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Merry goes places
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Merry goes places

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  • Merry goes places
    1

    Chasing leopards :)

    16 de dezembro de 2016, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today, I made my way east to Yala National Park, the second largest in Sri Lanka. The park is only accessible by jeep safari and filled with water buffaloes, peacocks, crocodiles and wild boars. Our safari was lucky enough to see a leopard (pic 5), too!!

    After a short rain shower in the afternoon, there was a gorgeous double rainbow and an elephant showed up just in time for me to just sit there and watched it for quite a while.    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places
    1

    Gaining elevation

    17 de dezembro de 2016, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    After a beautiful second safari in the morning, I headed north to Ella, a small and kind of touristy town in the mountains. Surrounded by tea plantations and great hiking spots, it's a popular place to visit, but not overrun.

    The absolute highlight of the day was a short hike through plantations for sunset on top of "Little Adams Peak", with stunning views. Sri Lanka is such a diverse place, and each place has a lot of beauty to offer. For the most part, locals are helpful, funny and don't try to rip you off. I'm having a fantastic time :)    Leia mais

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    Mountain in the clouds

    19 de dezembro de 2016, Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Ella Rock is another great hiking trail in Ella. It stays by following the train treks and then goes up into the mountains up to one of the peaks. The weather was being moody and so I hiked into the clouds. But the view was still beautiful from up there.

    Other than that, Ella is a small town with a few cafes, restaurants and guest houses. I had dinner at a tiny Thai restaurant with only 3 tables and you had to preorder the food a day in advance. Yummy food and interesting stories from the two owners.    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places

    A day on the train

    20 de dezembro de 2016, Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Today, I made my way to Kandy, Sri Lanka's second biggest city. The ride is famous for the scenic views and took about 7 hours. Other than that, I got to rest a little and sleep early - as I have to get up at 11pm the same day to drive to Sri Pada, another hike that I want to start at 2am to be on top of the mountain in time for sunrise at 6am :)Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places

    10.000 stairs and an elephant ride :)

    21 de dezembro de 2016, Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    The day started at 11pm with a 3 hour drive to Sri Pada, the most visited mountain, also called Adams Peak. Many pilgrims come here to visit the temple at the peak and many tourists join to watch sunrise over the Sri Lankan highlands. The "hike" is basically a 3-4 hour staircase with 5000 steps each way. I got to the top at 5 am and enjoyed the sunrise and all the beautiful plays of light from the top.

    Afterwards, they're was more driving and then I got to ride on and bath with Pooja, a 30 year old elephant lady :)    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places
    1
    8

    Ocean calling

    22 de dezembro de 2016, Sri Lanka ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

    After relaxing and a stroll through Kandy, I headed north west, back to the beach to have some down time over the holidays and do some snorkeling and kitesurfing.

    The drive was long and I'm happy to not be stuck in a bus, train or car for the next few days.

    I made a new friend, too, her name is Emma ;)    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places

    Exploring Dutch Bay

    23 de dezembro de 2016, Sri Lanka ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    The northwestern part of the country around dutch bay is a kite surfer's dream, but I exiled the area on sperrt and by foot. On the peninsula at dutch bay lagoon, there are several small fishing villages I passed walking on the beach. The houses are open straw huts made from coconut leaves and the gales live off fishing. And the only way to get to these villages is by boat, tractor or by foot :)

    After a good hour and a half of walking on the beach, I finally got to a resort for lunch, which served the best did I've had my entire trip to Sri Lanka.

    Chill day of exploring and hiking on the beach :)    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places

    The magic of the ocean

    28 de dezembro de 2016, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    What a gift to be able to spend this time in, on and around the water.

    Christmas was a tough time for me this year, but besides talking to my family on Skype, experiencing all the ocean's beauties and meeting great people to kite surf with made it such a valuable time nonetheless.

    Oceanic highlights of the week: seeing hundreds of dolphins like these ones https://goo.gl/photos/UVbHi3kCXZggsnxN9 , kite surfing, night swimming in florescent plankton (by far the best I've experienced yet), swimming across the lagoon (800m each way) a few times.    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places

    Into the new year

    1 de janeiro de 2017, Sri Lanka ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    What a time I've had in this most beautiful country! I wasn't quite ready to leave, to be honest. I'll have to come back and explore more

    I ended my stay here by celebrating into the new year with a group of friends from Colombo. Nigel was DJ at a new year's party in the south, so we all joined and had fun celebrations at this new beach club :)

    Shortly after, I was on my plane to Germany, where I spent just under 3 days with my family, having belated Christmas dinners and getting ready for Mexico (pic 4 & 5. pic 6 is from my actual Christmas day in Sri Lanka)    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places

    New continent :)

    6 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    I'm writing from Mexico City, where my brother Mo and I arrived after a long flight marathon, including a 10 hour layover of seeing Miami South Beach.

    After arriving in the city of 20 mio people, we spent most day exploring, eating Mexican food and catching up with some sleep and really like the city so far. More pictures will follow :)Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places
    2

    A sinking beauty

    7 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We spent a beautiful day in Mexico City. Filled with touristy stuff like the hop on-off bus, the anthropological museum, a bunch of city squares and cathedrals, and a less touristy evening, checking out a few bars in the Candesa neighborhood. Oh and we saw a huge protest in the streets of downtown :)

    We're definitely enjoying our time here. One of the most obvious facts about mexico city - besides is insane size - is that it is sinking. 10 meters in the past 60 years!!! The reason is that it was been built on a dried lake bed, which cannot hold all the weight of this gigantic city. You see many older buildings leaning one way, streets are quite uneven in places, it's nothing I've ever seen before.

    Oh and it's such a valuable time with my brother! Can't wait for more exploring tomorrow :)    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places

    Dia fantastica

    8 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    We had a long and fun day! What felt like a bit of education about Mexican history and art was just as much a lot of beautiful views and impressions. Along our route were: modern art museum, Chapultepe park, street fair, castle & national history museum and a botanical garden. This huge park in the heart of the city really is a unique spot!

    Mo also taught me a new game - Roborama, much recommended ; )    Leia mais

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    Roadtrippin'

    9 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    We started our odyssey with a little VW rental car, heading north for 2 short days. Driving in Mexico City was no problem, people ride easygoing and so we made it safely 5 hours north. On the way, we visited one of the world's biggest pyramids and enjoyed the views from the top.

    The area around San Miguel de Allende is absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed a great time, eating dinner on a little rooftop watching the sunset and watching a local fiesta with ballet dancers, local foods and lots and lots of families in this charming historic part of town.

    Then we used the rest of the evening to catch up on work. Buenos noches! :)    Leia mais

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    A city of narrow, colorful alleys :)

    10 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ ⛅ 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 :)    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places
    1

    Our little cabin in the woods

    11 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ ⛅ 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    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places
    11

    My badass big brother

    12 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ ☀️ 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!    Leia mais

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    Hitting the asphalt

    13 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ ☀️ 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!Leia mais

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    More asphalt...

    14 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ ☁️ 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!    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places
    3

    When the jungle takes over

    15 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places
    12

    Mediocre Merida

    16 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ 🌙 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)    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places
    1

    Beauty beneath the surface

    17 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ ⛅ 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 :)    Leia mais

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    1

    Time to recharge our batteries

    18 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ ⛅ 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!    Leia mais

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    Floating bananas (or was it kayaks? :) )

    19 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ ☀️ 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 ;-)Leia mais

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    Crocodile hunters

    20 de janeiro de 2017, México ⋅ 🌙 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.    Leia mais

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  • Merry goes places

    Hola Havana

    24 de janeiro de 2017, 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.    Leia mais

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