Cairns Scuba Diving

So, I spend a couple of days on a boat to dive the Great Barrier Reef (more specifically Milln, Flynn and Thetford reefs) and to take my Rescue Diver course at the same time.

My diving operator Pro Dive Cairns is a solid diving company and I can recommend their services to all divers going to Cairns. Rescue Diver course was a demanding package of theory, pool practice and actual dives at the reef. Compared to earlier PADI open water courses this course is clearly more stressful but at the same time it presents the students with some effective techniques to cope with different kind of diving related emergency situations.  

However, the reef itself is a bit of a disappointment after all the hype from different sources. To me diving at Bunaken is still the best I’ve experienced. Marine life and the corals are just so much more in quantity there. Great Barrier Reef is still worth visiting while travelling Australia but it is not going to blow your sock off unless it is the first tropical reef you are visiting. Even so, I have to admit that encountering sharks is always a great moment of excitement while diving - especially during a night dive the boat lights created a great atmosphere for shark gazing. Also the underwater passages/tunnels at Cathedrals (Thetford reef) are really cool (don't go too deep).

The past 6-7 weeks travelling New Zealand and Australia have offered many new experiences as well as opportunities to meet some great people. Now it is (once again) time to head back home, enjoy Christmas time with family and then start some new challenges.

I'll upload my selection of Australian pictures as soon as I get a decent internet connection.  

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Adelaide - Uluru

I left Adelaide with new group early on Sunday (9th) and we turned our bus towards north. We did some wine tasting at Sevenhill winery at Clare Valley and after that we headed to Quorn – murder capital of Australia – for couple of nights. Town was the quietest place I have stayed so far on this trip. Feels like there is no one around so it is a bit surprising that just couple of weeks ago there was a double murder here and the statistics are not very flattering overall.

Next day we did a daytrip to nearby Flinders Ranges where we did some hiking. I myself hiked so called Mt. Ohlssen Bagge walk which offered some nice views down and around the Flinders Ranges area. Later the day we did short stops at Yourambulla aboriginal site as well as the ruins of Kanyaka homestead before returning to Quorn for the night. We also got our first feel of the outback weather as the temperature kept rising through the day all the way to 30 and at the same time the cooling wind of the morning changed to dry and hot breeze of the afternoon. At Coober Pedy it might be even 10 degrees more!

As we kept going north we stopped at Woomera for lunch and Lake Hart (salt lake) for some photos. The landscape has been changing all the time more and more dry which, of course, means the vegetation to slowly change from trees to bush land and finally just the famous red sand. At Cooper Pedy we got the first taste of outback environment which is extremely dry&hot. We spent the night  underground which was actually very comfortable and also very common way to live among the locals. After getting to know something about Opals we continued on towards north stopping for night at Marla. On the way we also had couple of photos of the Dog Fence (longest fence in the world, 5614 km) and the beautiful landscape of The Breakaways.

From Marla we finally made our way to Northern Territory and Erldunda where we changed to Adventure Tours bus. Our Topdeck group was placed in two different buses which was a bit annoying since we had already spend some time together and group was working quite ok. The bus I ended up was packed full (23 people) and so we began our drive towards Kings Canyon where we arrived later that afternoon. We did couple of walks (afternoon & morning) at the beautiful canyon before continuing to Uluru where arrived in the afternoon of Dec 14^th.

At Uluru we visited the aboriginal culture centre to familiarize ourselves with the key features of aboriginal life around the region. After that we did couple of walks at the base of the great rock and tried to enjoy a sunset at nearby lookout – only the view was darkened by a dust storm that made the visibility quite poor for photos. Next day we enjoyed yet another walk at Kata Tjutas NP where we did the Valley of the Winds walk after unsuccessful sunrise which was blocked by clouds and fog. Finally, after the walk we were able to get the full body shots of the rock with reasonable weather.

My great Australian road trip ended to Uluru as I boarded a plane to Cairns where I will enjoy the Great Barrier Reef underwater world for the last week of my trip.

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Melbourne – Adelaide

Past week (actually the week before that since I have not been able to post this earlier) has included a short stop at Melbourne which I already commented on my last post. Maybe Melbourne will show its true face to me next time. Anyway, I got on to Topdeck bus again, this time heading to Adelaide via Great Ocean Road. Great Ocean Road truly was great (although the weather was not). The scenery is beautiful and there are many good photo opportunities. However, my favorites were Twelve Apostles (quite naturally) and The Arch. We spend the night at the shiny and clean Port Campbell Hostel which had somewhat interesting solution of placing the toilets and showers on the same corridor with the rooms. It seemed to work quite nicely and I would imagine that also the cleaning and ventilation can be arranged more efficiently this way.

