Which way is home?

Season's greetings to everyone and happy new year! Tomorrow we fly back to Europe and our journey finds its end. We've spent nearly 4 weeks at home (for eric) in Venezuela doing lots of friends and family visits and a little bit of travelling. On Monica's last visit to Venezuela we travelled mostly East of Caracas, whereas this time we ventured mostly West of the capital. We went to the Venezuelan Andean region called Merida, where my cousin Ximena got married to her half-Argentine boyfriend Emilio. Monica was sick for the wedding so I had to party all by myself.... I was obviously very sad... dancing with myself... :-)
On the way to Merida we stopped at two beautiful beaches for a night: Choroni and Patanemo. The weather along the coast wasn't great, but clouds at 30 degrees still beats sunny minus degrees by a mile, especially at Christmas. The water of course was 'Caribbean Sea-warm' as ever. Some things don't change.
Before Christmas my aunt and uncle surprised Monica and me with a pre-wedding gift. Well, yes, it is official, Monica and I will be tying the knot legally as soon as someone is kind enough to offer us work and salary... Anyway the gift was a magical night out at a beautiful B&B in the mountains that surround Caracas and overlook the Caribbean. Dinner and everything was included, so it was absolutely fabulous. Definitely something I would recommend to anyone visiting Caracas.
Christmas and New Year were relatively calm affairs with my little sister and her mom. We had very nice Venezuelan food and enjoyed Caracas fireworks from the safety of our balcony. We are now preparing our bags to head to Munich and Italy for a week each and enjoy the leftovers of the Christmas mood and food over there.
After that Monica and I have decided that we would like to settle for a new life, job, etc. somewhere warmer, sunnier and closer to the sea than Luxembourg, and most people would probably guess where we're off next: Valencia!
I have to admit Monica was bargaining hard for Barcelona, but in the end having very good friends and nearly family in Valencia cut the deal. Now all we need is to find new jobs, a flat and the rest will come all by itself.
This however means the end of our round-the-world trip and this blog. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have writing it. Take good care of yourselves and try to travel, but try and do it responsibly. Think of our planet, save energy and offset travel-related carbon emissions, if you can (atmosfair.com). Take only pictures and leave only footprints... cheeeese...
eric & Monica

Breakfast in Galipan and the view of our room

Patanemo bay

The Venezuelan Andes

Ximena & Emilio

Guacucos in Boca de Uchire

A dip in Quebrada Quintero

New Year's Eve from our balcony

We're now close to the end of our journey. Chile is the final country on our shedule before heading home to Venezuela. Our time was limited, but we managed to visit quite a lot of places and do lots of different things. In Santiago we visited the most important historical sites, such as the site of the city's foundation (Cerro Santa Lucia), and the corner of the colonial style streets of Calle Paris and Londres.
Then we moved to the coast where we stayed for a few days visiting Viña del Mar (the beach getaway for the residents of Santiago) and Valparaiso (the colonial port town with the famous hillside lifts). Finally before heading off to Caracas we stopped in Casablanca to taste the produce of one of Chile's reknown wine regions. Very recommendable!!!
In the end we left the country with a feeling that has become so familiar to us from Japan, Australia and New Zealand; this country has so many more places left to visit and to see... We'll have to come back again.
Santiago





