Home sweet home
Not much to say there, unsurprisingly there is something unsurpassable by all the wonders along the way, and that is coming home, meeting the girlfriend, having some dark bread, having a sauna and seeing all the friends again. That is why the blog was left unfinished for a while.
Seeing my house from the air as the plane landed was really a sight for sore eyes:
Soon after my arrival I headed for my birth place, Lappeenranta, to see my mom and to visit the family summer house with Johanna. Some pics:
Eventually, things are getting back to normal. Here I am at the party for new students of my university, with the traditional party overalls:
Now what was supposedly left was to end the blog. However, the past week has shown that it might be a good idea to keep on writing, so I'll probably change the headline soon and continue to write about various stuff going on in my life here. To my surprise, I'm told there are readers.
Now, upon arrival, I'm faced with the question of "What was the best of all?". I tried to figure it out, but could not pick one that was above others in everything, so here are some "bests" (keeping in mind, of the places I went to):
Best country overall: Colombia (people, food, prices, culture, nature)
Worst country overall: Paraguay, though unfair to judge by a that short of a visit
Best city overall: NYC, no competition really though Buenos Aires was a good number two
Worst city overall: Ciudad del Este
Closest to paradise: the islands of Fiji
Farthest from it: the mines of Bolivia
Cheapest: Thailand
Most expensive: in some cases Cuba, in others the U.S. (considering service along the price the most expensive is all Cuba)
Cheapest gasoline: Venezuela, 1 euro buys 35 liters
Most expensive gasoline: did not check all, but of the ones I did I faintly remember it to be New Zealand
Most positive surprise: the overall Colombian experience
Most negative surprise: the pushy and arrogant Peruvians
Most inexplicable language: Patois of Jamaica
Best spanish: (northwestern) Mexico, was there ever doubt..? Quite pure (pronouncing as it is written) dialects are found also in Colombia and Panama.
Worst spanish: Chile (sorry to say but that is the case)
Best climate: Venezuela or Colombia
Worst climate: Chile
Place I liked best for living: Panama
Worst: Paraguay
Felt most safe in: Auckland
Most unsafe in: Caracas
Least corruption found in: Australia
Most corruption found in: Venezuela
Most tourist-friendly country: Canada
Least tourist-friendly: Peru
Best government (my opinion, considering the individual situations like the economy, minorities, foreign relations, etc.): New Zealand
Worst: Venezuela
Richest (seemingly, not necessarily absolutely): U.S. -doh
Poorest ("): Bolivia
Best wines: Chile (BY FAR, even Argentina does not come close)
Best food overall: Mexico (Worst: Bolivia)
Best meat foods: Argentina (Worst: Thailand)
Best sea foods: Chile (Worst: Panama)
Best junk foods: Chile (Worst: Cuba)
Best (/worst) chicken foods: too tough to say, lots of it everywhere
Best beers: Chile or Argentina (Worst: Venezuela or Paraguay)
Best coffee: Colombia
Worst: Chile and others that do not use other than Nescafe
Best drink: Bloody Caesar, Canada or Pisco Sour, Peru
Worst drink: Fernet Cola, Argentina
Most beautiful women: Brazil (Least: Bolivia)
Best native music: Mexico or Colombia
Best parties in: Chile
Most stamina for a party: Argentinians
Most unreasonable drinking habits: Bolivians
Most hospitable people in: Fiji (Least: Peru)
Best sight of all: Macchu Pichu (Second: Moreno Glacier, third: Salar de Uyuni, fourth: Iguazu falls, fifth: beaches of Parque Tayrona)
Most frustrating thing: the stiffness of the communist system in Cuba
Most disgusting thing: the slaughtering of llamas in Bolivia
Coolest activity: Climbing the volcano in Pucon (Second: diving in Taganga, third: cruising the Florida Keys in a convertible, fourth: trekking in the jungles of Amazon, fifth: snowboarding in Ushuaia)
Most interesting history: Cuba
Best cheap accommodation facilities in: Colombia (Worst: Jamaica)
Best beaches: Colombia (Worst: Peru)
Best airline used: New Zealand air (felt like a king there)
Worst airline used: Varig (urging anyone to stay the hell out of their "service")
Best buses: Ormeño, Peru
Worst buses: Viazul, Cuba (lacking resources) or Greyhound (inexplicable shit)
..that's all that came into mind right now..
