..keeping it on.. :)

hi out there :)

I was pretty busy over the last days.. well, in the night I could have been busier, but for some reason I didn't feel like going out too much. Also needed my personal space and used some of the time to study for the classes. I can't complain about not having good vibes with the people (and knowing a lot of them randomly on the street ;) but maybe I just need some time apart of that.. AND, I can't always agree with the excessive party vibe that can be found on this island.

So I'm a certified Rescue Diver now and have an idea how to save people and give first aid (was about time to refresh that, because after my drivers license 10 years ago, I haven't done anything like that). Was pretty fun.. we had practical exercises, where other people simulated every imaginable problem various time, so we had plenty of opportunities to practice ;)

I just finished some hard core chapters and made theoretical tests.. so I'm really good in time and can take days off or just slow down my pace, if I want to (don't worry, I'm not stressing myself anyway.. just enjoy having a certain "drive" HAHA :D

my kitchen fills up with food and edibles what makes the small ants really happy ;) but I'll stop the invasion with some ant-trap that I will buy exiting this place. Otherwise I really enjoy the place where I live.. couldn't imagine not having my little "habitat" haha ;) :D

I started to make new didgeridoos.. already got a replacement for the one I lost and now trying to make more sophisticated/wicked ones but this needs a bit of try-and-error. Keeping you updated about it.. I'm glad I found the right tubes to do so.

Hasn't to be mentioned that the Divemaster course is more than four weeks of fun diving ;) but I enjoy it despite the work it gives.. well, some things I just want to know and to learn, so it makes it really easy ;) other things like marketing of PADI courses are not THAAAAT essential to me :P ..will spend some more money for specializations.. maybe they come in handy one day and on the other hand.. 50 or 100 dollars to "upgrade" your status a little bit isn't too much.

okay.. I'm off.. making some paperwork and chilling and having a small introduction tonight into Coral watching (yes, there is quite some stuff going on here..)

hear from me soon and wishing you all the best!! here changed the weather finally to sunny days, after it was raining and cold in the night.

be blessed and Namaste!

..it has started.. :)

Well, just briefly an update from here.. I started my Rescue Course today and will take until Tuesday. It's pretty interesting, you learn about automatic defibrilators and CPR (what is not taught in Switzerland to the mass).
I had already 6 fun dives and have seen some marine life and enjoy diving a lot! :D just still waiting for my own gear :/
after the ATM has been out of money for two days, I finally could get some cash and paid my rent and moved into a smaller apartment (for 1 person only) but with bigger bed, more TV chanels :P ;) a hot shower and more economic fridge (well, the hot shower had to be insulated with duct tape because it's unter current :P but yeah.. I think, I should be safe now ;) hehe :)
out of the old apartment I had to remove a tarantula (just a small one though) and after I'm already used to them, I could do it without being scared ;)
the next days I'll learn how to reanimate dead people ;) and having some physical excercises with the Rescue Diver course.. but I'm sure I'll handle it with a smile and next week I begin my internship here.
Still getting credits for my bike ;) knowing more and more people and it's a cool place to be!!
just not really cheap (half price as back home I guess) but I can afford after all ;) I just pre-paid my electricity (it's funny, kinda works like with cell phones.. no more credit, no more power :D
I haven't been partying too much here.. I guess I still have a long time to do so and it's not my primary mission on this island :) but there will be some party for sure ;) I'm going back to my new place and study some of the theory.. what's done is done! ;)

have a good time! ..here the sun came out after 3 days.. hope it stays for a while! :)

..stranded on the island.. :)

hey there! :D

let me briefly update my blog, before I spent my first night on Utila island in Honduras..

it was good to leave Tikal.. I spent enough time there and felt need for a change. So I was driving to Rio Dulce, where I stayed a last night in Guatemala, talking to some people who have a yaught and getting some ideas about a future trip.. maybe 6 month with my own sailing boat in the Caribbean Sea.. haha :D let's see.. just seeds that were planted and I would have to learn all the sailing stuff before.. but why not.. might end up on my bucket list ;)

then I spent 6 hours to cross the boarder into Honduras.. burocracy as in Switzerland (I wouldn't have been sad to pay some corrupt extra dollars to get it done different.. but then I don't want to support corruption.. anyway it wasn't even possible)
first they asked me a lot of money to follow a truck to the 50km away town where I could get my papers.. I mean, I didn't need a babysitter to do so and it cost a lot of nerves to be "ripped off" that much.. then it was so much of paper warfare.. paying at the bank, standing in line, taking off my licence plate to make copies getting everything checked a hundert times.. then finally I paid about 1000 Lempiras for all of it, what is about 60USD.. would be bareable, but because my registration ends end of April I have to be out of the country or do the same stuff again :((( Well, I will renew my registration in Alaska online and see that I get the paper but apparently it's too late already to prolong my bike papers within the country.. so I would have to ship my bike over to the mainland, get out of the country with it and do the same stuff again (won't happen). So I just try to speed up my course here and then leaving the country without having done a lot more than my Divemaster.
hmm.. well have to say, that the problems came with the boarder crossing that I took, that only makes these papers there on Saturday and Sunday and me being there on Monday was very complicated..

but then in the end I could already use my papers.. got stopped by a police man and everything seems to be correct! :D ..when I told the guy that I want to get to La Ceiba this day he told me, I have to drive fast and when I was asking how fast you are allowed to go on these roads he just said: as fast as you want! :D haha :) I like that!! ..was a quite "speedy" ride to make it to La Ceibe before dawn but made it.. spend a rather chilly night in La Ceiba and got on the boat to Utila this morning. For once I got the perfect timing.. arrived with my bike 1.5 hours before the cargo boat leaves (just leaves today and Thursday). Payed 750 Lempiras (about 50USD) to get it over here and could pick it up at 2pm at the docks.. was really easy and even if the bike is a lot oversized for here, it gives me a good amount of credit! :D haha ;))) it's not that a new face arrived on the island, it's a new bike that arrived ;)

I like the place here.. it's really super small, but I think my Karma will bring me many wonderful moments and meeting really cool people!! there are a lot of black people here, speaking Caribbean English and I read that this island was even a pirate hideout in the 17th century :D

what more.. with my usual speed to set up things I have my own apartment here, already cold beer in the fridge and I'm sure I'll have hell of a good time here!! :D

so.. going to see some friends and tomorrow at 7am I'll be at the diveshop (already met a lot of people there :) and having some fun dives to refresh my level and after tomorrow hopefully start with my course! :D

you'll here from me! I'll be here for 5 weeks and therefore probably not writing as much as just being on the road..

Namaste and my best blessings to all of you!!

All done! :)

hiho out there :)

tomorrow I will journey on to Rio Dulce and I think the day after, I'll be already in Honduras (looking forward to some change and to less mosquitos ;)
I fixed the stuff of my bike and found some missing bolt, that I replaced with something that I found here in a small home depot store :D hope it holds for a while ;)
made a pretty good job and only a strange noise exists at a certain RPM, but might be a loose part.. will have 2-3 days to test the reliability of this bike again, until I get to Utila.
I met a Japanese girl and we went out camping a night in Tikal (well, outside the ruins in the official camping). But if it would have been full moon, I might have spent the money to bribe the people to camp on the ruins (everything is possible here in Guatemala.. even has a standardized price ;) we wanted to enter in the middle of the night, but didn't hear the alarm.. maybe better, like this the daytrip was after a good rest.
Was not too much about the ruins but more the beautiful nature, good company and all the wildlife we've seen on our way.. there were a lot of humming birds (a tree full of them!! :) and it was wonderful to watch these little birds that hover in the air :) we've seen spider monkeys and tucans (they look really beautiful!) and my encounter of the day was a tarantula that I hold in my hands and climbed up my arm (soooooo totally wicked!!!!! I always wanted to do that and really like these big hairy beasts! :D
we met an Austrian couple that rides a Honda Goldwing with a trailer from Argentina to the states.. their full load weight is 1100kg (that's so super crazy! ;) probably the first and last people in my life who make the trip like that.. I'm so happy to be on a pretty easy handable bike where you don't have to be mechanic to keep it going ;)
today I will be busy with packing and maybe find materials for a didgeridoo.. and then in the afternoon chilling on the roof and playing guitar :)
have a great day as well and be blessed!

the big adventure.. and fixing the stuff afterwards ;)

HA! :D ..I just made it back from some offroad adventure and more important, I feel being more centered again, after I was pretty stressed the last days.. but let's hear the story :)

I bought for about 60 bucks food and water, with the plan to get to El Mirador and/or stay at least 4 days out camping in the jungle. Getting up early in the morning, I expected to be at El Mirador at noon. The first part to Tikal is all asphalted and easy to ride.. there I got quickly the needed registration to enter the place with a bike (free) and paid a small fee to pass through (without seeing Tikal). The road was still pretty good, even if not asphalted and I arrived at the last village, called Uaxactun, where I bought some more gas in bottles and asked for the way.. another 50km to Dos Lagunas, where nearby are some ruins and supposed to be the backroad to El Mirador.
Well, on the way there I figured out that there is NO WAY to drive to El Mirador (because the road I was on was more than challenging and the people said it's still 1-2 days walk from where you have to stop your bike (and the trail rather complicated if you don't know it.. :-/
so I changed the plan to go to El Mirador (postponed to do it from Carmelita) and just wanted to see these other sites.. but on the way there I encountered so many problems, that it kinda broke my mind doing this stuff.. first of all, the overheat lamp of my bike.. AAARGHHH!! why 30km out in the jungle on a road where I can't drive fast enough to have a strong airflow (radiator might be dusty as well). So on the way there and on the way back I got stuck in the hardened mud tracks of the 4WD cars.. glad to have a engine protector but hit the ground with the panniers and my breaking pedal got bent over, so I had to drive 3/4 of the way without rear brake :P So I decided to drive 30km back instead of making another 30km there and then 60km back and it was the right thing! but heading out I fell at a speed of 20km/h (slipped off a small slope.. no idea how this happened) and it ripped completely off a pannier and I got a scratch on my arm.. first time my jacket helped me :) just a little scratch, but would have been really nasty if I would have decided to ride in a T-Shirt.. also my brand new 6 dollar viser got badly, but badly scratched by branches in the way.. but well, better than loosing an eye ,)
I made it to Uaxactun, where I camped in the middle of a temple (really cool you can do that :D and met a local guy, that knows a lot about the jungle, getting Kautchuk and robbing graves (kinda Tomb Raider.. haha ;) yeah.. was really fun to talk to that guy! it's a hard job to go to some sunken ruins and dig for treasures.. staying in the jungle for months, having no convenience getting out as animals, without having guaranteed, that there efforts will bring fruits. Well.. of course, old knowledge gets lost like this (things getting sold on the black market, ending up in private hands), but whatever.. these people are so poor, it's just fair to get back something of their ancestors. And the stuff wouldn't be found for many, many years.. might never be found if not somebody goes there on his own. there are more than 10 000 sites here (some of course very small).
so was very interesting to hear about such a life and I even had 1000 year old plate in my hands :D fascinating this Maya stuff.. their rules, wars, traditions, ballgames... they were about 60 different kings and cities and they were fighting quite often, as I heard.. surprisingly, because it was all so close together..

well.. I drove out of Tikal that morning and stopped in El Remate, where I run into a German couple that lived here for 5 years.. because of some nasty neighbour fight they could even tell something about the Guatemalan prison.. you don't want to be there, but it's survivable (advice: call your Embassy :P ) was chilling out the whole day with these guys, talked about starting an adventure rider motorbike business in Guatemala and what it would take (I like the idea! :) and had some beers and cooked together in the evening.. spent the night in a hammock at their place and had a good day of rest (after being frustrated by not getting to where I wanted).

So I drove over to Yaxha, where you pay half the entry of Tikal and get 3 sites.. Yaxha, Nakum and El Naranjo.. just passed Yaxha and went to Nakum.. also pretty rough road, but nothing compared to what I experienced a day ago.. the site is really cool (see pictures) and I was tripping out the whole day, enjoying the dance of the fireflies in the night and cooking (yes, me ;) at the kitchen of the workers there.. they are digging out that stuff and restoring it for about 2.5USD/hour, being out there for 22 days and then going back to their family for 8 days. It's quite a vibe.. 30 male beings for three weeks away from everything.. hehe ;)
they have cool campsites.. small hutts on piles with a bana-leave-roof.. keeps off the bugs from the ground.

<>

on the way back I encountered a big branch fallen on the road, but could pass it by taking off a pannier (bikes just rule!! ;) haha :D
and for having a lot of time I bailed out to El Naranjo, where there is not much too see, except for hills in the jungle.. this is how ruins look like after 1000 years.. plants grew over and decomposed and you barely see any walls.. dirt hills with trees on it, whose roots rip out the stones of the structure.. so the people are working for 1 year now in Naranjo and they have just a few rooms restaured.. an endless work. They told me in 10 years, the first pyramid will be restored :P ;) hehe :) I might be back ;) ..climbed on a scary looking lookout to see over the tree tops.. ah yes.. and on the way there I fell of course and broke off a blinker, another latch of my pannier (deshaped the good one as well :(( and a little bit nastier.. my clunch lever broke in the middle.. ah.. I was quite frustrated.. but at least could move on. Not much left to break.. but well.. the panniers get fixed both for 13USD, the lever can be solded, pedal bent back and the rest is more or less adjusted.. found some people here.. actually.. every workshop can do it for you.. it's Guatemala.. they fix everything for cheap. I just have to learn to let things be for a moment, if it's out of my power to change it in the very moment. So all these things added up and tore down a bit my happiness.. then I lost also my didgeridoo (after 9 years having it and traveled all over the world) and I haven't even used it in these 4 days.. well.. it's just matter and I'll head out to a store to buy some plastic tubes.. if I'm lucky I find good materials to make another one :)
so having not much found in Naranjo, I headed back to Yaxha to spend a night in this place.. because I hit my foot on something while driving, I had pain to walk and didn't see the whole place.. first I was worried that something could be broken, but it's already a lot better today.. just having worn tennis, this would have been much worse!! (glad to have good leather boots ;)
Yaxha is also nice, but a bit stretched out and I didn't appreciate the ruins that much any more (probably have seen too many of them in a short time ;) there were almost no tourists (well, Nakum where NO tourists whatsoever) but guards were hanging out at the sites (makes it a bit less chilly ;) but enjoyed a beautiful sunset from the highest pyramid..
I understand the Maya.. if you have jungle all around you, you want a stone place with no plants, you want to build high, to have at least a bit of a view.. so I'd have had a tall pyramid myself ;) haha ;))
I met two other travelers that night and we cooked together.. so I could at least use some more of the food that I bought.

yes.. and know.. know I'm back in Flores.. have to eat something and then I will take care of my bike and my stuff.. all planned out as I learned it from my Mom ;) haha :) all really easy stuff.. some tasks to do, keeps you busy traveling ;) and I think, I got a lot more experience.. know the limits of the bike, the trails, some more places to go, met awesome people and was inspired, lived advernturous things, learned more how to ride my bike, lerning about fixing it as well ;) and how to deal with certain moments.. when I ripped off my pannier and got that scratch, it took me a good while to put it on it's wheels again, but there was nobody to help me and I'm glad I achieved this (small moments of success, as making a fire to cook ;) hehe :)

I might head out a day to Tikal, but maybe not.. depending of the people that I meet here. Maybe I just head on to do a lot of diving! :)

after having peed in the Grand Canyon and in a hot crack on the volcano (makes a lot of steam ;) I now can also claim to have peed off a Mayan pyramid ;) hehe :) ..ah.. life's fun!!

so I'm still alive and continueing my trip.. will be busy the next days, but you'll hear from me :)

Carpe Diem!


P.S. the jungle doesn't seem to like me.. after a few days I'm full of stiches, scratches and bugbites.. itching as hell. Looking forward to take a shower and shave ;) it's good to be back in good ol' civilization ;) haha ;)

..from Lanquin to Flores..

hi there :D

had quite some great days lately and keeping it up with my blog ;)

I enjoyed the time in Lanquin.. visited Semuk Champai, went swimming with a candle in caves, jumped down a freaky hole, floated down the river for a while and saw some awesome natural pools, all in one day (the most made excursion in Lanquin).
the last 11km are dirtroad and pretty nasty to drive, but an Enduro takes it all ;) hehe :)
on the way, I unfortunately rolled over a dog.. :((( first roadkill after 25000km and I just couldn't brake. I figured it out later and I guess it's the back tyre I have.. the profile is already partly eaten up and it's more and offroad tyre that doesn't really grip on asphalt and makes my ABS interfering a lot (but not having ABS would make it more dangerous). So well.. I adapt my speed to this new condition and I won't be riding that much more on roads until I get to Utila.. there will be 6 weeks of just riding in town and then when I get to Nicaragua, I will see that I get another tyre.. I think this one anyway won't last very long :-/ but it's at least perfect for the stuff that I want to do here around in Tikal..
but yes.. back to Lanquin.. I did also some zip-line, where you have a harnish and jump of trees, along metal wires, kinda "flying" over the tree tops :D ..it's quite expensive (for here) considered how short the fun is, but once there was not too much more to do in Lanquin, I'm glad I checked it out :)
then I had awesome all-you-can-eat buffets in the evening, enjoyed hot sauna and jumped in the cold river inbetween the sessions :D had a neat, cozy room with big bed and could even share it with somebody after my wish sent to the universe had been fulfilled ;)
yes, I would have left 2 days earlier, but I met Lissa, a fellow traveler with whom I share a lot! was healing and inspiring to give and receive in such a way and I feel blessed to have had such a person in my life!! we went hiking and talked about a lot of things..
I had a great time in "El retiro", this popular place in Lanquin.. must be good Karma that people like you and you just start making friends and having a good time! :D
so also my birthday turned out to be really fun!! :) there was even some fireworks for me and the bar had special Happy Hour until midnight and the crowd got pretty drunk ;) hehe :) really enjoyed the vibe! I'm glad I was not just somewhere on the road but in a enjoyable place!

..so after some moments of magical beauty and fullfillment, I moved on to Flores, Tikal. Here there are a lot of sunken ruins and I will find out today, which ones I should visit.. there is a 5 day hike to the biggest pyramid and I want just to drive there (see if I get a permit or just do it :D ..while people walk 2 days each way and spend 1 day there I will just hopp in and then stay for 2-3 days.. cheaper, more adventurous, more awesome!! :D haha :D
it's great to have a bike!! yesterday driving here it was the whole day covered but at least not raining. In the morning I got into fog (or clouds) while getting out of the valley I stayed in.. once more, glad to have some horsepower to move my stuff up the mountains ;)

today I want to make a plan where to go and organize some stuff.. supplies for the trip and walking around in Flores (small island on this lake here and really looking.. old town style). I still have time until 22nd to be on Utila.. probably a few days early to get my bike shipped over and to organize a place to stay on the island. So that's why I want to spend a good amount of time around here.. having an Enduro bike in Tikal is the shit!! :D haha ;)

you will hear from me in the next days.. have also some pictures to upload (before my cam dies entirely ;)

hugs and blessings to all of you!!! may you enjoy your life as much as I enjoy the mine!! :D

..being in the flow..

wow.. that was quite an experience :D

..to finish Lago Atitlan.. I met quite a lot of really awesome people!! :) ..had good games of chess and let my enemies tremble in fear ;) was on a funny horseback ride (taking every chance to make the horse running! :D ..missed then finally that long awaited BBQ (being starved to death, because of saving the "hunger" and arriving too late because of bad advices :P) but all in all, it was a really cool experience at Lago Atitlan (even if a lot of drinking and partying and having fun! :D haha ;) a place you have to go, if you're in Guatemala!
I spent the last night at some Swiss peoples place and we had a wonderful night, laughing a lot and even paying "Maria" a visit (only Lago Atitlan people may get that ;). Was adventurous!!
I finished one of my necklaces and I'm wearing it now.. holds part of the necklace that the indian man gave to Liz and me, when we were in Oregon.
wanted to climb the volcano San Pedro, but didn't happen then in the end.. I changed my plan various times because of people that crossed my way, but ended up finally on the mine (what's surely the best ;)

my next goal was the active volcano Paquaia. On the way ("on the fly" ;) I found even some new tires for my bike.. wasn't too hard and was done in a few hours. Asked A along the way, that sent me to B, telling me, if somebody has them, then C and C told me, he just sold his last one seven days ago, but D and E could have.. and yes.. D had one and E and one and D could even put them on :) ..was 150USD all in all (2 dollars for changing a tyre and 1.5USD to clean and lube the chain.. luckily they've seen that the chainlock is missing and I got a new one :) *phew*
here I didn't get a lot of choice for tyres, but anyway.. I think the ones I have will do ;) hehe :)
got even some fancy dragon stickers on the sides and on my helmet.. Dragonrider rulez!! Weehaa! :D

