And then it was time to ascent the volcano. We got picked up at 6 a.m. and we went off to the entry of the park. It is the peak of the season to climb this mountain. This made the entrance quite busy and everyone was ready to ascent. The weird part was, that a lot of locals skipped the first part on a motocross bike. So while we were hiking a dirt bike would zoom past us every few minutes. The first day was a 1700 meter ascent to the base camp. This took us the whole day with several breaks. This was already a bit tiring, but totally managable. Spirits were high and the group was in a good mood. When we made it to the camp we would be greeted by a beautiful sunset and the clouds were flying into the crater below us. My utmost respect goes to the locals, who get all the tents, food and equipment up here in a self made bamboo rack with the weight of around 30 to 40 kg. They were also climbing this mountain with flip flops and are the true heroes of this story!

We watched the beautiful sunset. With the sun gone it got cold pretty fast. We went to bed and on the next morning we had to get up at 2 a.m. to ascent to the peak. This is a tough climb because the dry volcanic sand is acting like fresh snow. You go up three steps and you slide two steps down again. We were cold, sweating, dusty and exhausted at the same time. Once you started climbing you had no other option than to move. This became the balancing act of the night. If you would rest too long you would get too cold. If you would hike too fast you would be out of breath because of the altitude. So step by step we made our progress guided by the cloudless night. Not too fast and not too slow. It was especially cold in the segments where the wind blew the strongest. Luckily the stars would guide us through the night even as my headlamp was getting weaker. Through the darkness you couldn’t see the steep ridges, which would have been another demotivator. We kept climbing until the first daylight hit the mountain. Finally…

We were pretty miserable at this point. My hands were completely swollen from the cold. The last segment was called zombie part by the locals. This was not without a reason. It was so steep in the end, that you could even take less steps than before. Every two steps forward you would slide one step backwards. At this point I was completely questioning human behavior in general. Why does it always has to be the highest peak for a sunrise? Why do so many people try to climb the same mountain? Why would I torture myself with this useless task of climbing up a mountain in the first place? All these questions popped into my head until the light came out and bathed the surroundings in color, these questions would partially stop. Answers would slowly come in. The questions would completely stop once the sun peaked out on the horizon and we finally made it to the peak. The land would fill with beautiful colors of all ranges. You could suddenly see the vast landscape and it’s massive volcanic edges. The unseen mountain parts of the night would turn into visible vast landscapes. Shades would fill in the gaps in between the mountains and it was creating this beautiful light show. We were filled with joy and the warmth of the sun!

Clarity came into my mind. After climbing a mountain I always feel incredibly small. Look at all that land! There are so many things in the universe bigger than you! Climbing a mountain also gives you an incredible feeling accomplishment. You were miserable for some time. However you did not give up and kept pushing and fighting. You are rewarded by the beauty this earth has to offer. Just like in life you will if you reach your goal you get rewarded by a good feeling. The craziest part here, is that you could see so many Indonesian islands from up here. You could see Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and even the Komodo Islands. The rest is covered in the ocean, which made it even more beautiful as the sun was also reflecting in it.

After the short rest and the incredible feeling it was time to descent. All you think about is always how to get to the top. Never how you are getting down. On the way down we noticed what a long way we actually climbed. At some parts the track was just a meter wide with steep edges. I am glad I didn’t see this in the dark! Now instead of being cold and miserable we were sweating and miserable. We reached the base camp at around ten in the morning. We got some needed breakfast and were happy to rest for a while. The rest wouldn’t last long and we had to keep going. We would hike to the lake and then to the other side of the Rinjani ledge. From the base camp we saw the hiking path down to the lake. Exhausted and defeated Sally looked at me and admitted that she booked a tour for advanced hikers. I stared at her with disbelief. I asked what made you think we were advanced hikers? She said well I don’t know, we climbed one volcano already didn’t we? I sat there in silence, realizing that we had some serious hiking in front of us…

We were only half way done… We had to get down and then get up again on the other side. So another full day of hiking. Now each hike separately would have been no problem. The two combined was an absolute limit to the body. We went through vast landscapes, that changed by the minute. By the time we reached the lake everything hurt. There were hot springs nearby and some people jumped into the lake or the hot springs. I did neither of that because of the tattoo. Instead I took a nap. I felt like Frodo in Lord of the Rings….

After lunch we had to go up again for three hours. Hiking this trail I can tell you, particularly these three hours never felt so long in my life! It was so torturous. You just had to take step by step. Every inch of my body was telling me to stop. Everything hurt. That’s the great and miserable part about hiking at the same time. Once you commit there is no turning back. You just have to keep going. Step by step.. Stone by stone… Otherwise you get stuck. This will always push your strength because you literally have no other option.

Oh how far we have come already… The same morning we were at the peak. And still more to go… There were a narrow paths with a hundred meter ledge directly next to it. Some stairs and ropes were mounted to help us. The sun was already on the other side of the ledge. We had to hurry up. With our last strength we climbed over the ledge. The setting sun was smiling into our faces and we were smiling back. You can see how thrilled we were. The land of Lombok is glowing in an orange color. ‘It’s over Frodo’ we jokingly say to each other. We finally made it! What a day! We instantly laid down in the tent, had some dinner and fell asleep right after sunset.

The last day of descent can be described with this picture. No more words needed. Sally was literally on the her limit and took every opportunity to nap. We made it down safely.

