All posts by Thomas Kaiser

Central America; Part 2

16. May 2023
by Thomas Kaiser

>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(>Pictures at the bottom!)

Introductory part on Central America; see Part 1

….Nicaragua – Honduras

The effort to cross the border coming from Costa Rica into Nicaragua was considerable and many illogical checks were made. Of course, some amount of money had to be laid out again and again for some paper. And also at this border; don’t skip a step or take the wrong approach, you would have to return to the starting position immediately. But, although we left the camp at the end, we were able to leave the border station before various early risers in our group and enter the Nicaraguan traffic hustle and bustle. Read More

Central America; Part 1

16. May 2023
by Thomas Kaiser

>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(>Pictures at the bottom!)

….Panama – Costa Rica

With the exception of Panama and Costa Rica, all Central American countries were plunged into deep crises by domestic conflicts until recently. The consequences of these long-standing conflicts are still strongly felt today and can be seen everywhere. The countries suffered greatly from their own development and parallel societies formed almost everywhere. This was fertile ground for the formation of criminal organisations, and today these countries are fighting this almost insoluble problem. Personally, we also had the feeling that we were once again driving through developing countries: Next to mansions were entire village or city districts that looked more like slums than developed housing.
And, dirt and rubbish everywhere; whole mountains of rubbish lay along the roadsides, disfiguring their wonderful landscape. It is a pity that the people concerned do not react a little more sensitively to this and blame the state for it, but at the same time dump their rubbish over the roadside. Whether it comes with education or from the people themselves; where people are educated, it was usually much cleaner than in areas where mainly the indigenous population is at home. Costa Rica abolished the army in 1949 and used the money freed up for education and health; the fruits of this decision can truly be seen and felt today. Read More

Package tourists

8. April 2023
by Thomas Kaiser

>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
>Pictures at text sections!

 ….via Ecuador – Colombia to Panama

After many thousands of kilometres on the South American roads and trails, we had to part with our camper vans for a short time, pack a bag with the most necessary things and board the cramped plane in Santiago. Yes, the unbound freedom was over for the time being and we had to stick meticulously to the programme of our alternative. Read More

Towards the harbour

18. March 2023
by Thomas Kaiser

>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(>Pictures at the bottom!)

…..the last days in Chile

The flag of Argentina became smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror as we headed west from “Paso Cristo Redentor” over the gravel road towards the tarred strip further down. Yes, our days were numbered in the southern part of South America and the date for the car drop-off in the port of “San Antonio” was sent to us via WhatsApp a few hours ago. Read More

Northern Argentina

14. March 2023
by Thomas Kaiser

>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(>Pictures at the bottom!)

…further in the waiting loop!

Our additional loop stretched from Bolivia further into the northern part of Argentina, with the hope that the impossible would still be possible. It is true that our travel organisation in faraway Germany was under heavy pressure, but as long as the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany did not reduce the travel warning, a further journey northwards through Peru is hardly possible – as far as the legal situation is concerned for an organised trip by a German company. Despite all these problems and inconsistencies, we would like to pay tribute to the person in charge of Panamericana and his team on site; they responded to almost all our wishes and suggestions and turned the almost impossible into an acceptable onward journey again. Read More

Bolivia

19. February 2023
by Thomas Kaiser

>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(>Pictures at the bottom!)

….in waiting loop!

The entry into Bolivia, coming from Chile, was extreme. No, not the landscape, which is very beautiful and varied, but the whole thing around it and how the people live. For us Europeans, and we count ourselves among them, the everyday chaos is both fascinating and daunting. Upon arrival in “La Paz”, we were already overwhelmed. In the following days, we asked ourselves again and again how anything could still function in such chaos. Read More

Up and down – high and low….

24. January 2023
by Thomas Kaiser

>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(>Pictures at the bottom!)

…from Argentina via Chile to Bolivia

On New Year’s Day, we all set off together – i.e. the whole Panamericana group – towards the Pacific. For this day, the route was set and we – Chantal and I (Tom) – had almost no other choice. Our common destination for the day was east of the “Paso Agua Negra”, where we settled down for the coming night at an accommodation of an Argentinean mountaineering club at 3’000 metres; so to speak as acclimatisation for the coming day. Read More

From zero to 4800 and back to zero

12. January 2023
by Thomas Kaiser

>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(>Pictures at the bottom!)

The Fitz Roy (granite mountain) waved goodbye to us a little bashfully and soon it disappeared in our rear-view mirror. For us, as well as the whole group, we continued northwards on the “Panamericana”. Whether it really is this dream road or not is beyond my knowledge. Here in southern America, people argue about strange things, e.g. who invented pisco (brandy) or where exactly the potato comes from. It’s no different with the “Panamericana”; every country thinks it has the original. Read More

Over Tierra del Fuego to the slopes of Fitz Roy

28. December 2022
by Thomas Kaiser

>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(>Pictures at the bottom!)

The first border crossing on our journey south gave us all – the whole group – a bit of a “stomach ache”, and it was with some uncertainty that we headed for the border post. After leaving Argentina, we entered Chile with a procedure that has long been a thing of the past on the European mainland. But, the Chileans were also kind to us and with the help of our tour guides, it was no witchcraft in retrospect. From then on, we changed the border between Argentina and Chile more and more often and with the composure we had acquired, we headed for the respective border posts. Sometimes it was really easy, at other crossings the guardians of the respective nations looked very closely and it took a good 3 hours – without batting an eyelid – until all papers and checks were done. Read More

Going to Argentina

26. November 2022
by Thomas Kaiser

>Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
(>Pictures at the bottom!)

We had to be patient for a long time; now the day had finally come when we had to say goodbye to all our family and friends for a longer period of time. For us personally, something “tangible” was finally moving again and the next big adventure was within reach. After more than 4 years of travelling “on our own”, we will join a guided group through South America to experience the Panamericana. This time we preferred the safety of a group to the absolute thrill. After the two years with Covid, we are looking at things a bit more soberly and don’t want to be exposed to the arbitrariness of the authorities somewhere alone. Read More