into, and then some of the people in your life become family by choice. Both kinds are such a gift and especially precious when you share all the fun and all the rough times in life with each other.

    This time I got to spend 2 weeks with my loved ones in California, just living life, going on little adventures in the bay area and up in the snowy Sierra Nevada. I also spent some time repacking all my gear (according to Aria, I was packing all day every day ;) ), and am now ready for my next adventure in Southern Argentina.

    My dear ones in Cali will be missed every day!! Love you    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Lets fly a kite!

    February 13, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    I'm a bit sad this is my last week in Mexico :(

    But the bright side is the great time I'm able to spend here in El Cuyo, kite surfing all day, eating authentic Mexican food with new friends and, which was dearly needed, tons of sleep. I have a little room in this tiny non-touristy town, and have been sleeping in my hammock - I could totally get used to this!!!

    The kite surfing is fun and finally learning to go upwind very rewarding. The guys from comekitewithus.com are building out a fantastic spot for the wind and an experience off the beaten path, away from the hypertourism in most of Yucatan.

    Thanks John, Rose, Ryan and Becky for a beautiful week!    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Dive, work, relax, repeat.

    February 7, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    I really enjoyed my week on Cozumel. Besides getting some more work done, I got my diver's certificate after 4 dives and a theory test.

    Diving was my reason to come here and I fell in love with the sport right away! Cozumel has tens of reefs and spots to dive with rays and sharks, and nice warm water. My favorite dive was through a vertical reef dotted with tunnels to swim through and underwater caves to explore. I saw a 2 meter wide sting ray and hung out with two big sea turtles under water. I'm certainly hooked on scuba diving! Although I think I still prefer free diving because you don't rely on technology and fancy equipment but only on your skills as a diver

    I also made some new friends, did a trip to a very remote pearl farm north of the island and cooked some good old German food (Oma Diddas Wurzelgemüse). This was the first time I had cooked a full dish in many months. It wasn't as good as it could be, but I enjoyed it :) Oh, and picture 3 is my diving instructor's car. VW Bug. It's falling apart (in one sharp corner, the door opened by itself), but drives without issues!    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    24 hours of happy

    January 29, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Having rented a car for 24 hours, we decided to make the most of our freedom on Mexico's highways. We started mid day, so after a half day at a water adventure park in a natural lagoon / inlet, we obviously had to see the sunset in a little fishing town and then get up at 4:30 to catch the sunrise at the Mayan ruins of Coba :)

    The water park was fun and since it was quite cloudy, not busy at all. Chloe's highlight was certainly seeing manatees (the thing that looks like a rock in picture #2 ;) ). Our overall highlight of these adventure filled 24 hours was definitely the ruins of Coba though. We got there just in time for sunrise and were on our way, biking to the main temple as soon as the gates opened. We had the small pyramid for ourselves close to half an hour before other tourists got there. These places from the Mayans are quite fascinating, but for me personally also a bit strange to visit. To think there were numerous human sacrifices performed on the top of this temple, and the "altar" stands there to this day...

    But the view over endless thick jungle is not diminished by that!! And after a fun morning, we brought back the car just 25 minutes over our 24 hour rental :-)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    1

    New memories with old friends

    January 27, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    So blessed with amazing friends!

    I got to hang out with my friends Chloe and Derrick for a family wedding in Puerto Muredos for a week. We had a relaxed time and enjoyed every meal, adventure, and tons of good talks together! I also spent a good amount of time working and got to attend Derrick's sister's beach wedding and meet his lovely family.

    Although I must say that these all inclusive resort vacations are not at all my typical travel mode of choice, I enjoyed every day! We found fun things to do, like build expressionist sand castles, ventured off quite a bit, like the first night I got to the resort, we walked by the beach into town to go explore ;)

    Farewell was hard (proven by picture #6) as it is always with my much loved Chloe, but we know there will be more adventures another time! Will miss you guys!    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Hola Havana

    January 24, 2017 in Cuba ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    We spent 4 days in Havana, just a one hour flight from Cancun, Mexico. Even though there's lots of tourism on Cuba, the country seems still quite isolated, stuck in time a few decades back. Which is kind of awesome, but also kind of awkward. The nostalgia has its charm, but at the same time the "good old days" seem to be long lost and the charm is giving way to an imbalance and discontentment.

