TRV Travel
Alles over je favoriete vakantiebestemmingen, vakantie-ervaringen van jezelf en anderen, tips, info en meer. Van Schin op Geul tot de USA.
Beide, deze trip duurde 20 maanden, waarvan ik er 8 gewerkt heb. Dus ik heb er flink wat spaargeld doorheen gejaagd. In eerdere reizen heb ik ook gewerkt om het financieel mogelijk te houden.quote:Op woensdag 16 juli 2008 14:46 schreef Niek. het volgende:
tvpZit er zelf over te denken roadtrip door de usa te maken. Even vraag, werk je onderweg ook of leef je van je spaargeld?
Nu ben ik in NZ, voornamelijk om te werken. Daarnaast om uit te proberen hoe het reizen met de motor me bevalt. Ik wil Columbia - Tierra del Fuego rijden en Amsterdam - Kaapstad. Ben er nog niet uit of dat met de auto of met de motor gaat gebeuren.
Wat een reis zeg! Geweldig verslag. Ben benieuwd naar de rest van de foto's!
Oh, and that's a bad miss!
Dude, jij bent gewoon een echte ouderwetse avonturier! Toffe foto's, keep up the good work 
Jesus saves but death prevails.
Mesa Verde NP, Colorado.
Niemand weet wat er met deze oude beschaving is gebeurd, ze zijn van de aardbodem verdwenen.
Een van mijn favoriete foto's: Monument Valley, Utah. Jammer dat ik Lucky Luke niet tegen gekomen ben...
Daar ga ik!
Horseshoe Bend, Page, Arizona
Erg onbekend, maar oh zo mooi.
Bryce Canyon, Utah
Door een flinke sneeuwstorm gereden om hier te komen, lang leve 4WD! Volgende dag werden we beloond met dit uitzicht.
Grand Canyon, Arizona
Net voor zonsondergang.
William en zijn Taurus en ik met de Subaru.
I am staying in Johnson City in the southwest of Kansas at the moment. When I was waiting in line for the ferry from Haines to Skagway in Alaska I met Bob and Keren Duran and we starting talking and had a beer together on the ferry. They invited me to come over to Kansas on my way south and stay in their house. That is what I am doing now! I arrived Saturday afternoon and was welcomed by Bob and Keren and since then it's been a very good week. They've been showing me around and I met many people, including their daughter and husband and four kids. I even went to the Christmas performance of their grandchildren! Another example of the great American friendliness I've been experiencing so far. It is going to be hard to be on the road the again after being spoiled ;-)
Before I came to Kansas I was traveling with Will from New Zealand. Last time I wrote we were about to see Bryce Canyon NP. We did that the day after and we saw it covered with snow. Something different than what most tourists get to see. From Bryce NP we drove to Zion Np and that was even more impressive. It looked a bit like Australia, red rocks, red sand, sun (but no heat). We did two small hikes in the afternoon and had a laugh about the signs we saw. I don't think there is any country in the world that has so many signs as the USA. A lot of them stating the over-obvious and things you can't do.
We stayed in a small hotel in Kanab and the owner gave us some tips for the next day. Including to visit something called the Horseshoe Bend in Page. We had already been in Page and met quite a few locals on our drinking night (Page beer makes you sick!), but nobody had told us about this. So the next day we picked up Will's car in Page (we drove my car up and down since we were coming back the same way) and had a Taco Bell lunch. That didn't go down to well with both of us... After that we went to the Horseshoe Bend and were totally amazed by it. It was beautiful! It is a river in a canyon that streams around a point. The water is has this turqoise colour and that looks good with the colour of the rocks. Better than the Grand Canyon if you ask me.
The rest of that day we spent driving toward and through Monument Valley. I was really looking forward to that one. The big buttes were impressive. What happened here over time is that elements eroded the soft stone away. The harder stone stayed and they are the buttes that you see standing up in the landscape. It feels like you are in a Lucky Luke comic and the Daltons could be around the corner.
That night we stayed in Cortez and took it easy in the motelroom. Will and me were becoming quite a team in pushing the motelprices down. We had sort of a tactical approach by getting the lowest rate possible. Our favorite motel is the Best Western, but if they won't go down far enough we shop around a bit more. The best deal we managed to make was from 78 to 55 dollars by telling here that we had AAA and when it was still to expensive she offered us the managers rate whatever that might be.
