venerdì 29 giugno 2018

TRIP DIARY: Indonesia and Brunei 2018

INDONESIA 

10.01 - 13.01  JAKARTA
Leaving Rome by flight via Abu Dhabi and sleeping at the "Old Batavia Capsule hostel".
Exploring durig those days around the city, National Monument, and the old colonial city centre

14.01 - 16.01  YOGYAKARTA
Arriving by train at the Lempuyangan station (8hr) and staying at the "Sleeping hostel".
Visiting the old temples of Prambanan and Borobudur and walking around the neighborhood of Malioboro

17.01  BALI
Flying with Garuda (1.5hr) to Denpasar and staying only one night at the "Eco Lodge Hostel" before transfering to the Gili

18.01 - 24.01 GILI AIR
Getting here with the fast boat Ekajaya (2hr) and meeting my friend Alessio, who lives here with his girlfriend Andrea. They hosted me in their lovely accommodation and italian restaurant called "Classico Italiano", thanks to them and to more friends I made around the island I had some real great time and experiences around the island.

25.01 - 26.01 BALI - KUTA BEACH
Back here by boat and staying at the "Dewi Sri hotel", just visiting around Kuta and spending a night at the Sky Garden

BRUNEI

27.01 KUALA LUMPUR
Having a long stop over sleeping at the airport before taking the next Air Asia flight toward Brunei

28.01 - 29.01 BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
Arriving in the elegant Brunei's capital and sleeping at the "Telanai hostel", visiting around the city centre and Omar Ali famous mosque, the water village called Kampong Ayer, sailing the river by boat and spotting the Nose Monkeys and having dinner at the night market

INDONESIA

BALI ISLAND

30.01 KUTA
Flying back to Denpasar with Air Asia and sleeping just one night at "Dewi Sri hotel"

31.01 - 07.02 CANGGU
Moving to this better place for relaxing around Bali, sleeping at first in the "Budidin homestay" and then at the "Surflodge hostel", here I've been doing some surf and visiting the temples of Echo beach and Batu Bolong

08.02 - 10.02 UBUD
Getting inland in this busy mystic town, sleeping at the "Poshtel hostel" and having a driving tour around Bali, visiting:
>Gunungkawi, the rock sculpture temple
>Tampaksiring, the water purification temple
>Lake Batur and the volcano
>Kintamani, the Batur volcano temple
>Besakih, the Agung volcano temple
>Bukit Jambul, the rice terrace
>Goa Gajah, the elephant cave
>The monkey forest

FLORES ISLAND

11.02 - 12.02 MONI
Taking a Garuda flight from Denpasar to Ende (2hr) and then a local minibus to Moni (4hr), sleeping at the "Estevania lodge" and visiting from here the Moni waterfall, the sunrise at the lakes on the Kelimutu volcano, relaxing at the hotsprings around the ricefields and doing some shopping at the local market

13.02 - 15.02 BAJAWA
Getting in this mountain town by a local bus (7hr) and sleeping at the "Edelweis homestay", visiting from here the indigenous villages of Bena and Gurusina and spending some time around the city

16.02 - 19.02 LABUAN BAJO
Flying here with Wings air (0.5hr) and sleeping at the italian owned "Ciao hostel", visiting around this nice city and its fish market.
From here I had the chance to do a 2 days boat trip around the Komodo Island national park, visiting:
>Pink beach with some snorkeling
>Komodo island, spotting the famous Dragons
>Padar island, doing trekking to the top
>Manta point for some awesome snorkeling
>Kanawa island for another round of snorkeling

JAVA ISLAND

20.02 - 22.02 JAKARTA
Back here with a Garuda flight (2 hr) and sleeping again at the "Old Batavia Capsule hostel", spending the last 2 days around the modern city centre before flying back to Italy

sabato 14 novembre 2015

TRIP DIARY: ROMA – NORDKAPP 2015

Travelling with a 4WD Fiat Panda towards the far north




ITALY TO GERMANY

15.09 DAY 1: ROMA – NURNBERG (16hr) - 1177KM
Leaving Rome at 2am and driving north, just stopping at the Brenner pass for breakfast and in Austria for lunch. In Nurnberg we have been visiting around the city centre and the old castle.
ACCOMMODATION: Jugend hotel in a 4 beds dorm
16.09 DAY 2: NURNBERG – ROSTOK (13hr) 708KM – TOT: 1885KM
Stopping along the way for a while in Bamberg before reaching the harbour of Rostok to catch a ferry to Sweden
ACCOMMODATION: Ferry Rostok – Trelleborg (7hr)

SWEDEN

17.09 DAY 3: TRELLEBORG – STOCKHOLM (12hr) 698KM – TOT: 2583KM
Stopping in Jonkoping and having a lunch in the nice town of Granna before arriving in the evening in Stockholm
ACCOMMODATION: Angby camping in a 4 beds cabin
18.09 DAY 4: STOCKHOLM   69KM – TOT:2652KM
Visiting the Hogalid church, Sodermalm lookout with a panoramic view over the city, the Gamlastan suburb and getting lost at night in Skogskyrkogarden cemetery
19.09 DAY 5: STOCKHOLM   56KM – TOT: 2708KM
Walking around the city centre, visiting and having lunch into the Ostermalm market and arriving at night at the Fjallgatan lookout
20.09 DAY 6: STOCKHOLM – ROVANIEMI (18hr) 1335KM – TOT: 4043KM
Leaving Stockholm late in the morning, stopping along the way in Hudiksvall, having a lunch in the fishermen village of Kuggoren, then passing by Ilsbo, Grangsjo, Sundsvall and Ornskoldsvik. Stopping in the night in Umea for some food and a break, then arriving the morning after in Lulea where we had breakfast and after visiting the old town of Gammelstad, and after in Kalix, Sangis where we found some nice wooden sculpture and the Haparanda border
ACCOMMODATION: Car sleeping

