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7 photos were chosen to enter the gallery of Art Galeria Porão in São Paulo (Vila Madalena) which will open in September.

You can also see pictures of Alexis on his website: www.radouxphoto.com

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Thank you!

Kiki

6th PLACE – 3 DAYS OF THE NILE CRUISE (EGYPT)

We had never done a cruise in our lives, but we were there in the middle of the crisis in Egypt and we managed to get a very cheap price of a 5 stars boat. Staying 3 days in a cruise for us was not so exciting, but it was a good opportunity to relax, enjoy the food, that was pretty good and admire the incredible golden look of the Nile landscape. In addition, every day the boat stops for us to visit temples. If you do not enjoy cruises this tour is only valid if you get a very good offer.

Discover more about Egypt

5th PLACE – 2 DAYS THE MEKONG RIVER (LAOS)

This trip on the Mekong River is actually a transfer from Luang Prabang, Laos, to the border with Thailand, in a long wooden boat. It takes two days to get there and the boat stops in a small town on the way for the night, where everyone look for a hotel to sleep. You must be thinking that traveling by plane or bus would be faster but it wouldn’t be so amazing. People choose this path to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Mekong River, to absolve the monks and locals bathing in the river and to have the opportunity to stop in any little village along the way to enjoy total full relaxation. This is a very wise decision. We loved it.

Discover more about Laos

4th PLACE – 4 DAYS FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN COAST (TURKEY)

We spent 4 days on the Mediterranean coast in Turkey, to make the trip from Olympos to Fethiye with 14 fellows from around the world. To enjoy that look of the turquoise blue water with beautiful sunny days was just perfect. We stopped every day on beaches, islands and towns, we did snorkeling, we enjoyed the Turkish cuisine made ​​by our boat’s cook, we had shower in the outdoor deck , we danced in a secluded island bar, we admired the sunset every day, we met new people and it was pure relaxation. We did with Alaturka Cruises and loved it, but there is also another well known company called Blue Cruises.

Discover more about Turkey

3rd Place – 2 DAYS IN LAN HA BAY (VIETNAM)

You probably have heard about Ha Long Bay, one of the most visited places in Vietnam and also Unesco World Heritage. So, Lan Ha Bay is pretty much the same thing but better. It is part of the same set of bays, it has the same wonderful look with thousands of limestone islands that rise from the water, but it doesn’t have even a tenth of boats sailing like on Ha Long Bay. While there the boats hit each other, here you spend the day without crossing any boats. While the boats there take more than 50 people, here you can have a boat just for you at almost the same price. We did kayaking through caves to hidden lagoons, we enjoyed the Vietnamese cuisine and spent the night in front of a floating fishing village admiring the limestone islands lightened by the moon, without any noise because as it was only our boat there. For that, we went to Cát Bà Island, which lies on the Bay and there all hotels organize custom tours in smaller boats. You can do it alone or join others.

Discover more about Vietnam

2nd PLACE – 5 DAYS BETWEEN LOMBOK-FLORES (INDONESIA)

We made a round trip between the islands of Lombok and Flores, sleeping on the deck of a wooden boat in the company of 18 other travelers. On the way we stopped at idyllic islands, visited villages, interacted with locals, did a Tarzan in the waterfall, visited the island of the famous Komodo dragons, ate fish on the barbecue in a secluded beach, we did snorkeling in crystal clear blue water, we had the visit of dolphins, we sang with the sound of the guitar during the sunset, enjoyed the local cuisine, made ​​friends that we still have contact and spent 5 wonderful days. A tour extremely recommended. We made with the well known Perama Tour and they have different itineraries options.

Discover more about Indonesia

1st PLACE – FOR 8 DAYS GALAPAGOS ISLANDS (Ecuador)

A jaw-dropping scenery, a unique opportunity to go diving or snorkeling and the chance to see wild animals up close that only exist there. The boat in the Galapagos Islands is surely an unforgettable experience. But the place attracts a lot of people and is controlled, which means that prices are high, ranging from 1,000 to 6,000 dollars per person for 8 days, depending on the boat. But there are smaller itineraries. Your best chance for not paying so much is to go to the Santa Cruz island and try to get a last minute boat, having up to 50 % off. But search the reputation of your boat before to not get in trouble.

Discover more about Ecuador

Check also our other top 5 lists:

TOP 5 – The most impressive deserts
TOP 5 – Spots for snorkeling
TOP 5 – Unmissable archaeological sites
TOP 5 – Memorable small towns
TOP 5 – Eccentric cuisine
TOP 5 – Fascinating animals
TOP 5 – Wonders of nature

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4th PLACE – WADI RUM DESERT (JORDAN)

Wadi Rum is a desert landscape made of canyons, natural arches , cliffs and caves, located in the south of the Arabah in Jordan. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2011 for its balance of nature and culture. During the day the heat is intense but at night we slept outside admiring the stars with big blankets as the temperature drops. The scenery is so cool that it has been used for several movies, one of the latest was “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”.

Meet other places to visit in Jordan

3rd PLACE – BLACK & WHITE DESERT (EGYPT)

The Black & White desert is actually part of the Sahara desert, but the look is nothing like the picture you probably have in your mind. They are located in a different region, between Farafra and Baharyia, which is precisely the area of ​​the stony desert. The coolest thing is the contrast between them. The white desert is all covered by limestone and due to the erosion it creates several different forms, like the well known with a mushroom shape. On the other hand the black desert has many peaks covered by volcanic rocks. We did a tour of two days in a jeep, spent the night under the stars and received the visit of the charming foxes attracted by the smell of our dinner.

Learn more about Egypt
Meet other places to visit in Egypt

2nd PLACE – UYUNI SALT DESERT (BOLIVIA)

The desert of Uyuni is located at 3,658m above sea level with an area of ​​10,582 km2, it is the largest salt desert in the world. We crossed it by jeep and we felt like we were on the never ending road. We had the chance to see its two sides as we were in mid-season, flooded and dry. The flooded part creates a mirror that looks more like a reflection of the infinite and the dry part creates an optical illusion that confuses depth perception and therefore the funny photos travelers do. Surely this tour transports you to the 3rd dimension.

Meet other places to visit in Bolívia

1st PLACE – DESERT SOSSUSVLEI (NAMIBIA)

Sossusvlei is a salt and clay desert located in the Namib Naukluft Park, in Namibia, and at sunrise and sunset the sand gets reddish and the view is just amazing. It is the most visited site in the country and the Dune 45, the star of the desert, can be climbed to the top, reaching 170 m in height. From the top you can see the Atlantic Ocean and admire the beauty of the region. The place makes us feel in another planet.

Meet other places to visit in Africa

See where these wonders are located in the world:

Check also our other top 5 lists:

TOP 5 – Spots for snorkeling
TOP 5 – Unmissable archaeological sites
TOP 5 – Memorable small towns
TOP 5 – Eccentric cuisine
TOP 5 – Fascinating animals
TOP 5 – Wonders of nature

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Subscribe to Kiki’s blog at the end of this post and receive our messages in your email.

5th PLACE – GILI ISLANDS (INDONESIA)

This complex of 3 small islands just beside the island of Lombok is a perfect getaway. There you can swim in crystal clear green water with tranquility to enjoy the beautiful sea turtles, colorful fishes, corals and blue stars, just a few steps from the sand. Unfortunately many corals in this region of Asia were destroyed by the tsunami, but it is still possible to enjoy a rich marine life.

Learn more about Indonesia

4th PLACE – DAHAB (EGYPT)

Dahab is certainly a nice surprise. Who would imagine that such a dry area would have an awesome coast. Well, the Sinai Peninsula has waters of striking color contrasting with the golden of the desert. And it’s there that the Blue Hole is located, a circular cave with a depth of 130 meters, which is entirely formed by corals. You can clearly see the circular Blue Hole since the water is much darker in the hole. You can plunge into a super blue water and admire several coral formations and super colorful fishes. And it is all available a few steps from the shore.

Learn more about Egypt

3rd PLACE – GALAPAGOS (ECUADOR)

The Galapagos Islands are one of the great natural wonders of the world and few people know it. Of course the great thing there is diving, but even with snorkeling you will be able to appreciate a lot of the marine life, as the gentle swimming of the sea lions, the super fats penguins, different types of sharks, huge schools of colorful fishes, stingrays, sea turtles and more. An unforgettable trip.

Learn more about Ecuador

2nd PLACE – YUCATAN (MEXICO)

This region of Mexico is rich in different snorkeling opportunities, beyond the color of the water at some points that is just awesome . There you can take a boat trip to open waters to swim with the impressive whale sharks and manta rays, you can also dive in the turquoise waters of Akumal beach to admire corals, colorful fishes, turtles and moray eels, and you can still explore a whole new world under water formed by the amazing cenotes (natural sink holes that expose groundwater, often they are like caves or open). Two great cenotes in the area are the Cristalino and Dos Ojos, each with its own style. Definitely a paradise for those who love snorkeling.

Learn more about Mexico

1st PLACE – CAYE CAULKER (BELIZE)

It’s right there, next to the island of Caye Caulker, that is located the second largest reef barrier in the world and there are 3 amazing spots for snorkeling that will surely provide one of the most amazing experiences of your life: the Hol Chan Channel, Shark ray Alley and Coral Garden. There you will have the unique opportunity to be surrounded by several nurses shark, rays and huge schools of fish, besides enjoying beautiful turtles, moray eels and a coral full of life and colors. And if you’re really lucky you still can see the manatees . Unfortunately this was not the case for us. Simply a must!

Check the video of our amazing snorkeling in Belize:

If you are not able to see the video here, click in this link

Learn more about Belize

See where these wonders are located in the world:

Check also our other top 5 lists:

TOP 5 – Unmissable archaeological sites
TOP 5 – Memorable small towns
TOP 5 – Eccentric cuisine
TOP 5 – Fascinating animals
TOP 5 – Wonders of nature

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Subscribe to Kiki’s blog at the end of this post and receive our messages in your email.

6th PLACE – BOROBUDUR ( INDONESIA )

This is the largest Buddhist monument in the world and is located on the island of Java, near Yogyakarta. It was built in the VII century and abandoned for many years before being recovered by UNESCO in 1975. The structure is simply enormous, with its base measuring 123 x 123 meters, a height of 35 meters in the central part and it was used 60,000 m3 of volcanic material. The temple has 504 statues of Buddha, 32 lion statues and 2,672 relief panels , each one of them minutely carved in stone. A place to be admired for hours in the middle of a beautiful forest.

Check other unmissable places in Indonesia

5th PLACE – TEOTIHUACÁN (MEXICO)

Although the pyramid of Chichen Itza is considered one of the 7 wonders of the world our favorite was the one of Teotihuacán. The pyramid of Chichen Itza is more impressive in its details, but the archaeological site of Teotihuacán as a whole impressed us much more. The Pyramid of the Sun, the biggest of the complex, reaches 71 meters in height (the third largest in the world) and from there you can enjoy an amazing view of the place and understand the grandeur of the construction, which is dated from the period before Christ.

Check other unmissable places in Mexico

4th PLACE – SUKHOTHAI (THAILAND)

This historic park not known by many tourists was an ancient kingdom of Thailand, and for us it was a big surprise. The complex, dating from the XIII and XIV centuries, consists of about 193 temples in 70 km2 of land and ensures a delightful bike ride to admire the ruins amid its lakes, trees and greenery. Palaces, giant Buddha statues and remains of its ruins reflect in the waters of its lakes and allow moments of relaxation and contemplation. We spent two days wandering through this site of pure tranquility. An unforgettable ride!

Check other unmissable places in Thailand

3rd PLACE – ABU SYMBEL (EGYPT)

This archaeological complex located on the south of Egypt has 2 huge temples carved directly in the rock. The two temples were built at the behest of the pharaoh Ramses II, in the XIII century BC, in his honor and to his favorite wife, Nefertare, who died soon after seeing the temple. Both temples have their facades carved with huge statues to impress anyone, besides several other details and hieroglyphics carved on the inside, reflecting majestically the culture and history of this unique country. The largest temple measures 33 x 38m and reaches 55m deep. More impressive was discovering that the temples were entirely removed from its original location to avoid being flooded and part of the history being lost. A impressive maneuver of engineering. An extraordinary place that makes you travel back in time.

Check other unmissable places in Egypt

2nd PLACE – HAMPI (INDIA)

This is certainly a magical spot in India. A small-town with character and striking colors, on the shores of a river, surrounded by mountains of giant stones and with one of the most authentic archaeological sites we’ve ever seen. We wondered how we had never heard about this place before. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the XIV and XV centuries and has about 350 temples in an area of ​​26 km2. Its monuments were carved minutely and cause pure admiration. The whole complex can be explored by bike and will certainly provide a unique experience. A magical place with and unique energy.

Check other unmissable places in India

1st PLACE – ANGKOR (CAMBODIA)

Who ever heard of the famous temple of Angkor Wat? But when we got there we found it was much more than just the temple. The Angkor complex was the seat of the Khmer empire in the IX and XIII centuries and is located in the middle of a forest with about 1,000 ruins of its temples scattered everywhere. We wandered by bike for 3 days and had amazing moments. Forget about exploring it with the noisy tuk-tuk, because you will miss the best of the experience, which is to cycling slowly to admire the gigantic temples, trees and wildlife. Of all the sites listed here, it is the most visited, but we understand why.

Check other unmissable places in Cambodia

See where these wonders are located in the world:

We believe that if we had been able to visit Myanmar, certainly the Temples of Bagan would be in this list. So it worth the search. We’ll figure it out on our next adventures.

Check also our other top 5 lists:

TOP 5 – Memorable small towns
TOP 5 – Eccentric cuisine
TOP 5 – Fascinating animals
TOP 5 – Wonders of nature

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On January 27th we had the vernissage of the 1st photo exhibition of Alexis in Brazil, “Found on the Way”.

The exhibit features 23 images that enchanted Alexis during our 2 years of travels and all come with texts that induce reflection. Texts inspired on learnings and feelings we had during our adventure around the world.

At the vernissage we counted with the presence of 50 guests and it was a pleasure to have dear friends on this very especial day for us. We thank all of you for the affection and attention.

For those who could not attend the vernissage the exhibition is running till February 2nd at Piola Jardins (Alameda Lorena, 1765 – Jardins), every day from 19hs.

Do not miss this!

6th PLACE – SAN MARCOS (GUATEMALA)

San Marcos is a micro city located in the lake Atitlán, in Guatemala. Besides having its prime location with amazing views to the lake of volcanic origin and the 3 volcanoes around, this is a special city, formed by a massive hippie commune, spiritual people and yoga lovers. There is a major yoga university, Las Piramides, so people around the world spend months there to complete their studie . Even more impressive, some never left, got married, had children and created their roots there. Yes, there is to much gringo, but also many locals. There are some extremist hippies with conversations hard to understand, but there are also some very interesting hippies. The important thing is that in 2 days you feel at home, get to know everyone and welcomes anyone who crosses your path . A feeling that makes you not want to leave. An infinitely better vibe than the popular chaotic town just beside, called San Pedro, where most of the tourists go.

Meet other interesting places in Guatemala

5th PLACE – SALENTO (COLOMBIA)

Salento is a small town in cowboy style located in the region of mountains and coffee plantation, in the Quindio department, Colombia. Besides its charming architectural style typical of the coffee triangle, with its houses of colored wooden windows and bars in “saloon” style, the place is surrounded by an amazing landscape that is guaranteed by the nature reserve called Cocora Valley. A perfect place to relax, meet the local cuisine, do nature walks and enjoy a coffee of the highest quality. After all this region is one of the few places in the world with altitude and perfect climatic conditions for planting a coffee of the highest quality. We even felt the urge to buy a small coffee plantation and have a quiet life right there.

Meet other interesting places in Colombia

4th PLACE – ANNECY (FRANCE)

Annecy is a town located near the French border with Switzerland. Definitely a city that seduces anyone with the amazing look for the lake that spreads its green waters through the canals cutting the charming old center in medieval style. Visiting in the summer is even more conqueror, when the town is in full bloom and even participates in the annual contest for the most flowered city of France. A place with a relaxed vibe, with countryside feeling, but with all the amenities a big city could offer, with cafes, delicious restaurants and a fine trade. We could stay there for a long time.

