Tag: travel

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Traveling by bus in Panama

Travelling by bus in Panama is quite easy.

There are buses going to almost all areas an places.
The main bus stations are Panama City and David. from there leaving minimum every hour buses to all areas.
For example:
  • Bus from Panama City to Bocas del Toro: There is a bus from Albrook bus station in Panama City, which takes around 9 hours
  • Bus from Panama City to Boquete: take the bus from Albrook bus station to David. from David (ca 5 hours). From David the bus to Boquete (1,5-2 hours).
  • Bus from Panama City to Las Tablas / Tonosi/ Cambutal: take the bus from Albrook bus terminal in Panama City to Las Tablas. From Las Tablas there is once a day at 1 pm a bus to Cambutal directly. Otherwise there is very hour between 6 am  – 4.30 pm a but to Tonosi ( ca. 1,5 hours). from Tonosi take the local bus to Cambutal, but which can take about another hour or take a Taxi for 15 USD for 20-30 minutes.
  • Bus from Cambutal / Tonosi/ Las Tablas to Bocas Del Toro: this is a long way and you hardly get it in one day (ca 15 hours in total), because the last ferry from Almirante to the islands leaves at around 6 p.m.: from Cambutal take the first bus at 7 am to Tonosi (ca. 1 hour). From there the bus to Chitre (eventually you have to change the bus station), which takes you around 2,5 -3 hours), from Chitre the bus to Santiago (1 hour), from Santiago to David (3,5 hours). In David you have to change the bus terminal (just a few meters next to the Santiago terminal) and take there the bus to Bocas (Almirante), which takes another 3,5 hours. From Almirante you need to take a water taxi to the islands (ca. 45 minutes to Bocas del Toro (Isla Concon)
  • In David and Panama City are also international buses to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico and to other countries in Central America. The best bus travel organisation is TICA BUS http://www.ticabus.com
By the way, I can highly recommend this platform, to search for public transportations.
This tool will offer you different routes by bus, train, ferry and/or airplane. It shows you all the the prices and total price of your trip and schedules of each means of transportation.
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Can travelling help us to change our habits and personality?

A couple of days ago, I had a interesting and inspiring conversation with a guy also from Germany.

I met in I’m my hostel in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica.
He is traveling for a few years already. Is just in its early twenties, but has an open minded ideology regarding finding hisself.
In Germany he had a lot of problems with the school system, teachers and his family.
The German perfectionism and outer pressure on “having something” instead of “being something” made him weird and enoying.
For any reason he felt like a fool, not to stay at the same level of the typical education system as there friends or people from his environment.
He had the feeling he is not exepted as a simple human being with his own ideologies and wills. You have to wear the same costume to be part of the party.
But that’s weird. Why can’t we live and be what we want? Especially today, where is a worldwide network with tones of different opportunities.
On the one hand, that depends on in which environment and society you are born and how you grown up.
On the other hand, it depends on you. You can always change it.
Lucas, the guy felt so weird and empty, because he lived a life, what was not his own life. So he started to take drugs and went out for partying, just to neutralise and calm down his inner desires.
After school he decided then to travel and travelled in the end 1,5 years before he came back home for the first time again.
This time period of traveling opend his eyes. He found out, that in other countries are other rules, habits, values and lifestyles. There is no right or wrong, it is always the perspective from where you look at your life and values.
Lucas learned that he was now able to to what he wants and nobody cared about it, he could be experimental in habits, ways of life and find out what his values and motivations in life are about. He captured all contacts to his family and friends during this time, just to make a complete reset of his current position.
It was a beginning of a journey – a journey to find hisself.
But when he came back home for the first time, where he stayed at his parents house, met the same friends from before, he suddenly fall back into the same habits.
Felt weird, as a stranger, took drugs and made party.
So after half a year he decided to travel again. He was not ready at this time to come back, he didn’t find hisself and could feel that he was not at the end of the path.
So for over one year now, he is traveling again. He saved some money before in Germany and worked a while in Canada.
Mostly he is staying 2-3 month at one place and is trying to keep his expanses as low as he can by working as a volunteer at a hostel or hotel. They offer you normally free accommodation and sometimes food for a little bit of work (mostly between 10-25 hours per week).
Lucas said, he will travel so long until he will find that way of life and motivation that makes him happy and peaceful inside.
“I am starting to get there”, he mentioned to me. “Before, I was always destroying things, was angry and very negative in my mind. Today I start to see just the beautiful things inside everything. I even get creative and my mind starts to think about, how he can create something useful out of each simple piece of nature”.
Oh my god, what a big mind shift in just 2-3 years!
Once, when he will come back to Germany, he wants to say to his parents, ” Hi, I am back. And I am what I am. And that is me.” He ment by that, to have the power and strength to stay then as he is, not to fall back into his old habits and also to be accepted as a new person by his family and friends.
And as long as he hasnt the feeling, he is ready for it, he wants to travel. Minimum the next 3-5 years.
For me it just shows me again, how important traveling on our own can be to find ourself. Especially when we have the feeling we are born into a wrong society, when we have the feeling we are strangers, when we have the feeling we are not excepted by our invironment.
If you feel the same, I can just highly recommend to go traveling.
It doesn’t have to be for years, sometimes it’s enough to travel for a few month, just to brake out of your hamster wheel or just to get new insights.
And you doesn’t need to go to many places or all over the world. You can also just stay at one place, that you enjoy – the mountains or the beach side.
And you doesn’t need to be in your early twenties. Event when you are in an older age and have a settled life, it is always possible to leave this place for a while.
Just the first steps to decide to travel and actually move are those actions, where people already stuck. Because you have to come our of your comfort zone.
You have to change something and leave your secure environment.
There is one of my favourite quotes, which I want to share with you guys. It helped me a lot to move my ass and start to change my life:
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”
Life vegins at the end of your comfort zone
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6 travel tips to secure your belongings