FINLAND

21.09 DAY 7: ROVANIEMI
Driving along the Kemijoki river before arriving in town, then walking around the city and the Ounasvaara sky centre
ACCOMMODATION: Kallentalontie arctic apartment
22.09 DAY 8: ROVANIEMI   35KM – TOT: 4078KM
Visiting the Santa Claus village, spotting some Reindeer in the forest nearby the town and visiting around the city centre
23.09 DAY 9: ROVANIEMI – INARI (8hr) 402KM – 4480KM
Driving north to this town on a lake, and stopping on the way at the giant kettles of Hiidenkimut
ACCOMMODATION: Holiday village Inari in a 4 beds cabin

NORWAY

24.09 DAY 10: INARI – NORDKAPP (8hr) 395KM – TOT: 4875KM
Passing by Karasjok, Lakselv and Olderfjod before arriving in the European northernmost point where we settled down and had a dinner under the northernlights
ACCOMMODATION: Car sleeping
25.09 DAY 11: NORDKAPP – TROMSO (13hr) 678KM – TOT: 5553KM
For the first time driving south, we stopped in the towns of Skarsvag, Honningsvag, Olderfjord and Alta where we visited the Hjemmeluft rock carvings before arriving in Tromso
ACCOMMODATION: Ami hotel in a 4 beds room
26.09 DAY 12: TROMSO
Visiting around the city and taking some relaxing time
27.09 day 13: TROMSO – SOMMAROY – TROMSO (4hr) 237KM – TOT: 5790KM
Visiting the arctic botanic gardens in town before driving and visiting around the local fjords, and visiting Eidkjosen, Kaldfjord, Sommaroy, Hillesoy, Hella and Kvaloyvagen
28.09 DAY 14: TROMSO – GROV (8hr) 267KM – TOT: 6057KM
Stopping for lunch under the Stortind glacier, and then passing by Balsfjorden and Setermoen
ACCOMMODATION: Elvegard Hytteutleie Og Fiskeferie 4 beds cabin
29.09 DAY 15: GROV – FREDVANG (9hr) 299KM – TOT: 6356KM
Driving through the Lofoten islands all day long under an heavy atlantic storm
ACCOMMODATION: Milas house B&B
30.09 DAY 16: FREDVANG – TRONDHEIM (18hr) 1087KM – TOT:7443KM
Driving back the Lofoten islands under a very bad weather and visiting the Utakleiv beach and Haukland stranden beach, taking the ferry from Lodingen to Bognes, stopping under the rain in Fauske and having a dinner inside a bus stop, the driving the day after through Medja where we had lunch
ACCOMMODATION: Car sleeping
01.10 DAY 17: TRONDHEIM
Arriving in town late evening and just relaxing inside our hostel
ACCOMMODATION: Trondheim Vandrerhjem Hostel in a 2 bunk bed rooms
02.10 DAY18: TRONDHEIM – KRISTIANSUND (7hr) 200KM – TOT: 7643KM
Visiting early morning the city center of Trondheim, then driving to Kristiansund and taking a ferry from Halsa to Kanestraum
ACCOMMODATION: Atlanten Turistsenten in a house
03.10 DAY 19: KRISTIANSUND – SJOHOLT (10hr) 167KM – TOT: 7810KM
Visiting in the morning the city center and the local street market where we had some street food, then we passed by Sandoy, the awesome Atlantic road, the city of Molde and the Varden lookout before taking the ferry from Molde to Vestnes
ACCOMMODATION: Sjoholt camping in a house cabin
04.10 DAY 20: SJOHOLT – GRODAS (12hr) 282KM – TOT: 8092KM
Visiting Alesund in the early morning, the art nouveau city, the Fjellstua lookout, having lunch along the Storfjorden, then taking the ferry from Linge to Eidsdal and arriving at the most famous fjord of Geiranger before reaching the Dalsnibba mountain lookout by car
ACCOMMODATION: Knausen cottage
05.10 DAY 21: GRODAS – AURLANDS (11hr) 320KM – TOT: 8412KM
Another long day in the car visiting the Innikfjorden, Loenvatnet lake, doing a trekking up the Kjenndals glacier, the driving along the Oldevatnet lake, Brigsdal, Skei and taking the ferry from Mannheller to Fodnes and after driving inside the Laerdals tunnel, the longest on Earth
ACCOMMODATION: Skahjem house
06.10 DAY 22: AURLANDS – OSLO (25hr) 792KM – TOT: 9204KM
Visiting the Aurlands town and the lookout over the fjord and after driving some panoramic roads to the city of Bergen, where we had a walk and the dinner before taking the car on the way to Oslo, passing by the Tynkrysset pass the day after having our first and only snowy day
ACCOMMODATION: car sleeping
07.10 DAY 23: OSLO
Having a big walk around the city center and the harbor
ACCOMMODATION: Vandrerhjem hostel in a 4 beds dorm

SWEDEN

08.10 DAY 24: OSLO – HELSINGBORG (12hr) 588KM – TOT: 9792KM
We had our last stop in Norway in a supermarket in Moss before passing the Swedish border, then visiting the Hallristningar heritage site, having a lunch in the nice fishermen town of Fjallbacka and visiting at night the town of Goteborg with the famous towers of Skansen Lejonet and Skansen Kronan and the old suburb of Haga
ACCOMMODATION: Nyckelbo hostel