Meet other interesting places in France

3rd PLACE – UBUD (INDONESIA)

Ubud is a town located in the central region of Bali island. The place was a great surprise and for us it is the great jewel of the island. There is the center of all the Hindu culture and arts, besides being a region of natural beauty rich in rice terraces with amazing looks. The city is full of temples and even the homes of locals look like one. Even the family house where we stayed. And the city still has charming restaurants, cafes, craft shops and there is one of the most extraordinary handicrafts markets in the world. A green city with exotic people, a rich culture and a perfect vibe to stuck you there.

Meet other interesting places in Indonesia

2nd PLACE – LIGIANG (CHINA)

Lijiang is a small town located in the province of Yunnan in western China, near the border with Myanmar. This ancient city was an amazing surprise for us and served as a perfect getaway from the chaotic Chinese cities. After all the reference of small town is unlike any other place in the world. The city is Unesco World Heritage and has all his original ancient architecture from the Naxi ethnic group preserved, a majestic beauty. Especially when you admire the view over the city, with all pointy roofs in unique format. And we can still appreciate the visual guaranteed by the mountains with snowy peak and plantations that fill the landscape in different colors. If it wasn’t not for the millions of Chinese tourists (almost 5 million per year) this would be a more peaceful destination, but even so the place is unmissible. It is noteworthy that including the modern expansion of the city, today it has about 1.2 million inhabitants, but the old town has only 25,000 inhabitants. This is small in China.

Meet other interesting places in China

1st PLACE – Luang Prabang ( LAOS )

Luang Prabang is a town in northern Laos. It is also considered a world heritage site by UNESCO, because it is full of temples and is an important center of Buddhist culture. Every morning, hundreds of monks walk through the streets collecting their offerings and filling the streets with their orange-colored robes, a perfect combination with the beautiful rustic architecture of the city and the predominant green of nature scattered everywhere. That was probably one of the greenest cities we saw in our entire life. And the look for the famous Mekong River is speechless. The city also has magnificent crafts, delicious restaurant , an eccentric cuisine and a night food market mouthwatering. But for us the most striking and difficult to explain was the city’s energy. An energy that makes you feel good about life, with people who make you smile and makes you wish to feel that way forever. For that we desired never leaving that place. For us it is undoubtedly the champion for its architecture, people, landscape, cuisine, culture and energy of the place.

Get to know more about Laos

See where these wonders are located in the world:

Check also our other top 5 lists:

TOP 5 – Eccentric cuisine
TOP 5 – Fascinating animals
TOP 5 – Wonders of nature

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Subscribe to Kiki’s blog at the end of this post and receive our messages in your email.

5th PLACE – PERUVIAN CUISINE

The Peruvian cuisine is one of the most varied in Latin America and we are sure that few people know it. Meat dishes like the wonderful Alpaca meat, seafood, a wide variety of vegetarian dishes, delicious deserts and drinks like the famous Pisco Sour… A seasoned and slightly spicy cuisine that has everything to please the palate. But for us the champion is the Ceviche with sweet potatoes, a dish made of raw fish or seafood marinated in lemon, pepper and onions. A mouthwatering discovery of flavors.

Veja mais sobre os pratos Peruanos que provamos e recomendamos

4th PLACE – TURKISH CUISINE

The Turkish cuisine is well concentrated in meat and pleases even the less adventurous people. After all the stars are Kofte, delicious meat balls that can be served in many different ways and Doner Kebad, usually a mutton roasted on the vertical spit. But they often use many vegetables for the starters and even for breakfast, and they are famous for the delicious yogurt and their very special way of making coffee. Our favorite dish is the Paticlan Kofte, the meat ball wrapped in roasted eggplant with a marvellous sauce.

Veja mais sobre os pratos Turcos que provamos e recomendamos

3th PLACE – INDIAN CUISINE

The Indian cuisine is simply delightful and is like heaven for vegetarians, since the cow is sacred in the country and there are not many meat dishe . The only problem is the level of spicy curry, for those who have sensitivity it can be a problem. The rich spice combinations result in many variations of curry and in an incredible variety of dishes. And do not dare to compare with that yellow curry powder you find in supermarkets. The thing is to try a different curry each day, besides the delicious breads that accompany the dishes with sauce such as roti, naan, chapatti, parantha. The thali, staple dish of the day -to-day, is always a great option. Hard to say a favorite but the panner butter masala has big chances.

Veja mais sobre os pratos Indianos que provamos e recomendamos

2th PLACE – JAPANESE CUISINE

Even though the Japanese cuisine is well disseminated in Brazil the only way to know the true flavors is going there. There we ate the best rice in the world, a white tuna sashimi (Bintoro) that we had never seen and is tastier than salmon, ice creams that make us dream till today, a plent of sweets that look like decoration and things with questionable appearances … Ahahahah… No matter what you try, one thing we can guarantee, everything is super quality and tasty. The cuisine is so diverse and complex that they sell to tourists booklets explaining the differences to help in your choice.

Veja mais sobre os pratos Japoneses que provamos e recomendamos

1th PLACE – THAI CUISINE

In fact the Thai cuisine was our favorite. Even after spending 40 days eating there, we never got tired of their flavors. Furthermore, you do not need to go to expensive restaurants, any street stand will surprise you. The eccentric mix of spices that blend the sweet, sour, salty and spicy tastes guarantee a trip of flavors in your mouth and makes you sigh at every bite. Our favorites dishes are Tom Kha Kai (coconut milk soup with chicken, mushroom, vegetables, galangal, lemongrass and kafir lime) and Red Curry Soup (red curry paste with coconut milk, vegetables and meat). Moreover, it is one of the few countries in Southeast Asia with delicious desserts such as the Mango Sticky Rice.

Veja mais sobre os pratos Tailandeses que provamos e recomendamos

Check also our other top 5 lists:

TOP 5 – Spots for snorkeling
TOP 5 – Unmissable archaeological sites
TOP 5 – Memorable small towns
TOP 5 – Fascinating animals
TOP 5 – Wonders of nature

8th PLACE – SLOTH

This name was not given in vain, after all it looks like really slow. That’s because it has a very slow metabolism, which makes all its movements very slow too. The sloths live in the treetops, spends most of its days eating and sleeping and only comes down every 7 days to make its needs, so it’s hard to enjoy it up close in the wild. We ended up visiting a center in Costa Rica that rescues injured and abandoned sloths and we could see every detail of this super cute animal. There we discovered that there are actually two types: 3 fingers and 2 fingers .
Where can you appreciate the sloths? Brazil, Costa Rica and Bolivia.

See more pictures of sloths and many other animals on our experience in Costa Rica

7th PLACE – PENGUIN

The penguins are super clumsy creatures, great swimmers and their migration movements are to impress anyone. They ensure good laughs for those who are admiring them for hours to watch their super clumsy steps . There are several different species, which are concentrated in the polar regions, but there are also tropical species, such as the one of Galapagos, in Ecuador. We had a chance to enjoy the African penguins in Cape Town and to swim with the tropical penguins in the Galapagos.
Where can you enjoy the penguins? Antarctica, South Africa, Argentina, Falkland islands Chile, Australia, New Zealand and Ecuador (Galapagos Islands).

6th PLACE – GALAPAGOS TORTOISE

This giant turtle, which weighs up to 400 kg and measures 1.8 m in length, is the largest land tortoise in the world and can live up to 170 years. With so much weight and with the agility of a turtle you can imagine that its movements are very slow! It can only be found in the Galapagos Islands, in Ecuador, and its species vary according to the characteristics of each island, where animals have evolved differently to ensure their food. A fact that contributed to the famous theory of evolution of Charles Darwin.

See more about the giant tortoise and other amazing animals of Galapagos

5th PLACE – GIANTS OF AFRICA

More precisely, the elephant, the giraffe and the lion. You may think that is not as impressive as you might have seen on television and in zoos often. But we can guarantee, no matter how much you’ve seen, watch them free in their natural habitat and there is no comparison. It is simply an amazing experience, further else with the African scenery behind. The elephant is a giant of 5 tones, with a rounded shape and a surprising delicacy. The giraffe is a giant by its height up to 6 meters, with a beautiful patterned skin and dazzling skills with its ​​long neck. And the lion is the second largest cat in the world, after the tiger, and the golden mane of the male is attractive and beautiful, but it is far more lazy than you think and rests and sleeps most of the day, leaving the hard work to the females, while it maintains his pose as king of the jungle, ensuring territory demarcation.
African countries to appreciate these giants: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Kenya.

View more photos of these giants and many other animals in our experience in Africa

4th PLACE – SCARLET MACAW

The scarlet macaw is a bird of great beauty. Its vibrant colors and the feathers format make a stunning look that from close you can enjoy every detail. There are two types of red macaw: blue colored and green colored. We had the chance to enjoy the blue colored in the middle of Copan ruins, in Honduras but we would love to see also the blue and green macaws.
Where can you appreciate the macaws? Countries of South America and Central America, from Brazil and Bolivia to southern Mexico.

See more photos of the macaw on our experience in Honduras

3rd Place – Koala

These marsupials which are only found in eastern Australia are just too cute, but they can also smell quite strong. They are very lazy and like the sloths, they spend their entire day in the trees eating and sleeping up to 14 hours a day. In Australia it is easy to see them in the wild, but wish for them not being sleeping. If you there is an eucalyptus forest you can be sure that there will be koalas. We could see admire them from very close.

2nd PLACE – PANDA

This is certainly one of the cutest animals in the world and the sound you can hear in chorus from the people appreciating their clumsy movements is “ahhhhhh”. They are shy and docile and attacks to humans are very rare. We found out that there are actually two species of pandas: the giant panda (famous white and black) and the red panda (which is much smaller). The giant pandas can reach 1.5 m in height and weigh up to 150 kg, but unfortunately they live only 12 years and as they are very particular in their partner choice, the population decreases every year. You can only see them in China and it is very difficult to observe them free in nature, but you can visit centers that take care of the species maintenance in the region of Chengdu.

See more pictures of the super cute panda on our experience in China

1st PLACE – WHALE SHARK

This incredible beautiful shark is the largest fish in the world, measuring up to 12 m and weighing 13 tons. Despite the enormous size of its mouth it is completely harmless to humans because it feeds only from plankton. We had the chance to swim with this wonderful creature in the caribbean waters of Mexico. An indescribable experience. Below, We put up a video of our experience for you to enjoy more.
Where can you swim with the whale sharks? Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Australia, Philippines, Mozambique, Seychelles and Maldives.

See more about our experience with the whale sharks in Mexico

Watch the video:

If you are not able to watch it here, click on this link.

A potential animal for our list would be the gorilla, but hadn’t yet the pleasure of seeing them in the nature. It’s on our wish list.

Check also our other top 5 lists:

TOP 5 – Spots for snorkeling
TOP 5 – Unmissable archaeological sites
TOP 5 – Memorable small towns
TOP 5 – Eccentric cuisine
TOP 5 – Wonders of nature

Like Kiki’s Fanpage and follow our tips on facebook.
Subscribe to Kiki’s blog at the end of this post and receive our messages in your email.

In this post we will talk about countries with impressive natural wonders. Nature is really amazing and there are wonders scattered around the world, but the ones we have listed below left a mark on us, in our feelings, sensations and memory.

5th place – Switzerland

A country surrounded by mountains and with a large variation of altitude ranging from 195 meters to 4,000 meters. Whether in winter or summer the country ensures breathtaking views changing its colors from intense green to white from the snow covering its mountain . A simple walk in nature ensures a jaw-dropping day and you can also have fun skiing in the Swiss Alps. A must See!

4th place – Nepal

The Annapurna complex is a set of mountains that is part of the Himalayas, reaching 8,091 meters. Our did jus a four days trek, reaching 3,210 meters, but when we got closer to the mountains and saw the majestic snowcapped peaks we felt the urge to go till the end to be able to hug the mountain, an amazing sense of grandeur, beauty and power of nature. An unforgettable trey that we recommend even for those who have never done trekking before, as it was for us.

More about our trekking and other wonders of Nepal

3rd Place – Namibia

We had never heard about Namibia and we got chocked to think of how a country with such beauty can be so unknown. A desert country of only 2 million inhabitants, with dry and arid climate, which with 300 days of sunshine a year make its lands shine to look like a golden paradise. The country stars are the dunes of Sossusvlei, Dead Vlei and Spitzkoppe, all must-stops!

More about these wonders and other must-see things in Africa

2nd place – New Zealand

New Zealand has stunning landscapes scattered throughout the country. A small country, easy to move and if you drive around you will have the privilege to stop every 1 hour to enjoy a wonderful view, either with sea, lake, mountain, volcanoes … A stunning destination to be remarked in you memory.

1st place – Bolivia

I bet you must be surprised with the champion, well, we were also surprised. A marvel like this just besides Brazil and almost nobody knows around here. The Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt desert in the world, with 10,582 km ² and the magnificent feeling of immensity of this infinite beauty is indescribable, especially when you have the chance to see the desert flooded, creating a huge natural mirror reflecting the sky on earth. But the wonders of the region go far beyond the salt desert, extending over more miles of lakes, mountains and volcanoes that ensure stunning visuals every day. Simply Sensational!

More about our 4 days tour in this paradise in the south of Bolivia

And more

Learn more about all the other countries we visited and get inspired

Check also our other top 5 lists:

TOP 5 – Spots for snorkeling
TOP 5 – Unmissable archaeological sites
TOP 5 – Memorable small towns
TOP 5 – Eccentric cuisine
TOP 5 – Fascinating animals

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We know we were away for a while, but we are here to inform you that the dream is not over yet. After 2 years traveling, 44 countries visited and 3 passports full of Visa stamps, we are preparing now to continue inspiring people!

The journey begins in dreams, so we can not let people stop dreaming. We are adapting our new life back in Brazil and starting to work little by little to make even better what we started back there… Inspire, motivate and support others to live this amazing experience to see the world.

Soon we will return with many news… Our TOP 5 lists, even more relevant tips to help you plan your trip, photo exhibitions to inspire with images and much more, stories of the trip, book and much more…

Watch this video (teaser) of our trip. Soon we will launch a more complete video. Be inspired!

On 17 October 2013 we took our flight from Rome to Rio de Janeiro. That was the last flight of our journey. A journey of large numbers :

– 696 days traveled
– 44 countries and 286 cities visited
– 189,088 km traveled
– 364 modes of transport (42 flights, 227 buses, 38 trains and 57 boats)

In addition to countless people we met on our way, many people who became friends forever and characters that have marked our lives. We visited the four corners of the world and interact with a lot of different cultures that opened our minds on a very pleasant way.

Now we return home with mixed feelings: sadness to leave this lifestyle behind, but also the excitement of building a new life. A new world of opportunity is right in front of us!

We started our first week in Rio adapting to our new home. We will temporarily live with Carol’s parents till we rebuild our lives. We organized our place so we could start feeling at home.

We had the opportunity to meet friends and family, the best part of coming back from any trip. And we are already planning a trip to São Paulo and Curitiba to visit our dear friends there.

Little by little we are starting to work on our ideas and projects for the future. A flexible and independent lifestyle that will require a lot of learning on our side. We work with the sound of nature, with birds singing and every day we have the visit from monkeys. We are loving it!

We are leading a simple life and appropriate to our current reality, but we’ve never been so excited. After all the adventure is not over, it’s just beginning! Uhuuuuuu

Until the next adventure!

We are waiting for you in Brazil.

See you next time!

We will be back soon. Hehehe…

We hope to see you soon. Focus on the plan Brazil 2015. We will be here to help you! Uhuuuu

We will always come back often to see this wonderful Italian family and we are waiting for you in Brazil.

Of course we couldn’t fail the Colosseum to register the passage of Kiki there. But unfortunately it was under renovation and it seemed more like a spaceship… Hehehehe… At least they still left one side as it is for us to admire.

