El Trucho on the roadtrip to Portugal

My name is Trucho and I am a car. I am also known as Zucho. Oh, many names during my lifetime and I forgot many of them. I am 36 years old and I come originally from Germany. At that time the Germans did a great job and still today I can drive a long way like theres no tomorrow. Actually I just went on a trip which took me almost two months and 9000 km. I really wanted to learn surf and see the beautiful breaks, beaches, bitches and boobs from Portugal. :) Here is my story.

Streets of Guatemala

Aaaaaaaaa..traditions and Mayan cultures combining..many colors, loads of people with a great culture, great stories, unfettered development, a lot of problems, many people without a smile, tourism spoiled, naturally beautiful, these are some pics of one of the greatest countries I visited. Now I see why the Mayans lived here and all the cultures later that combined. I am wrestling in my mind thoughts about how some of these people look at us foreingerns, but in the end it is not important if you are concious, travel smart, leave no big footprint, have respect, smile, do good and walk around with a pure soul. :) 

We all bear some responsibility, but those whose money supports the ruinous ways bear the most. It’s not the volume of travel that matters, but how that volume is handled.

Nicaraguan markets

So, who doesn't enjoy shopping? :)

One of the first things I do on my trips is locate the best local markets to check out the food scene and what’s on offer.  It’s the place where you can learn the most about people and their culture. While traveling, you get stimulated in many ways. The first is eyes, then you hear something new, then you smell something funny, well, whatever. Markets in developing countries still have this wild way and functioning like an organism itself. It is the place to get by cheaper, but also, you have the feeling that the whole village is there. Maybe this is almost true, and for hours everyday the markets are full and everybody sells something. You can get breakfast or lunch, go wild and overdose yourself on vitamins and fruits, witness slaughter of chicken, get dirty, enjoy the wonderful world of spices and herbs, buy special herbs, chat with the locals, meet a culture and in this time of instant traveling and gringo pollution have a feeling that you actually traveled somewhere.

Puerto Viejo and roots

Everyday I left the forest, before I cross over to the road and head towards town, I want to say a blessing for these woods, for monkeys growling and birds singing, for the trees and leaves and mushrooms and crocs, when the sunlight touches the leaves, through each branch, a stream of light, these paths have taken me in. And you listen to the sound, feel the presence all around, a graceful flight of a butterfly and it takes your breath away. Remember your place among all living beings, embrace with joy the changing seasons, for each yields its own abundance.

Bocas del Toro

The Bocas del Toro Archipelago is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea in northwest Panama. It's a Caribbean tropical paradise with perfect beaches and world class surf breaks, coconuts, crabs, party and sandflies. 

Christopher Columbus visited Bocas del Toro in 1502. During the 17th century, the archipelago became a haven for pirates. The buccaneers repaired their ships on the islands, built others with wood from their forests and fed upon the many sea turtles that nested on the beaches. The pirates are said to have buried treasure on a number of the islands, but to date none of this loot has been found. Later the islands became a Chiquita banana production hub.

The point in Santa Catalina

I must admit “surfing is like nothing else”. Wave after wave, none are the same. It brings you to the edge of all emotions, depending on the day, it sucks, it pulls, till you are drained, but it fills you up with all of that again, even better and more. "Surfing is being local yet still searching.” Surfing draws many parallels with life itself. In the swarm of the “maybe generation” of our time and in my life, something I never learned really good, making decisions, is unforgiving while in the surf. You have to make up your mind, will you go, or wont you, but second thoughts and decisions rarely bear good and end up in a wipeout.

Panama City

I never saw a skyline like this. That was my first thought. And, I actually never saw a skyline like this. :)

The city of Panama was founded in 1519, by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias Dávila. It was the starting point for expeditions that conquered the Inca Empire in Peru. It was a stopover point on one of the most important trade routes in the history of the American continent, through which passed most of the gold and silver that Spain took from the Americas.
Well, it loooooooks like this now and it is the home of the ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. :) The Panama Canal is being expanded now and Panama City is becoming a mecca for foreign business and banking.