DENMARK

09.10 DAY 25: HELSINGBORG – COPENHAGEN (5hr) 119KM – TOT: 9911KM
Visiting in the morning the city center and the castle of Helsingborg and the city of Malmo before passing the Denmark border over one of the longest bridge on Earth
ACCOMMODATION: Valmuevej apartment
10.10 DAY 26: COPENHAGEN
In this morning Daniele and Luana arrived here to spend a few days together for Daniele’s birthday, we spent all the day around the city center; Christiania and Nyhavn
11.10 DAY 27: COPENHAGEN
One more day around the city and up to the famous little mermaid

DENMARK TO ITALY

12.10 DAY 28: COPENHAGEN – ROMA (42hr) 2432KM – TOT: 12343KM
Having a breakfast in the morning all together, then Daniele and Luana went back to the airport and we went back on the road, visiting the Danish cities of Roskilde, Hejlsminde and having a dinner in Aabernaa
ACCOMMODATION: Car sleeping
13.10 DAY 29: GERMANY AND AUSTRIA
Driving all day long through Germany and Austria, stopping along the way on Rendsburg, Rosdorf, Mader and driving the Arlberg pass before arriving at the Brenner Pass
ACCOMMODATION: Car sleeping
14.10 DAY 30: ROMA
Back home early in the morning

martedì 14 luglio 2015

TRIP DIARY: MAMA AFRICA 2015



UAE

20.1 ABU DHABI, leaving Italy with an Alitalia flight (6 hr)
21.1 DUBAI, moving here by bus and spending a whole day around the airport waiting for my next flight to Cape Town

SOUTH AFRICA

22.1 – 30.1 CAPE TOWN, arriving here with an Emirates flight (9hr)
- 22.1 In my first day here I went to sleep at the “forty8 hostel” in the city centre and then I met Filippo which is working here, driving around with his car and going to the beach
- 23.1 Together with Filippo driving to Simmon’s town to see the penguins and then around the Cape peninsula and to Scarborough beach
- 24.1 Walking around the Bo Kaap neighbourhood
- 25.1 Visiting in the morning the Waterfront and then going in the afternoon with Filippo and Donna to Camps bay
- 26.1 Another day around the city centre, Hyde park and the Good Hope castle
- 27.1 Back at the Waterfront for visiting the aquarium
- 28.1 Moving to the Ashanti lodge in Green Point and visiting Table Mountain for the sunset
- 29.1 With a rented car, driving around the Cape peninsula up to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope
-30.1 Last walk around the Waterfront and then meeting the Acacia’s group to get ready for the road trip
31.1 HIGHLANDERS CAMP, Leaving the city with a big overland equipped truck after visiting the Langa township, having lunch there, and then heading north to this campsite in this wine region
01.2 ORANGE RIVER, driving all day long up here, nearby the Namibian border, a relaxing campsite where we could have a nice swim into the river

NAMIBIA

02.2 CANYON ROADHOUSE, heading into Namibia via the Vooilsdrift border post, and crossing the Namibian sandy desert up to the Fish River canyon, which is the second largest canyon in the world
03.2 SESRIEM, another full day driving over the Namibian dusty roads to reach this place, which is the gateway to the Naukluft national park
04.2 SOLITAIRE, waking up early in the morning before reaching this town, for going to climb the famous Dune 45 and have the opportunity to see the sunrise from the top of the dune. After the hike up we have been walking around the Sossuvlei desert
05.2 – 06.2 SWAKOPMUND, Leaving Solitaire and heading for the Atlantic coast, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn, we arrived in this coastal town. Here I could hang around this German style town and it’s market and relaxing for a while
07.2 SPITZKOPPE, driving back inland to reach this national park surrounded by this red rock formations, and where we could also see some Bushman paintings. This was the first day we broke down the truck engine
08.2 OTJITOTONGWE, after few hours driving we arrived in this place, where there is a cheetah park, a nice spot where to familiarize with this awesome animals
09.210.2 ETOSHA NATIONAL PARK, arriving here in a campsite inside the park, we stopped for two days in order to have plenty of time for some very interesting game drives with our truck around the park
11.2 WINDHOEK, a full driving day to reach the capital city of Namibia, having a walk around the city before reaching the campsite

BOTSWANA

12.2 GHANZI, leaving Windhoek and crossing the Kalahari desert to reach the Botswana border, then we arrived in Ghanzi late evening due to several police roadblocks, we had to set the campsite quite fast before the sunset
13.2 MAUN, waking up early morning we had a walk in the bush with some native bushmen showing up plants and animals, then we drove to a campsite in the city of Maun
14.2 OKAVANGO DELTA, Leaving the campsite in Maun, we had first a drive on an open 4WD truck through the Okavango river delta, and then with a canoe to reach the Elephant camp inside the delta. Here we had the opportunity to walk around the river system and spotting few hippos
15.2 NATA, canoeing and driving back to Maun, the we drove to the Elephant Sands campsite in Nata where we could sleep in a place surrounded by the elephants
16.2 KASANE, driving up to this city, which is the gateway to the Chobe national park, here we took a cruise over the Chobe river where we spotted a lot of crocodiles, hippos, elephants and more

