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Dimanche 18 octobre 2009

Cheers mate!

After 3500km on the New Zealand roads, we have just crossed Australia from south to north! Starting in Adelaide, we drove mainly on the Stuart highway (which is more or less australian's 66 route) almost 5000km to reach the top end city of Darwin. We wanted to fell the vastness of this country (and we did!) and to discover of course the wonders located in its red central desert: Uluru, Katja Tjuta & King's Canyon. Also we wanted to avoid the more touristic east coast, and to live one new adventure in a very different environment. As Australia is not a cheap country (actually the most expansive destination in our round-the-world trip list!), we managed during those 3 weeks not to pay for any accomodation! 6 nights sleeping in our tiny car, 8 nights couchsurfing and 7 nights camping in the bush!!! So for 21 days, we were really "dust eaters in outback Australia"...


ON THE ROAD TO THE RED CENTRE

Hmm... it didn't start well cause my backpack got lost when we changed planes in Sydney, so we had to sleep a first night in the car at the airport. Not very exciting... The next morning I got my luggage back... and a Qantas pyjama that Vladi uses now! So finally we left Adelaide after a quick stop in a supermarket and started our road to the north. The first few days we drove a lot, mostly from morning till dusk, stopping in the roadhouses to drink a coffee, spotting our first road-trains (trucks with 3 or 4 trailers up to 56 meters long!), washing ourselves in the bush and sleeping in the car. We stopped in the opal mining city of Coober Pedy, where the weather is so hot that the people live underground! They really have their bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms underground... The landscapes grew more and more desertic, the soil turned red, and the colours sometimes became surrealist like the "Breakaways" (where a Mad Max movie was shot).








We also stopped several times to have our first bush walks, and we nearly got lost once! Scary when you see all the dead cows or kangaroos being eaten by crows, eagles and vultures... Very desertic indeed the center of Australia! Nothing but weak little trees, funny-shaped termite mounds, abandoned rusty cars... and you! From the main highway we were usually turning off into little dusty roads to have some rest or to picnic in awesome peaceful spots. The few pubs along the way (every 200km!) were interesting to see the local people, but it's also in those places that we took notice of the aborigenes' conditions: most of them were tramp-looking with bottles of alcohol in the hands. A pity when you think that, like the indians in America, they were the first owners of this big territory, Australia. But we had a very constructive talk about aborigenal issues with Daniel in Elliott, so I'll come back to that topic later...








The day before our arrival at Uluru, Vladi and I celebrated on a red sand dune our traditionnal "birthday", this time for eleven months on the road... Ice-cold dark local beers were welcome by a temperature of 40°C!!! We also promised ourselves to travel more slowly in Asia, meaning seeing less different places but spending more time in each of them. We were already exhausted and that was just the beginning of our crazy outback trip!




ULURU

When arriving in Yulara, the city-resort near of Uluru, we "stole" a shower in a camping! Well we just pretended to be users and went straight to the bathrooms to take a quick but vital shower... Then on the parking of the visitors center, a couple offered us a 3 days pass (50$) for the national park! Always lucky we are! So we went immediately hiking 3 hours around the base of "the Rock", of course carrying plenty of water and wearing our good hats. That was really amazing. Walking so close to this huge sandstone rock formation allows you to discover all its different shapes and colours, including some hidden waterholes, aborigenal paintings, former waterfalls and steep cliffs. Purely beautiful!









We stayed there for sunset, playing like kids with our shades trying to take an original picture. Uluru became more and more beautiful (red!) with each minute passing by. As usual leaving the crowds gathering in an organized tourist place, we found a quiet place where we could enjoy the sunset alone...




After the sunset, we went back in Yulara to meet Samantha, a sweet couchsurfing member from Hong-Kong who was willing to host us even if she had already 5 german people at home! Fortunately, we got the bed from a german couple who were nice enough to sleep in their "campervan". And believe me, that bed was a priceless gift! The other germans, Juergen, Steffi and Karolin were a little bit upset by the situation, but the french won! Hi hi! We had some comfortable nights (at last) and spent 2 nice evenings all together, especially with the funny and kind-hearted Sam! Thank you my dear friend!



KATJA TJUTA

The next day, we visited the nearby striking group of domed rocks called Katja Tjuta. After having spotted some wild camels, I went first alone walking the "Mala" gorge path (45mn return). That first glimpse was impressive, but nothing compares to the "valley of the winds" walk (3 hours) we hiked with Vladi just after...





Indeed, we hiked through amazing landscapes under a fierce sun and didn't see much other people, except a brave couple in their sixties! The odd rock formations combined with an incredible mix of colours (blue sky, sparse green vegetation and red domes) were fantastic. Only Australia's outback can offer you that kind of scenery! Great, isn't it? At sunset once again, we played our favourite shades game and it was another success...








KING'S CANYON

Leaving the south of the Northern Territory, we drove a little bit (here, that means 300km!) to reach the astonishing King's Canyon. The weather was so hot on that day, so Vladi choosed a small walk (45mn return) while I went for the big one, 3.5 hours, carrying with me 4l of water! Oh my god that was beautiful once again my friends!!! Have a look at that first serie of pics...







Sometimes walking on rocks that can shred shoes, sometimes on wooden bridges and stairs; through peaceful forgotten little valleys or along high cliffs; jumping over rock holes or bottomless faults; that was quite an adventure in a gorgeous desert setting. I was looking for the local thorn devil lizzard (an incredible lizzard whose body looks like flames!) but didn't see one. Well, except on postcards... There was some wildlife tough, but not much: only some crows, little lizzards and weird pigeons. After some hours, the water went missing (yes, the 4l were gone!) but suddenly, I saw the carpark again! Ouf!







WEST McDONNEL RANGES

We spent one night wild camping, then in the morning kept on driving and arrived in the town of Alice Springs, the only real city in the middle of Australia. Nothing really interesting to see, but a useful stop to buy supplies for a long lonely road, check emails and have a quick civilisation feeling! We headed west in the afternoon to a campground in the McDonnel Ranges. We stayed there for one night, cheating on the honesty box once again (but you know why if you have read the previous blog article about New Zealand) and taking a well-deserved shower. In the lovely Ormiston gorge, we spotted our first rock wallabies around a waterhole. They were cute, not really afraid but keeping distance to us, jumping with agility on the mountain slopes.






We also stopped to see the Ochre Pitts, some very colouful rocks used by the aborigenes for their paintings, and later at the Standley chasm where we felt tiny in the tight natural corridor compared to the steep cliffs above our heads... The West McDonnel Ranges have their share of surprises too...






DEVIL'S MARBLES

Crossing Alice Springs one last time, we drove north on the Stuart "Explorer" highway until we reached another spectacular scenery: the Devil's Marbles. With boulders shaped by time and erosion, I had another surrealist feeling while hiking through that place. The weather was very hot, actually it seemed to me that it was getting warmer and warmer going north. Vladi took a nap in the shade of a big boulder, while I had fun taking pictures of myself among those crazy rocks, as you can see below... Then I joined her, park the car under the only tree around, and we slept a good deal of the afternoon until the temperature was more bearable. Then we hit the road again, stopping in the bush for a new night of wild camping just after the city of Tenant Creek. It was so hard for me to sleep in the heat of the tent that I stayed outside until midnight reading a book under a sky with millions of stars...








TINY LITTLE ELLIOTT

If you look on a map of Australia, you'll see that Elliott is just a tiny little dot in the middle of nowhere. And it was indeed a tiny little town (200 unhabitants) where usually no one stops. But we did and truly enjoyed our stay there thanks to another fantastic couchsurfing experience and the kindness of our host, Daniel. After 4 nights of bush-camping without showers, he welcame us like old friends in his big comfy house, cooked a mean curry chicken the first night, and treated oursleves to ice-cold beers! What a great feeling to be at home!!! We enjoyed a lot watching DVDs laying on the couches, reading books or just doing nothing (for 2 days I was feeling weak and was happy to rest).