Cortez is the gateway to Mesa Verde NP. It is the park where they the american natives build the houses under the rockledges so they were protected from the heat in the summer and in the winter it was warmer. It has been a mystery for a long time where they went, but now they reckon they migrated to another area. I really liked the abducted by aliens theory though...
From Mesa Verde we went to Durango, a rich town in Colorado. We went out for a meal, met some locals who kept buying us beer. Took it quite a bit more easy than in Page though. The next morning I had to say goodbye to Will, who was going to continue to Santa Fe and then Houston for Texas. That was too bad, because we got along really well!
I had one more day to cover before I was going to Kansas and decided to go to a brand new NP called Great Sanddunes NP and Preserve. The biggest sanddunes in the USA (everything is bigger here anyway!). I hiked up the biggest one and it was pretty though. On top of the dunes I got welcomed by a woman with the words 'I hate you'. She had more problems getting up then I did ;-) Going down was a whole lot easier, but sand everywhere.
Trinidad was my last stop in Colorado and I actually had to go to three motels for I found one. At the third I got welcomed by a little dog Smokey who made me think of our dog Puck. She had a bit of an attitude as well. The owners were the friendliest though. They recommended me to go to the local brewery for dinner and a beer. So I did.
Next day I left the Rocky Mountains and drove via de 160 in the direction of Kansas. There are not many people on the roads and when you see somebody they actually wave at you! It's been a while since I've seen that. I drove through a couple quiet (and poor) towns and came into Kansas. It is pretty flat here and it is farming land, I like it. I was happy to see that Johnson City is in better shape than a lot of the town. Don't know why it is called Johnson CITY though, since there are 1501 people living here. But is a nice village.
Tomorrow I am leaving Johnson and making my way into New Mexico. Josh and Merewyn invited me for Christmas with their family in Santa Fe, so I am happy to be able to have Christmas with friends! After Christmas I will go to Texas and hopefully get some warmer weather! Didn't tell yet that they have had a lot of ice-rain and snow in Johnson since I came and the town is covered with broken off branches, streets are half bloked, power went out etc. I bet that when I get to Guatamala it will start snowing there. I am sending some photos with this e-mail. None of them are made by me, all thanks to Will, who did enter the 21st century and has a digital camera.
Before I came to Kansas I was traveling with Will from New Zealand. Last time I wrote we were about to see Bryce Canyon NP. We did that the day after and we saw it covered with snow. Something different than what most tourists get to see. From Bryce NP we drove to Zion Np and that was even more impressive. It looked a bit like Australia, red rocks, red sand, sun (but no heat). We did two small hikes in the afternoon and had a laugh about the signs we saw. I don't think there is any country in the world that has so many signs as the USA. A lot of them stating the over-obvious and things you can't do.
We stayed in a small hotel in Kanab and the owner gave us some tips for the next day. Including to visit something called the Horseshoe Bend in Page. We had already been in Page and met quite a few locals on our drinking night (Page beer makes you sick!), but nobody had told us about this. So the next day we picked up Will's car in Page (we drove my car up and down since we were coming back the same way) and had a Taco Bell lunch. That didn't go down to well with both of us... After that we went to the Horseshoe Bend and were totally amazed by it. It was beautiful! It is a river in a canyon that streams around a point. The water is has this turqoise colour and that looks good with the colour of the rocks. Better than the Grand Canyon if you ask me.
The rest of that day we spent driving toward and through Monument Valley. I was really looking forward to that one. The big buttes were impressive. What happened here over time is that elements eroded the soft stone away. The harder stone stayed and they are the buttes that you see standing up in the landscape. It feels like you are in a Lucky Luke comic and the Daltons could be around the corner.
That night we stayed in Cortez and took it easy in the motelroom. Will and me were becoming quite a team in pushing the motelprices down. We had sort of a tactical approach by getting the lowest rate possible. Our favorite motel is the Best Western, but if they won't go down far enough we shop around a bit more. The best deal we managed to make was from 78 to 55 dollars by telling here that we had AAA and when it was still to expensive she offered us the managers rate whatever that might be.