ZAMBIA

17.2 – 19.2 LIVINGSTONE, moving from Kasane we took a ferry across the confluence of the Chobe and Zambesi rivers into Zambia, we settled for three days at the Waterfront campsite and from here we had the opportunity to visit the Victoria Falls from both Zambian and Botswanian side
20.2 LUSAKA, a full driving day to reach the capital city, sleeping at the Pioneer campsite
21.2 CHIPATA, another full day driving on the Great Eastern Road through many small villages, sleeping at the Mama Rula camp
22.2 – 23.2 SOUTH LUANGWA, settling down for two days into the Wildlife campsite, from here we had some awesome game drives inside the South Luangwa national park, probably the best of the entire trip

MALAWI

24.2 LILONGWE, after we arrived at the border we broke down again the engine, we have been waiting several hours for a mechanic, spending our time to have some fun into a local pub, we could reach the capital city of Malawi only late at night
25.2 – 27.2 KANDE BEACH, another day full of problems for our truck, after several hours we could finally reach Kande Beach, where our truck definitely abandoned us. We have been stuck here for three days waiting for a new truck to rescue us from Tanzania, fortunately it was a great location with a nice beach on the lake Malawi and a small interesting town to walk around

TANZANIA

28.2 IRINGA, after the new truck came to rescue us, we had probably the longest drive of the whole trip, about 20 hours for crossing the Malawi countryside, the border with Tanzania and the Tanzanian highlands before arriving here at the Kisolanza campsite
01.3 DAR ES SALAAM, another full day driving towards the Indian ocean to reach this city, one of the busiest in the world where we have been stuck few hours for a traffic jam, here we settled into a campsite at the beach side called Kipepeo village
02.3 – 05.3 ZANZIBAR, arriving here by a ferry
- 02.3 STONE TOWN, sleeping here in a guest house and visiting around the old city, an interesting Arabic style city, and also doing an excursion to a local spice farm
- 03.3 \ 05.3 KENDWA BEACH, sleeping in a nice resort at this beautiful beach, the perfect place where to relax after this African experience, laying down at the beach, do some snorkelling and having parties before going back home
06.3 DAR ES SALAAM, back here with the ferry and sleeping again at the Kipepeo village
07.3 Leaving the village to reach the airport, where I had my Emirates flight back to Dubai, here taking a bus to Abu Dhabi and my final Alitalia flight back home

lunedì 29 dicembre 2014

TRIP DIARY: MOROCCO, SPAIN AND GIBRALTAR 2014



MOROCCO

21.1 CASABLANCA, arriving here by Alitalia flight (3,5hr), and after catching a train and taxi to reach the “Majestic hotel” in the city centre, visiting the city and the Medina and the morning after the Hassan II Mosque
22.1 – 23.1 RABAT; by train (1 hr), sleeping in another “Majestic hotel” and walking around the city the first day visiting the Medina, Oudaia Kasbah, and the mausoleum Mohamed V by night and the day after back at the mausoleum for visiting inside, and then the royal palace and the old city of Cellah famous for the stork colony
24.1 TANGIER, by train (4 hr), sleeping at the “Magellan hotel” and walking around the Medina, the day after we went to visit the Hercules cave

SPAIN AND GIBRALTAR

25.1 CEUTA, by taxi from Tangier (1hr) and by walking from the border, visiting the city centre and the fortifications
25.1 – 26.1 ALGECIRAS, arriving here at night by ferry “Balearia” (1,5 hr) and sleeping at the “Gonzalez hostal”. From this city we could visit for a day Gibraltar
26.1 GIBRALTAR, by local bus (2 hr) and the walking for the city visiting the centre, the fortress and reaching Signal Hill with the cablecar
27.1 CEUTA, back here by ferry “Acciona” in the morning (1 hr)

MOROCCO

27.1 CHEFCHAOUEN, from Ceuta by taxi to Tetouan (1hr) and then a local bus (2hr), sleeping in a blue hotel and visiting the city and the old Medina famous for it’s blue colour
28.1 – 29.1 FES, by a local bus to Ouazzanne first (1,5 hr) and then the bys “Voyage Lofti” to Fes (3,5 hr), sleeping at the “Hotel de la paix”. Spending the first day for visiting the Ville Nouvelle and the second day around the old Medina with a guide
30.1 MEKNES; by train (1 hr) from Fes, visiting the old city and the royal palace
30.1 – 31.1 On the bus to Merzouga (39 hr) sleeping for 2 days on the bus as all the roads were closed due to snow
1.2 – 2.2 MERZOUGA, From here we have been for 2 days around the Sahara desert with the camels, sleeping in the tents around the sand dunes
3.2 OUARZAZATE, by bus “Al Ahbab” (7 hr) and sleeping at “Al Waha Hotel”, from here the day after we could reach by taxi (1 hr) the city of Ait Ben Haddou
4.2 – 5.2 MARRAKECH, by bus “CTM” (4,5 hr) crossing the Atlas mountains via the Col du Tichka and sleeping at “Hotel Farouk”, visiting the city centre, the old Medina and the royal palace
6.2 Our last day in Morocco, taking a train back to Casablanca (& hr) and taking the Alitalia flight back to Rome from here (3 hr)

domenica 19 gennaio 2014

TRIP DIARY: LATIN AMERICA 2013 - 2014



Another year working for Alitalia, another trip to do after the working season. Travelling Peru has always been my mom’s dream, so we left togheter Italy on the way to Lima via Madrid. Here we met again with my uncle, and after few days Francesca came over as well to join our trip.