I still got some reduced breaking capacity on the rear brake.. will check closer tomorrow. might be, because tyres new and have to be driven for a while.. otherwise I'm happy to have some more profile, I used it A LOT in the last 3 days here in Guatemala :) not all the roads are paved here ;) haha :)
so I got a bit off the way and ended up in Santa Maria, Volcano de Agua (instead of Paquaia) and took a dusty dirtroad to San Vincente.. got there late, but got a nice room for cheap with hot shower and TV and prepared my things for the next day. Got up early, eating breakfast, buying food for the day and night and starting to walk. For my backpack was quite heavy I turned around after 300m and got the bike :P could drive up almost to the top.. the guides and guards were super easy :) no problem to get up and camp ANYWHERE you want! :D (I was afraid, they wouldn't let me). Well, about 5 years ago, they had some problems, so now they have guards there (with pump-guns ;) and the place is quiet.. so I had a good timing, as it seems :)
left my stuff at the center cone, where there were some antennas and small houses with measuring devices and went for a walk with water and food. The guy who was in charge there helped me to get to the hot part of the closer side of the volcano and showed me the natural hot ovens.. we talked there for a while about god and the world and I drunk my two beers and started and awesome daytrip! :D
you'll have to see pictures from the scene!! (saves me the description ;) hehe :) there are green hills around (actually the tops of some mountains) and you see far over the country.. beautiful hike!! almost no people! :) (I think the tourists come from the other side ;) and I walked all the way around the volcano to a hot flowing lava stream!! (dude, that's the shit! :D
in the evening I had a wonderful sunset over a sea of clouds and pitched my tent a bit further down. Had to recover from the day, so the night was pretty chill (and chilly, on that mountain ;)
haven't seen a sky like that! it was changing all the time, all kind of clouds (still a sunny day) and sitting on the crest, you could see the clouds passing by from one side to the other.. was just INCREDIBLE!! :D

this morning I got up with sunrise, packed my things, placed the food I had left at my friends place and drove down to the hotel, where I left most of my belongings. Had an hour to get all set and drove then to Guatemala city (trying to drive around) and getting stuck for a while, asking dozens of people for the way to get out of it ;) finally got on that road to Granada and further up to Coban.. the last 3 days gave me quite some skills :D ..today wouldn't have had to put it back on the road, if I wouldn't have hit accidentally "neutral" by trying to start driving :P then the bike stops and you fall.. :-/ but on the road, I was safe.. (better be with that steep boarders!) but with a skillfull trayectory, you get a stunning view of the volcanic landscape and mountains of Guatemala! (this country is a bikers paradise!! :D
climbing the volcano with my bike and also todays road were quite challenging.. can't go very fast, but still faster than buses and cars :) (they are sometimes really slow because of less efficent suspension). and produce a lot of dust!!! I got a black face of all that dust and diesel particles.. I wonder if there's a single car that would pass our standards for minimal-environment-pollution.. :-/

I'm having a slight headache and will take some Vitamine C and having a good rest. Last time this prevented falling sick, so I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow :)

P.S. added after editing: I actually was fine this morning, only still having these nasty bugbites (probably bedbugs from Lago Atitlan? :-/ well, put a lot of bandaids all over my body to not scratch them further up.. will see what more I can do, hope they are gone within 2-3 days.. really nasty and so damn itchy!! :(

San Pedro.. a place to chill! :)

beloved friends and family!

once to upload my pictures takes a few minutes, I update my blog, even if there's not that much to write, due to my lazy hanging out here in the small town of San Pedro :)
Here are a lot of cool people staying (especially the place I rent my 6USD private room with king size bed (haha :) and there is psy trance in the night (well until 1am, because everything closes then by country law.. jaja.. very boring, but anyway.. every night a little and a little afterparty is also OK ;) I earned few drinks yesterday by fireperforming and got even the gasoline sponsored ;) hehe :)
yesterday I climbed the "nose of the indian" and it was a really awesome hike!! got a four legged friend when I started the trip.. the dog (it would call it "sombra") was a reallly cool dog! guided me all the way, went along on a huge detour and was mostly 30 meters ahead to check the way.. I'm sure he would have gotten me out of trouble, if there would have been any ;) hehe :) on the other hand, I made sure he got some water and food and kept him out of trouble with other dogs :) ..he's super smart and climbed even up and down a ladder.. was really impressed! :D
there is some kind of conflict between two towns that have access to the indians nose (both offer guides and have a trail going to the top), so if you pay on one side, you have to avoid the other side.. that's why I made a detour to stay on official roads for the way back.

I got an idea where to go from here.. well, first another 4 days of chill and party and then to an active volcano, camping out on top and heading for new tires in the capital and then to Tikal, stopping on the way for some caves.. the roads seem to be safe where I ride and it connects many popular places of Guatemala.. so it's just perfect! :)

around lago Atitlan you find great food (had a BBQ last sunday and want to stay another sunday to have another good piece of meat! :) played petanque, chess and pool here and really enjoyed doing it (there are not too many opportunities to do so).
Met a lot of Swiss people that are traveling here in Guatemala.. so I got to speak Swiss from time to time ;)

so.. my pics are uploaded and I continue with my small tasks for the day :)

big hug and all the best!! having great weather here.. just have to put enough sunscreen ;)

..from the Jungle to the Volcanoes..

Beloved friends and family :)

I'm here at Lago Atitlan in Guatemala and will be chilling out here for a few days, probably hiking some volcanoes here :)

I just stayed one day in San Cristobal and drove then down to Palenque, where there are beautiful Maya ruins in the jungle! :) the ride was very beautiful!! spectacular through rain forest mountains, dropping through the clouds (it got very foggy and chilly for a moment) to leave the cloudy mountains behind and drive through jungle and over scenic hills!!
the people told me, that there are no more Zapatista issues (Chiapas is a very poor state of Mexico and the people are rebelling from time to time). So you see along the way signs that say "here rule the people and the government obeys" and it seems still to be alive somehow. Well.. they assaulted buses a few years ago, but it seemed to have stopped. But then anyway when I took a wrong turnoff, I hit a road block and 200 people standing around there.. half of them with black masks (what was kinda funny, because next to them was a black-masked-face painted on a wall with some Zapatista slogans). Well I didn't really know what this is about, so I turned my bike around and took the other way. Arriving in Palenque I heard, that the Zapatistas just attacked the local people of Agua Azul (another very beautiful place, where I wanted to stop on my way back), and hold them hostage in their own town.. it's about territorial issues and a conflict between Zapatistas and local people.. but it seems, that I just met the Zapatista army on their little push forward.. they closed the place for a few days (no tourist excursions to Agua Azul) and then the situation turned back to normal.. well, I didn't stop then on my way back, because it was still kinda "too hot" for me, to risk being locked down in this small town, if the Zapatistas would turn around ;)
but was not really dangerous.. the people were just dead serious, blocking the street and can imagine why.. there have been people hurt during the attack, so the vibe was a bit heavy..

then I spent some nice days in Palenque.. finally I didn't see the ruins that well as I wanted, because I blew it a little bit (for reasons not to be mentioned here :P ..I left earlier than planned and found myself an adventurous way back to a close campsite, that I visited the first night. I heard rumors about the trails through the jungle and found the way later on by myself :) well, it's not really off everything.. goes about 200-300m next to the road, but with a lot of thick bush. Mostly I was walking in dry riverbeds with steep walls :)
well.. so getting to Tikal here in Guatemala, I'll make sure to have more time to check out the ruins :D ..wasn't too bad in Palenque, no big loss, just one more deep experience along the way :)
oh.. and yes, my camera failed, so my picture album online is about to die.. maybe I take some cellphone pictures, but I don't feel like getting a new camera (I hate carrying around them anyway and not every moment has to be pictured.. so maybe I loose some wight and don't take pictures anymore :P ..was really frustrating there, because the site in the jungle is really awesome!! :) they dug up a lot of the temples and made the place really nice to walk through.. small waterfalls and jungle trails between different groups of ruins.

I had some amazing encounters lately.. met a girl just on the street, that I met at a psy trance party in B.C. Canada and then at the ruins my friend Delia who just lived 5km away from me while I was in Baden :) we had no idea where we are at the moment and was a really special encounter!! :D almost couldn't believe that we're meeting randomly on some ruins in the jungle of Mexico :D haha ;) yeah.. a lot of cool stuff happening, if you're traveling! :)

on Wednesday it was pouring 24 hours really strongly (kinda knew, that there will be a rainy day). That's why it's called rain forest ;) and it was pretty to see all the colors and listening to the sound of the rain drops hitting the leaves.. and it was super cozy, because I met somebody from Italy and we were cuddling the whole day in bed ;) hehe :) made ALL the difference ;)
there are some Swiss people working there.. selling jewelry and making fire performances. I also made some fire stuff, but just for fun and for free ;) ..and if I would have stayed, I might have got my own contract.. making some fire show and probably jam with my didgeridoo together with some other people.. but it was OK, just to have a look at the place and to move on. But I have enough skills, to stay in a place, if I wish so ;) hehe :)

so I packed my things the next morning and had a beautiful, sunny day to drive out of the jungle and getting close to the Guatemalan boarder. I visited a place called "Lagunas de Colon" and saw some small ruins (only local tourism), that are almost not worth visiting ;) but the way to get there was super beautiful.. lagoons with clear water and a lovely way through forest. The village itself is also nice.. half of it is flooded and there are all these lagoons, where people take a bath in :) ..crossing a street, I lied down my bike (no big deal, didn't hurt me or the bike.. ) and deformed my pannier again, that I had partly fixed a few days ago :P ..at least it was the one, that was already bent out of shape ;)
I was getting a cold, but took a lot of vitamin C and eat at a very, very small place in town (more a private household that is cooking for people ;) and got a real this-is-Mexico experience :)
went to bed very early, because getting sick..

