Confirmed Changes!!

God... I have always been hopeles at planning... but this is getting worse!

This morning (last night for her) I called Bea, and we replanned my trip so we can meet up in Venezuela on 15th June. Isn't it great?! :o)

This means that I postpone a month or two my arrival in Ecuador... but I also got carried away but the new possibilities (it was all the for the same price!) and decided to go directly from Lima to Brazil... but things do not finish there... I have also decided to go South in Argentina and go North to Santiago (I have to get there before 15th Dec)... and then fly back to Buenos Aires (it took me around five minutes to set up this last plan... the guy from Quantas was freaking out with me!!!)

So here it is the new Itinerary... it's getting smaller and smaller... makes me feel sad... or well... means more time on the road, and less time on boring planes ;o)...

----------------------------------------------------------------
QANTAS AIRWAYS QF321 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 26MAY06 SYDNEY/KINGSFORDSMITH 1055
ARRIVE 26MAY06 SANTIAGO/A MERINO BENITEZ 1245
OPERATED BY LA LAN AIRLINES
DEPARTS FROM TERMINAL 1 1 STOP
ARRIVES AT INTL TERMINAL 15:50 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A340-300 NON SMOKING
SEATS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) : 23D
BA98494746 GONZALEZ/JAVIERMR
----------------------------------------------------------------
LANPERU LP564 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 14JUN06 LIMA/J CHAVEZ INTL 1235
ARRIVE 14JUN06 CARACAS/SIMON BOLIVAR 1735
4:00 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320-100/200 NON SMOKING
SEATS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) : 17J
----------------------------------------------------------------
DEPART 07JUL06 CARACAS/SIMON BOLIVAR 2005
ARRIVE 07JUL06 LIMA/J CHAVEZ INTL 2305
4:00 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320-100/200 NON SMOKING
SEATS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) : 17C
----------------------------------------------------------------
LANPERU LP769 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 20SEP06 LIMA/J CHAVEZ INTL 0140
ARRIVE 20SEP06 SAO PAULO/GUARULHOS INTL 0830
ARRIVES AT TERMINAL 2 4:50 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : BOEING 767-300/300ER NON SMOKING
SEATS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) : 22J
----------------------------------------------------------------
LAN AIRLINES LA431 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 15DEC06 SANTIAGO/A MERINO BENITEZ 1050
ARRIVE 15DEC06 BUENOS AIRES/PISTARINI 1245
DEPARTS FROM INTL TERMINAL
1:55 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320-100/200 NON SMOKING
----------------------------------------------------------------
IBERIA IB6846 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 22DEC06 BUENOS AIRES/PISTARINI 2140
ARRIVE 23DEC06 MADRID/BARAJAS 1430
ARRIVES AT TERMINAL 4S 12:50 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A340-600
SEATS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) : 30J
----------------------------------------------------------------
BRITISH AIRWAYS BA455 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 11JAN07 MADRID/BARAJAS 0700
ARRIVE 11JAN07 LONDON/HEATHROW 0830
DEPARTS FROM TERMINAL 4S
ARRIVES AT TERMINAL 1 2:30 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320-100/200 NON SMOKING
----------------------------------------------------------------

And tomorrow... Trapeze session... pfffffffffffff! Outdoors... and now it's raining and it's cold!!! One of my brilliant ideas, isn't it??? I am a kind of a "not too clever" clown, obviously!

If this looks like a boring day to you... well... I am sorry... but imagine the "rush" of changing my plans for the next 6 months... hey... I needed to take it easy, don't you think? ;oP

Make sure you have a nice day... not only for me... but for you!

Un besote muy muy gordo a tod@s !!!!

Ciao ciao,


Heiwa XX

Sydney and the Mountains... the Blue ones

Hello Everybody from Sydney!!!!

Well you can guess it from the pictures I guess... The Opera House is probably one of the most representative buildings in the world... i.e. after so many constant changes from one place to another, from one country to another, from one city to another... I got to a point that I didn't realize where the hell I was. But, hey... you see the spinnaker of the Opera House here... and there is no doubt that you are in Sydney!

If you then look a little bit further north you see the Harbour bridge... and then you feel like part of the postcard... so sweet!!! As you can imagine that was the first thing I visit when I got here... even before I met Louise and Helen for dinner in Chinatown that night. So cool to catch up after four months!