SPAIN

17.11 - 19.11 MADRID, by flight “alitalia” from Rome (2 hr) and sleeping at the “Hostal Zamoran”. We decided to stop here to visit the city and one day we also went to Toledo by bus “Alsa” (1 hr each way)
20.11 Flight “Iberia” to Lima (12 hr)

PERU

20.11 - 23.11 LIMA, again here with Maurizio, Cecilia, Juanita and the new entry gigio aka el gato drogadicto, spending good time together and visiting around Barranco, Miraflores and the Huaca Pucllana and huallamarca
24.11 - 25.11 EL CHACO, arriving here with Maurizio’s 4WD car (4 hr), we drove the whole day around the Paracas national park desert, then Maurizio and Cecilia get back in Lima and we stayed in a local hostal called “Refugio del Pirata”. The day after we went to visit the Ballestas islands by boat and the “Candelabro geoglifo”. In the afternoon we felt an earthquake while relaxing in our accommodation
26.11 NAZCA, by bus “Oltursa” (4 hr) and staying at the hotel “La Encantada”, visiting the small city and at night an interesting planetarium. The day after we took a flight over the famous Nazca lines, and visiting in the afternoon the Cahuachi ruins
27.11 Night bus “Palomino” to Lima (6 ½ hr)
28.11 - 01.12 LIMA, back here again, Francesca has finally arrived in Peru, we have been all together around Lima and other suburbs
02.12 - 04.12 TRUJILLO, by flight “Lan” (1 hr) we slept at “Hostal Colonial”, here we met Monica, a nice friend of Maurizio, she helped us to visit around the city,we have also been at the Huaca del Sol y de la Luna, Chan Chan, Huaca Esmeralda, Huaca Arcoiris, la Dama de Cao and the Huaca El Brujo. For the last day we have been in the morning in Huanchaco on the seaside to have all together the famous local fish breakfast
05.12 - 07.12 CHICLAYO, by bus “Emtrefesa” (3 ½ hr) staying at “Hotel Alejandra”, from here we could visit Sipan, Tucume, Lambayeque and the Mercado Modelo, the city market and one of the most famous in South America
08.12 - 10.12 LIMA, back here again by bus “Emtrefesa” first to Trujillo (3 ½ hr) and then by flight “Lan” (1 hr). This time we stayed at the “Hotel el Faro” near by Maurizio’s house, from here my mum flew back in Italy and me and Francesca took a flight to Mexico

MEXICO

11.12 - 12.12 CANCUN, by flight “Lan” (5 ½ hr) sleeping at the cheap “Hostel Laurel”, visiting the old town and the Zona Hotelera along the beach side
13.12 - 14.12 VALLADOLID, by bus “Ado” (2 hr) and sleeping at the hotel “Maria Guadalupe”, staying around this nice colonial city and visiting from here the ruins of Ek Balam first (1 hr each way by collectivo) and the world’s famous one of Chichen Itza the day after (1 ½ hr by collectivo each way)
15.12 - 16.12 MERIDA, by bus “Ado” (3 hr) and staying at “Hotel Los Arcos”, another nice colonial city and capital of the Yucatan state, from here we went to visit some cenote around the city by collectivos and the day after we did a tour to the ruins of Uxmal and Kabah
17.12 Night bus “Ado” to Palenque (9 hr)
18.12 PALENQUE, sleeping at “Posada Nacha Nkaan”, this is a small and so special city but is famous for the Mayan ruins near by. From here we could visit the Palenque arqueological site, and the waterfalls of Misol Ha and Agua Azul
19.12 Night bus “Occ” to San Cristobal (8 ½ hr)
20.12 - 23.12 SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, sleeping at the “Posada Gite Del Sol” and for the last day at the “Posada La Catrina”. This is a beautiful town surrounded by the mountains, and is a good spot to discover the Chiapas region. We have been from here at the Canion Del Sumidero and Chiapa de Corzo village. The indigenous village of San Juan Chamula with it’s famous church, and in the city the Mayan medicine museum and the 2 hills of Cerro de Guadalupe and Cerro De San Cristobal

GUATEMALA

24.12 - 25.12 PANAJACHEL, with 2 different minivan “Tierra Maya” (10 hr) and sleeping at the hotel “Real Santander”, we arrived here just in time to spend the Christmas in this marvellous location over the Atitlan lake, going by boat around the villages of San Marcos, San Pedro and Santiago
26.12 ANTIGUA, by minivan “Tierra Maya” (4 hr) sleeping at “Hostel La Quinta”, visiting this nice colonial town, and we also did the trekking over the active Pacaya Vulcan
27.12 Collectivo to Guatemala city and then a night bus “Linea Dorada” to Flores (11 hr)
28.12 - 29.12 FLORES, staying at the “Posada Tayazal”, this is a small town over an island in the lake “Laguna de Peten” connected to the mainland by a road that cross the lake. From here we could visit the Mayan ruins of Tikal, just an hour away by bus

BELIZE

30.12 - 02.01 CAYE CAULKER, staying 2 days at the “Cindy lane” guest house and 2 days at the hotel “Barefoot caribe”, we arrived here by bus from Flores to Belize city (6 hr) and then with a taxi boat “San Pedro” to the caye (1 hr). On this relaxing island we did a lot of snorkelling around the coral reef, we had the new  year eve at the Split, the northern end of the island, and we have been at the Great Blue Hole, visiting another island called “Halfmoon Caye” and snorkelling in a place called “The Aquarium”
03.01 SAN PEDRO, arriving by the taxi boat “San Pedro” (1 hr) and sleeping at the “Ruby’s hotel”, this is the main city over the Caye Ambergis, just walking around the island we couldn’t do anything special because of the rain never stopped
04.01 As the rain never stopped, we decided to leave this place, taking first the taxi boat “San Pedro” back to Belize city (1 ½ hr) and from there a local bus “BBOC” to Corozal at the border with Mexico, crossing here by walk the border to reach the city of Chetumal

