Around Lake Tahoe in a day

So we woke up and drove back 100 km. Of course we had to see Emerald Bay which is one of the most beautiful spots on our journey. But first we had to buy some soda. Maybe I will try some bacon soda.

Also here, the bears had woken up already.

Emerald Bay is located in the southern end of the lake and the first lookout parking lot was still covered with snow so it was almost impossible to park. However, the best scenic spot is a bit further up right on top of the bay. This was a view worth driving to.

Driving further north we found some holiday villages where the cottages were still almost totally covered by snow. Apparently it wasn't the season yet. We drove up to Tahoe City and then we had to make a decision: take the small road along the lake shore to Kings Beach or drive inland route to Truckee. We chose inland route. Driving towards Truckee we noticed signs pointing to Squaw Valley, home of the 1960 olympics.

The main attractions of Truckee are the historic downtown and the Donner Party Memorial. A small but very interesting museum is built around the tragic story of the Donner_Party which was on its way to California but got stuck in snow here and resorted to cannibalism. It was really amazing what had happened here in the end of 1846. There was so much snow that it was impossible to continue and the party got stranded in what is now called the Donner Pass. The snow would have covered the base of the statue. Of the 87 members of the party, 48 survived to reach California, many of them having eaten the dead for survival.

Tunnel view, Bridalveil Fall, Half Dome and El Capitan

The night was so cold that we had to keep the air conditioner warming the room all night. And it makes exactly the same amount of noise no matter if it's used for warming or cooling. Anyway, we were about to see the most magnificent sights today. The Tunnel View lookout has a view which is world famous. It was quite a good weather in Mariposa and at the national park entrance. The picture with the sign also shows our Swedish ride for the whole trip.

Of course we headed towards the Tunnel View first as it wasn't raining yet. The clouds hang low and hid part of the view. We felt a bit disappointed. So much that we also visited the Tunnel View in the afternoon again just to find out the the morning view was actually much better. The left picture is taken in the morning and the right one in the afternoon. The clouds really made the view very dramatic.

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There is still a lot of snow in the park in April. This means that many of the popular sites like Tuolumne meadows and Glacier Point are inaccessible. It is really amazing to see the Yosemite valley in spring and still hard to imagine that there is a lot of snow further up in the park. The lack of snow in the valley meant that the bears had woken up already. No bags of chips or any other edibles were allowed to be stored inside the cars. Everything you had which might attract the bears was supposed to be stored inside sturdy metal boxes. Apparently the bears can enter locked cars.

The spring time meant also that all waterfalls were at their best:

Mariposa gives me butterflies in the stomach

We had chosen Mariposa as our base for the trip to Yosemite. Mariposa is monarch butterfly in Spanish. It's only 47 minutes away from the National park. The hotel was booked for two nights to allow full day in the park. The weather didn't look so great so most likely no hiking tomorrow. We arrived quite late and most restaurants were closed already so we chose between a burger joint and a restaurant. The 1850 Restaurant carried a craft beer called Nukin Futz. Hah.

Taksi is Taksi and petrol station is a rack of Absolut Vodka bottles

If Seminyak is more refined than Kuta beach, I cannot imagine what Kuta beach is like. Two days in Bali and I am not thrilled yet. Practically no sidewalks, every empty taxi honks the horn and the sand on the beach is brown.

I am not sure if this is cheap either. Anyway, 30 degrees of hotness and very good food. I knew I would not be disappointed for the food. There is only one brand of beer which is reasonable priced and even that one is 1.40€ a bottle. Anyway, 30 degrees of hotness and very good food.

The Swedes did win the petrol business in Indonesia. Petrol is sold in units of Absolute Vodka bottles. I cannot imagine what would happen, if one of the bottles fell off the rack next to the guy who's smoking a cigarette. 

In the afternoon one taxi honked its horn and we took off with it. Tanah Lot is a famous temple and return trip cost 21€. Actually, it would have been a bit cheaper according to the meter but we had agreed the price at departure.

And this is where we are staying

It really is a god damn dam

There are several day trips available from Las Vegas. The grandest of them all is of course the Grand Canyon. However, in order to see it properly you will either have to rent a helicopter from Vegas or stay overnight closer to the canyon. As Las Vegas was just a side step on our trip to LA, we wanted to give Grand Canyon the time it deserves, sometime later. So it was either Death Valley or the Hoover Dam. I remember when I had a summer job in the US, some of my fellow summer workers got a job in Death Valley while I lived and worked in the Boston area. Even Boston was hot enough during the summer. Hoover Dam was closer so we drove there.

To our surprise there were two things there which were amazing: the dam itself as well as the bridge. In the movies you usually see people driving across the dam itself but actually the highway doesn't run on top of the dam but there is a huge bridge next to the dam. Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge clearance is 270 m. So you could almost fit the Eiffel Tower between the bridge and the Lake Mead.



