First and foremost, for the fans of Kapu's photography: on the last post about Valparaiso I have added two photos online that as a result of internet problems I could not earlier get online.
Departure from Santiago was still (at least at the time of departure) a big mess. The airport is still completely not usable after the earthquake, the building is brand new but looks like it was not designed to withstand earthquakes. Check-in for baggage was done in tents and the waiting room is an outside area that in its earlier life was a parking area.
Also our flight to Los Angles did not go totally without problems.
Just kidding, this is a photo of the War of the Worlds set, the well known disaster film starring Tom Cruise. The set is at Universal Studios, a film studio complex/adventure park that we visited. The attractions and shows varied from extremely dumb (House of Horros--a sort of spook house where actors with fake saw ran after visitors) to less dumb (Shred 4D---a 3D film where also the chairs moved and where water drops were sprayed when someone in the film sneezed) to hilariously cute (The Simpsons Ride).
The Simpsons Ride is the newest attraction and is totally spectacular. It is a sort virtual eight lane ride where it really seems and feels as if you go at high speed down; they use an enormous projection screen but 3D glasses are not necessary, moving cars, the release of aromas and so on. All of it is super nicely done and even waiting is nice and entertaining.
Also there is a studio tour where you ride in a sort bus over the terrain and ride along all the film sets.
For the fans: Wisteria Lane is unfortunately not available to see because they were busy filming.:/ We did have a glimpse of the house of Gabrielle (Gaby I think), in reality it is against a hill and there are a lot of trees in the area.
And we met still more famous persons:
In Los Angeles we stayed with Lauren (a friend of Geert), her boyfriend Steve, the dog "DOG" (say dee-o-gee") a friendly roommate, a made roommate and her dog Bailey that found it nice in the middle of the night to jump on our air mattress (the dog, not the roommate).
Lauren works as a lifegurad on the Venice Beach lifesaving boat (Where?). Everyone remembers the quality soap "Baywatch" with the round bosemed Pamela Anderson (There!!)
Lauren had just finished a 48 hour shift and had a few days free; no problem therefore to show us a bit of the city.
We went to the Star Observatory: with a view over the city, the Hollywood sign and we went inside a museum where we learned that Kapu and Giri together are 92.1 Fahrenheit:
We walekd along Venice Beach where there is a skateboard park and where you can, in a dubious manner, obtain medical marijuana.
An absolute highpoint is the Getty Museum; the building and the gardens are actually more impressive than the extensive art collection inside (VanGogh, Ensor, Monet, Manet and still more older art works).
Finally we had a drive over Mulholland Dr, Sunset Blvd and Hollywood Blvd.
Also Lauren took us with her to work, where we had a VIP ride on one of the life guard boats.
We had only been away from the pier about 2 minutes when the radio sounded out: "Jumper Santa Monica Pier". Someone thus jumped from the pier and our boat went immediately with a difficult ride in that direction. It was windy and therefore high waves on the sea and we seemed sometimes to, literally, fly through the air. We reached the pier and found that the jumper had already been fished out of the water by Pamela and we could in a calm way cruise back to the harbor.
And then Mr. Baywatch asked me if I was interested in steering the boat...................
And a bit later Geert was also allowed to do that.
So to this point, a shortened version of our adventures in Los Angeles; if the internet blesses us, then there follows many stories from New Zeeland.
Placed by Irma on 22 March 2010.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
26. Wednesday 17 March 2010
In the meantime we have already been 5 days in New Zealand.
It is awhile back since I have posted something on the blog and that has nothing to do with a lack of inspiration. The reason you could read in the post just before this one. In New Zealand Internet goes on copper wires, and after Chili with its super fast and overall free wi-fi is this an enormous difference. We shall try now and then to post something.
And then further with our story: VALPARAISO
After a day longer in Santiago----the bus was not going because of the earthquake----we left for Valparaiso where we had rented an apartment. Following is a photo of Giri by our front door: photo
Valparaiso is a port town built on 45 hills (keep that number in mind!!). We discovered that while we with our 20 kilo backpack and suitcase on wheels stumbled to our apartment. The hills are dotted with small colorful houses that look like block boxes stapled together. Also there are about 15 elevators in the city, cars that bring you to various hills.
View from one of the hills: photo
A square in the town: photo
Valparaiso i also in another manner special. I had my 29th birthday there.
That morning I woke up and thought: "it is my birthday". Also Geert, like a good "husband", did not forget. I was treated very special and received a breakfast that was like a feast including a cooked egg, grapes, breads, hagelslag (!) (Note from the translator: hagelslag is a chocolate type of topping for on bread and is a Dutch specialty. I can't really translate that to English except it's like tiny little pebbles of chocolate (milk or dark) and it goes on a slice of buttered, preferably white, bread and is DELICIOUS.) and cake. Also the crown was not forgotten. (Note from the translator: in Holland, the person having a birthday is often given a crown to wear and/or his or her chair is decorated with balloons or other crepe paper and such as that.)
Special for my birthday they opened up "La Sebastiana" again. This is the house from Pablo Neruda (him again) in Valparaiso. Until yesterday it was closed because of the earthquake. we went there and it is, just as "La Chascona" again very impressive. The man was a real collector and as soon as he saw something he liked, he had to have it. The whole house is filled to the brim with paintings, special furniture and all sorts of things like music boxes, a wooden merry go round with horses, and a figurehead from a ship. Also he had a different sort of feel for humor which also is very often noticeable in the house. An example hangs in the living room ---a painting of a woman from the "who knows which" century. On the wall across from that painting he has a similar painting from a man hanging in order to help the woman to not feel lonely......
We could not make photos, only from the view. Here you see his bedroom: photo
More photos from the house you can see here because we could not make them ourselves.....
In the evening of course there had to be a feast. We moved to the apartment above ours, that was much bigger. Bart--the owner--gave a BarBQ because of surviving the earthquake, the departure of a group of people that were living above us and naturally also for my birthday. Drink flowed plentifully, food was more than enough and it was a "leutig boel" (cannot determine a good translation of this word although I suppose they mean it was a really nice time). Also Haley (the Canadian that we met in Pucon and was living for a time in Valparaiso) came to the party. Finally, there was a birthday song sung and I had to blow out candles........
A few days later we flew to Los Angeles, where we stayed for 5 days because we could not get a direct flight to New Zealand. Over our stay there, later more information.
Placed by Irma on 17 March 2010
Labels: candles, copper wire and elevators
It is awhile back since I have posted something on the blog and that has nothing to do with a lack of inspiration. The reason you could read in the post just before this one. In New Zealand Internet goes on copper wires, and after Chili with its super fast and overall free wi-fi is this an enormous difference. We shall try now and then to post something.
And then further with our story: VALPARAISO
After a day longer in Santiago----the bus was not going because of the earthquake----we left for Valparaiso where we had rented an apartment. Following is a photo of Giri by our front door: photo
Valparaiso is a port town built on 45 hills (keep that number in mind!!). We discovered that while we with our 20 kilo backpack and suitcase on wheels stumbled to our apartment. The hills are dotted with small colorful houses that look like block boxes stapled together. Also there are about 15 elevators in the city, cars that bring you to various hills.
View from one of the hills: photo
A square in the town: photo
Valparaiso i also in another manner special. I had my 29th birthday there.
That morning I woke up and thought: "it is my birthday". Also Geert, like a good "husband", did not forget. I was treated very special and received a breakfast that was like a feast including a cooked egg, grapes, breads, hagelslag (!) (Note from the translator: hagelslag is a chocolate type of topping for on bread and is a Dutch specialty. I can't really translate that to English except it's like tiny little pebbles of chocolate (milk or dark) and it goes on a slice of buttered, preferably white, bread and is DELICIOUS.) and cake. Also the crown was not forgotten. (Note from the translator: in Holland, the person having a birthday is often given a crown to wear and/or his or her chair is decorated with balloons or other crepe paper and such as that.)
Special for my birthday they opened up "La Sebastiana" again. This is the house from Pablo Neruda (him again) in Valparaiso. Until yesterday it was closed because of the earthquake. we went there and it is, just as "La Chascona" again very impressive. The man was a real collector and as soon as he saw something he liked, he had to have it. The whole house is filled to the brim with paintings, special furniture and all sorts of things like music boxes, a wooden merry go round with horses, and a figurehead from a ship. Also he had a different sort of feel for humor which also is very often noticeable in the house. An example hangs in the living room ---a painting of a woman from the "who knows which" century. On the wall across from that painting he has a similar painting from a man hanging in order to help the woman to not feel lonely......
