Brasilia – 11th of June As it celebrates its 50th anniversary, Brazil‘s one futuristic capital is showing its age, but it remains an impressive monument. Built from nothing in about three years, Brasilia replaced Rio de Janeiro as Brazil‘s center of government in 1960 under the visionary leadership of President Juscelino Kubitschek and architect Oscar […]
Asuncion has a center with a sprinkling of original colonial and beaux-arts building; unfortunately they are falling apart. The heavy traffic and diesel fumes and shanty shacks on the banks of the Rio Paraguay are not pretty either. But it has new suburbs with shopping malls, nice shops and smart restaurants with excellent local and
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La Paz is dizzying in every respect, not only for its well-publicized altitude (3‘360 m). The city is entered via the flat sparse plains of El Alto. The posher suburbs, with skyscrapers, colonial houses and modern glass constructions, occupy the city‘s lower regions. The southern part of La Paz is 800 m lower than El
High in the Andes amid dramatic mist-covered peaks, Quito (elevation 2‘850m) is a beautifully set city packed with historical monuments and architectural treasures. The jewel of Quito is its historic center, a Unesco World Heritage Site. We love this place and its people. Today is one of the longest legs of our journey: about 6
Described by its own tourism association as „Conradian“ and „raw“, Guyana is a densely forested country with a troubled history of political instability and interethnic tension, wide spread corruption and economic mismanagement. In the morning it takes us an hour to get to the airport where again the handler is not ready. Amazingly we are
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Amsterdam meets the Wild West in Paramaribo. Inhabitants are proud of their multi-ethnicity and the fact that they live in a city where mosques and synagogues play happy neighbors. In 2002 the historical inner city was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. „Our“ driver picks us up at the hotel at 09.00h sharp, drives
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20th of May A fairy-tale city of history, legends and sheer beauty, Cartagena de Indias is the most beautiful city in Colombia, with cobbled alleys, enormous balconies shrouded in bougain-villea and massive churches casting their shadows across leafy plazas. Peter picks us up at the hotel and soon we are in the air heading for
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In many ways Tegucigalpa is a typical, sprawling Central american metropolis. The streets are often snarled with fume-belching traffic, while the crowds are thick and the pace is frenetic. However, the setting is spectacular- the city is nestled in a valley surrounded by a ring of mountains. We are still not sure whether we can
In many ways Tegucigalpa is a typical, sprawling Central american metropolis. The streets are often snarled with fume-belching traffic, while the crowds are thick and the pace is frenetic. However, the setting is spectacular- the city is nestled in a valley surrounded by a ring of mountains. We are still not sure whether we can
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In many ways Tegucigalpa is a typical, sprawling Central american metropolis. The streets are often snarled with fume-belching traffic, while the crowds are thick and the pace is frenetic. However, the setting is spectacular- the city is nestled in a valley surrounded by a ring of mountains. We are still not sure whether we can
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