The Hoover Dam is so famous that ticking it off from the bucket list while in Vegas is worth the 50 km drive.

Just a TV's throw away from the Strip

And we drove back to LA through Malibu and its famous beach. I had booked the hotel on the Sunset Strip: Andaz West Hollywood. The hotel is next to Rainbow Bar and Grill and Whisky a Go Go plus further down the road Troubadour. Andaz West Hollywood is the place where Led Zeppelin, The Who and The Rolling Stones used to stay and throw TV off the balconies. The Strip was just a TV's throw away from our room. 
This is the hotel where Robert Plant claimed to be the Golden God. Unfortunately the Strip didn't seem to be what it used to be in the 80's when Guns and Roses and Mötley Crue hung around. I didn't see any strippers, no drugs. Rockers yes, Michael Schenker was on at Whiskey a Go Go. Unfortunately I wasn't prepared and didn't have the tickets.
And, the first piece of luggage had arrived to our hotel only five days after we had arrived. Free wine tasting in the lobby and half of our luggage. I loved this place. They even had e-check-in service: check in online and they will send you an email when the room is ready. Parking was bit on the expensive side, though.

The southernmost

Moving from the subtropics to the tropics didn't make it any warmer. Key West was windy and rainy. Luckily the sun started to shine on Thursday so we were able to join the sunset celebration at the Mallory Square. The best act was the money-eating dog. Or actually it collected money for the banjo player from the audience. I don't even remember the songs the man played but I will always remember the money-collecting dog. If I could teach this trick to a dog, I would not have any difficulty in getting a permission from Minna to actually get a dog...
We stayed at the Authors of Key West for the second time and the Hemingway cottage was very cosy. I recommend the guest house because it is within a walking distance from the Duval Street and it is really well-kept property. In my opinion it was the nicest accommodation on this trip. We even got an extra heater for the second night... It was quite cold at night. The highlight for the rest of our crew was when I got dog crap on my sandal.

Ingrid at the Islas del Rosario

The Bocagrande beach is not very nice with its hotels and touts. I decided to take a tour to Islas del Rosario which is a national park south of Cartagena. It was worth every peso. Although I accidentally selected Isla del Encantada (which is not even on the map of my Lonely Planet Colombia), the beach was excellent and snorkling was affordable. The day tour was 95 000 pesos (lunch and tax included, 29 euros). The snorkling trip, gear included with one hour of water time) was 30 000 pesos (9 euros). The fish at the lunch was _fresh_.


What I will remember most from this trip was Ingrid, the tour guide. She was just a lovely person with a great sense of humor. I think the best thing about Colombia are its people. Although I was the only non-Spanish speaking customer (maybe there was another one, but it felt like I was the only one) on the boat, Ingrid always found time to give me her presentation also in English. Ingrid promised to include me on her email list so I will be looking forward for her "funny" emails she promised to send me.

The only drawback on this day trip was that the touts were bothering us even when snorkling. Can you believe that?

Santa Fe de Bogota

It's been a long time since I've been to Colombia. Last time I was here, I sent postcards to everyone thinking that I will possibly not come here. Well, here I am again.
It was not because I didn't like Colombia. Actually I like it more than I like Brasil but it's difficult to say why. It must be the people. Bogota is definitely not a tourist destination but last time I was here I met the best taxi driver ever. Angél was the only English-speaking taxi driver at the Radisson hotel. I had a day-off back then and he was driving me around Bogota showing me the sights. He even took me to his home to meet his family. I remember him driving me to the hills above Bogota where I could see the panorama of the city drinking Aguila beer. Maybe it was five years ago. Maybe it's because of him that I like Colombia. And it has nothing to do with the fact that when I got back home, he called me and asked for an invitation letter for a visa...
It's been two days since I arrived and I still don't have my luggage. The luggage handlers at Charles de Gaulle are taking it easy. Maybe it has something to do with the closing of terminal 2F just before my plane left. I almost missed the flight becaue there was some incident in the terminal. The terminal was empty and there were some police doing some investigations.

As I will be flying back on Sunday, I am planning to visit the Caribbean shores before I leave. My first option was San Andres Island but I wasn't able to get a hotel so I decided to go to Cartagena, which is not bad either. I will fly to Cartagena on Friday and return on Sunday. Cartagena was recommended by my taxi driver Angel (he also recommended San Andres) and my friend Pekka who has lived and worked in Colombia as a scuba instructor. Hopefully Cartagena will be more photogenic than Bogota.

Mo' what?!?

I took the skytrain to Mo Chit today. The ticket is merely 70 cents and the train is air conditioned and clean. Mo Chit is the station close to Chatuchak weekend market. Luckily it was a cloudy day because it can be intolerably hot in there. You can by anything from there: furniture, clothes, lamps, soap, beer and squirrels. You can also see fighting cocks. I must say that the animals are not treated very nicely there. I would also assume that cock fighting would be illegal but apparently it isn't.