We could not make photos, only from the view. Here you see his bedroom: photo
More photos from the house you can see here because we could not make them ourselves.....
In the evening of course there had to be a feast. We moved to the apartment above ours, that was much bigger. Bart--the owner--gave a BarBQ because of surviving the earthquake, the departure of a group of people that were living above us and naturally also for my birthday. Drink flowed plentifully, food was more than enough and it was a "leutig boel" (cannot determine a good translation of this word although I suppose they mean it was a really nice time). Also Haley (the Canadian that we met in Pucon and was living for a time in Valparaiso) came to the party. Finally, there was a birthday song sung and I had to blow out candles........
A few days later we flew to Los Angeles, where we stayed for 5 days because we could not get a direct flight to New Zealand. Over our stay there, later more information.
Placed by Irma on 17 March 2010
Labels: candles, copper wire and elevators
25. Tuesday 16 March 2010 They Are Still Alive!!!!
Every day there is in the Benelux (and in the USA) disappointed faces..............
No more new blogs from Kapu en Girima............
However, notwithstanding that, photos from the most creative Kip Kapu's are being sent in the hope that they are added (to the blog of Irma and Geert).....
Well now, they are still living and are still deeply in love.
Los Angeles has been visited and they have sent historical photos from the movie studios: Girima together with Homer Simpson. or at least an actor in a Homer Simpson suit.
And now they are walking down under in New Zealand.
There are only two small problems. Their laptop is broken down and more than that internet all over New Zealand is verrrrrrrrry slow.
It shall therefore be a while (till in Australia?) before we get an avalanche of photos and stories.
Therefore, a little bit of patience. And continue to send Kip Kapu photos.
Your Editorial Assistant.
Placed by Dad/Martin 16 March 2010.
No more new blogs from Kapu en Girima............
However, notwithstanding that, photos from the most creative Kip Kapu's are being sent in the hope that they are added (to the blog of Irma and Geert).....
Well now, they are still living and are still deeply in love.
Los Angeles has been visited and they have sent historical photos from the movie studios: Girima together with Homer Simpson. or at least an actor in a Homer Simpson suit.
And now they are walking down under in New Zealand.
There are only two small problems. Their laptop is broken down and more than that internet all over New Zealand is verrrrrrrrry slow.
It shall therefore be a while (till in Australia?) before we get an avalanche of photos and stories.
Therefore, a little bit of patience. And continue to send Kip Kapu photos.
Your Editorial Assistant.
Placed by Dad/Martin 16 March 2010.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
24. Tuesday 2 March 2010 Liven Things Up
After the impressive story that causes one to think about the earthquake, it is necessary to liven up our world travelers with some lighthearted and good news from the home front. Otherwise they will become too depressed. Furthermore, Irma is tomorrow (3 March) having a birthday. (Tip: the text message service works again in Chili!!!).
And good news we have...............it is over!!! There is for a time no longer Mart Smeets. And also no longer in the mornings quickly looking at teletext (a television service not available in the USA but sort of like computer news on the t.v.) to see if something has been added.
WE are finished with 4-1-3. Just above Russia and France. Irma knows, as an ex Dutchman naturally directly what I am writing about and can explain that to Geert: that is the number of medals (for the Dutch) from the Winter Games. Four times GOLD and then still some silver and bronze.
Primarily from skating. Dutchmen are only good in sports on flat surfaces. As soon as they have to go high (such as Tia's springing jumps) or low on sleds or "latten" (no translation, sorry), then they don't do well.. Then we have to be modest. Overall for Dutchmen, an Olympic presentation is modest.
There shall now naturally be "wise ass" blog readers who say "Yes, but WE also had a Gold in Ladies Snowboarding". But the lady is named Sauerbrei. She must definitely have Austrian breath in her and so that doesn't count.
No, then our bobsledders. Four years hard training. Then one time to practice on the bobsled track in Vancouver and sledding down. ("Oops that was difficult") and following that, a day before the contest they withdrew ""we have the feeling that we can't control the track") The boys have it: Dutchmen can only do "prik sledding". (Sorry for the no translation on what type of sledding----we English readers have to miss getting the humor here.)
In the flat sports we have by the way still unknown possibilities. We just have to be a bit more creative. WE are for example very good in skating and we are great in hockey. Think about that..............ice hockey!!!!! Give Sven Kramer a hockey stick and tie some ....................... A medal is there for the taking. We just have to look for a good coach. Not a skating coach naturally, because they would let our players shoot at our own goal probably.
Further, Hanneke and I are going to be busy with curling. I discovered that such is also an Olympic sport. It looks a bit like "jeu-de-boules". (A European form of bowling). You must not throw with a ball, but with a sort of natural elegance slide throw with a stone over the ice. That is precisely something for me. "Let Martin slide" say my in-laws all the time. Thus, they also see me in that sport. And when in the spring you see Hanneke busy with her broom on our terrace, then you see her also doing good with that noble curling sport.
We shall be there in 2014!!!!!
But now a bit of rest, Irma: you can after three weeks take off your orange socks.
But don't throw them away. About the time you are in Mongolia OUR boys take the field in South Africa. Football is also a flat sport, therefore I can already see it. WE will be World Champion.
I'm going already to get a bottle of champagne.
Placed by Dad on 3 March 2010.
And good news we have...............it is over!!! There is for a time no longer Mart Smeets. And also no longer in the mornings quickly looking at teletext (a television service not available in the USA but sort of like computer news on the t.v.) to see if something has been added.
WE are finished with 4-1-3. Just above Russia and France. Irma knows, as an ex Dutchman naturally directly what I am writing about and can explain that to Geert: that is the number of medals (for the Dutch) from the Winter Games. Four times GOLD and then still some silver and bronze.
Primarily from skating. Dutchmen are only good in sports on flat surfaces. As soon as they have to go high (such as Tia's springing jumps) or low on sleds or "latten" (no translation, sorry), then they don't do well.. Then we have to be modest. Overall for Dutchmen, an Olympic presentation is modest.
There shall now naturally be "wise ass" blog readers who say "Yes, but WE also had a Gold in Ladies Snowboarding". But the lady is named Sauerbrei. She must definitely have Austrian breath in her and so that doesn't count.
No, then our bobsledders. Four years hard training. Then one time to practice on the bobsled track in Vancouver and sledding down. ("Oops that was difficult") and following that, a day before the contest they withdrew ""we have the feeling that we can't control the track") The boys have it: Dutchmen can only do "prik sledding". (Sorry for the no translation on what type of sledding----we English readers have to miss getting the humor here.)
In the flat sports we have by the way still unknown possibilities. We just have to be a bit more creative. WE are for example very good in skating and we are great in hockey. Think about that..............ice hockey!!!!! Give Sven Kramer a hockey stick and tie some ....................... A medal is there for the taking. We just have to look for a good coach. Not a skating coach naturally, because they would let our players shoot at our own goal probably.
Further, Hanneke and I are going to be busy with curling. I discovered that such is also an Olympic sport. It looks a bit like "jeu-de-boules". (A European form of bowling). You must not throw with a ball, but with a sort of natural elegance slide throw with a stone over the ice. That is precisely something for me. "Let Martin slide" say my in-laws all the time. Thus, they also see me in that sport. And when in the spring you see Hanneke busy with her broom on our terrace, then you see her also doing good with that noble curling sport.
We shall be there in 2014!!!!!
But now a bit of rest, Irma: you can after three weeks take off your orange socks.
But don't throw them away. About the time you are in Mongolia OUR boys take the field in South Africa. Football is also a flat sport, therefore I can already see it. WE will be World Champion.
I'm going already to get a bottle of champagne.
Placed by Dad on 3 March 2010.
23. Tuesday 2 March 2010 The Time Before the Earthquake
Of course now we are very influenced by the "terremoto" (Spanish for earthquake), but to make a historical correction and to safeguard the accuracy of our blog, you cannot forget that before the earthquake we had been going around Santiago touring for 5 days. And we saw and experienced a lot of nice and interesting things. These experiences of course are not part of what happened Friday/Saturday night, but okay, so as I said: to be fully complete in our story..............
we go back in time and write Sunday afternoon 21 February:
We too the night bus from Pucon to Santiago. After we almost missed the bus----we were still staying with Rob and Laura far from the center of Pucon and after unsuccessful efforts to call for a taxi (that were all busy...) Rob took us one at a time with his scooter to the village (including our gigantic baggage)----we were in the comfortable wide and soft seats of the bus. The night buses are luxurious!!!!!! The seats you can almost lay completely flat and there is a foot rest to put our legs on. "ok", I thought, " this will be nice". Unfortunately, I came to this conclusion without considering the snoring people who also were on our bus. Further, they have on all the buses in Chili at the front a screen hanging and on that the speed is shown. In order to provide that the driver doesn't drive faster than 100 km/hour (the maximum allowed speed), as soon as he does that, an alarm begins to signal out..... Well...........................