    Our first impression of Cuba was actually positively different, very likable people, classic vibe from all the classic cars & buildings, and a surprise: very good vegetarian food (= happy brother). But we also experienced ridiculous overpricing on everything touristic, mismanaged city planning, and just the sheer contrast of paying $20 for an ok meal - being the equivalent of a monthly medium wage here. Hence no wonder you will find many people looking to make a dollar or two with tourists, we called them "hustlers" and met very many of them :)

    It's also impossible to find a normal supermarket here. We were "chasing" simple things like toilet paper for days... ;) Oh, and Internet access is extremely limited also. But we also had a fantastic time, enjoyed good food, drinks and fun excursions to the fort, Che's house, and the charming city center. One of our highlights was the wind and waves by the water - so beautiful, we could have watched these forces of nature for hours.    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Crocodile hunters

    January 20, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

    It had probably been something like 15 years since my brother Mo and I last sailed together. So it was about time for a revival :) After a productive morning, we sailed with a small catamaran through a lovely afternoon on the island. This time, we also saw the crocodiles! As well as an iguana and the usual suspects pelican and flamingo

    It feels great to be more busy with work again and to have such relaxed and happy days with my brother at the same time.

    We're staying in Cancun tonight to catch our flight to Havana tomorrow.    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Floating bananas (or was it kayaks? :) )

    January 19, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Today, we joined a tour paddling on kayaks that looked like floating bananas (unintentionally, I think).

    It felt so good to spend the day on the water! We went through a few tidal channels and mangroves and saw pelicans, sting rays, flamingos, but missed the crocodiles that live here. Oh, and we took a mud bath. Well, my brother and I helped each other reach the tough spots ;-)Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Time to recharge our batteries

    January 18, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    We've seen so much and been so busy traveling and working alongside for the last 2 weeks, we badly need to take a break.

    Perfect timing for 3 days on Holbox, a small island not far off the coast, but far enough not to be too overrun by visitors. It's not the most remote place to be, but it's quite charming and layed back.

    First order of business: take a 3 hour walk along the beach by myself. I'm feeling brand new and balanced again. Another highlight are the many swings in the bars and restaurants here - fun idea!    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Beauty beneath the surface

    January 17, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Today, we visited three cenotes, sink holes, or underground spas ;-) The first one was completely open, a deep hole in the ground without a ceiling, so to speak. Visitors share this fantastic natural phenomena with little black fish - which love to eat human skin when you hold still - an additional spa treatment ;-)

    The next two cenotes were caves. Small entrances through the rock lead into an incredible underworld, mysterious and beautiful. I really loved the second one, picture 5 doesn't really do it justice (too little light down there), but gives you an idea of what it looked like.

    We skipped the famous pyramids Chichen Itza, not willing to stand in line for an hour to get in. I know I'm one myself, but I do my best to stay away from too many other tourists if I can ;) And so we did a quad ride through the jungle instead. Just Mo, the guide, myself and the jungle :)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    12

    Mediocre Merida

    January 16, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    I try not to complain too much, but we weren't really impressed with Merida. The "White City" was praised for its architecture and the many white historic buildings. What we found was a busy, loud, kitsch place with little atmosphere. Maybe it was because we had seen all these charming places further north and Merida simply couldn't keep up with our expectations. Or the start to our visit with our hotel lobby being completely demolished ;)

    Anyways, we found a few cool buildings, cafés, and a tray of cocktails in the colors of Mexico ;) (pic 5)    Read more

  • Merry goes places
    3

    When the jungle takes over

    January 15, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Palenque is one of Mexico's most celebrated archiological sites, located amidst the jungles of Chiapas. 1400 temples and other stone ruins lie beneath the forest floor, with only a handful completely excevated and another 20 or so visible to visitors.

    We started with a jungle tour, where a local guide showed us some of the hidden temples beneath giant trees (pictures 4 and 5 are in temples below the forest), today home of thousands of bats (pic 4 has 4 in it) and snakes (luckily, no pictures here ;) ). We also swam in a small waterfall and swang from vines, you know, the things expected of foreigners in the jungle ;)

    Our little jungle trip was followed by a historic tour of the fully excevate temples and a royal Mayan palace. We learnt that the Mayans had flowing water systems, lots and lots of kings, who liked to be buried in fancy tombs with jewelry, jade stones and masks and to sacrifice people to the gods. But never rabbits, they were sacred and not to be killed.

