NEW YORK It's been a year since we have landed in New York. Last stop. I've been taking my time, this entry is almost 365 days overdue. By now I'm back to my comfortably numb life of 9 to 5, free weekends, salary every month, own bed, place to call home and all the wasteful convenience of western life. I'm not even sure I can write about NYC after a year, so I'll let the photos talk instead. What I remember is that I had mixed feeling. Travel blues was kicking in, but on the

CALIFORNIA (take II) This is it, the last leg of our American road trip. And what better way to end it like few days in Yosemite National Park...?! But first the legendary Death Valley, which bears its name for apparent reason, being that nothing can survive the temperature and extreme dry climate. By the time we got there it was early afternoon and with the setting sun we have experienced only about 50 degrees Celsius. Majka was boiling up instantly not really wanting to lea

COLORADO Time went so quick with those beautiful people in New Mexico. It was time however to hit the road and head for Colorado. Out from Bisti Badlands Mark took a left and our Jupiter turned right. I've watched the ex-FBI surveillance van disappear in my rear view mirror and then it was time to focus on what's ahead. By dusk I wanted to secure a spot at Mesa Verde National Park and if time permits maybe have a walk or a drive around so we can get familiar with the sights.

ARIZONA By now I have come to realise how vast The States are and how much the landscape changes by every turn. The scenery goes from bone dry to lush green just by driving uphill through an arrow straight road. Yes, there is still land and sky and clouds and grass and all the rest, but the details are different and changing all the time. Just by crossing the state borders from California to Arizona the dust around has turned from yellow to orange and Joshua Trees were replac

CALIFORNIA The land of plenty, you would think. I would anyway. But my eyes were already torn open by the veterans, junkies and bums of San Francisco begging on the pavements. Yes, to an extent this is a problem of every big city. But the sheer scale of veterans begging on streets just shocked me. Can you imagine fighting for a country that will discard you and let you slip into drug abuse and onto the street? I realise though that I tend to concentrate on the rough edges of

SAN FRANCISCO Another destination that I knew so well... From the movies. For that reason it turned out to be quite surreal to see the Bay Area with my own eyes and it didn't go down without surprises. Biggest of them all is the weather. Both of us were expecting a heatwave, it was middle of the summer after all. Instead we were greeted by a cool morning. As we have found out later this weather pattern is normal around here. Cold nights, cool evenings and fresh mornings all t

BIG ISLAND - HAWAII 16 months have passed since I've started writing this journal and I finally realise that I have not much of the writing skills. I blame you, though. Should have told me a long time ago to cut the chase and get on with the photos. I will however finish the story, so don't be so quick on pulling your head out of the oven... In the previous entry you could have read my rant about the mishandled luggage. That I was still missing until one of the last days on t

HONOLULU On our way out from Kiritimati we were actually two of six tourists leaving. But then we have stayed longer then most, so we might have thrown the island out of balance a little. Scary thing is that there was a 10 people crew on the ground sending us through the security and immigration. So the six of us had 6 pieces of luggage, but while we arrived at Honolulu my bag was missing. That's cool I thought. It's going to be alright... As I was looking around trying to fi

NAMATAKULA ...actually Mango Bay. Namatakula is the village on the other end of the bay. Quiet, secluded place, again about 2-3 miles down a dirt road from the main road, Kings Road, that circles the island around. We did not hesitate to take the walk. Seemed pretty easy downhill, until the rain caught us. Luckily a car passed us very soon and we have been fortunate again. The car stopped and the guys offered us a ride. In that short 3 minute ride we have had time to realise

RAKIRAKI On the way out from Vatia Beach we didn't leave anything to the chance and pooled a taxi to the main road. From there it is a short bus ride to Rakiraki and then a few minutes on a local bus to our resort. I couldn't find anything 'budget' on a short notice, but I've decided that we deserve a treat and booked us in for a couple of nights at Wnanawu Beach Resort. Still not too expensive, definitely worth the buck. Beautiful room with ocean view terrace and a bathroom