After this torture we went straight to the Gili Islands. These are small islands in the north of Lombok. Here a lot of turtles and tourist reside to enjoy the stunning beach as well as many tourists do. The perfect place to relax after the hike. We got picked up without a shower and went straight to the harbor. At this point we must have looked like coal mine workers. I bet we were also smelling like that as well! Sitting on the boat and reflecting on this hike. This might have been the hardest hike I have ever done in my life… It sure was Sally’s hardest hike.

It was finally time to relax. Once we were relaxed enough after a few days we tried to find some turtles. They are usually close to the beach and it didn’t take us long to find them, but this is a story for next time!

We hop onto the bus and it is way too small for our legs. Let’s say it was more build for the local size. The air-condition didn’t work and it got really hot in the car. There was also a traffic jam on the way, so the total journey took us about 5 hours instead of the usual two. When we got out of the hot bus we noticed how cold and pleasant the air is in the mountains. We breathe in deeply, look for our accommodation and explore the local market afterwards. Here a variety of crazy vegetables is sold. Galangal, lemongrass, ginger, thousands of chilies and everything else you can imagine. We buy a fruit that goes by the name of snakeskin. It just looks like the skin of a snake and has a consistency like an apple. However, while we were trying this crazy food we were walking through the market. We ended up in the meat and fish section. Here living chickens were stuffed into a cage. Above someone was butchering some of the chickens. Next to the chicken stall there is fish, that is barely alive in way to less water. All the smells combine and we almost spit out the dragon skin fruit. A fish, while fighting for it’s life, jumped on Sally’s foot. What a crazy market. The meat must be fresher than in Germany!

There is also a volcano in Berastagi. Of course we have to climb it. We rented a scooter and went off to start of the hike. By now you probably noticed, that everything in Asia is done by scooter. Once arrived at the trail we notice how quiet it is. We enjoy the silence in the always busy and swarming Sumatra. It is an easy hike and the jungle soon changes to a field of rocks. We reach the crater. Sulfur is bubbling out of the ground and it is painting the rocks yellow with it’s chemical reaction. It is bubbling and climb higher. When we reach the peak we can enjoy the view without the smell. Sulfur is smelling like eggs. Not a great smell if you don’t like eggs. Sally certainly didn’t like the smell.

Another day we head to lake Toba. This is a popular place among the people of Medan on weekends. They come for a short vacation on the weekend to enjoy the mild climate. Of course it was Sunday, when we went. This means, that the traffic was pretty crazy. It was great to see all these people enjoying the lake. Watching them go fishing, camping and swimming was really fun. The bad side effect? You breathe in a lot of smog from all the traffic, while sitting on a scooter. Luckily our host Smiley painted us a map with a shortcut, that was not too busy. I was a bit mad, that he didn’t show us on google maps. This quickly subsided, when I saw his old Nokia phone. Take a look at this map. Would you find the shortcut? Luckily we did! We also went to the famous Sipiso Piso Waterfall. Also located on this map. It almost felt like a treasure hunt of beautiful scenery.

On the last day in Berastagi we decided to spontaneously check out the nearby hot springs. Smiley, his wife and another traveler decided to come with us too. We hopped on two scooters and went of. Yes you heard that right. Five people two scooters. No problem in Indonesia. Smiley claimed it is nearby. Nearby is of course always relative. He also knew a shortcut again. Later Smiley admits, that we took this route because there was no police and three people would have caused trouble. It was a gravel road, which got really steep with a lot of rocks winding through the mountains. My hands were clenching as I slowly moved down this path. I was sweating profoundly and had to stop a few times to relax my hands. The scooter was not in the best condition, but I somehow managed to get down without tipping the scooter. My mountain bike sessions at home helped a lot. The five of us cruise through the Sumatran mountains. Smiley tells awesome stories, shows us birds and animal traces. He knows a lot about the animals, because he had to hike through the jungle for several days, when the infrastructure was not build out. After a bit of bird watching, and more bumpy roads we arrive safely at the hot springs.

Nearby is a relative concept, that is always changing. Considering big countries like the USA, Mexico, Australia or Indonesia the idea of nearby is usually an hour away. While in Europe nearby would be considered half an hour at maximum. In my opinion this is very amusing. You always have to consider the origin of a person to know what nearby means. We enjoy the hot springs with different pools and different temperatures. Afterwards we enjoy a lunch with Smiley and his wife. Then we travel to Bukit Lawang. We came to Berastagi with a mixed mood after the experience in Medan. We left with a good feeling. Lot’s of locals wanted to take pictures with us and all the people were super nice. Smiley and his wife took such a good care of us. They helped us organize everything. Told us insides of the local cultures and took away all our fears. This is how we can carry on!

Bukit Lawang is one of the most famous places in Sumatra among tourists. The reason to come here is to watch orangutans in the jungle. For the locals and the wildlife this is a positive change, as long as the tourism doesn’t get out of hand. On the way to Bukit Lawang we passed massive palm oil plantations. Kilometers on end there was nothing else. The insects are killed with pesticides. In this conditions no birds can survive. In this case the tourism is shifting the landscape towards protection of the rainforest. No orangutans means no tourism. No tourism would shift the local workforce towards the palm plantations or the many mines, that exist in Sumatra.