MEXICO

04.01 - 06.01 TULUM, from the Mexican border we took first a collectivo to  Chetumal (½ hr) and then a bus “Mayabus” to Tulum (4 ½ hr), here we found a room at “Maya Hotel”. This town is famous for the Mayan ruins just over the beach, and for it’s seaside which is one of the most beautiful on the Mexican Caribbean coast, but even here the weather wasn’t good at all
07.01 - 09.01 PLAYA DEL CARMEN, by collectivo (1 hr) and sleeping at “Papagayo Hotel”. This is one of the most touristic and expensive city, and even from here we couldn’t do anything because of the every day strong rain
10.01 We arrived at the airport by bus “Ado” (1 hr) and from here we flew back to Madrid with “Air Europa” (9 hr)
11.01 Last day of our trip, waiting in Madrid for the “Alitalia” connection flight to Rome (2 ½ hr)

venerdì 17 gennaio 2014

TRIP DIARY: SOUTH AMERICA 2012 – 2013



One more season has finished working with Alitalia, and since this year, with American Airlines too, in Rome’s airport. This gave me the opportunity to save enough money to travel on the way to South America, first time for me in this continent, excited to explore new places and cultures.
With my girlfriend Francesca always at my side, we flew “coincidentally” with Alitalia to Buenos Aires where we started our South American round trip.


ARGENTINA

18.11 - 20.11 BUNENOS AIRES, we arrived here after 14 hours, early in the morning, just the time to collect our money, change some cash and we where on the way to the city centre, of course in the cheapest way, with a local bumpy public bus getting into town after 2 hours riding.
The cheapest solution we found was an hostel in San Telmo called “Rayuela”, then we have been around the market in this district and the next days we have been walking around La Boca, Recoleta, Puerto Madero, the Costanera reserve, Palermo and of course the city centre of BA
21.11 Night bus “Andesmar” to Puerto Madryn (18 ½ hr)
22.11 - 24.11 PUERTO MADRYN, sleeping at “El Gaucho” hostel, visiting from this relaxing town the Isla Escondita, Punta Tombo and the Peninsula Valdes where we did a whale watching boat tour
25.11 - 26.11 SARMIENTO, arriving first in Comodoro Rivadavia with “Don Otto” bus (8 hr) spending few hours in this awful city before taking the connection bus with “Etap” (2 ½ hr) to Sarmiento. We slept in this quiet town at the “Muster” hotel, and the day after we have been at the “Bosque Pietrificado”, a petrified old forest that now rest into a desert valley
27.11 Bus “etap” back to Comodoro Rivadavia (2 ½ hr) then a night bus to El Calafate (16 hr)
28.11 - 29.11 EL CALAFATE, staying at “Hostel Glaciar”, from here we could reach by bus (3 hr both ways) the awesome glacier “Perito Moreno”
30.11 - 01.12 EL CHALTEN, arriving here by bus (3 hr), staying at “Lo De Guille” guest house, this town is a trekker paradise, from here we did the trekking to Laguna Torre (6 hr), the trekking to the Laguna de los Tres and the Fitz Roy (8 hr) and another short trek to the Condor mirador (1 hr)
02.12 Travelling to Ushuaia for a total of 19 hours changing bus first at El Calafate and then in Rio Gallegos plus taking a ferry to cross the Magallanes strait with “Tecnoaustral” bus
03.12 - 06.12 USHUAIA, sleeping at “Mysten Kepen B&B”, A really nice, cold and windy city surrounded by snow topped mountains. Here we have been visiting the Museo Marittimo, trekking up to the Martial glacier and having a boat trip around the Beagle channel

CHILE

07.12 - 09.12 PUERTO NATALES, arriving by bus “Tecnoaustral” via Punta Arenas (16 hr) and sleeping at “Hostel Nataly”. From here we could visit the Torres Del Paine National Park and the “Cueva del Mylodon”
10.12 - 13.12 Travelling on the  “Navimag” ship for 3 days on the way to Puerto Natales, we navigate the spectacular Patagonian fiords, the “Brujo glacier” and the “De Penas” and ”Corcovado” gulfs
14.12 - 15.12 VALDIVIA, we actually docked in the Puerto Montt harbour and we reached by bus (1 hr) the city of Puerto Varas where we were supposed to stay, but because of the high accommodation prices and the strong never stopping rain we finally decided to take another bus (3 hr) to Valdivia, here we did a “family homestay” with a nice and helpful old couple who repaired my badly ripped backpack and gave us some good tips for visiting the area. We have been around the town, visiting the famous local market and we went at the coastal town of Niebla
16.12 - 19.12 VILLARRICA, by “Jac” bus (2hr) doing another “homestay” with a guy called Alex, into an old wooden house, and moving for the last day at “Don Juan hostel”. This is a lay down lake city surrounded by active volcanoes, from here we went at the thermal area called “Los Pozzones” (2hr changing 4 buses), we visited the more tourist town of Pucon and we tried to do a trekking in the Huerquehue National Park, giving up after 3 hours walking because of strong rain and hail