 

Finally from Warnambool we turned towards Grampians National park where we did a shorter walk (so called Pinnacle walk) and visited several viewpoints for scenery. Wildlife was very much present in form of several bird species and tens of Kangaroos which were hanging just outside of our nice Grampians Motel where we enjoyed a nice evening over some BBQ. Also the weather changed just overnight for the better since the temperature rose up to over twenty and the wind calmed down.

After Grampians we took a rather long drive to Adelaide where we arrived in the Friday afternoon just in time to have some dinner with my friend whom I met while traveling South America last year. I also attended to her father´s surprise birthday party the next day which offered me a good chance to socialize with some really nice Adelaideans.

Technical side note:

While driving I’ve been writing my journal and organizing my photos. The amount of data has grown at amazing pace (in this case around 25X) compared to the times of my first digital camera in 2005 when photos and videos of a 3 week trip took less than 600MB. Now I produce data around 5 GB per week even though I only have a regular pocket sized travel camera on me, I operate in jpg-format and I do relatively small amount of videos. Let’s see what is the regular size for a memory card in 2019. Anyone dare to guess?  Surely it can not be 128 GB, or can it?

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Sydney-Melbourne; emphasis on (bad) hostels.

On my last day at Sydney I did the daytrip to Blue Mountains which was quite ok apart from our group being too big which led to too much waiting and standing around. While in Sydney I stayed at the Sydney Central YHA which was big, noisy and dirty – carpets and ventilation of the rooms were in dire need of an update. Six guys in one room need more fresh air! Also cleaning of the toilets should take place more often.

Next morning I joined my small tour group to Melbourne. This time there were only four people on the bus. We started by driving to nations capital, Canberra, where we familiarized ourselves with the Parliament House as well as the National museum. Both of them are free to visit and there are lots of interesting pieces at display. Like I’ve stated before I’m really not a big museum kind of a guy but I have to admit that especially some abstract works in the museum were worth checking out.

From Canberra we continued towards Thredbo alpine village where we stayed for the night. I’ve been feeling a bit congested for the past couple of days and it did definitely not help that River Inn where we stayed had a strong and distinctive smell of mold in it. Again one example of a hostel which had old carpets in a humid environment without proper heating or ventilation systems. This seems to be a bad trend and it needs to change. 

The next morning we hiked the Mt. Kosciuszko walkway which is 13 km and 3 hour roundtrip to the peak of the highest mountain in Australia (2228m). Very cold and strong wind did not actually make the walk very enjoyable but that was my own fault since I left my gloves and wool hat behind because the weather in the valley looked so good. There was also one part after Rawson pass that was still ice and snow covered so we had to improvise a little bit to get back to the path. I was the only one sliding down once. To sum up the walkway: I recommend doing it but be prepared for cold weather as well as some snow on the way. From Thredbo we continued after our little mountaineering experience towards Lakes Entrance.

We stayed at Lakes Entrance RSL which was by far one of the best hostels I’ve stayed on my trips. Clean, fresh and quiet with good service – what else is there for hostel level accommodation? It is really not rocket science as they say.  And on top of a nice dinner at hostel restaurant we enjoyed beautiful sunset at the waterfront.

Too bad we had to leave early the next morning as we headed towards Wilsons Promontory National Park at the most southern tip of continental Australia. There we enjoyed a scenic walk to Squeaky Beach which does exactly what the name suggests when you walk on it. After some additional wildlife spotting we finally continued to Melbourne where I stayed for two nights before taking the direction towards Great Ocean Road. The limited time in Melbourne did not allow much so I did just a short city tour and that was about it. The weather has been really windy and rainy for the past few days which has been a bit of a surprise – I have only had one day of constant sunshine in Australia so far.(!)

My hostel in Melbourne – Nomads Industry at 196 A’beckett - was one of the worst places I’ve ever stayed. Hostel is noisy, dirty, moldy and has plenty of nonfunctional devices. Overall,  it is a disgrace to the good name of hostels. I have gained some perspective on my trips to say that this property should be declared as a health hazard until totally renovated. Well – nice to know what kind of business Nomads run.

