Tag Archives: transportation

Next stop heaven..

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One of those trips to remember for sure, not only because of the heavily armed escort of peruvian soldiers (this was in the eighties when “Sendero luminoso” guerilla movement were active in the country. In 1992 the line had to close down for several years when bomb attacks killed 20 persons in the crew) but also because it happens to be the highest passenger railroad track in the world.

The route starts in Desamparados station in Lima at sea level. After an hour it reaches the town of Chosica. This is where the climb begins and we are not talking a simple uphill here we are talking the steep vertical mighty Andes.

Initially the train is zigzagging itself backwards and forwards gaining hight and edging its way between the mountain sides

The train totally passes 59 bridges and 66 tunnels on its dramatic and winding 12 hour journey through the cordillera to Huancayo.

The quick climb to altitudes close to 5000 meters is a brutal shock for the human body so the train company has a special service for the passengers who suffers from mountain sickness. Extra oxygen delivered by a man dressed in white. (see photo)

More or less half way on the track the train pulls in to “La Galera” station. At 4,781m it is the world’s highest train station. Compared to the dry pacific desert around Lima this is a completely different scenery and climate.

After climbing a few meters more the “Tren de la Sierra”  starts to descend down towards the peruvian highland and the final destination of Huancayo.

View from a black taxi..

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In Baracoa, eastern Cuba 2004.

The driver was going to take me 30 kilometers out-of-town.

In Cuba the penalties for driving a non authorized taxi are severe,  so the drivers basic mood was twin turbo paranoia.  There was a lot of careful and elaborate planning before I could enter his four-wheel drive jeep in a back alley
Now If you look at the center of the scene just between the orange cyclist and the brownish jeep (and a cyclist with backpack) there is a policeman stepping out of his vehicle ready to impose the law without mercy.

Get down.. get down! my driver screamed when he suddenly spotted his own nightmare live in uniform. He turned pale and was desperately trying to look relaxed. He failed completely.

I hid downstairs for a while beside a live grunting pig in a sack. Trying to change direction at that point could have drawn attention so he just drew on towards the catastrophe… but like a miracle we did not get stopped.

Breaking the law in Cuba can be an exciting adventure for a tourist but a serious blow for the Cuban person who gets nicked.

“Weekly Photo Challenge: (Silhouette)” IMPORT EXPORT

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 IMPORT EXPORT….

In Gothenburg, at the river mouth of Göta älv you´ll find the largest harbour in Scandinavia.

A cowboy needs a ride

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  In Cuba the horse is still a common way of transportation in the countryside. This guy though had to conform with a two-wheeler this particular day.  Trinidad, southern Cuba.

Hot Albanian riviera!

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In the heat of July you only have a couple of escape options. One is to stay in the air condition zone and the other of course is to jump into the crystal clear Meditirranean sea.

I can recommend Ksamili south of Saranda.

Also The International Mermaid Watch Association IMWA have recently reported observations of that rare species in this part of Albania!

Think I was lucky… saw something down there!

Give me a brake at Llogara!

Posted by hakanronnblad on

It was a breathtaking moment when the small bus started to descend the steep Llogara mountain between Vlora and Saranda in the south Albanian coast. The serpentine road is one of the most dramatic I´ve sen, and I have crossed the Andes several times!

It became even more thrilling when my seat neighbor told me graphically with lots of details about a fatal accident a month ago not far from here. 13 passengers died!

A few minutes later when the typical smell of overheated brakes became evident in the “furgon” all passengers, muslims, catholics, orthodoxies and atheists looked at that rosary in the front window and made a silent prayer..

The driver, concentrated and increasingly pale managed somehow finally to stop the bus for a thirty minute cool down pause!

Airport flower!

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Don´t know where she came from or where she was going but I sure liked her travelling dress!  Abu Dhabi airport between planes last February

Express to Huandoval!

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Went by bus from Lima, Peru to the small isolated village of Huandoval in the Andes. Road sometimes closed due to rain and avalanches!

If you keep on climbing you´ll reach the mountain Huascarán 6 768 meters high!

Can still remember that popular quechua song the driver played over and over and over … trough those cracked loudspeakers!!