    The most fascinating thing to me is the fact that the jungle has claimed back this place, overgrowing the old city with tens of meters of plants, dirt and giant trees. Makes me feel quite small and humbled, in a perfectly good way.    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    More asphalt...

    January 14, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    We spent the morning in Oaxaca, walking some more through the historic city center, the farmers market, and both got a haircut ;)

    The next 13 hours, we spent driving. German philosopher and author Precht is keeping us good company with an introduction into world philosophy and modern questions of society. The road was as windy as it gets for about 5 hours, crossing another mountain range in the jungle, and spat us out in small villages, with lots of agriculture around.

    At 12:30, we made it to our little jungle hut, a nice place to stay and chill in a hammock. Finally!    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    Hitting the asphalt

    January 13, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Today, we mostly spent on the road, making our way to Oaxaca City. Obviously, I'd rather spend the time outside a vehicle, but it was a good time to relax and spend a good time together :)

    A few cool things on the way: constant view of some volcano, mountain range or high peak, driving & eating ice cream, huge fields of cactus, a Mexican chess master, indigenous art and the best food we've had so far in Mexico!Read more

  • Merry goes places
    11

    My badass big brother

    January 12, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Today was by far the craziest hike I can remember.

    We started in the early morning just in time for sunrise over the two volcanos Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuratl (picture 1). Then the best thing happened - we met two Mexican hikers (I mean professional hiking guides who make me look like a wimp on the trail) who offered to do the trail together.

    We started from 3960 meters altitude at our parking lot and spent the next 6.5 hours ascending through trails of sand, gravel and boulders, often scrambling up rocks, and loved every minute. Though I must say I felt the altitude early, going slower than usually. My brother felt fine and at one point even took my backpack so I could keep up :)

    The views were amazing, especially of the active "Popo", coughing up ash and rocks. Here's a panorama shot https://goo.gl/photos/vRDVwW1bJC4ZHXmf9
    Close to the top, it got really cold, especially as we crossed the glacier at windy 5100 meters. Brrrrrrrr.

    We made it to 5230 meters, exhausted and happy, and ready to lose some altitude. The way down was tough, as the sand made the descend slippery. Where there was a lot of sand, we didn't mind - we skied down like this https://goo.gl/photos/PbLmdbDU6D17SNYC7 :)

    So much fun!

    After hiking the last 30 minutes in the dark with head lamps, we made it back almost 12 hours later. What a day! We're completely beat but happy and a tiny bit proud. I'm especially proud of my brother who, with basically no acclimatization, made it to 5200 meters and a crazy hike of 11.5 hours to get there!    Read more

  • Merry goes places
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    Our little cabin in the woods

    January 11, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    My day started early as I woke up just before 6am. I decided to seize the opportunity to do some journaling and watch the sun rise over the city. I also took a 2.5 hour walk through the little streets, finally catching up with two precious friends back home via skype.

    After a long drive to Popocatépetl, one of Mexico's highest vulcanos, we really enjoyed the views of the 5452m high giant and it's surrounding national park. To our surprise, Mexico has this alpine treasure - unfortunately also with alpine temperatures ;)

    We found a rather remote little place for the night with a bunch of cabins in the woods, and a restaurant that closes at 6pm. Luckily, we got there at 5:50 and got to order dinner just before closing. We've since been chilling in our little cabin, warming by the fire and playing games. This is totally my kind of day :)

    Tomorrow, we're going hiking!!! 8 hour trek up Iztaccihuratl at 5286m, the vulcano right next to Popocatépetl. Cannot wait    Read more

  • Merry goes places

    A city of narrow, colorful alleys :)

    January 10, 2017 in Mexico ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Ok this is definitely the most enchanting place I've seen in Mexico so far. The city of Guanajuato has a charming historic center, filled with little alleyways, leading through old colonial streets and up the hillsides with steep stairs.

    Driving here to find our bed and breakfast was quite the adventure, but a fun first city tour before we started our own walking tour (most places are only accessible by foot here).

    Beautiful architecture, great views and yummy food made for a lovely day, and a productive evening, as Mo and I both got a bunch of work done :)    Read more

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