You can hike through the jungle, sleep there and watch the animals. This is also what we did. We were hiking through the jungle for two days. Here we saw gibbons, several monkeys and orangutans. It is really hard to see wild orangutans. They actually hide in the trees and don’t move, when they spot humans. The semi wild orangutans were luckily a bit more used to humans and were not as afraid. The semi wild orangutans came from a sanctuary, that closed down. The orangutans got released in the wild, they are still used to humans though. Our guide could directly tell the name of the orangutan we spotted. He also knew way ahead, where they were by reading the traces and listening to the jungle. I was left amazed. You need so much knowledge of the jungle to do this. Most of the orangutans had children. These are the first generation of orangutans, that are wild again. This is such a beautiful story on how to preserve and protect this race from extinction.

The sun sets and we reach the camp for the night. The foggy jungle with it’s ever going on sounds is above us. The chirping crickets, the running water and the burping frogs sing to the sunset. We were sitting by the fire in the evening playing cards and enjoying the food. The guides start to play some games with us. Some riddles and some games that left us stupid for not noticing their tricks. What a crazy experience. Some of the people in our group even had 5G internet. In the jungle! Something unthinkable in Germany, when you pass through a metropolitan area… Traveling so long, I start to notice, that some plants in this jungle are similar to plants in the Latin-American jungle. This is something Darwin must have noticed too!

When we wake up we start to hike soon. We saw more animals and even traces of a honey bear. We hike through the mountainous jungle. I have to admit this is one of the steepest hikes I have done. Luckily all the roots, vines and branches made it easy to hike through. In the end we rafted back to the village. The locals called this jungle taxi. It couldn’t be more accurate. We were rafting down the river for twenty minutes and we were back at the village. Back in Bukit Lawang we meet with Andrea. Andrea is a friend from home and we heard, that she is also currently in this town. How big can this earth be and you still meet some people of your hometown on the other side of the world? This can only be a possibility in a globalized word.

Cheers and until next time!

I sit in the lobby of the Singaporean airport. The sweet coffee, which is called copi c, is keeping me up after the long flight. I realize now, the cuisine is going to be way better than what I had the last 6 month. My first meal is already overstimulating my taste buds. I kept thinking, this must be one of the most quiet and clean airports I have seen so in my life. Then it is time. Sally’s flight has landed. My heart is pounding. The excitement is unprecedented. How is it going to be? Is it the same like it was six month ago? Have things changed? These questions pop into my head. Luckily she lands at the same terminal. It is even the same baggage belt! What are the chances? Then she passes through the door and we fall into our arms. It becomes clear that it is just the same as six month ago. I am relieved and my fear is gone in an instant. We hug exchange how the flight was and have a breakfast. For me it is the second breakfast. We smile and leave the airport.

We cruise through the city with a bus, to get to our accommodation. Here it becomes clear. Singapore is not only hot, it is humid as fuck. It is also pretty impressive! For me the most impressive thing is, that this city is a country as well!

Here is a brief summary of what happened. You guessed it. Something with colonialism… First the Portuguese laid claim on the Malakka straights, which is Malaysia today Including the island of Singapore. It didn’t take long until the Brits gained control. One of the four national languages in Singapore is still English today. Singapore belonged to Malaysia until 1965. Then they called for independence. It was the right move as they focused on trade with the USA and Japan and Malaysia didn’t. Today Singapore is thriving more than ever and listed as one of the most expensive cities to live in. The biggest ethnicities today are Indian, Chinese and Malaysian. These cultures seem to coexist in peace. Thus the doorstep to Asia. You have a lot of comforts of the west and a lot of diverse cultures in one place. Everyday you can go to a different quarter of the city. You can get Arabic cuisines, as well as Japanese and Korean ones. Singaporean, Indian, Malaysian, Chinese and Western food is possible. It is a dream for food lovers!

We enjoy the multicultural prosperity of Singapore and visit the Art & Science Museum first. This beautiful building is worth a visit, even if you don’t want to see an exhibition. There even is a free cinema on the top floor as well. We went to one exhibition. It was not stunning though and we left a little bit disappointed. The building was very cool though.

When we first get to the gardens by the bay we are a bit disappointed. This is supposed to be the famous super trees? They look quite small. The pictures online offered a different view… We ask ourselves if this is another tourist sham. Brightly advertised ,but mediocre at most? We walk further into the wonderful garden. At some point we realize that there is more than the three trees we saw. They were just called the silver garden and are the smallest tree structures over there. Now it makes much more sense. This is a bit more impressive. However not too impressive. Later we realized, that the treasure of this place is only brightening up at night. We decide to do something else first instead.

Every building and metro station has an AC installed. This brings me to the next point I loved about Singapore. The super tidy city, with it’s superb metro. It is the complete opposite to San Francisco, where almost nothing was possible by metro… The prices seem to be the same though. Quite expensive. I only seen a Metro this clean in Medellin. The reasons are different though. In Medellin the metro is symbol of hope for the city. Nobody even dares to leave it dirty. In Singapore there are hefty fees for small violations, like eating on the metro. Both are quite effective.

Singapore strangely has more to offer than just city life. It has giant jungle which serves as a wildlife sanctuary. We went hiking and we didn’t even see the city for half a day, only jungle. We are just blown away by the humidity. It feels like you’re sweating out a liter of liquid for every three steps you take. The Asians in their high end gear didn’t seem to sweat as much as we did. At some point we found this bridge that went over the forest. You have a pretty good view over this big area and to top it off, it was free, too!

Our hike escalated a bit as we got lost. However we saw a lot of monkeys because of that. I tend to always look at the good things of life. After sweating more and walking more we strangely passed a massive golf course. When I landed with the plane I also saw a massive golf course. Golfing seems to be a big thing in Singapore. After five dreading hours we finally made it back to a road. We catch the next bus and head back to the city.