Cortez is the gateway to Mesa Verde NP. It is the park where they the american natives build the houses under the rockledges so they were protected from the heat in the summer and in the winter it was warmer. It has been a mystery for a long time where they went, but now they reckon they migrated to another area. I really liked the abducted by aliens theory though...
From Mesa Verde we went to Durango, a rich town in Colorado. We went out for a meal, met some locals who kept buying us beer. Took it quite a bit more easy than in Page though. The next morning I had to say goodbye to Will, who was going to continue to Santa Fe and then Houston for Texas. That was too bad, because we got along really well!
I had one more day to cover before I was going to Kansas and decided to go to a brand new NP called Great Sanddunes NP and Preserve. The biggest sanddunes in the USA (everything is bigger here anyway!). I hiked up the biggest one and it was pretty though. On top of the dunes I got welcomed by a woman with the words 'I hate you'. She had more problems getting up then I did ;-) Going down was a whole lot easier, but sand everywhere.
Trinidad was my last stop in Colorado and I actually had to go to three motels for I found one. At the third I got welcomed by a little dog Smokey who made me think of our dog Puck. She had a bit of an attitude as well. The owners were the friendliest though. They recommended me to go to the local brewery for dinner and a beer. So I did.
Next day I left the Rocky Mountains and drove via de 160 in the direction of Kansas. There are not many people on the roads and when you see somebody they actually wave at you! It's been a while since I've seen that. I drove through a couple quiet (and poor) towns and came into Kansas. It is pretty flat here and it is farming land, I like it. I was happy to see that Johnson City is in better shape than a lot of the town. Don't know why it is called Johnson CITY though, since there are 1501 people living here. But is a nice village.
Tomorrow I am leaving Johnson and making my way into New Mexico. Josh and Merewyn invited me for Christmas with their family in Santa Fe, so I am happy to be able to have Christmas with friends! After Christmas I will go to Texas and hopefully get some warmer weather! Didn't tell yet that they have had a lot of ice-rain and snow in Johnson since I came and the town is covered with broken off branches, streets are half bloked, power went out etc. I bet that when I get to Guatamala it will start snowing there. I am sending some photos with this e-mail. None of them are made by me, all thanks to Will, who did enter the 21st century and has a digital camera.
Bryce canyon is inderdaad erg mooi. Met sneeuw lijkt me een extra bonus
"We moeten ons bewust zijn van de superioriteit van onze beschaving, met zijn normen en waarden, welvaart voor de mensen, respect voor mensenrechten en godsdienstvrijheid. Dat respect bestaat zeker niet in de Islamitische wereld".
Inderdaad, dat is vrij uniek. Ben je er wel eens geweest?quote:Op vrijdag 18 juli 2008 17:18 schreef DiegoArmandoMaradona het volgende:
Bryce canyon is inderdaad erg mooi. Met sneeuw lijkt me een extra bonus
Ja
"We moeten ons bewust zijn van de superioriteit van onze beschaving, met zijn normen en waarden, welvaart voor de mensen, respect voor mensenrechten en godsdienstvrijheid. Dat respect bestaat zeker niet in de Islamitische wereld".
How are you all? Did everybody have a good Christmas and New Years? I had New Years in Austin, a very nice city, the capital of Texas. It is a bit of an enclave of liberalism in the conservatist state of Texas. On the 31st they had all kinds of activities planned in the city center where I went with Charles (USA) and Xiaoming (Chi). The motto of Austin, Keep Austin Weird, was kept up. Especially during the very nice parade there were a lot of weird things to watch. In the evening Charles, Xiaoming and Taru (Finland) went to the Irish pub and of course the fireworks.
The 4th of Januari was the big day, I was leaving for Mexico. After being frightened by quite a lot of people over the last couple months, I was feeling a bit nervous about it. When I drove into Piedras Negras I found it very confusing there was no immigration or customs, they just let me drive through. So I drove back and talked with a parkingofficer and he explained, together with some other people who came to help, that I had to go 53 km down the road. So I went and found that place ok. It was a big hall with different windows and I managed to find the right one and confuse the immigration officer quite a bit. Coming in via the United States, having a Dutch drivers license and a Canadian car. It went like this:
- Where you from?
