|
|
You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
............ 
Feb 16, 2011 07:00 PM Waiting for the flight to Flores Island
Third day on the Azores. It was still dark when I had my included breakfast in the YH (cornflakes, rolls, butter, jam and hot drink).
Too early to look for the hike on the street. They called for a taxi - the 6-kms ride to the airport cost 10 euro...
SATA Airline of Azores operates flights between the islands. I booked them via internet.
Today I plan to fly to the most distant Flores Island. No direct flights! They put me first for the flight to Horta. Delayet to the bad weather... But waiting I discovered that they have free wi-fi internet access in the airport. Great! There is nothing like that in Lisbon!
Eventually I departed to Horta. 40 minutes flight. They do not serve even a glass of juice. But the DASH8 turbo-prop plane looks like a brand new. The SATA staff said that the weather in Flores is even worse then in Horta. I have to wait. How long? Who knows? I am looking through the terminal window to the rough ocean. Be optimistic! They have free wi-fi access in Horta again!
|
Feb 15, 2011 07:00 PM Nicest caldera of Sao Miguel
Azores. On the postcards from San Miguel Island you often see the lakes of Siete Cidades. They are located in the west of the island in the caldera - the former crater of the volcano.
Good roads go there so, tourists usually rent a car - it costs here from 30 euro per day plus insurance. But there is another way to go there: twice a day nice public bus goes there and you can reach the destination in one hour paying 3,40 euro. I departed at 8.25.
Nice landscapes on the way. Sunny coast, but when we get into caldera there were clouds on the mountains. Sorry...
I climbed the road via nice Sao Tiago Lake (definitely worth to see). After few kms I reached the famous viewpoint "Vista do Rei" (The King's View" - named after the visit of king Carlos in 1901. Sorry, clouds disturb the view today. I was waiting half an hour - no changes!
Eventually I hitchhiked back to the coast to find there a sun.
Opposite the picturesque Mosterios village there are lovely rocks in the stormy ocean. They remind me 12 Apostols in Australia. It is much less apostols here, but the view is great. After a lunch with such a view (I brought my sanwiches with me) in the afternoon I took the bus back to Ponta Delgada.
I found the free internet in Ponta: it is in the public library!
|
Feb 14, 2011 07:00 PM Flying to Ponta Delgada - Azores
The other bus who goes to the Lisbon airport is no. 44.
It was still dark when I was riding there for my 8 am flight to the Azores. Alert! There are two terminals in Lisbon airport. The flights to the Atlantic islands and to some other minor European destination goes from Terminal 2. City Bus comes to terminal 1 and then you have to take a free shuttle bus to terminal 2. Easy? But take into account that you have to wait for the departure of the shuttle... It takes little more then 10 minutes. And this is definitely not a walking distance! So easy to miss the connection if you do not have enough time.
I did not... It was again almost 3 hours on the Airbus 319. One-sandwich breakfast aboard and almost clear sky, when we approached Sao Miguel Island.
Oho! Since my backpack spent the night alone in the Lisbon airport I was not surprised that the thief was checking its pocket. He left it open. But I never put there valuables!
There is no public bus from Ponta Delgada airport to the city - I was hitchhiking. Taxi drivers ask for 8-12 euro.
Finally I reached the stylish Youth hostel. Ponta Delgada have a nice old town with narrow streets. I like it. Sunny, but windy day in the middle of Atlantic!
|
Feb 13, 2011 07:00 PM To Lisbon on a cheap
Sunny and frosty St Valentine day in Poland. To get to Lisbon from Gdansk I applied for the "smart award" ticket from Miles and more frequent flyer program. It cost me 15000 miles and some taxes to fly round trip - Europe end to end.
If you have the connection on your route and have a choice it is better to fly via Munich then via Frankfurt. Munich seems to have less delays and congestions. And there are free tea.coffee stands at some gates. I used this one at gate G17.
I had frost in Poland but it was plus 12 in the late evening in Lisbon and... rain. I used bus 745 - the cheapest one (1,50 euro paid to the driver) to get to the center. Dorm bed in YesLisbon hostel costs only 15 euro incl. breakfast, linen and free internet. It was already midnight when I was there.
Good night!
|
Feb 12, 2011 07:00 PM To the islands of Atlantic Ocean!
Usually at the beginning of February I was already far from home - in the warm countries. But sorry, not this year. My project "Namibia 2011 by car" failed due to the lack of the reliable companions. For this project I need somebody to share the cost of the car rental. I had few candidates but they resigned one by one... I am sure I'll come back to this project in the future. Well, I was forced to invent on the spot the other travel solution and... and I am departing right now on the Miles and More award ticket to the Azores Islands located in the middle of the Atlantic. I do hope I will have there good time, enjoying the marine landscapes. Please keep your fingers crossed for the weather!