Tajikistan

Let your branches grow so they can feel the wind and carry the snow. :)

Life goes as it goes and there was a great country to visit and discover again, Tajikistan. Tajikistan is a presidential republic and is bordered by Afghanistan to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east. It was part of Persia and the Soviet Union and today it is a developing country with amazing 93% of the land covered in mountains!

They had a great problem with deforestation and some parts of the country miss around 70 % of the trees. To heat and cook they need electricity or firewood, and spend sometimes hours of trying to find it.

Cuba

Cuba, a country I visited the least time on the last trip but a country which had an enormous influence on me and how I see life. Layers on layers, Central America puts on a veil of happiness, loads of gringo parties, things to do, many things you will never have the time to do, an escape root into nature, but a gringo oasis if you want to join the circus. Cuba is more isolated, and you wont find the usual hostels and lifestyle you find there. You will spend more time with Cuban families, you will spend more money on those guesthouses, you will see many illogical and strange things, you will never understand how some people live there with the money they earn, and you will probably give away loads of your clothes.

The path of the Maya..

Keep your flames where they burn so bright, leave your embers to die.

In life everybody needs sometimes an oasis in the desert, or a safe island in stormy seas. Traveling can be a roller coaster, and sometimes you have to stop and rest. Well this place is special, and will give you the desired shelter when needed. The Maya found it, and I can tell why they made it their home. In the end, when everything leaves, when all clears, when you feel that connection, we can discover that all of us, the whole Planet, the Ants, the Butterflies, Monkeys and Earth and Dirt, is only a part of that big "swirling Chocolate and Vanilla pudding" that is Life, all connected and One. This is a special place for meditation, for wandering the jungles, the Maya ruins, for all kinds of shamanic rituals, from cacao to sometimes stronger stuff, for "swimming" with the crocodiles in the many lakes, or hiking up volcanoes. Here you can get the chance to breath again, for a fresh start or just a trippy day on LSD.

Two little fish, from Honduras to Belize

Two fish talkin':

"Those damn men. But we might not have to worry about them much longer. They seem more intent than ever on committing mass suicide."

"Yeah, global hara-kiri. But they don't call it that."

"Of course not. The call it progress. They call it growth. They call it national security and energy policy and all sort of foolish things, but both motives and the end results are the same. The good news, perhaps is that they're starting to relearn the art of species-wide communication. I mean, they do it with those machines they call computers, they do it on the World Wide Web, but.."

"They forgot how to do it, I guess, they forgot that they were animals."  

"All that showy technology in the paws of a band of primates who in terms of their emotions are barely advanced beyond the level of baboons. They're chimpanzees with bulldozers, monkeys with bombs."

Playing the blues on Isla de Ometepe, Nicaragua

The Ometepe island is a special and weird place, with some strange energy but a lovely look. I would rather say strange energy cause of the volcanoes and the metal swirling around in them. But this is my theory. It's an island formed by two volcanoes, the Concepción and Maderas, rising from Lake Nicaragua in the Republic of Nicaragua. Its name derives from the Nahuatl words ome (two) and tepetl (mountain), meaning two mountains. It was a hangout place for pirates during the times of the conquest and later. They plundered the villagers and used their women. Now it's a perfect place to hang out, relax, do yoga or reiki, chill or climb the volcanoes.

Surfing up the Costa Rican coast..

In Montezuma an old hippie said to me.. "This is the place all hippies come to die." He gave me a book and said "You will find lyrics for your next song in this book!" One can get easily caught up in this beautiful stretch of palm trees and surf breaks, papaya and mango infested grounds, good rum, warm water and 'da rastaman' lifestyle. :) Here are a few picks from the surf spots in Costa Rica..       The spots..in and around..Montezuma..and Santa Teresa..

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.