Kayak Trip Day 36: Čunovo to the Danube Floodplains – Freecamping

Evens occurred on Saturday the 10th of August, 2019. We paddled our buoyant Zucchini from the Čunovo Dam to somewhere in the Danube Floodplains protected landscape area in the Slovak-Hungarian border region. We paddled 36 kilometers that day. At night, we freecamped next to the river for the first time on this trip. Leaving Čunovo for the Danube Floodplains We only stayed one night in Čunovo. For the morning, we managed to arrange breakfast at 7:30. The guy who had cheffed up dinner so enthusiastically the night before were not so fond of our early breakfast time; we had to beg forContinue reading

Kitesurfing South America: 3 Obscure Spots

Ever considered going kitesurfing in South America? If not, it’s time to reconsider! Many South American countries are full of river dams. Where there’s a dam, there’s an artificial lake. Where there’s an artificial lake, there’s oftentimes real strong winds. Many of these kitesurfing lakes are rather obscure for the kite community, yet are famous locally for their reliable, strong winds and tiny waves. Watch out, some of these locations aren’t for beginners. All of them do have schools that offer classes but ask yourself if you want to tackle these beasts when just starting out. Perhaps you’ll be sittingContinue reading

It’s a Vlog! Hitchhiking Southern Chile

I had been playing around with this idea for a while now but here it is… my first vlog! Some fans had shown their interest before in me making a video of a day in the life of a hitchhiker, but I never really went for it until now. It took some nerves to use that ‘recording’ button for the first time with my face in it, but what’s really the difference from taking a photo? That’s just beside my complete lack of video editing skills until I tried with the help of Windows Movie Maker and what Youtube provides,Continue reading

Earthquake Memorial in Chanco, Chile

After receiving an invitation from a Spanish blog reader living and working in Chile, I decided to make a little detour from my route southward. I hitchhiked to Maria in Chanco. She’s an architecture student, but currently, she put her studies on hold. That’s because she’s busy reconstructing buildings damaged by the 2010 earthquake. I happened to visit Chanco exactly six years after, also on the 27th of February. The team of artists made a remembrance mural with natural colors found in the earth surrounding the village. Some of the mixes (adobe) contained some straw or hay to make theContinue reading

Camping Stove Cooking at the Chilean Coast (Paposo)

Who’s up for a cup of mint tea on the beach in Paposo? After a long search, I finally found a cheap camping stove with a fairly universal fuel system. A shop in the Zona Franca of Iquique (Zofri) that also sells children’s toys and Christmas decorations (!?) and other completely random objects had this beauty of a camping stove. It has some kind of metal skirt that’s its wind protection and hugs my pot completely. And it has a sparker that makes it very easy and safe to turn on. If you can’t tell yet: I’m so fucking happy!Continue reading

Pisagua, Chile: Squatter’s Paradise

Northern Chile has provided me with a lot of fun things to do so far. One of the most rewarding detours off the main road south has been visiting the hamlet of Pisagua and its abundant former glory. This used to be one of Chile’s biggest ports back in the day, which one can’t imagine anymore. A lot of buildings are wooden, including the semi-abandoned theatre. The theatre now hosts a tiny library and internet café in one of the small rooms. Only a few shops provided my provisions of food and water. After walking around, I’ve spotted four restaurantsContinue reading

Boca del Río Lighthouse: Freecamping in Perú

Last night I went freecamping in Perú. I picked a spot close to the coast on a hill where both a lighthouse and a Jesus statue were located. Boca del Río (“river mouth”) is located close to the city of Tacna. I hitchhiked from Boca del Río to Tacna in a single ride with a lovely old lady going to a big church here. I plan to stick around here for the next few days before crossing to Arica, Chile. Arica formerly belonged to Perú. It’s also where the Atacama desert begins, which is the driest place on earth exceptContinue reading

Cruise-camping on the Equator

Witnessing a beautiful sunrise on the Mid Atlantic Ocean, just a little south of the equator! Instead of sleeping in the cabin without windows, some fellow hippies on the cruise ship opted for the silty, ocean air on the top deck. As we traveled southward by repositioning cruise, the temperature rose and this became a comfortable option. The night I went ‘cruise-camping’ was by far the best night of sleep I’ve had. And sweet baby Jesus, LOOK AT THAT SUNRISE! Being on a cruise ship for 12 days means being dictated by the breakfast, lunch, and dinner times. On topContinue reading

Yurt-Surfing in Andalucía, Spain

How life gives you awesome people: what began as a spontaneous one-night freecamping invitation after a bad ride, turned into a three-day yurt-surfing adventure with my new friend from Hungary! Turns out she lives at this awesome place hidden in the woods with alternative housing. Housing such as yurts, caravans, and other ‘outdoor furniture’ (Spanish law is strange). The first night I pitched my tent next to her caravan, from where you could even see the Rock of Gibraltar! After that, we crashed at a yurt (i.e. yurt-surfing) at her neighbor’s place, because the winds were too strong. Yurts areContinue reading