the next day I felt great again and started with the sunrise to be at the border as early as possible. The crossing was really easy.. no rip off, no searching, no fucking around with foreigners.. just some paper work. Didn't see the Mexican side, so I had to turn around and the the emigration stamp, give my bike import papers back, getting a receipt, getting new stamp 3 month Visa in Guatemala (for free :) and paying 5 USD to import my bike for 3 month.. 1 USD to get my bike smoked and they just let me pass.. was really cool! :) didn't have had any problems crossing borders so far.. not in Canada, not in the States and not down here so far..

the most challenging part was driving through La Mesilla :) there were hundreds and thousands of people in the street, selling cheap products of Guatemala in Mexico (couldn't have been more chaotic than that ;) was really interesting to see.. have seen that in other border towns as well :)
and then my first impressions of Guatemala :) ..it's super, super beautiful!! had one on the greatest rides ever through volcanic landscape, over mountains, dropping then on the other side through the clouds down to Lake Atitlan (with a bicycle, you'd die on this trip ;) I'm sure I dropped over 1000m in a very short time.. even getting to the lake here were some of the steepest roads, I've ever seen (well, that's where first and second gear are for ;)
Guatemala is partly more expensive than Mexico (strange), but might also be just the place I'm hanging out now.. but beer it's 2 USD here.. hope to find it cheaper as well ;)
there are a lot of traditional clothed people and also the style of living is pretty traditional.. lot's of manual work, as it has been done hundred years ago in Switzerland.
But I experience it as pretty chill and good vibes here.. don't know, where are the dangerous places and how much corruption, rip off and mugging I'll find here..

So I took a sauna yesterday night and found some good company (I'm in San Marcos at the moment ;) but might anyway move over today to San Pedro (where it's cheaper and being more parties going on ;) I also want to hike some volcanoes.. there's even an active one just a few hours from here.. yes, the country is way smaller than Mexico, so finally I won't drive that much as I did in North America.

Well.. that's it :) you'll hear from me soon.. so far I'm having a lot of fun! :D ..even if this trip doesn't show pure Latin America (it's as most foreigners do, a Pizza and Pancake trip.. you end up in nice, lovely places, where other cool backpackers hang out) and not lonely in some small (&boring) local town, where the only shop has a small supply of goods, including Coca Cola :P
so yeah.. I've been more off the track when I was cycling, but it's hell a lot of fun, to go from Maya ruins to volcanoes and enjoy the warmth of Guatemala (I read, there's a lot of snow in Europe... well, I don't miss it at all ;) hihi :)

big hug and love'n'light!! :)

Maya Sign..

Hi there :)

you don't need to read that.. it's for having this entry completed. It's my Maya sign, that I looked up online (not sure it's 100% correct) but I liked it, so I post it here.. but you might just follow the link and find our yours (I know, Inet is not really cool, but the guy who set it up made it quite nice with the text..)



http://www.astrodreamadvisor.com/M_blue_sol_eagle.html


Blue Eagle is your Conscious Self - who you are and who you are becoming.

Blue Eagle reminds you to step powerfully into your commitment as a planetary server! Your assignment includes whatever furthers your personal evolution and the evolution of global mind. You are an awakener, a transformer, an empowered gloal visionary. In your vision, you have compassion for others, and your decisions are made in the light of global consciousness. Ask yourself how you might experience compassion toward self, the Earth, and others. Be guided towards types of work, relationships, places to live, and projects that will benefit the Earth and her creatures. Allow your spirit to expand. Soar on your spreading wings and planetary perspective. Affirm: "Through your, Gaia, I am also transformed! I am awakening as the return of divine love and light. We are all one. Gaia, as you awaken, I heal myself. As I awaken, you are healed, and together our petals open ecstatically to the new Sun of Flowers." You are a member of the one global family, a planetary server and transformer. Blue Eagle asks you to join in lifting the collective mind. It is up to each one of us to hold a positive vision and affirmation, for the means by which this miracle will occur is through changes in the one affecting the greater whole.Imagine the profound impact your loving thoughts have on planetary mind. You do make a difference! As you connect individually with the larger crystal grid network, your power is multiplied exponentially. This galactic grid is also known as the Mayan cobweb.The greatest gift you can offer to the planet is to simply be the love. Believe in yourself and your dreams and visions! Remember your special gifts, your path of service on Earth, your promise to serve the light. Everything you are connects to the greater whole. You are starseeded! You have the vision of the eagle. Believe in your dreams. You are the hope and the vision revealed.


Blue Monkey is your Higher Self & Guide.

Blue Monkey represents the Divine Child, the child that is ever in a state of open-hearted wisdom, innocence, trust, simplicity and joyful wonder. What would it feel like to actually BE a magical child in this culture and time? The secret that very few know - because they may feel more comfortable trying to protect themselves - is that the divine child offers the strongest of all protections, the invulnerability of openhearted Love. Through innocence, a kind of immunity is created that allows the divine child to be TRANSPARENT so that the apparent 'slings and arrows' of the world can pass right through without being personalized into wounds, reactions or hurt feelings. This is the path of innocence regained. Transparency is the path of the new consciousness.Look deeply into the eyes of a happy two year old. There you will see the innocent trust, openheartedness, and spontaneous joy that typifies the divine child. Imagine yourself as an enlightened two-year old, in a state of ecstatic communion and delight. In childhood, you didn't have to remember to be playful - you could easily and fluidly express your emotions. You didn't have to understand whys and wherefores - you knew with your heart. This if your natural state of being, the state of ecstasy, the path of revealed innocence.In Western culture, many people have a distorted understanding about what it is to be a human being. We are often taught that sucessful adults are responsible, serious, rigid, controlled and goal oriented. In your journey with society, your developmental stages may have been incomplete. The natural sensitivity, fluidity, and freedom of the child may have been left behind in partial passage. Perhaps your inner child was wounded or treated insensitively, and you carried this unresolved process into adulthood. Blue Monkey encourages you to bring forth this incomplete or wounded part for integration and healing.In this New Myth, your spontaneous, divine child will usher in and anchor the new frequency. How can you heal your inner child? Explore what truly gives you joy. Find types of work that support your sensitivity and create deep satisfaction. Be simple: love, play, dance, draw, colour, sing. These activities are for all divine children - they serve the expression of the magical child in everyone. Consciously make time for the joyful freedom and magic of play!The number for Blue Monkey is eleven, the vibration wherein novelty and spontaneity break down resistant forms. When unity merges with Essence Self, a mystical foundation is created that disintegrates old patterns. This is actually integration in disguide. As your walls tumble down, they crack into a smile, and the illumination of self shines through.


White World-Bridger is your Subconscious Self and Hidden Helper.

In this life-time you are being asked to release and surrender. Surrender is the opposite of giving up. It is freeing yourself from the desire to be in control, letting go of how you think things should be. Surrender is freedom. You are being invited to release yourself from the bondage of preconceived action, to let everything be all right as it is, so that you can live a more inspired life in the moment!You are being asked to take action in the process of surrender and release. You are requested to die a symbolic death, to surrender your limiting beliefs. Symbolic death unveils the self by cutting away the outgrown parts of yourself that no longer serve you. In such death, ego structures fall away to reveal the garden of the true self. Look for new ways of being, new people, new ideas, and new directions that will move into the vacuum created through surrender and release. Like yeast, surrender enlivens and empowers you to experience more of life's fullness.Holding on to past patterns and grievances only limits the possibilities. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Let go. Surrender whatever limits you. Face whatever you are resisting. In the experience of any loss, it is never too late to complete. Through your willingness to walk in the dark forest, insights and revelations will naturally emerge.


Red Serpent represents your Challenge and Gift.

With maturity and awareness this challenge will turn into a Focus. This is what you desire to learn in this lifetime. Red Serpent represents the reptilian brain. This part of the brain thrives on routine, pattern and predictability. If you are in the shadow of Red Serpent, you may be living your life on "automatic pilot," appearing to be separated from choices motivated by your Essence Self. Utilitze the power of Red Serpent to create spontaneity and novelty, freeing the predictability of the routine and habitual.The shadow of Red Serpent can also be seen as adherence to cultural beliefs. One example of this is having the "right" diet, car, house, meditation practice, and so on. Another is wanting others to fit your picture of desirability or fulfill your desires, in order to create a feeling of security and self-worth. Transform these patterns. Discover your own intrinsic motives. Sense the novel choices available to you. Practice making decisions intuitively and spontaneously. You are being asked to connect instinct with essence.Another shadow of Red Serpent is being attached to the physical body or being enmeshed in sensual desires. Perhaps you identify so much with your body and how it looks that you think your body is you. This can support the illusion of separation from your Essence Self. Work with the issues and physical desires held within your body. Step aside from your self-judgements and issues of sexual expression. Utiltize Red Serpent to fully experience sexuality in alignment with love. See the body as a sacred tool for transformation. Step aside from judging the sexual preferences and expressions of yourself and others.Hidden in the dark recesses of this shadow are issues of sexual dysfunction, sexual harassment, rape, sexual abuse, and the fear around AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases. Red Serpent offers transformation and healing. Revealed in these shadow issues of sexuality is a desire for deeper union, love, and intimacy. Some people feel intimacy only during infatuation or romantic interludes and lovemaking; however, intimacy is the mutual connection between essences. It is the ability to acknowledge the depths of another person, and it can be fostered through many kinds of sharing, including that of feelings and vulnerabilities, warmth and affection, and hopes and fears. Explore what it means to be intimate with another, remembering that intimacy is an open door to higher state of consciousness.The transformation offered in this shadow is found in learning to love yourself and others unconditionally.


Yellow Seed is your Compliment - something that comes naturally to you.