Dead tired we arrive in Santiago, but after a few hours of sleep, we could begin to enjoy this wonderful city:
Plaza De Armas: photo
Cerro Santa Lucia: photos
A park on a hill in the middle of the city
On the street
Graffiti
Everywhere there are booths with they sell the a lot of different things.
In a cafeteria: photo
Cerro San Cristobal: a giant hill; you can go up to the top with a funicular (we stood in the wagon where also the Pope stood a few years ago). At the top there is a gigantic statue of Mother Mary and an open air church. BUT even more interesting, there is a magnificent view of the city.
Museo de la Memoria: a museum that tells the story of the military dictator Pinochet, who was in charge from September 11, 1973 to 1990. This is very impressive, not only is the museum set up in a way that is beautiful to see, the building is an architectural marvel and the story of the dictator is very significant.
The building: photo
On one of the outside walls are written the Thirty Rights of Humanity.
International protest against the dictator
Folders from the court where Chileans try to determine what happened to family members who disappeared. The court continues to be negative: "the person you seek is not in our prisons:.....
A 3 story high wall hung with photos of victims of the regime.
N.B. A few days after the earthquake on the way to the bus terminal, we rode along this museum. We saw that it is a mess inside, ceilings have fallen down. The museum had only been open about 3 weeks.
La Chascona: one of the houses of Pablo Neruda. For those who for the last 100 years have lived on another planet, Pablo Neruda was a writer and poet and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1971. Unfortunately we could not take photos inside. It is a beautiful house, that is composed of three sections and part is built against a hill. The form makes one think of a ship and also inside it looks like a ship( creaky wood floors, round windows, many pieces of furniture with wavy edges....) The whole house is full of antiques, collections, the walls hang full with paintings from well known artists, very inspiring.
And further
The house of Nerua we visited on Friday and what happened that night you have already read.
In between we were in Valparaiso. On many websites we read that there was a meter high tsunami there, but not one resident of this city saw the tsunami waves. From our apartment high in the hills we could keep an eye on the ocean and should a tsunami show itself on the horizon, we won't delay sharing with you in words and photo this natural phenomenon.
Placed by Irma 3 March 2010.
we go back in time and write Sunday afternoon 21 February:
We too the night bus from Pucon to Santiago. After we almost missed the bus----we were still staying with Rob and Laura far from the center of Pucon and after unsuccessful efforts to call for a taxi (that were all busy...) Rob took us one at a time with his scooter to the village (including our gigantic baggage)----we were in the comfortable wide and soft seats of the bus. The night buses are luxurious!!!!!! The seats you can almost lay completely flat and there is a foot rest to put our legs on. "ok", I thought, " this will be nice". Unfortunately, I came to this conclusion without considering the snoring people who also were on our bus. Further, they have on all the buses in Chili at the front a screen hanging and on that the speed is shown. In order to provide that the driver doesn't drive faster than 100 km/hour (the maximum allowed speed), as soon as he does that, an alarm begins to signal out..... Well...........................
Dead tired we arrive in Santiago, but after a few hours of sleep, we could begin to enjoy this wonderful city:
Plaza De Armas: photo
Cerro Santa Lucia: photos
A park on a hill in the middle of the city
On the street
Graffiti
Everywhere there are booths with they sell the a lot of different things.
In a cafeteria: photo
Cerro San Cristobal: a giant hill; you can go up to the top with a funicular (we stood in the wagon where also the Pope stood a few years ago). At the top there is a gigantic statue of Mother Mary and an open air church. BUT even more interesting, there is a magnificent view of the city.
Museo de la Memoria: a museum that tells the story of the military dictator Pinochet, who was in charge from September 11, 1973 to 1990. This is very impressive, not only is the museum set up in a way that is beautiful to see, the building is an architectural marvel and the story of the dictator is very significant.
The building: photo
On one of the outside walls are written the Thirty Rights of Humanity.
International protest against the dictator
Folders from the court where Chileans try to determine what happened to family members who disappeared. The court continues to be negative: "the person you seek is not in our prisons:.....
A 3 story high wall hung with photos of victims of the regime.
N.B. A few days after the earthquake on the way to the bus terminal, we rode along this museum. We saw that it is a mess inside, ceilings have fallen down. The museum had only been open about 3 weeks.
La Chascona: one of the houses of Pablo Neruda. For those who for the last 100 years have lived on another planet, Pablo Neruda was a writer and poet and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1971. Unfortunately we could not take photos inside. It is a beautiful house, that is composed of three sections and part is built against a hill. The form makes one think of a ship and also inside it looks like a ship( creaky wood floors, round windows, many pieces of furniture with wavy edges....) The whole house is full of antiques, collections, the walls hang full with paintings from well known artists, very inspiring.
And further
The house of Nerua we visited on Friday and what happened that night you have already read.
In between we were in Valparaiso. On many websites we read that there was a meter high tsunami there, but not one resident of this city saw the tsunami waves. From our apartment high in the hills we could keep an eye on the ocean and should a tsunami show itself on the horizon, we won't delay sharing with you in words and photo this natural phenomenon.
Placed by Irma 3 March 2010.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
22. Sunday 28 February 2010 Shaking Chili: Story of the Earthquake
Early to bed
The plan was actually to take the bus early Saturday morning to a national park near Santiago (Cajon del Maipo) in order to sort of take a break from the whole week of sightseeing in the city before leaving Sunday for Valparaiso, one of the most beautiful cities of Chili, which is situated on a hill. Thus, on time to bed because at 6:00 we had to get up. Our bus to the park leaves always at 7:30.
Awakened out of bed
Until about 3:30 we both were shaken awake: the whole house shook heavily, there was some noise from the clapping window and sliding furniture, but further the first thing that comes to mind in such a situation: what now....? Until a moment later you realize: earthquake.... "oh well, that happens here a lot, therefore no panic, I don't get out of bed for that" feeling.
But the shaking became heavier and changed into violent shocks. The first glass breaks, you hear everywhere things falling and breaking and Irma began then a bit to worry over it. Then you decide that it is best for both of you to go down the swinging stairs barefoot and (luckily) in your pajama bottoms and on the way you notice another falling vase and pieces of glass on the floor; you push a crying and half naked very pregnant lady who is in panic to help her out of the student house, where she is also staying, to go to the terrace and then the electricity goes out. So apocalyptic conditions.
A minute later the shaking stops and you hear everywhere car alarms, sirens, screeching and when the first flashlights and candles are retrieved from upstairs, you see nothing in front of you because the whole yard is bathed in dust. There you stand, drowsy but very alert, barefoot in a dust cloud in a yard in Santiago, Chili. Almost everyone around you is drunk because it is Friday night, summer vacation, warm, the weekend and you are staying in a student house. Some of them had not yet gone to sleep and came running up shaky, sweating, smelling like a mix of rum and cigarettes in total panic, with the words "no panic", "no pasa nada, tranquilo" (Spanish for "nothing happens", "quiet". I could manage a bit of saliva but still I was a little nervous, but we were totally not in panic....we just stood there like normal but feeling sleepy and waiting till we again .......(sorry a translation difficulty for a phrase) and realized that if the house could withstand a three minute earthquake of 8.8, we probably would do that also.
Replica
But then came the "replicas" as the people hear call the aftershocks. Not 5 minutes later the earth trembled again, although this time it is not comparable to the shaking of 3:30 a.m.
Because we were standing in the yard barefoot and with not many clothes on, we decided to go back to our room on the third floor of the building to get a t-shit and shoes on and to get our flashlights.. It is quite clear that no one is going to go back to sleep. Maria, the housekeeper (a German and one of the few sober residents) wanted to first thoroughly inspect the house for damage and then after that let everyone back to their rooms.
We walked carefully up the stairs, brushing away dust and pieces of chalk that came down from the walls and on first floor up we came across real damage in the kitchen. The stove is moved a meter and the cabinet with plates was open, with half of the contents broken on the ground.
Normally our visit of a few days prior to the winery of Concha y Toro would not have made this blog. It was actually much too expensive relative to the value of the tour. The two gifts (glasses with the name of the business) we, however, liked and set them in full view on the cabinet in our room, on the highest shelf, so they were in good view. That was clearly done without counting on an earthquake.
The glasses will in more ways than one be a nice memory of Chili and Irma has called me crazy because I will absolutely take the second glass home.
