San Jose

Today we ventured through San José visiting the Teatro Nacional and Museo del Oro.
Our attempt to find wool hiking socks failed despite the fact that San José must have the highest concentration of shoe stores I have ever seen. We easily walked past 200 of them...so ladies, now you know where to buy shoes. We enjoyed a menú del día for 4$ for lunch and then figured out what bus to take to Corcovado NP on Monday. There are about 25 different bus terminals in San José and I am pretty certain that bus drivers brighten up their day by sending unsuspecting tourists from one terminal to another only to end up at the same place 1h hour later. Of course that didn't happen to us...

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A Day in the Caribbean..

Yesterday we rented bikes a rode them all the way to Mansanillo a stone throw from the Panamese border. After some swimming in the 85 degree water we got very hungry and had some lunch. While waiting for the mid-day heat to pass we watched Barcelona vs. Valencia before venturing back on the potholed road to Puerto Viejo.
Later in the evening we broadened the European Integration by hanging out with two guys from Finland talking soccer. While we tried our hardest to also integrate our Swiss neighbors from the room next door they did not seem interested to join the European spirit...well, we tried. Today we caught the bus back to San Jose.
Here some photos and videos





You can find more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/aroundtheworldin500days

Puerto Viejo

or what do you mean it´s humid


After a 5 hours bus ride we arrived in Puetro Viejo, a little village at the sout east end of Costa Rica close to the border with Panama. We found a ¨hotel¨to stay at for 10$ per night, bought some food and explored the beach and the couple of bars, hotels and stores.
Malte

Costa Rica

After a 5h non-stop flight we arrived in San Jose. We'll be staying with Matt's Uncle for the first night before heading out to Puerto Viejo for two nights.
Thanks for a wonderful goodbye "party" on Friday. Here some photos and a short video clip.
More when we get back from Puerto Viejo.
My German Cell phone should be working throughout the trip. You can text me at +49 162 485 9773. I'll try to write back whenever I can.
Malte

Grandpa

*15.04.1911 † 18.02.2008

"Hannemann, geh' du voran"

Honey, I shrank my camping gear!

The quest for 37lbs...

It has been done! Everything is packed, everything fits and it weighs just 37 lbs and 2 oz (including the backpack). Not too shabby considering all the things I will be bringing:
Sleeping bag, Camping mattress, ½ tent
SLR camera + charger, Video camera + charger iPod + charger, cell phone + charger
Hiking poles
Hiking boots, Light hiking boots, Sandals
2 pairs of (safari) pants, 2 pairs of (safari) shorts, 2 (safari) shirts, 1 t-shirt
1 light fleece sweater, 1 medium fleece sweater, 1 wind breaker, 1 gore tech pants, 1 gore tech jacket
3 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of boxer shorts
Aspirin, Malarone, Ibuprofen, contact lenses etc.
First Aid Kid + survival blanket
Titanium plate, cup, knife, fork, spoon
3 liters camel bag
extra shoe laces
toiletry, sunscreen, 6oz. of deet
scarf, gloves, hat
knife, flashlight, headlight, compass, mini tripod camping towel
goggles, swimming trunks
and some other things I can’t remember right now…
Stay tuned for more…
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What to bring or what not to bring...

or the quest of fitting all of this into that and not exceeding 34lbs.

As we are about 2 weeks from departure I thought it would be a good idea to see if I can actually fit all of the things that have been accumulating in the apartment. Well, they do fit...kind of...but not really...it's complicated. If I wear all the big and heavy things then I might be able to fit everything and stay below 34lbs, but that would be cheating and I am not desperate enough (yet) to go there...

So, I started off with about 40lbs and after answering the question how many pairs of socks (3), how many t-shirts (3), how pairs of pants (2) one really needs for a trip around the world, I brought the weight down to about 30lbs. That was before I remembered that I have to carry half the tent and the rain gear...damn it. So, we are back at around 36lbs and I am sure I still forgot more than enough. But then again, Matt was in the military so he should be used to carrying heavy packs...I'll just make him carry the whole tent...:) Well, that's it for now from the "packing front". So long...

Malte

T-20 days

The initial leg of our trip will take us Costa Rica for 2 weeks from where on we will work our way through the south American continent, departing out of Buenos Aires 4 months later.

After 2 months in Europe the journey will continue through Africa for 3-4 months during the Fall. Australia and New Zealand are next for about 3 months each in order to then conclude with Nepal, China and Russia.

I am planning to update this post at least once a week, time and internet connection permitting. Thanks to the almighty google empire and its integrated network of programs I'll be able to post photos, video and text all on this one website...

Malte