+ Hollanda
- Cannot find in book... England maybe??
+ No, Hollanda
- Cannot find in book... Country change name?
+ No
- Ah I see HOLLANDA!! How long you want to stay? 30 days?
+ No, I want a visa for 90 days
- No 90 days, why you are tourist, 30 days enough!
+ No, I want 90 days
- 50 days maybe?!
+ No, 90 days.
- Ok, is good, 90 days.
After that I had to walk up and down between different windows and make copies of different pages in my passport. My idea was that the copies had to be made, to give the old guy in the corner operating the copier, some business. But everything worked allright and although it took a while, they were very friendly and didn t search the car or anything.
In the meanwhile it was so late that I couldn t drive very far anymore, so I decided to find a place in Sabinas. That is in the north where there are almost no tourists and nobody speaks English. It was kind of a cultureshock, everything looked different, traffic is way different that in Canada or the States, I don t speak the language (yet) and I didn t know where to eat. But I found a place to sleep and went into town to check it out. That was also what people did with me, everybody was looking at me. In the meanwhile I am used to it, it doesnt intimidate me as much anymore. And the girls are really pretty actually and they always smile, so that is good ;-)
From Sabinas I drove to Cuatrocienegas, that is a town in the biggest desert of Northern America. I like dessert and was looking forward to the warm water pools they have there. Driving was still weird, they have speedbumps that even surprise me. Being from The Netherlands, country of speedbumps. They are really hard on the car and sometimes I dont see them in time. But driving through the villages you see a lot and it is very colourfull, the people are friendly and helpfull and there is a business in almost every building. So I found a place to camp and went for a nice swim. I met a Mexican man and his Brazilian wife and they live in Texas. They gave me a whole new opinion on the illegal immigrant policy of the USA. He has a construction company with 70 employees and they are all illegal. The government is fine with that, they have no choice. The illegal immigrants are even allowed to buy houses, have mortgages, get cars etc. Even the immigration officers, the people who go after illegals, have illegal maids in their own house. It was nice to talk to him and hear this, I hope you can make a conclusion to this for yourself... Camping was very cold, at 8.30 in the morning I was already swimming in the warm water pools to get warm. Beautiful area and not known at all, people where asking me how I got there!
Down to Durango, still had to get used to the traffic and the 600 km took me a long time. When I arrived in Durange it was rush hour and I had very hard time coping with that. I couldnt find the hostel and the car was giving problems (but I fixed that now). Had to stay in a hotel and that is not good for the budget.
Next day I left Durango, because I couldnt really find my way, which is a pitty, because it looked like a nice city. Only 300km to Zacatecas, an old silver mining town. Stopped at a random little restaurant on the side of the road and couldnt figure out what they were serving so I made clear that anything would do. So I got a round kind of pancake which they cut open and fill up with cactus and some other substances I dont know, but it was really tasty and filled me up. When I got to Zacatecas I couldnt find the hostel again, normally I am quite good with finding things, but not here... After searching for one and a half hour I asked a taxi driver to drive there so I could follow him. The hostel is beautiful and full with travelers, which is different from most US hostels I stayed in. Funny thing is that I parked behing a van with Quebec plates! It was a family of four, Mike, Millie, Sofia and Joeri and they are on a roadtrip as well. I have been going out for dinner with them for a couple days in a row and will meet them again in Sayulita, above Puerta Vallarta. Also met a lot of other people and the hostel arranged some activities, so that was easy. We went to the Corona brewery and yesterday there was a margarita party and afterwards we went to a bar. I ve only slept two hours this night and feel a bit tired, but the party was good. Many people in a bad shape today though. The Canadian guy who was sleeping in the bunk above me fell out of his bed, that was a big bang! And the San Diego guy woke up in his own puke, yeah it was a good night. The city itself is very nice, I enjoy the old buildings and walking down the street and just see whats going on.
Regarding the car... it is still going! Mike saw that a bolt from the rear wheel was broken, so the owner of the hostel went with me yesterday and we went to some small workshop where they fixed it immediatly. Very handy guys, you can see they are used to improvising. Besides that there is quite a bit of things wrong with the car at the moment but it is still safe to drive it (carburator is leaking fuel on engine, 4 shocks are worn, tierods are a little worn, discs of brakes are bent, speedo doesnt work, window is all cracks and stars). So I keep driving it and hope that it will bring me a bit further.