Yellow Seed is the ordered pattern of growth. You and your life are the fertile soil, and the mystery blooms within you through the power of your intention or seed thoughts. Just as a seed contains the hologram of its completion, the process of manifestation follows a natural order. In this gestation process, your intention is quickened by Spirit. The charged seed, your true desire or vision, becomes the focus for germination.What can you open that will support receptivity and assist the germination of your seed intentions? Envision the seed receiving the invitation to grow in the openness of your world. Viscerally feel the possibility of your heart's dream emerging. Your true desires and dreams contain an innate intelligence that can break through even the rigidity of fixed expectations. Planting a new seed, even in the hard soil of old belief systems, can bring unexpected magic and growth.Be willing to break open the constraining shells of past patterns, the shackles of belief structures. Call forth your creative involvement with life. This involvement frees and awakens the powerful energy of the life force, shifting your perceptions and experience, catalyzing the manifestation of your dreams. Participate spontaneously in your growth, unrestricted by the illusion of old structures that once provided safety. Move forward into the light of new possibilities.Offer your dream-seed to the universe. In the ordered patterning of the light, align with your heart's greater purpose. In gratitude, surrender and release the seed to the benefit of your growth and its own pattern of perfection.The number for Yellow Seed is four, the vibration of measure. This is the number of cycles and seasons. It represents the ordered patterning of the light wherein, as Jose Arguelles says, "form learns to generate its own seed." The number four represents the freed pattern of form, the germination of specific seeds co-created with Spirit. If you are in the process of seeding something, meditate with the number four and the energy of Yellow Seed to assist you.


Your Tone is Tone 9 - Solar

Completion, expansion, mastery, larger cycles of time, fulfillment, grand design.Nine is the ray of greater cycles, the foundation of self opening to the four points of measure and cycle. It is the grand design, the unfolding order of the larger pattern. With the Solar tone of nine, you are being offered the embrace of longed-for completion. Fulfill your pattern, your circle. Embody the mastery and wisdom you came to express. This ray asks you to be rather than try to be. Embody the wisdom of the larger cycles. Become the one who shines the light for others. You are the humanitarian whose being unfolds the larger pattern of the new world.In the grand cycle of time, nine is the number of completion and expansion. What is it that you are being asked to complete? Can you see the clues to this lifetime of completion? As you expand, shed old patterns that do not support your growth. Receive completion's fulfillment. You are poised on an arc of a grand cycle of time. In this cycle, time and space fold, past and future merge, and lifetimes meld in completion. Join in the fulfillment of the mystery of the triple triangle by offering your mystery to be woven into the larger loom of reality.

Montezumas Revenge :P

haha.. for some reasons my iron stomach got pretty much turned around the last days ;) but anyway, I'm traveling on and just arrived in San Cristobal de las Casas, an old and beautiful town, where I will spend the next days :) hmm.. was pretty much a day :D started at 4.00am feeling really bad, getting up at 7.30am and having pancakes and 2 coffee at 8.00am to be fully packed and rolling 9.30ish :) getting out of town, military stopped me and wanted to check my stuff, but it was more friendly tapping my boxes, while the attention lied on the conversation I had with the official :) he told me where to be careful and that the roads were built with minor materials, so not to slip if it's wet ;) Anyway, they wouldn't have found anything and I don't even think in starting to unpack my stuff.. then I can pitch the tent first ;) ..So I drove on and broke probably my record of riding hours, with having to lacto drinks along the way (no worries, for tonight I got some appettite ;) was cloudy and therefore hot and humid when I started in the morning. Hit some raindrops, but no real shower.. just drove through. The scene changed from roads through dry forests and over hills, to Mountains and Sierra.. it's incredibly beautiful, what I've seen so far from Chiapas :D
there were of course some other Militaries along the way who stopped me and we were talking for a while about bikes and stuff.. he was kinda keen and and asked me about smoking weed and finally I wonder why they didn't search me.. either he liked me too much to have a closer look or I just convinced him, that there is no need to do so :D haha :) in both ways, it's amazing what happens to you because of you! :)
I spent 3 dollars to get on the highway and make it barely before dark in this town here.. jaja.. was just in time. (also getting lot colder up here) found in notime a cool hotel with this free internet, free breakfast, hot shower, parking, even cable tv to watch Cartoon Network ;) hehe :)
all this for less than 15 bucks..

was good to move on from Zipolite to some other place (how things can change quickly..) I spent my last day driving to a beach, where a plane of a drugdealer once crashed and still a plane is sticking out of the sand :) made some pics.. will be online soon I guess.. :) went also through a chilly boatride through the mangrove forest of a nearby lagoon.. saw a crocodile and some animals on an island, where I wasn't sure if they should be there or not..
had quite some hours for myself (that I really needed!!) ..maybe was also that in Zipolite.. was quite a busy time..

ah.. and actually, it can easily be dangerous here in Latin America.. but along the way you hear various times the same recommendation (as I'm here ;) and you hear where you should not go.. drugtraffic cities as Ciudad de Juarez (that's just next to El Paso, where I stayed a night ;) hehe :) but other side of the boarder :P ;)
so anyway.. it's not too hard to be safe.. of course, you never have a guarantee, but it's not just randomness, once your there, you will know :) and: the places you should leave out aren't really "must sees" ;)

well.. heading out for food.. a fruitjuice and something that goes with my stomach ;)

the streets got pretty dirty here.. rubbed a lot of dust out of my face and have to improve my helmet-glasses.. getting red eyes by pure driving around ;) hehe ;)

have a great time!! ..Mexico is really cool! :)

Zipolite, beach paradise! :)

Hi there friends and family :)

I spent another night in a Hammock in Acapulco, because it`s just so crazy expensive!! then I continued to Zipolite, where there was a beeeeautiful psytrance party the last week end! :) dancing on the beach in a full moon night.. was really enjoyable! :)
well, I might continue here from Zipolite, after I have been here for a week.. met a lot of awesome people and had great times!! :)
well, at the moment, my stomach recovers from something strange that I eat ??? but it`s not too bad. My back is hurting terribly .. but that`s all that bothers here. Otherwise I managed to keep my insurance running again and went on a snorkling trip yesterday with friends (was nice to be out for a day and do some other stuff instead of hanging around ;)
Last Friday I went to an aqua massage class.. was the last days and my friend did some with me and it was a real special experience!! you get a nose clip and then you`re moved around in the water, catching breath whenever you can ;) but being in underwater silence with closed eyes.. awesome!! :)
hmm.. might add something later to this.. right now going on the beach and chilling out (recovering from stomach issue ;)
hear from me soon and have a great time as well! :)

..passing Acapulco.. :)

Hi there friends and family :)

ah well.. I was already in the office and ready to start with the theory of skydiving, as I got the message from my friend, telling me, I should do it in another place, because Mexico might not be accepted by the rest of the world (or Switzerland). Maybe it actually would, but I got too many doubts and just headed out right away.
now I´m getting more information and also asked in Switzerland some people what they think about. Maybe they can give me an update where I can make it.. it's just postponed!! ;) not canceled.

I drove this day then to Lago Patzquaro, where I stayed the night with a friend and her daugther (such a sweet little girl!! :D she made me a drawing and I think, we liked each other a lot!! ..too bad, I didn't have more time there to hang out there. They live in a nice round house with 2 floors, having electricity for a year now, but still no connection to water (so simple, basic life).

Yesterday then I drove to Ixtapa (that's like Cancun, super touristy and sometimes weird things happen because of this). Stayed in a protected camping and just put my hamock, after I jammed with some people from Poland and had some nice talks and some beers.. what pretty cool, for still being in such a touristy place.
Since I left GLD, I found myself new plans and goals for traveling. So I will be in Zipolite for the Weekend and then going to Chiapas (a state, that's much nicer than Yucatan) and want to stay for 1 or 2 weeks. Somehow have to prolongue my insurance.. will try it by calling them tomorrow.

I wonder if I will ever be able to drive normally again after Central and South America ;) ..I just go adapting and without putting myself in too many risks, you pass cars whenever there is space and the right moment. They have a lot of "bumpers" on the road, where you have to slow down (because otherwise nobody slows down ;) so when cars are lining up to pass these, I just can pass by, having much better suspension :)

I still have to adjust my bags, but overall the new way of packing is much better than before :)
was really nice driving down here!! until getting into Acapulco, there was not too much traffic (happy to be outside the town again ;). It´s the same with my bike.. as soon there is no wind (standing still), then I overheat very quickly.. so I just want to be going! ;) the engine heats up to 100ºC before the fan starts (does it even on lowest RPM). So at least I know now how this should work and if the fan would fail (what didn't happen so far), then I hear it and can turn the engine off).
here it´s hot, sun, blue sky and I really like it!!! :D ..beautiful beaches and a cheap living, a psy trance party about to come.. what more could I ever wish for? ;)

hmm.. I guess, that's it.. let's see to get out of this place.. Acapulco has been famous since the 50ies, as I heard, where moviestars from the US made holidays. I just had this name present.. they have beautiful beaches here, but as I'm not spending a lot of money (and mostly not liking the vibe of doing it ;) I don´t miss a lot here by just driving through..

OK.. hear soon from me. I'm heading out here and see that I can enjoy another sunset on the beach.. :) (yes, I'm having pretty much a real good time here! ;) hehe :) ..and dude, it's so badass to travel with a motorbike through Central America!! :D

..still in the city..

hmm.. after having been stressed out yesterday, because it took so long to get my bike ready, I'm still here :P wanted to leave today, but no idea where to go ;) hehe :) and was organizing quite a lot over the last days (I should chill out somewhere!).
I bought the leather bags for my bike (pic will follow) and they look super badass and they just FIT! haha :D couldn't be better designed and I'm happy for once no improvisation-job ;) and they would have been much more expensive, if not from the handcraft market :) I started to pack my bike and will probably head out tomorrow (or the day after :P )
oh.. the problem of the overheating was bad fan performance.. they almost changed it (we waited 2 hrs for the part) and then it seemed to work again.. hmmm.... remains a strange feeling, for how long it will work fine this way. But it would have been another 230USD just for the fan and I prefer to order it somewhere and change it by myself, if it really has to be, than just spending the money to be sure. I'll have an eye on the warning lamp and if there's a problem, I know where it lies. (I actually kinda heard that the fan isn't running as firm as normal.. should have trusted my senses ;) but I'm glad, they found something.

Wow.. and then as result of spending quite some dollars for calling and internet, I have now 2 places close to hear to make my parachute license. I actually wanted to do it on the beach, but it seems, that even the schools on the beach have their training in the inner part of the country. Well.. it's not too bad.. just don't know which one to pick and I still have a few open questions, that will be answered soon hopefully. I probably just go for it, as I wanted to do it anyway and haven't done it in the States. I think, it will be more difficult to find further down (and high prices anyway), so I should just take some time here, spend the bucks and have the adrenaline rush! ;) haha :D ..I'm pretty excited by the idea to jump out of a plane ;)

yesterday I went out and went to bed when it got day again (haven't done this lately..) and as a result, I was sleeping a lot today, getting ready for tonight ;) was contact juggling to some electronic music and pretty much rocked! ;) hehe :) was really cool vibe there.. hope to find something similar tonight. the Psy Trance Party I wanted to go so badly might be out of reach, once I choose to walk the clouds ;)

have a nice day and may life treat you well! :)

hmm.. :-/ seems I lost a post for some really strange reasons.. for it was a remindable time, I´d like to have this posted here, probably in more short form, to be mentioned in my diary ;)

I met two girls at the camping and we hung out the next beach, where you can camp for free. Was a bit hard to get there with my bike and even harder to get out (broke my boxes and looking for a more durable replacement.

was super nice triping out on the beach and we had really cool neighbours.. eat pizza made at the beach, played volley, I got invited some coffee and cake in the morning and eat some porridge. Had lot´s of wonderful conversations and a heartful goodbye, when I left the beach and picked up things in Sayulita. Was despite all a bit a stressful day, maybe because leaving the place, change, then trashing my front boxes and having the bike overheated in a traffic jam at midday. Stopped there and eat some tasty food, that lied then but a bit hard on my stomach for the next two days (well, not too bad, just normally I wouldn´t be affected at all).
I stayed the night in Puerto Vallarta, figured out about BMW dealerships, could spend a night in at Jeans place (guy that I made at the beach) and was SO needed to recharge.. take shower, wash all my clothes, shave, charge devices and organize and plan where to go..
was incredibly happy for the hospitality!!! :D ..then drinking a hot choclate and eat some crackers, watching a stylish horror movie.. was Awesome!! :)
then a nice ride over the mountains to Guadelajara.. can´t complain so far :)
thats about it ;)

..getting things done.. :)

just a short update, once here is fast and cheap internet ;)

I made it to Guadelajara (almost overheated :P and my little baby is now in a BMW workshop, where they make it all new ;) hehe (almost ;)
well, the problem seems to be known and it´s as I thought oil in some part, namely the airfilter. I could have probably fixed it by myself, but as they also set the level of oil, control all the data and make sure that the bike runs smootly, I´m happy it can be done with a few dollars.. well.. it´s about 360 bucks, but includes new cooling fluid (has to be changed) and changing break pads and fluid (hell, that´s important! :) then new tyres and changing will also be about 250USD but will be done in Guatemala, where it´s cheaper than here (hence they are not completely down).
I found myself a 13-dollar-hotel and stay in the city center.. was going out yesterday (bars pretty empty because Tuesday) and met some nice people to chat with :)
today I went looking for bags.. the shops just have for the rear side and I called pretty many places to decide finally, I go looking by myself. Ended up in the marked (biiiig) and checked some backpacks to improvise algo and found along the way some cool leather bags.. they´re not sooo big and I need to put plasticbags inside, because they don´t seal and the set (they´re knot together in the middle) is also 100 bucks.. but at least they are super durable and survive things, that the plastic boxes didn´t. So I will check tomorrow if they really fit and buy the upgrade ;)
maybe I put a fur on my seat (for being more comfi ;)
was also considering to buy a poncho, but I have no extra room.. so maybe later if I loose some things along the way ;) ..and oh, I´m proud owner of a badass-slingshot now :D haha ;) looking forward to practice in the countryside! :D

I´m still trying to find out, if I can make a parachute license here.. might still be 1500USD, but one day I want to make it, so why not just here ;) same are diving prices.. for 2 month training, they ask for about 2500USD (well, for two month it´s not too bad ;) hehe :) but it takes time and some money.. I´m so incredibly happy, I had to come back to Switzerland to work.. it didn´t just turn out as the best year in my life!!! (before this trip ;) it also allows me now to travel without worrying about budget.. riding a bike comes a bit higher than hitchhiking ;) hehe :) but as life is more affordable here and I´m having time to explore and discover, I think I should just enjoy my ride down ;)

hmm.. it´s probably all that occupied my mind. It´s really freeing to write some words down :) will get my bike tomorrow, hopefully getting my bags and then heading out on Friday, visiting some friends at a beautiful lake with volcano :) ..ah.. life is great!! :D hope you enjoy as well!!
love and blessings to you!!

..Sunshine and surfing.. :)

Wow.. it´s quite a while that I wrote something down here (or many things happened since then ;)
I had a very long driving day to Durango and straight on to Mazatlan, traveling the "devils spine" as it´s called. Really gave me a level-up in my riding skill ;) there were hundreds(!!!) of sharp and steep curves with zero visibility. rain or cold would have made it impossible to drive the 300km over the mountains (it´s the rocky-mountain-chain that continues in Mexico). I´ve seen dozens of crosses along the way, that must have come from accidents on snowy and foggy roads. Anyway, there are trucks along the way that set their indicater, when they think it´s safe to pass (because you can´t see nothing from behind). Was quite an adventure! :D ..then arriving at sea level, the bike started to overheat. I still don´t know exactly why, but might have to do with the altitude drop (air pressure change). I ignored the warning lamp for ten minutes and the hotel was already in sight, when coolant spilled out of the circuit and vaporized on the hot engine. Looked pretty dramatic :-/ and I thought, a hose has broken.. but well.. I stopped, pushed the bike to the next hotel and got myself overheated, because of having many, many layers for crossing the mountains (must have been 3000m at least). Took me ten minutes and a cold shower to normalize my heartbeat :P I remembered my fathers words, that before freaking out, it´s worth to check the situation.. so I disassembled the side of my bike the next day and found that there is no leak, even still enough coolant inside. So I assume, the cap has an overpressure valve and it opened (would be very fool proof ;) I spend 2 nights in Mazatlan, a quite touristy harbor city.. with a road along the beach for making it really loud and noisy :P
but well.. spend some time on the rooftop, doing some tai chi and kung fu stuff, watching Pelicans flying very close over the roof to get the upwinds :) was really cool!! :) they´re pretty big and dive near the shore in the ocean to catch some fish.
I had then another day riding down to Sayulita, where I stay now for already 3 nights and might stay a bit longer ;) the bike was fine so far and I hope to find a BMW dealership in Mexico city, where I could get a bigger service done (will be actual, once getting on the road again :)

here it´s super nice!! blue sky, sunshine, beach, graet waves for surfing (lots of surfers here) ..a tropical paradise! very small town, cool people (I get along well with just anybody ;) haha :D
tried some surfing yesterday and it´s really fun! I would get my own board, if I would have a car to travel (and then stop along the beach and do some surfing). I might try bodyboard for it´s easier ;) ..oh.. and met some skydivers that totally inspired me to make my license here in South America.. if I find a school, that offers the whole package for 1000 dollar, I want to do it! :D
I figured out, that a budget of 50USD per day is what I spend here.. it´s not too bad, because in Switzerland, I would have about the same.. so I enjoy eating good food and having some convenience along the way.

have a nice day and hear from me soon! ..it´s really nice to hang out here and chill for some days! camping out what cost´s me barely nothing and getting cold, cheap beer from the store ;)

be blessed!!

..Sunshine after all! :)

..waaaay better now ;)

I actually had a wonderful time in Saltillo, what first I didn´t expect at all.. went out to a bar and met lots of really cool people! :) there was a good rock cover band that I had awesome conversations and went eating some local food at 4am :) there is a guy that I might meet further down, who studies biology and we talked a lot about different plants, the dinosours they found here in the Sierra, Aztecs and Mayas, geography of Mexico.. was interesting to the bone! ;) hehe :) I got ideas where to go, what to do and what to try.. as for example drink tequila called "Mescal" (no, there is no mescaline inside ;) and eat the worm at the end (yeah.. I might do that, just for the fun of it ;) the girls are pretty and even understand them ;)
Had also conversations about corruption and drug war here in Mexico.. they have to big rivalising families, that have a bloody, messy war. But as always.. you don´t get killed, if you don´t mess with the things. For just traveling through Mexico, it´s very unprobable to get shot at a red light for honking (because you just don´t honk ;)

So I slept until 10.30 this morning, had some breakfast and drove about 4 hours through the flat desert with some mountains fading in the haze, blue sky and sunshine :) Ok.. still had 2 pairs of socks, thermo pants, cotton pants, jeans, 2 swaethers, 2 t-shirts and my full bike equipment, but it was very acceptable for a ride :) ..makes me just a bit stiff to have so many layers for so many hours.. the good times getting massages whenever I needed, seem to be over ;)

here in Torreon, I stopped in the Crown Plaza and ask where there are nice places to go out and where to find a cheap hotel ;) driving a few kilometers more and asking in a place or two, I found a super nice, relaxed place just a few blocks from my hotspots here and this for only 15 dollars (strike! :) and has parking for my bike (wouldn´t want to leave it the whole night outside.. think would be possible, but then I should probably empty my boxes, what is kinda unconvenient :P ;)

bueno.. let´s go for a taco and some grilled mais :) maybe tomorrow will be a quite night ;)
be happy and all the best! :)

..chased by the cold..

que p*ta..

