"Very cheap, almost free..."

These were the cajoling words of one of the many souvenir vendors as we wandered around the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Chitzen Itza today. We all cracked up laughing when we heard this line. Mexicans have a way of speaking in that lazy drawl that makes it hard not to smile and feel good about life.

The ruins themselves were quite fascinating, dating back to a time when human sacrifices were made to appease the gods and the Mayans built stepped stone pyramids, such as "El Castillo" (the one I am standing in front of) as part of their religious ceremonies. A bit of trivia, this pyramid has exactly 365 steps corresponding to the Mayan calender, which I guess must have been the same as the one we use today.

So we wandered about looking at the ruins trying to find tortoises, snails, eagles with human hearts in their claws, and ancient football players with severed heads all apparently carved in the old stone blocks. This turned into a bit of a game (we spent the day with our friends Adam and Kate) trying to spot these creatures and figures in the discoloured and often disintegrating blocks.

Among the things we did spot were these grizly skulls that lined the bottom of a platform where the severed heads of those sacrificed were put on display 800 years ago. Rather then pay gringo prices (50 pesos, about $4 for a coffee) we had a picnic lunch of tacos stuffed with avocado and spicy chipolata tuna sitting under some trees watching the tour groups hustling their charges along.

We were really glad we arrived before 10am this morning. By this time we left Chichen Itza at about 2.30pm it was the site of a major invasion of tourist buses which lined up outside the parking lot for at least a kilometre.

We are staying in an old colonial town called Valladolid about 40kms from Chichen Itza. It is a town of colourful one story buildings built on a grid system around a plaza where Mexican music fills the air from cool shop fronts and time drifts. Yesterday, after we arrived from Tulum we sat in the square and ate frozen lollies watching the locals chatting in the park, examining their purchases and checking their emails. It is the kind of place you could while a way a few days without the need to do very much. People smile at you from their little red, orange and blue houses. Their are nativity scenes outside many of them and rather than put candles in front of altars to Jesus and Mary, the locals use energy saving light bulbs!

Continuing down the Carribean coast

Since I last wrote we have meandered our way further down the Carribeean coastline and are now in the town of Tulum which is famous for two things - the ancient Mayan ruins (which we visited this afternoon) and the long stretch of beach, which is meant to be amazing and which we plan to visit tomorrow. The hostel we are staying at - Los Lobos - provides free bicycle hire so we plan to cycle down to the beach about 6kms away.

As for this guy on our left, I took his (or her) picture in Playa del Carmen just up the coast where we spent Xmas with friends from Australia who are currently travelling around Mexico. He lives in a little alcove in the roof of their hostel. Very cute indeed.

We really loved Isle Mujeres, the island off Cancun and could easily have stayed a few more days. This pic was taken on the beach in the afternoon. A very relaxing spot to read a book, nap and go for a dip!

We had a real Mexican Xmas dinner on Friday night. We ordered an enormous barbeque of meats, which was big enough for five of us to share. They are big meat eaters over here. I have also sampled some of the local beers, and am now quite partial to a particular one called Dos Equis (literally means ¨two Xs¨). Last night I confused our waiter by asking for " Uno Dos Equis" (translated literally as "one two Xs") because the locals call it just "Equis" ("Xs"). I hope that makes sense!

From Tulum we plan to make our way to Valledolid where we will go and see the famous Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. Larna did not appreciate my joke that they should open a chain of fastfood chicken places called "Chicken Eatsa"

A pic below taken of one of the Tulum mayan ruins. Very cool indeed!

Feliz Navidad and Adios amigos. Catch you laaater!

Mexican colour and beach life

Mexico is full of bright colours and this reminds me a little of Thailand. The people are far less pushy though then their Asian compadres when it comes to selling you things. The most common response to saying¨No gracias¨ to a request to visit a shop or look at a menu is ¨OK senor¨.