After a short refreshing stop at a 7-eleven we head back to the gardens by the bay. We get off by the metro, which leads you right into the craziest shopping mall I have ever seen. Every expensive brand is located here. It is connected to the Marina Bay Hotel. Here the rich and good looking reside and go out. I only saw the rich, though and wondered where the good looking people were. We can’t seem to find the right exit. This hotel and mall is too massive. I mean they have an artificial river flowing through it. Do I have to say more? We eventually find the exit to the Gardens by the Bay. Suddenly it starts pouring from the sky and everyone is seeking shelter under the walkway. The square is almost empty now. We stand under a plant and admire the beautiful lights the super trees have to offer. No they are justified and very impressive! Just in time, when we wanted to leave for another lightshow a trembling voice is echoing over the empty square. A star wars themed lightshow is about to start. We look at each other in disbelief. The show is well controlled and the lights fit perfectly to the sound. In my opinion this already looks like star wars! I was just wondering how they automated it.

People were leaving in sheer masses as the rain got worse. We still stayed a little and got somehow lost a little. We were meant to walk over the bridge. We ended up under it which gave us this nice photograph.

The next day we tried to get on the observation deck of the Marina bay. When we try to get up there we face two problems. The observation deck is sold out for the day. You can also get into a restaurants on the rooftop. Though we were not chic enough to enter the high society. Defeated we wanted to try another rooftop in downtown. We were hurrying there to see the sunset. They promptly told us they have strict no slipper policy. This feels like the biggest middle finger I have ever received. This is enough for us. We get a beer downtown, which is still 15€ and then we leave the city for cheaper realms to Malaysia the next day.

Until next time! Cheers!

I am sitting on the ferry to Moorea as I reflect on the last 6 month. I look back at Tahiti with the green mountains and the blue water. The clouds hang deep into mountain. It almost looks mystical, as the ferry bumps across the blue water to the other volcano island. Some kids fight over McDonalds at the table next to me. I can’t help it and smile. It is probably something special for the kids, as they don’t have it on Moorea.

On Moorea I go to the street and put my thumb up again for hitchhiking. Three elderly women stop and pick me up. Of course they decide to bring me directly to my accommodation. When we reach the location they even gift me a few mangos as a goodbye. You got to love this attitude! Also I love free food in expensive realms. In the first location I didn’t do much. It is rainy season and it was pouring for the day straight. I took a much needed rest day. I watched the rain pouring down on the ocean, while reading a book. It is as cozy as it can get. After that I changed locations and voila the sun is shining again.

I stumbled into two problems on Moorea and Tahiti. One is the privatization of most of the ocean and jungle access. There is only a few public accesses. I am not sure if this is a good or a bad thing. The public beaches are usually designated to swim in. Most of the privatized access is pretty shallow with a reef directly below. So maybe this acts as a protector for the reef. As long as the land is owned by the right people I’m fine with it. The second problem is the language barrier. It is hard to make friends. Everyone is either Polynesian or French. The French can’t speak good English and every conversation usually ends after three short questions. Then they switch to French again and I am left sitting there wondering if they talk about me. One time I was asked why I don’t speak French. Internally I was furious. My thoughts went something like this: “I can understand four languages and can speak two and a half. And then these guys come and only speak one language and get mad when I don’t speak it? Are they fucking serious? They can’t learn a second language, just because their ancestors imposed the language on half of the world?” I smiled and politely declined, that I can’t speak French. They wouldn’t have understood my arguments anyways…

I find a public beach, named Ta’ahiamanu. You can swim and snorkel here. It is a bay with a view onto the island. Sailing yachts are anchored in the bay and the reef is visible even from the beach. The place is also plastered with palms and grass. Truly an amazing place! I get ready to swim in the water. I have never seen water this clear! I am blown away by it’s beauty. Tropical fish swim by in masses.

My last day on Moorea I decide to check out another beach. The beach is called Plage des tipaniers and Of course I hitchhiked there. The first ride stops at the street. He puts the car in reverse to speed up the process of picking me up. Apparently the driver was in a hurry to get to the Hilton hotel to drop off a scooter he has loaded. I see he’s fully backing up. I just realize that at this speed, the driver will hit a street lamp. I tried to warn him. Everything is feeling like it is moving in slow motion. The Truck is still reversing in full speed, until I hear a loud boom. The truck has landed full speed into pole. The driver was pretty pissed, but he still took me in. The scooter was luckily almost undamaged. Man what a story! Sooner than later another pick up truck stops for me. They say. “Jumb in the back, there is no police in Moorea.” So I jumped in the back. This is pretty normal in Latin America. It was my default mode to go to. It is the safest place in the vehicle. You can just jump off and you can’t get kidnapped. The first time in Tahiti people were pretty confused, that I jumped onto the back of the pick up truck. Here it is forbidden though, as French Polynesia is more imposed to European guidelines. Anyways I jumped into the back and got to the beach!