Now, it also happened to me.

#suitcase #lost #port # travel
#suitcase #lost #port # travel

I was robbed at the port of Athens.
Early in the morning, on my way to Naxos, it even happened to me:
I wanted to buy a sandwitch before my ferry departured at 7.25 a.m. At the bakery, my suitcase behind next to me, I ordered a sandwich without meat.
They had to prepare it, because everything was with meat.
Afterwards I payed and took the sandwitch.
When I turned around, my suitcase was not there anymore.
Nervously I looked and jumped around, watched in all directions, if I probably could still see someone, running away with my luggage.
But no doubts. Just a lot of people passing the street and bakery.
And all had a black suitecase – OF COURSE!

Afterwards I spent tons of time at the police: at the harbor police at Athens, at the harbor police at Naxos, the main police at Naxos, the harbor Police of Naxos and last but not least one more time at  the harbor police of Naxos. Just to get – FINALLY my report for my health insurance.
I hope they will pay minimum something.

That experience, which I will never wish someone else,  has „hat mich veranlasst“ to highly advise some tips which I normally follow to protect your luggage for theft and loss.

1. Mark all belongings with your name and address:
Put your name and address on a batch or something, where finders of your luggage can get in contact with you or send it to your address.
Even when it’s stolen, there is still a piece of hope that the thief just took what what he was searching for (mostly small and expensive goods, as  money, watches, jewelry, etc.). And probably he has thrown away the rest of your luggage.
I have even marked my mobile phone with my address (under the case).

2. Travel with unique looking luggage
In my case, I did it completely wrong! What an idiot!.
Don’t take a suitcase in black, which owns every second person. (It was a gift, by the way. Normally I wouldn’t buy one like this.)
Buy a backpack or suitcase with a special design or color. One that looks unique, which you can find very easy and identify it as yours already from far away.
But we aware: It should look unique, but not expensive.
With expensive ones you will just provoke someone to steal it.

3. Put valuables always in your hand luggage
Never put pockets, laptops and cameras in your main luggage, when you travel.
Always in your hand luggage and take it always with you.
Especially when you are traveling alone or with unknown transportations and person.
Even when you are in a bus and need to go to toilet. Keep it with you.
That saved my life now, for example.
I just lost my suitcase, not my hand luggage, which I had as a backpack carrying with me.
Of course, I lost a lot of clothes, shoes, cosmetic, some jewelry,  etc. -maybe with a value of 1000-1500 EUR. But imagine my pocket with all my papers or my mobile phone or laptop where stolen.
I wouldn’t have an identity anymore and so much more to handle and arrange to get my normal life routine back (Ok, my laptop and mobile phone is a part of my life and my identity).
But so, its just money and probably some memories and keepsakes, which I lost.
Thanks god!

4. Be aware with back packs in big cities and crowded places.
Especially in big cities is the crime rate extreemly high.
Especially traveling with backpacks with public transportations is very dangerous.
Because it’s very easy for them to open your backpack in a crowded tram, while you can’t see anything.
That’s why I prefer bags, which I can wear on the side of my body or even in front of me. Or a belt bag around your hips, is perfect to keep it close to your body.
If you just have a backpack, turn it always to the front of your chest, when your in crowded areas.

