These last couples of years have been full of great moments in travelling. We’ve been to Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand…. and now we came back recently from a 19 day trip to the ancient lands of the Incas: Chile, Bolivia and Peru.

As soon as we came back from Vietnam, we began to think about our next dream destination. We had already covered a lot of beautiful Asia and were in need of some variety so we decided to head for South America. The Inca history had always fascinated us and Machu Picchu was definitely a must see monument that we had to visit before we died.

Since we had 19 days vacation we decided to cover 3 countries instead of just going to Peru. We started our trip in Santiago do Chile, headed on to the Atacama Desert (the driest desert in the world), made a 4X4 drive up Bolivia to the Uyuni Salt Flat (the largest Salt Flat in the world), stopped in La Paz (the highest city in the world), spent some time in Lake Titicaca (the highest fresh water lake in the world), crossed into Peru… headed for Cuzco by train and ended our trip gloriously in Machu Picchu after a one day trek along the Inca trail.

After 1800 km by air, 1837 km by land (20 km trekking), climbing altitudes of 5.000 mt, with temperatures ranging from  - 15º C to 24º C, 3 cases of altitude sickness, 2 cases of food poisoning and 1 hospitalization I think I speak for everyone when I say that it was worth it. For this trip to have been more than perfect we would have to have spent an additional week in some Caribbean Island resting for a couple of days.

We all wish we could do these wild kind of trips forever, year after year until we’ve visited all the 193 countries of the World, but we are now in our early 30’s and time doesn’t really care about what we want… it only cares about itself!

One thing we will always remember and cherish even if we stop travelling together is each other. Most of us have learned that true happiness is only real when it’s shared. Travelling with a group of friends is and always will be an incredible experience.

This latest Blog is out trip story… we hope you enjoy.

I lov ´lisboa.´ Ok, since we did not spend the day befor in 'Frankfurt', that did not happn, we took a plane from 'venic' to 'porto.' We arrivd at 'Porto' and had to wait so long for our luggag to come. We got out side and found out we had to take a train for 3 hours to 'lisbon.' Haha, which was so terribl. We tried to sleep, that did not come through, then we got annoyd, becaus we wantd to smok, every time the train stoppd, but that was for only 2 minuts, so that was not possibl and then we found out the ride was not 3 hours, but 4,5 hours. I thought I was going so mad. I rarely get so mad, but I think I brok the chair in front of me. After spending this so terribl night in 'Frankfurt', that did not happn and then the train ride, I was so happy to arriv in 'lisbon.' Oh, then we found out we had to take 2 trams befor we would arriv at the hotel. Ok, we can handl that. Apparently not, I got stuck between the doors of the sub way, haha. I fell al most to the ground, and Javier stood there laughng, which made me laugh so hard too, but could not concentrat to get out of the doors that way. The thing is that they we had a problm with the tickets, becaus one of them was invalid. It was ok, when we took the tram, becaus some one let us in, but we could not get out, so had to run after when Javier put his card there. We were with the suit cases, so I got stuck between the doors. This is one of the things that I'm so scard of, I hav it with every door that closes by it selv, that I woul get in between.

We finaly arrivd at the hotel, which was so beautiful. It was such a good hotel. We were suppos to stay there for 2 days, but decided we would stay 2 more days in 'lisbon.' This city made up for every thing we had been through for the last 2 days. The hotel was so cheap and it was right in the center place of the city. We stayd in until around 7.30 pm and then went out to see some things. We went to 'lisbon' in the frst place, becaus Javier hav famil y here, that he had nevr see before. The thing was to meet them and they left a note at the hotel, that they would be there that night in the hotel around 7 pm. Since they did not come, we decided to go out. We wantd to check some things on the internet for 'porto' in a café, while suddntly some one enterd and askd for Javier, which was one of the peopl we were suppos to meet. They went in to the hotel and askd for Javier, and they sayd he left with a blond woman, haha. They saw a blond woman, since there are not so many in 'portugal' and followd us.

They were so sweet peopl, who we had dinner with. After dinner, they showd us around with their car in the city, to let us see what we should defintly visit. It was so great.