We went for a walk until the Vatican, where as always there was a long line to visit the museum.

We wandered the streets all day and at night we had a dinner with our friends, Daniela and Alessandro, so Carol’s mother could meet their son Edoardo. A delightful evening!

On Friday Carol’s mother took the flight to return to Brazil and we moved to our friends’ house, which is in a small town around Rome, in the middle of the fields and full of peace. But on the same day we set off for a weekend of dreams in Tuscany. We were lucky that our friends were invited to spend the weekend in the old villa of the seventeenth century of their friend, the winery Pietrafitta. A time of celebration for the end of the grape harvest.

The beautiful villa with high ceilings, thick walls, antique décor and paintings from the seventeenth century (sometimes we even felt inside a museum) was located on top of a Tuscan hill, next to the town of San Gimignano, and the views from every window and corner of the house were just exceptional!

We spent the weekend with over 20 guests from all around the world and a delicious menu: lobster, snapper, lamb and ricotta ravioli with truffles.

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Hmmm … In addition to a wine cellar filled at our disposal! Accompanied by good music, even Alexis made ​​a concert for everybody, and a lot of chats.

One day we had lunch in a small town next door and we also strolled through the beautiful town of San Gimignano, one of the most visited cities of Tuscany, that was charming and had beautiful views to the region.

Then we spent the week at our friends’ home, Daniela and Alessandro, and we took the opportunity to learn more about Italian cuisine, to practice our basic Italian and to enjoy the company of these dear friends that we met when we lived in Switzerland.

Carol took a course of potato gnocchi with Daniela’s mother and Alexis learned several new recipes with Alessandro, who is a great cook and made many delicious dinners for us.

Carol ejoyed their delicious son, Edoardo, who was just 6 months old and is one of the most smiling babies we’ve seen. A very friendly and easygoing baby. Carol could practice a bit… After all soon it will be our turn… Hehehe!

We had a delicious dinner made ​​by Alessandro on our last night. Thanks Dani and Alessandro for these wonderful days!

It’s time for us to leave and return to Brazil. But the adventure is not over, it’s just beginning. We have a new life ahead and who knows what fate will bring for us! We are excited!

So we flew from Paris to Pisa and we spent the day touring this ancient Italian city where is located the famous leaning tower of Pisa. It is really amazing to think that the tower is still standing!

The site where the tower is located is much more beautiful than everyone thinks, as there are three other architectural marvels in the same style of the Tower.

From Pisa we took the train to the small coastal town of Massa, where Elena, a friend of Carol’s mother, picked us up. We spent the weekend at their house, which sits on top of a mountain, in the tiny town of Cerreto di Montignoso. An ancient and great mountain home that had a wonderful view to the sea.

We enjoyed our time with the whole family (the grandmother Luciana, her son Daniel and his girlfriend Elisa) … We went for dinner at a restaurant of typical dishes of the region, we visited the tourist town of Pietrasanta, we have lots of laughs and Carol tried to practice her basic Italian. It was good to see this beloved family again!

After we took the train to Florence and stayed there for two days since Alexis didn’t know yet. Florence is one of the most charming cities in Italy and the Duomo has a unique and impressing architecture. To wander in the narrow streets and admire its ancient buildings is a delight.

Florence is also the capital of the statues, here there is the famous statue of David made by Michael-Ange.

When we were there we met Angela, a Brazilian who began traveling the world after us and that had gotten in touch with us by Kiki’s e-mail. We knew each other virtually and we finally had the chance to meet her personally. We made delicious Italian meals and strolled together on these two days. It was a good surprise.

We are loving our days in the beautiful Italy, with a lot of pasta, vino, gelatto, formaggio, pizza and great companies. :-)

As we all already knew the city we decided to spend our four days in the French capital just wandering around. And this is certainly one of the best things to do in Paris, which is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. With its fascinating and imposing architecture, for everywhere we look, we think: “What historic building is that?” and often it’s just another residence building. Paris is definitely too beautiful!

We arrived on Sunday and spent the day and our first night with Carol’s cousin, Ingrid, and her family. Marcelo had prepared a delicious Brazilian bean that made everyone happy and as it was a rainy day we enjoyed to stay at home to catch up.

After we moved to Alexis’s, Claudie, that leaved right in front of the tranquil park Montsouris and we were greeted with a delicious French dinner .

The next day began an exhibition of street art called “Tour 13 Paris” in a building that would be demolished in early 2014. After 2 hours queuing we finally got in! The building had almost all the apartments in its nine floors decorated with street art, all made by 100 artists from 16 different nationalities. This is the biggest street art exhibition ever and we believe it will be a pity to demolish this building. We loved the visit and it was worth the wait!

We had a dinner that with Alexis’ family that live in Paris in the beautiful and old apartment of his cousin, Anne. Another super nice and relaxed night with great food. Alexis was happy to see everyone again.

On the other days we walked and walked, wandering around through the charming neighborhoods of Paris and this time we didn’t even step on Champs Elysée and the Eifel Tower. It is always good to go back to Paris.

The day we went to Montmartre we met again Etienne, the French we had met in Cuba and traveled together a few days in Mexico.

After lunch we went for a coffee in the bar of the famous movie Amelie Poulain. It was a pleasure to see him again for some good laugh.

On our last night we had diner with Gaëlle and her friend Alexandra in a Corse Restaurant. One last good bye!

And Alexis took the night to see the one man show of Dieudonné, a French comedian that he loves. He was very happy.

Our journey in France ends here and now we leave for the last stop of our trip… The beautiful Italy.

Each message received served as recognition of our effort to try to spread this idea and to help others realize the same dream. You have encouraged us and showed us that we can positively impact others, and because of that, very soon, the website will be updated with more tips and information to help the next dreamers. Now all of that became a passion and a life goal!

We decided to do this post with a summary of some of the messages we have received to thank for the care and attention of those who spent their time just to thank us. Thank you all, dear unknown or known followers, for the support, recognition and motivation! We are super happy! :-)
 
 
 
 
 

See below extracts of some messages that motivated us so much:

“I am delighted with the reports, photos, videos! I just passed here to wish the best of this life for you! Do not ever stop traveling and inspiring people! Thank you for sharing your experiences with the world!”

“I would like to congratulate you and thank you for sharing this wonderful experience. I’m fascinated by the stories of you and it expired me to plan the realization of that dream with my husband.”

NOTE: We did not put names on each comment to preserve the privacy of people.

We went to visit the center of Niort, first we visited the castle, it’s a castle of defense built in the 15th century at the time to defend the city against the English invasion, partly destroyed during the war of religions, from 18th century it was used as a prison. Today is the monument that represents the town of Niort.

Despite the bad weather, we went walking through the streets of downtown.

One day we spent the day in La Rochelle, at 70km from Niort, La Rochelle is a town facing the sea and it’s a very charming tourist place full of restaurants and shops with its port and two famous towers defense at its entrance.

Thursday morning is market day in Niort, so we went for a walk to say hello to the cheeses, the french baguettes, the sausages ect…

All this has made ​​us hungry, and it’s was perfect, cause just after that we went to Coulon in the middle of the Marais Poitevin with the mother of Alexis and Robert in a restaurant specialise in local cuisine. The restaurant was beautiful, Carol and Gloria are tasted homemade duck foie gras , eel with garlic, snails, frogs’ legs, pike of the river and for desert, creme brulee and profiteroles.

After lunch, we went for a little walk on the edge of the river, where we can see some very nice traditional houses of the marais. Alexis knows the area pretty well, because his grandparents used to live here in one of these houses.

After one month and a half spent in France, time to say good bye and leave has come, so we had a family reunion one last time over a good dinner.

Then on Friday, we spent ​​the evening in the bar of a friend to say goodbye to friends, chao everyone and see you next time, we do not know when we will see each other again, but it was great to be abled this time to enjoy spending more time with everyone.

Saturday night , the night before our departure, it was the birthday party of Sven, the boyfriend of Mahilde, Alexis’s niece , who celebrated it at Barbara ‘s, Alexis’s sister. It was also the birthday of another friend Manon. It was a costume Russian party! We ate soup borscht, stroganoff and drank vodka. We danced all night long, a very nice last night before leaving to take our train to Paris…

Bye family, bye buddies! We are waiting for you guys in Brazil.
Kisses and hugs!

We begin by the imposing and gigantic castle of Chambord, with 426 rooms, 56m of high, 77 staircases and 282 chimneys. Built by the king Francis I in 1519, this was just a hunting castle and was scarcely used by the monarchs In it you will find the famous spiral staircase where people that climb from one side never meet those climbing from the other. An idea that is believed to have been created by Leonardo Da Vinci.

Then we went to the city of Blois and already on arrival we had a beautiful view to the city with its castle.

We visited the castle of Blois which is interesting for having 4 architectures from different periods: gothic, flamboyant, renaissance and classic, as the castle was being increased gradually by different kings . Its construction began in the Middle Age, in the XIII century and it suffered many changes until 1638, passing through the hands of the kings Louis XII, François I and Louis XIII.

We spend the night in Amboise and from the road and could admire the view to the Royal Castle facing the river. We didn’t visit this one but it is worth to see from outside.

We decided spend the night in king’ style in a charming bed&breakfast, with a lot of comfort, beautiful decor and a delicious breakfast. But this was only possible thanks to Carol’s mother, because if we were traveling alone it wouldn’t fit in our budget. Hehehe … Thank you Gloria! :-)

The next day we visited Chenonceau, the most visited castle in France after Versailles, but we understood why. The charming castle was built over the river, providing an amazing visual, and it also has beautiful and decorated gardens around. Its construction started in 1499 as a small castle and over time it was increased and after the World War I it served as an emergency hospital.

Further more it has a beautiful interior decoration and the most beautiful and unspoilt kitchen that exists inside a castle. Surely the great attraction of its interior.

To end our tour in the region we visited the house where Leonardo da Vinci spent his last years working for King Francis I, Les Clos (a mini castle, which in France is called Manoir). Inside the house we can still see the decor of the time, learn a little more about the story of Leonardo, besides enjoying the models of most of his inventions that influenced many of our current engineering solutions. All models were developed based on drawings he left in this house. The castle also had a huge garden and we can visit and see other models of Leonardo. An interesting visit.

It was impressive to see up close once again the ostentation of the French monarchy, which seemed more a contest of egos between each new king who took the throne. A lifestyle that shocks and impresses and makes us ask: “But for what were they doing all that?”. In the end we realized that life has not changed much since those times and ostentation of egos in our century is the same, but it is just expresses in other ways. The deal is to show power via material goods.

In the late afternoon we returned to Niort, Alexis’ city, and we went straight to a dinner at Mika’s place, one of our groomsmen. Thanks Mika and Gaëlle for the nice dinner.

The first area we visited was Brittany, a region of strong Celtic influence , with well-preserved medieval cities and a coastline with beautiful landscapes. We stayed 4 days at the home of Mathilde, Alexis’s niece in Rennes, and from there we visited several areas of the region. We arrived on Friday, it was the birthday of Sven, Mathilde’s boyfriend, and we celebrated with French delicacies and rosé.

On Saturday morning it was market day in Rennes and nothing more traditional than buying salamis, cheeses, baguettes, traditional butter cakes and go to sit in a bar and enjoy all this with a delicious wine… Hmmmm…. We love France!

Then we had a walk around the city, which is super charming with all the buildings with an architecture of centuries the XIII century. A beautiful ride in a sunny day.

In the afternoon we went to Saint-Malo, a beautiful walled city that is beachfront and has a style influenced by English architecture.

There we went to have dinner in a crêperie in the wall of the fort that only made crepes, crepes are originaly from Brittany. Delicious…

The next day we went to visit the famous Mont Saint-Michel. Built on the top of a hill, it’s famous for its strong tides, which give a limited access, but no worries we were there at low tide. We climbed up to thebuilt in the XIII century on the top of the hill, and we tried the famous omelet of the mère Poulard.

On the way back to Rennes we stopped in the medieval town of Dinan. A beautiful surprise that made us go back in time. The city began its history in the eleventh century, it has houses with well-preserved medieval architecture and a stunning look. A must see!

On monday, we went to visit Julie, Alexis’s cousin who lives in the small town of Montcontour also a medieval thirteenth century town. The city is much smaller than Dinan, but also quite charming. The most interesting were the platelets of all stores in medieval style.

We had lunch at Alexis’s cousin, in her very alternative house, a house of artists, Julie does art with glass and her husband is a painter.

Then we went to Julie’s store in the center and she showed us how she does her art with glass. A very interesting experience.

To finish our little tour of Bretain, we strolled along the north coast, passing by the famous Cap-Frehel, to see the wonderful sea view over the beautiful cliffs.

That day was Carol’s mother’s anniversary and Mathilde and Sven cooked a delicious dinner seafood and crisp with french fries in a gorgonzolla sauce, a very traditional French dish.

The weather was not very good but we enjoyed to relax, to make sand castle on the beach and we even fished some clams, something that Carol had never done in her life.

Carol took all the wild blueberries she had picked during our last bike ride and she made a delicious homemade blackberry jam. She’s inspired here in France because lately she has experienced several new things in the kitchen.

We visited Audrey, a friend of Alexis that almost lives on a farm, as she has a lot of animals: horse, pony, chickens, duck, quail, dog, cat, guinea pig…

And we also visited the couple, Christophe and Paméla, who were at our wedding in Rio, where they produced their first child, the super cute Clemént.

We continued our bike rides, but this time in the woods near the small town of where Alexis’s mother lives. We met on our way horses, cows, beautiful flowers and beautiful lush green reflections in the water.

Last Friday was the day of Alexis’ acoustic concert, in the town bar called Chamboul’tou. Before the show we had an aperitif with friends at Celine and Dan and then we went all together to the show.

Alexis sung in French, English, portugues and Spanish rocked all night. Every time Alexis plays there it’s craziness!

Watch the short video:

We had a very good time that night, thank you to Tony of the Chamboul’tou! For the first time Carol sung alongs with Alexis and with an audience!

Then on Saturday we spent the day at the home of Mika and Gaëlle helping with preparations for the baptism of their youngest son, Martin. Carol used all her inspiration to do some finger food and spent the day having fun in the kitchen.

On Sunday we went to the ceremony in a beautiful and huge church, that impressed to be in a town of just 3,700 inhabitants, and there was a beautiful choral playing. Then we all went to a big family lunch to celebrate the occasion, everything in the good French style. It will be difficult to leave France.

Now we are waiting for Carol’s mother to arrive to start our sightseeing plan.

With no experience and no sponsorship, Alexis had the challenge to find a solution not too expensive for the exposition. And in the end he did a great job. For a first experience it was super cool, as you can see in the pictures below.

He even got a note in the local newspaper about the exposition.

We did a vernissage, where several friends and family showed up to appreciate his work.

Carol was responsible for the food and she made ​​many delicious finger food for this important moment. It was a super cool day, Alexis sold 13 pictures so far and he was happy.

On the day of the vernissage two journalists, from two different newspapers, came to see the exposition and it eventually became news in both newspapers. Even Carol gave ended up on the photo.

This was the first attempt of Alexis and held in an improvised way. Now he is preparing to hold several exhibitions in Brazil, already approved but not yet scheduled. We will inform everyone about the exhibits when everything is settled. Uhuuuu …

Kiki around the world trying to inspire the world, either by photos or words. As one of our follower said: “To love the world you need to know it”.

See you soon in Brazil for Christmas, I miss you all already.

Many Kisses
CAROL

It’s good to see everybody again after so long, and it’s nice to be back here in the middle of the summer. First of all, I joined my sisters and nephews for a family lunch in the garden of my mother.

Then I went to visit my friends, usually I spend only a few days in France for holidays, this time I’m here for longer so I have time to enjoy everyone.

After 10 days of separation, Carol left her family in Norway and came to join me in France. She got just in time to go to my family reunion, it had been more than 10 years that the family hadn’t get together! We spent two days all together to eat, talk, sing, dance and party.

This same week-end it was Carol’s birthday, so for her 34th birthday everybody sang for her, she blew out the candles on the cake and she got some presents.

