Bristol Zhiguly Samara Hotel

... than a hut with a few swinging chairs. The plane dropped us off and there was just a lone attendant there who did not speak a word of English. I tried to communicate that we needed a taxi to Samara but after some frustration I just called the hotel on my cell phone and asked them to send a taxi. I am not sure what we would have done if I did not have any cell reception. When you draw a direct line on a map Samara is only about 15-20 km away from Punta Islita ...

... Freunden aus dem Schildkroetenprojekt in Tamarindo verbracht. Tamarindo ist der ultimative Touristenort und Surfspot ueberhaupt, es leben auch keinerlei Ticos dort. Aber fuer ein verlaengetes Partywochenende mit Freunden war es ganu das Richtige;-)
Mittleiweilen bin ich schon fast zwei Wochen in der Sprachschule in Samara, direkt am Stand (wenn ich meinen Kopf ueber den PC-Bildschirm recke sehe ich direkt aufs Meer). Ich ...

What can I say about my continued journey eastwards from my overnight stop near Star Oskol. Through Voronez and Tamba to Kamenka. 360 miles of rich black earth with birch tree hedges. More a touch of Wiltshire I think today.All day. I often wander around the supermarket and wonder where all that corn on the cob comes from. This is only one ...

... squatty longdrops are enclosed in the tiniest of huts, they are absolutely DISGUSTING and have to be avoided at all costs. We are abandoning them and heading back to the bushes!
Any preconceived ideas we had about the Russian country side have been put to rest. It really is beautiful - lush, green and well maintained. Very impressed. No where near as many abandoned ...

... helped us exchange some american dollars into cordobas and then horded us onto a chicken bus. It was pretty chaotic, and we never really had a chance to stop and think for a moment as there was a mob of people around us the whole time all trying to talk to us at the same time. The chicken bus ride was entertainment in itself. It was an old yellow american schoolbus transformed into public transportation, and painted a rainbow of colours. People were stuffed ...

Samara is not on the Trans-Siberian-Railway. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samara%2C_ Russia http://wikitravel.org/en/Samara

Samara is not on the Trans-Siberian-Railway. It is far more south. More information: http://wikitravel.org/en/Samara http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samara

... are paved, and two public pay phones. We decided for an extended stay in Montezuma (three nights) because I had never been there before and the quaint, laid-back city was far more inviting than the previous places we had stayed. On our second day Brock and I hiked up the waterfalls just outside town. The hike up the falls was one of the more dangerous activities I have ever participated in as the first jaunt ...

Here I am half way through my stay in Costa Rica and I still don't think I like it. Yes, it's gorgeous and where I am now is a beautiful white sand bay fringed with palm trees, which is just as well as there are no sun bed and parasol vendors here. But there isn't any joy about the place. Hotels either cost zillions or they are are filthy and dire and still ...