5. Lock your luggage during your travels
If you don’t want to pay attention on your luggage all the time or just want to protect it additionally, then take a locker with you – or even more – depending on your luggage and system. Lock it always, when you have to leave it out of your presence. For example, when you go by bus or ferry, the employees of the organization put your luggage in a storage or special area e.g. on a boat. Mostly nothing happens and everything is well organized, but in the end everybody has access to it and it already happened more than often, that probably not your luggage – but content from it – was „stolen“.

6. Contract a travel insurance
Last but not least: Make sure you have a travel insurance, which pay for it, in case your luggage is however stolen.
Especially when you travel more then once or twice a year, its really with to have one.

Save travel preps, save luggage!
Take care, but enjoy traveling! 🙂

#traveltips #nomadlifestyle #lost #travelinsurance

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Stopover in Istanbul

Lost at the airport, I met this both nice guys, Douglas and Mübi, who had to take the same flight to Bodrum. All from Germany, we took care of each other and spent the time together while we were waiting for the flight.
We had some interesting conversations about traveling, hard work in and now burnt out people, food, and business.
People asked me, when I travel if I don’t feel lonely sometimes.
No, you are almost never alone.
I share my moments always with people around me.

IMG_2075.JPG

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Don’t Date A Girl Who Travels

To all my -especially- female friends.

I found this article and video about girls who travel on lovethesearch.com.
I am not sure, if I like the title, but this is what I am and live right now.

And while I am watching it, I am inspired and become hungry to explore more of this beautiful world.

And here is the amazing video, created by the lyrics below:

Don’t date a girl who travels
She’s the one with the messy unkempt hair colored by the sun. Her skin is now far from fair like it once was. Not even sun kissed. It’s burnt with multiple tan lines, wounds and bites here and there. But for every flaw on her skin, she has an interesting story to tell.

Don’t date a girl who travels. She is hard to please. The usual dinner-movie date at the mall will suck the life out of her. Her soul craves for new experiences and adventures. She will be unimpressed with your new car and your expensive watch. She would rather climb a rock or jump out of an airplane than hear you brag about it.

Don’t date a girl who travels because she will bug you to book a flight every time there’s an airline seat sale. She wont party at Republiq. And she will never pay over $100 for Avicii because she knows that one weekend of clubbing is equivalent to one week somewhere far more exciting.

Chances are, she can’t hold a steady job. Or she’s probably daydreaming about quitting. She doesn’t want to keep working her ass off for someone else’s dream. She has her own and is working towards it. She is a freelancer. She makes money from designing, writing, photography or something that requires creativity and imagination. Don’t waste her time complaining about your boring job.

Don’t date a girl who travels. She might have wasted her college degree and switched careers entirely. She is now a dive instructor or a yoga teacher. She’s not sure when the next paycheck is coming. But she doesn’t work like a robot all day, she goes out and takes what life has to offer and challenges you to do the same.

Don’t date a girl who travels for she has chosen a life of uncertainty. She doesn’t have a plan or a permanent address. She goes with the flow and follows her heart. She dances to the beat of her own drum. She doesn’t wear a watch. Her days are ruled by the sun and the moon. When the waves are calling, life stops and she will be oblivious to everything else for a moment. But she has learned that the most important thing in life isn’t surfing.

Don’t date a girl who travels as she tends to speak her mind. She will never try to impress your parents or friends. She knows respect, but isn’t afraid to hold a debate about global issues or social responsibility.

She will never need you. She knows how to pitch a tent and screw her own fins without your help. She cooks well and doesn’t need you to pay for her meals. She is too independent and wont care whether you travel with her or not. She will forget to check in with you when she arrives at her destination. She’s busy living in the present. She talks to strangers. She will meet many interesting, like-minded people from around the world who share her passion and dreams. She will be bored with you.

So never date a girl who travels unless you can keep up with her. And if you unintentionally fall in love with one, don’t you dare keep her.
Let her go.

For the girls? Does this inspire? Can you probably identifiy yourself or is it just a faraway dream for you? Would you say, as atravelling girl it’s not possible to have a relationship?

And for the men? Is it deterring to meet a girl like that?
I would really to know about your opinion.

I thought I am ready now for a relationship, but I know I will go on with travelling for the next years. So is it possible to have a partner then?

Hmm, I have to think about it. Hope you can help me. 🙂