The locals speak English in that lazy drawl you here in the movies. Our Aussie friends, who we caught up with over here, were asked if they wanted to go an on a whale trip one day. They said no thanks and as they walked away, the guy piped up with...¨Lotta whaales¨. Classic!

Yesterday we spent most of the day lying on the beach. We found a quiet spot under palm trees, but out of the way of any falling coconuts. An iguana was sitting on top of a ledge behind us and people were coming up to take photos of the giant lizard (and stupidly in the case of one family, trying to feed it corn chips).

Once we walked away from the resorts, restaurants and expensive deck chairs, we found the quieter and cheaper end of the beach. There was more a family vibe and fewer people showing off their tans and figures. The water was a little bit on the cool side and you had to wade out for ages to get to any great depth but the view back to the beach was picture perfect: white sand, still palm trees, hammocks strung between them and the turqoise blue sea in front of it all. The water is so clear you can see your feet perfectly.

Downtown Isle Mujeres is just a few quiet streets just like this one in the photo. We have been trying to pick up a few Spanish phrases here and there. I now know how to ask for the bill: ¨La cuenta por favor¨.



The pic below was taken in Cancun where we boarded the ferry to get to Isle Mujeres. They look like old pirate galley ships. I think they are probably used for some kind of themed pirate dinner.

You know you are in Mexico when...

There is a Tequila Bar right outside the airport. Yep, just as we stepped out of Cancun airport, there was one just waiting for the Tequila-hungry traveller (not us on this occasion).

Since arriving in Mexico yesterday we have eaten a lot of tacos (they serve only the soft bread variety topped with chicken, salad and your choice of condiments) and caught up on some much needed sleep after leaving New York at 4am. We have also experienced a complete change in season - it is warm and sunny, there are palm trees everywhere; New York was freezing and the only trees we saw were either Xmas trees or those without leaves in Central Park. No complaints from us on the change in season.

We are now staying on a little Island (really little - just 8km long and 1km wide) called Isles Mujeros just off Cancun in a cute hotel nestled among the shops and restaurants. Most of the island is pedestrianised and the streets are great for strolling and saying ¨No Gracias¨ to dinner offers, scuba diving and whale watching. Speaking of water, I went for a swim this afternoon. The beaches are incredible over here, made up of fine white sand and the water is an incredible turqoise.

We only had a night in Cancun staying in a real dive of a hostel. We had an en suite room. The toilet and shower were next to each other divided by a green plastic curtain coming off the rails. The guy who ran the place was this little hunched over Mexican man (everyone seems short in Mexico) who moved very slowly up the two flights of stairs to make our beds when we went out for lunch. Anyway, we survived and are now enjoying a little bit of island paradise.

"I'm walkin here!"

Larna and I have been doing bad imitations of Dustin Hoffman's famous line in 'Midnight Cowboy' (playing Ratzo 'Rizzo)- "I'm walkin' here, I'm walking here!" - while crossing the streets of Manhattan. We've also drunk lots of "cawfee" and seen lots of stylishly dressed "gooyls". Ok, so we have been behaving like dorks!

Yesterday we walked all the way from east 63rd Street to the Brooklyn Bridge and the financial district at the bottom of Manhattan. En route we stopped for a coffee in a tiny little Italian place in Greenwich Village, meandered through Little Italy and had lunch in Chinatown, which appears to be steadily swamping it's next door neighbour. It is fascinating how one Manhattan neighbourhood gives way to another as you cross a street. One city block we crossed was full of Indian restaurants and shops, the next lined with Vietnamese, Chinese and other Asian eateries.


It is so energizing walking these streets. And I don't know why I had this perception in my head that New Yorkians are rude and unfriendly, because everyone has in fact been super helpful, courteous and friendly. People have come up to us while we have been studying our map to ask if we need any help, cars slow down for old ladies, even the taxis appear to move at almost normal speeds. Certainly things are very normal and orderly compared to some of the other cities we have visited, and not just those in the third world.