Okay, the aftershocks. After we had put on a few more clothes and after about three hours or so outside putting up with overly tired, overly worried drunk Spaniards and Chileans, we went back inside. We drug a mattress a level lower so that the way to get out was shorter in the event of aftershocks. Not a half hour later that happened again. A heavy aftershock and again storming outside. And again standing among those in panic.
The aftershocks continued the entire night and days after. Until now there have been more than 70 aftershocks registered but they are mostly short,light shocks, some so light that you feel them if you are sitting or laying or because you see circles appearing in your glass of water.
The Following Day
The night was further quiet and about 7:00 we decided to go back to bed. In the meantime, the electricity came on again and we were successful letting our family know that we were okay.
A few hours later, around midday, we got up and began with cleaning up the trash and damage in the house. Luckily it seemed not so bad because in an hour the two of us had straightened up book shelves and we got the kitchen in order and had vacuumed the whole house.
After that we walked in the yard of our house and through the city to see what the damage was.
Like a miracle, the Virgin Mary (or better said, the statue in the yard that is of her) was not damaged by the earthquake, even though a meter high wall had fallen over.
Also the family pets were okay.
In the streets of Santiago, we encountered another situation. Even though a large part of the city was not damaged by this very heavy earthquake, some old houses were heavily damaged, some totally damaged. We met people who with everything they had were loading up and fleeing.
Happy Hostel: a total wall was gone: photo
In Santo Domingo, the same street as ours: photo:
The window of a liquor store: photo
A television crew getting the opinions of the Santiago people: photo
Modern buildings were not damaged greatly: photo
Many clocks were still at 3:30, the time of the earthquake: photo
Even though there are hundreds of deaths, the airport was closed for two days and there are no buses (important transportation source between the large cities)running, we have the impression that this country in a very flexible and smart way will come through this disaster. In the capital, there are supermarkets closed, but the metro is going after only 1 day with a capacity of 80%; there is nowhere insofar as we have seen panic breaking out, no one is beginning to beg and the situation is very quiet. Sometimes we have the impression that the media overemphasize some of the facts about the disaster, although maybe that is also necessary to get the attention of those who are not in the immediate area.
What unfortunately cannot be said for towns like Concepcio, near the epicenter of the earthquake and Talcahunano, that was swept away by the tsunami, the number of victims and the damage here in Santiago is, we think, something that can be handled and certainly compared to what happened in Haiti.
I read this on allsantiago.com, a website with tourist information about the city: "Santiago cold well be a miraculous place. It's wondrous, in fact, that it exists at all. Hopelessly isolated for centuries, destroyed several times by earthquakes and repeatedly pounded by financial meltdowns and political crisis, this city is one tough cookie. It's no surprise the world is setting its eyes on the Chilean capital as it finally shakes off years of shortcomings and bounces fashionably into action. Down the ages, life in Santiago has been more defined by resourcefulness than excess, yet it cannot be denied that the city has continually exerted an alluring effect on the hundreds of thousands of soul-searchers who have made it their home. The spirit of its population is evidence of an unyielding belief in self-improvement, hard work, and of course miracles themselves."
Travel plans changed.
One of the hardest earthquakes in history and you sit in the middle of it----that doesn't happen on every normal world trip and we are and remain seriously impressed.
Our travel plans in Chili were naturally totally changed because we at this moment can get out of this city. Luckily we can stay a week longer in Santiago before our flight to Los Angeles (also an area notorious for earthquakes) leaves the following week on Saturday. Maybe we will still go in a few days to Valparaiso, the beautiful Chilean coastal city where we had rented an apartment and where we actually were supposed to be traveling to today.
Placed by Geert on 28 February 2010.
Labels: terremoto santiago
The plan was actually to take the bus early Saturday morning to a national park near Santiago (Cajon del Maipo) in order to sort of take a break from the whole week of sightseeing in the city before leaving Sunday for Valparaiso, one of the most beautiful cities of Chili, which is situated on a hill. Thus, on time to bed because at 6:00 we had to get up. Our bus to the park leaves always at 7:30.
Awakened out of bed
Until about 3:30 we both were shaken awake: the whole house shook heavily, there was some noise from the clapping window and sliding furniture, but further the first thing that comes to mind in such a situation: what now....? Until a moment later you realize: earthquake.... "oh well, that happens here a lot, therefore no panic, I don't get out of bed for that" feeling.
But the shaking became heavier and changed into violent shocks. The first glass breaks, you hear everywhere things falling and breaking and Irma began then a bit to worry over it. Then you decide that it is best for both of you to go down the swinging stairs barefoot and (luckily) in your pajama bottoms and on the way you notice another falling vase and pieces of glass on the floor; you push a crying and half naked very pregnant lady who is in panic to help her out of the student house, where she is also staying, to go to the terrace and then the electricity goes out. So apocalyptic conditions.
A minute later the shaking stops and you hear everywhere car alarms, sirens, screeching and when the first flashlights and candles are retrieved from upstairs, you see nothing in front of you because the whole yard is bathed in dust. There you stand, drowsy but very alert, barefoot in a dust cloud in a yard in Santiago, Chili. Almost everyone around you is drunk because it is Friday night, summer vacation, warm, the weekend and you are staying in a student house. Some of them had not yet gone to sleep and came running up shaky, sweating, smelling like a mix of rum and cigarettes in total panic, with the words "no panic", "no pasa nada, tranquilo" (Spanish for "nothing happens", "quiet". I could manage a bit of saliva but still I was a little nervous, but we were totally not in panic....we just stood there like normal but feeling sleepy and waiting till we again .......(sorry a translation difficulty for a phrase) and realized that if the house could withstand a three minute earthquake of 8.8, we probably would do that also.
Replica
But then came the "replicas" as the people hear call the aftershocks. Not 5 minutes later the earth trembled again, although this time it is not comparable to the shaking of 3:30 a.m.
Because we were standing in the yard barefoot and with not many clothes on, we decided to go back to our room on the third floor of the building to get a t-shit and shoes on and to get our flashlights.. It is quite clear that no one is going to go back to sleep. Maria, the housekeeper (a German and one of the few sober residents) wanted to first thoroughly inspect the house for damage and then after that let everyone back to their rooms.
We walked carefully up the stairs, brushing away dust and pieces of chalk that came down from the walls and on first floor up we came across real damage in the kitchen. The stove is moved a meter and the cabinet with plates was open, with half of the contents broken on the ground.
Normally our visit of a few days prior to the winery of Concha y Toro would not have made this blog. It was actually much too expensive relative to the value of the tour. The two gifts (glasses with the name of the business) we, however, liked and set them in full view on the cabinet in our room, on the highest shelf, so they were in good view. That was clearly done without counting on an earthquake.
The glasses will in more ways than one be a nice memory of Chili and Irma has called me crazy because I will absolutely take the second glass home.
Okay, the aftershocks. After we had put on a few more clothes and after about three hours or so outside putting up with overly tired, overly worried drunk Spaniards and Chileans, we went back inside. We drug a mattress a level lower so that the way to get out was shorter in the event of aftershocks. Not a half hour later that happened again. A heavy aftershock and again storming outside. And again standing among those in panic.
The aftershocks continued the entire night and days after. Until now there have been more than 70 aftershocks registered but they are mostly short,light shocks, some so light that you feel them if you are sitting or laying or because you see circles appearing in your glass of water.
The Following Day
The night was further quiet and about 7:00 we decided to go back to bed. In the meantime, the electricity came on again and we were successful letting our family know that we were okay.
A few hours later, around midday, we got up and began with cleaning up the trash and damage in the house. Luckily it seemed not so bad because in an hour the two of us had straightened up book shelves and we got the kitchen in order and had vacuumed the whole house.
After that we walked in the yard of our house and through the city to see what the damage was.
Like a miracle, the Virgin Mary (or better said, the statue in the yard that is of her) was not damaged by the earthquake, even though a meter high wall had fallen over.
Also the family pets were okay.
In the streets of Santiago, we encountered another situation. Even though a large part of the city was not damaged by this very heavy earthquake, some old houses were heavily damaged, some totally damaged. We met people who with everything they had were loading up and fleeing.
Happy Hostel: a total wall was gone: photo
In Santo Domingo, the same street as ours: photo:
The window of a liquor store: photo
A television crew getting the opinions of the Santiago people: photo
Modern buildings were not damaged greatly: photo
Many clocks were still at 3:30, the time of the earthquake: photo
Even though there are hundreds of deaths, the airport was closed for two days and there are no buses (important transportation source between the large cities)running, we have the impression that this country in a very flexible and smart way will come through this disaster. In the capital, there are supermarkets closed, but the metro is going after only 1 day with a capacity of 80%; there is nowhere insofar as we have seen panic breaking out, no one is beginning to beg and the situation is very quiet. Sometimes we have the impression that the media overemphasize some of the facts about the disaster, although maybe that is also necessary to get the attention of those who are not in the immediate area.