Somebody told me about the Blue Mountains (I didn't see anything blue over there... so don't ask me why they are called like that... ain't got a clue!) 2 hours west of Sydney (there is only water on the East side!!!), and I had a bit of mountain and trecking "cold turkey". So the morning after... got my Rucksack, and went there... and found an incredibly beautiful Canyon, with rainforest, parrots, cockatoos and lots of other things... ah... and the famous and sacred (at least on this part of the world) three sisters! The incredible thing is that I met Matt again... this world is sometimes huge... and some other so small...

I went back to Sydney on time for the Surrey Hills (hippie) festival... and decided to take Andy's children with me, so they could have some fresh air and some live music... and then I went to see "Circus Oz". Damn... I miss my trapeze!!!!! It was really good... and felt kind of different to be in a theatre after so long... I might go to the Opera House and see some theatre this week.

Today all the backpackers I was with left town in different directions, so I went to walk the weekend markets, get on a ferry to see the Bay (the pic shows how I always imagined the Sydney Bay... full of sailing boats with the SkyLand in the back), and see the (in)famous Bondi Beach with all the surfers...

Now some news... for those that managed to read until of this huge "post"... Just to let you know that SuperBea has decided to quit her boring job, and make one of her dreams come true: looking after Turtles in Venezuela (well... I never had good friends that I could define as "normal"... and that includes most of you)... so I am planning to go and welcome her in Caracas on 15th June, i.e. I might change my itinerary for this one:

- Santiago - Lima overland from 27th May till 14th June
- 3 weeks in Venezuela (or so)
- Fly back to Lima and go to Ecuador until the end of August
- Travel Peru and Bolivia for 3 weeks
- Fly to Santiago... and then off to Sau Paulo (Samba pa mi... y pa ti!)
- Go from South Brazil to Argentina... mientras el cuerpo aguante... or while money last (maybe time to find a job and settle down... for a few weeks!)

And the best thing of all this is that it might happen... but it will certainly change... as everything I planned half a year ago!

Well... I hope I haven't bored you toooooooo much! Make sure you keep on smiling everyday... Big Time, ok?!?

Un besazo gordo mis ninh@s !!!! Cuidaros mucho... Tengo muchas ganas de saber que estan todos ustedes en perfecto estado... asi que ya me estan mandando noticias frescas!!!

Ciao ciao!!


Heiwa XXX

Off to Sydney

What's up Buddies!?!!

What did I the last days in Cairns??? Basically F*** all... i.e. we spent one day at the fake beach, the lagoon, and the next day rained... so it was a day for "cafe" visit.

The day at the lagoon was really good, actually. I met some of the people from the diving boat, and Cedric brought the torches with him, so I got my first try at juggling... absolute dissaster after three hours of trying hard!!! The park around the fake beach is quite cool, coz' you have some places where you can cook your own stuff, and it is all for free... for a change :oD. It is not the classical BBQ where you have to bring coal or something to make fire... it is a kind of a flat hot grill... so we bought some food and cook ourselves a few burgers...well Andy, Cedric and Mike did most of the work... I just looked... too many cooks spoil the soup ;oD. Awesome!!!

When the sun was going down... the professional got out his professional torches out... and showed the crew what joggling is about :oD. On the pic you can see Cedric performing!!! He should have lit them with fire... and the show would have been perfect!!!

When yesterday morning was raining I decided to change my flight to Sydney and bring the dates one day forward... so this morning I took a plane, and I am now in Sydney... not sure what to do yet here, but I am meeting Lou and Hel (Tobi is back in Germany :o( ) for dinner tomorrow and I am sure they will give lots of tips... and we'll have a big party!!!

Hope you are all fine!!! Lots of kisses!!!

Muchos besos a todos... manhana me voy a ver el edificio de la opera!!! Y luego a ver si veo algun Koala en el Zoo... que no me puedo ir de aca sin verlos :oD


Heiwa X

Back from the GBR

Hello buddies! What's up??

Back in Land now after three days in a boat that didn't stop rocking... and now it's me the one that can't stop rolling... or maybe is the computer's screen... don't know, but I think this symptom is call sea-legs... and alcohol hasn't make it any better, believe me!!

