Islas Flotantes de los Uros

Verena and I did a half-day trip to the ¨Islas Flotantes de los Uros¨ on Lake Titicaca near Puno this morning – so cool!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uros

Now we´re in an internet cafe – have I mentioned that it´s rather cold here (I´ve been dressing in layers ever since we reached the Altiplano, the South American highlands/high plateau!) and no one has heating – uploading pictures from our trip (I´m uploading pictures from when we were traveling in Argentina onto my flickr account and from the Uyuni trip onto facebook). Hope it´s warmer wherever you are or that you at least have heating if it´s as cold as here! You really learn to appreciate the basic things in life when traveling

Santiago de Chile & Fiji pics

On Monday Verena and I did two excellent bike tours with “bicicleta verde“ in Santiago de Chile, one in the morning and one in the evening. We had an excellent guide, Rodolfo, and we learnt a lot about Chile, its people and its history. We visited another one of Pablo Neruda´s houses and the more I learn about him, the more I admire him! We also learnt about Gabriela Mistral, the other Chilean Nobel Prize Winner for Literature. Furthermore, we found out that September 11 in Chile has a different meaning than in the U.S. – here it refers to September 11, 1973, the day Pinochet came to power. Sadly enough Pablo Neruda died only a few days later (he had cancer, but was also said to be very saddened by the political changes in his country).

Today I finally finished uploading the pictures I took in Fiji while traveling there in March – I had a really wonderful time there   As usual you´ll find them on my flickr account.

I´m getting used to using the internet in Spanish and that people in general don´t speak English. That means my Spanish is getting better – still pretty basic, though; and sometimes it simply means that I “talk” using my hands and feet

Tomorrow Verena and I are heading north – to San Pedro de Atacama – on a 24 hour bus.

Valparaiso & pics uploaded

Today Verena, Daniel (friend of Verena´s from Austria) and I went on a day trip to Viña del Mar (“garden city”) and Valparaiso (Cultural World Heritage Site) – including a visit to “La Sebastiana”, the former house of Pablo Neruda, a Chilean poet who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. I absolutely loved his house!!!

Quinta Vergara – Moai (from Easter Island) – Borde costero (Viña – Reñaca) – Av. San Martin – Reloj de Flores – Valparaiso antiguo – Plaza Sotomayor – Museo La Sebastiana

Yesterday Verena and I spent a day in an internet cafe at the corner of Plaza Brasil – and I finished uploading the pictures I took when traveling in New Zealand back in February - my favorites are Lake Tekapo, Fox glacier and from the heli-hike in Franz Joseph   Check it out:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/roebe/

In the evening we met up with Daniel for dinner

@ = Alt 6 4

Spending a day in the supermarket, at the pool and on the internet.

I finally figured out how to type the symbol @ on computers here in Argentina: @ = Alt 6 4. It’s funny, at this point I have typed on so many different keyboards in various countries; some letters and numbers are always in the same spot and some are not. Typing @, though, so far has only been either the European or the American way – if I remember it correctly. This @ was a surprise

Regarding emails – I’m so sorry that I just don’t have the time to reply to all of you! Really sorry! The problem is always the same: either the internet is too slow or there is not enough time. For example, in the hostels we have been staying at so far in Argentina there were 2 computers each, but time is limited to 15-20 minutes per person if someone is waiting – and there’s always someone waiting   So, please accept my apologies for not getting back to all of you this year while I’m traveling – but I’m happy to receive your emails and that you keep me updated on how you are and what’s going on back home in NYC, Austria or whereever home is!!! Love hearing from you! And am also looking forward to catching up with you in person either in July (if you live in NYC) or in August & in the fall (if you live in Austria)

PS: Verena and I will try for the second time to catch the bus (cama) to Santiago de Chile – leaving Puerto Iguazu tonight (Wed) at 23:55 and arriving in Santiago de Chile 38 hours later, on Friday at 13:45 – hopefully

Updating my blog

After breakfast at the Scandinavian bakery watching the world news (the attacks in Mumbai, India, are still ongoing – they seem to have a bit of a problem there – and Bangkok airports are still closed), I spend the day in an internet cafe off the main street updating my blog. If I have time, I’ll also upload some pictures, but the internet is pretty slow here in Laos and quite a number of internet cafes on the main street have viruses, so maybe the pictures will have to wait…

In the internet cafe I meet an Austrian couple who has been stuck in Luang Pragang for a few days because of the closure of Bangkok’s airports.

In the evening I pick up my laundry and head home after dinner. The last two evenings have been pretty cold here (and I didn’t bring my pair of jeans or any other warm pants) It’s getting too cold here, so tomorrow I’m heading South; my next stop will be Vang Vieng.

More pictures!

I spent a couple of hours (the computers aren’t the fastest ones, but still faster here in Bangkok than elsewhere in Thailand) in the internet cafe today uploading MORE PICTURES –  so if you’d like to see pictures from Ko Phi Phi, Khao Lak and the Similan Islands, check out my flickr account; the link is at the bottom right-hand corner of this travel blog!

Rooftop swimming pool & internet

Today I spend some time at the pool on the rooftop of my guesthouse. It’s cloudy, but still nice and warm. There are a couple of people including a group of 5 Danish people, probably in their 50s, having a beer at the pool.  Later I go to the internet cafe to update my blog and also chat with an American friend who lives in Shanghai and another friend who used to live in NYC and now lives near Vienna. Thanks to skype it’s fairly easy to keep in touch with people And if you’re one of my friends who doesn’t have SKYPE yet, I strongly recommend you get it

In the evening I have fetuccini with pesto for dinner. Not a good idea to eat Italian food in Thailand – I better stick to Asian food while I’m in Asia