ARGENTINA

20.12 SAN MARTIN DE LOS ANDES, arriving here by bus “San Martin” (6 hr) via the Mamuil pass and sleeping at the “Sequoia hostel”, visiting this nice mountain town, sister city with the Italian Rocca di Cambio, here we could also do some trekking around the lake
21.12 Local bus to Neuquen (7 hr) where we changed to a night bus “Andesmar” to Mendoza (10 hr)
22.12 - 23.12 MENDOZA, sleeping at “Hostel Itaka” visiting the South American most famous wine city and also reaching by “Uspallata” bus (3 ½ hr each way)  the town of Puente del Inca, famous for a natural stone bridge over a thermal water site, from here starts also a trek which in 1 hour leads you on a top of a hill where you can have the best view of the Aconcagua Mountain

CHILE

24.12 - 28.12 SANTIAGO, by “Tur” bus (7 hr) via the Los Libertadores pass and sleeping at the “Providencia” hostel, exploring the city, here I had also to repair my camera. We spent the Christmas in Valparaiso (2 hr “Tur” bus each way) the amazing coloured harbour town not far from the capital
29.12 - 02.01 EASTERN ISLAND, also called Rapa Nui, arriving by flight Lan (5 ½ hr) and staying in the “Moana Tipanie” camping in Hanga Roa.
Here we had some problem because the Francesca’s backpack has been lost and delivered couple of days after. Except of this we had great time here doing a trekking up the Rano Kau volcano visiting the Orongo village, watching the spectacular sunsets in Ahu Tahai and enjoying the new year eve in the centre of Hanga Roa. One day we did an island round trip by bike (about 50km in 9 hr) visiting the Rano Raraku volcano, Tongariki and Anakena beach
03.01 SANTIAGO, arriving by “Lan” night flight (5 ½ hr) we went to sleep in the “Footstep” hostel, one more day around the city and we finally tried the most famous “Terremoto” cocktail
04.01 Night “Tur” bus to Calama (26 hr) where we changed to another bus to San Pedro
05.01 - 07.01 SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA, staying in a cheap hostel, we have been around this particular town into one of the most famous and dry desert in the world, we also have been at the Geyser del Tatio, visiting the “Pueblo de Machuca”, doing sandboard at the Valle de la Muerte and having a sunset in the Valle de la Luna
08.01 Bus “Intertrans” back to Calama (2 hr) and then a night bus “Atacama Vip” to Arica (9 hr)
09.01 ARICA, we didn’t sleep here but we spent the day around the town, climbing the “Morro d’Arica” and visiting the local museum which has a famous big collection of Chincherro’s mummies. In the afternoon we took a local bus to Tacna in Peru, during the 2 hours trip we could see the Dakar rally passing by

PERU

09.01 TACNA, our first city in Peru, here we had a walk around and the dinner before boarding a night bus to Arequipa (8 ½ hr)
10.01 AREQUIPA, sleeping at the guest house “El Caminante” visiting around the city, Plaza de Armas and the Monastero Santa Catalina
11.01 CHIVAY, by minibus (5 ½ hr) via the Patahuasi reserve and the “mirador de los volcanes” pass, here we slept in a guesthouse, and we enjoyed the local “La Caldera” thermal baths
12.01 VALLE DEL COLCA, we had a full day (10 hr) on a bus around this famous valley, visiting Yanque, Achoma, Maca and the Cruz del Condor before going back to Arequipa where we had a night bus “Cruz del Sur” to Lima (16 hr)
13.01 - 21.01 LIMA, finally meeting with my uncle Maurizio and Cecilia, staying at their house in Miraflores. We had a great family time here, and also visiting around the city, one day we went with the 4WD car around the beautiful Paracas national park

ECUADOR

22.01 QUITO, by “Lan” flight from Lima (2 ½ hr) and staying at the “Hostal Belmont” hanging around the town
23.01 Night bus “Occidentales” to Lago Agrio (8 ½ hr), here we took another bus (2 hr) to reach a small dock called El Puente on a river in the Amazzonia, and here a small boat (3 hr) to finally reach the Cuyabeno reserve
24.01 - 26.01 CUYABENO RESERVE, lost in the middle of the Amazzonian forest, sleeping at the “Guacamayo” ecolodge, visiting from here by boat the rivers, the magnificent Laguna Grande, fishing piranhas, watching the crocodiles or, when not on the boat, walking day and night around the forest or visiting some small village of the local Siona community
27.01 Another long travelling day, first on the boat back to El Puente (2 ½ hr) then the bus back to Lago Agrio (2 hr) and finally the bus “Banos” back to Quito (6 ½ hr)
27.01 - 29.01 QUITO, back to sleep at the cheap “Hostal Belmont”, from the splendid Quito we have been around the city at the Mitad del Mundo and the Museo Solar Inti-Nan where you are over the equatorial line and you can do some experiments. One day we have been also at the Laguna Quilotoa, passing by the village of Pujili (6 hr by car)
30.01 Flight “Lan” back to Lima (2 ½ hr)

PERU

30.01 Night bus “Cruz del Sur” to Cuzco (21 hr)
31.01 - 02.02 CUZCO, sleeping at the “Hapu Wasi hostal”, visiting the magnificent city centre, the local markets and the ruins of Saqsaywaman
03.02 - 04.02 AGUAS CALIENTES, sleeping in a local hostal, we arrived here passing first with a tour bus the Valle Sagrato through the cities and the ruins of Pisac, Urubamba and Ollantaytambo where the “Inca Rail” train departs to Aguas Calientes (1 ½ hr). The day after early in the morning we could visit one of the world wonders, the majestic Machu Picchu, before going back in town to relax into the local thermal baths
05.02 On the way to Puno, taking first the “Inca Rail” train back to Ollantaytambo (1 ½ hr), then a collectivo back to Cusco (2 hr) and finally the night bus “Transzela” (7 hr)
06.02 - 07.02 PUNO, staying at “Urama Inn” hotel. The city itself isn’t as special as the lake is, but is the best place to visit the area and the Titikaka, here we boarded a boat to the Uros, the floating islands, and to the wonderful island of Isla Taquile