The weather was quite bad and the sea was not at its best. I have to admit that end up "largando por la borda" on the way to the reef... pfffffff... but once there I spent more time under the water than on the boat. We did 11 dives and we saw lots of corals (of course), quite a few white tip sharks, huge turtles (that will not go away when you got close to them), massive wrasses, big batfish, great barracudas, little flatworms... and lots of other stuff. Again, the visibility wasn't at it best, but we could really enjoy it. You can see why diving becomes addictive so quick.

The boat was great (I got a berth for my own... first time I got my own room in the last 6 weeks!!!). And the crew were awesome. If anybody is diving around here, the company is called Pro-Dive. Recommended.

It feels like at the reef the fish grow bigger than in other places... like looked through a magnifying glass!! Ah... and we also dived where the famous "nemo" was copied from... so, I guessed we "found" him!!! At last!!!

Last night after getting in land I was soooooo tired I went straight to bed, and then we all met for a drink (or two) (or three) and it was all going very well, until I lost everybody... and end up really tipsy (?!?) in my dorm speaking French with a couple of Canadians that were in the other bunk bed... weird!!!

Anyway... I'm still in the boat and when I close my eyes I still see fish all around me... so I am getting more dives for the same price. Ain't that good?

Virginia, thanks for your tip, but I don't think I can go if it is still close... can I?? :oD But it might be a good place for a Honey Moon. I would definitely consider it if I were to get married around 1st Sept... is that your case!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!???!??!!!?

Lots of kisses and hugs from the Great Barrier Reef (GBR)... or its proximity :oP

Muchos besos a todos... sigo vivo, aunque me mareo de mirar a la pantalla... no deja de moverse... es la leche!!! Cuidense mucho y cuando coman pescadito rico, piensen en como seria cuando estaba debajo del agua... asi lo saborearan mucho mas. Os dejo que me voy a hacer una barbacoa de Kanguro a la playa de mentira que hay por aca.

Ciao ciao!!


Heiwa XXX

Going to the Great Barrier Reef

Hello hello!!!

I have spent the last two days in Cairns in a Backpackers called Gilligans that is a super trendy backpackers (it looks more like a swanky students resident than anything else) where the whole of Cairns meet up at night. That is not a lot, as Cairn is quite a small town.

I have also spent the last days checking the beaches around Cairns. They are really nice as you can see how the Tropical Rain Forrest meets the sea, so you get these green montains with beautiful Palm trees and Mangroves (anybody keen on trying to spell this??!?) that end up in the lively waters of the East Coast... but is only when you are thinking about getting in the water when you realize that no one else is swimming. You then wonder why... and ask around... and they tell you about the stinger jelly-fish. Apparently it is still the season (like if they were peach or apples)... so you have to go in the water with a Stinger Suit... pfffffff!!! And just in the imaginary case that I had one of those suits (that I haven't)... when you carry on walking you find pannels like this ones:











Serious injure or death??!?!?!? Damm... and Tarzan used to kill them with a swiss army knife!!! Well... I left mine at Gilligans... so no swimming in this waters... serious injure... pffffff... I can imagine the pannel in the UK: "For safe and healthy reasons, blablabla"

Anyway... as these guys want to enjoy the sea... what do they do??? They just create a fake beach just right next to the sea... like they did in Brisbane. They are, actually, quite good at it :oP. And that is really the Cairns beach: the Lagoon! So I spent my afternoon in the local beach checking out the "cheeks".

Tomorrow I am going to get myself in a boat for three days and dive around the great barrier reef. It is suposed to be one of the best places of the world for diving, but apparently the recent cyclon Monica has left the visibility a little bit bad. Still... it should be quite good!

I'm off to see the Gilligans Wednesday night... no drinking tonight... and early night!

Sweet dreams to all of you!!!

Un beso gordo... os dejo que tengo que ir a ver como esta de ambiente mi supergarito y hacer la mochila... manhana a las 5.30am arriba... menudo stress de vida que tengo... a ver si me tomo unas vacaciones que me va a dar algo!!!!


Heiwa XX

Now in Cairns

Hi Everybody again!!

The last few days I have been chilling out in this beautiful place called Byron Bay, south of Brisbane. It is again one of those little paradise where you can easily see pelicans, parrots and even dolphins in the wild... really cool. That is during the day. But at night it turns into a place quite similar to Clapham (including its own version of Inferno's: CheekyMonkey). So you get the two sides of the world.

