Making new friends

A short post today but I wanted to share a night of crazy fun with our friends from Santiago, Chile. I also felt a thank you was in order for all of their help and hospitality, and for a damn good time.

We met our good friends Raul, Fabian, Teresa and Lesley (taking photo) whilst on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) on our second trip there, shortly after Roxy was stolen from us in Valparaiso.

What a fantastic bunch they are. They where on their vacation and had another 12 days on the island when we met. We where all staying in the Mihinoa camping site, which as you can see behind is was very close to the ocean.  We explored some of the island with them, went fishing like the locals (with much less skill one must say) and partied with another friend and only auto electrician/panel beater in Hanga Roa, Manuel the mistrallero (Mistral is a brand of Pisco and he stood by it always)

Just to sum up what magic people Raul and Fabian have been I briefly explain how they helped on our return to the mainland. We needed to pick up Roxy from the Placilla police station 25km from Valparaiso and we had no idea where it was, if it ran or where the hell to park the thing. And all we had was 2 days to make a plan before we had to catch our flight to Cusco in Peru. Not only did the boys offer to drive us to the police and drive back with us, which incidentally took over 4 hours as Roxy over heated and needed to be towed to Santiago, and not only to let us park our car at Fabians place in the center until our return from Peru. NO not only to take us out that same night and let us sleep in his apartment and drive us to the airport and offer us a place on returning from Peru. Not only did they do all this, but they also proposed we move the car to Raul's father house, where he has a garage where they can make any necessary repairs and upgrades to the car. We all decided to leave the car with them for the next year or so and have it fixed in the meantime and when we go back to Chile to either use it or sell it. UNBELIEVABLE, seriously! Though I'm sure they had fun on the crazy adventure of saving Roxy, it was never the less a tough feat. A feat which the never seemed to be a burden to them. I was lucky to be in Santiago for my 31st birthday and we partied (on a budget) like I was 21.  HUGE thanks to Raul and Fabian to whom I'm in debt. Until next time guys 

319 days

We made it to Amsterdam! more than 10 months we are back in EU and it's like taking a sweet shower after a long days hiking. Travelling from La Habana, Cuba to Paris then change to train until we arrived after 23 hours at Robin's place in Jordaan, Amsterdam . We met Robin and Lenneart in Brazil and they invited us.


Cuba was an incredible roller coaster ride. A heavily contracting land with such a different culture (or in some cases lack of it) that it feels that in this case the con way out the pros. Rebekka and I have different take aways from 17 days we spent there, but for sure we both agree that it's a must visit country.

We where very lucky from the go it must be said. A HUGE than you to our friends for their wedding gift which we cashed in staying a a 4 star hotel in the old city Habana Vieja. 3 nights of warm(ish) water, fresh sheets, soft pillows, comfy beds and space.

Our luck continued when we met Juan and Wilber, two street musicians who's voices where the initial attraction. So harmonious it really stood out from the rest. I approached the gentlemen and asked if they would mind if I filmed them. They agreed but only one condition, that we record the next day so the could dress for the occasion. So we agreed to meet the next day. After recording Juan invited us for lunch in his house in Regla, a suburb in the industrial section of the Habana harbour. We stayed late after lunch and Juan said it's no probs for us to stay the night. We ended up staying 10 days, Ha Ha ha....

We did go on some trips and found a last minute deal to stay 2 nights in a resort on Varadero, their pride and joy beach peninsula.

Cuba however will be a topic frequently mentioned in future posts. As beautiful a place it is, it too is riddled with unnecessary controls and suffering from the general population and so it's important to write in detail about this country and not just imagine it as a paradise where everyone is happy and loves their socialist state..