Will tell the rest later, Javier wak up.

it's hard to not love a place where you once drank 18 beers, ate 2 meals, and smoked countless amounts of cigarettes in a span of 6 hours without ever wanting to leave. and then the second and third time you were in Lisbon, you just knew you haaaaad to go back. this is the best place to spend a couple of lazy hours with friends whilst enjoying the most amazing views of Lisbon, the Rio Tejo, and the 'Golden Gate Bridge' of Lisbon. i bet it's great in the daytime, but it's spectacular just before and after sunset. the viewwwwwwwww! haha, they even have blankets if you're cold. this is just a really cool, chill, relaxing place that is worth checking out if you're in Lisbon. the restaurant, people there, and the wait staff just exude 'chill,' you know? haha, and after the craziness of the barrio alto the night before, you may need a bit of chill in your life. try the White Sangria,it's to die for. the goat cheese, tomato, and oregano sandwich melts in your mouth. it's so good, i had to order 2 the first time haha

We decided to go to 'estoril' for one day, which is about 40 minuts with the train from the city. We spend the day there, it is so beautiful.

The Sana Lisboa is part of the Sana Park 4-star line of hotels. It is located right at the Marques de Pombal roundabout at the bottom of Parque Eduardo VII. This is the start of Avenida de Liberdade, which can be walked downhill from the hotel to the Baixa, Praca do Comercio, and the Tagus River (Rio Tejo). The rooms are huge for European standards. The rooms and lobby have a colorful, distinctly modern decor. The breakfast buffet is very good and offers a wide assortment of different European breakfast items. We also had a catered dinner here, which was better than most catered hotel dinners I've had. You can't beat the location. Not only is it easy to walk to many of the nearby sites (though it is quite steep in parts as most of Lisbon is), but it is also very easy to get around on the excellent bus system. I got to the hotel from the airport and vice versa very easily by bus.

This is so great hotel. It is in the centr of the city, the hotel is on the main place on Rossio. The room is clean, so good and the peopl are so sweet. The bathroom is smal and is not so good. We did not pay so much for this hotel and it is so good. You can see any thing from here. There is intrnt, you can buy drinks and you are in the city.

We finally arrive in Lisbon! We get our luggage. Rute Pinheiro and I are stopped by security guards to check if we have South American drugs. The only drugs we have is Coca Tea... no problem... we can enter.

we woke up at about 8 am, i just brushed my teeth, since i showered last night its not important to shower in the morning :D yes - i still smelled good dont worry. hahahah hahahaha

were leaving at 8:30 am - we put all our food and drinks at the top of the car to make some more room for robbo - coz hes complaining that his legs hurt of the small space hahahaha hahahahahahahaha.

we got lost getting out of the campsite - damn it - one man motioned for us to go straight - yeah right - straight to dead end! hahahahahahah hahahahahaha.

at the camp entrace - it would open at 9 am! dammit - so we have to wait for 30 minutes - so while waiting - we ate some breakfast. our itinerary for today was to go to lisbon then to lagos in the algarve. it was still 300 kms to go to lisbon.  in germany, since we dont have any speed limits in the autobahn - 300 kms is nothing - its just 2:30 hours driving - but in portugal and spain they have only until 120 kms/hour so its much more longer than i imagined.

we had to pay tolls again - and were a little bit pissed off of that - its ripping our pool money apart. we had to stop 2x since lori and me needed toilets :D hahaha and for our lunch and for ben just to rest for a while :(

we were at lisbon at about 1:30 pm - we got fucking lost again - as signs are so rare in portugal - sure theres a sign to lisbon and all that - but once we got there - theres nothing to direct us! we lost a good hour - just to find where the center of lisbon was.

after some turning and more turning - we finally found centro and made our way to to plaza pombal where a massive huge monument was! hahahahahahahaha we were so amazed how huge it was and of course took pictures of it! lori doenst want to spend much time in lisbon, our main thing was just to buy presents for the grandal-caneiro family. but since most of us were fascinated by lisbon, we decided to go further! it was a very interesting city in the middle down pombal was a treelined avenue full of tropical plants from brazil!

at the very entrance to the old part of lisbon, we saw a souvenir shop and contemplated what kind of gifts shoud we buy for the family - lori said a vase to put flowers - but hmmmmmmmmmm i dont like it haha it doenst seem imaginative enough for me.  we took a look about stuffs and we still hadnt decided. i bought some ref magnets for mama, she would kill me if i didnt hahahahahahaa.

the old part of lisbon was stunning! lisbon reminded me alot of athens - thats what robbo thought too! but lisbon has many wide avenues, trees and spaces than athens - but it has the athensy feeling to it. hahahahahaha.