In my opinion hostels are reflection of their owners and the management. If they want to run a nice, clean and cozy business, it can be done – I have seen some great places; they do exist. On the other hand if there is a constant stream of travelers (=money), there is also a big temptation to forget quality and maintenance which is disappointing. 

I’m a funny guy that way – I expect people and services continuously to try to do their best and try to improve. Maybe that is a bit idealistic in this greedy age of time but that is the view I want to maintain. 

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My Sydney

During my first three days in Sydney I have walked my ass off. First day I made my excursion at Circular Quay and The Rocks area at the harbour. Although I have seen the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge hundreds of times from TV, they still are quite impressive when you finally get to see the live versions. Much advertised Bridge Climb seems to be very popular and so are the different tours at the Opera House. Especially Bridge Climb is a phenomenal cash cow since all the climbers pay at least 200 AUD for their effort and pictures since cameras are not allowed. I chose otherwise and did Pylon Lookout instead. That is the climb to the Pylon on the harbour side of the bridge which sends you back ten bucks.

For the transportation in the city I totally recommend the MyMulti weekly pass for 43 AUD that you can get from ticket machines all around the city. Note that you can not buy ticket in the bus/train/ferry.

On my second and third day here I did some more walking as I made my way through the much praised Coogee to Bondi (CB) (1,5 hrs; 5,5km) and Spit to Manly walks (SM) (3hrs; 12,5km including Grotto Point).

So the verdict: CB is an easy walk on paved pathway for everyone. Busy on cloudy day, probably very busy when it is sunny. Includes lots of eye-candy for both sexes plus regular beach views. SM – little bit more demanding walk through more versatile scenery. Bush, beach, rocks, backyards (of the rich) and finally town of Manly. Not so crowded, more chances to see some wildlife, more relaxed environment than CB. Grotto Point not really worth of 1 km detour. I’d say SM was more my kind of walk although I can see the appeal in CB too. Both are a little bit overrated in different blogs and guidebooks. If not interested in walking, take the bus to Bondi & Coogee and the ferry to Manly and see the contrast.

Today a rest day, tomorrow probably a day trip to Blue Mountains and on Saturday I’ll start the tour to Melbourne with Topdeck.   

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New Zealand - almost done

I did the Milford Sound daytrip from Queestown with Jucy Cruize. One thing a traveler might want to consider is that the bus ride, although very scenic one, will take 6 hours there and 4 hours back. Flight to Milford takes only 45 minutes but it costs 300 dollars more than the bus. So, make your pick.  The cruise itself takes 1,5 hours and offers some unbelievable scenery and some seriously windy conditions going towards the Tasman Sea. Remember to take your windbreaker, sun block and camera.

The next day we were off to doing the New Zealand’s most famous extreme activities as we did the Nevis Bungy (134 m) in the morning and the Lake Wanaka Skydive in the afternoon (12000 ft.). Both of the activities will cost you some serious money (Nevis 290, Wanaka 429 plus the videos and photos Nevis 80, Wanaka 199.) so plan your budget accordingly. I did not.

However, after doing both, I have to say that these are definitely the best extreme activities you can experience. There is nothing quite like the rush that free-falling gives you. On the other hand if you don’t have the guts for heights you will probably get freaked out just watching other people going at it.

Today I was supposed to do some hiking on Franz Josef Glacier but the weather did not do us justice and all the hikes were cancelled so no much expected glacier time on this trip.  Tomorrow back to Christchurch and on Sunday flight to Sydney, Australia.

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Uusi-Seelanti lähes paketissa

Otetaanpa pientä yhteenvetoa Uudesta-Seelannista myös suomeksi. Olen siis viimeiset reilut pari viikkoa kiertänyt maata Hakatours-nimisen firman kiertoajelulla. Kanssamatkustajina on ollut 16 tyyppiä eri puolilta maailmaa (USA, UK, Brasilia, Italia, Itävalta, Sveitsi).

