Croatia

Only getting around to writing this down now after the holiday at the end of August and the memories are a bit hazy but hopefully as i write things will come back to me.

We spent 10 days in Croatia and we flew into Zadar with Ryanair. I found Zadar really nice and I'd have it as one of the highlights of the places that we went. As with any of the cities we were in it is a walled City. We stayed in the Old Town in an apartment. The old town or Stari Grad in Croatian is full of little streets and it's just nice to take a wander around. The sea Organ here was impressive where the pressure of the waves coming in pushes up air for the organ. Very simple idea and very relaxing just to sit at the water listening to this. The Ice Cream here is exceptional as are the Pizzas. I'd think there's a very strong influence from Italy maybe from the Venetian invasions. For booking accomodation the tourist office here was exceptional and they were very friendly.

We travelled to Zadar National Park for one of the days. The waterfalls and turquoise lakes here are amazing. I have no shortage of photos from here and maybe the number of photos from here says enough about the place but this is well worth a visit.

I think it was an 8 hour bus journey from Zadar down to Split and from here we got a ferry out to Hvar island with Jadrolinja. We booked our accomodation here with the tourist office but a safer bet would probably be to go with booking.com before you go. Hvar seems to be the playground for the rich and famous. The first day we were there we were amazed at the size of the boats and the following day there were new ships that dwarfed the previous days boats. It's a crime to have hunger in a world where you have 3 storey ships going around. Hvar is a great spot for the young and not so young. One one side of it you have all the bars/nightclubs while on the other all the restaurants are. St Stephens Square here is gorgeous and there is a walk to the castle above the square which is lovely to do at night.

We were able to get a ferry from here down to Dubrovnik which was lovely and relaxing. You'd almost think going on a cruise ship would be a good idea but being in Dubvovnik would soon change your mind. Dubrovnik was lovely once the crowd from the cruise ships left as the place was choc a bloc. The cruise ship crowd walk down the street 10 abreast and take up the whole street and the prices here are very inflated I suppose because of this. Having said that Dubrovnik is lovely and the walk of the walls is particularly good. War Photo Limited is very good here and is well worth a visit.

We drove from Dubrovnik back to Zadar and the drive back to Split looked to be very scenic from what we saw in between clouds as there was awful rain the day we drove back.

I'm surprised this came to be this long at all.

Here are the photos:

Croatia 2014

Don't cry for me Argentina

Here's a map of the spots we hit:
View Larger Map

Just back since Tuesday night from Argentina via Santiago and before I go near describing any of the fantastic scenery the highlight of the trip was the Bife de Chorizo or Sirloin Steak which was absulutely beautiful and tender. Other beef is like cardboard after being here.

Not far behind this are the fantastic people of Buenos Aires and Patagonia. For instance in Buenos Aires we got in the wrong side of a subway or Subte so we would have to pay twice to go over the other side due to our minimal I'll call it Pigeon Espanol but a random stranger gave us his ticket and his only request was to mention this when we got home. These random acts of kindness were replicated in Patagonia and the people were superb.

We left Ireland on the 27th of October heading Cork - Amsterdam - Sao Paulo - Buenos Aires but I think you can skip the Sao Paulo flight depending on the day you fly. It was24 hoursdoor to door by the time we landed so straight to bed when we arrived in SanDanzas hostel.

Cornflakes, coffee, croissant (or medialuna in Argentina meaning half moon) is the norm for breakfast in Argentina and while light you're generally not looking for much more as the previous nights Bife de Chorizo is busy digesting. The first day I was lucky enough to get tickets for the Superclasicó between Boca Juniors v River Plate. The football is really a sideshow here as the atmosphere here is more like Football meets the CrystalMaze, starts at 1:43 if this means nothing to you.

Highlights of Buenos Aires would be Cemetario de Recoleta where Evita’s remains are buried with the Duarte Familia. Also of interest with regard to Evita are Casa Rosada and there is a Museo de Evita also. The markets in San Telmo are well worth a look also. A stroll through la Caminito in Boca and a tour of Boca Juniors stadium, La Bombonera is a must also.