we didnt wandered further from the plaza - since we dont have much time - so of course :D rubs, lori and me went to mcdonalds - fast! because we need fast food and hahhanh brought some fresh pastries and bread from a portuguese bakery because shes vegetarian.

after milling around in the plaza - we went back and i thought of a perfect gift for the family - since the family lives near thea - and pablo works in the spanish navy - a miniature sailboat will be a perfect gift! :D

so we bought it, and i asked the lovely girl where is the nearest metro going to pombal and she directed me to it - paid the metro - a bit expensive in lisbon 1.30 something (but nothing can match in düsseldorf! hahah 2.10 cents) hahahahahaha.

when were trying to get our of lisbon - we have to pass the bridge 25 de abril bridge - it was hell massive and modeled after the golden gate bridge in san fran and a miniature statue of christ like the one they have in corcovado in rio de janeiro.

it was ANOTHER TOLL AGAIN TO PAY. we have to collect again 20 euros from each of us. our money is going fast and we dont really have a target where to go - i mean to lagos and all but we will see when we get there. ben was also tired now, he was complaining a little bit.

it was really hard to leave lisbon withouht seeing much fo the city! i mean - its realyl beautiful, interesting and with magnificent architectures and edifices - i regreted that we didnt spend much time - i feel the city hadnt even sunked into me yet :(

Well i really have enjoyed Lisbon.  it is such a beautiful place.  i have been so glad that this is where we decided to end our trip.  We have gone from East to West.  I would recoment Lisbon to anyone who wants to go somewhere to relax and enjoy the beautiful place.  i am sure there could have been so many more things we could have done here if we had the energy left, but walking all over the place has been a lot of fun.  we decided to go out for dinner tonight.  we are sick of pasta which we had the last 3 nights to save tons of money.  but we want to enjoy our last night here in Europe.  I guess we will have one more night in London but we will be arriving there really late and wont have time for anything.  I would love to come back to europe and spend the time starting to make the trip along the mediteranian coast.  i think that is where i fell in love with the countryside.  it might take many more trips to complete it but someday hopefully i will make it all the way around all the way to morocco.  I would also love to travel all along the Rhine as well.  other than that Europe will be taking  abreak from me for a while.  I think i need to hit up some Australia and New Zealand next!  Also I would love to go more into central america.  you might get one or 2 more blogs but that will just to show our return journey and to add the miles to the trip.  I have gone over 9,000 miles.  pretty crazy.    peace out!

Well yesterday was real nice.  we walked all over the place which was fun.  we went down to the main area and the army was putting on a recrutment drive in the middle of the square which was awesome.  we actually got to go inside a tank!!!!!  we also saw a rocket truck thing.  i cant wait to show pictures.  me being a pacifist in all was still quite impressed with getting to go in the tank.  we also got to watch part of the wimbelton final which was amazing.  not the part we watched.  the end of the second set and a little into the third before the rain delay.  we then walked a bunbch around and were shocked when it was still going when we checked later.  we watched the game from a live stat update online when the score was 6-6 in the fifth set.  i was sad that federer lost, but good for nadal.  i hope my parents taped it so i can watch it when i get home.  all 5 hours of it.  i bet their thing didnt know to tape that long and so the end will never be watched, but i hope differently.  today i read and finished my book that i was able to spread out for 3 days!  3 books in 6 days now.  i then decided to take a nap.  so today has been good.  tomorrow i think we are going to some church which happened to be in my last book which was interesting.  just 3 more days until we are back in the US of A.  kind of crazy the end is finally here.  

Day 1|

I began my journey through Lisbon by tram. Spent  day to tour in tram 28 (Martim Moniz-Campo de Ourique).  I bought a daily pass (www.carris.pt) so I can explore all by myself and to treat myself to some astonishing places and sights.

Some places in Lisbon that you have to visit: S. Vicente de Fora, take a look at the Church, particularly the tiles which are based on some La Fontaine tales. Visit Feira da Ladra (Flea Market), where you can buy really cheap second-hand clothes, cd's or books, only on Tuesdays and Saturdays. A street above, you’ll find Panteão Nacional (National Pantheon) take a strole on the terrace, it will offer you a beautiful sight of Tagus River. Castelo de S. Jorge (St. George Castle), Miradouro de Santa Luzia (Santa Luzia belvedere) with its garden and a fabulous views over Alfama. Constructed after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, in the Pombaline Lower Town you’ll find a nice place to go shopping or keep going to the next stop and have a “bica” near Fernando Pessoa (he doesn’t mind if you take a photo with him).