Today we walked into Greenwich Village and Soho. Very cool neighbourhoods with their specialist shops (one store had a giant enamel bath shaped like a high heel shoe and covered in gold mosaic tiles) and those old brick loft apartments with the zig-zag steel staircases running down the outside.

Oh and the other cool thing about New York, all those people walking their dogs. Some of the dogs wear more outrageous outfits then their owners. We had a look in one pet store called "Unleashed" and it had biscotti and other dog biscuits that I would have munched on if I did not know they were baked for canines.

We have loved staying in my brother and his wife's super swanky upper East side apartment. It will be quite an adjustment going back to hostels and backpacker pads in Mexico. We depart Monday morning for Cancun.

The big New York freeze!

This pic was taken in Central Park. We did a big walk around on our first day, including going all the way around the Reservoir near the top of the park, just like people do all the time in the movies. About half way round we got a brilliant panoramic view of the Manhattan "Manhattan" - without a doubt the greatest skyline in the world. The arrangement of old and new buildings looked like a perfectly thought out abstract artwork.



Being in New York reminds you of all that is great about the USA.

Despite the freezing weather we have been subjected to (it was 22 F, 10 below freezing yesterday) it has been wonderful walking the streets of Manhattan and gazing up at the glistening silver top of the Chrysler building, the majestic Empire State Building and all the other wonderful other art deco, Gothic and post modern architecture. Just like in the movies, the steam rises up from the street, yellow cabs fly down the busy streets and everyone moves with purpose and for the most part, a lot of style.

It is quite the contrast to the brightly coloured buildings, sunny weather and permanently tanned people of Florida. The pic below was taken on Miami's South Beach last week, when we were walking in jeans and light sweaters. In Manhattan I have been wearing a thermal shirt, sweater, fleece and my brother's warm winter coat, plus a beanie. Despite the layers, the wind still seems to cut through it all when it rushes down the long avenues, not quite as bad when you go down a cross street.

Last night we spent a fair bit of time in Macy's (the world's biggest department store - in my opinion Harrods is still the best) on Broadway doing some shopping with my parents. They flew out today back to Johannesburg. After shopping we walked up to the Rockefeller centre to see the Christmas tree and ice-skating rink and then had dinner at a little Italian bistro on 49th Street.

There is still so much to see here and so many neighbourhoods to explore we probably won't get to tick everything off our "must see" list.

The real pleasure about New York though is walking the streets (taking regular breaks in shops to recover from the biting cold) and being part of the hustle and bustle of daily life here. NY has a buzz unlike any other.

Taking a bite out of the Big Apple

We're in New York, the city that never sleeps! We are staying on East 63rd Street in my brother and sister-in-law's awesome apartment (Thanks guys, we really, really appreciate it!). It is pretty chilly today, but we're soon to hit the streets and make our to Central Park, which is just a few blocks to the west of where we are.

I realise it has been a week since I last posted on the blog. The last week has been a blur of activity spent in Miami, Pompano Beach and Fort Laurderdale with the family in the build up to the wedding, which happened over the weekend and which was a wonderful occasion. We stayed in one of the most luxurious hotels imaginable (The Fairmount Isle Turnberry resort - look it up!) for the wedding weekend, about a million miles from the usual budget hostels and scruffy hotels we have been accustomed to over the last 8 months. We are in New York for a week and plan to explore, explore and walk our asses off!

We had a brilliant time in Florida. We spent a day paddling around the everglades with my uncle and aunt, explored the incredible Art Deco district on Miami's South Beach and did a cruise down the intercoastal waterway in Fort Lauderdale getting a glimpse into the lives of the rich and famous with their gaudy and grand mansions hugging the shoreline (accessorized with obligatory big boat off course). The real highlight was spending time with the family and of course celebrating my brother Dan and Courtney's wedding this past weekend. We ate, we drank, we partied, I caught up with family I have not seen in over a decade. Really wonderful and special.

Anyway, we are about to head off to explore Manhattan, more pics and posts to come!