Daniel, who is a primary teacher for aborigenes kids, invited us to the local pub and to a "party", where we met the weird local population: not used to see strangers, they don't know how to behave normally, like to say hello or do some casual talk. Instead of that, they just sat down and stayed beetween themselves, too shy to try to communicate with us. A strange but interesting experience... Fortunately Daniel also invited some european girls who were working at the gas station for a few weeks, so we had someone to talk to, while Daniel was losing his money playing poker. The next morning (it was a sunday), Vladi cooked some pancakes and Daniel a fresh bread, and we had a delicious breakfast all together.

We also had a very interesting conversation with Daniel about the Aborigenes. Well you may know they were put out of their own lands and deprived of any rights, if not hunted and killed, for a long time. Lately the australian government made an official and national apology for the way they behaved towards the aborigenes, and now they are provided with houses and money (like a rent for they were the original owners of the lands). The problem is that they are kind of lost in the cities, and at the same time are slowly losing their traditions (which are only spoken, not written in books). A good part of them uses the money to buy alcohol and get drunk. Daniel, who has lived there for one year and a half now, told us that sometimes they do crazy things in their brand new houses, like trying to cook entire kangaroos in the oven, or even lighting campfires in the middle of the living-room! All is not dark and negative tough, and some aborigenes make great studies and adapt themselves to a modern life-style. Still, the harm was too strong and now the aborigenes are lost in their own country... Such a shame, isn't it?

Daniel also provided me an internet access in the school, and the local police officer (yes!) drove us one day on a dusty sandy road to a nearby lake where we had a refreshing swim surrounded by plenty of birds. Ahh... Couchsurfing! A big thank you to you, Daniel! Hopefully we'll catch each other again soon in Vietnam!




GOING NORTH... ALWAYS GOING NORTH...

After having said "farewell" to our new friend Daniel, we drove north as usual for a few hours, and in the middle of the afternoon arrived in a curious place: the Elsey national park. Of course we had noticed that there were more trees in the area, still we were surprised by the thermal springs in this dry piece of land! Truly like an oasis in the desert! Moreover, a colony of big and noisy bats was living in the patch of forest around the springs, hanging under the branches or flying above our heads... Really a weird place... and if you don't mind taking the risk of being eaten by crocodiles, you're welcome to swim in the river... Well... no, thank you!







We slept once again in the bush in the middle of nowhere, on an abandoned little road hidden behind a rocky hill. Then, guess which direction we took? NORTH, of course! Always north! We arrived a few hundreds kilometers later in the city of Katherine, and visited the nearby Nimitluk national park. The Katherine gorge was gorgeous, and swimming in the river or in the pleasant Edith Falls' pool was a real treat considering the "always hot" weather. We didn't even see a cloud for ages! The omnipresent blue sky somehow made me wish for a refreshing rain... A "ch'ti" (french people will understand) in need of rain, isn't it ironic? But at least the vegetation grew every day greener or simply more present, and we were happy about that after 10 days of full-desert trip...








LICHTFIELD NATIONAL PARK

Now we were really coming close to the top end of Australia and its northernmost city, Darwin. When I took the turn-off from the Stuart highway, I saw the sign "Darwin, 120km" and realized that Adelaide was more or less 3000km behind, and that we had already driven more than 4500km in about 2 weeks!!! Nearly the end, but not the end yet! The promising Lichtfield national park was waiting for our visit, and immediately impressed us with its tall termite mounds (up to 6 meters high!). If the highest ones were amazing, the magnetic termite mounds were even more interesting (you can clearly check the difference in the following pics): those magnetic termites are so intelligent architects that they build their flat thin mounds in a special orientation not to be burnt by the sun or blown away by the wind! I went out of the beaten path to walk through the termite mounds field, instead of contenting myself with the far away tourist look-out, and was well-rewarded with some fines insect-buildings views.





But the beauty of the Lichtfield national park was mostly in its numerous and cute waterfalls. The Florence falls and the Wangi falls were a pleasure to swim in, while the Tolmer falls look-out was a fantastic place to breath in serenity facing the greatness of nature. Near the Wangi falls, plenty of big and scary yellow spiders were waiting for dragonflies in the middle of their webs, and if you look well, you can see their tiny red babies... well... I thought they were babies, but actually they were the males, and the big yellow ones the females... ah ah ah! What a lovely world, I'm glad not to be a spider!










We camped in a local campground (with honesty box, you know our wicked technique now...) and had a peaceful sleep, while plenty of wallabies were trotting (hum, I'd rather say jumping) around the tent. I realized that when I went outside to pee (yes, I know, I'm a poet) with my headlight: there were dozens of them playing and eating in the little trees, and they didn't hide when I came around. Cute little beasts. I wonder how they taste like... just kidding! In the early morning we swam in the rockoles of a nearby river to relax and cool down our bodies after the hot night, that was brillant! We stayed there a long time, then when the crowds arrived, we left and drove finally to Darwin.




DARWIN


As a matter of fact, I didn't take pictures in Darwin, because it was not really an exciting city. Nevertheless we stayed there 4 days, couchsurfing 2 nights at Matt's place (a shy and quiet guy who offered us 2 relaxing days in his comfy flat, thanks mate!) and sleeping the last 2 nights in the car, to save money and avoid the expansive-ugly-noisy-smelly backpackers in town. As usual, we managed to take a shower for free (of course!) in a big caravan-and-car park! We also took advantage of the great northern territory library and its free internet access (and air-conditionning to be honest!). We spend most of our time there, updating the blog or reading very interesting books (see below), and also took the habit of eating breakfasts and taking naps at the botanic garden. You see, we had a car to sleep in but were more or less almost tramping... We didn't want to burst our daily budget, and were finally happy to leave (escape from!) Australia, the most expansive country of our trip so far, for Indonesia, one of the cheapest! Now we are in southeast Asia for 5 months: one hour full-body massage 3.80€, day-long scooter renting 4€, traditionnal meal 1.50€... do I need to continue? OK see you later folks for some asian stories... Bye!


IN FRENCH FOR THEO

Coucou filleul! Bah écoute, l'Australie c'était grand, beau, chaud, et désertique! C'était cher aussi: le pays le plus cher de mon tour du monde avec Vladi! Nous avons traversé cet énorme pays-continent du sud au nord dans une petite voiture de location, et j'ai conduit 5000km (c'est comme 5 fois la route de Merville à la mer Mediterrannée!) en 3 semaines... On a randonné dans des paysages incroyables! Le désert australien est très joli comme tu as pu le constater sur les photos, tu ne trouves pas? Moi j'ai beaucoup aimé même si le voyage était très fatigant: le climat est très chaud, l'environnement aride, et comme les prix sont exhorbitants, on a dormi pas mal de nuits dans la voiture ou en campant au milieu de nulle part dans le désert. Et oui, quand on a un budget limité, il faut savoir faire des sacrifices quant au confort... Mais je te rassure, ici à Bali en Indonésie, tout est au contraire bon marché et on se rattrape, surtout avec les massages à moins de 4€/heure! Bon à dire vrai je suis encore un peu fatigué, c'est la raison pour laquelle maintenant on va voyager plus tranquillement avec Vladi: visiter moins de pays, et moins d'endroits différents dans les pays mais en y passant plus de jours. Après presque un an de vadrouille, il faut bien se calmer un peu! Mais nos aventures continuent, encore 5 mois de découvertes... Normalement on visitera encore la Malaisie, la Thaïlande, le Cambodge, le Vietnam et le Laos, mais tout peut changer. Vive la liberté, on va encore profiter de ce voyage si riche en rencontres et en magnifiques paysages! Des bises à toutes et à tous à Merville, OK? A + Théo! Parrain.

Par D.F - Publié dans : AUSTRALIA - Communauté : Tour du Monde
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Jeudi 24 septembre 2009

Once upon a time 2 little hobbits called David & Vladi in a fairy-tale country named New Zealand... David was dreaming of coming there for a long time, and so he was very happy to be in this land for some new adventures...

Hi everybody!

We are now in Bali, Indonesia, and once again I'm late updating the blog!