Uusi-Seelanti on maana helppo matkustaa – kieli on matkailun de facto eli englanti, palvelut ovat kaikkialla saatavilla, majataloja ja hotelleja on pilvin pimein, hanavesi on juomakelpoista. Hintataso on korkea, jopa korkeampi kuin Suomessa, joten budjettimatkaajan paratiisi maa ei siis missään nimessä ole. Muutenkin on jäänyt vähän vaisu kuva. Älkää käsittäkö väärin. Maa on kuin pohjoismaiden ja keskieuroopan yhdistelmä – puhdasta luontoa, maanviljelystä, merenrantoja ja vuoristoja. Matkailubisnes täällä vain tuntuu keskittyvän aika paljon erilaisten extremeaktiviteettien ympärille ja ne ovat poikkeuksetta erittäin kalliita ja niiden suorittamiseen liittyvät kuvat ja videot maksavat luonnollisesti vielä ekstraa. Samoin ilmaiseen nettiin tottuneet joutuvat täällä pettymään, sillä sellaista ei ole tarjolla kuin erään hampurilaisravintolan toimipaikoissa.

Homma toimii kuitenkin hienosti ja järjestelmällisesti, kuten pitääkin. Missä siis mättää, jos kuvailen fiiliksiä vaisuiksi? Oikeastaan vika ei ole niinkään Uudessa-Seelannissa, vaan siinä, että Uusi-Seelanti ei ole tarjonnut itselleni oikeastaan mitään uutta. Toisin sanoen, tämä on mielestäni juuri sellainen maa, mistä saa paljon wau-fiiliksiä, jos ei ole hirveästi matkustanut. Olisi ehkä tuota hintaa lukuunottamatta siis aika ideaali paikka aloittelevalle travellerille – ja kyllähän niitä täällä paljon pyöriikin.

Otetaan tähän lopuksi kuitenkin vielä omat suositukset Uuden-Seelannin matkaajille:

Halvat huvit:

• Isojen kaupunkien puistot – virheetöntä nurmibaanaa silmänkantamattomiin, kuin tehty treenaamiseen ja pelailuun.
• Lake Tekapo & Mt. Cook – pelkät näköalatkin erittäin vaikuttavia.
• Luge-alamäkiautot Queenstownissa – tyhjä baana on paras baana.
• Vaellukset – harmi, että itselläni ei ollut tällä kertaa aikaa mihinkään pidempään tallaukseen ja sitten ne vähäisetkin peruttiin sään takia.
• Black water rafting

Massia vaativat nostattajat:

• Laskuvarjo- ja benjihypyt (Nevis ja Wanaka); muuta ei tarvitse edes kokeilla, jos on yhtään kanttia.

Erityismaininnat:

• Wellington – Pohjoissaaren ykkösmesta.
• Kathmandu retkeilyvälinekauppa Christchurchissa – mitä kaikkea matkailija voikaan haluta.

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New Zealand - from Taupo to Queenstown

We left Taupo with a bit of a disappointment since basically all the activities got cancelled due to bad weather. On our way to Wellington we stopped to see the mountains – especially Mt. Ruapehu (The Sleeping Giant) was impressive with its snow covered surroundings. Second stop on the way was at Gravity Canyon at Taihape where we did again some extreme activities. I tried so called Flying Fox but I have to say that it was kind of walk in the park, no major rush there. Bungy and the swing are much better choices to get your socks off. I’m also a bit disappointed that pictures/videos are not included in the price of activities that cost over 150 dollars (100 €).

We got to Wellington late afternoon and headed for lunch and some drinks – it was Wednesday so students were out and it was very good wibe going on at The Establishment where we were hanging out. Next day we did city tour that included breakfast at Maranui (Islands Bay), visit at Weta-studios and Mt. Victoria viewpoint. After that I also did some training at excellent local gym called Exodus and visited the Te Papa museum which was ok but did not change the way I feel about museums (stay away is the best policy).  After night out at Wellington we headed to Interislander ferry that took us to South Island. 

First stop at Picton for lunch and then to Kaikoura for the night. Next day most of our group went for dolphin swim – me and couple of others stayed on the land and did the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway which is an easy 3 hour hike with some quality scenery. In the afternoon we turned our caravan towards the unlucky Christchurch that is being rebuilt after the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 that basically destroyed the city.

We stayed at very interesting Jailhouse Accommodation which is built inside of an actual old jailhouse. I also did a quick workout at nearby Hagley Park which had great grass areas for running. Next morning we did a city tour and saw some of the destruction done by the earthquakes. It is estimated that rebuilding will take 15 years!  From Christchurch we drove to absolutely beautiful Lake Tekapo where we enjoyed the views of some alpine waters & mountains. This morning we drove  to Queenstown where we first enjoyed some budget activities by taking the gondola up to the viewpoint and driving the luge which was really fun. Later we had dinner at the famous Fergburger which makes absolutely killer burgers. Now some sleep before taking the bus to Milford sound and back tomorrow. Day after tomorrow we'll do some extreme sports in form of Nevis bungy and Wanaka skydive. 