What unfortunately cannot be said for towns like Concepcio, near the epicenter of the earthquake and Talcahunano, that was swept away by the tsunami, the number of victims and the damage here in Santiago is, we think, something that can be handled and certainly compared to what happened in Haiti.
I read this on allsantiago.com, a website with tourist information about the city: "Santiago cold well be a miraculous place. It's wondrous, in fact, that it exists at all. Hopelessly isolated for centuries, destroyed several times by earthquakes and repeatedly pounded by financial meltdowns and political crisis, this city is one tough cookie. It's no surprise the world is setting its eyes on the Chilean capital as it finally shakes off years of shortcomings and bounces fashionably into action. Down the ages, life in Santiago has been more defined by resourcefulness than excess, yet it cannot be denied that the city has continually exerted an alluring effect on the hundreds of thousands of soul-searchers who have made it their home. The spirit of its population is evidence of an unyielding belief in self-improvement, hard work, and of course miracles themselves."
Travel plans changed.
One of the hardest earthquakes in history and you sit in the middle of it----that doesn't happen on every normal world trip and we are and remain seriously impressed.
Our travel plans in Chili were naturally totally changed because we at this moment can get out of this city. Luckily we can stay a week longer in Santiago before our flight to Los Angeles (also an area notorious for earthquakes) leaves the following week on Saturday. Maybe we will still go in a few days to Valparaiso, the beautiful Chilean coastal city where we had rented an apartment and where we actually were supposed to be traveling to today.
Placed by Geert on 28 February 2010.
Labels: terremoto santiago
Monday, March 15, 2010
21. Irma & Geert okay in Chili--2nd reference
The item numbered 21 and which would come at this point was placed earlier in this translation blog so that any readers in English would know that Geert and Irma were okay after the earthquake in Chili.
20. Friday 26 February 2010 With Only One Banana You Can't Go Up a Volcano
Placed by Irma 26 Feburary 2010.
19. My Little Volcano 21 February 2010
Vulcancito mio is Spanish and means "my dear little volcano". That shall during our stay in Pucon grow to be Geert's motto.
We went therefor to Pucon, a village which on its own is not so much to see were it not for being a paradise for people who love outdoor activities. High above Pucon towers the Villarica volcano. A still active volcano that with his last big eruption in 1982 is 2847 meters high.
We are couchsurfing with Rob and Laura, two professional skydivers from Chicago. There we met the Canadian Haley who is at this moment also here with all of us couchsurfing.
Rob and Laura have left the wintery Chicago so as to come to work as skydivers in Chili in its summer season. Skydiving means jumping from a ridiculous great height out of a small airplane, then doing a free fall for about 40 seconds and following that gliding down for about five minutes. Rob jumps with others (duo) while Laura films and makes photos (on these photos you see at the top Rob with a client and to the right and under Laura who is filming): photo
Skydiving is very expensive, therefore luckily Geert decides against this activity:) But as an alternative he wants to climb the volcano and that seems a good idea to me................
..... only the weather will not cooperate. Climbing the volcano can only be done in sunny and not cloudy weather. While the first day was only cloudy (we went then to have a short horseride), the following day was rain.
We did not get bored and had a wonderful time at Rob and Laura's in their small "cabana" (hut). We played with their dog Cherry, walked over the solidified lava, went for a day rafting while it rained hard (if you are at this point wet or very wet really doesn't matter) and slept two nights on a "Mapuche" (Indian tribe) farm where we received wonderful food and learned that "Irma" is a traditional Mapuche name.
The Cabana of Rob and Laura.: photo
Cherry: photo
Geert, Rob and myself and a lot of lava: photo
The first evening we could barbecue and while the men went to buy the meat in the town,Haley, Laura and I worked on making our first homemade campfire and to keep it burning!!!! I had seen my father to that hundreds of time and that helped!!!!!
Haley, Geert and I with our appetizers: photo
With Rob and Laura and the delicious results of the BBQ: photo]
We waited until the rains would stop.... and then the weather prediction was after 4 days a shiny sunny day!!!
After were we got up ridiculously early, we arrived a bit later at the foot of the volcano, where we put on our battle equipment.
Our group consisted of 9 persons. The three guides, the two of us, a German young man, and 3 Americans who were just finished with their study of medicine (1 boy and 2 girls)
and then we left......
to the ski lift that would bring us to a height of 1800 meters. It is an old, very slow lift and there is no safety bar. Above with the ski life, it was clear that we were not the only ones wanting to go high today.
We received crampons and an ice ax and after a speedy course in mountain walking we began our trip to the top.
Half way the two American girls decided to go back down because they were almost fainting. Afterwards I heard from one of the girls that their complete breakfast was 1 (ONE!!) banana.
The blog title "With only 1 banana you can't go up a volcano" was really not approved by Kapu.
And then, after a physical but good effort (in less than 4 hours time we went up 1000 meters), we reached the top!!!! The view was breathtaking: photo
And also two photos that we received from Rob and Laura, taken from their airplane: photos
Back down it went faster; we received a sort of strong piece of material to put around our bottoms. we glided from the moutain side and used our ice ax as a brake. After an hour we were by the bus. I still get goose pimples and a strong feel of adrenaline as I am sitting here selecting the photos. This was soooooo cool!!!!!
Placed by Irma on 21 -2 2010.
Labels: cherry, skydiving, crampons, Vulcancito
We went therefor to Pucon, a village which on its own is not so much to see were it not for being a paradise for people who love outdoor activities. High above Pucon towers the Villarica volcano. A still active volcano that with his last big eruption in 1982 is 2847 meters high.
We are couchsurfing with Rob and Laura, two professional skydivers from Chicago. There we met the Canadian Haley who is at this moment also here with all of us couchsurfing.
Rob and Laura have left the wintery Chicago so as to come to work as skydivers in Chili in its summer season. Skydiving means jumping from a ridiculous great height out of a small airplane, then doing a free fall for about 40 seconds and following that gliding down for about five minutes. Rob jumps with others (duo) while Laura films and makes photos (on these photos you see at the top Rob with a client and to the right and under Laura who is filming): photo
Skydiving is very expensive, therefore luckily Geert decides against this activity:) But as an alternative he wants to climb the volcano and that seems a good idea to me................
..... only the weather will not cooperate. Climbing the volcano can only be done in sunny and not cloudy weather. While the first day was only cloudy (we went then to have a short horseride), the following day was rain.
We did not get bored and had a wonderful time at Rob and Laura's in their small "cabana" (hut). We played with their dog Cherry, walked over the solidified lava, went for a day rafting while it rained hard (if you are at this point wet or very wet really doesn't matter) and slept two nights on a "Mapuche" (Indian tribe) farm where we received wonderful food and learned that "Irma" is a traditional Mapuche name.
The Cabana of Rob and Laura.: photo
Cherry: photo
Geert, Rob and myself and a lot of lava: photo
The first evening we could barbecue and while the men went to buy the meat in the town,Haley, Laura and I worked on making our first homemade campfire and to keep it burning!!!! I had seen my father to that hundreds of time and that helped!!!!!
Haley, Geert and I with our appetizers: photo
With Rob and Laura and the delicious results of the BBQ: photo]
We waited until the rains would stop.... and then the weather prediction was after 4 days a shiny sunny day!!!
After were we got up ridiculously early, we arrived a bit later at the foot of the volcano, where we put on our battle equipment.
Our group consisted of 9 persons. The three guides, the two of us, a German young man, and 3 Americans who were just finished with their study of medicine (1 boy and 2 girls)
and then we left......
to the ski lift that would bring us to a height of 1800 meters. It is an old, very slow lift and there is no safety bar. Above with the ski life, it was clear that we were not the only ones wanting to go high today.
We received crampons and an ice ax and after a speedy course in mountain walking we began our trip to the top.
Half way the two American girls decided to go back down because they were almost fainting. Afterwards I heard from one of the girls that their complete breakfast was 1 (ONE!!) banana.
The blog title "With only 1 banana you can't go up a volcano" was really not approved by Kapu.
And then, after a physical but good effort (in less than 4 hours time we went up 1000 meters), we reached the top!!!! The view was breathtaking: photo
And also two photos that we received from Rob and Laura, taken from their airplane: photos
Back down it went faster; we received a sort of strong piece of material to put around our bottoms. we glided from the moutain side and used our ice ax as a brake. After an hour we were by the bus. I still get goose pimples and a strong feel of adrenaline as I am sitting here selecting the photos. This was soooooo cool!!!!!
Placed by Irma on 21 -2 2010.
Labels: cherry, skydiving, crampons, Vulcancito
Thursday, March 11, 2010
18. You Are Famous!!!
AT THE TOP in Google!!!
And that while there were 9670 hits for Kip Kapu!!!
Placed by Dad on 21 February 2010
And that while there were 9670 hits for Kip Kapu!!!
Placed by Dad on 21 February 2010
17. Friday 19 February 2010 Kip Kapu: The Contestants
Flemish and Dutchmen really had a lot of Kip Kapu last week.
A response from De Post-colleague Jean-Phillippe (his job: computers) which we unfortunately had to give penalty points to for using tagliatelle instead of penne pasta. The accompanying wine was in the right direction: Sauvignon Blanc is no Chardonnay but the jury finds it good. Jean-Phillippe receives, on the other hand, the first prize in the category of table decorations.
Congratulations Jean Phillippe, you will receive a post card from a land of your choice. It is strongly suggested that you contact the editor to send your address information.
Thre is a response from Scherpenheuvel, from the still unmarried young ladies and in fact sisters Annelies and Sarah (their job: both students), who in the category of "most original outfit" really leave all the competition behind, but still we have to give a penalty point to Sarah whose knife and fork is wrongly placed on the table and for Annelies who is drinking water instead of Chardonnay wine.
Proficiat Annelies and Sarah. you will receive a postcard from a land of your choice. Please contact the editors with your address information.
We...............................received this very nice response from Bekkevoort from Hanneke (occupation: unknown) and Martin (occupation: student). They were the only particpants to make the pasta perfectly "al dente", while no others were able to do this. And yet also here there is a penalty point for the false interpretation of the white wine:
Congratulations Hanneke and Martin. We will send you a postcard from New Zeeland so keep an eye on the postbox.
We made also Kip Kapu again for our CouchSurfing friends from Pucon.
The dish was found to be very good and new responses continue to be welcome.
Placed by Geert on 19 February 2010.
Labels: Kip Kapu
A response from De Post-colleague Jean-Phillippe (his job: computers) which we unfortunately had to give penalty points to for using tagliatelle instead of penne pasta. The accompanying wine was in the right direction: Sauvignon Blanc is no Chardonnay but the jury finds it good. Jean-Phillippe receives, on the other hand, the first prize in the category of table decorations.
Congratulations Jean Phillippe, you will receive a post card from a land of your choice. It is strongly suggested that you contact the editor to send your address information.
Thre is a response from Scherpenheuvel, from the still unmarried young ladies and in fact sisters Annelies and Sarah (their job: both students), who in the category of "most original outfit" really leave all the competition behind, but still we have to give a penalty point to Sarah whose knife and fork is wrongly placed on the table and for Annelies who is drinking water instead of Chardonnay wine.
Proficiat Annelies and Sarah. you will receive a postcard from a land of your choice. Please contact the editors with your address information.
We...............................received this very nice response from Bekkevoort from Hanneke (occupation: unknown) and Martin (occupation: student). They were the only particpants to make the pasta perfectly "al dente", while no others were able to do this. And yet also here there is a penalty point for the false interpretation of the white wine:
Congratulations Hanneke and Martin. We will send you a postcard from New Zeeland so keep an eye on the postbox.
We made also Kip Kapu again for our CouchSurfing friends from Pucon.
The dish was found to be very good and new responses continue to be welcome.
Placed by Geert on 19 February 2010.
Labels: Kip Kapu
16. The Home Front: They Are Going to Fall
No, not our boys and girls in Vancouver. They are doing fine, because WE already have three wins. (Note: I hope that's a good translation.) The Belgian participants I haven't followed so closely, but I heard that the ice skater ended up 17th. Still it's nice that there are three wins which is better than I had projected on this blog.
On the other hand, the Belgians have the comeback "ballenmepsters" (NOTE: even Google doesn't help with translating this word) Kim and Justin. And as to them we Hollanders must silently stay on the sidelines feeling totally envious. And also Tia has announced her return (world news!!). For the Hollanders: she is a sort of Aunt Sidonia look-alike who can jump very high. (Note: unfortunately this translator has no idea who Aunt Sidonia is so I can't offer an English look-alike!)
No, (what I really mean), who is falling, or better said, WHAT is falling is the government. In Holland. They are stumbling over "Uruzgan". That is a province in Afghanistan where the rich Dutch army is doing construction work. How you do that precisely with bombs and grenades is not totally clear and therefore half of the government wants the troops out. Unfortunately the other half does not, thus the the government crashes. Dutchmen cannot find a Belgian compromise. They are all "Prinzipienreiters" (NOTE: once again the scriber of this additon to the blog sent the translator hunting for a word but neither Google nor aged native Hollanders have any idea.) Today there was to be another meeting but nothing will happen.
No, then the Belgians. They sent as support for the Iraq War a minesweeper (sly!). How you sweep mines in the dessert has never been clear because on its voyage with the equipment, the ship had engine problems (even more sly!!!!). Therefore upon its arrival the war was already a month under way. BUT they were not that smart in The Hague.
Therefore Irma: you have to keep in mind that the Queen in your old Fatherland will shortly be without a government.
After careful consideration (I am on my third glass), I have found a solution for Bea. She only has to call her colleague Albert in Laken. When the Belgians a month ago had too many prisoners and we (NOTE: Hollanders) had a few cells too many, there was a deal made: now a number of Belgian prisoners are staying in Tilburg. (A sort of Couch Surfing as you call it in the blog.) Note: there is that couch surfing comment again. Translator again sits with glassy eyes.
Well now, the Queen/King must simply make a new deal: Bea has no longer any ministers but Albert has with his 6 governments 61. There must be enough ministers in Belgium who would be happy to take over the business for a few years in The Hague??
Michel Daerden as temporary Minister President in Holland!!!! Then it would be, after the boring time of Jan Peter, again a cozy time in the Second House. Naturally Michel would have to get used to not having lunches any more at Comme ChezSoi. At the most he would have to be happy with a "broodje kroket" (popular Dutch sandwich with a deep fried sort of mush) in the cantina. BUT as a gesture of good will, we could perhaps add a bottle of Dutch jenever. That seems like a great idea after the 5th glass.
If anyone knows the email address from Bea (perhaps beatrix@oranje.nl?) send the address from this blog quickly to her. Then she can latch onto my Golden Tip.
I expect soon to receive a "ribbon".
Placed through Dad on 19 February 2010.
On the other hand, the Belgians have the comeback "ballenmepsters" (NOTE: even Google doesn't help with translating this word) Kim and Justin. And as to them we Hollanders must silently stay on the sidelines feeling totally envious. And also Tia has announced her return (world news!!). For the Hollanders: she is a sort of Aunt Sidonia look-alike who can jump very high. (Note: unfortunately this translator has no idea who Aunt Sidonia is so I can't offer an English look-alike!)
No, (what I really mean), who is falling, or better said, WHAT is falling is the government. In Holland. They are stumbling over "Uruzgan". That is a province in Afghanistan where the rich Dutch army is doing construction work. How you do that precisely with bombs and grenades is not totally clear and therefore half of the government wants the troops out. Unfortunately the other half does not, thus the the government crashes. Dutchmen cannot find a Belgian compromise. They are all "Prinzipienreiters" (NOTE: once again the scriber of this additon to the blog sent the translator hunting for a word but neither Google nor aged native Hollanders have any idea.) Today there was to be another meeting but nothing will happen.
No, then the Belgians. They sent as support for the Iraq War a minesweeper (sly!). How you sweep mines in the dessert has never been clear because on its voyage with the equipment, the ship had engine problems (even more sly!!!!). Therefore upon its arrival the war was already a month under way. BUT they were not that smart in The Hague.
Therefore Irma: you have to keep in mind that the Queen in your old Fatherland will shortly be without a government.
After careful consideration (I am on my third glass), I have found a solution for Bea. She only has to call her colleague Albert in Laken. When the Belgians a month ago had too many prisoners and we (NOTE: Hollanders) had a few cells too many, there was a deal made: now a number of Belgian prisoners are staying in Tilburg. (A sort of Couch Surfing as you call it in the blog.) Note: there is that couch surfing comment again. Translator again sits with glassy eyes.
Well now, the Queen/King must simply make a new deal: Bea has no longer any ministers but Albert has with his 6 governments 61. There must be enough ministers in Belgium who would be happy to take over the business for a few years in The Hague??
Michel Daerden as temporary Minister President in Holland!!!! Then it would be, after the boring time of Jan Peter, again a cozy time in the Second House. Naturally Michel would have to get used to not having lunches any more at Comme ChezSoi. At the most he would have to be happy with a "broodje kroket" (popular Dutch sandwich with a deep fried sort of mush) in the cantina. BUT as a gesture of good will, we could perhaps add a bottle of Dutch jenever. That seems like a great idea after the 5th glass.
If anyone knows the email address from Bea (perhaps beatrix@oranje.nl?) send the address from this blog quickly to her. Then she can latch onto my Golden Tip.
I expect soon to receive a "ribbon".
Placed through Dad on 19 February 2010.
15. Tuesday 16 February 2010 In a Moderate Rainforest It's Not Warm But Cold
If you believe it or not, but while I was reading the last blogpost from the "homefront", I had my orange socks on!!!! (Really and truly!!)
That said, further with the trip story:
We took the airplane to Puerto Montt and went directly to the nearby town--- much more pleasant and smaller---Puerto Varas. This small town lies on the Llanquihue Lake and has a beautiful view over the Osorno Volcano.
Inspired by the Spanish and Brazilian teams from the Wenger Patagonian expedition race, Kapu and I decided to organize our own race from Puerto Varas: 4 days with a kayak, horses, and on foot through the beautiful moderate rainforest of Cochamo.
We began with a day of kayaking. To my great consternation, the kayaks were sea kayaks. I had hoped for a calm babbling river, where you let yourself float through the streams when your arms begin to feel a bit tired..... but no, we went kayaking in a fijord. In the beginning, things went well, but then the tide began to come in and we were going against the winds and strong waves were developing......but to be totally clear: it was certainly very nice!!!! We saw even a stray penguin swimming around and we frightened a few sleeping sea lions.
This time we did not take the tent with us, but slept in a lodge. Memories of our hike in Torres del Paine came back: the sparse breakfast of old bread with jam, sardines out of a can, the digusted ready-to-eat dinners....In the lodge the food was delicious. Our breakfast for example was four different sorts of bread, fruit salad, yogurt, muesli, cake, complete choice of things to put on our bread, pancakes and an omelet. And they had a shower!!!!! With WARM water!!! What a great contrast????
On Day 2 we went horseback riding to the higher level of LaJunta, a valley reachable by means of a small path high in the mountains. This is an old smuggling route through the Andes to Argentina, a route formerly used by the famous Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
We rode on Chilian horses with authentic handmake wooden stirrups. That WE feeling came here because the things (stirrups) were a bit like wooden shoes, but they were very comfortable and above all very handy to protect the toes against things on the path that were in the way.
Horseback riding therefore: "Oh", I thought, "that can be done, it surely can't be worse than the paddling from yesterday...". Well now, it wasn't much difference :) It is a good spectacular ride though rivers, over small steep mountain paths dotted with large and not so large pebbles, wooden bridges and tree trunks, meters deep mud and small hollow roads, worn down through the years (barely wider than the horse itself). Unfortunately no photos, it is because of the thick growth being too dark to make decent photos.
The house in La Juna where we stayed for two nights. photo
The third day we made a walking hike through the woods. On our route we came across many bridges and obstacles: photo
And still more obstacles: photo
This is really shaky and moreover it has several missing steps: photo
We conquer all the obstacles:
And at the end we went into the ice cold water (Aqualibi is not nearby!!)
The fourth day we rode (read this to mean sliding and stumbling) back down with the horses and we came exhausted back to our temporary lodging in Puerto Varas, from which point we took a bus to the city of Pucon. There we want to climb a volcano, couch surf (NOTE: we'll have to find out later what that is.) and go rafting, and if that all comes out good you will read later...
Placed by Irma on 16 February 2010
Labels: Aqualibi, kayak, wooden shoes, smugglers
That said, further with the trip story:
We took the airplane to Puerto Montt and went directly to the nearby town--- much more pleasant and smaller---Puerto Varas. This small town lies on the Llanquihue Lake and has a beautiful view over the Osorno Volcano.
Inspired by the Spanish and Brazilian teams from the Wenger Patagonian expedition race, Kapu and I decided to organize our own race from Puerto Varas: 4 days with a kayak, horses, and on foot through the beautiful moderate rainforest of Cochamo.
We began with a day of kayaking. To my great consternation, the kayaks were sea kayaks. I had hoped for a calm babbling river, where you let yourself float through the streams when your arms begin to feel a bit tired..... but no, we went kayaking in a fijord. In the beginning, things went well, but then the tide began to come in and we were going against the winds and strong waves were developing......but to be totally clear: it was certainly very nice!!!! We saw even a stray penguin swimming around and we frightened a few sleeping sea lions.
This time we did not take the tent with us, but slept in a lodge. Memories of our hike in Torres del Paine came back: the sparse breakfast of old bread with jam, sardines out of a can, the digusted ready-to-eat dinners....In the lodge the food was delicious. Our breakfast for example was four different sorts of bread, fruit salad, yogurt, muesli, cake, complete choice of things to put on our bread, pancakes and an omelet. And they had a shower!!!!! With WARM water!!! What a great contrast????
On Day 2 we went horseback riding to the higher level of LaJunta, a valley reachable by means of a small path high in the mountains. This is an old smuggling route through the Andes to Argentina, a route formerly used by the famous Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
We rode on Chilian horses with authentic handmake wooden stirrups. That WE feeling came here because the things (stirrups) were a bit like wooden shoes, but they were very comfortable and above all very handy to protect the toes against things on the path that were in the way.
Horseback riding therefore: "Oh", I thought, "that can be done, it surely can't be worse than the paddling from yesterday...". Well now, it wasn't much difference :) It is a good spectacular ride though rivers, over small steep mountain paths dotted with large and not so large pebbles, wooden bridges and tree trunks, meters deep mud and small hollow roads, worn down through the years (barely wider than the horse itself). Unfortunately no photos, it is because of the thick growth being too dark to make decent photos.
The house in La Juna where we stayed for two nights. photo
The third day we made a walking hike through the woods. On our route we came across many bridges and obstacles: photo
And still more obstacles: photo
This is really shaky and moreover it has several missing steps: photo
We conquer all the obstacles:
And at the end we went into the ice cold water (Aqualibi is not nearby!!)
The fourth day we rode (read this to mean sliding and stumbling) back down with the horses and we came exhausted back to our temporary lodging in Puerto Varas, from which point we took a bus to the city of Pucon. There we want to climb a volcano, couch surf (NOTE: we'll have to find out later what that is.) and go rafting, and if that all comes out good you will read later...
Placed by Irma on 16 February 2010
Labels: Aqualibi, kayak, wooden shoes, smugglers
Sunday, March 7, 2010
14. The Home Front: feelings of the World Cup
Saturday 13 February
It has come again: that World Cup feeling. And by way of this Blog I must take care to make this also happen in far away Chili.
Although Girima is now Belgian, still I can here talk abut when OUR boys play soccer for the European Cup or the World Cup, those who wear the orange socks. That feeling is in the genes. That you don't lose. Just as the Dutchmen who live 20 years in a foreign land still eat licorice can beschuit (sort of a toast---in the USA "Holland Rusk") with muisjes (generally pink and white colored seeds).
That WE feeling.
That comes with a soccer championship. Then in Holland there is an enormous and mostly completely unjustified optimism: WE will be the champion and WE will win the gold. So long as it is going good, it remains WE. (We let the French smell something stinky!!!!!) But naturally it goes after that always a bit wrong and then it is no more from WE. No, then THEY played bad against the Russians.
But now there is no soccer, but well the Games. And there WE will win the gold.
Most of the Belgium blog readers will now be confused......GAMES???? Those were in Peking?????
But we Hollanders also participate in the Winter Games. In Belgium there is almost nothing over that in the newspaper. At the most, there is a comment about a figure skater #20 in the list who hoped to win and is out of competition, from Senegal. BUT the Dutch newspapers there are complete and full descriptions over Sven Kramer (OUR Dutch godson) and Tijsje Oenema (who does not know her...........). There WE go to win the gold. Until they don't make it and then THEY performed badly.
OUR Prime Minister Jan-Peter and OUR Crown Prince Willem-Alexander have already traveled to Canada to personally enjoy that WE win the gold. I don't know who the Belgian government sent. At the most, Minister Daerden (the whiskey is gratis in Vancouver).