Carol visited the beautiful town center of Niort for the first time.

Next week-end we spent a weekend with our friends Mika and Gaelle to celebrate their new home! Carol cooked some Brazilian food for the occasion. We had a great weekend!

After a lot of great dinners, aperitifs and barbecues with friends, we are obviously putting on weight, but it’s now or never to enjoy the delicious French food.

We are trying to compensated that with some bike ride through the beautiful region in the fields of corn and sunflower, we took the opportunity to pick blackberries on the side of the road to make a pie and jam.

I took a morning flight to Oslo and spent a couple of hours sleeping in the chair at Oslo airport while waiting for my next flight. But soon enough my mother arrived, which was also going to visit Tati, and we spent four hours catching up. To see my mother again after 10 months it was just too good!

We were greeted at theTromso airport by Tati and her husband Yngve. Never heard of Tronso? That’s normal … Because it is in the very far north of Norway, close to the Artic region and Santa Claus home. Tromso is so much in the north hemisphere that in the winter they have almost all day night and in the summer they have almost all day with daylight, and it is when they have the famous midnight sun. Unfortunately I missed that for 1 week, because now it begins to darken a bit evru night, but in the photo below you can see how looks Tromso by midnight.

Getting at my sister’s home and being greeted by my nephews is for sure a reward. They are the cutest things in the world and it was great to see them again. I had 10 days there, so I took the opportunity to enjoy them a lot.

Tati went with Yngve to Oslo for two days to see a show and my mother and I were babysitting the boys. It was good for me to practice. Hehehe… One day Yngve’s sister, Heidi, invited us for dinner at her house and it was a delight. They were for my wedding in Brazil and we had many good stories to remember.

The center of Tromso is very cute and has a very traditional Norwegian architecture. On a beautiful sunny day, which is not so common, I did a bike ride with Patrik to enjoy a bit of the city.

Tati organized on Sunday a party to celebrate our anniversary earlier (that would com on 24th and 25th of August) and the anniversary of Patrik that was in July. We spent the previous day in the kitchen making pies, I made my favorite Banoffee pie and she did a traditional pie from Yngve’s family with fruits of the forest. Both were beautiful and delicious!

I also had class of banana muffins, super healthy with no sugar. It was super fun. Who would imagine that I would learn it with my sister. Hehehee

We decorated the whole table and arranged with nice fruit plates, the muffins … And it was super gorgeous. Party organized with love always gets more beautiful. :-)
Note: special thanks to Heidi who made the delicious chocolate cake for us. I even got the recipe for me.

On Monday, we had a special day here. It was the first day of school for my nephew Patrik, who is 6 years. They make a small opening ceremony and all family members can participate. I loved it! I live so far from my nephew and I was happy to be able to participate in this important moment of his life. A happy aunt!

My time here is ending, but before leaving me and my mom found some time to take the cable car and enjoy the beautiful view. Even in bad weather is too beautiful!

On my last day I took the boys to the school and the kindergarten. Picking up Henrik at the kindergarten, of 2 and a half years, is pure joy. Thewelcoming is so warm that it is impossible not to be happy!

On Wednesday it was very hard to leave. Listen little Henrik saying “I love you Caroca” is heart breaking! Patrik went to school and gave me a big hug of goodbye, and was crying all the way to my sister’s house. It is very hard to be so far from my nephews and miss so many important stages of their lives. But I’m very happy to have spent this time here. Now I go to France to meet Alexis and visit my French family.

We went to have traditional English breakfast, we love it, and we went to a park and of course for a beer in a pub. Karina invited us to see the exhibition of the singer David Bowie.

We also visited Matt, our French friend. We spent an evening in a pub, visited his new flat and went partying a little. Always good to see Matt again.

One night we went to have dinner in a Belgian restaurant with Andre and Robert, two Carol’s Brazilian friends from Rio, and then we went for a drink in Soho. Good food, good company, good evening.

We went for lunch in an Indian restaurant to see again Bina, a English girl with Indian origin that we met in Vietnam, almost two years ago at the beginning of our trip. She was traveling three months in Asia with her husband Hiten. It’s nice to see again adventurers of the world in their home.

We also visited Patricia, an Irish that we met during our tour in Africa with whom we spent one month tripping through six different countries. Patricia had even come to Rio for our wedding. We had very short time to see us each other because she had to finish her thesis in few days before going on holiday in Ireland, we went to her home for lunch and tea. We loved seeing her again, we were missing her energy and zest for life!

During these 10 days we spent some time working in the organization of our future plans for our return to Brazil, but we still had time to go around and enjoy the city that we liked very much.

Alexis is now going to fly to France to see his family and friends, Carol is flying to north of Norway to spend 10 days with her mother, her sister and her two nephews.
Bye bye London!

Well, the money we had saved for the trip finished in Mexico, but we decided to use a portion of the budget for when we got back to Brazil for this part, after all we don’t know how long we will spend without traveling. But our trip in Europe will be different. We will not sightsee there, we will just visit important friends and family.

In our plan: Madrid (where Carol’s cousin leaves), London (where great friends live), Tronso – Norway (where Carol’s sister leaves), France (where Alexis’ family leaves) and Italy (where great friends leave). And then we will return to Brazil, even though many people don’t believe in that anymore. Heheheh …

First stop … Madrid! This is our second stop here during our world trip. We’ve been here in September 2012, before our wedding in Brazil. We arrived with a fantastic weather, blue sky and it was very warm. We stayed at Carol’s cousin apartment, Gustavo, and before he left on vacation to Croatia we went for a tapas bar to catch up.

During three days we rested to adapt to the jet lag of 7 hours compared to Mexico (4 am for us is party time, ahahaha), we made ​​pleasant walks around the city and ate lots of tapas! The food in Spain is simply a delight.

We also took the opportunity to meet Soni, a spanish girl we had met while traveling in India. It’s always nice to see again our fellow travelers. Sangria, beer and of course the night ended in tapas.

But our time here was very short and now we are getting ready for our next destination, London!

We saw many hieroglyphics still visible on walls of several constructions on the site, we enjoyed the visit, Chichen Itza is the last site Maya we visited in Mexico.

In less than 3 hours we had time to see everything, perfect timing, because at the time of leaving, waves of hundreds of tourists was arriving with tour buses most of them from Cancun… Phew! we escaped the worst.

We returned to Mérida and spent the rest of the day in the pool. The next morning we went for a free walking tour of the city. The main square is beautiful and it was nice to find that most of the old churches and buildings were built with stones from 5 Mayan ruins that existed in the region. There is not a trace of them. Very mice Spanish conquers!

Then we went for lunch at a local traditional restaurant cuisine of the region of Yucatan, the waitresses were wearing traditional clothes of the region, service was good and the food was delicious.

In our last night in Merida, after dinner, we went for a walk on the busy main square to admire the beautiful buildings illuminated.

We took a bus, and 4 hours later we arrived in Cancun. We had stayed in Cancun before heading to Cuba, and we went back for two reasons. First, because our next flight is from there but also because Carol needed to buy a computer, Cancun has many huge shopping malls, and electronics here are much cheaper than in Brazil or Europe.
We are not big fans of Cancun because of its mass tourism ambiance, but we must say that the color of the sea water is absolutely stunning! We went for the last time to swim in the Caribbean Sea before leaving for Europe.

Bye bye Mexico!!!

Machu Picchu – Peru

Chichen Itza – Mexico

Petra – Jordan

Coliseum- Italy, Rome

The Great Wall – Beijing

Taj Mahal – India, Agra

Christ Redentor – Brazil, Rio de Janeiro

We can also add the pyramids of Giza in Egypt, they are the unique old wonder of the world still existing

But then, the next day, already recovered, we decided to visit the Mayan ruins, which are in the jungle and it is super green and beautiful cause now it is rainy season. The ruins were nicer than we expected, just a pity that some parts were under renovation.

While Alexis was climbing all the pyramids, Carol was still not 100% full of energy was sitting waiting in the shade. The ruins are beautiful and we had pleasant afternoon, visiting also waterfalls and the museum.

That same day we took a night bus to Merida, one of our last destination in Mexico. Merida is also a colonial city and a high light of Mexico, but it did not impresse us that much, maybe because we have seen several other more beautiful colonial cities in the country. But anyway it was a good stop, as there are many options and cultural things to do around, such as museums, ruins, cenotes, villages, caves, beaches, etc…

In Merida the heat is intense so we stayed in a delightful hostel with big swimming pool. On the first day we did just relax by the pool. So cool!

The next day we went to visit the Mayan ruins of Uxmal and even after seeing several, we still enjoyed it, because this one has a different construction style and there we could still see many hieroglyphics carved on the rocks, which is rare.

Mérida, to be continued in the next post…

Once there, we settled in a very nice hotel, the best room we had in Mexico, with a balcony overlooking the sea and cheap!

Puerto Escondido is a favorite spot for surfers, we soon realized why, the waves here are giant, they can reach up to 12m high, this is a spot in the world surfing championship competition. Swimming is prohibited on several beaches. It is very hot here and the beaches are pretty nice.

One day, we went to walk to Carrizalillo beach, a beautiful place with long waves, perfect for beginner surfers, we ate ceviche (raw fish with lime) and Guacamole and a lot of fun in the waves in a sea with a perfect temperature.

Etienne joined us and we spent the afternoon doing bodyboarding, we had a lot of fun! Then in the evening we went out for a drink in a bar on the beach.

We took a night bus, and 14h later we arrived at San Cristobal de Las Casas. A city of 250,000 inhabitants but rather seems to be a village of 20,000. San Cristobal is 2400m high, we went from very hot to cool, even cold at night, which makes the happiness of Carol who does not like the heat…
The city is very charming, it’s the place where all the hippies go in Mexico, there are also many women from neighboring villages, dressing traditionally and selling their products to tourists. We do not really know why, but here there is a lot of French tourists.

The next day we went on a tour to visit the Canyon Del Sumidero by boat. The canyon is beautiful and impressive, on the banks of the river you can see spider monkeys, large crocodiles and also water falls.

We met again Greta, an Italian we met two months earlier in Playa del Carmen, we also met Rebeca a Brazilian, together, we went out singing on the main square and then we went clubbing.

We visited the museum of traditional Maya medicine, then to the craft market and we climbed up to Mount Guadeloupe to see the city from the heights.

For the second time in two weeks Carol ate something that she shouldn’t, she spent the night going to the toilets, Mexican food is definitely not good for us. She had to go to the hospital and spent the rest of the day in bed.
The next day she was still not going very well but we went to visit the Amber Museum and we walked in the city.

The next night we went out again to eat in a modern Mexican cuisine restaurant and then went out again in a night club but at 3 am we went back home, we were all a bit tired from the night before…
Our food marathona is not over yet, Sunday we went for lunch to have a Mexican specialty, it is beef wrapped in melted cheese, then we went to visit the house of the most famous artist couple in Mexico, Frida Kahlo and Diego Riviera. they are so popular that they occupy two sides of the banknotes of 500 Mexican Pesos.

We said goodbye to David, because the next morning we left early to catch a bus to the city of Oaxaca in the south. Oaxaca is a pretty and relaxing colonial city, it is also the capital of gastonomie and have the richest cuisine in the country. Once again we met Etienne our friend French.

The next day, Carol did not feel well at all, something she ate went wrong! So she spent the day at the hotel and Alexis went with Etienne to visit the ruins of Monte Alban.
Monte Alban was the capital of the Zapotecas civilization, a religious site at 400m at the top of a mountain, from where we could see the whole area.

The site was much more impressive that it looked on the pictures we had seen. The place is full of tombs and pyramids well preserved.

On returning to the hotel, Alexis began also to feel bad… We went for dinner in the evening with Etienne and we walked in the city which is pretty at night.

Etienne left to the coast, but Alexis was not feeling well at all, obliged to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes, so we spent the whole day at the hotel.

The next day, he felt a little better but we went to the doctor because there was free consultations next to the pharmacy , then we went to visit the museum San Domingo, a wonderful museum about the culture of Oaxaca from pre-Hispanic time to today, housed in a huge convent where we saw the treasures found by archaeologists in the tombs of Monte Alban.

A hug and a special thanks to your parents, who unfortunately we did not get to say goodbye in person.

The trip to get there was long and expensive and we only went there because we wanted to visit the secret beach of Marietas islands. But even that didn’t work. We paid expensive on the tour, but the tide was very high so the access to the beach, which is only possible through an arch in the water, was blocked! Plan ruined! Ahahaha

The most beautiful part was the view of the city with its mountains in the background and the view from the lookout.

Unsatisfied we left pretty soon, to another colonial city with hopes to find a refuge that could please us. Morelia is sensational and different from all the other colonial cities of Mexico, as all its historical center is in a single stone tone. Just beautiful!

Just on the day we arrived it was the final of the Confederations Cup. A game that promised … Brazil vs Spain. The game was exciting and Brazil won 3-0.

The city is full of beautiful churches, but the Cathedral in Plaza de Armas is a spectacle, especially illuminated at night. The best thing to do here is to walk admiring every little street and enjoy the cuisine of the region, which is a delight.

One day we visited another small town 1 hour from here, called Pátzcuaro. Another colonial city with different style, all white and red, where the signs of all the shops, restaurants or offices are painted in the same way. Funny.

From there we took the boat on Lake Pátzcuaro and visited the tiny island of Janitzio, where we could see the whole lake from the viewpoint.

Back to Morelia we rest for a day and the next day we went to Uruapan where we would visit the Volcan Paricutín. We took a bus to the village of Angahuan where local women still dress traditionally and which has a beautiful church in the main square.

We had 1 hour walk to the ruins of San Juan, where we visited the city that was buried by lava from the volcano in 1943 and the only thing left was the church towers. It is impressive to see miles of mountain lava around the church with the majestic Volcano in the background.

Paricutín is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and Volcano is the world’s youngest and the only we humans saw born. All the other ones were in place for thousands of years. Amazing don’t you think.

We returned to Morelia and tomorrow we go to Mexico City, to party over the weekend with our friend David. Fiesta Mexicana … Aiaiaiaaiai!!

We just left the hotel at night to walk around the city … WOW! After visiting many colonial cities San Miguel still managed to impress us. The small town was pure charm at night, churches beautifully illuminated, stylish restaurants, lively piazzas and the lovely mariachis singing.

The next day we finally visited the city during the day. Yes, it is really pretty, but at night is even better. We walked through every alley and climbed to the viewpoint to enjoy the beautiful view. A pleasant and relaxing day.

The next day we woke up late and went to visit the botanical garden, specialized in Mexican plants with various types of cactus, since Mexico has the largest variety of cactus in the world. It had cactus from every form, color, size, texture … Definitely these plants are really cool.

We left San Miguel to Guanajuato, which is also a famous colonial city, but with a very different style. The city lies in a valley, its buildings are high in narrow streets and you’re always walking with head up to admire the city, and the city is spread through the rise of the valley and going up and down in the hills is normal.
From our guesthouse, which was on a rise, of course, we had a beautiful view of the old center.

We enjoyed the sunny day and took the furnicular to see the view of the city from the mirador, again very beautiful.

In cultural terms Guanajuato has a lot more to offer, 3 theaters, many museums and an intense calendar of cultural activities, as this is an important university town. The Juarez Theater, which lies on the main square, is the most impressive and we visited its interior. A beautiful concert hall decorated in every detail.

We also visited the museum of fine arts from the University of Guanajuato, the house where Diego Riviera was born, the famous painter and husband of Frida Kahlo, and an old Hacienda with beautiful gardens.

We finished the day visiting the impressive museum Momias where is exposed a bizarre collection of mummified bodies that were exhumed after six years in the local the cemetery. The bodies were well conserved due to humidity and minerals found in the earth there, just a natural process without any use of chemicals for mummification. Bizarre but interesting!

We did a night tour to admire the beautiful city illuminated and once again we took the furnicular to see the view from the mirador at night. Too beautiful!