So, so far I like Mexico, but it is more difficult than what I ve been doing before. Language that I dont speak, traffic is wilder, roads are not so good, signposting could be better. But on the other hand, it is very colourful, there is more happening in the towns than in western countries, the people are very friendly and it is cheaper.
The plan for tomorrow is to drive to the ocean, which probably takes two days and hang out in Sayulita which is a small town with a campsite and beaches that are suitable for beginner surfers. Maybe I see if I can buy a second hand board somewhere and put it in the car as there will be many places to surf.
Grootste woestijn van Noord-Amerika
Door een riviertje gereden, omdat de brug gesloten was voor werkzaamheden. Je had de gezichten van de wegwerkers moeten zien...
The 4th of Januari was the big day, I was leaving for Mexico. After being frightened by quite a lot of people over the last couple months, I was feeling a bit nervous about it. When I drove into Piedras Negras I found it very confusing there was no immigration or customs, they just let me drive through. So I drove back and talked with a parkingofficer and he explained, together with some other people who came to help, that I had to go 53 km down the road. So I went and found that place ok. It was a big hall with different windows and I managed to find the right one and confuse the immigration officer quite a bit. Coming in via the United States, having a Dutch drivers license and a Canadian car. It went like this:
- Where you from?
+ Hollanda
- Cannot find in book... England maybe??
+ No, Hollanda
- Cannot find in book... Country change name?
+ No
- Ah I see HOLLANDA!! How long you want to stay? 30 days?
+ No, I want a visa for 90 days
- No 90 days, why you are tourist, 30 days enough!
+ No, I want 90 days
- 50 days maybe?!
+ No, 90 days.
- Ok, is good, 90 days.
After that I had to walk up and down between different windows and make copies of different pages in my passport. My idea was that the copies had to be made, to give the old guy in the corner operating the copier, some business. But everything worked allright and although it took a while, they were very friendly and didn t search the car or anything.
In the meanwhile it was so late that I couldn t drive very far anymore, so I decided to find a place in Sabinas. That is in the north where there are almost no tourists and nobody speaks English. It was kind of a cultureshock, everything looked different, traffic is way different that in Canada or the States, I don t speak the language (yet) and I didn t know where to eat. But I found a place to sleep and went into town to check it out. That was also what people did with me, everybody was looking at me. In the meanwhile I am used to it, it doesnt intimidate me as much anymore. And the girls are really pretty actually and they always smile, so that is good ;-)
From Sabinas I drove to Cuatrocienegas, that is a town in the biggest desert of Northern America. I like dessert and was looking forward to the warm water pools they have there. Driving was still weird, they have speedbumps that even surprise me. Being from The Netherlands, country of speedbumps. They are really hard on the car and sometimes I dont see them in time. But driving through the villages you see a lot and it is very colourfull, the people are friendly and helpfull and there is a business in almost every building. So I found a place to camp and went for a nice swim. I met a Mexican man and his Brazilian wife and they live in Texas. They gave me a whole new opinion on the illegal immigrant policy of the USA. He has a construction company with 70 employees and they are all illegal. The government is fine with that, they have no choice. The illegal immigrants are even allowed to buy houses, have mortgages, get cars etc. Even the immigration officers, the people who go after illegals, have illegal maids in their own house. It was nice to talk to him and hear this, I hope you can make a conclusion to this for yourself... Camping was very cold, at 8.30 in the morning I was already swimming in the warm water pools to get warm. Beautiful area and not known at all, people where asking me how I got there!
Down to Durango, still had to get used to the traffic and the 600 km took me a long time. When I arrived in Durange it was rush hour and I had very hard time coping with that. I couldnt find the hostel and the car was giving problems (but I fixed that now). Had to stay in a hotel and that is not good for the budget.