There were no waves so we couldn't surf... So me and the other guys in the Backpackers (very nice people. Share a 10bed dorm with 9 brits... why did I come to Australia?!?!), sticked to the beach during the day and the clubs during the night. I had forgotten how much people could drink... I was the wimp, and drunk in three days as much as I had drink in the last 4 months. Nightmare!!!! :oP

Last night I went back to BrisVegas, and met Michelle for dinner. Had the best pizza since I left Europe and a incredibly good chat with Michelle. She had been at the Australian football and I had to wake up early... so we decided to stick to the water... which was a very good decision!

This morning I had a great time waiting at the Airport... I cheked all the shops, enjoyed the view of the planes taking off and landing and observed what people do in the airports on a Monday morning... all thanks to Quantas and their flight changes. So nice of them!!!

And now I am in Cairns. Staying at (in)famous Gilligan's. Apparently the place to be, when you are a backpacker in this town... sooooooooo coooooool! The weather is a bit crap at the moment (shame!) but I think I will go Diving on Thursday. I am trying to get a Standbay price in a 3 days boat-trip. Until then I haven't got a clue of what to do around Cairns... but i will find out :oD.

Also these last days I had great news:

1.- Mr Chubby Bennett is in its way to maturity... November is the deadline
2.- Evita ya esta aca y se queda en casa de Nacho y Elena!!!! Tengo foto de la gordita (que ya no lo estara), pero quiero pronta foto de la bebita!!!!
3.- Marta y Alberto han dejado de vivir en el pecado terrenal y se han convertido a los ojos de todo el mundo en Marido y Mujer (o vice-berza)!!! Viva los NOVIOS!!!!

Well mates (I am picking up the lingo ;oP), make sure you are having fun, ok??!

Un beso muy muy fuerte para todos (especialmente para Evita!) y cuidaros mucho!!


Heiwa X

New Changes in the Itinerary

Hi Everybody!!

Well... what a nice surprise today when I woke up at 4.45am to get to Brisbane airport to fly to Cairns and found out that the have booked me on a flight a couple of hours later. Sweeeeeeeeet!!!

So I decided to check out the situation of my different flights (specially the one towards Santiago) and decided to make a few changes, mainly in the dates. For anyone interested (it is quite useful for me to have them available in the web ;oD) here are the new details:

----------------------------------------------------------------

QANTAS AIRWAYS QF925 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 17MAY06 CAIRNS 1355
ARRIVE 17MAY06 SYDNEYKINGSFORDSMITH 1655
DEPARTS FROM DOM TERMINAL
ARRIVES AT TERMINAL 3 3:00 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A330-200 NON SMOKING
----------------------------------------------------------------

QANTAS AIRWAYS QF321 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 26MAY06 SYDNEY/KINGSFORDSMITH 1055
ARRIVE 26MAY06 SANTIAGO/A MERINO BENITEZ 1245
FLIGHT OPERATED BY LA LAN AIRLINES
DEPARTS FROM TERMINAL 1 1 STOP
ARRIVES AT INTL TERMINAL 15:50 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A340-300 NON SMOKING
SEATS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) : 23D
----------------------------------------------------------------

LAN AIRLINES LA572 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 01JUN06 SANTIAGO/A MERINO BENITEZ 0740
ARRIVE 01JUN06 LIMA/J CHAVEZ INTL 1025
DEPARTS FROM INTL TERMINAL
3:45 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : BOEING 767-300/300ER NON SMOKING
SEATS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) : 22L
----------------------------------------------------------------

LANPERU LP564 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 28AUG06 LIMA/J CHAVEZ INTL 1235
ARRIVE 28AUG06 CARACAS/SIMON BOLIVAR 1735
4:00 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320-100/200 NON SMOKING
SEATS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) : 05L
----------------------------------------------------------------

LAN AIRLINES LA561 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 18SEP06 CARACAS/SIMON BOLIVAR 1055
ARRIVE 18SEP06 SANTIAGO/A MERINO BENITEZ 1735
ARRIVES AT INTL TERMINAL 6:40 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : BOEING 767-300/300ER NON SMOKING
SEATS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) : 22L
----------------------------------------------------------------