We finished the night watching the Callejoneadas, where students dressed in 17th-century Spanish costumes play and sing traditional songs through the small streets of town and everyone follows. A tradition of Guanajuato.

It was precisely during our passage in Mexico that erupted in Brazil the demonstrations against corruption, injustice and criminal activities of our government. We are following everything on the internet, feeling a little sad to not be there to participate, but cheering wholeheartedly for this reaction of our people to bring a better future to Brazil. Brazil wake up, is now or never!

Like the pyramids of Egypt, the pyramids of Teotihuacán have been built over the position of stars. This is the most touristic place around Mexico City, but we were lucky that day, there were only very few tourists.
We could also see some paintings and sculptures still preserved and some reconstructed buildings.

After a little picnic, we climbed the Pyramid of the Moon, smaller but with the best view of the site. We loved that place.

Then we returned to Mexico City, we did a stop to visit the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadeloupe, where a holy black woman would have appeared several times in 1531, then few hundred years later, she was declared the Holy Empress of Latin America. Since the basilica every December 12th is an important site for faithful pilgrimage.

Then we climbed up the hill behind the church, where there is a beautiful garden and we had a beautiful view of the city.

To end the day we went to join Etienne, our French friend we had known in Cuba. Together we went to see a fight ” Lucha Libre”, it is a kind of Mexican version of Amercian Catch fighting.

The next day, we met Etienne again and went to visit the monument of the revolution, to enjoy the view from the top and to know a bit more of the history at the museum, where appeared the famous Pancho Villa and Emilliano Zapata.

We went to have lunch where there was a TV playing the football soccer game: Brazil-Mexico, and Brazil won again, yeaaah!

After that, we went to the Museum of Anthropology where we saw all the arts and stories of ancient civilizations of Mexico. One of the finest museum in the world, very well organized, with perfect lighting, we appreciated the visit very much.

Our last day in the city, we went to the district of Xochimilco to do a traditional boat tour. A pleasant and famous place, known for its lively place on sunny weekends, bad luck it was a weekday and it was not pleasant at all, the place was empty and kind of sad… So we decided to leave after taking a few pictures.

We went to the museum of Frida Kahlo, a famous Mexican artist, but unfortunately the place was in renovation, so one more time we left and went under the rain to Jardin Centenario to visit this alternative district.

In the evening, our Mexican friend David took us to the restaurant … Hmmmm… a small tasty restaurant, where even Bill Clinton and the King of Spain had dinner. As David knew the boss, we did enjoy several products that were not even on the menu, delicious! We finished the night having a Mojito at a cool bar and then good night.

In the afternoon we went for a walk on the craft market “Bazar Sábado”. Then we decided to watch the football match Brazil-Japan while having lunch at a Brazilian Churrascaria, Brazil won 3-0.

We went to bed early because the previous night we had a sleepless night due to the time of our flight leaving to the airport at 2am. Probably as a welcome in Mexico city, that night there was an earthquake, as it is very common in Mexico, but we were so exhausted that we didn’t feel anything at all…

The next morning we visited the old town, feeling headache from the altitude as we went straight from 0 to + 2000 m. We started with the Museum of Fine Arts, post office, the National Art Museum, all very beautiful buildings.

We stopped to have some delicious Mexican food and then arrived at the main square, where we could see the cathedral, a huge Mexican flag in the middle, the National Palace, where the president works and we could not see because of the manifestation, and also the Mayor Temple, the ruins of an Aztec temple.

Local dressed in Aztec, make dance representations from the old time, others practice a kind of religious blessings on people with smoke.

We visited the museum of photography, where we could see old photos of the city since the ’30s. Then we went to Plaza Garibaldi where groups of traditional Mariachi music play like jukebox, where people can choose a song when they pay for it. Their clothes are beautiful and they play really well. They also wait on the side of the street to stop cars for the duration of a song or two.

On this square we went to visit the Museum of Tequila and Mezcal, the two most traditional spirits of Mexico, and it also had information about the Mariachi history.

We had dinner at the market San Camilito at the square and then we went to Bellas Arts Palace to see traditional dance show “Ballet Folclórico de México”. It is a spectacle of 2h with a mixture of ballet, cabaret, carnival, contemporary dance, many traditional dances from all around Mexico but also with very good musicians playing live. The costumes representing each different region of Mexico were amazingly beautiful. Unquestionably the most beautiful dance show we have seen during our trip.

It was a long and tiring but very good day. But the next day we decide to do nothing and rest a bit to recover the energy. We got up late and left home just for lunch and to watch a movie. Traveling for so long we need some time to rest and make things as normal life.

This time we took the tourist bus and went to visit the square of the revolution, which has the famous big piece of art with the face of Che Guevara and Camillo Cienfuegos, the greatest heroes of the revolution.

Traveling in Cuba is a unique and amazing experience and definitely Havana is our favorite place. It is there where we can see the strong roots of the communist system but also his failures. It’s a completely anti-capitalist system who make you feel like anywhere else.

It’s funny to walk the big streets without seeing any advertising anywhere, not once in the country! The only thing we can see it’s big propagandas made by the government, slogans about revolution and socialism spread everywhere around the country, many with images of Che, Fidel or Camillo.

In Havana Vieja you will see some international stores for tourists but in other neighborhoods you can walk blocks and blocks without seeing any store, and when you found one, it is very strange, no decoration, few options of products, in a same store you can buy shoes, clothes, food, beauty products and stationery.
Cuban artists are extremely encouraged and privileged and may have a better quality of life. With so much focus for music, art and sports you can see talented artists everywhere. In our capitalist society if a teenager says his father: “Dad, I want to become a musician,” the parents will say, “Music is something bum, you have to study something real to have a good career my son.” In Cuba a father would never say that and in fact children can already choose to study music from secondary school. It’s another world.

It is interesting to try to understand a system where everyone, no matter the profession, earn between 15 to 25 dollars a month. This is something hard to believe but every Cuban in their own way are trying to make extra money and it is common to see many business in the garage at the people’s house, like a small fast food, selling fruit or other products or even a restaurant. There’s always a black market for everything.

People are very poor but we never saw a beggar asking for money or any person living on the street, it seems that it doesn’t exist in Cuba.
Like every good socialist country, education and health care is a right for all and there it really works. It is the only third world country on the planet with 100% of the population literate. People have no economic power but everyone is well educated and no matter with whom you interact in the street you will always be able to talk about everything. They are aware of the world of politics, history… But after so many years of military controls where freedom of expression does not exist, the population is afraid to express it selves on some issues, like about being against politic ideas of the country for example, people may even be arrested for it.

It’s hard to explain everything briefly, but Cuba is definitely worth a visit, and if you want to still feel all this, go there soon, before things change. In all that time travelling we never had visited a country with a social culture so unique. A system that had good intentions to guarantee the basic needs for all but had many flaws to ensure his self-economic-sustainability and ended up falling to the side of oppression to keep their cause in difficult economic times.

To end the trip in the middle of the night, we got a nice surprise when a friend of Eva arrived in a convertible Chevrolet Impala from the 60’s in perfect condition to give us a ride to the airport. This is just one of the last 5 still existing in Cuba, it was great! Happy ending!

We booked in a 5 star resort hotel, it was luxury! We had everything we never or very rarely get traveling on our budget, like: huge bed, free mini bar, shower pressure and hot water, air conditioning, private terrace, and as they were warned that we were on our honeymoon, when we arrived we had a bottle of champagne waiting for us in the room, aaaaaah thank you all again for this beautiful wedding present!

The hotel is huge, there are two large swimming pools, a gym, four thematic restaurants, two buffet restaurants, a snack bar 24h, a pizzeria, a bowling, a night club, a spa, three bars on the beach, a theater, a games room etc… And everything is included in the price! Even alcohol! Once in the hotel we didn’t have to worry or spend anything, this is really feels like holidays and to be honest with you, we exaggerated a little too much with everything…

Then we went to the beach a few meters from our room and… Whouuaaaaa! This beach has won the trophy of the most beautiful beach we’ve seen on our travels around the world. An incredible blue water, it looks like it is no even real because it is so transparent.

One day we did a little mini-catamaran tour, we saw a sting ray, easy to detect in water like this.

As we were on our honeymoon, the hotel also invited us to have dinner in a different theme restaurant for each night, Oriental, Italian and French restaurants; we also had a breakfast in bed, and a VIP invitation to a cocktail, super chic! Well, we didn’t look that chic because we had no fancy evening clothes in our backpacks… :)

The spa is the only service of the resort not included in the price… So as a wedding gift we went to have a relaxing massage session, followed by a sauna and Jacuzzi. Very nice!

Here on the island we saw the most beautiful lizard we’ve ever seen, a real rainbow with legs!

Apart from having eaten a lot and drank a lot, Alexis did some work out at the gym, Carol went to the gym-water class, we did also a bit of sunbathing and lots of love… Oh! We participated in a contest in the swimming pool which was to stay as long as possible sitting on a beer cylinder in the water, nobody did succeed has remained more than 3 seconds above, Alexis stayed on it for 25 seconds so convinced he was the uncontested winner… But Carol his super competitive wife stayed on it 30 seconds! And she won a bottle of rum.

Last day, we went for one last swim and say goodbye to the dream beach. This time we were very lucky the weather was perfect the whole time, a really perfect and romantic honey moon.

But this time we decided to follow the sun forecast and we went to Trinidad. A small, extremely charming and well preserved colonial town, Unesco heritage, and very different from what we had seen in the capital, with cobblestone streets and colorful houses with big wooden interiors and classic furniture. A town located in between the mountains and the blue ocean.

Once more we stayed in a private house with a very friendly couple. Joselin cooked delicious dinners for us that were served in the terrace with a view to the mountains and the sea.

Stroll through the little streets of the old center was just superb, with all the restaurants, galleries, cafes and museums and we even felt like our trip had a soundtrack with talented musicians everywhere in the streets, bars and restaurants bringing beautiful music to our ears.

We met again the French guy Etienne that we had met in Havana and we did together the trip to Valle de Los Ingenios, the sugar region, in an old wooden steam train, admiring the marvelous mountains on our way till we got to an old colonial mansion.

The next day we went by bicycle to the famous beach called Playa Ancon, strolling around 30 km under a killing sun! As a lot of people don’t have a car in Cuba it is common to see the locals going to the beach by horse, with a radio playing modern songs. A funny mix of country side and the city.

The schedule for the night was to watch the group performances in the famous Casa de la Música, always offering good music shows and a good opportunity to dance salsa, and of course Carol didn’t miss that.

One night, after Casa de la Música we went to the famous night club called La Cueva, settled inside a real cave full of stalagmites and stalactites. You dance with the sound of reaggetone and once in a while a drop from the stalagmite reaches your face. Ahahaha… The place was super cool and it was a lot of fun.

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We stayed 5 days in Vedado’s neighborhood, hosted by Eva a nice Spanish woman and her Cuban family.

The first day we went to visit the neighborhood of Vedado walking under the rain, a neighborhood which before the revolution was rich full of big and beautiful colonials houses, today became a popular neighborhood of Havana just like the others.

The next days we were still waiting for the sun but it never came, we went to lose ourselves in the streets of the center and of Havana Vieja. We went to see a show of Rumba in the street, it’s a mix of Africans lyrics and Spanish beats. Alexis got crazy taking a thousand of photos of the wonderful old cars.

Havana Vieja is the old neighborhood of the city where are the most important buildings of the government, there is a lot of charming bars, restaurants, many times with a band playing Cuban music live for tourists, also a lot of galleries and museums. Cuba is a country that gives a lot of importance to culture, education, sport and heath.

One night, we went to the theater to see a show of a contemporary dance then we went out clubbing until late with Mildrey and Yaima 2 Cuban’s girls.

Alexis had his beard cut at the barber shop and then we went to the handicraft market, Cuba is full of very good artists, it was almost like going to an art gallery

We climbed up to the top of the Bacardi’s building to see the old center from the highs and from there we can understand better why half of the city under restoration.

The rain had stopped for a while, so we took the opportunity to go for a walk at the Malecon at the ocean front and we went to visit the historical Hotel Nacional where since a century famous Artists and important people from all other the world have stayed.

For our last day in Havana, we went to visit a fabric of cigars where there are all handmade, it’s impressive to see them do it. Then we went to see an international champion chip of boxe, the Brazilian lost his fight against the Cuban, Carol got a little disappointed. Cuba is one of the best in the world in that discipline.

5 days in a row under the rain, we are very unlucky because it is something quite rare in Cuba. We are going to Viñales in the region of tobacco in the west part of the island hoping the weather is going to get better.

Playa is a party town by the sea and reminded us of Miami beach. It has crystalline waters too but not as pretty as the waters in Tulum. But you can enjoy and relax there and Carol ventured herself on a slackline.

With a big curiosity to see the famous tourist spot of Cancun we decided to make a day-trip by bus, which took only an hour. We had a blooming onion at Outback (after a long time missing it) and spent the day visiting some beaches, which are dominated by massive and noisy resorts, looking more like the Disneyland of the beaches.
The color of the water is really impressive, but if you’re looking for relaxation this is definitely not the best destination. But it is worth at least a quick visit just to check with your own eyes.

Well, if Playa del Carmen is a party place of course we ended up partying! We left with a group from our Hostel and all girls had free drinks all night. Woohoo… The night ended for us at 9 am and it will be remembered forever! Alexis drank a lot and he took 3 days to recover from the hangover. Yeah, we’re really getting old. Ahaha…

After a day dying from hangover we continued with Sara and Adrian (another Swiss) to the remote island of Holbox. Our main goal there was to swim with the giant whale sharks, but for our bad luck the port closed for two days because of bad weather right on the day of our tour. Well, at least we enjoyed our charming hostel and made a delicious vegetarian dinner with Sara and Adrian.

From there we should go to Merida, but we ended up finding a cheap flight to Cuba from Cancun so we decided to go back there with the Swiss. Not feeling very attracted by Cancun we took the ferry on the same day and went to Isla Mujeres, an island also famous for its crystal clear waters. And we got there just in time for a beautiful sunset.

Surprise, surprise … When we settled on the island we found out that they were doing the tour for the whale shark. Yeahhhh …! Of course we couldn’t miss the opportunity and this was certainly one of the most amazing experiences of the trip and of our lives. The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, measuring 9-12 m and weighing about 13 tons!! Seeing these gigantic creatures swimming with pure lightness was awesome!
Carol vomited 4 times because the sea was very rough, but she said it was the happiest vomit of her life. It was worth it!

Also we were lucky to see the manta rays, some giants of 3 meters and other babies. They often swim together and it looks like a ballet under the water. Sensational!

Watch our video swimming with these amazing animals:

In Isla Mujeres we arranged our flight to Cuba and also found a cheap flight to Europe for July and we are super excited. Now Cuba for 15 days without internet and then return to Mexico to continue visiting this wonderful country!

Tulum is the place that we settle for 5 days. Tulum is a small Seaside town at 2 hours south of Cancun. Its beaches are beautiful with white sand and crystal blue perfect waters. We spend our first day at the beach.

We once again met Alice and Kate in our hostel and also Sara a Swiss girl that we have meet in the south of Colombia, and we have meet again in 5 different countries, backpackers always keep meeting each other’s on the road. We went with Adam an American and Celi an Australian all together to spend the day at the beach in Akumal, 30min from Tulum to snorkel with many green turtles and stingrays.

After that, we went to Cenote Cristalino. A cenote is a deep natural sinkhole, characteristic of Mexico that exposes groundwater, many times they are like caves and other times they are open. There are more than 6.000 of them in this region. Once under water it is another world, we loved it!

Watch the video of snorkeling at the Cenote:

The evening Alexis did a gig in the common area of our Hostel, the people enjoyed it and the owner offered him one night for free at the hostel.

As we loved the Cenote, we decide to visit another one the next day, this time a larger one, The Cenote Dos Ojos, we went there with a guide it is prohibited without one as we enter a cave. The water is cool but the place is amazing! It is in a blue and pure water that we visit the cave with many stalactites and stalagmites.