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New Zealand - from Auckland to Taupo

I arrived Auckland after 35 hours of different transportation methods. First accommodation at YHA Auckland International. After getting my room and my stuff fixed, I took a nice run to Auckland Domain which is a nice big park area just outside central Auckland. Conditions could not have been better – nice hilly grass field and temperature almost 20 degrees. In the evening a quick bite near the tower and back to the motel to prepare for the next day.

Some problems with time difference but I think it was to be expected (+11 hrs). In the morning meeting with the group and after breakfast on the road towards Coromandel Peninsula and more specifically Whitianga and Turtle Cove. In the afternoon we spend a good while with some bone crafts in a local carving shop. As a result I am now a proud owner of a Fish Hook that represents a person who is witty, friendly, strong willed and determined to succeed until the end of life.

Coromandel Peninsula viewpoint

In the evening we spend time just hanging out and doing some dinner at the motel. Next morning we got on to some seakayaking at Mercury Bay & Cathedral Cove. Me and my paddle partner ended up soaking wet after turning the kayak upside down once. After the wet adventure we headed to Waitomo (Kiwi Park) for the night. While driving I got strong Finland and Switzerland wibes since the similarities between these countries are clear: well organized, unspoiled nature, agriculture dominated landscape, small towns, expensive prices.

Hakatours seems a good choice so far – everything nicely handled. Would not like to be on Kiwiexperience bus which is full of teenagers and known also as the shag bus around here. Bar scene is almost the same everywhere – why come this far unless the emphasis is on the destination and journey itself? I’m officially old after writing this. Oh, one more observation – price level here is very high, almost Norway-high. Especially restaurants charge shameless prices for average stuff. On top of that internet is basically always with additional cost. I’ll try to get some local sim-card with data plan since also the roaming is ridiculously expensive even on sms.

At Waitomo we did the famous black water rafting and saw the glowworms at the Ruakuri caves. This was actually quite nice activity although you get a bit chilly while tubing in cold water. Our guides were excellent and overall the business was well handled by Black Water Rafting co. We kept on going towards Rotorua and on the way we stopped at AgroVentures activity park where some of us enjoyed ride on a speedboat and got a feel of a skydiving simulator. We arrived Rotorua and nice and new YHA there in the afternoon and in the evening we headed for Maori culture display at local Mitai-village. I’ve seen this kind of cultural displays before (Tanzania, Peru x3, Ecuador) and I have to say that this was really good and the food cooked at Hangi (hole in the ground) was just great.

Next day we also visited some thermal park called Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland which was a nice display of the volcanic activity within the area of Rotorua. From Rotorua we drove to Taupo where we were supposed to do one of the activities I was really looking forward to – the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which is a demanding day hike at the mountains. Unfortunately the weather conditions did not allow the hike so we got stuck at Taupo instead. We did Rapid Jet boating which was kind of a disappointment – wasn’t really that exciting or spectacular although the service otherwise was ok.

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Miksi matkustaa?

Blogini lukijat ovat suurimmaksi osaksi kotimaisia, joten kirjoitetaanpa vaihteeksi hieman myös suomeksi. Käsittelen tässä hieman omia näkemyksiäni matkustamisesta. Monia kiinnostavat erityisesti matkailuun liittyvät motiivit ja inspiraatiot - miksi joku haluaa käyttää rahansa ja aikansa maailmalla kulkemiseen? Omalla kohdallani pääasiallisia syitä on kolme: vapauden tunne, luonnonihmeet ja itsensä kehittäminen.

Vapauden tunnetta on vaikea kuvailla muuten kuin kontrastina jokapäiväiselle arjessa elämiselle. Olen kuitenkin omistanut suurimman osan elämääni tietyntyyppiselle kurinalaisuudelle, joka on vahvasti leimaavaa niin opiskelulle, työn tekemiselle tai urheiluharrastukselle – näiden parissahan olen kuitenkin viettänyt suurimman osan elämästäni.