The beach Tipaniers is unfortunately privatized by the hotel with the same name… You are only allowed if you are a hotel guest or have a reservation at the restaurant. I am not a fan of paying for something, that nature usually provides for free. Right at the entrance I meet Megan. She is from New Zealand and is here for a short vacation. We hesitantly reserve a table at the restaurant and go to the beach. This is one of the first beaches I saw, that is packed with tourists. It is like a different world. Usually locals sit there and blast some music, while enjoying all the water activities you can think of. Not on this beach. Here rich Europeans and Americans sit and burn in the sun. Literally, because the ozone layer is missing here. Tours to see sharks, whales, or mantarays are offered next to kayaks and jet skis. I haven’t seen one of these in the accommodations I stayed in. Maybe they know, that I don’t have this kind of money to spend. The beach is still well worth it though.

Later Megan and I go the restaurant. I just ordered a coffee after I saw the horrendous prices they charge. My luck had other ideas, because my coffee never came. Guess I am not paying for this beach after all! The swimming here is very gorgeous. You just have to be careful with the reef. It is pretty shallow in several places. In between the coral there can be trenches. This creates a maze out of the reef. These usually have a current flowing in one direction, as the water can move faster in the tranches than over the corals. In surfing language this is called a channel. Surfers use these to navigate through the reef to get faster to the breaking wave. I got caught in several channels which dragged me out to the open. I had to swim back through different channels to get back to the beach. Stressful, but nothing too bad, you just have to watch out for this. When I was swimming in the water I also saw a fin peaking out of the water. The fin was moving fast across the lagoon. Oh this must be a shark I thought. These are usually not dangerous, though. The sharks are used to people and also hunt at night. As long as you don’t act as prey and you don’t splash on the water, you will normally be fine. Later I also saw a stingray. These creatures are just too beautiful. I swam a little bit with it and then we both went our way in the different worlds.

I was fully enjoying the swimming, that I forgot the time…. I had to catch the ferry back to Tahiti. For this I had to hitchhike back to the accommodation to retrieve my backpack. I pointed out the difference between the Polynesian people and the French in my last post. The Polynesian people drop everything they do and bring you directly to the location you want to go. Even if you insist, that they drop you off where they want to go. Pretty convenient though! Well the French drop you off wherever is most convenient for them. My luck seems to play with me, because only French people pick me up this time. I had to take four rides just to get back to the accommodation. I was already running late. There wasn’t even time to shower. I grabbed my bag went back to the street to hitchhike to the ferry port. Somehow only French people picked me up again… It took me another four rides to get to the ferry. Every ride I would watch the clock anxiously. In the end I made it just in time! Ten minutes before the last ferry left. My luck doesn’t seem to disappoint. Maybe it was just testing me.

On Tahiti only one thing is on my mind. It is Taharuu beach. The beach to surf. I found a family, that is hosting me for a cheap price. They are also providing a surfboard for me. That’s all I need. Did I mention, that they also gave me breakfast and dinner? My last days on Tahiti I just want to surf. I arrive throw my backpack somewhere grab a board and go. The swell seems to have gone down a little. I head into the water and I can even surf the main peak. When I went in the last time I thought it was sand below. The water was too turbulent to see. Now as you can see through the water you can see that it’s all rocks below… At some point in the water I got scared. Next to me there was something moving in the water. I almost jumped on my surfboard, when the massive turtle peaked out his head directly next to me. Wow this is a big turtle. It was almost bigger than me! I’m so glad I am here right now!

The vibe at this beach is just amazing. It is a local meeting point for young and old. Four and five year old’s get surfing lessons from their parents and uncles. There are always 40 people in the water. Doesn’t matter if it’s six in the morning, ten in the morning or 5 in the afternoon…

The people have such a deep understanding on where the wave is going to break, that there is almost no competition between getting waves. They even encouraged me to take some waves. They just know. I was just glad I could witness surfing on such a level. Truly watermen and waterwomen in the water. The old people come to watch the surf and have a drink. The occasional commentary, when a big set rolled through reminded me of some people at home watching a football game. I guess this is their television.

The only thing I hated about this beach were the sand fleas. These creatures bite you. You don’t even realize it at the moment. It gets so itchy after a few hours. Every night I would wake up and scratch my feet until I was bleeding. The views, the culture and the people make up for it though.

The last days I decide to take a hike. Something I haven’t done yet. Most of the life on the island is happening close to the beach or on the water. Only secluded people live more in the mountainous jungle. There is several well marked hiking spots here though. Doesn’t matter where you go hiking on the island the probability that you will find at least one waterfall is pretty high! Another thing I thought I wouldn’t see here is pines. These trees seem to grow everywhere. I saw them in the mountains of Mexico. I saw them in the jungles of Colombia, in the cold northern California and I now see them here. Seems to be a more resilient tree than I primarily thought. The hike was super exhausting and just too sweaty in these humid environments. It was still worth it to experience a bit of the inlands

The time in Tahiti has come to an end. Truly one of my favorites so far! Just the crazy mix of culture and food, combined with the lovely people and landscapes so far away in the ocean makes this such a special place. Thank you for reading and until next time!

Chaotic streets and crazy traffic greeted us once we got of the plane. It is just more chaotic in general I would say. This is not necessarily bad or good. It is just different. So we first had to adapt. We were really tired from the flight which was in the middle of the night. Our first flight went to Bogotá. Here we had a record time of 1 hour at the airport. We rushed through immigration. Running through security and then running to the gate only to see that everyone was still chilling there because the second flight was a little bit delayed. Phew it seems that my luck strikes again. This went pretty flawlessly. Remember the majority of flights in South America go through Bogotá. The airport is huge and you have to find the right gate. I’m not denying that this was not stressful.