The thanks for this trip of a lifetime go to:
- My mother Mariitta, a great woman who never questioned the decision to spend all my money and more on this and for all the support I was given,
- My girlfriend Johanna who always believed in me and never doubted me for a second in any aspect,
- My family and friends who kept me sane (?) during the trip by just asking how I was doing,
- Johanna for the great times in Thailand, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil,
- My co-travellers from Fiji for a great week,
- Carlos for royal treatment in Mexicali (I REALLY owe you one),
- My compadre Jesus Maria Peraza and his family for their hospitality and a feeling of belonging after all these years,
- Some divine intervention that led me out of Peru against all odds,
- All the people living at Santo Domingo 1568 this spring for unforgettable times (Anibal, Ximene, Chris, Alvaro, Pedro, Ilaria, Gael and Cindy),
- Gael and Cindy for all the trips, parties and general support during the studies,
- Charlotte, Robin, Sebastian, Maria Jose and all others that made my time at UAI an experience,
- Patricia, Kata and Simo for paying me a visit,
- Kiki, Markus, Ossi and others for the foreign Finnish-bonding,
- My fellow travellers in Bolivia for good times,
- Simo for hosting us at Buenos Aires,
- The Finnish Embassy and especially Jacob Cohen for all the professional help with my passport in Brazil,
- Victor for his company and pro traveller advice in Venezuela,
- Felipe for his company in Colombia,
- Kalle for good times in Miami and
- Alex for all her help and letting me crash at her place in NYC
Moreover, to finalize with some facts and figures, this was a total of:
- 5170 hours, 216 days and 7,5 months
- 19 countries and 63 cities
- roughly 56000 kilometers and 73 hours by air, 2700 kilometers and 85 hours by sea and 22300 kilometers and 467 hours by land (not including travel within cities), which sums up to 81000 kilometers (more than twice around the World) and 625 hours (26 full days) spent solely travelling
- unimaginable number of memories and experiences, many new friends
- ...and so many euros I do not wish to know. ;)
My favourite song says: "It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right -I hope you had the time of your life" -and I can say that I really did, not many people have the luxury of stating they have fulfilled one of their biggest dreams by the age of 26. In the words of the Dead Poets Society, this was all about "sucking the marrow out of life", a ride truly to remember. Thanks to all you for reading the blog, especially for commenting on it and for those interested I promise to keep on writing soon.
Oh, Canada
I've said it before, but I'll say it again: The U.S. bus system loses in many respects to several of the ones I used in South America. Greyhounds are expensive, service is mostly poor and it rarely includes extras like movies (equipment might be there though), they are late, etc. -remarkably like a bus system one would expect to see in Russia, for example. Anyway, I had to enjoy it one last time (for now) to get to my last destination: Niagara and Toronto.
Niagara was a sorry attempt for waterfalls after seeing Iguazu, but nevertheless a good place to stop by for some hours to check it out.
There too the falls are divided by the national border. Here is "the American side":
And the Canadian side:
Where the falls were sort of a disappointment, Toronto was a positive surprise. I would characterize it as a smaller, more calm and much more clean New York.
Some sights from the CN tower:
Of course, there is not much to tell from one day in Canada, especially as it is not all that different from Finland anymore. At that point I was just getting ready to go home.
Best national "dish" tasted: Bloody Caesar (a spicy drink made out of vodka, my favourite Clamato juice, spices and lemon)
Best national beer tasted: Molson's Canadian
Best experience/sight: Niagara falls
New York, New York
"Start spreadin' the news, I'm leaving today
I'm gonna be a part of it: New York, New York"
The city definately lives up to its reputation. Before experiencing it myself I could not understand why on earth someone would want to walk around in a t-shirt proclaming they love the city.. But it took just about five minutes to get an idea why, and after five days I was ready to join the fan club. That city has it all and more.
Apologies to those that have been looking for an end to the blog (I'm learning that number of people is far bigger I had expected), I have been quite busy the past weeks. Anyway, here goes, the highlights of NYC:
Lower Manhattan from the ferry to Liberty Island:
Lady Liberty:
The Wall Street Bull (made out of 7000 pounds of bronze and originally placed in front of New York Stock Exchange without permission):
Being a business student, I just had to see Wall street and, even though my wet dream does not include it, the NYSE:
The WTC site was quite awe-inspiring despite of the recent outside criticism that New Yorkers are taking their time to fill up the hole in the ground.. The plans for 2010 show that they will end up showing the World that they are not intimitaded by cowardly terrorist acts.
The new photo exhibit next to the site was equally impressive:
Among the things I liked best besides (or, actually because of) its many faces was the food. I was not afraid to spend a little more on it though at this point there was little extra to spend. Best pizzas I have ever tasted were found in the Italian restaurant Grimaldi's in Brooklyn:
I also visited what is seen by many the best steak house in New York, Peter Luger's. However divine the taste was, the 60 dollars spent for the steak and a glass of wine seemed a bit overdoing it after the great steaks in Argentina, which cost about a tenth of it or less.
The Brooklyn Bridge offered some great views:
Due to lack of time, I did not go to many museums, but the sign on this one was enough to lure me in:
Among the must-sees there was the Empire State Building and the sights it offered of the city:
Curilously, probably the place I was most intrigued by was the United Nations, too bad I had to "just" go on the tourist tour as my friend TP was no longer working there:
Times Square:
Some other places of note:
Besides the museums that I missed, the one I regretted the most was not having a chance to see a Yankees baseball game.. But, there are only so many things one can do in NYC in five days.. And shopping possibilities were not to be overlooked, so eventually a lot was left for my next visit. I was lucky to be able to stay at my cousin Alex's place in East Village so I got to see something refreshing outside the almost-eight-month hostel rally. I was asked which part of the city I thought was the best and I could not decide between East Village and Little Italy, but those two were above others in my book -East Village by the general atmosphere and Little Italy because of the great restaurants there.
Leaving tne U.S.:
Best "national" dish tasted: Pizza at Grimaldi's
Best national beer tasted: Budweiser
Best experience/sight: The UN