Ensimmäistä kertaa olen käynyt ulkomailla vasta 1997, kun olin mukana EU:n pienryhmävaihdossa, jonka puitteissa matkustimme Italiaan. Tuolloin vieraan kulttuurin piirteet eivät vielä tehneet lähtemätöntä vaikutusta, vaan olin enemmänkin helpottunut palatessani kotiin ja tuttuihin ympyröihin, vaikka muutamia hienoja fiiliksiä tältäkin reissulta sai.

Ensimmäinen kaukomatkani Malesiaan vuonna 2005 on se yksittäinen reissu, joka koukutti minut lopullisesti matkustamisesta saataviin elämyksiin. Muistan vahvasti saapumisen Kuala Lumpuriin turkoosin veden ylle. Samoin minareetin rukouskutsun ollessamme samana iltana uima-altaalla Penangilla pimeyden jo laskeuduttua. Tämä on se sama tunne, jonka takia haluan yhä uudestaan matkustaa maailman ääriin. Tunne siitä, että on kaukana kotoa kokemassa jotain uutta ja erilaista, eikä mikään arkinen sitoumus rajoita mahdollisuuksia nauttia tästä uutuuden viehätyksestä.

Samantyyppiseen tunnetilaan liittyvät myös luonnonihmeet. Vaikka suurkaupungit ovat sinänsä hämmästyttäviä ja tavallaan kauniita nekin, minulle luonto, eläimet ja maisemat ovat aina olleet vaikuttavampia. Andamaaninmeren saaret usvan takaa, auringonlasku virheettömällä hiekkarannalla, Bunakenin koralliriutan uskomaton elämä, Kilimanjaron jäätiköt, Serengetin gnuuantilooppien vaellus ja öinen tähtitaivas äänineen, Victorian putousten valtava voima, Krabin liekehtivät kalliot, Andien lumiset huiput, Titikaka järven loputon selkä, Perun hiekkadyynit, Amazonin öinen ukkoskuuro, Zionin jylhät korkeuserot ja Yosemiten upeat maisemat, vain muutamia mainitakseni, ovat niitä asioita, joiden kokemisesta en voi koskaan saada tarpeekseni.

Itsensä kehittämisen aspekti taas on selvästi sukua sille kurinalaiselle ja rationaaliselle ajatusmaailmalle, jonka mukaan jokaisessa tilanteessa voi toimia sopivalla tavalla, kunhan osaa soveltaa oppimaansa käytäntöön. Vieraissa kulttuureissa toimimiseen pätee sama periaate. Mitä enemmän tiedät, sitä paremmin pystyt toimimaan uusissa ja yllättävissäkin tilanteissa. Edellyttäen tietysti, että olet tarpeeksi avoin ottamaan opiksi.

En missään nimessä halua sanoa, että tekemilläni matkoilla oppii miksikään kulttuuriekspertiksi, sillä suurimmaksi osaksi matkailijat ovat kuitenkin tekemisissä niiden ihmisten kanssa, jotka jollain tavalla liittyvät turismin ympärillä oleviin elinkeinoihin ja niistä suhteista on välillä aitous kaukana. Väitän kuitenkin, että siitäkin huolimatta havaintoja tekevä yksilö ymmärtää jotain siitä maailmasta, missä ihmiset elävät länsimaisen luksuksen ulkopuolella.

Maailma on täynnä toinen toistaan hienompia paikkoja, ihmisiä ja kokemuksia. Olen sitä mieltä, että parhaiten sitä kaikkea oppii ymmärtämään matkustamalla ja kokemalla itse. Suomalaisten kirjasivistyneisyys on huippuluokkaa. Tiedämme paljon kaikesta, mutta olemme usein hieman liian juuttuneita omiin tapoihimme. Siksipä aika moni ei koskaan uskallakaan välimeren pakettimatkoja pidemmälle. Mukaviahan nekin ovat, mutta jos yhtään kutkuttaa, niin suosittelen ehdottomasti lähtemään kohti tuntematonta. Se, jos joku, avartaa mieltä.

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USA, almost done (this time)

I have now been here a little bit over a week and it has been quite an intensive schedule I´ve been pulling off around here. We started with my friend Ken from Phoenix and headed to Arizona and Utah national parks for an extended weekend.

We visited all the planned parks: Sunset Crater Volcano, Zion, Grand Canyon and also Coral Pink Sand Dunes which was on our way. Additionally we did short stops at Lake Powell and Horseshoe Bend viewpoints. I can definitely recommend Zion and Horseshoe Bend. Also Grand Canyon is worth of visiting although I liked more detailed Zion better. Sunset Crater Volcano visit failed due to too cold weather (it was snowing!!) so maybe I´ll have to come back there some time again. Coral Pink Sand Dunes was a little bit of a disappointment - pink?