We stayed one more day to visit the famous Mayan ruins of Tulum. Visible from the beach of Tulum, this is not the most impressive ruins, but the most beautiful location for sure. The temples overlooking a cliff and behind the beautiful waters of the Caribbean sea.

Unfortunately, we got there at 10 in the morning, and even though we are in low season, it was that time with too many organized bus tours coming from Cancun… horrible! We felt like we were at Disney World. Annoyed by the mass tourism, we left the place pretty quick and spent the rest of the morning on the beach.

In the evening Carol had a Salsa class in our hostel. She had fun!

After only five days in Mexico, we are already delighted by what we have seen, done and eaten. The beaches here are the best we’ve seen in the world so far. We’re continuing our journey to the north of the peninsula.

Caye Caulker has the real Caribbean style with sandy streets, charming colorful wooden houses, coconut trees everywhere and a jaw-dropping blue water.

There are no cars there, only bicycles and electric golf carts, even the taxis are like this.

But this island has no beaches like the other ones, but it is still possible to swim from several points and the most famous one was on the northern tip, which has a sandy entrance to the water (which they call “the beach”), a popular bar that plays reggae all day selling drinks and where is the best spot to watch the sunset. A cool and relaxing vibe!

On our first night on the island we met Alice and Kate again (the 2 grisl we met at Hopkins) and of course the night ended in party. Alexis was pretty drunk, we danced all night long and the next day we were wasted and we left the room in the middle of the afternoon only. Yeah, we’re getting old. Ahahaha…

One day Carol did the famous snorkeling trip to Hol Chan Channel, Shark Ray Alley and Coral Garden, in the world’s second largest reef barrier, after Australia, which is right next to the island. It was just amazing! She swam with several sharks, stingrays, huge fishes and the green sea turtle, she saw the green moray eel swimming (which is very rare), fishes of all colors and sizes (some huge) and corals of all shapes and colors. The visibility and the water color was perfect and it was the best snorkeling she made in her life!

Watch the incredible video of Carol swimming with sharks, rays and fishes:

Alexis played guitar on a bar where an open-mic was going on and it was a great success! Again. Alexis delighting people with his music worldwide.

Then we spent a day relaxing and enjoying the wonderful visual of the island before starting our long journey to our first so awaited stop in Mexico! Aiaiaiaai!

We first went to Hopkins, a Garifuna village of 1800 inhabitants on the cost of the Caribbean Sea. Relaxing atmosphere, sun and beach, there are many Rastafarians, everyone is friendly with tourists here.

We met 2 girls Alice and Kate, an English and an American on vacation after doing volunteer work in the country. We went out dancing and partying with them in a bar on the beach front and we went for a midnight swim, everyone naked in a sea at 28 degrees, probably the warmest sea that we’ve seen.
Yet another day on the beach before leaving Hopkins to take a boat to the island of Tobbaco Caye.

As it was Sunday the bus did not come to Hopkins, so we had to make a part of the way hitchhiking.

The sea was rough and it took us an 1h instead of 30min to reach the island, the waves made us jumped out of our seats, and the guitar of Alexis broke…
Once on the island we discovered a true piece of paradise… Wouha! A tiny island with only a few bungalows, in 10min we could walk around the entire island.

We were lucky it’s low season so we managed to have a bungalow stilts over the sea, and from the terrace of our room we could see the big rays passing. Looks like heaven!

We went snorkeling in the morning and it was as beautiful underwater as on the island.

Then we rented a canoe for a ride, the currents were very strong, Alexis has thought we would never return to the island…

We really loved Tobacco Caye, a piece of paradise to get to know.

We arrived in Rio Dulce alive and took a boat to our hotel, which was right in the middle of Lake Izabal. A hotel built above a swamp with their huts scattered throughout the jungle and just to go to the toilets at night it was already a walking tour. Hammocks and sofas were scattered around the common area to ensure guests’ relaxation.

The hotel was right in front of Tatin River and throughout the day we could relax on the deck and swing to jump into the water. Of course Carol loved this and even Alexis amused himself. The water was super warm and delicious, perfect temperature!

From there we did a walk for a Mayan village nearby and a cave known as the Tiger Cave, where we could cool off in the river.

On our last day we went kayaking to Livingstone for two hours and got there almost dying of pain in the arms. But it was worth it for the beautiful path by the river, with amazing scenery. We wonder around the city and Alexis did a percussion lesson with Garifuna the people, Rasta from the region. He had fun with all different drums and then we got back to our hotel, not by kayak, this time by boat. Hehehe…

From Rio Dulce we took a public bus to Flores, which should have nearly 3 times more people than the capacity allowed. We felt like a canned product. 4 hours suffering in the heat. But once again we arrived alive.

Flores is an island in the Lake Petén Itzá that is easy to reach by the bridge. It is a small, quiet and colorful city and everybody go there to visit the famous Mayan ruins of Tikal. On the first day we swam in the lake, also with perfect temperature.

The next day we visited the ruins. We did the sunset tour with just two other people and our guide and we were impressed that there was nobody there, which made the experience even better. Pure tranquility and only the sounds of nature, as the ruins are scattered in the jungle.

We saw spider monkeys, toucans, parrots, peacocks, coatis and many other birds. To listen to the monkeys screaming like crazy was super cool.

To see the entire site is over 10 km walking, but you can get an idea by visiting the main structures, Mayan pyramids in the same style of the famous pyramids of Mexico.

We spent our last day in Guatemala resting at the hotel and getting ready for our next country, Belize.

But we survived till Semuc Champey, but it was already too late to have any evaluation of the place. The next day we did the tour and even with the day ranging between good and bad weather, wow… We were impressed with the beauty of the place. A unique formation of rocks caused by years of erosion with emerald water and a river that passes under the earth forming really strong waterfalls, all settled in the middle of a canyon of pure green nature which makes the place magical.

After seeing the beautiful view from the lookout we went swimming in the beautiful natural pools where the fishes come to eat the dead skin of our feet, free massage.

Then we did the tour in the K’anba cave, which was so cool. We spent one hour walking through the water path in total darkness with candle lights in our hands and in some places we had to swim, go up a waterfall with a rope or take stairs. A small and fun adventure.

We ended the day tubing on the river. But it was nothing too exciting, just relaxing.

We spent the night at our hotel right in the middle of that beautiful nature in an open cabin from where we could hear all sounds of nature.

The next day we set off for another shuttle, this time to Rio Dulce. All the transportation we did to get here was really worth it.

San Marcos is a bit like the haunt of hippies who come to Guatemala, spiritual and in harmony with nature, a lot of green and very small. People come here for yoga classes, massage, metaphysical, meditations ect… Most of the travelers stay here for a few months or even years, some are never even left…

We felt very good, everyone is friendly, everyone invit everyone, everybody give hugs to each other, a peaceful place we’d like to find more on our way. The first day we met already many people. The view from the bay of the lake with the volcanoes and the sounds of nature is really relaxing.

Sunday, we went to Chichicastenango market 2h drive from there. One of the most beautiful market we visited around the world. Beautiful for the beauty and quality of its local produces and crafts, but also for the beauty of its people. Here is the only place where we saw young people, children and even men still dressed in the traditional clothes of the region, while in Asia, Peru or Bolivia, only old women are still trying to preserve their traditions. We loved it!

Back to San Marcos, in the evening Alexis played in the French bakery with several other musicians. It was a very nice evening and everybody loved his music.

Rainy day, we take a water taxi to visit the village of San Pedro more touristy and more concrete city, but with beautiful paintings in the city’s walls.

Last day, Carol went swimming in the lake, we updated our website and later in the afternoon Carol had a Zumba class, an African dance with Jasmine a Californian girl owning the bakery with her boyfriend Jammy from England. On our last night we went celebrate in a house at the lake side with the beautiful people we have known here…

Then we went straight after that to Antigua, a colonial city at 90min driving from Guatemala City. Just like the cities we visited in Nicaragua, Antigua is very colorful, lively, full of romantic and charming restaurants.

After an earthquake in 1773, the city which was the capital of the country at that time, was almost completely destroyed and rebuilt in 1776 at the actual Guatemala City. We can see several churches in ruines across the city, protected by UNESCO . We could see a lot of women from the surrounding villages with their traditional clothes, selling clothes to tourists.

Antigua is surrounded by three volcanoes, during sunny days with blue sky it gives another dimension to streets of the city.

The morning we were having breakfast in the pleasant garden of our hostel, and we were going to get lost in the beautiful streets, craft markets, art galleries and cafes and have tasted the Guatemalan cuisine.

One sunny morning we climbed the hill of Cerro de la Cruz to enjoy the view of the city from the heights.

One evening Alexis went to play in a coffe-restaurant with Argentines and Italians that we met earlier in the afternoon.

We stayed one more day than expected because Alexis was not feeling well, stomach pain, fatigue ect … Then he went for a blood test and 3h30 later we had the results (efficient Guatemala!). He had parasites…

Our first impression of Gracias was not so good, maybe because we were very tired, but when we toured the small town the next day we just love! The city was full of energy with the locals moving from one side to the other in a cowboy style from Honduras countryside.

It seemed that everything stopped on time. There is a main square where everybody gets together every night to relax and enjoy their time, very countryside styling.

The city is so called because when the Spanish conquers arrived they were seeking a flat area to build the capital of Central America and when they got there they said: “Gracias a Dios we found it!” … And so was the name of the city.
While we were there we simply didn’t find any tourist. It felt like we were the only ones there. Feeling quite rare in today’s world where everybody has access to everything.

But without much to do there we decided to move forward and we went to the famous town of Copán Ruinas, perhaps the most visited place by tourists from all over the country. A pretty small town too and more developed for tourism, with many dining options.

The next day we visited the main attraction of the place, the Mayan ruins. We didn’t know exactly what to expect but the place exceeded all our expectations, because the harmony between the ruins and the nature turns everything into a magical experience. It even reminded us a bit Angkor in Cambodia, where the giant trees grew between the stones of the ruins.

The valley was habited for the first time over two millennia ago, and its sculptures carved in stone worth appreciation. Not to mention the wonderful scarlet macaws that lives there, making it even more special.

In addition the park is very well maintained and with images that reproduce how everything should look like at that time. Everything is well done and makes you dream about it. We just loved it!

The next day we spent a few hours relaxing in the hot springs with its source at 82 degrees. It was not so easy to get there and we had to hitchhike with the fish seller, sitting all the way by the side of the water tank and every time he was breaking the car we had splashes of fish water on us. Ahahaha … Total adventure!

But it was worth it, the place was amazing, with thermal pools scattered and well harmonized with the forest. Perhaps the most beautiful thermal baths we saw so far. Even better, there was just the two of us there!

But our time here is over. Although we were very attempted by the idyllic Caribbean islands of Honduras it is time to speed up or we’ll never get to Mexico. So, Guatemala here we come.

They live in a quiet and safe area of San Salvador, the capital of the country. From their roof we had a nice view of the volcano and the city. We were super happy to see them again.

The next day we went to spend the weekend at the beach, less than an hour away. It is on the surfer beach of El Tunco that we took a room in a dormitory Hostel with swimming pool.

The evening Alexis played guitar on the beach accompanied by some rum coke. Then we ended the night in a club on the beachfront where a salsa band was playing live.
Sunday, we also spent the afternoon on the beach.

We returned to San Salvador to spend 2 more days to rest. One afternoon we went to the center of the city to discover the few interesting buildings.

Then for our last evening with Lucía and Katharina, we cooked them a hachi-parmentier (French dish) to say thank you and goodbye.

Our visit in El Salvador was quick but very nice, thank you very much girls for having us. We loved it!

We spent the day getting lost in the streets of the city, nights are tough here, the heat was such that it feels like hell…

After 2 days in Granada, we took a public bus to get to Leon. A city much bigger and much less interesting than Granada, but with some beautiful churches and some pretty colorful houses.

Anyway, the purpose of our visit here is to try Volcano Boarding! A wooden board developed for this special and unique sport, on a active volcano, the Cerro Negro. Volcano Boarding was invented in Leon about ten years ago and it is the only place in the world where it is possible to practice this crazy sport.
After 45min truck through the countryside and 1 hour walk to reach the top of the volcano, we could enjoy some beautiful views of this volcanic region.

Let’s go for less than 2min of crazy sliding down!

Alexis did 42km/h and Carol 39km/h, it seems slow, but believe us, lying on a board to the ground, the sensation of speed is impressive! The record of the day was 70km/h, held by an American girl, but the record to beat was 90 km/h!
This is our last day in Nicaragua, we enjoyed our last afternoon at the swimming pool of our quiet hostel. We definitely loved this country.

Four years ago Carol and Anna were sitting at a bar table discussing their audacious plans to quit everything to travel the world. Who could ever imagine that we would now meet in the middle of our adventures? We backpacking the world and them travelling with their beloved Fiona (the pickup) throughout the Americas.

Thanks for the terrific encounter, good conversations, good ideas, projects… And for the almost revival of the “relentagem”! heheheh

A special thanks to Fiona for taking 9 people to enjoy the night in town and for the ride to the beautiful Playa Hermosa.

A big kiss for you guys and maybe we meet again on the road. This world is always full of surprises! :-)

To follow the inspiring journey check http://www.1000dias.com/.

We went with him in this ecological farm / camping / hostel. A place on the hill of the volcano Maderas, very rustic, very hippie and in harmony with nature. Outdoor shower, one night we even found a snake in our bedroom.

Early the next morning Carol went to this free yoga class, and from 9am to 1pm, we helped the staff at some home made production like Jamaica flower syrup, packing homemade chocolate, labeling bottles of mosquito repellant ect…

Then we went for a walk on the beach of the lake to cool us a bit.

Very early the next morning, Carol had a bakery class! Yes normally cooking classes are for Alexis, but this time Carol wanted to get her hands on the dough. She learned to make bread, cookies and brownies, yum!

In the afternoon, we rented bikes and we went to swim in a pool of natural waters of the volcano, a relaxing place in the middle of the nature. On the road we saw monkeys everywhere.

At night, we had pizza night at the farm, the owners are Italians hippies, it was delicious. We met Lucia a Spanish girl and Katharina a German girl on holidays, both living in El Salvador.
The following morning we woke up early to climb the volcano Maderas, accompanied by John and Tania a German who lives in Costa Rica. It took us 4 hours to reach the crater, climbing on a muddy road in the middle of a jungle peeled with some pretty views of the other volcano on the island.

When we arrived in the crater, we discovered a lake, a beautiful place hard to access. We had a picnic and off again, 3 hours later the trek is finally over.

We were tired, this is our last night so we celebrated with all these sympatic people we met. We feel so good in this ecological farm that we would easily stay here for one or two weeks more…
The next morning we shared a taxi with John, Lucia, Katharina and Tania to go to the port to take the ferry.

We left for Granada and them in the direction of San Juan del Sur on the Pacific coast… After reflection on the boat, we changed our mind, we decided to join them. We arrived on the beach of surfers of Maderas where we spent the afternoon.

Then we went all together to get a dorm room in a hostel outside of San Juan Del Sur, with pool, beautiful view of the city and Buzz, a monkey spider, the mascot of the hostel!

The next day Rodrigo and Ana a Brazilian couple friend of our, came to join us. They are already on the road for over 3 years! Their goal, knowing all the American countries onboard of Fiona their car travel, check out their website:http://www.1000dias.com/. (in Portuguese). It had been a while since we talked about meeting on the road.

The next day we set off to spend the day on the beautiful private beach of Hermosas where we did bodyboard. It was a lot of fun!!

Last night, time to say good bye unfortunately arrived. One thing is sure, we made the right choice changing our plan to join them, it was just wonderful times we had with you guys that we won’t forget any soon!

We stayed with them for 3 days. Program: beach, frisbee, caipirinhas, home made hamburger’s night and home made sushi’s night! Pretty cool!

After that, we said goodbye and we headed north to go to Monteverde. A small town, very touristy too, lost in the mountains, about 20 kilometers of a dirt road to get access to this cloud forest.
In Monteverde thereis a multitude of things to do. Rafting, Zip-Lines, nightlife tours in the jungle, horseback riding, trekking, museums of chocolate, sugar cane, coffee, ect …
We decided to visit the butterfly garden is a center where you can see a lots of species of butterflies of Costa Rica and where they reproduced them, they also have many impressive insects, the guided tour was very informative, we liked it very much.