Viña del Mar

Valparaiso



Wine-tasting in Casablanca

We stopped in this country to visit my cousin Rodrigo, his wife Diana plus all the family and friends. And after two weeks here we´ve come to the conclusion that those three things are what life is about in this little South American country.
Everybody (no exceptions) talks, lives and breathes football here. As a result we went to see Uruguay draw against Chile in the legendary Estadio Centenario and Rodrigo even took me with his cousin to see the clasico, too. In particular at the clasico the fans were outstanding, never ceasing to sing, shout and swear with the teams run onto the pitch being a particular highlight. The match itself didn´t convince, but it did have all the things a good South American match should have: Goals, red cards and a beat-up.... Now you might be getting bored of my football comment...so was Monica!
But therewas something in this country for her, too: The food! After months of fruitless search in Asia & Pacific, we finally got something resembling a proper pizza between our teeth, and of course the meat here blew us away! We went to various places, the market (Mercado del Puerto), local restaurants and at home (Rodrigo´s aunty, whose sons Guagui and Caito took us out fro drinks on various occasions... :-) Muchas gracias boludos!! ) and everywhere the meat we had was mindblowingly good! We have a few meat-loving friends (Fat-boys in Lux & Rupi in Munich) who will have to come here and taste for themselves!
But we also threw in a bit of sightseeing between all that eating. Colonia del Sacramento to the West of Montevideo, right across Buenos Aires (which we will have to visit another time) on the Rio de Plata, is a nice colonial town and the only Unesco heritage sight here. And Punta del Este, the point where the Rio de Plata meets the Atlantic. We really enjoyed the beaches there. Our first sight of the Atlantic since we´ve come round the world... Anyway, to conclude my little gastronomical swerve here Colonia and Punta del Este are also known for their milk and therefore sweet-produce. Dulce de leche, loved by Uruguayans and Argentinians alike is everywhere and in everything! In an ice-cream parlour yesterday we counted 6 flavours that contained dulce de leche... out of maybe 20. The stuff is obviously delicious and addictive, so that Monica is keeping an eye on my belly so I don´t put on all the weight I´ve lost in the past few months... ;-)
Tomorrow we´re off to Chile (unfortunately only for a week), that should finish my little affair with the dangerous sweet...
Finally a big GRACIAS to Rodri & Diana for letting us squat in their place and showing us all the fantastic places we saw and people we met. And of course to Rodri´s family who went out of their way for making it all possible! MIL GRACIAS A TODOS!!!

Montevideo

Palacio Salvo (where Rodri and Diana are staying)

Tango demonstrations


Eric & Rodri at the CLASICO

The lighthouse at Colonia del Sacramento

Sealions at Punta del Este

We thought anything after Tahiti would be a bit of a downturn, but we were wrong. Well, the weather was cooler, rainier and a fair bit windier, but Easter Island hides a lot of mistery in the ruins of its once dominant megalythical culture and its hypnotising isolation. The island is home to only about 3000 inhabitants and it is so small that even as a tourist it is hard to get lost. As a result you quickly feel at home and as if you knew everyone on the island. Our camping site was set at a beautiful location, right at the edge of the rocky coast between Hanga Roa´s harbour and its tiny fishing port to the South. That meant that we had access to freshly fished tuna, mahy-mahy, etc. within 5 minutes walk from our tent. Our fellow Japanese campers couldn´t believe their luck and went to buy fresh (and cheap) tuna practically every day to eat as sushi, grilled, cooked, etc. We were easily convinced and followed their example by buying and sharing a small 4kg mahy-mahy with 3 French campers and grilling it at our campsite. It was obvisouly delicious. I even received some sushi-chopping classes by a Japanese camper. I can´t say I´m an expert, but what looked more more like minced fish actually tasted nice.
On another day we took a guided tour with an anthropologist who has lived on the island for years. He introduced us to the mysteries of the island´s history, the ancient culture and some of the more interesting and photogenic spots. Fascinating stuff.
Another really amazing fact about Easter Island due to its isolation is the purity and clarity of the air and water there. Nearly every night the sky would clear up and show more stars than we have ever seen... We were even able to clearly make out satellites travelling across the sky. On calm (less windy) days we went for a swim (the water here is relatively cool, so Monica didn´t spend much time in it) and one could easily see under water for more than 30 meters...for me that was absolutely amazing, and although the marine fauna around the island isn´t so rich, the little coral that has grown is in absolutely marvelous state. Some of the most beautiful I´ve seen.
Very few animals live on and around the island, but there is one kind that blew is away: sea turtles. Very big ones, too! They live around the island and swim seemingly oblivious to tourists and resident beachgoers around the harbour. Monica sat there for hours watching them, while I tried to swim with them....Magic!
Our next stop is Montevideo in Uruguay, where we will meet up with my cousin Rodrigo and his wife Diana to get to know town and country and get some meat between our teeth again... Meanwhile some Easter Island pics: