Sunday, December 19, 2004

Being santa

I played Santa for a group of people yesterday.
Was fun. I find myself enjoying improvising in front of an audience more and more. It forces you to live in the moment like nothing else does. I tend to be a dreamer, as my first grade teacher aptly remarked in one of my very first school reports. Not that i suddenly feel ambition to embark on a career change... i'll stick to my day job. But it's good that once in a while life takes you onto unexpected roads.
Damn this sounds profound and emotional. Need...to...make...joke. Quickly.

n

Monday, December 13, 2004

Incredible

Went to see The Incredibles yesterday. Bloody funny. And uncannily similar to my own life.
I too have been banished from using my super powers in public. Supernonsense is a dangerous thing, especially when you're tired and have nothing else to talk about. First, you think of something completely idiotic and the next thing you know, people start believing it...
Famously, Bush became president when one guy bet against a friend that he could pick out a random idiot and get him elected. Also, the great pyramid was constructed after a slave started the rumour that the farao's favourite geometrical form was a triangle. Stonehenge: domino must be so much cooler if we use huge boulders. Nonsense is selffulfilling, so, I have to restrain myself. Or else...

Sunday, December 12, 2004

Beastieness

Truly excellent show from the Beastie Boys last night. They lack most of the 'traditional' hip hop trademarks: the gold chains, macho attitude and, well, general blackness. Basicly, they're three white NY nerds. But, great music and a fantastic show and who cares anyway. Way too much people out there who think it's all about the image. Of course Sabotage, dedicated to the President of the USA, was a kick-ass finish to the night.

Saturday, December 11, 2004

Saturday morning

It's foggy and it's cold outside. I wish i had a fireplace at the moment. Or a sauna. Or a ticket to australia.

But no sense moping around. Going to see the Beastie Boys tonight and really looking forward to it. Should be excellent.

Very cool: chatting to a Japanese friend that i met in the Galapagos islands and last saw in Bolivia, and who's in Spain for the moment. The miracles of technology. Some good travel memories are starting to surface right now... Sitting in a boat in the pampas, sipping bad but free cocktails in San Pedro de Atacama, watching the full moon rise above the Illampu mountain in the freezing cold...

Friday, December 10, 2004

A new day, a new post

At a conference today. There aren''t many ways in which you can make cable networks sound interesting, and most of these guys aren't finding any of them.

In the news: Japan is going to export weapons again. Just what we needed, a fanged robot- dog that goes for the groin. Or the exploding tamagochi. But this is really good news for the consumer: more competition will make prices fall. Now all we need is a weapons-oriented eBay (D-day.com?), and we'll have made another giant step towards peace for all mankind.

Was checking out a little movie from a company we're working with. Very, very funny indeed. Check it out on http://www.larian.com/riftrunner/Dennis/dennis_movie.html



My first blog - ever

Well, this is it. My first blog entry.
A small step for man, an even smaller step for mankind.

Interesting how a white textbox can look so, well, empty once you have total freedom to write whatever you want. I can talk about everything and nothing, and all in one post.

Blogging is a great thing. They're like diaries, but cool enough so that guys will actually write one. You can talk to everyone and noone at the same time. But you still get to say your bit. Even if it is about the grossely underestimated qualities of the common sparrow or 10.000 ways to use cabbage in your diet (if somebody reads this who actually knows them all... please don't bother sending me a list).

Mmm, this is enough for now. I'll talk more later. I always do.

nico

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Travel report from bolivia and chile

Travel report from bolivia and chile...

Hi there,

This is it, my last groupmail! Have been home for exactly one week today, but more about that later. First, let me tell you about my last 2 weeks of travelling...

When we got back to La Paz after the trekking, I realised that I didn't have too much time left. So I didn't hang around much longer and after a day of resting and eating i continued on to Oruro with the idea to catch a train to Uyuni there. A change from bussing around. But i did have to wait till the next evening to get on the train, which also ruined the idea of watching the landscape pass by. The train was fun though: two movies dubbed in spanish and a cheese and ham sandwich were included in the ticket. Eat that, Belgian railways! But honesty compels me to say that the average speed of the train was about 40 km/h. Actually, that is the average speed of ALL transport in Bolivia
, and i'm even throwing in the planes just to get the number up.

So you get into Uyuni at 2:30am, a town not even worthy of the word desolate. Fortunately the local hostals are prepared and waiting for you at the station, busily waving leaflets at you. Got some sleep and checked out some of the tour agencies in the morning, and ended up leaving for a 3 day jeep ride with exit to chile at noon. And people think that travelling in these countries is hard, ha!

Seven people and a grumpy driver in the jeep, it's not gonna be a cold ride... The first stop is the Salar, an immense salt lake of about 10 000 square k
m (for the non metric people amongst you: good luck). We take a brief look at the salt factories and then drive onto the lake, a place where a driver can easily take his hands of the wheel for 10 minutes. Everything is as flat as...well, a salt lake i guess...and whiter than the north pole in winter. Isla de pescado is an island in the middle, old coral covered in 10 meter high cacti, some over 1000 years old. The contrast with the with plane around it provides a fantastic view, the bright blue sky and the mountains in the distance make it into one of the most magical and surreal places in the world.

At night, we sleep in a salt hotel. Like the eskimos make iglos out of snow, they cut blocks of salt here to build hotels for the tourists ;-)


The next day, we go and see a few lakes, mainly inhabited by flamingos. They're probably immune to the sulfer smell around the place. We also take a ride through the siluli desert. Rocks, dust and jeep tracks surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. It continues to be an impressive panorama. The arbol de piedra (the stone tree) was taken right out of a Dali painting and fits into the landscape perfectly. At the end of the day we end up at the Laguna Colorada, a lake painted red by algae and minerals.

On the last day of the trip we visit a geyser and some boiling mud pools (looks better than it sounds) and Laguna Verde. The last time i was in bolivia this lake was frozen solid (it was slightly colder then too). This time however,
it's a beautiful sight, the green make with a big volcano in the background.

The whole Salar trip was absolutely worth seeing a second time, although a lo of things had changed. Last time, in four days we maybe met 1 other jeep, this time there were constantly people around. On the isla de pescado a few buildings had been erected and you had to pay an entry fee (also to get into the 'national park'). The viscachas (a crossover between a rabbit and a squirrel) approached to within a couple of meters (to eat food scraps) while last time you needed a big telelens. All new. Even places like bolivia 'modernize'. Even more important to visit them now.

After a little wait at the border a minibus picks us up and takes us to San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, 2000 meter lower (almost the whole salar trip is above 4000 meter, the border's at 4700 meter). San Pedro counts 4 streets and a square and is a generally lovely place with lots of trendy bars, a lovely church and hostals with hammocks. Oh yeah, and it's WARM. Finally!

I hang out (literally) there for 3 days, maybe because we discover a bar on the first night where the owner enjoys giving us free Pisco Sours (probably has more to do with the two lovely girls in my company than with me). But in the end i do manage to get away and fly to Santiago (do NOT feel like a 24 hour bus ride). In my last days i go snowboarding for a day (excellent!) and get to admire the president of chile on the national holiday (yes, another parade).

Then some plane and two pinches of train and i'm home. Where it starts raining the next day and doesn't stop...
So I'm home now, nursing my depression ;-) People who wan to come over and cheer me up are of course very welcome (though that might be difficult for most of you ;-) )

Anyway, it was fantastic again. You discover a lot, you get to meet great people from all over the globe, and you push your boundaries in every way. Go forth and travel!

Hope to hear and see you all later,

take care,
nico

Saturday, September 18, 2004

Travel stories from bolivia

Travel stories from bolivia

Hi everybody,

I´m finally catching up with my english group mails. The reason: well today is the national holday in chile and there is pretty much nothing else to do in town today. Already saw the president, so i guess that´ll be the highlight of the day ;-)

Once i got to bolivia, we first spent a night on isla del sol, the birthplace of thge inca empire according to legend (excuse my for eny typing mistakes, but for the first time in my life i`ve encountered a computer that is slower than i am and insists on showing me the words minutes after i typed them). Not much to see in terms of inca remains, but it`s a little paradise with beautiful bays and a gripping sunset. A room with a viezw of the beach and lake tititcaca for 10 bolivianos (1.2 USD). You gotta love the place....

To la paz then, a few hours by bus, interrupted by a little boat ride. The bus on one boat, the passengers on another, slightly more seaworthy craft. That reminds me: the bolivians have pretty much lost every war they ever fought. So their navy retreated to Lake titicaca of all places. Which forces the peruvians of having a navy on the lake as well. South america needs a sense of humour...

La paz has two parts: the gigantic sprawling city of El Alto, the part of the city on the Altiplano, and La Paz itself in a giant pit. An impressive sight every time you descend from 4000 meter to the bottom at 3700.

Rested for a few days and tasted la paz nightlife, then flew to Sucre for a week of spanish courses. Just so i could come home and say the trip was very useful, and to be able to talk about something else than the weather with the locals for a change. Sucre is the best preserved spanish city in bolivia and generally a nice place to be. Next to spanish classes i went mountainbiking around the city and went to see fossil dinosaur tracks, preserver in a limestone wall. Pretty impressive to put your hand inside a T-rex track and imagine how big a fluffy animal it must have been...

Back in la paz it was time to face up to and celebrate my 30th birthday. In style i might say, in excellent company (thanks guys) and quite extensive (countdown the night before included). On my birthday we visited the graveyard. Yes, i see how that might sound freaky, but it was the only thing we felt up to and it does have a filosophical twang to it. Back to the nightlife of la paz after that...

Then: The road of Death (enter drum rolls and ominous music). The most dangerous road inthe world according to some sources. It is a fact that a little steering error immediatly put you a few hunderd meters deeper and that the road actually isn´t wide enough for two vehicles to pass eachother, which doesn´t stop people from trying. Of course, the gringo´s had the great idea of doinbg the whoile thing on mountain bikes. Excellent fun as well: your descend 3300 vertical meters over a distance of 60 km! Serious braking and some real adrenaline moments!

The warmth of Rurrenabaque feels good after months in relative cold. Three days of pampas: alligators, birds, river dolphins, fishing for peranhas, looking for anacondas eating termites, spotting capibaras (guinea pig the size of a small pony) and even saw a curare tree (meanest looking tree i´ve ever seen). Worth it although the guide wasn´t really a talkative guy. Flew back to la paz, again in a small 12 seat aircraft, fun !


Said my goodbyes to sharon and charmaine, my two love travel companions, the first having a little more time so travelling slower, the latter having less time so travelling faster. Immediatly found replacement in two other grils from my dorm who want to wlk to illampuy circuit just like i do. Sometimes things are ridiculously easy ;-) We want to leave on wednesday, but in the morning things are very quiet... too quiet. Transport strike! Weird to be able to walk in the middle of the main street of la paz, and not see any minibusses around. We´re stuck for two days before we can finally get a bus at 5 am. In the mean time we do manage to go to a performance of the 9th of Van Beethoven by the Bolivian National Orchestra. Quite good although i feel very underdressed in my fleece and trekking trousers ;-)

It takes no time at all to arrange the trek and the next day we leave for 8 days of hard walking. Day 1 we climb from 2700 meters to 4000 meters. Nice start. In the next few days we manage to climb a couple of passes (all inbetween 4500 and 4700 meters). We have some rain, which normally NEVER happens according to our guide (yeah, what`s new). The best day is a climb to a 5000 meter pass, followed by a descent into a valley with beautiful lakes. Then back up to 5000 meters across hilss that look like a lunar landscape (The dusty hills). Nearby is the infamous San Francisco lake, known for its regular armed robberies on hikers. Our guide lead us into a alternative valley over the dusty hills and takes 20 minutes to study the valley to see if there are no lama shepherds (robbing people is a hobby for them) around. Down then, to set up the tent again. By the way, a 2 person tent for 3 people is not really something you want to do (we were kinda surprised on the first night). YOu have to turn in a very coordinated way, but granted it was pretty warm at night despite the freezing temperatures.

The next day, we had to get up at 3:30h in the morning, to sneak by the lake in the moonlight. the rest of the day we walk in a dense fog. An omen because the next day is the heaviest day. We climb over difficult terrain (boulders and some rock climbing), again ascending from 3900m to 5000 meter, to a beautiful gaciar lake (i know, i´ve been there before). But: the whole time there´s this dense fog, about 50 meters of visibility max. no glaciar and almost no lake in sight. Then we drop down to 4000 meter again in hail and rain. 8,5 hours of walking just because we like to suffer. The next day we descend to Sorata and that`s the end of the trek. Of course, that day we have beautiful weather ;-)

Right, that´s everything up to the trek... not much left (spending my last 2 days in santiago now) so the next mail you get will be from exotic belgium, in harsh conditions surrounded by my favorite food and in my couch. Bet you i´ll wish i can be back in a hammock in San Pedro again, or even in that uncomfortable tent, sleepless for yet another night ;-)

Keep in touch, let me know how you´re doing!!

Greetings,
nico

Monday, August 02, 2004

Travel report from Peru (in dutch)

Travel report from Peru

Hallo iedereen,

Tijd voor wat nieuws van ver weg. Laatste bericht hield ergens in Lima op, denk ik, dus zullen we daar maar beginnen. Lima is op zich niet zo fantastisch. Enkele museums bezocht en een prachtig franciscaner klooster, inclusief catacomben, maar dat was het zowat. Pisco ligt wat zuidelijker langs de kust en iemand had me verteld dat het mogelijk was om daar te duiken. Niet dus, en dan maar de Islas Ballestas bezocht, een soort vogelparadijs op enkele uitgeholde rotseilanden niet ver van de kust. OK, maar nu niet om van achterover te vallen.

Next! Naar Nazca, bekend van de lijnen. Om een of andere reden vond de Nazca beschaving het leuk om de bovenlaag van de plaatselijke woestijn weg te schrapen, om zo de witte onderlaag bloot ter leggen, en wel zo dat er specifieke figuren werden gevormd van soms honderden meters groot, enkel zichtbaar uit de lucht. Natuurlijk is er de UFO theorie (landingbanen), maar de serieuzere medemens denkt aan astronomie of waterlopen. Je kunt er met een sportvliegtuigje over vliegen, wat ik dan ook met enige vertraging gedaan heb. Vanop 250 meter hoogte moet je soms goed kijken, maar de piloot werkt mee door het vliegtuig afwisselend compleet op zijn linker- en rechterkant te draaien. Geen friet met mayonaise vooraf, aub

Verder zuidwaarts dan, naar Arequipa. Huisvest het fantastische Santa Catalina klooster, zo groot dat het zelfs enkele straatjes heeft, afwisselend in azuur, rood en geel geschilderd. Ook geweldig is een museum dat door Juanita bewoond wordt. Juanita is een mummy van een 10 jarig meisje, die door de inca's op de top van de Ampato vulkaan geofferd werd. Nu is die vulkaan 6300 meter hoog, en zeulden ze offergaves, stro, tenten en zelfs zand voor het graf mee naar boven. Dit maakt van de incas de eerste echte bergbeklimmers. Juanita zelf wordt bewaard in een glazen diepvries en is perfect geconserveerd, buiten de ogen die even aan de zon zijn blootgesteld.

Arequipa is ook gastheer voor enkele matchen van de Copa America, en aangezien ik er toch was ben ik maar naar Brazilie-Paraguay gaan kijken. Wel eens de moeite, en verrassend verloren door Brazilie!

Op ongeveer 5 uur bussen afstand ligt de Colca canyon, maximaal ongeveer 1700 meter diep. Ik moet zeggen dat ik het zelf eerder een steile vallei vind dan een canyon, maar kom. De eerste dag naar beneden gewandeld, dan overnacht in een bamboe hut (van muren konden we niet echt spreken, het contact met de natuur was, ahum, optimaal) en de volgende dag naar een ander dorpje gewandeld, toepasselijk Oasis genaamd (palmbomen en zwembad). De dag erna om 3 uur 's morgens beginnen wandelen, 2-3 uur steile klim terug uit de canyon. Dit allemaal om ergens tussen 7 en 9 per bus aan te komen bij de Cruz del Condor bekend om .... yep, de condors. Soms zijn dingen net zo makkelijk als ze lijken.

Het is behoorlijk spectaculair. De beesten met enige meters spanwijdte vliegen boven en onder je door, zo dicht dat je de veren kan tellen moest iemand daar een passie voor hebben.
Nog een paar uur bussen verder voor een klassieker: hot pools. Afmeting van een zwembad deze keer, en bediening aan de rand van het bad met cocktails en vers vruchtensap. Het leven kan hard zijn.

Terug in Arequipa nog wat rondgehangen, net lang genoeg om mijn kleine rugzak te laten stelen. Ik zat te ontbijten en te lezen in een klein restaurantje op de Plaza de Armas en heb het totaal niet gemerkt, mijn rugzak stond zelf tegen mijn voeten. Gewoon meegegegritst. Nu, ze zullen telerugesteld zijn: geen camera, geen geld, enkel een boek en het doosje van mijn zonnebril. Toch vervelend.

De bus naar Cuzco was andermaal een belevenis. Cruz del Sur behandeld al haar bussen alsof het vliegtuigen zijn. Je moet je bagage inchecken, en bij het aankomen drukken ze erop dat je moet blijven zitten tot de bus volledig tot stilstand is gekomen. De stewardess duidt zelfs de nooduitgangen aan. Deze keer was er onboard entertainment. Eerst eten, daarna BINGO! Jaja, iedereen krijgt een kaartje en mag meespelen. Tenslotte nog een film om af te sluiten.

Cuzco in een prachtige koloniale stad, waar veel gebouwen zichtbaar bovenop op oude inca muren gebouwd zijn (Cuzco was de inca hoofdstad, de navel van de wereld). Per bus en per trein naar Aguas Calientes, en 's morgens om 5 uur beginnen wandelen naar de ingang van Maccu Picchu. Die eerste momenten, voor de bussen beginnen toestromen zijn geweldig. Je wandelt door de ruines en ziet de mist wegtrekken van de bergen wanneer de eerste zonnestralen de stenen muren raken. De schoonheid van de site ligt in de combinatie van ligging, architectuur, materialen en geschiedenis... Ondanks de massa toeristen een must.

Rond Cusco zijn nog een hoop Inca restanten te zien, allemaal spectaculair op hun eigen manier (de stenen van 100 ton die naadloos in elkaar passen in Sacsaywaman bijvoorbeeld, of de zonnetempel die voor de spanjaarden met goud bekleed was). Maar genoeg verteld... nog een ding: het was ook tijd voor de finale van de Copa America... Argentinie-Brazilie. We zaten in een cafe vol met brazilianen, en het leek erop dat argentinie - verdiend - ging winnen, tot brazilie in de 93ste minuut gelijk maakt. Onmiddellijk naar penalties, glansrijk verloren door Argentinie. Feest!

Van Cuzco onmiddellijk naar Bolivie, naar het vertrouwde Copacabana (het strand in Rio de Janeiro is naar dit onooglijk plaastje genoemd). Het is fijn om terug in Bolivie te zijn na ongeveer 5 jaar, al is Copacabana wel serieus gegroeid in die tijd.

De rest hou ik voor een ander keer, want het opstel is weer lang genoeg geworden. Laat eens horen hoe het ginder nog gaat, naast gasexplosies e.d.

groeten,
nico

Sunday, August 01, 2004

Travel report from Ecuador and Peru

Travel report from Ecuador and Peru

Hi everybody,

Time for another (very) delayed report on my activities in south america. Go get a coffee, cause this could take a while.

Last time, we were going to head towards Peru, a process consisting of a large number of busses, plenty of waiting around and a few interesting stops along the way.

After a last stop in Quito to a fabulous museum about the ecuadorian painter Guayasamin we got onto the bus to Banos. Dramaticly perched between steep green hills the city is best known for its thermal pools, which we of course extensively enjoyed. Went rafting, great fun, almost got thrown out twice. After that, mountain biking in the ideal direction: downhill. Beautiful landscapes studded with waterfalls and mud due to the many roadworks. Yep, you guessed, more time in the hot pools needed...

The next day off to Cuenca. On any given moment of the year, there is a festival somewhere in Ecuador, and we seem to hit all of them. In cuenca this is associated with classic ingredients: marching bands, parades of the schools in uniform, and lots of fireworks. Generally, the intention of the latter is to scare as many people as possible in the crowd by launching the fireworks in their direction. Everybody is standing right next to the 'castillo', a construction of bamboo that acts as a launching tower.

Next city: Loja, very uninteresting. Again, marching bands and associated parade for unknown reasons. We then embark on our 15hour busride to Peru. At 3 o'clock in the morning we hit the border, they even have to wake up the border official. Around noon we get to Trujillo and found a guesthouse in the nearby and very quiet beach town of Huanchaco. It's one of those town you immediatly love, without really knowing why. Friendly people, you know everybody in 30 minutes (lost with chess twice against local merchant), good food... and of course a festival with parade and fireworks ;-)

Nearby there's the remains of the Moche and Chimu civilizations, both experts in mud.
Yep, they built their cities in dried mud or adobe, The temples of the sun and moon of the moche are fantastic, more than a 1000 years old and with perfectly preserved fresco's on the walls. Chan Chan is a Chimu city where thousands of people used to wlkk through the palaces and corridors. The sheer size and the decorations even now are impressive, despite hundreds of years of rains and wind (not the best friend of mud buildings).

Another nightbus later we're in Huaraz, in the middle of the mountains near the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash. We try to arrange everything as soon as possible to leave on trekking, 10 days around the huayhuash circuit. We hire an arriero (mule driver) and 3 donkeys to carry food, tent and some luggage. We're lucky because Miguel is a really great guy.

Slcightly less lucky with the weather however... Normally this is dry season (emphasis on DRY). Does not seem to work out that way. Rain on the first day, snow on the second, ... If you have to go uphill in mud when you're between 4000 and 5000 meters in altitude, it can really hurt ;-) On the trek, you go across 8 passes above 4600 meters and never camp below 4000 meters. Normally the reward is great views, but we had the occasional hail and snow as an alternative. Anyway, still a great trek with some great moments despite several hours of playing cards in the tent. Lakes in different shades of blue and green, snowy peaks and layers of rock folded by giants to form patterns in with different colors of minerals.

After the trek, the girls want ot do an ice climbing course. Not really mu cup of tea, so i decide to head of and visit some more spots on the coast. We arrange to meet in Cusco, some time later. Back on the bus, towards Lima, alone this time (a single tear rolling down my cheek).
This time everybody on the bus gets filmed, either for theft prevention or to identify your body if they drive down a cliff. Not sure.

Right, that's it up to Lima. After Lima, to Pisco, city of the Pisco Sour. Going there to see national park, of course ... ;-)

Hope everybody is enjoying summer (northern hemisphere) or is not too cold in winter... Let me know how you're doing!

greets,
nico

Monday, July 05, 2004

Travel report from Ecuador

Travel report from Ecuador

Hi everybody,

Well, in the mean time I´ve been in South America for quite some time, so a very good if not late moment to write another travel report. It all started with some very long flights. First 2 hours from Sydney to Auckland, a 1 hour wait, then 13 hours to Santiago, 4 hours of waiting and finally 5 hours to Quito. And the great thing is that I left on the 19th of May at 10:30h and arrived on the same day at 21:00h! I was welcomed on the airport by my two friends Sharon and Charmaine who mercifully had arranged for a greatly appreciated soft bed.

The next day was a bit of a blur. We walked around in Quito´s smog for a while and went out for cocktails in the evening, which might have been a mistake. The next day was a bit of a blur.

We did succeed however in planning our next few weeks. We decide to leave on sunday for a week of trekking. In sequence we climbed Pasachoa (4500m or thereabouts), Corazon (4800m) and Iliniza (5000m), all vulcanoes. Or rather, made attempts to climb them. The first had a washed away path, the second a very technical end (and I had an altitude headache). The walk up to the refuge on the ilinizas is heavy: 2 hours in wind and hail without so much as a look at the top due to mist (after having walked an hour in rain and lightning the previous day). The hut is at 4800 meters altitude and we have company from 5 people from the El Salvador Alpine Federation. Nice lot. Apparantly for each walk they do at home they are escorted by 2 armed police officers. Sure it must make everybody feel really safe ;-) This time ice and mist stop us from climbing the Iliniza Norte...

Off to the chique refuge called Tambopaxi next (previous guests include Reinhold Messner). The entire week of climbing was intended to get acclimatised to ascend Cotopaxi, and vulcanic cone of 5900 meters. We make one more walk to Rumanahui (4900 m, mist again, no summit, ... again) and then feel ready for the big boy. We have two guides to lead us to the top, and on the first day we drive and walk up to the refuge at 4800m. There we learn that noone has gotten to the top in 2 weeks because of avalanche danger and bad weather. We do some training with ice axe and crampons on the nearby glacier anyway, and get woken up at 12 o´clock with the news that it´s snowing. None of the teams in the refuge gets going. We get up at 6 and walk up to the glacier at 5000 meters and then head to Quito, proudly bearing the new name of "Team Sub-Summit".

Two days later we leave for the Galapagos for some well-earned rest at sea-level. We´ve booked a 5 day cruise on the Encantada. 12 people on the boat, a good mix of people. A good guide too, called Juan, who takes us to see the giant turtles on the first day. Animals on the Galapagos are incredible. The sea lions play with you under water, swim straight at you just to turn away at the last moment. There´s sharks, sea turtles, rays, frigat birds, pelikans, flamingos, boobies (decided against buying the "I love boobies" T-shirt in the end) and giant iguanas... most of them are amazingly tolerant to humans, so you get a really close look at them. The landscapes on the vulcanic islands are equally surprising, sometimes green, sometimes just covered with cacti and black lava-rock.

On the third day we´re out of luck. A strike from local fishermen prevents us from going on land on Espanola, one of the islands. Our guide improvises and manages to organise a fun day anyway. We even get lucky when a number of whales sims close to our boat for a while. One of them crosses our bough at just a few meters distance!!! Impressive! After 5 days we leave the boat and manage to get a fibra or speedboat to the Isla Isabella the next day. It´s an island that is normally only visited by the big luxury boats on a cruise and just a few other tourists a day. It´s a beautiful island, tranquil with a large amount of empty hammocks ;-)

We go for walks and do a horse ride to the top of Sierra Negra. This vulcano has the second largest crater in the world, and it is just as impressive as that sounds, as clouds from the valley spill into the crater like a waterfall. The last eruption was in 79 and you can clearly see the difference in the colors of the lava, like a dark river running through the lighter slopes. On the last day we go kayaking and see white tipped reef sharks within arm`s length (literally) during snorkeling. We also see pinguins on the rocks around the little harbour.

Getting back to Quito proves to be a challenge. Our speedboat-captain decided overnight to get his boat painted (yes, we see it towed onto the beach), and we`re forced to charter a local fishing boat together with an ecuadorian in order to catch our flight (and get off the island before the fishermen started to strike again). Full speed across the waves, water spraying in from time to time, 50 kmph, some rain, and all that in a fiberglass boat of under 10 meters that is completely airborne at moments. Fun!

We end up missing our flight, but manage to get onto a later flight without any problems. Left at 5 am, got back to quito at 5 pm after a long day.

After this, we continued south, towards peru. Hope to send you that report very soon. Hope that everyone is having an equal amount of fun,

groeten,

nico

Saturday, June 12, 2004

Travel stories from australia and new zealand

Travel stories from australia and new zealand, in 2004

Hi everybody,

My mailing habits have been disgraceful of late, so high time to write another report about my travel experiences.

I finished my last mail on the north island of new zealand. On the Coramandel peninsular there are some beautiful walks along the coast, and the sea has created huge caves and ´cathedrals´in the cliffs. For the walk, we enlisted the services of a local guide, a Jack Russel that faithfully guided us there and back again. In the evening we went to Hot Water Beach. And underground stream with really hot water that emerges just at the point where the sea meets the beach at low tide. The trick is to dig a hole that keeps most of the seawater out and the hot water in. So everybody is shoveling like madmen and then takes some well earned rest in the warm water. I think the sight of all the shoveling people was propbably better than the water. And since every once in a while a wave of cold seawater breaks the dam, all the fun can start agaim from scratch.

The next day we drove to Roturoa. You can smell the city from a distance. The whole area is filled with mud pools, geysers, steamholes and this makes the whole city smell like rotten eggs, 24/7. very different from the smell of potpourri, but i guess it´s an acauired smell. Near Roturoa there´s a park which contains the famous Lady Knox Geyser that `erupts` every morning at precisely 10:15, winter or summer time. How is this wonder of nature achieved? By pouring soap into the geyser about 15 min beforehand. Has a surprising effect, as convicts from a nearby camp first noticed when they tried to do theor laundry 100 years ago.

The next day we planned to do the Tongariro crossing, said to be one of the best once day walks in Nz. Foirtunately, we had some good weather that day for a change. You start of with a steep climb though vulcanic rock, and then cross one fo the old craters, now a barren black bowl. After some more climbing you get a beautiful view of the Emerald lakes, blue-green water in contrast with blue skies and brown/black rock. Some clouds are in the way though, and i can only imagine how beatiful it must be on a perfect day.

The next day we drive back to Auckland. Along the way we make two stops: the glowworm caves and a soda pool. The Waitomo caves house a bunch of glowworms, actually the larvae of a fly. They nest on the ceiling and lure their prey by producing a speck of light. In the dark it´s just like looking up at an exceptionally bright starry sky. My attempts to make them spell out my name unfortunately amounted to nothing. The soda pool was an unexpected bonus. We had time to kill, it was raining and it looked like a good idea. Turned out to be the oldest spa in Nz with natural soda water of between 40 and 45 degrees celcius. Aaaaaaaaah.

That´s it for beautiful new zealand. Back to Aus. Alice turns out to be slightly chillier than expected (still above 20 degrees). We first take a look at some canyons and then gead towards Uluru. Our Toyota now contains 6 people, their luggage, sleeping bags, 2 tents, gas cooker and bottle, eski, pots and pans, sleeping mats and food. A miracle of stacking and pushing. Ayers rock is very impressive, none of the photos seem to do justice to the gignatic proportions of that piece of red stone. We´re fortunate enough to have a full moon rising above the rock, a kodak moment for us and the 500 other tourists there ...

We drive up to darwin in a few days, and try to caƱp near to waterfalls or swimholes every day as the temperature increases. Most memorable camping spot: right after a shower, humiditiy 200%, heat and a country duo that´s been performing since the 50ties but can still use a few pointers from the average karaoke singer. They play classics till late at night.

Kakadu national park is definitely worth mentioning. The boat ride on the river is beautiful and everywhere you look there´s birds and crocodiles. Lichfield park is gorgeous too aith a great swimming hole at the base of a waterfall, surrounded by steep cliffs and dense jungle.

Fron Darwin we take the plane to Cairns and take the boat to Fitzroy island. Two days of snorkeling, reading and general laziness concude my first month in style. Back in Sydney it´s goodbye to the belgian friends....

A lot of lines, and I even left out heaps. By now I´ve already spent a few weeks in Ecuador, so I need to start writing about that soon. Hope you enjoyed this part of my travels, and hope you´re having at least as much fun as me ;-)

Talk to you later,

nico

Monday, May 17, 2004

Travel stories - australia and new zealand

This is a travel report from May 2004 (australia and new zealand)

Hello there my friends,

Yes, i know i've waited a long time to send some account of my travels so far, but the pace has been rather quick and i finally have some time to write it all down, so here it goes ...

Well, I left on April 9 and the plane trip was, umm, LONG. Anyway, the cute flight attendants from Singapore Airlines did try to make me comfortable, which cannot be said from the customs officer in Sydney. He searched my bag and almost put my Abba CD in quarantine. Very bad taste, I'll leave it to you to decide if I'm talking about him or me.

Anyway, I was picked up at the airport by my friends An en Fred, and since it was dark already (gets dark at 6 pm these days in sydney) I didn't see a whole lot of the place that evening. After a good night's sleep we started off with a walk in a national park close to Gosford where my friends live. After that a bit of bodyboarding on Avoca beach and aussie champagne on the beach. Not a bad start at all.

The next few days were equally full: a day in Sydney (Oera house, a walk around the bay, Sydney by night) and then two days to the blue mountains. The blue mountains are actually more like canyons thans mountains, although the aussies seem a bit touchy on this matter. The trees in those canyons secrete a substance that does create a blue mist when the sun hits it right. All in all a beautiful sight at sunset, sitting on a cliff 500 meters above the valley floor.

A new day, and no rest for the wicked. This time going diving not too far from newcastle. Especially the second dive is big fun (also means I'm getting more used to diving again): a bunch of gray nurse sharks swim by within arm's length. Inquisitive and generally goodnatured creatures, don't worry. We bought some fresh fish and prawns in the harbour and had a great barbecue in real aussie tradition.

A bit faster now, otherwise this will become a new 'lord of the rings' in terms of size anyway. Five more friends from belgium got out of the plane fully rested and awake on Saturday, and the day after we all flew to New Zealand. Picked up a rental car and squeezaed the six of us plus packs into the Toyota. As soon as we leave Christchurch it starts: ooooh, aaaah, stop to take a picture, .... I have to admit that it was breathtaking. Fall has started and is colouring the landscape in shades of yellow, red and green. Sheep-dotted hills lead up to mountains, partially obscured by bands of clouds. And there's rivers and lakes to reflect all that beauty thousandfold.

We stay in Wanaka the first day and climb a hill that looks out over the lake on one side and the mountains on the other side. Beutiful, but that can be said about most things around here. Even about the wine ;-)

A small word about new-zealand animal life by the way. Overall, they can be divided into two major categories: the squashables and non-squahables. The possum for example is a very squashable animal (the locals call it a squashum). Once imported for its fur it is now a major pest that is menacing the local birdlife (many birds nest on the ground here, better than mcdonalds for the possums) and plantlife. The kiwi on the other hand is definitely non-squashable (the bird, not the fruit). The sandfly: VERY squashable (bites worse than mosquitos). It's all a bit confusing.

Glenorchy is a wonderful village by a gorgeous lake surrounded by mountains, and th ekinloch lodge is the best backpackers around. Imagine a hot tub, a tub of water heated to 39 degrees, from which you can see the sun setting above the mountains and even watch the milky way if you have the stamina to stay in the hot water. Sigh.

Next day: jetboating on the river. A boat with a flat bottom and a engine that spits out 400 liters of water per second. It races along the edges of the river, and once in a while by doing a 180 turns ar full speed. Accompanied by some incomin water of course. Fun!

After glenorchy we stop at the Franz Jozef glacier. According to the maori it was create dwhen a girl that liked to climb mountains convinced here less than enthousiastic lover to come along one day. He fell to his death and she cried so much she created a glacier. Before we drove back to christchurch we passed by the blowholes near punakaiki (holes in the cliff where the seawater is pushed through with great force). No blowing going on though, so onwards to Christchurch and to Ayckland the next day. It's close to nighfall when we reach our next place to stay in the Coromandels, a peninsula..

I'll stop here before people need a rest and a meal inbetween reading. Will send another mail with more about NZ and Aus soon though...

Hope everyone's having fun wherever they are, and let me know how you're doing !!!

take care,

nico