In the evening we went for a night hike in the forest. With torch lights, we saw a sloth in a tree at only few meters from the ground, a green toucan, a scorpion, a big spider, a coati and some insects. Unfortunately, it was not easy to take good pictures at night without camera equipment adequate.

The next day we went for a 3h hike in National Park of Nuboso Bosque de Monteverde. We could see some hummingbirds and other birds, lush jungle with good view points.

Then we waited for the end of the afternoon to visit a frog farm, the best time to see them active, the nocturnal ones go to bed and the others wake up. In all the different parks and reserves we visited in Costa Rica, we have not managed to see a single frog in the nature, they hide very well and their camouflage is perfect. We did 1h guided tour, we were happy with this visit, but again not easy to take good photos.

Our last destination in Costa Rica is La Fortuna, a city built at the foot of the impressive Arenal Volcano, our guide-book says it was active, but unfortunately, it’s been 2 years that he is not anymore, so no more lava and no more smoke… But anyway, we had a room with view of the volcano.

After 2 days of endless rain, we decided to wait until the next day to go for a ride to get a little closer from the volcano. We did a 7h tour, it was worth to wait for a sunny day, we visited the Arenal Volcano Park with a guide, we saw some coatis, they are so cute!

Then we had a walk through the park to reach a waterfall and some view points, until sunset.

Then we stoped at the natural hot river, very shallow and with a temperature around 33 degrees, hmmm … Nothing better to end the day.

Hugs and kisses. See you in France or around the world.

We also loved to meet Gu’s parents, Fabio and Salette. Super friendly and a lot of good talk. Thanks for the great company.

Thank you all and a big kiss. See you soon around the world!

We stayed in their home for 5 days, 5 days of relaxation, good food, wine, long conversations, rest, swimming-pool and sun in their beautiful home!
it’s really nice to meet friends in the middle of the trip. Gustavo’s parents were also there to enjoy the arrival of the baby.

We also met Mariano and Mariana our friends from Costa Rica, we met them when we were living in Switzerland, we went to have lunch together and we could get to know their baby Tomás.

We also went to the mall, it’s a bit like during these 5 days the travel had stopped and we were back to normal life, it changes and it feels good.

Then we left to the Caribbean coast to go to the famous Tortuguero National Park. Tortuguero means the house of the turtles, because 4 of the 6 species of sea turtles come to lay their eggs on these beaches. Unfortunately we were not there for the breeding season is in July and August so we saw no turtles. After 3 hours of bus and 1:30 of boat through the jungle we arrived at Tortuguero. A pretty touristic village without cars caught between the sea and the river.

Not really possible to swim, there are strong currents and sharks in the sea and huge crocodiles in the river.

We took a very nice and cheap room facing the sea. The next morning we woke up at 5am with a great sunrise on the beach, to go to a boat ride with a natural guide through the river of the park. We saw caimans, monkeys, kingfishers, toucans and many other species of birds, snakes and a beautiful green lizard Jesus Christ.

In the afternoon we visited the park on foot through the jungle along the beach. We were not very lucky, we have mostly seen insects, but the ride was still enjoyable.

When we crossed the border we met a Dutch girl, Leoni, and we ended up sharing a room with her and touring the region together.

We spent the late afternoon at Playa Negra, which is so named because of its black sand. It was really black and we had never seen a beach like this.

The look of Costa Rica’s beaches is not like the image we have of the Caribbean, because the water is darker and the sands usually aren’t white. But the beaches have a wild look with all the green behind that makes it very interesting too.

One day we did a bike ride to the city of Manzanillo and on the way we saw monkeys, butterflies, spiders’ empires and other insects. We tried snorkeling but the water was very muddy because of the rain.

Two days later we went to Cahuita, a small town on the coast famous for its National Park.

We did a 5 hours walk. On the way we had no guide and didn’t see much, except for the blue crabs and cappuccino monkeys, but on the way back a park ranger came with us and we could see everything.

Wow, you must have a good eye to identify all the animals in all that green. We saw squirrels, colorful butterflies, hermits, spiders, raccoons, sloths, a yellow poisonous snake, a snake that looks like a brown twig, toucans, iguanas, the brown Jesus Christ lizard and even a small alligator. A guide makes the whole difference.

The next day we went to visit the sloths sanctuary, which rescues life-threatening animals. That was the only way to see them from close, because in the nature they are usually very high in the trees and even a pair of binoculars wouldn’t satisfy you. Visiting the sanctuary was really cool, we learned more about them and Carol even got a chance to cuddle one of them. They are super cute and we loved!

Everything was going well, until Carol was attacked by bed bugs on the bus to Bocas. For the fourth time she was attacked and Mr. Alexis was untouched. So unfare!

Bocas is a group of islands on the Caribbean cost, a mix of blue waters and jungle. We found the islands of San Blas more impressive, yet the beaches of Bocas were also very beautiful, because they are wild beaches with lots of green.

We did a boat trip to see dolphins, to go snorkeling and spending time on the island of Cayo Zapatillas.

One hour was enough to walked around the island and we swam into the stunning blue waters. The weather in this region is horrible because it rains a lot, but we got lucky to catch the sun just when we were on the island.

After a lot of rain, we had a sunny Saturday afternoon so we went to visit another beach called Red Frog beach.

It is named like this because in the midst of their jungle you can find red frogs with black spots. We tried to find them but it is very difficult. But luckily a local who lived there catch one to show us and we understood why it was that difficult, they are so tiny! But very cute too.

And after another day of heavy rain we enjoyed to rest a little, we were ready to continue our journey and cross the border. Bye bye Panama, Costa Rica here we go!

Almost all the islands are inhabited by the indigenous from the Kuna Yala tribes. They own the islands, everything is controlled by themselves.

One evening we were had delicious lobsters for dinner just fished then a campfire on an island, accompanied by Alexis on the guitar, the evening ended partying on the boat.

Another night we had fish barbecue, hmmm … Unfortunately the weather was not so good during the cruise, so we were happy to arrive on land.
We spent the first day doing nothing in Panama City. Panama City is a modern capital, the country is very Americanized, with its many skyscrapers, these big cars, lots of fast foods and the American dollar, we felt like landing in the United States.

We visited the Panama Canal. It is a canal that crosses the Panama connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, one of the most craziest engineering projects ever undertaken. It is 77km long and more than 27,500 workers died during its construction at the beginning of the last century. Each year it is used by more than 14,000 ships.

We of course visited the city, the old town Casco Viejo that today seems abandoned, but we can still see some interesting old colonial buildings.

Actually we got there super tired but it was a Saturday and we didn’t want to miss the party, so we went out, with an Israeli we met in Bolivia (Faran), to the traditional Café Havana, a Cuban salsa club with live music and very good caipirinhas, woo hoo… Finally!

Cartagena is just wonderful and exceeded all our expectations. Its charming streets filled with colorful colonial houses with their wooden balconies full of flowers look like a new postcard at every corner. The best thing to do is getting lost in the streets of the old center to admire every single detail. And that’s what we did for two days.

But unfortunately the water of whole the city was cut off for repairs and we decided to leave and follow our path through the Caribbean coast, starting with Taganga, a small fishing town that is lost in a bay just 10 minutes from Santa Marta.

The beach of Taganga is not so special but the tranquility of the small town is rewarding and a good getaway to escape the chaos of the cities. So it was perfect to relax for two days.

From there we went to visit the Tayrona National Park, a protected reserve which lays on the coast of the Caribbean, full of mountains, animals and lush green, no noise from bikes or cars, just the contact with nature.

We went along with a couple we met in Taganga (Laurance from Quebec and Linda from France) and we spent two nights at a rustic camping in the middle of the forest just listening to the sounds of nature. During the day we went hiking to enjoy the beaches and in the way the scenery was simply stunning!

Everything was going well till Alexis got sick at the end of the last day and then we returned early in the morning to Taganga to have some rest for him to recover his energies.

Medellin is a modern city located in a valley, Jesus took us to visit the old town where we could see some statues of Botero the famous Colombian artist that we admire, Medellin is his hometown.

Saturday night we went out with the couple in a Salsa club where a band played live! We danced (well, we tried) in the middle of the crowd drinking rum coke, nice evening!

Sunday we rested, we stayed at home and made French toasted sandwiches (croques monsieur). Monday was a sunny day, so we went to visit a house which was theh one of a drug dealer. It’s a must in the city, the bathroom particularly impressed us! We were like in the American moovie,’’Scareface’’. Pablo Escobar himself has borrowed the villa for his mare when an army of 1500 soldiers was created specifically to find him and kill him. 499 days after they finally got him.

Then we went to the pretty neighborhood of Cerro Nutibara.

Then we took the Metro Cablo, in this big neighborhood, which looks like a huge Brazilian we went up to the top to appreciate the view.

The next morning we took a bus to go to spend 4 days in the small town of Salento. A very quiet place, we stayed in a family inn made of wood.
Solento is in the coffee region, the mountainous landscape is beautiful.

The main square has retained its colonial buildings.

We went for 4h trek in the valley of Cocora at 10km from the city. We saw beautiful scenery, with hills, cows, flowers, hummingbirds and palm wax which can reach incredible heights.

Another day we went to visit a traditional coffee farm. Very informative, we learned a lot and enjoyed it too very much.

Our party in Ecuador was over ahead of schedule and to let the family happy we promised to leave the country as fast as possible. We were really tired after all the stress and we just wanted to find a nice place to relax, so we crossed the border with Colombia along with a German couple (Max and Juliana, he was also on the boat adventure with us and wanted to escape as well, hehehe), and after two days of buses we finally arrived at our hideaway, Popayan.

Popayan is a charming little town in southern Colombia, better known as the white city, as all city buildings, churches and derivatives are completely white. It was a perfect place to relax and for 3 days we didn’t do anything. Maybe we walked about 5 blocks per day, since everything could be reached in a short distance. We were staying in a charming hostel just next to the church and every day in the morning we heard the church choir from the back. It was cool.

After resting enough we decided to do our next tour, visiting the archaeological site of Tierradentro. We left our bags in Popayan and went for two days already starting the next day at 6:30 in the morning with a walk that just went up. Affff … It was hard! We did 7 hours trekking in total, up and down, passing through stunning landscapes.

And we visited some circular decorated tombs with its deep spiral staircase of indigenous Colombian tribes from the VII and IX centuries that disappeared from the earth, but left their mark.

Then we went back to Popayan for another day of rest to recharge our batteries and return to normal travel life to further explore Colombia.

We did a 8 days tour in a catamaran boat going through many islands and accompanied by another 8 travelers plus the boat crew. During the trip different animals crossed our ways: sea lions, giant tortoises, red and blue footed booby birds, marine and land iguanas, pelicans, eagles, frigate birds and so on. And the coolest thing is that the animals are so used to humans around that they are not afraid us and they don’t try to run away when you get closer. Absolutely amazing!

Almost every day we did snorkeling and saw fishes of all colors and different sizes, all kinds of stingrays, sharks, starfish, penguins, marine iguanas, turtles … And the most amazing experiences of all, swim with sea lions. Just awesome!

All went well for a side in our experience, but another side of our trip turned into a nightmare and the dream was over.
To summarize the novel: we were very unlucky with the boat we took that was having many problems, money from passengers disappeared on the boat, the passengers decided to make an official complaint in writing to the Capitania, after that the Capitania inspected the boat and the boat to was forbidden to sail. Knowing that the owner of the boat got crazy, we left the boat ahead of schedule, the owner of the boat began to threaten passengers making false accusations related to drugs and aggression against passengers to try put us in jail.
The passengers who left the boat were hiding themselves (including us) in their hotels to avoid any harm to them, but one of the passengers had the misfortune to meet her on the street and is now responding to an assault charge in court, he had to pay for a lawyer and his life became a hell. Because of this, we anticipate our flight to leave the island and the next day we left Ecuador, without even visiting everything we wanted.
But it is OK. We were missing a crazy story to complete our adventure and that was a very good one! Heheheeh …

Honeymoon destroyed … Let’s retry our honeymoon elsewhere to compensate!

The second night we went to a free concert of the Symphony Orchestra of Cuenca. Loved it! They played all styles, jazz, salsa, soundtrack films like Superman and of course classic too.

We met a French couple in our hostel, Mickael and Anais traveling in Latin America for 5 months. Together we went out with Xun, a Chinese woman who travels the world for 3 years already, having Colombian food and a nightlife Ecuadorian experience.

The next day we went with the French couple + another French couple, to visit the Saturday market in the town of Gualaceo, 1h by bus from Cuenca. This Market was probably the cleanest and the most organized we’ve visited in the world, with fruits and vegetables quality. The old people with their typical clothes were posing with smile for our cameras, just the opposite of what the old people do in Peru or Bolivia. We enjoyed the visit very much.

After three days in the city, we took the road to west in Guayaquil. With a population of 2.16 million habitants, it is the second largest city in Ecuador. Famous for its insecurity and its many assaults, we were basically going there to catch our flight to the Galapagos Islands. We made sure to stay only one day, and it was enough. There is not much to see but our short visit was actually pleasant.

We walked along the main avenue 9 de Octubro and we went to the park Bolivar. A small green park full of iguanas turtles and squirrels. We arrived at a time when the park rangers were feeding them, aaaaaah so cool! Dozens of Iguanas were going down the trees rushing to get their piece of salad, which was already enough for us to make Quayaquil worth the visit.

Then we walked along the Guayas River, which reminds us of the swamps in southern India.
Finally we visited the Las Peñas neighborhood, on a hill with its colorful houses and its lighthouse from afar it looked like a bit as a Brazilian favela, but from the inside you will discover a charming tourist area with old colonial houses and plenty of restaurants.

January 22 was the birthday of Alexis, so we went to a good restaurant in the city, he wanted lobster, Carol has found a seafood restaurant, unfortunately when ordering the waiter said that it was the lobster breeding season, so forbidden to fish it… Too bad… It was still good!

Segue Viagem Edition14 (our article is on pages 58-61)

We did a guided tour and we learned that the city was abandoned by his people more than 500 years ago. You can still see the remains of decorations on the walls and discover some customs of this vanished civilization through the ruins.

We returned to the center of Trujillo for lunch, we walked the streets of this colorful city.

After a short and bad night in the bus, we took the opportunity to take a long nap of 3 hours on the grass of the beautiful Plaza de Armas, probably the best we’ve seen in South America so far.

At 9pm we left to take a night bus still heading north for our last stop in Peru. 10h later we arrived in the small seaside town of Máncora. We chose a more comfortable hotel with swimming pool, palm trees a balcony and breakfast included.

We enjoyed and had a good time to update the site, read a book, play guitar and give new haircut to Alexis. The beach wasn’t very nice and we actually never spent time at the beach. The town is very touristy and full of nice restaurants. It is a place to have fun and learn surfing. In the evening there is an invasion of mosquitoes and the nights are very humid.

So, we left Peru, we said tchao to the land of the Incas that we liked very much for his diversity. We are leaving to Ecuador for new adventures…

Lima surprised us. The city is much more beautiful, interesting and well preserved than we thought. The Plaza de Armas with its beautiful buildings around and the impressive Government Palace in European style is a must and we got there right at noon and caught the changing of the guard at the style of Buckingham Palace.

We visited the Monastery of San Francisco and we were impressed with the old library room, which seemed to have been taken from a Harry Potter movie. No kidding, it has been about 300 years that anyone touches a book there. And there was also the catacombs with some 25,000 bodies with their bones tidy, similar to the Catacombs of Paris!

Lima was the best place to eat the delicious Ceviche, which we could always find in menus for just 3 U$ and we became completely addicted.

We met again our friend Bastien and we went to see the sunset on the waterfront, which has a beautiful hill facing the sea.

At night we tasted all different flavors of Pico Sour in a cool bar in the neighborhood of Barranco. Pisco Sour is sooooo good!

