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 […]
Georgetown, Guyana Read More »
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
Paramaribo, Suriname Read More »
Colonized by France – and thus a member of the EU – it‘s one of South America‘s wealthiest corners, with funds pouring in from Paris to promote tourism and to insure a stable base for its satellite launcher. Up at 05.30h, short breakfast and out to the airport in little traffic. Of course the handling
Kourou, French Guyana Read More »
In Trinidad, pristine mangrove swamps and rain-forested hills sit side by side with smoke-belching oil refineries and ugly industrial estates. Tobago has everything you expect from a Caribbean island, with palm trees and white sand aplenty, yet it is relatively unchanged by the tourist industry. Leaving Barbados is as efficient as entering it and we
Barbados is ringed by azure water and white-sand beaches. Barbados has lush scenery among rolling hills dotted with fascinating survivors of the colonial past. Vast plantation homes show the wealth of European settlers while several botanical gardens exploit the beauty possible from the perfect growing conditions. After taking-off from Antigua we fly now South via
Antigua would make a perfect place to hide a fleet. And so in 1784 the legendary Admiral Horatio Nelson sailed to Antigua and established Great Britain’s most important Caribbean base. Little did he know that over 200 years later the same unique characteristics that attracted the Royal Navy would transform Antigua and Barbuda in one
Columbus used the Spanish word for „Snow“, nieves, to name Nevis, personally because the clouds shrouding its mountain reminded him of a snowcapped peak. During the night, the webmaster unsuccessfully tried to upload the page. But the wifi here works like a hurricane: on and off and mostly ending in a disaster! Finally after rebooting
At the heart of Santo Domingo is the Zona Colonial, where you find one of the oldest churches and the oldest surviving European fortress, among other New World firsts. Already before breakfast, Capitano Tom runs around to get the flight plan. E-mail does not work here so well and the fax is a bit slow
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Read More »
22nd of May Havana, city of jarring paradoxes and unfathomable contradictions, where seductive beauty sidles up to spectacular decay and revolutionary iconography is juxtaposed with sun, sea, sand and a diluting slice of austere socialism. Time to say good-bye to Beat who was traveling with us since Mexico. We had a very good time together
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
Cartagena, Colombia Read More »