When I first started to think about the idea of buying a car in South America and than drive it all the way up to Central or North America many I met many people that told me it was impossible or that I was simply crazy I had many problems, some difficult times and many changes of plans during the last six months but I always found a solution and a way to continue. I also had an incredible amount of really fantastic experiences, I’ve met many interesting people, learned a lot about a different cultures, other lifestyles and I even learned some Spanish.
I want to thank all the people that supported me trough this long adventure and that made this trip possible. Particularly I want to thank my parents, all my friends back home and the people that I met and helped me in South and Central America.
I also want to apologise for all the emails and messages I haven’t yet had the time to answer. It has been a really busy time for me in the last weeks but I’ll try to catch up with all of you shortly.

Thanks!

My travel map…

In the evening I had a flight from Miami to London and Thursday afternoon I had the last fight from London back to Zurich. I had mixed feelings about getting back home. On one side I really loved travelling, on the other side I’ve been away for quite a long time. Some friends came to the airport to pick me up and I was really happy to see them again.

I was back home unpacking my stuff when somebody rung on the door: my friends had organised a surprise party for my return home and soon the flat was full of people! It was really fantastic to see everybody again and to find out what thy have all been up to in the last 6 months.

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After travelling for weeks trough Central America I needed a change and Cuba was definitely something very different. Everything seems to be a little bit more complicated in Cuba and it takes some time to figure out how the system works.

To start with there are two currencies in Cuba: pesos convertibles (CUC) and moneda nacional (MN). Tourists mostly use CUC, Cubans theoretically use MN. In a few places you can yours both currencies but in most you can either use one or the other. For instance there are public phones in CUC that you can use to make international calls and to call hotels and tourist offices in Cuba. If you try to call a private Cuban number they will simply tell you the number doesn’t exist. So you have to find a different public phone that works in MN…

Compared to other South and Central American countries it is much more expensive and complicated to travel in Cuba for backpackers. There are no hostels or dorms and there are very few busses that tourists are allowed to use. And of course the prices are only in CUC. On the upside even the cheapest accommodation that tourist are allowed to use (15-20USD) are much better than the usual hostels. You can save some money on food trying to eat using MN but the choice is very limited and the queues long. Another occasion where you’ll find long queues is when you want to use the internet. In the centre of Havana I found only two places where you can use the internet but you have to wait up to two hours, the connection is very slow and of course it’s expensive. That’s one of the reason I haven’t updated my blog in the last 2 weeks.

I spent the first 5 nights in the centre of Havana in a really nice hotel that I was able to book online for a discount price. It even had a swimming pool and a disco. I really liked Havana: the (live) music that seams to be everywhere, the old cars and buildings, the empty shops with long queues… unfortunately there are also thousands of people trying to sell you everything from cigars over food and accommodation to girls.

After Havana I went for three nights to Varadero and for the first time in my life stayed in an all-inclusive resort. After 6 months of travelling it was great not to have to think about anything for a couple of days but quit soon it started to become boring so I moved on. I went to see Trinidad and Cienfuegos, two really nice colonial towns, and than returned to Havana for the last two nights.

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In the afternoon I started travelling by bus and arrived to Playa del Carmen (Mexico) in the evening. I have already been in Playa del Carmen 4 years ago but the place has completely changed. Now it´s huge with a lot of really elegant clubs and restaurants. no more cheap caipiriñas and partying on the beach

Today I spent the morning in a travelagency and organised the rest of me trip:

10Oct 20:45 Cancun, Mexico
10Oct 22:50 Havana, Cuba

23Oct 15:50 Havana, Cuba
23Oct 15:55 Cancun, Mexico

24Oct 08:00 Cancun, Mexico
24Oct 10:30 Miami, USA

24Oct 20:45 Miami, USA
25Oct 10:05 London, UK

25Oct 11:55 London, UK
25Oct 14:35 Zurich, Switzerland

26Oct ???

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After all the border problems I made it to Belize City just before sunset and found out the it isn’t really a city, just a bigger town. In the hostel I met Megan and Heather from Canada and Deiza from the USA. Monday morning we all went together to Caye Caulker, a small Island 45min away from Belize City. Caye Caulker is the typical dream island: clear water, palms, lobster, great diving and a lot of sun. I did 3 days of diving including the famous Blue Hole and saw a lot of sharks, eagle rays and turtles.