In Barranquilla we didn’t do much, because Barranquilla has nothing special to offer. It is a car centric city. The loud traffic, the smog and smells seem pretty strange as we came from the chill beaches of Costa Rica. When we were looking for an atm we were reminded once more that we are now in Colombia. Most of the atms were carrying no cash at all. From here we take a bus to Santa Marta. We are reminded once more that the traffic is crazy. We arrive in Santa Marta and David decides to go out that night. I am quite tired so I go to bed. The next morning I hear that David went out and got robbed at night. Welcome to Colombia I guess.

Apparently he went out with a group. Went to a party and wanted to get back to the hostel. He just walked which can be dangerous in Santa Marta at night. If you go out and your hostel is not in the city center make sure you take an uber. Here is his experience of the night.

He thought the night was over and he was chilling in the hostel. He met a few other Germans and some Israelis. They wanted to go out too so he spontaneously joins them. The party is going well he is having drinks and is enjoying himself. At some point it is 3 a.m. and he wants to go home. He can’t seem to find the others so he goes alone. He wanders through the dark streets of Santa Marta. He left his phone in the hostel which is why he got lost in the streets. Asking some locals on how to get back to the hostel. After forty minutes wandering around he seems to find his hostel. Only problem two people approach him with a knife and cut off his way about 200 meters from the hostel. He gives them his wallet and runs into the hostel. Friendly reminder to only take cash with you when you go out and maybe one phone to get an uber or a taxi driver. Even then you’re not safe since the taxi drivers can kidnap you too!

The next day we head to Taganga. Here we meet up with Jolisa. Life works funny sometimes. I went to school with Jolisa and we haven’t had much contact and didn’t talk for years probably. Now it is like a classroom reunion. Old stories and names pop up. We laugh about the funny things that happened during our school time. It is also interesting to talk because everyone developed in different ways. We say cheers and here I realized that I’m not used to the crazy eyes of cheers in Germany. Every foreigner who has been to Germany knows what I am talking about. When you put your glasses together you have to hold eye contact with everybody.

Anyways David and I want to go see the Tayrona Park. You can charter a boat in Taganga. We got warned by Jolisa that it is going to be a bit bumpy. Well we go off and the first half hour is all great. But then the waves come in. It becomes scary. Especially because we heard that two people died prior two weeks ago in one of the boats. I see the waves and the boat flies up and down. My heart stops. Fear sets in. I know this feeling from surfing. But this is hits different. The waves are huge.

It gets to a point where I get a panic attack. I can’t watch the big waves hit the boat its too scary! I close my eyes and curl up. I start hyperventilating. The feeling of the boat flying up and then hitting the water again is terrifying. Every minute feels like an hour. I ask the driver how long it takes till we arrive. Internally I just wish to hug my girlfriend and see my family. My eyes are still closed but the bumps stop. I think that we finally arrived. I am relieved that we made it. Only to find out that this was just the first beach and we still need to ride 50 minutes more. Who would have thought this is so scary. Especially because I am a surfer and at least have some maritime insights… I know the feeling of paddling through waves going up and down. Who would have thought it would be so different on a boat?

I close my eyes again as we bump along those waves. At this point everything is drenched. I also grabbed something to hold on to. My arms are cramping up and I just wish to be somewhere else. I also can’t help but think about refugees that are not doing this for fun but because they have no other future. Doesn’t matter where in the world you are fleeing to if you are that desperate to get to the west to risk your life it must be pretty serious. Something we should keep in mind if we are debating about refugees. We arrive and I am just happy to be of the boat. I can’t believe we actually made it through. Happiness overcomes my whole body as my feet touch the sand of the beach.

We hike through the Tayrona Park but we can’t really enjoy it. We have to get back to Santa Marta to buy supplies for a 4 day hike in the jungle. We hustle through the Tayrona Park without a break. The beaches are beautiful but also treacherous. Apparently a lot of people drowned in the strong currents. There are some beaches where you are allowed to swim. They also have coastal guards on those beaches. On different beaches it is just prohibited. I would have loved to jump into the water with my swimming googles and look at the underwater wildlife. However we don’t have time so enjoying it from the beach must be enough for today.

After the three hours hike we head directly back to Santa Marta. We sit in the bus and everything seems to go to plan and we should arrive in Santa Marta before the shops close. At least that’s what we thought. We arrive in Santa Marta and it is a ghost town. We walk around and every shop is closed. On a Monday afternoon? Impossible! We couldn’t believe our eyes. There almost no people on the street. It feels weird to walk around. We hear that it is the day of San José and everyone is preparing for the festival the evening.

We still manage to find a few shops that are open. We get our supplies for the hike. David even found some hiking shoes to buy. We finish shopping as the sun is setting. Perfect timing we can still manage to catch the last bus back to Taganga! Usually the streets are full of people. Vendors shouting and trying to sell you their goods. Now it is quiet. Normally it is easy to find people to ask for the bus. This time it is more difficult. We walk into one street and there is three gentleman sitting there. We ask if the bus is passing here. It does! We chat a bit until one of the persons jumps up. Runs to the street looks at the busses and shouts when our bus is passing through. You got to love the helpfulness of the Latinos sometimes.

The next morning we get picked up to start the hike. Everyone gets ready in the travel agency. You can feel the excitement in the room. The last things are being packed and we’re off into the Jeep into the mountains. After an hour we leave the road and we drive another hour through dirt roads to a small city called Machete. From here on there is no cell phone service. We have lunch and start hiking afterwards. The sun is scorching hot. The hike so far is disappointing. It is wide dirt road and motorcycles pass us almost every five minutes. This is not how imagined the jungle hike. However we get to know our group and everyone seems high energetic and fun.

