My first trip of 2012 was to Costa Rica with Cathrine and Kine for three weeks in March.
In Costa Rica, Cathrine and I spent the first two days in the rainforest because we saw a picture on the internet of this beautiful blue waterfall, so we decided to go see it. Turned out it was not as blue at this time of the year, as you see in the picture below, and the rainforest ruined my sneakers, but I am still happy that we decided to go. We stayed in an amazing lodge with nature all around us.
We flew in a small airplane two times, from Tamarindo to San Jose, Cathrine and I were 2 out of 4 passengers and from San Jose to Montezuma with 7 others. Kine joined us on the airport in SJ.
In Montezuma we woke up to this view every morning, with the sun shining into our room waking us up around 6-6.30 am.
Most days in Montezuma were spent horizontally in the sun/shadow.
After Montezuma we traveled on to Tamarindo, aka "Tamagringo". We were pretty much just living on the beach here too, and eating lunch at Copacabana every day!
We finished off in Manuel Antonio in the most beautifully situated hotel I have ever stayed in. Just look at that view from our restaurant.
I tried ziplining for the first time. Awesome!
Costa Rica was all in all spent in the sun, relaxing, reading, getting a tan, watching as many sunsets and sunrises as I could.
In May I visited New York for the 17th time. I travelled with my friend Ida who had never been to New York, so I was busy showing her around my favorite town.
The weather was amazing and we could walk around in t-shirts and sandals. These sandals from Crete did their share of walking as we were pretty much on our feet from 8 am to 11 pm every day! Pretty normal day for me..ha ha! And my new shopping bag was never light!!
Just 2-3 weeks after New York I travelled to
Crete, where my little sister lives. I have made it into a tradition the last three years to go see her in the beginning of June.
This is Elafonissi, known for its red sand.
My sister´s boyfriend Yannis is from Patalari, a small village outside Platanias (where most of the tourist hotels are situated). I got to spend some time there this time, eat tons and meet the family.
I ate snails for the first time!! Yeah, I know, not a very vegetarian thing to do!
The taste was not too bad when you dipped them in a vinegar sauce and added a lot of feta cheese, but the smell..don´t get me started!
I joined my sister for a day trip to Gramoussa.
My sister worked at Avra all summer, a really nice, big hotel in Kalimbari. It is situated a little away from the Ving office and her apartment, so she was usually away all day. I joined her a few times both weeks as it was the only way to be together. It was a really nice hotel, but I prefer the wind from the ocean. It gets pretty hot!
My sister´s cat had babies while I was there, a pretty amazing bunch of joys!
No trip to Crete is complete without tons of Frappe. I am usually very sensitive to caffeine, but the heat knocked me out every night anyway, so I was able to enjoy a lot of "Frappe metrio me gala"!
My main summer holiday was spent with 11 people I had never met in
Southwest-USA. I travelled with a company called "
Trek America", and we were people from England, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, an American guide and me. We drove through the states of California, Utah, Arizona and Nevada for 21 days. 16 out of 20 nights were spent in a tent.
First off was Los Angeles, before we drove up along the coast to San Fransisco.
Yosemite National Park.
Big sequoia trees in Yosemite.
Sleeping in a tent with a flat mattress makes it easy to get up early in the morning. I´d say most days I was up between 5.30-6.30 am. First thing we did in the morning was putting the kettle on. I usually had oatmeal for breakfast, but I had to try the pop-tarts on the toaster every now and then.
We even got to see some aliens along the way, don´t let the clothes fool you!!
Not every day you get up at 5 am to climb a mountain, and actually enjoy it!
The trip had so many highlights, but
Bryce canyon kind of stands out for me.
"Delicate Arch" in Arches National Park, Utah.
This is my travel partners when we spent a day with the natives in Navajo.
We flew over Grand Canyon in a helicopter.
My guide Haley and I in front of Grand Canyon.
Crazy days in Las Vegas.
I almost got married..ha ha!
On lifeguard duty in San Diego. I think I´ll light up in the dark with my new zombie cap!
California palm trees.
I travelled to
Gothenburg just for the day a few times this year. It is only 3,5 hours on the bus and quite convenient and fun. They have some great shops. My cousin lives in Gothenburg too, another good reason to go!
Then I went back to
New York in November for the 18th time. This time I travelled by myself, was 4 days in NYC and spent the weekend in Philadelphia with Christina, Adam and Adelina.
Farmer´s market in Union Square.
Autumn in Central Park.
Autumn in Philadelphia.
In the end of November I went to
Copenhagen for a TAVI congress through work.
And that was it..