Next day I left Durango, because I couldnt really find my way, which is a pitty, because it looked like a nice city. Only 300km to Zacatecas, an old silver mining town. Stopped at a random little restaurant on the side of the road and couldnt figure out what they were serving so I made clear that anything would do. So I got a round kind of pancake which they cut open and fill up with cactus and some other substances I dont know, but it was really tasty and filled me up. When I got to Zacatecas I couldnt find the hostel again, normally I am quite good with finding things, but not here... After searching for one and a half hour I asked a taxi driver to drive there so I could follow him. The hostel is beautiful and full with travelers, which is different from most US hostels I stayed in. Funny thing is that I parked behing a van with Quebec plates! It was a family of four, Mike, Millie, Sofia and Joeri and they are on a roadtrip as well. I have been going out for dinner with them for a couple days in a row and will meet them again in Sayulita, above Puerta Vallarta. Also met a lot of other people and the hostel arranged some activities, so that was easy. We went to the Corona brewery and yesterday there was a margarita party and afterwards we went to a bar. I ve only slept two hours this night and feel a bit tired, but the party was good. Many people in a bad shape today though. The Canadian guy who was sleeping in the bunk above me fell out of his bed, that was a big bang! And the San Diego guy woke up in his own puke, yeah it was a good night. The city itself is very nice, I enjoy the old buildings and walking down the street and just see whats going on.
Regarding the car... it is still going! Mike saw that a bolt from the rear wheel was broken, so the owner of the hostel went with me yesterday and we went to some small workshop where they fixed it immediatly. Very handy guys, you can see they are used to improvising. Besides that there is quite a bit of things wrong with the car at the moment but it is still safe to drive it (carburator is leaking fuel on engine, 4 shocks are worn, tierods are a little worn, discs of brakes are bent, speedo doesnt work, window is all cracks and stars). So I keep driving it and hope that it will bring me a bit further.
So, so far I like Mexico, but it is more difficult than what I ve been doing before. Language that I dont speak, traffic is wilder, roads are not so good, signposting could be better. But on the other hand, it is very colourful, there is more happening in the towns than in western countries, the people are very friendly and it is cheaper.
The plan for tomorrow is to drive to the ocean, which probably takes two days and hang out in Sayulita which is a small town with a campsite and beaches that are suitable for beginner surfers. Maybe I see if I can buy a second hand board somewhere and put it in the car as there will be many places to surf.
Grootste woestijn van Noord-Amerika
Door een riviertje gereden, omdat de brug gesloten was voor werkzaamheden. Je had de gezichten van de wegwerkers moeten zien...
Ik hoop dat het niet heel erg is dat ik dit topic weer open maak? Ik lig hier namelijk op mijn stapelbedje in Panama stad om de reis die jij hebt gemaakt in omgekeerde volgorde, gedeeltelijk te doen en ik vind het gewoon helemaal te gek om je verhaal te lezen. Krijg helemaal de kriebels zo'n zin om te gaan hiero...
Als het een beetje meezit zijn we morgen de eigenaar van een Jeep chereokee Limited ('we'zijn een stelletje
).
Maargoed, ik heb wel wat vraagjes 
In welke 4 landen kan je je niet verzekeren? En waarom niet? Hoe gaat het bij de grensovergangen? Heb je nog tips wat betreft het Midden Amerika? Wij willen van Panama naar Mexico stad rijden. (En zit je al op de motor? naar de zuidpool?)
Als het een beetje meezit zijn we morgen de eigenaar van een Jeep chereokee Limited ('we'zijn een stelletje
). Maargoed, ik heb wel wat vraagjes In welke 4 landen kan je je niet verzekeren? En waarom niet? Hoe gaat het bij de grensovergangen? Heb je nog tips wat betreft het Midden Amerika? Wij willen van Panama naar Mexico stad rijden. (En zit je al op de motor? naar de zuidpool?)
Jammer dat er geen updates meer zijn geweest
"We moeten ons bewust zijn van de superioriteit van onze beschaving, met zijn normen en waarden, welvaart voor de mensen, respect voor mensenrechten en godsdienstvrijheid. Dat respect bestaat zeker niet in de Islamitische wereld".
Heh, je bent niet naar minneapolis geweest? :p
verder heel leuk verslag, alaska lijkt me echt geweldig!
verder heel leuk verslag, alaska lijkt me echt geweldig!
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