It’s already getting dark, I’ve decided to have dinner at “A Severa” (www.asevera.com), a restaurant and house of Fados where Amália Rodrigues used to eat portuguese tapas. Outside Bairro Alto’s nightlife is starting. Thanks to a free guide I have found in my hotel “Tips Guide Lisboa” (www.tipsguidelisboa.com), I have found a place to end the night, I chose a small disco in the Bairro Alto called “Bedroom”....nice place!

Day 2 |

Early morning and here I am, ready to discover new worlds. Arriving in Belém, we go back to 1500, to the Age of Discoveries.

First Palácio de Belém, the official residence of the President of Portugal then had my morning coffee in the famous Fábrica de Pastéis de Belém(www.pasteisdebelem.pt).

Then finally arrived to a magnificent monastery, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, it was from here that Vasco da Gama sailed to India.

This building is the most successful achievement of Manueline architecture; the motifs are mainly the armillary sphere (a spherical astrolabe) and the cross of the Order of Christ, you can find these in the church, in the cloisters and in the tombs of Vasco da Gama and Camões.

Just a few meters away is the Centro Cultural de Belém (www.ccb.pt), a modern building that hosts cultural events and is also a conference centre. I ate a light meal at Quadrante, located in Jardim das Oliveiras.

If you turn to the other side of the road in direction to Padrão de Descobrimentos take a ride up by elevator because from the top you can get the best view of the gigantic compass rose on the pavement. It has a diameter of 50 meters and the central map shows the sea routes of the Portuguese Discoverers during the XV and XVI centuries. There’s a funny joke about this monument, some people say that the character at the back is screaming "don't push in the queue!"

If you take a walk close to the river soon you will see the so-called square tower, World Heritage by Unesco, Torre de Belém. This ancient fortress is unique, above all for its distinctive sharply outlined shape.

I am getting hungry. I went to Cervejaria Portugália (www.portugalia.pt), I also recommend the original restaurant/beer house at Almirante Reis Avenue. As a starter I decided to take caldo verde, a typical Portuguese vegetable soup and after that the very famous steak submerged in a special sauce. Its always served with a fried egg on top, French Fries and bread. I couldn’t imagine myself picking any other drink than a cold blond beer.

Ok..that was my short but intense experience in Lisbon.

If you don't have much time to organize your trip I recommend these three links to help you:

Low-cost flights  (www.bravofly.co.uk)

This website is very good, you can easily find low cost flights to Lisbon and also for other destinations.

Tips Guide Lisboa (www.tipsguidelisboa.com)

Has a daily calendar with concerts, nightlife and expositions. You can download it for free directly from the website

Hotel Booking  (www.booking.com)

I use always this website to find cheap hotels.

well the night train was tough because we had a little asian invasion.  they woke us up in the morning way too early.  i was actually quite mad.  they had the door open to the rest of the train which meant i lost out on over 45 min of sleep!  the hostel we arived at just afew minutes ago seems really nice.  free internet.  we are taking turns taking showers since we feel compleatly gross from traveling.  i believe we are going to go to the beach today.  they have a castle in the city so i am quite excited about that.  also they have settlers here so i might have to play a few games.  it was weird not being home for the forth of july but now that we never can shoot off fireworks it isnt really a big deal.

I have been here for almost 2 weeks and it has been a good visit. As I said in my introduction, this city is underrated. In many ways, Lisbon is more interesting and visitor friendly than the more commonly visited cities in Europe like Paris, London, etc. There is a lot of intreresting architechure here than in most cities, and not as dispursed. It is a bit cheaper here than the other big cities, although still expensive by US standards. Be ready to climb up and down hills like a goat. I have never seen so many hills in a city. However, it does add to the asthetic appeal of the city. This city is rather dirty and messy. Notheless, I like it more than Berlin, for example. There is a modern subway system here that is affordable and runs well. I have about 1.5 weeks left and am looking forward to it.

It´s a nice hotel, the breakfast was ok... I gave just "Average" by overall rating because it doesn´t have other facilities such as swimming pool, exercise equiments... :)

One of the best hostels I have stayed in. Very clean and tidy with extremely friendly and helpful staff. Location is good but can be a bit noisy in the evenings being located on a busy street with a cafe below I think the noise adds to the character of the place. The set up is nice with a huge common room, two computers with free internet, tv, dvd with movies available to watch, and books to read. Free breakfast in the mornings...overall a very nice hostel. Also close to shopping and transportation.