We spent 3 magical weeks in the country of the "Lord of the Rings", and this article is here to tell you about this great journey through wild forests, fiords, snow-capped mountains, lakes and glaciers. We had to fight against herds of bloody dangerous sheeps and to survive during cold windy nights (sometimes camping, sometimes even sleeping in the car!)... More seriously speaking, we rented a small old toyota to drive all around the south island of New Zealand - 3500km - and this long-awaited destination was for me a highlight of the pacific months of our round-the-world trip. For Vladi it was a little bit too cold (especially after French Polynesia!), nevertheless she also enjoyed this outdoors paradise. Let's meet Gandalf and Aragorn together, will you?


MOUNT COOK NATIONAL PARK

We arrived by plane in Christchurch, got the car I'd booked online at the airport, filled up the car with food at the closest supermarket and directly took the road to the Mount Cook! I didn't drive the last 10 months, so it was not that difficult to get used to drive on the left side of the road. We passed the beautiful lake Tekapo, then drove along the turquoise lake Pukaki and the same day we arrived in a camping located in a somptuous valley setting. Some avalanches welcame us with thunderstruck noises! Completely surrounded by snowy mountains, I started to whistle some "Lord of the Rings" melodies of course! After a cold night (which means bad sleep for Vladi), we hiked happily through the windy Hooker valley, sometimes under a little rain, sometimes under the sun. After having crossed 2 swing bridges, the mount Cook appeared in all its splendour, then we reached the Hooker glacier. A nice 3 hours return walk!

 


 

 

 

In the afternoon, Vladi took a nap and I went hiking again in the Tasman Valley. The walks were shorter from the car park but the landscapes always marvelous, with some little pieces of ice (coming from the glacier) floating in the grey lake at the snow-capped moutains base... By the way do you recognize the second pic below? A great battle of the "2 towers" movie was shot here! I LOVE NEW ZEALAND!!!

 

 

 

 


To stay in the campground, we had to pay 6NZ$ each in a kind of "honesty box", and as we had only a 20$ note, we put it in the self-seal enveloppe. In the morning a ranger was supposed to collect the fees, and give back the change... The problem is that he never came! So we didn't pay for the second night, and decided to cheat on every future honesty boxes in Oceania... Grrrr...

CENTRAL EAST COAST

 

After those 2 days of adventure in the cold New Zealand mountains, we drove back for a while then took the direction of the east coast. We arrived in Oamaru and spent one night in a comfy hotel, where Vladi got a good breakfast (prepared by me!) for her birthday. Yep she's already 30! We also met there a french guy who was at the end of a few months contract in the area for the sheeps shearing season. Sheeps are everywhere in NZ! On the east coast road to Dunedin, we saw plenty of lambs too, cause the months of september-october are lambing season. We stopped several times to breath in serenity at different nice beaches, watching for birdlife. Boulders beach was quite eccentric with its funny rocks shaped by the time and erosion. And always those crazy lambs were running and jumping everywhere... but not too far from their mothers... So cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 



 


DUNEDIN & THE OTAGO PENINSULA

Actually we didn't see much of Dunedin (except its old historic railway station), cause we were couchsurfing 13km south at Yuhsien's place. It was amazing! Yuhsien is a very generous guy from Taiwan, who moved to New Zealand more than 15 years ago. He has been restoring the last few years an one-hundred-years-old cottage, and now it's so cosy! His cousin Arhui was visiting him at the time of our stay, and we all enjoyed nice dinners, tea-times, walks in the hills around or along wild beaches. A sea lion even welcame us to the Otago peninsula the first day!

 

 

 

 

 

Our time in Port Chalmers was so great and relaxing. Chilling out on the terrace of Yushien's cottage while drinking excellent chinese teas or reading good books was our favourite pastime. But we also went kayaking in Deborah's bay, just in front of his house! In his own kayaks of course...

 

 

 

 

 

 

The nature around was beautiful, and Yuhsien not only took us to many places of interest but also introduced us to his numerous friends. Some of them artists, some of them retired at 30 years old (!), all of them interesting and friendly people. Vladi and I enjoyed a lot the sunny lunches in their company.

 

 

 

 

 

One day, we remembered that we had a car (!), and went exploring the Otago peninsula, which is well deserted by people in places but not by the omnipresent sheeps. Albatross, sea lions (coming ashore for a sunny nap), penguins and seals are easily sighted amid stunning views. We hiked especially near the majestic Hoopers inlet and in the wild Sandfly bay, and really loved the feeling of remoteness of those amazing places.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE CATLINS

We didn't stay long in the Catlins (New Zealand's southeast), cause I was so excited about getting to Fiorland! One night we slept in the car at nugget's point to save money, and do the short walk to the lighthouse in the morning sun. The last hundred metres or so, with drops to the ocean on either side, is breathtaking, and the view of wave-trashed vertical rock formations from the end is great too. We also went to Roaring bay, where a well-placed hide allows you to see yellow-eyed penguins coming ashore. Add on the way some little waterfalls reached via cool, dark forest walks; a nest of fossilised Jurassic-age trees in the curious Curio bay; wide beaches and absolute green hills; and of course our dear friends the sheeps: these are the Catlins!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


FIORDLAND

Ahh... Fiorland... I started dreaming of coming here a long time ago... After a good night in a backpacker in Te Anau, we left in the morning to drive the 120km road to Milford Sound. This fantastic road was and an accessible taste of the vastness, wilderness and beauty of Fiordland. I had to control myself not to stop every 500 meters to take a picture!

 

 

 

 

 

Fiorland has also the most beautiful forests I've ever hiked through!!! We indeed found a walking track (45mn) through a fairy-tale red beech forest ringing with bird calls which leaded us slowly to a quiet lakeside beach. It was as if with a wave of magic wand, I was back in the tales of my childhood! So green, so humid, with almost every tree trunks or rocks covered with moss... With the sunrays coming through, it was a fantasy world! Coming back to the car, we suddenly spotted our first kea, the naughty (but colourful) teenagers of the parrot world! Be careful or they will jump on you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

About 100km from Te Anau, the road climbed to the Homer tunnel, framed by a spectacular, high-walled, ice-carved amphitheatre. Dark, magnificently rough-hewn and dripping with water, the 1207m-long tunnel emerged at the other end at the head of the spectacular Cleddau valley. Then we finally reached the banks of Milford Sound and discovered it thanks to an expensive 2hours and a half boat trip. But it was well worth it! The first sight was stunning: dark waters out of which rise sheer rocky cliffs, and forests clinging to the slopes relinquinsh their hold, causing a "tree avalanche" into the waters. The spectacular, photogenic 1692m-high Mitre peak rose dead ahead. The cruise, poking her prow into the choppy waves of the Tasman sea, allowed us to visit the fiord until its mouth and to get closer to amazing waterfalls. The unusual sunny weather on that day (instead of downpour of rain: Milford sound has an average of 7m per year, so we were more than lucky!!!) created a great nature show of colourful rainbows! We also spotted some penguins and seals chilling out on the rocks, and I think they were enjoying the sun as much as we were!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was expecting a lot about Fiordland, and I was not disappointed at all! Both Vladi and I felt tiny in the face of nature's vastness. I would have loved to hike the 53.5km Milford Track (4-5 days), but we didn't have enough time and Vladi was not really in the mood of embarking on another trek (the "souvenir" of our 4 days peruvian trek in the Cordillera Blanca was still alive!). On our way back to Te Anau, I stopped again several times to take some pics of snowy peaks and enjoy once more the greatness of nature...

