The cloudforest

“Would they fell trees but leave men standing? Trees are a damn sight more usefull than people, and everything in the world knows that except people.

Trees do generate oxygen; men just breathe it up, stink it up, and generally misuse it. Trees provide shelter and protection to countless species, men threaten the existence of those species. Trees hold the soil in place, men are constantly displacing it.  When in sufficient number, trees regulate atmospheric temperatures, men endanger the planet by knocking those regulations askew. You can’t rest in the shade of a human, not even a roly-poly one; and isn’t it refreshing that trees can undergo periodic change without having a nervous breakdown over it? Best of all, perhaps, what maple or cypress ever tried to sell you something you didn’t want?“ 

Cerro Chirripo, San Isidro, San Gerardo y un poco de la selva..

Today they are charging us the right to walk in the forest, they are charging us to pick the fruits of the forest. They try to play God and apparently the country is the owner of everything and we are maybe privileged to use the space. Who the fuck is the country than the people? So this is happening in Croatia and at one point if you pick a mushroom or walk around with your family you will have to pay.   

But that said, before they close everything, at this point, I would love to share with you this little paradise of lush green forests and people with a constant smile on their face. Their motto: Pura Vida!

Pristina

A small young state, recognised as a sovereign state by 107 UN member states. It is landlocked and is bordered by the Republic of Macedonia to the south, Albania to the west and Montenegro to the northwest. The citizens need a Visa for the most countries except Albania and Monte Negro. But this is the home of kind and warm open-hearted people. The food is cheap and excellent, the culture and spirit as in all big cities in the World, they have the Euro as currency, the gay marriage is legal, and it's forbidden to smoke in the bars. This is the place where singer-songwriter James Blunt met a girl in the Kosovo war, fell in love, the family didn't approve, so he got back with a broken heart and wrote the songs which made his album famous. 

Here are a few bits of Pristina, the capital of the Republic of Kosovo.

The Galapagos Islands

The only important thing to say about the Galapagos is, that I have found a place on earth were I became one with it, only in these few weeks. I got so energetically attached to the plants, the animals and the people, that I had a nervous breakdown when I left. This place is amazing and it is around the top on the list of the best places I have ever visited in my life.

Surfing the coast from Peru up to Ecuador

In life you have to be what you actually are. Also for me this doesn't work out always and people start to live lives they are not. This couple of weeks when I made these pics where awesome, living the surfer lifestyle with a fellow surfer from California, Tom. Well, I met Tom in Cusco, Peru, in the mountains. He was surfing the coast from Chile up to Ecuador and hitting the Galapagos Islands. So, after I had enough snow and hail in the Andes I joined him. I had weeks of some surf, many wipeouts, I almost drowned once (seriously, no joke), we made loads of partying, had beers with the mates, respect for the Ocean, and more party, party, and met lifetime friends. :)

Just bits, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia..

What do you want to be when you grow up? When I grow up I want to be a book. So that each page tells a story.What is life than the stories we live and tell. :) And then, to have a story to tell is to have a place in the world. 

This is what I did here, at Lake Titicaca, a bit in Bolivia. I came to Copacabana, a small place on the Bolivian side of the lake because it's cheaper then Peru. After Copacabana I crossed over to Isla del Sol, an island with great views, nice humble people and beautiful beaches. There I met folks with heart, with stories and good energy, locals and some Argentinian hippies. The time stopped, we juggled on the beach, did some "artesania", gathered firewood, made fire, cooked for all of us, ate from one pot, drank for one bottle, spent some days chillin' and told a lot of stories.

The Peruvian Highlands and the Andes

From the north till the south of Peru a long and high stretch is playing an at most important rule, being beautiful and astonishing. :) The Andes are connecting the North of South America with the South and therefore are the longest continental mountain range in the world. It is the home of the Aymara and Quechua people, the llamas, vicunjas, alpacas, viscachas, the Andean puma, the condor and more. The most beautiful of the Andes is the Cordillera Blanca in northern Peru, but unfortunately as I cut my foot while surfing I made it this time only around the southern part, around Cusco and in the direction to Bolivia.