After here we headed for El Calafate in Patagonia down the very south of the country where Perito Moreno glacier is close to. Lovely town for rambling about here. We stayed in America del Sur hostel  while we were here and also made a trip to El Chaltán which is beautiful spot in the mountains where you can hike to some of the Glaciers. We made the trek to Lago Torre and Glaciar Grande which was 6 hours but it was well worth the trip. I found it tough enough but I had rented boots for going to Perito Moreno so part of it could be put down to that. Fitzroy didn’t fully clear while we were here but really enjoyed the 2 days here. Hostel Condor de los Andes  was one of the best hostels that we stayed in on our trip. Perito Moreno was amazing here. The blue of the ice was incredible and seeing waterfalls to the bottom of the glacier, crevices and underground taverns was a great sight.

We headed for Bariloche next which was a big lake district and while when you arrive the town doesn’t look like much but I think the real sights are really around the town. A recommended restaurant here is “El Boliche de Alberto”  which has amazing steaks. A trip well worth doing here is to San Martin de Los Andes where we spent a night in El Oso Andeluz Hostel . Town is alot more laid back than Bariloche and less developed even allowing for the fact that it has 2 Irish pubs and looks nearly more like a Swiss village with all the wooded cabins. There’s a great walk outside town that leads up to a lookout over Lago Lácar and the Che Guevara museum here is well worth a look. The cars here always stop if they even think there’s a chance that a pedestrian may be crossing the road so much so that you’ll almost get knocked down when go back to Bariloche. One other thing I forgot to mention is that Milongas or Tango dances aren’t to be missed while in Argentina. One we went to in Buenos Aires was top class and there was also one in the Irish pub in San Martin while we were here. It was back to Bariloche after here and the highlights here were a cable car ride on the way out to a walk Circuito Chica and the actual walk here. We stayed in the hostel 41 below while we were here that wasn’t great but also stayed in Hosteria Nogare  which we found great. Bars around 41 below were very good. Los Vikingos and also there are 2 places across the road from 41 below with your back to the hostel across the road. Send to the right is the spot. If anyone can tell me the name I can update it accordingly.

On to our final location in Argentina, Mendoza now. There was a big change in the friendliness of people here compared to both Patagonia and Buenos Aires. This couldn’t be said of the people in Hostel Alamo  who couldn’t do enough as regards advice about Tours. Lovely city to have a ramble about and didn’t do an awful lot of note bar going on the wine tour to Maipu here. We did the cycling around vineyards here and Familia de Tommasa and La Rural were very good to visit. You are cycling on busy roads with buses and trucks so I’d look at doing a tour in Lujan de Cuyo if I was to do it again but I’d have to research it. The local police keep a close eye on you here bar turning a blind eye to cycling with drink on you so bar the traffic you’re safe as a house.

One final word on Mendoza while people in restaurants weren't that friendly on the last night we went to a concert in Plaza de Independencia and had a Parrilla or selection of meats and we found people there very sound so perhaps we just needed to scratch a little below the surface

We were flying out of Santiago de Chile on the way home and we did the crossing over the Andes. Waiting stationary at the border and taking 4 and a half hours to clear border controls took a bit of a gloss off it. Also if people are planning this it might be worth trying to change to another bus in the same bus company if this happens as another person did that came onto our bus. In general our bus driver said 2 hours is the norm whereas it’s 3 in the other direction. After the border the road goes in chicanes and constantly bends over on itself and us in the front 2 seats were almost certain we were going over the edge at many stages. With the passing of almost a week and being back to the monotony of life even with the delay I’m glad we did this. I’d say we were only out in Chile for about 6 hours but Chilean people seemed very friendly and I wouldn’t mind having a better look but I think it may be an exercise in patience. Hostel here was Happy House hostel .

Last stop home was in Amsterdam where we had a 8 hour layover and the Heineken Brewery is well worth a look here.

Well that’s me finished. Roll on the next holidays.

Here are the snaps:

Argentina November 2012

Greek Islands

Just back Monday from the Greek Islands and I have to say it was fantastic. Contrary to the media spin we had no trouble at all either due to strikes or feeling at all threatened. I couldn't recommend it enough as a destination.