 

 

 

MOUNT ASPIRING NATIONAL PARK

But there's a life after Fiordland! Here comes the Mount Aspiring national park! It seems that the beauty of New Zealand is unlimited. We drove from Te Anau back to Lumsden, passed Queenstown and its nice lakes, and arrived in Wanaka a few hours later. From there we took the direction of the national park. The road turned unsealed, and I had to drive very slowly and carefully with our old car through potholes and great landscapes (the kind of sceneries that makes car swerve wildly off the road as their drivers reach for the camera!). Once arrived at the end of the road, I hiked the dramatic Rob Roy valley track (3 hours return), which takes in glaciers, waterfalls and swing bridges over incredibly blue rivers. Another splendid walk through New  Zealand's beauty!!! On the way back, in the darkness of the suddenly fallen night, I had to brake several times to avoid dozens of sheeps on the road! Then we carried on driving for a while, found a quiet place to stop at the end of the lake Wanaka, and spend the second (and last!) night of the trip in the car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


FOX & FRANZ JOSEPH GLACIERS

The next day, we reached the west coast and continued until the Fox Glacier village. We settled down there for 2 days in a backpacker, enjoying drinking hot teas, eating hot soups and watching DVDs. We went to the Fox Glacier in the Westland Tai Poutini national park: nowhere else at this latitude do glaciers come so close to the ocean. We did a short walk to a river (impossible to cross) for a viewpoint. The rocks on the way were amazingly colourful, and the weather very cold. We couldn't get really close to the glacier, still it was a nice walk. But the Franz Joseph glacier was definitely more exciting...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Indeed the Franz Joseph glacier, 20km away, was a more interesting experience: despite the warning signs, we walked off the beaten path to get really close to the ice! That was great and exciting, and we were able (without paying for a very expansive tour) to see a blue-ice cave at the base. When we were in Patagonia in south Argentina, we saw the very great Perito Moreno glacier, which was more beautiful, but we were not that close! So a good point for Franz Joseph! Near to some noisy waterfalls, I also found a hidden path to climb (thanks to ladders and chains) the most slippery rocks I've ever walked upon. From the end of the track, I had a nice view over the glacier and the ice-carved valley.

 








PUNAKAIKI & THE WEST COAST

Along the west coast, we then stopped in Punakaiki and found a good and comfortable backpacker (with cheap wi-fi!) where we stayed 3 days. The small settlement of Punakaiki is famous for its curious pancake rocks and blowholes. Through a layering-weathering process, the Dolomite Point limestone has formed into what looks like now piles of thick pancakes! When the tide is right, the sea surges into caverns and booms menacingly through blowholes...

 

 

 

 

But rather than the pancake rocks, we prefered the nearby walks that leaded us to wonderful places such as this lovely beach below. We really enjoyed this short Truman track - a path that brings you (through a small forest) in 15mn from the coast road to the peaceful beach - but above all drinking some cool local beers watching the waves at sunset, especially considering the fact we were alone...

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the backpacker, we had fun with 2 swiss sisters, Zoe &  Johanna, and a french guy named David like me. The swiss girls were very funny and David a little bit odd, so with Vladi and me it was a great mix for a few days! Chatting about our travel experiences, drinking tea or playing scrabble on a rainy day, the moral of the troops was good!

 

 

 

As I told you before, in Fiordland I've hiked through the most beautiful forests I've ever seen in my whole life. Well, near Punakaiki, I also hiked for 3 hours along the most beautiful river I've ever seen! New Zealand is definitely an incredible country, isn't it? The amazingly coloured Porari river follows a spectacular limestone gorge, and my walk there, altough it was raining part of the time, was once again worthy of a fairy-tale... Come with me, watch your steps and discover the Porari river thanks to the following pictures, my friends...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABEL TASMAN NATIONAL PARK

This national park, located in the top north of New Zealand's south island, is supposed to be the sunniest part of the country. Well... when we arrived and found a backpacker in the nearby city of Motueka, it was very cloudy! Fortunately the next day the sun was back and we went hiking all day along the coast. "Au menu": wonderful sandy beaches, waterfalls and birdlife. Moreover, if you come here one day, don't miss the wood sculptures workshop at the entrance!

 

 










NELSON

Our final stop after almost 3 weeks in New Zealand was Cecile's couch in Rai Valley, near Nelson. We arrived during a country fair where she was selling crystals, then went to her lovely house in a peaceful valley (next neighbour: very very far!). The weather was ugly during our 2 days stay, but we enjoyed a lot Cecile's hospitality. She cooked delicious dinners and breakfasts for us, and as we were exhausted, the rain was just an excuse to spend more time inside watching DVDs, reading or chatting with Cecile and her other CS guests from Malaisia. Without couchsurfing, our trip would have been definitely less interesting and more difficult... The last day but one, we drove all the way from Rai Valley to Christchurch, going through the Marlboroughs then following the east coast. We stayed in a backpacker in Christchurch for the last night, then flew to Australia thanks to 3 planes (Christchurch-Auckland; Auckland-Sydney; Sydney-Adelaide!)... That's what happens when you look for the cheapest flight! 





As I expected, I just fell in love with New Zealand. I think we have made the good choice visiting the wilder south island, but next time we'll have to visit the north island too! The beauty of the sceneries was incredible, the nature's purity remarkable, and the New Zealand folks are right to be so proud of their country. Like them, I would love to live in a country where there are more sheeps than people! After this cold country, a warmer one was on our list... See you in the next article: "dust eaters in outback Australia!" in a few days. Hugs to each one of you, especially to my dear family whom I miss a lot after almost one year of journey... From Bali with love...

IN FRENCH FOR THEO

Bonjour Theo! Tout d'abord je tiens a te dire que tu commences serieusement a me manquer apres presque un an de voyage... Ta maman m'envoie bien quelques nouvelles accompagnees de photos de temps en temps, mais c'est pas pareil! J'espere que tu vas bien, ca doit etre les vacances de la Toussaint la, non? Ah oui aussi, tu remarques peut -etre les erreurs d'accent dans ces quelques lignes: non, ton parrain n'est pas subitement devenu analphabete, simplement les claviers indonesiens n'ont pas d'accents, desole!

Tu peux dire a ton pere que j'ai adore mon sejour au pays des All Black: les randonnees, les moutons, les montagnes enneigees, les moutons, les belles plages, les moutons, la nature exhuberante (c'est ici que j'ai vu jusqu'a maintenant les plus belles forets et rivieres), les moutons... Bah oui, il y a des millions de moutons en Nouvelle Zelande! Bref c'etait genial de se ballader pendant 3 semaines dans les decors du "Seigneur des Anneaux", j'ai pris ma dose de paysages spectaculaires fais-moi confiance!

Apres la Nouvelle Zelande, Vladi et moi avons visite l'Australie (voire prochain article dans quelques jours) et nous sommes maintenant a Bali en Indonesie. Il nous reste 5 mois de voyage a travers l'Asie du sud-est avant de regagner l'Europe, alors je te fais de gros bisous, continue de bien bosser a l'ecole et je suis impatient de constater tes progres au foot! On se voit au printemps OK? Retour prevu le 19 mars 2010... Ciao et a bientot Theo! Parrain.

Par D.F - Publié dans : NEW ZEALAND - Communauté : Tour du Monde
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Mardi 1 septembre 2009
Bonjour... Ia orana...

 After 3 weeks in French Polynesia, we are already now with Vladi in New zealand!!!

Instead of a direct 5h flight from Papeete to Christchurch, we came back to LA (8h), and waited 12 hours there before taking a last plane to New Zealand (12h)!!! But I can hear you say: why? I let you guess:
1°) we like the food in the planes so much
2°) we are stupid
3°) we love waiting for hours at the LA airport
4°) we saved a lot of money
5°) we became mad recently and forever
Yes of course you guess well! We have saved a lot of money, almost 500€ per person! That was worth it, we're not in a hurry!

Our stay in French Polynesia was full of smiles, green mountains, lagoons, fishes, fruits, sun, clouds, blue sky, rain, friends, hikes, kayak, paradisiac little islets, amazing plants, incredible colours. We swam with rays, sharks, and I even met shortly in the pacific ocean some 14 meters long humpback whales!!! We were invited by lovely people several times, and also couchsurfed a lot in this expansive destination. We visited 3 islands: TAHITI, MOOREA & HUAHINE. Ready for a dive into those pacific islands?

TAHITI #1

When we arrived in Papeete (TAHITI), we were welcome by our CS host Nathalie with Tiare flowers necklaces! We were about to discover the royal polynesian hospitality my friends! With her parents Augustin et Louise, we felt like at home and were treated to delicious food: raw fish, grilled meat, special dishes from Asia and French Polynesia... Nathalie was a perfect host and a good guide, always ready to help us plan our trip or to gave us a lift anywhere. The first sunday, after the morning market and a huge breakfast, we drove all around the island to get a first taste of French Polynesia: beaches, coastal roads, waterfall and beautiful plants...








We also visited a Marae, an old sacred place with religious and social purposes. Rectangular and bordered with stones, it seems to be nowadays still used for some ceremonials, and the supervisory duty is provided by some massive and impressive rocky sculptures, the "Tikis".




We stayed 2 days more in Tahiti to prepare our trip (booking boats and plane tickets, find a new charger for our laptop) but mostly to have some good time with Nathalie. We even came to her school (she's an english teacher) to meet her pupils and talk about our trip and couchsurfing! That was very interesting!

French Polynesia was immediately a place of nice encounters for us, with laid back and friendly people everywhere: randomly on the beach, where I was invited for some beers and a ukulele session, during a CS meeting in a pub of Papeete or just "at home" with Nathalie's family. With CS, the world is smaller than you think, and with more smiles, the world is nicer than you think!




MOOREA

Then we moved to another island, Moorea (50min by ferry), and were there also picked up at the landing stage by Magali, our next CS host! She was living in the beautiful PaoPao valley, with her boyfriend Tahiri and her daughter, so we were ideally located for a good hike! Unfortunately the weather was stormy when we woke up the next day... I was ready for a day hike so really disappointed... And then surprise... 2 hours later the sun was shining and the clouds were gone away! So we start hitch-hiking and once again were very lucky: the guy who gave us a ride, Pascal, was the creator of all the nature trails on the island! He offered to be our guide for the day, and took us to secrets places he knew. He fed us with pineapples, and we enjoyed hiking with this true nature lover to the "3 coconuts pass" and beyond. He even gave us a ride back to Magali's house afterwards. Great guy, thank you so much Pascal!












We stayed 2 nights at Magali's place then decided to hitch-hike to a camping to be closer to the lagoon and at last  to do some snorkeling. I don't want to be repetitive but... once again we were lucky!!! 2 girls gave us a first ride for a few kilometers, then our new "angel" arrived. His name was  Alain. He invited us to stay in a room at his wonderful house for a few days! He was living for a few years in French Polynesia with his wife Hélène (a primary school teacher), and we also met their friends and family! We were eating fresh fishes he caught himself, and please look at the view over the lagoon! With some local beers "Hinano" in the evenings, that was just perfect. One day he guided us with his canoes to a "pass", where the ocean enters the lagoon (it's deeper, with more currents and more wildlife), and there snorkeling we spotted not only the usual colourful exotic fishes but some big sharks and even a leopard ray! Unfortunately, when jumping back in his canoe he cut his knee open and we had to come back quickly and call an ambulance... 3 stitches... Poor Alain!






Being hosted by Alain & Hélène was really unexpected, and that kind of behaviour make you believe more in the humankind! Just a few hundred meters from the house, the beach, coral reefs and some sting rays were waiting for us every day. Moreover, the mountains setting was awe-inspiring. Well a real little paradise...

During those weeks in French Polynesia, I tried to take some subaquatic pictures thanks to a waterproof camera . Later if the pics are of good quality, I will update this article or maybe create a new one to show you more of the beautiful underwater world...






Moorea is really a beautiful island. One day we rented a canoe to explore the nearby paradisiac "motus" and snorkel with black tip reef sharks and sting rays. The translucid waters allowed us to spot wildlife all around our canoe, and we snorkeled very close to the rays while the sharks were swimming in circles around us. Then we paddled to a motu and came ashore to explore the beaches while marveling at the lagoon colours...








Unfortunately Vladi had to go to the hospital for some "furoncle" problems. It was full of "swine flu" patients! While she was waiting and meeting the doctors, I walked around under the sun in a small valley full of exotic flowers and fruits. Vladi got a treatment and finally healed after a few days, but those buttons were, well, how can I say it? Disgusting!!! Poor Vladi!




The last day on Moorea island was pure magic for me, because I made a dream come true! For the first time in my life, I swam with whales thanks to an adventurous boat tour. In front of Opunohu's bay, we spotted 3 whales playing and sometimes jumping completely out of the ocean! We tried to get closer and swam with them, but they were not in the mood of sharing their games with us. Once I dived about 10 meters, and saw them quickly passing under me 10 meters deeper. Then they disappeared and we came back to the boat. The captain decided to try ourl luck in another place...

One hour later, we saw 2 whales diving in front of Cook's bay. I was so excited! We went into the water again, and tried to locate them by diving beetween 10 or 15 meters deep. I finally found them about 20 meters below us, quiet and sleepy. I was diving every 30 seconds not to lose them, and suddenly after about 10 minutes they came to the surface to breathe: at that moment I was as close as 5 meters, and could see their curious eyes watching me!!! My heart was beating fast: imagine yourself in the wide pacific ocean with some 14 meters humpack whales!!! For me it was like a gift of nature! A terrific experience I will remember as if it was yesterday once I'll be a grandfather... Unfortunately afterwards they dived too deep for me and disappeared, and we didn't find them again. No worries, have a nice trip my dears!

On that tour we also spotted plenty of spinner dolphins, sting rays and little sharks. The coast of the Moorea island was awesome seen from the boat, with green mountains and blue lagoons. We ended the trip drinking a punch and  eating sliced pineapples, mangos and coconuts, while resting and talking about our friends the whales. Great day! Thanks "Moorea boat tours" for this unforgettable adventure!








TAHITI #2

Before visiting Huahine island, we came back to Nathalie's house in Tahiti and enjoyed again great food, barbecues and petanque games with the whole family. As a matter of fact, we didn't really expect to play petanque in French Polynesia but we loved it! With Augustin jokes to entertain us, we spent again some delightful days here.




Even if the weather was bad (we were supposed to do a day-hike with Nathalie, Vladi and some other friends), I decided to hike alone 2 days in Tahiti's mountains. More exactly I wanted to reach the Aoraï summit (2066m). Nathalie drove me in the morning to the "Belvedere" (600m), and then I started hiking. After 2 hours in the mist, I reached a first hut (1400m) without knowing what the sceneries around looked like! I walked on a narrow path on the edge of  the so-called "devil's rock" then I continued through a wonderful rainforest on a very steep and muddy path to reach one hour and a half later a second hut (1800m).






Once arrived at the second hut, I was above the clouds and the sceneries were wonderful. I had a late lunch there,  then decided to go the the summit even if I was already quite exhausted! But the sun came out, so I let my backpack, food and sleeping bag in the hut (I was completely alone), hiked for about 45 minutes on the edge of the mountains, and at last arrived at the windy Aoraï top. From there I was able to see Moorea island, and all the mountains around covered with clouds. I took a royal nap then came back to the hut just before dawn...





I tried to light a fire to cook my raviolis, but the wood was too humid... So I ate them cold with some bread, then read a very good book for a while (Ken Follet, "les piliers de la terre") before falling asleep. A strong wind and some heavy rains woke me up in the middle of the night, but fortunately the weather was nice in the morning. I started early, managed to go down the steep path without breaking my legs (the path was so muddy and slippery because of the night rain), and was glad to discover all the sceneries I didn't see the day before, including the famous "Diademe" peaks. I didn't stop at the Belvedere but  walked until the city center of Papeete, where I took a bus to Natahlie's house. Total time hiking: 5 hours. Needless to say I was happy taking a hot shower after this nice and tiring hike...



HUAHINE

To go to Huahine, Vladi and I took a cheap 11 hours cargo-boat, the "Hawaiki Nui" (15€ vs 90€ by plane). On board, we met a girl from Lithuania, Evelina, who left home 11 years ago and have lived in the USA and Hawaï. She was now going to live in Bora-Bora, hoping to find a new job there. We're not the only adventurers on this earth! Leaving Papeete at 17.00pm, we slept on the deck with our sleeping bags and arrived in the middle of the night on this new island. We finished the night sleeping in the street, then took the direction of a camping 3 kilometers away.




On the road to the camping, Vladi had the brilliant idea of asking in a little horse-riding center ("la petite ferme") if they would let us camp in their field. Instead of that, those lovely folks invited us in a former dormitory, and we stayed for free 4 days! Once again a nice encounter. So we let our backpacks, rested for a while and walked along the coast to the village of Fare...




The next day, we rented a scooter and Vladi drove most of the time. I was scared at first but slowy became less nervous. After all after one hour I was still alive! She was so cute with her helmet and I called her "Scootix".  We drove all around the island and stopped at some nice beaches, maraes and fish traps. The weather was nice but windy and in some places the lagoon was incredibly coloured. Huahine is a less touristic and more authentic island, the life is peaceful and the people wilder but friendly. It was love at first sight for Vladi and me!







In a beautiful bay in the south of the island, an old lady tried to talk with us in tahitian, we didn't understand of course but a few minutes later she brought us some cononuts and sliced mangos, with a bigger-than-her-face smile! Lovely people, I told you! We snorkeled there for a while, enjoying the warm waters, then we continued the road and stopped to visit a vanilla farm before coming back to our accomodation in Fare.






We spent 2 other days in Huahine in a beautiful nearby beach, snorkeling with amazing tropical fishes (so cute!) and watching the sailboats bouncing on the pacific ocean. We really enjoyed our stay there, but it was already time to go. We came back to Tahiti by plane (no boat available), spent a last night at Nathalie's place then left French Polynesia, direction a colder destination: New Zealand! See you later! Maruru...Some news of the subaquatic pictures as soon as possible... Bye bye!





IN FRENCH FOR THEO

Salut Théo! Comment s'est passée la rentrée des classes? Et la reprise du foot? J'ai su par ta maman que tu as la chambre du grenier pour toi tout seul maintenant... trop cool! Je suis impatient de la visiter à mon retour. Avec Vladi on est maintenant en Nouvelle Zélande, le pays du Seigneur des Anneaux et des All-Black! La Polynésie Française, on en a bien profité: plages, lagons, randonnées en montagne... Dans les lagons et dans l'océan Pacifique, j'ai nagé avec des raies (de grands poissons plats), des requins (même pas peur) et surtout avec des baleines à bosse de 14m de long! C'était impressionnant et tellement beau. On a visité 3 îles: TAHITI, MOOREA & HUAHINE, et on a préféré les 2 dernières, car elles sont plus calmes et plus jolies. On a eu de la chance encore une fois de rencontrer plein de gens amicaux qui nous ont aidés ou hébérgés chez eux gratuitement, ça rassure: il n'y a pas que des égoïstes, la solidarité existe encore de nos jours! La vie dans les îles, c'est sympa si tu aimes la tranquilité. Par exemple, tu ne peux pas prendre un train ou ta voiture pour visiter les pays voisins, tu es obligé de prendre l'avion. Et c'est loin! La Nouvelle Zélande à 5h, les USA à 8h et la France à 22h! J'espère que les photos du blog t'ont plues, j'ai aussi pris quelques photos avec un appareil subaquatique, je les mettrai en ligne dès que possible! Allez je vais me réchauffer avec un thé au coin du feu, ici en Nouvelle Zélande, ça caille! Bisous glacés! Parrain.

Par D.F - Publié dans : FRENCH POLYNESIA - Communauté : Tour du Monde
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Jeudi 20 août 2009
Bonjour à tous,

As you know, after one week in Guatemala, we crossed the border with Mexico (actually by boat, cause it was a river!) and arrived in Palenque, to discover some other Maya ruins after a first great experience in Tikal. Our 10 days trip in Mexico, more exactly in Chiapas, also gave us the opportunity to meet again a good couchsurfing friend, Miguel, in San Cristobal de las Casas. Add some natural wonders such as Agua Azul and the Sumidero canyon, and you obtain a nice journey in Mexicooo... Mexiiiiiiiiiicoooo!!!

PALENQUE

The Maya city of Palenque was a great first stop in Mexico. Even if it was very touristic (we were about to discover that Mexico is a very, very, very touristic destination), it was interesting, once again, to imagine the life of the Mayas a long time ago. Palenque is much smaller than Tikal, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof-comb and bas-relief carving the Maya produced. We found a cheap camping near the entrance of the national park, and stayed 4 nights, to discover not only Palenque but Agua Azul and the Misol-Ha waterfall. Some mexican students were living for a while in our camping, studying the noisy howler monkeys (most of the time, we saw them looking into the monkey shits they had collected in the jungle!).







Palenque is located in southern Mexico and flourished in the seventh century. After its decline it was absorbeb into the jungle, but has been excavated and restored and is now a famous archeological site. The most famous ruler of Palenque was "Pacal the great" whose tomb has been found and excavated in the temple of the inscriptions. Despite all the "souvenirs" sellers into the site, I found the maya city amazing, and well-preserved compared to Tikal. Maybe because it was not deep in the jungle?






Palenque had been abandoned by the Maya people for several centuries, when the spanish explorers arrived in Chiapas in the 16th century. In the last 15 or 20 years, a great deal more of the site has been excavated but currently, archeologists estimate that only 5% of the city has been uncovered!

To get there from our camping, we had to walk only 3 km, but the weather was so hot! Certainly around 35 degrees celcius... We visited the site during 4 hours under the sun, then the sky got cloudy and we finally came back under a heavy rain that fortunately cooled down the atmosphere. Ouf!








AGUA AZUL

Ahhhh! Agua Azul! I was dreaming of getting there since I watched my hero Nicolas Hulot in a french TV broadcast called Ushuaia. He was standing right in the middle of that blue water and I couldn't believe the beauty of the place. Now I had the chance to walk in his steps and I'm very happy!






Instead of booking an expansive tour, I got up early and managed to hitch-hike to Agua Azul (around 60km away from Palenque). Actually hitch-hiking in Mexico is very easy, I never had to wait more than 10 minutes! Nevertheless, for the last 6 km away from the main road, I had to take a cab, cause the road is famous for robberies and even murders! As I was starting to walk, some cute little girls told me: "la policia ya no esta, van a asaltarte y a robar tu dinero si caminas solo"... Fortunately I was able to understand them, and avoided the trouble...

Even inside the (big) site, some parts are protected by a tourist police. You really need to be careful traveling in some parts of Central America... While walking randomly, I found one path away from the crowds, with some scary "Indiana Jones" wooden bridges, and it's there I found the most beautiful colours, with waters from diamond blue to emerald green!





Agua Azul is not to be missed when traveling in Chiapas. Even if it's of course once again a very touristic place, you can enjoy the site for you only (almost), and swim in your own little paradise, if you get there early as I did. Go for it, and marvel at the beauty of a perfect nature! Even the dogs feel at ease there!!!






MISOL-HA

From Agua Azul, I hitch-hiked to the crossroads and walked the 1.5km to the waterfalls. "Las cataratas de Misol-Ha" were nice, and swimming in the water a real threat during this hot day. Unfortunately, all the tours that go to Agua Azul also bring the tourists there, and as the place is small, it gets very crowded easily. So I didn't stay at the falls for a long time, and managed to find a last ride (20km) to come back to Palenque.




SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS

When I was planning the world trip a few years ago, I spent a lot of time reading globe-trotters blogs, and San Cristobal de las Casas (altitude 2100m) was on every traveler's list. Moreover, one year ago in july, we hosted a mexican couchsurfing friend, Miguel. And we were about to enjoy his great hospitality in this colonial city, full of churches, cobbled streets and dulces tipicos...






We arrived at Miguel's house one tuesday, and stayed until the following monday. On friday's evening, I organized a CS meeting to gather the local community and the nearby travelers. It was a success, with couchsurfing members from Mexico, USA, Australia, France and Bulgaria, sharing cold beers in a great bar with live music. One funny story? I met there Dan, a fellow CS nomadic ambassador like me, and while talking we suddenly realized that we have already met each other randomly a few weeks ago at some waterfalls in El Salvador! Once again, "the world is smaller than you think!"




This city surrounded by green mountains was named after Bartolomé de las Casas, a spanish priest who defended the rights of the native americans. San Cristobal was also one of the 4 cities that the Zapatista Army of National Liberation took in its uprising in january 1994. The Zapatistas defended the indigenous rights and declared a short war against the mexican state, but didn´t use their weapons since that time. They try to use internet to disseminate their statements and enlist the support of NGOs, solidarity groups, and famous people such as Rage Against The Machine and Manu Chao. Now all you see in San Cristobal is only Zapatistas puppets and postcards...





We really "took advantage" of Miguel's hospitality, it was like a new home for a few days! We met his friends and ate several times with his family in his grandparents' house, it was like a new family for a while! On evenings, we were usually tasting mean meat & cheese tacos from a nearby taqueria. On saturday, we went in the forest to have a (rainy!) barbecue, with his cousins and his green beetle, and he let me drive his car on the way back. The sunday "Mole" of his grandmother, a chicken recipe with a peanut-bread-chocolate sauce, was also delicious. Thanks again Miguel, for that good immersion in the mexican everyday-life, hasta pronto amigo!


EL CANON DEL SUMIDERO

From San Cristobal, I went on a daytrip to the Sumidero canyon. I took a bus to get closer to Tuxtla Guttierez, then joined a one hour and a half boat tour into the canyon. The Sumidero has some cliffs higher than one kilometer, can you believe it? The legend says that many Mayas killed themselves by jumping from the highest point when the spanish conquerors arrived in Guatemala. And if you want to swim, you'd better think of it twice, because the river is full of crocodiles...

It was a great trip, too touristic though. I came back hitchhiking once again, thanks to a nice mexican woman. We talked all the way and she told me that life for an independant woman like her is not easy in Mexico, due to the machism. She was 30 years old and hoping to find a boyfriend from a foreign country, cause she was bored of mexican men!!! Well, good luck and thanks for the ride...







SAN JUAN CHAMULA

San Cristobal de las Casas is also a convenient place to stay, cause you can do some terrific daytrips in nearby places of interest. So after the Sumidero canyon, I went with Vladi to San Juan Chamula. This village located in the highlands can be reached after only 30 minutes by local bus from San Cristobal. Inside the colourful church, indigenous people pray and burn incense sticks while drinking a strong alcohol! Sitting or lying on the floor covered with pine needles, surrounded by hundreds of candles, they keep on reciting prayers in an archaic dialect of Tzotzil and slowly go into a kind of trance. The aim, if I understood well, is to chase away the evil. The atmosphere is a little bit strange, with a mix of christianism and indigenous belief, but very interesting to observe... Sorry, I was not allowed to take pictures inside the church...






San Juan Chamula is also well-known in Mexico for its busy sunday market, and for the traditionnal clothes of the local indigenous Tzotzil Maya people. The town enjoys unique autonomous status within Mexico. No outside police or military are allowed in the village. Chamulan have their own police force (see the men with sheep skin tunics above). Each woman wear colourful dress, and almost every single woman carry a baby or two! I tasted there delicious litchies (different from those we know in Europe) and sweet unknown desserts... Yummy!




So we spent some very good times here in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, home of the ancient Maya ruins of Palenque. I also wanted to visit Yucatan, but it was too far away for Vladi & I: actually we were already bored of long-distance buses after our 4 months trip in South America! In Central America, we decided to move less but to stay longer in the different places. Moreover, with the wonderful falls of Agua Azul and San Cristobal de las Casas, we had enough diversity for a 10 days trip...  So we said goodbye to our good friend Miguel, and returned in Guatemala for our last days in Central America...

IN FRENCH FOR THEO

Yo filleul! Devine où je suis maintenant... Petit indice: j'ai quitté l'Amérique Centrale et  ici, les gens autour de moi parlent français... Tu donnes ta langue au chat? OK, la réponse est: la Polynésie Française!!! Génial, non? Je me trouve à environ 20000km de toi, en plein milieu de l'océan Pacifique, c'est clair que ça fait loin! Mais revenons au Mexique. J'y ai passé avec Vladi 10 jours très agréables: visite de ruines de temples Maya (une ancienne civilisation d'Amérique Centrale), baignades dans des eaux limpides (au choix: bleu turquoise ou vert émeraude!), canyon infesté de crocodiles avec des falaises de 1 km de haut, petits villages mexicains traditionnels... J'ai aussi eu le plaisir de rencontrer à nouveau Miguel, un copain du Mexique que j'avais hébérgé à Paris en juillet 2008, tu sais, avec le Couchsurfing. C'est super d'avoir plein de potes autour du monde! On est à peu près à la mi-août, j'espère que tes vacances avec papa-maman-Eléa se sont bien passées. La rentrée des classes s'avance déjà à grands pas, t'as intérêt à assurer! Au passage dis merci à papy Jean-Claude pour les photos de leur semaine en Normandie, et félicite mamy Régine pour ses talents de scrap-bookeuse! Embrasse tout le monde de ma part... A bientôt pour de nouveaux récits d'aventure! Parrain.

Par D.F - Publié dans : MEXICO - Communauté : Tour du Monde
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Mercredi 12 août 2009
Hi my friends,

After Nicaragua and El Salvador, we decided with Vladi to discover more of Central America by visiting the land of the Mayas: Guatemala. Early in the morning, we took some chicken buses from the northwest of El Salvador, crossed the border, found quickly another bus to Guatemala city, then crossed by foot a good part of the capital to reach another bus station, and finally buy an one way ticket to Coban. This city was only a stop for the night, and the next day we arrived thanks to a last bus in Lanquin.

For a few days we stayed in an enchanting place along the river, El Retiro, and camped instead of renting a cabaña. With cheap internet and international food, surrounded by green hills, the place would have been perfect without a bunch of noisy young (mostly american) tourists. But we also met a nice french family, and Vladi particularly got along well with the children (we realized later that their grandfather was Bertrand Tavernier, a famous french filmaker!). This accomodation was a good base to explore the pools of Semuc Champey, and the Lanquin caves.




SEMUC CHAMPEY

Ludo & Marine, the french travelers we met in Nicaragua a few weeks ago, warmly recommended us to go to Semuc Champey. Indeed, it was worth the trip! Semuc Champey consists of a natural 300m limestone bridge, under which passes the Cahabon river. Atop the bridge is a serie of stepped, incredible turquoise pools... Look at those pics taken from the lookout, after a 30 minutes steep walk!!!




Instead of booking a tour (as usual we try to avoid them), we left Lanquin early and took a cheap but pleasant "mean of transport", the back of an open truck, to enjoy more every bit of bad road! 45 minutes later, we were the first to enter the site, and a little paradise were waiting for us. The pools here are literally divine, and the vegetation around beautiful. A true natural wonder...






Depending on the point of view, the limpid waters are from cristal blue to rich green. Some wood floor paths help you reach the different pools, but sometimes you also have to walk on slippery rocks. It´s fun, you just have to be careful! Every pool is a real delight to swim in, the only problem is to choose one (did I ever tell you I love traveling?)...





Around 10.00am, all the tourists arrived at the same time, and it slowly got crowded. But for about one hour, we had this incredible place for us only! We stayed until noon and after a last dive finally left what is certainly the most beautiful spot in all Guatemala...





LAS GRUTAS DE LANQUIN

The next day, while the weather was so hot in the beginning of the afternoon, I went alone to the Lanquin Caves (a 30min walk from our accomodation), and explore this serie of subterranean caves, full of bats, stalagtite and stalagmite formations. Inside the cool temperature was a treat. I was also vey impressed by the lack of security: the poor light was insufficient and inadequate for the slippery stairs, and some banisters were roten! Welcome to Guatemala!





EL LAGO PETEN ITZA

After Lanquin, we took a long shuttle bus to Flores, then managed to grab immediately a chicken bus to arrive in El Remate, a tiny village along the Peten Itza lake. Guatemala is very famous for its Atitlan lake, but nobody talk about the Peten Itza lake. Why? It sounds like a mystery to me, and according to those 3 next pics, I think you will agree!




We stayed 2 days in El Remate, to enjoy the lake and the peaceful atmosphere of the village. Randomly, we met again with the Tavernier family, and had again some fun with the kids. If you want to visit Tikal one day, I advise you to stay here rather than in Flores, the local tourist trap (or even better as we did, to camp in Tikal!).





During this relaxing lake break, we got into the habit of eating in the comedor of Susana: a (slow but you don´t care, do you?) friendly service and probably the best french fries of Guatemala! With some chicken, and a cold local beer or a coke, it was just brillant!





TIKAL

Tikal... I always wanted to stroll around the jungle paths of this Maya city. The Macchu Picchu in South America is already done, the Angkor temples in Southeast Asia are for later, but here in Central America Tikal was a highlight of the trip. To discover it better, we choosed to camp near the entrance of the national park. If you buy a ticket after 15.00pm, you can enter the site and also enjoy Tikal all the next day, which includes sunset and sunrise! And of course less people... We were sometimes alone (well, with spider monkeys and green parrots) in this lost world...








Located deep in the jungle, Tikal was one of the major cultural and population centers of the Maya civilization. The site is big, and you need good shoes and a lot of water to walk from temple to temple. You can climb some of them (especially the 4th temple, 70m high!), and get as a reward amazing views of thousand-year-old human constructions emerging from the rainforest...







For centuries the city was completely covered by jungle. The largest of the classic Maya cities, Tikal had no other water than what was collected from rainwater and stored in underground storage facilities. The absence of springs, rivers, lakes in the immediate vicinity of Tikal highlights a prodigious feat: building a major city with only supplies of seasonal rainfall. I was also pretty amazed by some gigantic kapoc trees (the sacred tree of the Mayas) and huge tropical cedars.







After visiting Tikal, we took a bus to the mexican border, crossed the river in a lancha then another bus drove us to the city of Palenque. We spent 10 days in Chiapas, Mexico, you will read the story in the next blog news! So after this little mexican trip we came back to Guatemala, more exactly in Quetzaltenango, also called Xela...

XELA

Actually, we just passed through Xela to meet Ben, a couchsurfing friend we hosted more than one year ago in Paris (with his girlfriend Sylvia from El Salvador). We had some good times together in Europe, and here in Guatemala, even if if was not able to host us, it was great to meet him again. Ben is working now as a volunteer for an ONG in Xela, and he invited us to a dinner with his american co-workers. He also took us to El Bolivar, where you can taste the best hot chocolate of the town, as well as delicious empenadas de pollo. We stayed 2 days in Xela, and the last night we shared some beers in a small pub before to say goodbye. Until the next time, Ben...


ANTIGUA

We left Xela, and 2 chicken buses later (with a change in Chimaltenango), we arrived in Antigua, the last colonial city of our trip in America. Located in the central mountains of Guatemala, surrounded by 3 volcanoes (Agua, Fuego & Acatenango), Antigua is famous for its churches, cobbled streets and well preserved architecture Renaissance Spanish facades.The city was founded in 1543 and was the spanish colonial capital of Central America. In 1773, it suffered 2 severe earthquakes that destroyed much of the town. In 1979 has been designated a world heritage site by Unesco.







Plenty of colourful (but noisy) buses run through the cobbled streets, to take you to nearby villages or to Guatemala city. Many young europeans and americans come here to learn spanish in the numerous schools, and lots of tourists to enjoy its international feeling and the conveniences of the town: art galleries, parks, plazas, craft markets, shops, nightlife, fancy restaurants, travel agencies... The city center is beautiful, but some cuadras away, you can definitely walk in more peaceful streets.

We took the habit of taking our breakfast in 2 places where we could use our laptop and the WIFI access: "Luna de Miel" (for its smoothies) and another restaurant (I forgot the name) for its good coffee and its delicious french "croissants & pains au chocolat"... Mmmm...







Antigua is full of churches (and ruins of churches). A beautiful one is La Merced, with its yellow facade and maybe the biggest fountain in all Central America (see photos below). We also visited the San Francisco convent, where had lived and is now buried Pedro de San Jose Betancur (who is responsible of a lot of miracles after his death): he was canonized saint in the catholic church by Pope John Paul II in 2002. In the pasillo de los milagros, you can see plenty of testimonies of people who were cured from serious diseases because they have prayed close to the bones of hermano Pedro. Amazing, isn't it?






At last, walking randomly in the cobbled streets of Antigua, we found the "casa de la cultura", and a nice old woman gave us a lot of information about indigenous customs. Each village has its own weekend of celebration, where people dance in the streets wearing handmade colourful dress and masks. We also learned here that the unhabitants of Antigua are called "green belly" cause they eat a lot of avocados!





Well, as you understood if Antigua is not the real Guatemala, at least it's a part of it and it would be a mistake not to come here. What makes the richness of a country is its diversity, and Antigua is definitely an "OVNI"  which desserves your visit in the middle of the traditionnal Guatemala.

VOLCANO PACAYA


We stayed more than one week in Antigua in a cheap hotel, where we managed to get a private room with shared bathroom and TV for 75 quetzales a night (6.50 euros). That was quite a good deal! Our hotel was also a travel agency, and we booked a sunset and night tour (no other choice, going by yourself is dangerous and complicated) to the active Pacaya volcano. That was AWESOME!!! After one hour and a half by bus, we started hiking up and down to get closer to the top. Sometimes we were huffing and puffing climbing up steep foresty paths, sometimes running down steep and rocky-dusty-sandy slopes... We were high above the clouds, and the sceneries were breath-taking, but it was just the beginning!






And then, after a last steep hike over volcanic rocks that can shred your shoes (your fingers and arms as well if you fall)... WOW! Just take a look at the following pictures, my friends!!! AMAZING, I told you!!!






The Pacaya volcano, which first erupted thousands of years ago, was dormant for a century then erupted again violently in 1965 and has been since in constant eruptive activity. During the year 2006, this activity imcreased, allowing the creation of many rivers of lava flowing from its slopes! And now, because you're in Guatemala (the safety standards just don't exist!), you can get as close as a few meters to the lava! That was an incredible nature show, so beautiful but so dangerous at the same time... Unforgettable!






We stayed half an hour close to the lava, then the clouds invade the place, the night slowly but surely fell and it started to rain!!! Coming down the steep and slippery slope in a half darkness was totally crazy, a lot of people were falling around Vladi and us... Then a thunderstorm arrived, and we walked in a total darkness under a heavy rain and scary lightnings: our guide had a light, and fortunately I also thought about taking my headlight in my little backpack when I left the hotel. So we walked slowly in a single file, lost 2 people from the group on the way (we happily found them later!) and after something like 2 hours we finally reached our starting point! Crazy guatemalan people!!! But what an adventure!!! GREAT!!!


CHICHICASTENANGO

On Sunday, I went visiting the lively market of Chichi. From Antigua it was 2 hours by bus (one way), but it was worth the trip. The sight of colourful sellers and craftsmen, of typically dressed young girls, mothers and grandmothers; the lovely little churches; the busy vegetables inside market hall; the smells and noises; the pretty indigenous faces; now I know what is a great market in Central America!






Guatemala was a surprising country: we came here above all to visit Tikal (which was a true architecture jewel and an interesting dive into the history of the Maya civilization), but were completely captivated by other great nature sites such as Semuc Champey and the Pacaya volcano. It's a cheap and inevitable destination in Central America, where we spent almost 3 weeks. Antigua, the Peten Itza lake and the highlands villages were good experiences too. You can also go the Fuentes Georginas (some great hot springs according to some travelers we have met), visit plenty of little indigenous villages and climb many of other smoking volcanoes... Guatemala, a destination for adventurers? You got it!


IN FRENCH FOR THEO

Salut Théo, tu vas bien? Dans cet article, je raconte nos aventures au Guatemala et en regardant les photos, tu as compris je pense qu'elles étaient géniales!!! Entre les piscines naturelles d'eau vert émeraude de Semuc Champey, le volcan Pacaya et ses torrents de lave, la cité Maya de Tikal au coeur de la jungle, le lac Peten Itza... Vladi et moi on était bien occupés ces dernieres semaines! Le Guatemala est un pays ou les traditions demeurent, et beaucoup d'indigènes vivent de facon traditionnelle leurs coutûmes (parfois bizarres pour nous mais tellement intéressantes!). C'est aussi un pays plein de couleurs vives: les vêtements des femmes mais aussi les façades des maisons et même les jolis (et toujours surchargés) bus qui nous permettent de nous déplacer si facilement! Pour finir notre séjour en Amérique Centrale, on a également passé pas mal de temps à Antigua pour se reposer avant de s'envoler vers l'Océanie. Bref le Guatemala c'était super sympa, mais on part demain très loin d'ici! A plus mon filleul préféré! Parrain.

Par D.F - Publié dans : GUATEMALA - Communauté : Tour du Monde
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