From Lima we left for Huaraz, in the impressive Cordillera Blanca. We wanted to do 4 days trekking in the Cordillera but at this time of the year the weather is bad, the snowy peaks are always covered with clouds and it always rains in the afternoon. We are done of trekking in the rain, so mission aborted!

But we still visited the lagoon Llanganuco, which has a striking green water and views to the snowy peaks.

On the way we stopped at the Yungai Memorial, where stood the city of Yungai before the terrible tragedy in 1970, when the city was taken off the map after a devastating avalanche caused by an earthquake killing 5000 people in 3 minutes.

We ended up doing the tour with a tour for almost the same price of doing ourselves. In our group we had 3 Brazilians, 3 Germans and 1 Finnish.

We started the trip at 3:30 am and after 5 hours we arrived at the first stop, Cruz del Condor, where we could enjoy the beautiful view and the famous Condors flying over the majestic Canyon.

From there we started our friendly descent. What seemed to be the easiest part took us by surprise. Almost 4 hours of descent on a dirt and slippery track and our knees were challenged at every impact. But the landscapes were rewarding. We arrived in San Juan de Chunccho for lunch totally finished and then we slept almost all afternoon.

The next day we had a light walk, just 3 hours without much uphill and with beautiful views. It was a nice walk and we were all anxious to get to our next stop, Oasis, famous for its pools, palm trees and green area. But the rain came and the pool plan was ruined! :-(

The next day, the feared rise began at 5am. OMG, what a workout! 2 ½ hours of effort rewarded on arrival by the view and the happiness for what we have just achieved. And after all nobody understands why we’re so skinny!

To finish: breakfast, a dip in the hot springs to soothe the muscles and return to Arequipa.

On the same day we left by night bus to Ica, to visit the famous dunes of Huacachina. Intense heat, palm trees, burning sand and pools to enjoy the heat. It’s amazing to think that we can find a place like that so close to a big city.

There isn’t plenty to do there, but the sandboarding and buggy rides, but the best is definitely to watch the sunset from the highest point of the dune.

When we were there the Paris-Dakar was going on, but it was just too expensive to go see the cars just passing by and leave, so we didn’t go.

The next day we had to wait for the damn rain to stop and then take a bus to climb about 300m to reach the entrance of Machu Picchu. Definitely the place is WOW. The view of the ruins with the stunning mountain Wayna Pichu on the background is to impress, even if we’d seen this picture many times on postcards and television, seeing it for real is even better.

We climbed the mountain opposite of the Wayna Picchu wonderful view from above. It was a hard climb, 2 hours of endless stairs and breathtaking to arrive at 3082 m altitude, and from the top… We couldn’t see anything! White clouds covered the mountain.

But on our way back down, clouds cleared and we had the opportunity to enjoy the view at various view points. Gorgeous!

We took the all day visiting the site and then we walked down back to Aguas Calientes. The next day we took a train to Ollantaytambo and we visited the city in the Sacred Valley, but the day was rainy and we ended up coming back early to Cusco.

On December 30th we left on a night bus to Arequipa, this time in a more expensive company with two other friends, Bastien and Raquel who came fom Brazil to join us. We arrived in Arequipa on the 31th so we had made a reservation at Zig Zag, one of the best restaurants in Peru. It was a special night, so no savings, we had champagne, red wine, cheese fondue, a delicious alpaca steak and dessert. Mmmm, delicious dinner!

Then we passed the turn in the main square and we went from bar to bar drinking beer and Pisco Sour, interacting with all the people who passed our way. Bye bye 2012, we wish an even better 2013 to all!!

We began our year with a gorgeous view of the volcanoes surounding Arequipa.

On day 2, Bastien made a french dinner for us, a Boeuf Bourgignon to celebrate his birthday.

The city is 3360m above sea level and here it rains every day, during the day we passed through the four seasons and in the evening it get cold. We arrived a week before Carô, our Brazilian friend who will come to join us for Christmas.
We mooved 3 times before finding a decent Hotels with reasonable price. We enjoyed the city, and after few days we even felt a little bit like at home. To know better about the history and local cuisine we did a free walking tour of the city.

One day we went to visit the village of Pisaq an hour away from Cusco, where we climbed the mountain to enjoy the view and some Inca ruins.

We went out one night and did a tour of the nightclubs of Cusco until 6.00am with Peruvians and foreigners. Carol danced on all the bars of the city. We had a lot of fun!

Another day we did a guided tour to visit an ancient Inca agriculture laboratory in Moray and the salt mines of Maras.

Carô arrived on December 24th in the afternoon. Alexis went to get a tattoo of an Inca condor on his back as his Christmas present. Then we cooked to spend Christmas in a couchsurfing meeting with fifty people, everyone should bring a specialty of his country. Carol made a Brazilian red bean soup, some rabanada and brigadeiros and Alexis made a French mushroom soup. We had a Merry Christmas, Alexis played guitar and everyone was singing along! We ended the night in a club…

The next day we set off on Lake Titicaca, at 3800m, it is considered the highest navigable lake in the world, with an area of 58,000 km ². So we took the boat to visit the Isla del Sol (Sun Island), the largest island in the lake. Isla del Sol is the center of the Inca mythology. According to legend, the gods Incas would have appeared on this sacred island.
We landed north and started our 3 and half hour trek to reach the south. The island has exceeded all our expectations, the scenery was stunning, on the road we could see some Inca ruins and local working their land and some isolated villages.

We spent the night on the island Yumani where we could see mules and lamas from our bedroom window, then we took the boat back to Copacabana where we spent a last day.

The next morning we went in the direction of Peru, the border is just 1km away.

After a month traveling we said ‘’tchao’’ to Bolivia, and 3 hours later we arrived in Puno. A fairly large city on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Puno is not very much interesting, but we could enjoyed its main square and some nice buildings from the time of the conquistadors.

The real reason to be in Puno is to visit the famous floating islands on the lake where some tribes still live.
A few hours after our arrival we take a tourist boat to visit the floating islands. We found it very interesting to see how they live and how they built these islands, but also very disappointed to see that it is in fact a places 100% made and conserved for tourism.

La Paz was a nice surprise and we were still on the heights. The big city is about 3,660 m. Definitely Bolivia is a country of altitude, Tupiza was at 3,000 m, on our Salar tour we got to 5,000 and Copacabana, our next destination, lies at 3,800 m. Uffff! No wonder why in midsummer we are catching a cold of 14 degrees! Well, at least our body has got used to the heights. But the center of La Paz sits in a valley and each time we had to climb a slope we could already feel the lack of air.

The center is very charming, with some colonial-style houses and several different colors, but in all the mountains around it looks more like a big slum, with all buildings unfinished, like a sea of bricks.

From a distance we could also see the fabulous Illamani mountain, with its peak full of snow which reaches 6,402 m. We could even see it from the window of our room. Wow!

But what holds our eyes the whole time were the exotic Cholitas, traditional local women with their huge colorful skirts, long double braids and their unique hats.

The crazy Carol took the opportunity to venture a bike ride for 4 hours and 33 km down the most dangerous road in the world (The Death Road) dropping from 4,700 m to 1,000 m altitude. Over the past six years about 15 tourists died on that way, but Carol got her t-shirt: “I survived the Road of Death!”.

Meanwhile, Alexis went to visit the museum of Coca, and there he discovered that Freud was the first cocaine addict and had nose cancer of sniffing too much!, and the museum of musical instruments. We met our tour mates for dinner a few times and on Sunday we went together to see the ridiculous and entertaining Cholitas wrestling (like Catch fight American style) after we visited the huge street market in El Alto.

We had 4 days, 9 travelers from different parts of the world, 2 jeeps, 2 drivers, 1 cook and 2 days without a shower and it was simply amazing! The tour exceeded all our expectations and is almost impossible to describe all that we saw. During four days we went through stunning landscapes with totally different styles, all jaw dropping! This post was perhaps the most difficult to do so far, there were so many wonderful photos that was hard to choose.

During the trip almost everybody got sick due to the altitude, which reached up to 5,000 meters! We had heard that it was complicated but we always think it will not happen to us … Headache, difficulty to sleep, dizziness, motion sickness! Yeah, it got us. We all were bad the first night, Carol was pretty bad after we visited the geysers on the second day and Alexis almost fainted after bathing in the thermal waters. To get better we sucked the famous coca leaves, we took coca tea and medicine for headache. But in the end we were all well and enjoyed a lot. It worth every second!

Our incredible journey:

DAY 1
We begin with a far west landscape with towering dried mountains like Cerrillo going through a complicated and dangerous dirt road and we went up from 3,000 m altitude in Tupiza to 4,250 m in the village of San Pablo. That was the first and worst night where everyone got sick and could not sleep. The first effects of altitude!

DAY 2
We start at 5 am and continued up to 4,855 m in Step Mars, where it was snowy. On the way we passed the ghost city and various areas of mining of silver, gold and other metals. We visited the Lagoon Hedionda.

We relaxed in the hot springs.

We visited the Geyser (the highest point of the trip, at 5,000 meters) and arrived in the late afternoon to admire the beautiful Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon), with about 10 thousand flamingos.

DAY 3
We made a path toward the exotic Salar de Uyuni, passing through flooded areas as the Salar de Capina and a huge and beautiful region of volcanic rocks formation, such as the World Cup and Italy lost.

We also stop at the stunning’s Laguna Vinto and Laguna Negra (Black Lagoon).

We passed by the volcano Ollagüe view point, a former lake area where we could see a dry sea coral that looked like stones and crossed the old railway line in Salar de Chiguana to get to Salar de Uyuni and spend the night in a salt hotel. And it was really made of salt, because Carol licked the wall and proved it!

DAY 4
The most expected day… We visit the famous salt desert. We begin with the sunrise.

And then we break through an area that was flooded and that seemed like a mirror, doing an amazing reflection of the volcano Tunupa.

Until we got on the exotic island of cactus.

From there we had an hour in the jeep with an infinite landscape of salt that seemed never change until we stop again in a dry area to make fun photos and then we finished the tour in the weird town of Uyuni.

Definitely it was amazing, we loved every moment, the exotic locals we found along the way, the different and beautiful animals, each scenery and the good company of our super group!

We stayed at a hotel right at the foot of a mountain, in a quiet place, but Carol was feeling very ill with diarrhea and fever, so we took the opportunity to rest for three days in the small town. Furthermore, we could already feel the effects of altitude and it was no longer so easy to breath.

In our hotel we met a young Australian, Jessica, with whom we spent a good time. We did a horseback ride together wearing our cowboy hats by the canyons near Tupiza. It was a jaw dropping ride, a gorgeous view all the way.

From there we wanted to go for a 4 day tour through the southern lakes and the famous Salar de Uyuni, the salt desert. But we needed to find people to share the tour to get cheaper. On the third day we finally found some people and we formed a cool group, 2 Israelis (Gal and Liad), two kiwis (Simone and Sharn), 2 Germans (Valentin and Katrin) and the Australian Jessica. We all went to dinner together and tomorrow morning we leave for the tour. We look forward to it!

We met a french couple, with whom we got a ride back to Santa Cruz. On the way and took the opportunity to visit a Inca fortress and a waterfall. The views were beautiful but the weather was not very good.

We weren’t very excited to visit Santa Cruz, but since we were there we decided to spend at least one night. The main square was nice but other then that there is nothing so interesting, but we’re lucky to be there right on the day of a music festival with several different instruments.

We left on a night bus to Sucre, a difficult decision to take because we heard so many stories of accidents on the mountain roads, 14 hours on a unpaved road, but in the end it was okay. Sucre enchanted us! A super charming colonial city and any stroll through its streets are very nice.

In our hostel we met a group of foreigners who were in town for weeks and that made us feel lazy and wanting to stay longer. We spent a good time with them, dinner, movie, ride to visit the castle in the town next door, night out and a lot of chat.

But today we are moving again towards the south. Tupiza here we go.

]]> http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/en/2012/11/kiki-de-volta-a-estrada/ http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/en/2012/11/kiki-de-volta-a-estrada/#comments Thu, 22 Nov 2012 23:39:20 +0000 http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/?p=4198 Read more...]]> After 2 months break in Brazil, many reunions with family and friends, a beautiful wedding and a few days to relax … The itch to travel started beating again. Only true travel lovers can understand this feeling that looks like a drug. People ask us: “But what will you do now?”, and we say: “Continue traveling. We have not finished our round the world trip”, and they return to us: “How come? Don’t you get tired of that? “… NO, we don’t get tired. Any tiredness is easily forgotten after a short rest. Definitely we are addicted to travel!

After all, we need to scratch de world map our friend gave us and as you can see by the picture there is still a loooooot missing. The world is too big and endless!

We will now continue our trip through South America and Central America, changing the very first plan we had thought. What once were only 4 countries to visit now turned into a long journey overland. We are heading now to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in Bolivia, and from there we will go by land till Mexico. About 4 to 5 months without a well-defined plan … We’ll go as the wind takes us.

We are super excited about this new stage. Again everything will change, new cultures, new people, new foods, new sights, new adventures … Afff, impossible not to get excited.

To friends and family … This time it will be shorter and we will see each other again soon. So enjoy this year end and see you in 2013!

]]> http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/en/2012/11/kiki-de-volta-a-estrada/feed/ 4 http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/en/2012/11/a-sabrina-e-rodrigo-rio-de-janeiro-brasil/ Wed, 21 Nov 2012 21:22:19 +0000 http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/?p=3865 Read more...]]> For given us the Lonely Planet guide books of South America and Central America. You have collaborated and encouraged us during our trip. Thanks for lot. Now we’ll remember you every day. :-)

]]> http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/en/2012/11/brasil-nosso-casamento-no-rio/ http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/en/2012/11/brasil-nosso-casamento-no-rio/#comments Thu, 01 Nov 2012 15:08:07 +0000 http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/?p=3777 Read more...]]> It’s been over a month since we arrived in Brazil and that’s it, we’ve got married!

The wedding was great, 400 guests, it was a double wedding with Rodrigo and Sabrina the sister of Carol, ceremony with violins, a samba school of Rio surprised everybody appearing in the middle of the night. So much emotions…

Family members and friends came from every corner of Brazil… Curitiba, São Paulo, Florianópolis, Brasília… And also from all around the world… Alexis’s family and friends from France, friends from Serbia, England, Dubai, United States, Norway, Portugal, Egypt, Italy, New Zealand, Russia … The world was well represented! And to enjoy that everybody was here we spent 3 days sightseeing in Rio with 23 internationals guests. In the program: Barbecue wedding, rehearsal of a samba school, Brazilians restaurants, a night out in Lapa, Favela tour, visit of the Sambadrom, Sugar Loaf, Footbal game, Christ, Copacabana beach, Ipanema ect…

After this marathon week, we went with Alexis’ family for few days resting in Angra dos Reis, on Rio’s coast, in Carol’s aunt house. We visited Ilha Grande and Paraty by boat.

This week everyone went back home. We are now preparing the continuation of our trip around the world… Soon we will send news…

]]> http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/en/2012/11/brasil-nosso-casamento-no-rio/feed/ 5 http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/en/2012/10/brasil-de-volta-ao-rio-de-janeiro/ http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/en/2012/10/brasil-de-volta-ao-rio-de-janeiro/#comments Tue, 02 Oct 2012 17:59:01 +0000 http://kikiaroundtheworld.com/?p=3750 Read more...]]> So, after a year of travel, 29 countries and 161 cities visited, 26 flights and more than 130 000km traveled, we are back to the starting point in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil…

It is a pleasure to see family and friends again after a year, we feel a strange sensation.
The trip is not over yet, we are only here for a short break and we needed it. We love traveling more than anything but we have to say that since a month we are tired and anxious to been back in Brazil.
But we got a good reason for that, we will get married here in Rio in 3 weeks! Yes, we already get married in Las Vegas at the beginning of our trip but this time it will be the big official celebration with family and friends, we are super anxious, we’re right in the preparations since we arrived.

Pictures and video of our wedding in Las Vegas:

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