Even though the first day wasn’t too exciting we get the first glimpse of the Columbian mountainous jungle. Also there was a spot where you can jump of a waterfall. This is always welcome after sweating for half a day of course! You don’t have to tell me twice. We settle into the first camp and we first see how organized it is. We have a personal cook comfy beds with mosquito nets. For me this place is more luxurious than I expected with toilets and a cold shower. I expected to bath in the river for four days. The evenings are short as the light is turned off at 9 p.m. This is for a reason as we have to get up at 5 a.m. the next morning.

We wake up the next morning and have breakfast. It is hard to eat something at 5:20 a.m. but you need the calories for the hike. At 6 a.m. we leave the camp and start our day. This day we finally leave the bigger road and head more into the jungle. Now only mules pass us on our way. We’re now completely submerged in the jungle. We have to cross bridges and several rivers. Every step we take it becomes more green more wild.

We head into the territory of the indigenous people. It is really interesting to see how they live. Their ecological footprint must be smaller by several magnitudes than ours. The group feels like family now. Everything is shared. The meals are taken together, the snacks and hot chocolate and the experience is shared. We reach the second camp around 4 p.m. in the afternoon. The timing couldn’t be more perfect as it just starts to rain. When it starts raining in the rain forest it is not stopping for a while. We play cards, have dinner and have small spontaneous salsa dances. Omid loves to dance salsa which is why every evening ended up being spontaneous salsa dance classes. We laugh a lot together and the group feeling is growing. Since our group was called the gorrillas we always made gorilla noises. This strengthened the group feel as well. The tension was also growing too as everyone is awaiting the Lost City.

In the night you hear the heavy rain dropping onto the tin roof. It feels very cozy in the bed as the raindrops sing me to sleep until the alarm hits me in the face at 5 a.m. again. Time to finally see the Ciudad Perdida. This will take about another hour and about 1400 steps. You already start sweating profoundly at 6 a.m. because of the humidity and the hiking.

After we climb the steep slippery stairs that have been build almost two thousand years ago we see the first parts of the lost city. It is still early in the morning and the city has fog surrounding it, giving it a more mystical feel. The city is bigger than expected and was housing 2000 people before the Spaniards came. The Spaniards were spreading a lot of sexual diseases until the indigenous abandoned the city and fled into higher regions of the mountain. Another irony of history that the highest mountain, Pico Cristóbal Colón, is now named after Cristopher Columbus. For the indigenous people this is the center of the world. There are still indigenous people living there, but they don’t want to have contact with society. The trauma of the Spaniards must sit deeply with them.

The remains of the city are left to the circles on the ground. The city even had a sort of sewage system. As we go up it becomes more and visible how huge this city actually is. First we just saw a few round circles. Every September 20.000 people of the indigenous people that currently live here gather for a spiritual ceremony in the city. In this time it is closed for tourists.

The more we ascended the more we saw until the full scale becomes clear once we crossed the jungle again. Not all these terraces are seen. There is even more of them covered in the jungle. After hiking for two and half days we all feel relieved and happy to be in this beautiful place. We enjoy the view and reflect back on the journey. No cell phone reception and no internet. It was a surreal feeling spending so much time with mostly strangers and become so enclosed as a group in the matter of two days. Truly an amazing experience.

Now it it time to meet the spiritual leader of the indigenous people still living in that area. He is deciding on what is happening into their society. We also saw some coca plants for recreational purposes of course. The spiritual leader is the only one right now that is living in the Ciudad Perdida. You can buy a spiritual blessing from him. It is just a small wristband though. On the way back everyone is a little bit more silent. We head back to the camp to get our stuff and start the descent. There is always time to bath in the river though. We reach the third camp in the afternoon and settle in again. We have to hike back the next day.

One last time getting up at 5 a.m. We hike back and the humid jungle is giving way for the more dry landscape with the bigger roads. The sun is burning our skin while we descent. I listened to Pink Floyd – Wish you were here while hiking down. Everyone is exhausted as we try to reach Machete in our final push. Once we are there we share one more meal and one beer together as a group. I can tell you beer never tasted that good in my life!

Cheers, until next time!

From here it was a curvy road from sea level to around 1500 meters to Lake Atitlan to the city of Panachachel to be more precise. Here we spend a night and find the Crossroads Café. This is the first coffeeshop in Guatemala and has a lovely picture book explaining the story. Basically a couple from California set out to pursue their dreams. To build a complete coffee place in Guatemala. So they tell the stories of Goodbyes as their adventure begins. They travel down with van. Once they arrived, they transformed an old basement into the coffee shop. They brought the coffee machines and started to sort out their own coffee and even roast it. Quite an inspirational story. They are retired in South Africa right now but the place is still vividly living on and I am sure their story will also live on a long time.

From there we set out to explore the little towns located on the lake. We started in Panachachel and the weather was cloudy which gave this place a mystic feeling. Now tell me does this look like Norway or Guatemala? Yes it’s Guatemala because the sun is shining!

The next day is nice and clear and you can take a boat for 25GTQ ~ 3€, which we did to Santa Cruz La Laguna. We got to the pier and they were placing our backpacks on top of the boat. Only problem the roof of the boat didn’t have any rails on the side. So as the driver cranked down on the gas and the boat was turning left and right, only one thing occupied my mind. I just hoped and prayed that our backpacks were still there when we got to Santa Cruz La Laguna. It felt like an eternity as the water splashed at us and we were completely wet. Every turn felt like an eternity and every wave gave me more anxiety.