Land of the free, home of the patriotic and optimistic

Well our travel experiences have done a complete 360 degree turn now that we are in sunny, Palm-tree lined Florida. We are firmly back in the first world, in the country of friendly smiles, customer service, gigantic food portions and hundreds of varieties of every kind of product.

We arrived at Miami airport close to midnight as our flight out of Bogota was delayed by 4 hours. As we queued to go through immigration and customs a "welcome to the United States" video played at least four times. Full of smiling faces of every skin colour, it showed iconic American images - baseball players, cowboys, families etc. The video also promised to treat all arrivals with respect and said people were free to ask immigration officials any questions they want. This was not quite the experience we encountered when Larna was led down a corridor, without explanation, to have her passport checked and I was told to wait at the baggage carousel. I always assumed it would be my South African passport that would draw the questions. Anyhow, I was quite anxious but it turned out to be a fairly routine check relating to Larna's visa waiver. By the time we got through, met up with my dad and got to our apartment at Pompana beach it was close to 2am.

Anyway, all is good, or should I say "super". We are staying in a beautiful apartment (hot showers, soft beds, balcony, coffee maker and microwave) overlooking the intercoastal - the sea water canal that runs up and down the Florida coast. All the family is together and we have been enjoying plenty of laughs. Our only outings so far have been to the supermarket, called Publix and out for dinner. The sheer range of products in Publix was astounding. After having to point at items behind a counter in Venezuela, we could choose from 40 varieties of bread, 30 different brands of washing powder and so many different kinds of Philadelphia cream cheeses, it was mind-boggling. That's the USA for you! It is very exciting to back. Last night we went for dinner at a restaurant on the beach. This is definitely a part of the world where looking good is important, no matter what your age. Some of the older women and men seem to have spent just a little too much time under sunbeds and cosmetic surgery is clearly a thriving industry over here.

The best part though about being here has been spending time with the family. Getting our scattered family together in one country, let alone all staying at the same resort is quite an achievement. There are constant knocks on the door as various family members pop in. We all eat breakfast together in the mornings.

I love the typical American motels with swimming pools at the front, the zany and over the top Xmas and Channukah decorations. On Tuesday we are doing a trip on the Everglades. Looking forward to seeing some alligators! And there is the wedding to look forward, the festivities kicking off on Friday.

In hibernation in Venezuela

Greetings from Macuto, Venezuela.

This was the view outside the entrance to our hotel, a veritable river of mud, two days ago. You should have seen it the night before! We had to take off our shoes and roll up our pants to wade across.

We arrived on Monday night after a marathon day of travelling starting with our flight from Istanbul at 6am. Because we were travelling backwards in time the day just went on and on. We arrived at Caracas airport totally exhausted. The airport by international standards was appalling, hard to believe Caracas is a South American hub!

Anyway, we have spent the last two days watching endless television in our room, eating these fried tortillas called empanadas and doing some limited exploring of Macuto, which is a coastal town near the airport. Our initial plans were to spend a few days in Caracas itself but when we arrived the highway was blocked due to a landslide and this sapped our desire. You may have read that 21 people died in the flooding and thousands were homeless. Macuto was river of mud and some of the streets were turned to fast flowing deluges with cars stuck and the drivers desperately trying to push them out of the water. It was quite surreal. So we have one more night and have given up on going into the city. Tomorrow we fly to Miami via Bogota.

Macuto is a strange place. Since the rain has stopped, cleaning operations have begun and the place is regaining some kind of charm with people playing dominos and tile rummy outside and enjoying a beer. There is a little beach and the buildings are a mix of ugly modern one story places and two or three story old colonial Spanish style. I guess Cuba would look a bit like this.

Anyway, we are looking forward to Miami and the wedding. Venezuela has been a bizarre experience.

Riding the camel's koc...