I´m having the pleasure to experience Mexico in it´s snowy look.. what happened the last time 4 years ago.. so WHY now?!?!?
well.. I´m staying here in Saltillo, a small town with the population of 20 000. Checked in, in a hotel with heater and bath tub, so I can defrost my bones ;) again spending 50 bucks, but there is NO WAY to stay outside.. it has never been that cold, when I was riding my bike.. was below zero and I had my viser frozen from the ice gusts :/ so after 65km (I started early this morning in Monterrey) I was frozen to death and had to stop.. hmm.. should be better tomorrow (at least no fog :P then I could drive to Torreo that lies 260km west from here.
yeah.. it´s pretty adventurous to travel like that ;) hehe :) never know, where you end up and what you gonna eat the next day. So I don´t complain.. it´s just.. on the other side of the mountains would be sunny beach ;)
people here are super helpful!! whereever I go, they make calls for me or check the internet or giving me best rates they can. I really like this country!! :)
hmm.. what more.. I met a girl from Quebec yesterday night and we were chatting and having some drinks at the bar. I´m getting into the Mexican Spanish (it´s mostly "que padre" what means, "really cool/badass" ;) hehe :)
so yes.. exept for the cold, I´m doing well here. All these changes aren´t that bad actually (I realize, how good I am at dealing with changes ;) was of course a bit a cultural shock after 6 month in the States, but doesn´t take me very long to adapt :)

Just had to tell you about the snowy palm trees and the rough ambiental conditions ;) the handle bar heater doesn´t really warm my fingers, but prevent them from freezing to the metal ;) I´ll be shouting out loudly when I see the sun again and if it´s getting warmer ;)

here they have super highways where you have to pay and free roads.. depending of the road condition, I pay to have a road by myself (local people mostly don´t pay so you have more accidents on the small roads). it takes you at least four eyes to check the traffic and getting out of Monterrey I got a feeling how Mexico city will be ;) hehe :) but as long you turn your head and check the mirrors before changing lane, you´re fine.. just keep in mind, that they drive pretty crazy ;) ..I´m trying the local beers, food, different coffees at the gas station and enjoy all the small differences :)
by now my room should be clean and (hopefully) heated up.. so I can take a bath, eat some yummi food and explore the small city (and bars tonight ;)

Ay Caramba.. que frio!

Mexico.. here we are :D

well, well, well.. it was a bit unconvenient to get out of NY.. getting up very early, delayed flight and my beloved Swiss Army Knife, that I forgot to take out of my carry on bag :( ..so I had to leave it behind :'(

then I got picked up in Austin by Liz´s sister Sarah and brought to her auntie, where I stayed for one night.. found a very helpful motorcycle garage that let me change oil and filter and the next day I made some shopping in the morning and continued to Laredo (was it spelled like this?) anyway.. it´s a boarder town in Texas, where I stayed another night.. got too drunk and stoned and passed out in my room :/ used the time to organize my stuff and pack my bags and panniers. All in all I´m very satisfied with the last 3 days.. getting from NY to Texas and getting my bike ready. Driving down to the boarder and organize stuff and today getting all the paperwork done and driving into Mexico :D

it´s kinda strange to write this blog in English, while I´m switching to Spanish here, but might help my multi-lingual-ability ;) ..forgot many words in Spanish, but it´s coming back pretty quickly :) I had to buy an insurance for Mexico (checked a few places and found an offer for 70USD for 3 weeks.. it´s pretty OK :) anyway don´t think of getting into an accident here.
the most dangerous thing you can do is driving at night.. so I just DON´T ;)
was very confusing to obtain all the papers.. drove over the boarder (bridge No.2) and then to the temporal import agency to pay 30 bucks for my bike and another 30 for me.. didn´t get rid of my US Paper, so I parked at bridge No.1 paid 25 cents to walk across and drop that paper. Now they know that I left ;) when I came back, there were some guards inspecting my bike an I wondered what they would say.. turned out that one of them is also biker and I got my first contacts (friends further down) and it made me feel really welcome in this country! :)
to mention.. haven´t been searched or checked at the checkpoint if I got all the papers :P hehe ;) so I appreciate not getting fucked here in Central America :)
well.. it´s hard not to be a star when you arrive on a packed bike like that, but it´s the beautiful thing of riding a bike.. you get a lot more credits for it than sitting in a car.. and it´s just fair, because I´m freezing my ass off at the moment for it´s 13ºC/-1ºC ..brrr.. :-/ why does it always happen, that I have to catch up with the summer ;)
So tomorrow I can either head out for Durango (where it´s supposed to be even colder and snowie) to drive after tomorrow through the mountains down to the coast.. or waiting it out here in the city and staying another 3 days --> in fact, I more like being on the beach ;)

OK.. my time is up here.. time to have a beer somewhere in a bar and freshen up my Spanish ;) hehe :) it´s so totally different here in Mexico.. I think, I really like it! :D
hear soon from me and be well out there!
que les vaya bien! ;)

Happy New Year! :D

dear family and friends :)

I hope you had a nice Christmas and you are ready to celebrate the new year! :) ..I totally am! :D
so I went to this Party out of town the last weekend and it was really AWESOME!! :) met lots of cool people and Natasha joined me the second day (I kinda wanted to be there as early as possible and got a rideshare on Saturday). I bought a bus ticket for Natasha and happily everything worked out! ..the party had some lows.. first there weren't that many people as expected and then there was this strange story that the organizer got sued because some people drunk and smoked in the Hotel.. but overall it was a BLAST! :) and after the party ended earlier that announced, there was an afterparty at a friends place.. so we were about 10 people and had a looooot of fun in the Upstate of New York :) we drove back with our new friends, got in a traffic jam and made it finally back to Manhattan :) ..just had barely enough time to relax between the parties here ;)
Natasha bought me an Ipod (kind of my only X-Mas present this year ;) and she brought me back a beautiful pendant from Aruba (what a nice souvenir to wear and remember her!). She treated me out for dinner yesterday and we went eating Sushi :D this was the BEST Sushi I've ever had!!!! so yummi! haha :D was great.. we had raw salmon, cooked eel and a lobster.. together with a glass of sweet plum wine! my god!! this was truly wonderful and unforgettable! (since yesterday I can say, that I love Sushi! :D ..we walked through Dumbo (it's a place in Brooklyn, where you have a beautiful view of Downtown with all it's skyscrapers and lights). We went shopping and got a lot of tasty stuff.. we even visited an erotic store ;) hehe :) oh yeah.. haven't had that much sunshine in my life for a while!
I'll be missing her after all this! ..but still, I want to move on (my place is on my bike on the road). I lived so many things lately.. I feel really blessed to be on this trip... no, I really feel blessed to be on this planet, to be incarnated and having such a great life!! :D
I'm growing a lot on this trip.. normally I can't really tell how I changed, but there are quite a few things that I realize, have come to my mind! :) things that I've never thought of before and that have become so joyful now. for example the kinkiest sex on this planet! ;) haha :) yeah.. life is great! :D
I'm organizing my stuff now here.. will probably have to discard some things when I pack my bike again (and I'll be happy to be on the road with the things that I really need). Haven't played guitar for so long.. will also be good to have some time for me. want to get a bit more in shape (gained some wight lately I guess :P will have time to stretch my back and to some more fancy kung-fu stuff along the way. Will put my English on stand-by and start to refresh my spanish (oh boy.. probably have forgotten quite some of it).

well.. I'm drinking some chai here, enjoy the cozy apartment and getting (mentally) ready for tonight's party! :D

wish you all the best and my best blessings for the coming year!

hugs & kisses!!

..oh boy.. :)

hmm.. seems I have to catch up with a few things.. might leave out a lot.. happened so much!

well for the start.. I moved last night from Brooklyn to Manhattan.. now I am in a luxury suite, that I could never ever afford in my life and enjoy all the convenience one can think off ;)
unfortunately the circumstances weren't really good for this to happen.. Liz and I kept having a hard time since we came back from the Ukraine. She was totally stressed by not finding a job and getting her life together (and as I think suffering of the struggle between heart and mind). But she told me, it's her decision to stay here and I started focusing on my trip (just couldn't take it, when she moved all her stuff back to her room).
well.. then we had a lot of back and forth. I was begging to have a break.. it was just all too painful and sometimes you have to make a step to obtain change in your life. I'm don't want to break up, but I want to live the last 2 weeks here in New York in a different state of mind. I became so depressed and tired causing and experiencing all this suffering :( every day was we had an escalation in some form and I've seen Liz so hurt and angry (because having a lot of emotions that she can't control). Yes, she is MADLY in love with me and I'm sorry that the chosen form is just not healthy. To part our ways 2 weeks earlier is unfortunate, especially if the reasons are having huge problems with our relationship. But then seen for a year it doesn't make that much of a difference.. traveling I will be doing, what I'm doing now.. living.. loving.. learning and teaching. Except for knowing what pain I cause once more in Liz life (I would wish for she get's a different point of view.. feeling a love that can let go), I'm very happy here.. I have total privacy for a week. Natasha, a Russian girl that I met a week ago at a party, let's me stay here in her apartment, while she is reading books for her studies on the beach of Aruba ;) hehe :) (the way to do it!). She is an impressive person with a fascinating story how she got here from Sibiria (funny, isn't it ;) ..we had good conversations and eat super tasty food and spent some time together.. was such a relief for me!
after telling me to leave and begging me to stay, Liz can (more or less) cope with this so far.. even if the fact, that I moved in with a Russian girl didn't really please her. but there's a Psy Trance weekend to come and I feel, I want to go with Natasha.. I couldn't explain it all here, what's behind it, but it's important to her and I feel as giving a little bit back of the hospitality that I enjoy here and invite her to that place. Well.. Liz might also be there.. might be sad and angry.. I also don't like to be that ignorant about her situation, but it just doesn't work out between us at the moment :( both being super tense, waiting for a small issue to be confirmed in all the fears and worries and an emotional rollercoaster as I can't remember having had yet.. it makes me sad to see her in such a mood, being unable to be a good boyfriend (really performing bad after all that happened between us) and being miserable, making her sad an miserable seeing me like this. So even if this is a pretty hard and painful step, it might be better than continuing.. it just freaks me out and I will be running away after having desperately tried to have good time here. So I'm sorry I have to pick these two weeks for me out, but I think, it's for the best in the end.. I have not forgotten what Liz and I lived together and I understand her and the situation (ahh.. aren't wisdom and understanding such good things? ;) ..yeah.. if you want to know it in the end: it's not sure, if we would have made it together through this trip, but I would have stood up in Liz's place and dealt with her parents situation (creating a truer relationship through it). I don't like dealing with a suffering heart and never regretted a heart decision!
but Darma says that we have to go all our own personal way and that there's no way than through all this experience..