After an intensive national parks tour I headed to Las Vegas for couple of days where I tried to get some taste of the sin city. I walked the strip, gambled some money, saw a show, took the roller coaster at New York New York and saw the famous fountains of the Bellagio. Las Vegas is, like my Hungarian taxi-driver told me, the craziest place on earth. I don´t know for sure but crazy it is. And you need money to enjoy it. Don´t go broke.

From Vegas I took a flight to San Francisco where I spend a few days and visited Alcatraz, Fisherman´s Wharf and took the city tour which included the famous spots like Golden Gate Bridge, Pacific Heights and Haight-Ashbury. I also took a daytrip to Yosemite NP where I had the opportunity to witness the valley view at its best - perfect postcard view (note: you need more than just a one day to really explore Yosemite). I can recommend the Alcatraz visit. Although "audio tour" normally has a bad feeling to it, this one really is a good one. (I booked all my tours in SF via local company called Extranomical and they did a good job if one is looking for a tour company.)
And finally, if one is looking for good place to eat and hang out, Lefty O´Doul´s is a great place for that. It is located just off the Union Square - Turkey and Chicken Marsala were absolutely great.

It is really big as they say, healthy (normal) food is hard to find especially if you are on the road and tips are expected everywhere what makes travelling here as expensive as in Scandinavia. America offers everything for everyone and it definitely has all that a traveler can ask for: great natural wonders and world famous metropolitan areas. In two weeks it is only possible to experience fraction of it but this is always the thing with travelling - there is always more to see. And that is one reason I´m going to keep doing it.

It is cinco de mayo today so we are going to celebrate a bit and go to a Mexican restaurant to have a few margaritas. I´ll upload some photos most likely next week when I get back to Finland.

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USA, here I come

Tomorrow morning I´ll begin my two week excursion to land of the free home of the brave - USA. I´ve been planning this trip for a while now and finally during last winter me and my friend Ken (who I met in Africa 2009) agreed to make it happen. So, tomorrow I´ll take off from Helsinki and will arrive to Phoenix (via London and Chicago) Wednesday evening local time.

Originally I had good flights Helsinki-Chicago-Phoenix but since American Airlines postponed the start of the Helsinki-Chicago route until June, I was rerouted to less convenient flights via London that make the journey about 8 hrs longer and elevate the risk of my bag not arriving to Phoenix at the same time since the transit time in Heathrow is 75 minutes.

Anyway, our plan in the US is to do some hiking including Sunset crater volcano, Zion NP and Grand canyon NP. Additionally I´m planning to check out Las Vegas and San Francisco before heading back to Phoenix for the last weekend before returning home.

More links on N-America page.

Shortly about the bureaucracy going to USA - Finnish citizens need so called ESTA (14 USD) permit to travel to USA under visa waiver program so no visa is needed for trips shorter than 90 days. If you want to be able to drive in the US, you also need either international driver´s license or so called USA-extension (14 EUR - rather expensive) from Autoliitto (Automobile and touring club of Finland).

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Ecuador, almost done

Hola from Quito.

So, we spend intensive couple of days in Banos doing different activities such as rafting and canyoning and, of course, we had the Ecuadorian style new year´s party too.

Too early in the morning of the Jan 1st we packed our bags and headed to Tena, more specifically to Talag for Amazon home stay for three days. Living and hiking in the jungle was absolutely great and big thanks goes to the host Delfin & his family. Our western lifestyle definitely needs some critical evaluation - (economic) growth and consumption are not the answers for the global ecological challenges of today and tomorrow.

From the jungle we took a bus to capital Quito where we are staying for the last couple of days of our tour. I was tempted to try to climbing the volcano Cotopaxi but coming from lowlands and the time constraints given by my own itinerary (departure on Saturday) make it a bit too risky and hasty adventure at this point. So instead, we did some easier touristy stuff like the equator and historical centre of Quito.

My time here in South America is almost over and the trip overall has been (once again) eye opening experience. Also, I have had the privilege to meet some unique and like minded people from all around the world. Thank you and all the best to all of you fellow travelers.

Over and out from Quito. More pics sometime next week when I get home.

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