We arrived back in Istanbul yesterday morning after an exhausting 15 hour bus ride from the coast. Our bus company was called "Kamil Koc" which in Turkish would read as "camel coach" but I kept on laughing at the thought that we were riding the "camel cock".

The truth is it did feel a bit little like that at times as we had to endure having a bratty child kicking our seats for most of the journey. The kid was blonde and his parents very much Turkish (dark complexion, moustache, head scarf) so I suspected he must have been kidnapped from a visiting German couple, either that or his was directly related to Satan. Anyway, we hardly got any sleep and crashed out at our crummy hostel last night.

So we have a tiring day and a half of travelling ahead of us starting with a 5.45am flight to Frankfurt tomorrow morning followed by a 10 hour fligh to Caracas a few hours later. Fun, fun, fun.

As I mentioned before, Turkey has been a revelation. What a wonderful country. Cappadocia was definitely the highlight. Istanbul also has grown on us. Last night we walked around the centre with all the mosques lit up and the bridge done up in changing neon colours, a great buzz. The bridge was packed with people fishing and the cafes full of life, music and wine.

As for Caracas, I don't really know what to expect. Hopefully some tasty, spicey South American food perhaps a cheap cinema and a few decent cafes. We don't have a guide book so not sure what "things" there are to see, it's a mystery box of sorts. Speak to you next from Venezuela.

The origins of the Olympic flame

Our Mediterreanean meander has taken us to the quiet sea side town of Kas (pronounced "kush"). We arrived this afternoon from Olympus where we spent two nights.

In Olympus we stayed in a pension made out of wood set up and among an Orange grove (they call this a tree house) where you could literally pick the ripe fruit from the branches. We ate a lot of oranges. The room included breakfast and dinner which was great. Dinner was a buffet and after over indulging we drank copious amounts of apple tea and played scrabble and backgammon in the heated dining hall. It is freezing here at night, though warm and sunny in the day.

The two things to do in Olympus are see the ruins of the ancient port city and visit the "chimera" or natural flames. Yesterday, after wandering around the old stone ruins we walked along the pebbly beach and up into the hills to see the flames. They are formed from natural gas coming up from underground, but according to legend they are the flames from a dragon called Chimera which was slayed by an exiled prince. This is where the Olympic torch idea came from, carried during the first, ancient games to symbolise the prince's victory over the dragon. Larna said this was obvious to her, since we were after all in a town called Olympus. I must be slow, I never worked it out until I read about it.
Climbing up to the flames we bumped into a group of elderly Germans. They greeted us and in true form were very friendly. Within a minute one of them was writing their address in Bavaria for us and telling us we must come and stay with them near the Austrian border. Talk about being friendly! Anyway, if anyone needs somewhere to stay in a small town in Bavaria I can probably assist with an address and phone number.
Another interesting encounter happened on the minibus on the way to Kas. They use minibus to link up the small coastal towns. We sat next to a Turkish couple and the woman was feeling very unwell and it turned out had morning sickness. While she was throwing up into her jumper, I scrounged around in our medical bag and gave her an anti naseau tablet. Her partner, who spoke no English, was very grateful and gave me his packet of chips to eat and when he found a "free pepsi" voucher inside, insisted that I have it. It was a very sweet moment. Unfortunately he spoke no English at all so we had nothing to say to each other except nod and smile on the journey.
So Kas is our last stop on the way back to Istanbul. Kas has an ancient Roman theatre and tombs built into the mountain, plus good hiking and a relaxed vibe. We are taking the overnight bus back to Istanbul on Friday night and will arrive sometime on Saturday morning. Turkey has been a brilliant, friendly and vibrant place. We definitely want to return!