The only thing I cared for is that our god damn backpacks are still on the roof of this boat. After 15 agonizing minutes we made it. Or that’s what I thought. It was just the first pier of many. After 10 more minutes we finally get to get of. As the moment of truth comes I am just relieved. I never was so happy to see my red backpack! But the journey was worth it as the view is just totally breathtaking! The village itself is quite rural and has just a few tourists.

The next day we decide to do a hike on the Lake Side. We heard about recent robberies at that hike. Since I don’t want to repeat my experience of Oaxaca we try to book a tour. The tour is totally overpriced at 450 GTQ ~ 60€ per person. Who is the robber in that part? So we decide against the tour and just go on our own. This one was the better decision because we can rest when we want, we can stop at different places where we want you get the idea. The hike is really stunning winding through the hills.

The hike is longer than we thought. At some part we read a sign and we couldn’t believe our eyes. The sign said Biergarten. We look at each other in disbelief. We check it out and it is actually a German place with German foods and beers. So I am super happy to just have such beer and rest. After a few more hours of hiking we reach the village of Tzununa. From here we take a Tuk-Tuk to San Marco. Did you know Guatemala imported Tuk-Tuks from Southeast-Asia in the 1980s to cope we the increased tourism? San Marco is supposed to be this place where a lot of hippies reside. Instead of hippies we found expensive stuff they want to sell, People that dressed ‘alternatively’ but in expensive clothes. If the bakery is called spiritual bakery you know you are in the wrong place… What is supposed to be spiritual about bread? A couple we met put it nicely. These are sons of bankers and business people who can wear their 200$ outfit and act all spiritual. That hits the nail on the head. So from here we take a boat back to Santa Cruz La Laguna. We are happy to be in this place and not the other. This time we were smarter with the backpacks as well!

From here we head back to Antigua. It is time to tackle the damn volcano. So we go back after a few miraculous days at the deepest lake of Central America. It is time for the hike. We rent sticks, jackets headlamps and beanies. And it is time to ascent. The base camp is located at 3800 meters. And the hike starts at 2800 meter. Sally hasn’t fully recovered yet so we are a little bit nervous about the altitude and the physical strain of the hike… As we ascent we first hike through a weird jungle.

As we are dusty, sweaty and burnt to a crisp by the sun it dawns on Sally what she has agreed to. This is no easy task. Especially in the altitude and in her condition but she keeps on fighting. Step by step we ascent higher and higher. The green jungle vanishes quickly and gives in to this barren landscape that are dispersed by pine trees. As the climate gets more dry so does the path get more difficult. Sandy slippery parts with pebbles on the way seem to be more frequent.

When we reach the base camp we just ascended a 1000 meters straight up. We are quite exhausted and get the first look at El Fuego the most active volcano of Guatemala. We feel the energy pretty quickly as we suddenly hear a thunder like sound. The earth starts to shake a little and the volcano erupts. What a miracle to whitness.

Wow this is really crazy. We rest the afternoon because for the sundowner we are going up the volcano. Yes you read that right. So basically we go 200 meters down again. to go 200 meters up in this super dry slippery hike. It is really exhausting. After climbing the last ledge for the sunset and constantly asking ourselves why we agreed to do this. But once up there above the clouds the doubts are forgotten immediately. You see the volcanoes and clouds as the sun goes down.

It got freezing cold in an instant and we had to switch from a t-shirt to three layers and a jacket. As the sun went down and it got dark the earth starts to shake below our feed. We hear a loud growl from the volcano. Then it a big cloud bursts from El Fuego. We are blown away by the force of nature that is playing right in front of our eyes. The volcano is actually spewing lava right before us.

I know, I know it is quite unbelievable. So here is a video from this experience. If I wouldn’t have seen this with my own eyes I wouldn’t believe myself either! Even the video hardly describes the real experience.

The only problem we didn’t think about. We had to get back to base camp. This means going down 200 meters in the dark and you guessed it going 200 meters back up… If you counted correctly that is approximately 1400 meters up and 400 meters down in one day… All of this in really slippery terrain where going down is more difficult than going up. Why were we doing this again? This question popped up in our heads again and again while we were trying to reach base camp again. After an exhilarating time we reach it around nine pm. What an experience! So we got a a hot chocolate and went straight to bed afterwards. In the morning there is just one last thing to do. Watch the sunrise and take a close look at the volcano one more time.

Once back down we said it was the best experience of the whole trip. While you’re on the hike you constantly ask yourself why you did this. Once when the exhaustion leaves left is the beautiful experience. I think it saved as a positive experience in the brain afterwards is because you really had to work for this. You had to actively do something and you can be proud of it afterwards. For reference we were on the smaller active volcano right at the ledge. Crazy right?

So from here we enjoy our last few days together. Have some craft beers and some really good coffee. Then it is time to say goodbye. With tears we stand at the airport. It is now clear that we won’t see each other for a long time probably. One last long hug and our ways depart again. I have to continue alone again which gives me this weird feeling. After having shared immense and crazy experiences for the last three and half weeks it is time to continue on my own. To find my rhythm again. You just feel incredibly vulnerable afterwards. Something time will heal as we get used to being apart again.

Until next time as I head into El Salvador!