LAN AIRLINES LA750 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 15OCT06 SANTIAGO/A MERINO BENITEZ 0800
ARRIVE 15OCT06 SAO PAULO/GUARULHOS INTL 1240
FLIGHT OPERATED BY LANEXPRESS
DEPARTS FROM INTL TERMINAL
ARRIVES AT TERMINAL 2 3:40 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : BOEING 767-300/300ER NON SMOKING
----------------------------------------------------------------

IBERIA IB6846 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 22DEC06 BUENOS AIRES/PISTARINI 2140
ARRIVE 23DEC06 MADRID/BARAJAS 1430
ARRIVES AT TERMINAL 4S 12:50 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A340-600
SEATS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) : 30J
----------------------------------------------------------------

BRITISH AIRWAYS BA455 ECONOMY CLASS (L) CONFIRMED
DEPART 11JAN07 MADRID/BARAJAS 0700
ARRIVE 11JAN07 LONDON/HEATHROW 0830
DEPARTS FROM TERMINAL 4S
ARRIVES AT TERMINAL 1 2:30 DURATION
AIRCRAFT : AIRBUS INDUSTRIE A320-100/200 NON SMOKING
----------------------------------------------------------------

Un beso fuerte para todos!!!

Heiwa X

OzLand

Hello Everybody!

I got to OzLand yesterday Morning... in fact I got to BrisVegas (Brisbane) and spent most of the day recovering from the nigth in the airport, the funny trip and the new status! This town is kind of different... there are high buildings, but it is really quite... I thought people were on holidays! and also they have a fake beach inside the town... when we are like an hour away from the gold coast... it doesn't make any sense to me... does it make sense to you?!

At night I met Michelle (Jane's school friend) and Fran... and they invite me to a home dinner!!! Awesome... people here are just great... I couldn't contact Michelle until very late in the afternoon, and I got a pick up at the Backpackers, a Malaysian meal, a great chat and a plan for my stay in the area... Ain't that great!! Superb people!!

So the plan they made for me is: Byron Bay... and chill out there for a few days... Cool. There is the Mardi Grass as well this weekend in the area, so I might get some good music appart from the sun and the surf (I think I am going to kill my budget completely in this country!!!). I don't think that is the London kind of Mardi Grass... for those interested in it... but sure there will be lots of beer: This is Australia!!!!

Well... I hope you are all ok and having fun... On my side... I have a bus to catch, and a beach to lie down at... coooooooooooooool!!!!

Muchos besos a todos. Espero que os esteis cuidando mucho, ok??? Mantenedme informado!!


Heiwa XX

Kia Ora... NZ

Bueno, pues llega el momento de la despedida de mami. Han sido 20 dias muy especiales.

La mami se lo ha pasado genial. y yo, por mi parte, me lo he pasado genial. En unas horas ella se embarca en otras 30 horas de vuelta a la tierra patria, y yo me largo en direccion a Australia... A empezar una nueva etapa, otra vez solo.

Haciendo revision de todo lo visitado anoche nos dieron las 1000, y no habiamos llegado a la mitad del viaje. Buena senhal. Penilla por dejar esta locura de pais, sus paisajes, sus gentes (Elisa y John se llevan la palma) y el Toyota Corolla que nos ha acompanhado estas tres semanas. No me he ido y ya tengo ganas de volver.

Penilla tambien por dejar a la mami... companhera de viaje bueniiiiiiiiiiisima. Clarisimamente no sera el ultimo viaje que nos peguemos juntos :oD... y los tours organizados para otros, que la jefa quiere rollo mochilero (eso si, con viajecito en helicoptero a ser posible). Con ella se van las fotos de estos dias. Fotos de Ballenas, de montanhas, de delfines, de volcanes... y tambien recuerdos que no se pueden fotografiar. Cuando ella llegue, supongo que el Chiqui se luzca y las ponga a disposicion del personal (ya hay bastantes colgadas en la red).

Si alguien se plantea pasar por aca... un consejo... dejad de plantearoslo y veniros. Esto es precioso!

Bueno... me voy que me espera una noche entretenidisima durmiendo en el aeropuerto mienttras espero al avion de las seis.

Cuidenseme ustedes mucho!!!

Un besazo muy muy fuerte!!!!


Heiwa X