I was previously in Santorini 8 years ago before the Olympics and I'm almost certain it was Ios I went to on this occasion also. Just had a very relaxing time in Santorini and did alot of sleeping, reading, eating, drinking and back to eating. We stayed in the Volcano View and it had a great view of the island and it was very enjoyable just watching the sunsets and having a beer watching the sun go down. It got cold enough when the Sun went down and had to put on a hoodie and light pants but wasn't that cold that you'd have to take off the sandals. booking.com was also excellent for doing any bookings. The one activity we did here was walk to Oia from Fira which is about 15 km and it takes about two and a half hours. Hard walk but well worth it for the views. Santorini is beautiful but it gets overloaded with the cruise ships and maybe I'm getting old but a good few of the pubs have what I could only call jungle music. All the same great spot to see but if not too expensive Oia would be worth staying in.

After 3 days in Santorini we headed for the island of Folegandros which we spent a night here in Vrahos Boutique hotel which is 400m from the port which was very nice and staff were very friendly. The town of Hora was lovely with little winding streets and it was quiet enough also. Hora seems to mean town in Greek as every island has one.

Our final island to visit was Naxos which was the best of the whole lot. Fine lively town with lots of restaurants and plenty of culture. The main sites we saw were Temple of Apollo right by the port, Dionysus Sanctuary in Iria (3 km away, we got here by bicycle) and also Demeter's sanctuary which you can get to by local bus. Hotel we stayed in, Saint Vlassis was amazing and guy running it couldn't do enough for you. It's 10 minutes walk from town and 5 from the beach. On our last day we cycled to Plaka beach which was amazing. We almost had the beach to ourselves.

We arrived back in Piraeus port at night and it's not half as threatening as it looks. The Triton Hotel here is basic but it's very near the port and we stopped here on the way out and the way back and found it good.

In Athens we had no problems and just did a quick trip to Acropolis and saw the changing of the guards on Syntagma square which is done on the hour.

I couldn't recommend Greece enough to anyone who is dubious.

Photos are here

Freedom again in Belize/Guatemala

Absolutely great time was had in Guatemala/Belize and felling of absolute freedom was amazing. It felt like being back backpacking again.

We were away from the 15th of October and arrived back on the 1st of November. We flew from Dublin via Newark and Houston with Continental to Guatemala City and the way back we flew from Belize City via Houston and London.

We started off on the holiday thinking we were a small bit mad going to Guatemala seeing as almost everyone we told reacted to us as if we going into a warzone. US Immigration in Dublin didn't help by saying I was going into a drug war when I didn't have a day by day timeline of where I was going and doing at all hours.

We arrived into Guatemala City and we headed straight to Antigua as we had heard bad reports of Guatemala City and generally there's generally not huge differences between Cities. We stayed in Villa Esthel in Antigua booked via Hostelworld. It was a small bit outside town but I found the hostel very good. We stayed here for 3 nights and it was a great base for exploring Antigua. We generally just rambled around Antigua. Cerro de la Cruz had great views of the city. Antigua has alot of old Cathedrals that are well worth looking around. We did a tour to Volcan de Pacaya from here. There wasn't a huge amount of Lava here as there had recently been an eruption but it was still well worth seeing. The natural heat from the Lava is unbelievable and the landscape is like what I'd imagine the moon would be like. We met a great crowd on this and headed for the square outside La Merced off Plaza Mayor for Pupusa which is cheese cooked inside a Tortilla. Chile Relleno were absolutely fantastic here. I'd certainly recommend eating from the street vendors as much as possible while you're here. There were a huge amount of Israelis both here and in Guatemala in general.

We headed for Lago de Atitlan from here which was 3 hours away. You could see alot of the roads had been washed away on this trip. We headed for Panjachel on the banks of the lake but we (Caroline might say I) thought here looked very touristy so we instead headed for San Pedro. We stayed in Casa Maria Elena which had hammocks out the front and was very good. We paid 100 Quetzales here and it was well worth it. The town here is very laid back and it is very Western/tourist focussed but I loved the place. From all reports San Marcus seemed to be set up similarly although some people reckoned it might be unsafe but only one person said that. We climbed Indians Nose from here to watch the sunrise and although the Sunrise wasn't great it was still well worth it. The guide we used Johan has his office across from Casa Maria Elena and I would certainly recommend him. The View from the hospital up the hill in San Pablo is well worth it also.

After here we headed for Lanquin and Semuc Champey. Unfortunately we had to head back to Antigua which was 3 hours away where we had to wait for almost 2 hours before heading on to Lanquin which was another 7 hours away. We stayed in El Retiro which was good and I met some great people through here but I'll sound like an auld wan saying the music was very loud. As the Guatemalen guy on the tour said the Scenery was the music. El Portal might be another option worth looking at. From here we did tubing down the river which was brilliant followed by swimming through a cave with only candles to light the way. There was a swing over the river also which I made a mess of myself on. There's a photo of my belly from after this but I'm not sure they do justice. I think it was the first time to get a tan from a belly flop. There were a few bats in the cave and it was great. Part 2 of this was a climb up to see the lookout over the Limestone Pools of Semuc Champey and then we headed down to swim in the pools. The photos don't do any justice to the views but it'll go alot further than my words. We stayed 2 nights here.

We headed onto Flores after this which was a further 7 hours away. This town is on an island in a lake and although it is small it was a lovely spot to walk around. Villa de Chef was a great spot for a feed and a couple of Botella de Dorada Ice. It was very touristy here and the businesses here are definitely more money conscious while it seemed better off than other places we'd been. We stayed in Los Amigos here but found it very hot and wouldn't recommend it although the crowd running it were very nice.

We headed to Tikal from here. The one thing to say is to book the bus out to Tikal in plenty of time as San Juan pull the busesif they can't be filled. I had been in Palenque and Chichen Itza but I still found Tikal very impressive. We stayed in the Tikal Inn out beside Tikal to take advantage of the sunrise and sunset. This cost $55. If you get your ticket after 3.30 you can get your ticket for 2 days. It was worth it for the sake of seeing the sunset but if you look into this you might be able to do this from Flores depending on the time of sunset and time of last bus. There was a storm the morning we were meant to get up for the sunset so we left it as it would be cloudy anyway.

After here onwards to Belize City which took 4 hours after the border in Guatemala took 20 Q from us to put directly in their pockets. If you're asked for this you shouldn't pay it but it depends on how far you can push it with them. The crowd in San Pedro Water Taxis are very good and we got the boat with them out to Caye Caulker. Caye Caulker was very laid back and we stayed with Chilas Cabin which was a lovely spot but the air conditioning wasn't any good. There was a good breeze which looked after us most of the time and also ac doesn't seem to be very common. The snorkel trip from here was amazing and we saw Nurse Sharks, Turtles and Sting Rays. They filled us full of Rum on the way back in also which was a plus. If you do a bit of looking here for food you can get decent value for money but it can be quite expensive if you go to the wrong places. There's a FAT guy on the strip that does amazing sea food. Caye Caulker was amazing and very relaxing and would certainly recommend it to anyone.

Last day in work for the week tomorrow. It's amazing how quickly a holiday becomes a dream.

Photos are here:

Guatemala,Belize 2010

Home again

Last couple of photos from Rio are from here on:
http://picasaweb.google.com/thesupersaints3/RioDeJaneiro/photo#5215250157879685698


The trip to the favela was very worthwhile and also Cristo Redentor (Christ the redeemer). All that remains is the depressing task of finding work.

Iguazu and Rio

Well anyway we arrived into Sao Paulo from Caracas and thingsinstantly became all the easier. People were friendly. Colombia would be my favourite place in South America but I'd love to have more time to see Brasil. From our limited time here it has been amazing and so easy to get around in with the helpfullness of the people.

Anyway we did an overnight bus to Foz de Iguacu which was meant to be 16 hours (I think) but we did it in 15. This is more or less on the Brasil-Argentina border. From here we headed to Puerto Iguazu in Argentina via both border checks. If anyone is lanning on doing this I'd recommend a taxi as the bus doesn't stop at the border checkpoints. We relaxed the first day and headed for the falls the following day. We did the boat ride under the falls which is a bit of a ripoff and not worth doing at all but on the other side the park is very good value. On the Argentinian side you really get close to the falls and the views are amazing. We headed for Catarata on the Brazilian side the following day which amazingly was even better than the Argentinian side. The pictures do more justice than any description I can give you. We headed to Parque de Aves after the falls after this which was really good as well.

Well onto Rio that night on another night bus of 24 hours. After all the travel the first couple of days were fairly uneventful. Caroline came to the Macarana to watch Fluminese draw 1-1 against Santos (Pele's old club). It was great atmosphere even with the limited crowd. Fluminese were poor considering they're in the Copa Libertadores final against LDU Quito. It's also strange that they're currently bottom of the league. Last Saturday we headed for Flamengo against Sao Paulo which was absolutely amazing atmosphere with it being like a nightclub inside a football stadium. Flamengo lost 4-2 though although they still top the league. Caroline had alot of beach time here while I don't know what I did. Pao de Asucar was the only thing I went off on my own doing. The views from this were amazing. Today we did a favela tour in the morning and just rambled around the Centro in the evening. The favel atour was very good with some of the proceedsgoing to different projects here such as a nursery. The gap between rich and poor here is astounding.

Well 25 hours to go to my departure now. See you all soon. The weather better be good.

Slan,
David

Salto Angel, Iguazu Falls, Rio De Janeiro

Latest photos from Rio are here:

Rio de Janeiro

Also finished adding the remaining photos from Ciudad Perdida along with Salto Angel and Iguazu Falls:

Cartagena, Taganga, Ciudad Perdida, Salto Angel, Catarata Iguacu, Rio De Janeiro

Anyway as I said at the end of the last post we headed for Venezuela. We had been warned that Venezuela was a dump and more trouble than it was worth by almost every traveller we met bar maybe 1 or 2 but with Chavez's high profile and it being a socialist state I wanted to see it for myself. From the moment we got into the country it was nothing but trouble with our bags being x-rayed twice, being asked for our passport 3 times and Carolines bag being searched before we got to our chosen destination which was Ciudad Bolivar via Caracas. They also have a double economy going on here with a black market operating at a rate of 3000 Bolivars to the US Dollar whereas the cash machines give you about 2100. This is designed to keep inflation down for the poorer population but in my opinion what happens is that anyone reasonably well off has access to the american dollars so it's only the poorer people that lose out. One thing Chavez had done was giving a handout to the Indigenistas of $150 a week we were told but on the downside they aren't growing crops or farming animals due to having this free money. For those that don't know it the country is the third highest producer of oil worldwide. I'd be very worried what happens here when the oil runs out as the people here have forgotten how to work and are extremely unfriendly for the most part.

Oh and while I think of it those that say FARC are all bad must have a look at this link on Alvaro Uribe, the leader of Colombia whose father was heavily involved in the drug business:
Alvaro Uribe's links to drugs

Having said that Colombia was absolutely amazing and would definitely recommend it.

Anyway back to Salto Angel. We did the tour with green Iguana in Ciudad Bolivar. It cost 600 Bolivar Fuerte which equated to about $430 with the preferential exchange rate. The sites on the tour were absolutely amazing but the guide left alot to be desired. It doesn't really matter quality wise which group you book with as all the tour companies are lumped together when you arrive at Canaima. It's strange in Venezuela that nearly every tour is run by German ex-pats which even the Germans refer to as the German mafia due to their wheelings and dealings. We were really lucky as we saw Salto Angel without any mist which I think is fairly unusual not that you'd get any info out of the tour operators. Also on our first night we were only 5 minutes from the falls but our tour guide neglected to mention this simple fact. On the last day we saw Sapo falls and went right under them which was brilliant. We flew back to Ciudad Bolivar from Canaima in only a 5 seater Cessna plane which was very good. The trip here is very overpriced but it is absolutely amazing to do.

We headed back to Caracas on the overnight bus that night and stayed around the hotel for most of the day mostly because we were shattered and we had also been warned that it was unsafe. We went out for food that night which was as usual overpriced. Venezuela left a very bad taste in our mouth compared to the friendliness in Colombia. English music was very prevalent here but from our observations most of the time the people couldn't be bothered making the effort to try to understand you.

We flew to Sao Paulo the following morning and as per the norm in Venezuela only one of the cash machines in the international airport accepted international cards. Was a disaster but we'd come to expect this in Venezuela. I'll have to tell you about Iguazu and Rio later as I've run out of time but I promise it has a much happier ending.