Thanks in advance, dear friends!
---------------------------------------------
=========================
---------------------------------------------
|
Dec 23, 2010 07:00 PM To all my friends....
Look how nice is my "Wojtkowka" at the winter time... We have white and strong winter this year in Poland. It creates a wonderful atmosphere for Chistmas.
My Christmas tree is almost 3 m high! In the evening as usual we will sit around it and sing traditional Polish Christmas carols.
Merry Christmas to all of you - my friends around the world!
Happy New Year 2011 & happy traveling to the most exciting destinations!
Wojtek
============================
============================
============================
|
Dec 14, 2010 07:00 PM Going home... Snowy Poland...
The service on "Condor" is not impressive - they try to minimize the cost to push down the price of the tickets. THe other airline worth to try to Mauritius is Meridiana flying from Rome/Milan.
No drinks in the Condor lowest class. Is you want a beer you have to buy it - 3 euro per can. Solution: in the Mauritius airport duty free shop the 6-pack of beer cost just 2,80 euro - will be enough even for the long flight if you like it. There were 3 movies on the flight to Frankfurt - but bring with you your earplugs (single pin) otherwise you will pay again...
Snow in Frankfurt, but only minus 3 deg Celsius. Heavy snow and minus 9 deg when I reached Warsaw. Our plane was flying 40 minutes over Warsaw waiting while they will clean the runway from the snow. I am in the snowy and frosty Europe, it is hard to believe that yesterday I was swiming in the warm ocean escaping to the shade from the strong sun...
But they say that Santa will come soon! :)) Maybe he will bring me another air ticket to the exciting world?
|
Dec 13, 2010 07:00 PM With Condor to Europe...
German Condor is something between regular and low-cost airline. They fly to many holiday destinations and they sell inexpensive one-way tickets on the net. You can even get the miles for "Miles and more" Lufthansa program flying with them but only for the flights originating in Germany (sic!).
They cooperate with some europeran airlines to give their customers a chance to fly onward from Germany to Europe on the low fares. I bought their ticket for Mauritius to Frankfurt and onward to Warsaw route on LOT Polish Airlines. All in one ticket...
And now I will tell you the secret: how to get a seat in the comfortable emergency row. These seats (row 22 in boeing767) are available 24 hours before the departure for free on the "first come, first served basis. They give yoy mor space for your legs - it is important especially if you are tall like me and you have 12-hours flight ahead od you. Just call Condor GSA on Mauritius and ask for this seat. Their number: 2073000. That's what I did. It works!
|
Dec 12, 2010 07:00 PM Around the Mauritius Island
Car with the local driver is the best option if you want to see many distant places just in one day. It is not expensive comparing to the prices in the Europe or USA: prices starts from 1500 MUR for the little loops an go up to 2500 if you really want to go around the island.
I went along the unknown to me eastern coast to the northern tip of Mauritius where nice beaches are located. Many flamboyant trees in red and organge flowers along the road. But the real hit of this journey was a little catholic chapel located on the cap. It has blue ocean with some islands as the background and is surrounded by the flame trees. Great view - they print it on the postcards!
Going down to the south I visited again, after 14 years the Hindu temple in Grand Bassin. In the meantime they put here - just on the roadside the enormous (30 m high, maybe) statue of the God Siwa. I was lucky to see how they celebrate en event in this temple with music an procession.
Last two papayas for the dinner. Then it will be a time to pack my backpack again - tomorrow I fly back to Europe...
|
Dec 11, 2010 07:00 PM Back on the sunny Mauritius Island
I decided to stay close to the airport due to my early morning flight. The place I found in Mahebourg is called Auberge Aquarelle.
This new, stylish institution is located just on the coast of the lagoon. The balcony of my little room is facing the ocean, allowing the warm breeze to come inside... It is overpriced, but it is only 5 min walk from the auberge to the centre of Mahebourg. It is has in the background a huge Lion Mountain and Old Grand Port. There was a sea battle here between French and British fleet in 1810. French won. They called the island Ile de France. But after just 4 months British overtake the island introducing again the name Mauritius.
It is season for the tropical, tasty lychee fruits. There is plenty of them on the Mahebourg market. They sell them per piece - I paid 2 rupees for the big ones = 20 for 1 euro...
In the afternoon I plan to go to the Blue Bay - just 6 kms south.
It will be sorry to leave such a lovely islands! From Mauritius I will soon fly back to snowy Europe. Brrr... It is hard to think about the temperatures below zero Celsius...
|
Page:
207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217
|
|
|