Mediterreanean meander

We have had a really relaxing two days in sleepy Antalya. It's a fair size city on the Mediterreanean but now that the Turkish holidays are over it feels like everyone has packed up and left. Last night was Saturday night but there was hardly a soul on the streets and many of the restaurants were pitifully empty. Not that the peace and quiet has bothered us. We have just enjoyed strolling along the cobbled and paved lanes of the old city, eating simple picnic lunches of bread, cheese and tomato and reading our books from park benches overlooking the ocean. Antalya is full of palm trees and old stone buildings, lots of Roman ruins and the ground is scattered with pumpkin shells - locals eat the seeds relentlessly and seem to be able to chew and spit out the shells in one motion. There are also lots of backgammon games on the go and generally just a lazy, easy-going attitude among the locals. The scenery is beautiful with old wooden boats pulling out of the marina and into the Med with the craggy mountain ranges in the background. The water is a delicious dark blue.
Just over a week in Turkey and we have found Turks to be very friendly, helpful and chatty, though they have a somewhat gruff manner especially when it comes to serving you in shops. I forget from time to time that we are in a Muslim country as it's so progressive and European in appearance and modern (Antalya has a great old tram that runs down a road lined with tall palm trees and designer shops), but I am reminded when we hear the call to prayer from the mosques and pass the older ladies dressed in their headscarfs and skirts. There is a big generational attitude difference in Turkey with the younger generation dressing for the most part like modern Europeans in jeans, sneakers and t-shirts. Anyway, enough of my supeficial social observations. The pic below is of the very cute and old marina in Antalya. Tomorrow we head about 80kms west to Olimpos(also on the Med)which is meant to be very chilled out and a bit of a hippy hang out.

Yesterday we hired a car and explored the Cappadocian countryside. We decided to hire a car rather than do the organised tours to save a bit of money and have the freedom to explore, without the hassle of being forced into pottery and gem stores and being hooted at to get on the bus and go to the next destination.

After reminding myself to drive on the right hand side of the road and figuring out that to put a Kia car in reverse you have to lift up the gear shift, we set off and had a great day driving around to see the amazing stone formations scattered around Cappadocia. We saw mushroom shaped monoliths and many that resembled the aroused male genitalia (see below), as well as soaring 'fairy chimneys' and castles. This bit of Turkey is truly unique and amazing. Neither of us have taken so many pics of stones before.

When ever you look up at the giant stones or a cliff face there are little windows and doors where the people carved out their homes hundreds of years ago. Very ingenious. The enormous volcanic stones stand upright like watchmen and make you feel like you are in a land of fairy, elves, and mythical creatures. On our walks through the valleys we half expected to see an ewok!

We also went to visit an underground city yesterday called Derinkuyu. It is about seven levels all below the surface. It was very eerie and spooky down below, plus you had to really duck your head to go through the small stone passages. I don't know how people lived their lives in the dark. Even with the electric lighting it felt claustrophobic.

Today as we did on Wednesday we walked through one of the valleys around Goreme. You can just wander off down a dirt road and find yourself among giant stones with little windows and steps, sometimes even an ancient church. We walked through a valley, past a little muddy brook and had the whole place to ourselves. We had a peasants lunch of bread, tomato and cheese and took a nap on a giant rock. It's autumn so the colours of the leaves were orange, yellow and red. This is a place we will always remember and along with our time in India has been one of the highlights.

Tonight we catch another night bus, this time down to the Southern coast to Antalya. We have been walking our asses off the last few days so we might slow down a bit over the weekend.




















Some more pics taken around stunning Cappadocia below:

Like being on another planet

After a tiring but comfortable bus ride (our bus had a 'bus steward' who brought coffee, and cake during the night) we arrived in Goreme, Cappadocia and we have not stopped taking photographs since. The landscape is unlike any I have witnessed and it feels like we have landed on mars!



These enormous rock formations are everywhere, forming into organic shapes like melted white marshmallow in parts and in others into mushroom shapes and what look like clusters of stone villages built for fairies and elves. Amazingly people have carved out little houses inside these rocks and you can see doors and windows in the rocks where they have lived or continue to live. I think I am still exhausted from the bus ride - we are missing a night's proper sleep - or I would attempt a better job at describing the scenery. Some more pics below of "Mars":