BOLIVIA

08.02 - 09.02 COPACABANA, by the “Huayruro tours” bus (3 ½ hr) and we found a cheap room in the “Hostal Ola del Titikaka”. This city is definitely nicer than Puno, we walked around the town, the market and the cathedral, then from here we could board on a boat to the Isla del Sol where we spent a day doing trekking all around the island, passing by the interesting villages and ruins of Challapampa, Roca Sagrada and the Chincana, Yumani and Pilkokaina
10.02 - 12.02 LA PAZ, by “Tur” bus (4 hr) and sleeping at “Hospedaje Millenio”. We have been around the city during the carnival celebration and we went one day at the Tiwanaku ruins
13.02 ORURO, arriving here by “Aroma” bus (4 hr), we stayed around the city before catching at night the “Wara Wara” train to Uyuni (7 hr)
13.02 - 14.02 UYUNI, we arrived at 2AM under an heavy cold rain so we decided to find an accommodation for the night instead of sleeping at the station for the first night. We found a cheap hostel for a few hours and then we moved to the “Mosoj” hotel, from this city we could organize a 3 days tou, here the only way to discover the area, unless you own a car, is by this agencies that provides you a 4WD with driver, at the end we picked the one called “Andrea tours”
15.02 VILLA ALOTA, Our trip with a Lexus 4WD starts in the morning in Uyuni, passing by the stunning Salar the Uyuni, having a lunch at the “Hotel de Sal”, a salt made hotel and then driving through the village of Colchani before arriving in a hostel in Villa Alota
16.02 LAGUNA COLORADA, driving all the day via the Valle de Rocas, mirador del volcan Ollague, the Lagunas Canapa, Chiarkota and Edionda, the Arbol de Piedra and arriving at the hostel. After leaving the baggage and having lunch we have been at the Sol del Manana Geyser, we had a bath in a thermal lake and we drove the Salvador Dali desert till the Volcan Licancabur which is at the border with Chile
17.02 UYUNI, driving all the day before arriving here, passing by the Lagunas Capina and Khara, the Valle de Rocas stopping at some ancient graffiti spot and the villages of Villa Alota and San Cristobal
18.02 POTOSI, by bus “quijarro” (4 hr) and staying at “Hostal Compania de Jesus”, visiting this old colonial city
19.02 SUCRE, by bus “Alonso Ibanez” (4 hr) and sleeping at the “Alojamento Guadalupe”,then visiting another nice colonial town
20.02 Night “Sin Fronteras” bus to Villamontes (19 hr)
21.02 VILLAMONTES, in this town lost in the Chaco region we were supposed to change bus to get into Paraguay, but arriving here we realized that this bus never existed, so after hanging around the town we caught another night bus “Copacabana” to get into Santa Cruz (7 hr)
22.02 SANTA CRUZ, we found a room at the hotel “ 6 de Agosto” just infront of the bus station, here finally we found a bus to Paraguay and after we went in the city centre for a walk. The same day at night the bus departed on the way to Asuncion (25 hr) crossing the semidesert region of the Chaco

PARAGUAY

23.02 - 24.02 ASUNCION, sleeping at “Hotel Del Sol”, visiting around the capital city centre and the Rio Paraguay banks
25.02 ENCARNACION, by minibus “Pycasu” (6 hr) and sleeping at the hotel “Itaipu”. This town is famous among the locals as a summer escape because of it’s big beach on the Rio Parana banks. From here we could also visit the Jesuit ruins of Trinidad and Jesus easily accessible by a local bus (1 hr each way)
26.02 Night bus “El Tigre” to Ciudad del Este (5 ½ hr)
27.02 CIUDAD DEL ESTE, staying at the hotel “Santo Domingo”, this is a busy market town at the border with Brazil, here we have been at “Itaipu Electric Dam” which is the world’s biggest dam, and then at the Salto del Monday waterfalls

ARGENTINA

28.02 PUERTO IGUAZU, arriving here from Paraguay by boat (1 hr) and sleeping at the “Hostel Sweet Hostel” from here we have been at the dramatic world famous Iguazu waterfalls
01.03 Night bus “Singer” to Concordia (14 hr)
02.03 CONCORDIA, we spent a few hours in this city before taking the bus “Chadre” to Salto in Uruguay (1 hr)

URUGUAY

02.03 - 04.03 MONTEVIDEO, from the city of Salto with the bus “Agencia Central” (6 hr) and staying at the “Hospedaje Montevideo”. Visiting around this fascinating city, and also going for a day in Punta del Este by bus “Copsa” (2 hr each way)
05.03 COLONIA DEL SACRAMENTO, by bus “Turil” (2 hr) and sleeping at the “Espanol Hostel”, this is a charming old colonial city on the Rio de la Plata
06.03 Our last day in South America, here we took the boat “Seacat” on the way back to Buenos Aires (1 hr). As we had to catch a flight the only fast option from the harbour was a taxi (1 hr) to reach the airport where we flew back in Rome with Alitalia (14 hr)