so well.. I had some good parties here in New York, met quite a lot of people (even tough that I wouldn't really hang out with them during the week --> was so occupied with relationship issues :/ but it's a really good vibe! People recognize my contact ball and I'm getting in the scene very quickly :D
NY itself as I heard is a pretty rough place. People are in a hurry and it's a lot about money.. of course.. big city. but still, beautiful with all the experience that can be made and with all the things going on (couldn't be more cosmopolitan ;)
what more.. (was troubled so many, many moments :( ..I went to see a chiropractor and went for some treatment.. was not too expensive and was good to hear, what's the current situation. so because of lower back spine problems, my hip is somehow moved back and causes pain by pressing on the nerves.. so I want to start some hoola hooping (fun and good for abdominal muscles ;) and do some exercises.. ah.. it kinda sucks, but then I can deal with it.. it's not killing me and as long I can dance on parties, I'm fine ;) the doctor is really cool.. knew what he is talking about and nice person (for me seeing almost never a doc ;)
there are some nice parks in the city (as everybody needs green space to stay well in the urban jungle ;) I had lots of good coffee and bagles :D ;) hehe :)
so.. that's it for the moment.. oh.. and we got snow here! :D there was a blizzard going on two nights ago and Sunday morning, the city was moving really slow.. hundreds of cars stuck in the snow (nobody got winter tires here :P ) and quite some accidents, as I heard.. crazy place! :)
if you want to google earth me, I'm close to the Grand Central in upper Manhattan.. it's a total awesome place! never was like this in the "heart" of New York :)

love and light to all of you and you'll hear from me! :)

..a night in Kiev..

..and just ONE night, and then I'll be on my trip again and out of familiary closemindedness!



if you are amongst the people that took time to see me and offered their hospitality, then let me say THANK YOU to you once more!! it was just wonderful and healing my soul, these few days back home.. seeing family, friends and going out to party! :D



I made up my mind quite a lot.. one thing is, that there is no "way back" to the old plan, because after all these difficulties, I'm happy to do that trip by myself.. sorry, there is a limit of inviting in and being enthuiastic.. so in best case, Liz will join me in June.. if either she finds out, where she can buy and register a car in South America or is willed to jump on my bike.

hmm.. was really freeing to see what awesome life with awesome people I'm having back home!!! :D ..I'm glad we met (even just for a short moment) in the middle of my trip (naah.. still more than half to go ;) because you never know what happens in life..

hmm.. this morning (I started this post yesterday and finishing it before getting on our plane) is our flight back to NY.. there were some events that happened (and won't be described in here) that may make me going away as soon as possible.. thank to Liz's parents.. after this we now really need a break. (was another unsatisfying night being seperated :( ..I'm sorry, but I just DONT CARE ANYMORE what they say or what they want and seeing Liz being humiliated doesn't help changing that picture :( ..she was crying when I came back home yesterday and instead of healful cuddleing, we had to play once more hide and seek with the bedrooms.. I'm really sick of being somebody that I'm not. I started to ask myself, if I'm just a rude person that doesn't accomodate others, but I think it's more my way to bring change to this world :) I think Liz's mom should learn (and accept), that adult people may want to sleep together and have some privacy! (and I failed to deliver that message, detained by Liz)

OK.. I'm going for breakfast now :) my back hurts since days (or weeks) and I should do some exercises to stretch and build up muscles. I might be very soon in Mexico once my camera and credit card that I forgot in Switzerland :P arrive.. maybe Liz is right and she needs to organize her chaotic life by herself.

Home.. Sweet Home..

who would have ever thought, that I will make it back to my beloved home country on this trip??

..even if the circumstances aren't all that pleasant, I'm looking forward to come home for 10 days, see my Mom and family, visit friends and go to parties!!! :D

long story short.. our trip was DOOMED from the beginning :'( it didn't matter if I would have come here or not. Liz's parents are just so stubborn and afraid that something could happen, that they only allow her to visit me in Chile and Argentina (booooring!!). That is really disappointing, especially, because I thought we are making a compromise here and not getting a solution dictated :( anyway.. may be good to do it this way. I just got so sad about all this, about the situation, that we can't talk to each other about this (Liz had always to be the middleman), that I couldn't really smile and be happy --> I'm a straight forward person and as transparent as one can be. this doesn't mean, that I got unfriendly.. just not that euphoric and enthuiastic, as I was arriving here. this automatically got interpreted as "hostile" (the word her parents used, talking to Liz) and they figured, it would be happier, if I wouldn't be here.. what is in the way of a self-fulfilling-prophecy true, because if I get "exiled" this way, I don't really want to be here. So I'm REALLY happy to get out of here. Especially because we can't talk together about this.. I'm glad to not see their parents anymore (they went to bed earlier yesterday and got up earlier this morning, so I could avoid all personal contact with them). It's really sad, because I don't like to have relations like this with people, but it seems that they are totally unable to talk about this with me (we had a conversation a few days ago and Nancy got upset by the pure fact, that I'm expressing my feelings and concerns). So all this seems to me like tail-between-legs and run away instead of having an open and clear conversation about this.
I mean, I even accept the fact, that they say, better safe and single than allowing Liz to come with me, but I like at least to be able to talk about.. that's why I came here in first place, remember? ahh.. it's between poor and pathetic, but however.. it doesn't mean the end of my life and I enjoy getting the "good old energy" back again, that I lost over the last days.. I felt so terribly miserable in my mind, my heart and my body. I just could experience the destructive force of bad thoughts, of not being aware and present.. good I'm getting out of it.

so yes.. flying in a few hours to Switzerland and Liz will join me in a few days (after she had some quality time with her parents). then we are together for a week in Switzerland, go back to Kiev to catch our flights to NY.. so finally the trip was time and money consuming and very, very intense.
..instead of going to Baia, Mexico, I went to Texas, flew to New York, flew to Amsterdam, connecting flight Kiev Airport, driver to Kiev city, driver Kiev airport, Budhapest, connection flight Zurich, being 10 days home, Zurich to Budhapest, connection flight Kiev, driver Kiev city, sleep one night, driver Kiev airport, flight Paris de-gaule airport, connection flight New York, flight (or Bus) to Texas, where I gonna pick up my bike again... HELL I'm glad to be on my ride again after all this!!!!!!!! it's probably as crazy as it seems ;)
..and my back hurts :(((( ..to add a complaint more ;) HAHA :D ..ah.. whatever.. cu soon! :D

..the sun breaks through the clouds..

..today was actually the first sunny day with blue sky (was almost shocked.. how could this happen!? ;) hehe :)

on the other side, we progressed with our bilateral negotiations and the things don't seem that lost as before. I think, it took the million tears, to bring us to the point, where we stand now.

for Liz it meant, that she doesn't remain silent here and we can forge our plans and for me it meant, to get a bit more distance to our relationship (what isn't actually a bad thing, considering that I will travel for a long time by myself and considering the uncertainty of our future).

So yes.. somehow it seems possible, that we can get a car and travel on for quite a long time in South America, if this is what we want, once it's getting May. I mean, there are more hurdles to take, but for me it was essential, to know that there exists the possibility to do so.. otherwise I would have loosened our relationship right away (who wants to accelerate, if you're about to hit a wall?? ;) hehe :)

for me it's OK to join every single day that we still have here (and in New York) together and I think, I will start after Liz birthday (6th of January) with my trip and will have about 8 countries to cross. in the meantime Liz will try to get a job and save some money to contribute and we will see how we feel about us, when I reach Colombia.
it will be a mix out of three factors, how much we still love each other, how much Liz can contribute to this trip (I don't want to buy the car with just my own cash) and how much she feels to come to Switzerland after this (getting rid of all the stuff in New York and being prepared for a new stage in her life in the place where I'd like to settle down for 1-2 years after this.. close to Zurich, maybe even apply at my former employer (because I loved it that much there! :)
Liz will have 5 month to get into Spanish and make researches about jobs or studies in Switzerland.. this could be farming or serving tables, freshing up her German in case she wants to make some German studies or find some wicked English studies she wants to do or any work that her Russian/Slavic studies diploma would allow her to do.
I can't tell her what kind of jobs and possibilities in CH there are (as I don't know what I will do after this), but she will have time to figure out and motivate herself for this.

if it doesn't work out, then it's the way it has to be, but I think, then we will both have something better and we don't have to worry about this right now ;)
having the idea to give it a try and the word of their parents that they won't interfere anymore is enough for me to sleep peacefully ;) hehe :)

I mean.. we don't have the final "Yes" for that, but since Liz talked to her parents yesterday, it looks better than ever and I feel, I don't have anything to loose..
I was prepared to let go of all of this, because it was so tough, so much destructive energies, that my feeling told me to do so.. surprisingly things seemed to change (as her parents also care about our relationship) and let's see, how we will end up.. you don't get guarantees for anything in this life, so I should be more calm about all this ;)
what made me turning back to my original plan to do this by myself on a bike was also, that the ammount of difficulties was getting to high to still do all this.. especially when Liz said, that she doesn't know about coming to Switzerland (of course she can't right now, but she told me different things weeks ago.. so I said to myself.. "hmm.. let's see if this will have future"

but compared to the night before, the last night was super splendid wonderful!! :) we bought a tasty 5 dollar champagne and drunk it in the park, had a devine midnight snack at their place and cuddled seeing an animated movie, having a lot of fun! :)

today we were out (with the personal driver of Liz's dad) to a open air museum of old houses and how people lived in different areas of the Ukraine in different centuries. Was really nice!! I took a lot of pictures and will put them online soon :) I hope the black/white ones will be somewhat artistic ;) hehe :)

I'm also improving my english by making all this funny mistakes, that make Liz laugh and telling me, how it's supposed to sound ;) ..and we found small rubber bands for my hear, to section them up again, so I can crochet on and make them look even nicer.. HAHA :D (was hard to find these rubber bands here in Kiev ;)

..yes.. overall.. I'm very happy with my life, happy to be here, happy to love Liz.. can't complain. it seems, that sometimes happiness has to be bought with pain (what buddhists preach for thousands of years ;)

now I'm having a hot bath and then I will meet a CouchSurfing friend here in the city and talk about life and the universe :)

if you read this, drop me some lines! I hope, you're fine out there!! :)