After all the problems I had with the car I wasn’t sure that I’ll make it to Miami in the time I have left so I decided to ship the car home directly from Belize City. This morning I went to visit the Belize Zoo with Megan and Heather and than I went back to Belize City to organize the paperwork to ship the car. I will probably be able to ship the car next Monday or Tuesday so in the afternoon I returned to Caye Caulker to spend the weekend.

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After I had all the papers I continued until Rio Dulce where I had the next problem with the motor: the new pulley that I had just bought in Managua broke and damaged the alternator. They hadn’t any spare parts in Rio Dulce but I managed to find somebody to solder everything back together. Saturday I drove from Rio Dulce all the way up to Tikal with a short ‘pit-stop’ at another solderer.

In Tikal I met some other tourists that where traveling around the world with their vehicles. They all had 4×4 and where very well equipped: probably they made the better choice We had dinner all together and had a great time exchanging stories.

Sundey morning I got up at 4 to see the sunrise over the ruins of Tikal. The walk trough the jungle at night and the views of the ruins where really amaizing. After visiting the ruins I continued my trip towards Belize.

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After five months withouth a dive I was really happy to go diving again and I took the opportunity to get certified for nitrox and rebreather dives. After a fullmoon party with a lot of nitrous oxide this morning I got the firs ferry and left teh island. Now I’m in Omoa and tomorrow I’ll probably make it to Guatemala.

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The next day we rented two horses to ride to a waterfall up the side of the volcano. There was no guide so it wasn’t always easy to make the horses do what we wanted… my horse didn’t want to move and Sandra’s horse was always running for the bushes. After almost 3 hours we found the waterfall and then rode another 2 hours back to the hostel.

Saturday we had another early start to get back to the mainland but on the way to the ferry the motor started to overheat. Luckily we found someone who towed us to the ferry. I was really tired of having problems with the motor and was almost on the point of dumping the car and flying home. On the Mainland I tried to fix the alternator and we continued very slowly towards Managua but the motor getting even worser and we ended spending the night in Jinotepe. Sunday Morning I got he driver of a ‘collectivo’ to tow us for the last 60km to Managua and I left the car at a mechanic that somebody in Granada had recommended.

Monday Sandra got the 5am bus to continue her trip to Honduras and I went to the mechanic. We ended up working for almost 2 day fixing various problems. Monday evening I also met Salomon “El Rey”: a very friendly member of a Nicaraguan VW Club that took me to his home to show me his car and then drove me back to the hostel.

Tuesday evening the car was ready and I got out of Managua as fast as I could. I made it to a Motel near Sebaco before it got dark and the rain stopped me. This morning I got up early started driving at sunrise (5:30am). The car is ruuning well and by nightfall I arrived to Siguatepeque in Hondura. Tomorrow I’ll drive to La Ceiba on the Caribbean coast and than take a boat to Utila to do some diving and meet up with Sandra.

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Monday morning we left Liberia early and crossed to border to Nicaragua withouts problems and arrived to San Juan del Sur on the pacific coast. It was great to spend some time on the beach after all the rain and the stress in Monteverde.

This morning I left San Juan del Sur with Sandra and we wanted to go the Isla Ometepe in lake Nicaragua. When we arrived to the ferry we discovered that everything was full for the day so we continued to Granada. We relaxed in the hostel and had a one hour massage. Tomorrow we’ll get up very early and we’ll try to get to the Island again.

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The motor was is copletly burned out. All the plastixc part and electrioc components have melted. At lest the rest of the car didn’t burn.The fire was all around the fuel tank and I had another 40 liter of fuel in the car so I was really lucky.

After the first shock I took the car to a mechanic. We made a list of parts that have to be replaced just in time to catch the last bus to San Jose (a 5 hour ride…). Sandra and Kerstin decided to cxome to Son Jose with me and I was really happy not to be alone. Yesterday morning I ran all over San Jose to find all the parts and in the afternoon I took the bus back to Monteverde with Sandra. Today I spend the day at the mechanic trying to get the car fixed. If everithing goes well tomorrow the car should be running again.

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