Therefore, Irma, send Geert jogging and put on your orange socks there in Chili. Then look for a terrace with a t.v. Then you can cheer on and enjoy how WE win our first gold. It seems to me in 30 C temperature interesting to explain to Chilians how such a skating contest works and that we also have an Eleven Town Skating Tournament. I'm not sure you will succeed in explaining that.
Placed by Dad on 13 February 2010.
It has come again: that World Cup feeling. And by way of this Blog I must take care to make this also happen in far away Chili.
Although Girima is now Belgian, still I can here talk abut when OUR boys play soccer for the European Cup or the World Cup, those who wear the orange socks. That feeling is in the genes. That you don't lose. Just as the Dutchmen who live 20 years in a foreign land still eat licorice can beschuit (sort of a toast---in the USA "Holland Rusk") with muisjes (generally pink and white colored seeds).
That WE feeling.
That comes with a soccer championship. Then in Holland there is an enormous and mostly completely unjustified optimism: WE will be the champion and WE will win the gold. So long as it is going good, it remains WE. (We let the French smell something stinky!!!!!) But naturally it goes after that always a bit wrong and then it is no more from WE. No, then THEY played bad against the Russians.
But now there is no soccer, but well the Games. And there WE will win the gold.
Most of the Belgium blog readers will now be confused......GAMES???? Those were in Peking?????
But we Hollanders also participate in the Winter Games. In Belgium there is almost nothing over that in the newspaper. At the most, there is a comment about a figure skater #20 in the list who hoped to win and is out of competition, from Senegal. BUT the Dutch newspapers there are complete and full descriptions over Sven Kramer (OUR Dutch godson) and Tijsje Oenema (who does not know her...........). There WE go to win the gold. Until they don't make it and then THEY performed badly.
OUR Prime Minister Jan-Peter and OUR Crown Prince Willem-Alexander have already traveled to Canada to personally enjoy that WE win the gold. I don't know who the Belgian government sent. At the most, Minister Daerden (the whiskey is gratis in Vancouver).
Therefore, Irma, send Geert jogging and put on your orange socks there in Chili. Then look for a terrace with a t.v. Then you can cheer on and enjoy how WE win our first gold. It seems to me in 30 C temperature interesting to explain to Chilians how such a skating contest works and that we also have an Eleven Town Skating Tournament. I'm not sure you will succeed in explaining that.
Placed by Dad on 13 February 2010.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
21. Irma & Geert okay in Chili
This posting is out of date order so that those reading the English blog will know that Geert & Irma are okay due to the earthquake that struck Chili today. I will translate below their first email after the quake. Postings 15-20 come as soon as possible.
AND PLEASE NOTE THAT IRMA HAS HER BIRTHDAY ON WEDNESDAY MARCH 3.
21. "Everything is in order after the shock. "
From Martin (Irma's dad): This morning Irma and Geert send the following email:
We were rather early this morning brought out of our bed through the earthquake but all is in order. It was, however, very spectacular, such an earthquake from 8.8. The house where we were sleeping is standing up; only some dishes and bookcases thundered down. No GSM reception, so back after electricity and then of course internet. We are going now to try to sleep a bit more (it is now 6:30 a.m. hier) and tomorrow help clean up the debris.
Placed by Dad (from Irma) on 2-27-10
AND PLEASE NOTE THAT IRMA HAS HER BIRTHDAY ON WEDNESDAY MARCH 3.
21. "Everything is in order after the shock. "
From Martin (Irma's dad): This morning Irma and Geert send the following email:
We were rather early this morning brought out of our bed through the earthquake but all is in order. It was, however, very spectacular, such an earthquake from 8.8. The house where we were sleeping is standing up; only some dishes and bookcases thundered down. No GSM reception, so back after electricity and then of course internet. We are going now to try to sleep a bit more (it is now 6:30 a.m. hier) and tomorrow help clean up the debris.
Placed by Dad (from Irma) on 2-27-10
Thursday, February 25, 2010
13. Recipe for Kip Kapu (translated by Geert with my modifications)
Ingredients Needed for 2 servings:
300 grams chicken breasts or tenders (filet)
250 grams penne pasta
500 grams fresh spinach
4 pods of garlic, cut in small pieces
100 grams parmesean cheese
pepper
salt, olive oil
1/2 cube of chicken bouillon, dissolved in a small amount of water
Preparation:
Rinse the spinach leaves and boil them for 10 minutes until they are weak("melted")
Let the spinach cool off in the drainer.
Cut the chicken in small slices and saute them for 6 minutes in olive oil on a high fire; Season with salt and pepper and add the garlic during the last two mintues.
Cook the pasta until it is "al dente".
While the pasta is boiling, cut the spinach and mix it with the sauteed chicken and the bouillion. Heat the mixture.
Serve the pasta, topping it with the spinach chicken mix and sprinkle with parmesean.
Serve with an ice cold bottle of Chilean Chardonnary..........................Enjoy...:-)
Ingredients Needed for 2 servings:
300 grams chicken breasts or tenders (filet)
250 grams penne pasta
500 grams fresh spinach
4 pods of garlic, cut in small pieces
100 grams parmesean cheese
pepper
salt, olive oil
1/2 cube of chicken bouillon, dissolved in a small amount of water
Preparation:
Rinse the spinach leaves and boil them for 10 minutes until they are weak("melted")
Let the spinach cool off in the drainer.
Cut the chicken in small slices and saute them for 6 minutes in olive oil on a high fire; Season with salt and pepper and add the garlic during the last two mintues.
Cook the pasta until it is "al dente".
While the pasta is boiling, cut the spinach and mix it with the sauteed chicken and the bouillion. Heat the mixture.
Serve the pasta, topping it with the spinach chicken mix and sprinkle with parmesean.
Serve with an ice cold bottle of Chilean Chardonnary..........................Enjoy...:-)
12. Wednesday 10 February 2010 About Horses & Penguins
NOTE from the translator: Sorry for those of you who might enjoy the English version. I've been unable to post again until today.
12. After the extreme physical conditions during our walk in Torres del Paine (camping with a maximum temperature during the day of 10 C was very cold, even with fleece clothes and thermal underwear, and not to mention the huge amount of nutritious "ready to eat" food that we had with us), we decided to stay a few days in picturesque Puerto Natales to get our strength back. :)
Also we treated ourselves to a horseriding excursion in the area. The horses were saddled in Western style and that takes a bit of getting used to. You guide them very differently than yo do with horses saddle in the English style. I had, when I booked, asked for a fast excursion and that request was met----one galloping followed immediately by another and we could indulge ourselves on teh sprawling pampas. Kapu was immediately renamed Gaucho Gerardo (a Gaucho is a South American cowboy) because he galloped enthusiastically after a few cows, loudly calling out "la cena, la cena" (my dinner, my dinner).....
From Puerto Natales we took the bus to the city of PUnta Arenas. That is the most southern city of Chili, and at the same time of the American mainland. (Ushuaia in Argentina is a bit farther south, but is on the island of Vuurland adn therefore that does not count, according to the Chilian people...)
The wind is strong here, and then immediately it's good again, but with wind gusts to 120 km/hour if you are not lucky. It is sadi that on some of the street corners they hang ropes on which the people can catch hold to, but we did not see any of those. We made a walk through the city, to a beautiful viewpoint, which was very handy because there we could find immediately the coordinates for the next part of our trip:
Also we visited the cemetery. It reminded us of the Recoleta, the cemetery that we visited in Buenos Aires, with huge tombs where the entire family lays happily together. But as we walked more to the back, we came upon what looked like flats or apartments in a sort of neighborhood for people in not so good economic circumstances. First we thought urns were in those but it turned out that the coffins were cemented into the walls, each neatly above the other. On the one hand, smart because it avoids use of a large amount of space and on the bottom row they stick the coffins 3 deep.
In the hostel where we stayed there occurs some rather strange scenes.
We would like to tell you that this hostel is a cover for illegal cocaine transportation from Punta Arenas to the rest of South America........................But that is not so. :o)
Our hotel was in fact the departure point for the Brazilian and Spanish athletes who were taking part in the "Wenger Patogonian Expedition Race"----a race through the unexplored southern part of South America that will test the team. During one week they complete a course with use of a kayak, a mountain bike and on foot. Also they must do some climbin over one part. The sacks of white powder that you see are a protein mix, a sort of "power food". Further, they take with them, among other things, the following delicacies: plastic sacks filled iwth a mix of cream potato powder, milk powder and parmesean cheese, which during the completing of the course they mix with cold water and drink. That is something we should have thought about for our hike!!!!! Geert's back pack would have been a bit less heavy. :)
The host at the hostel is also a happy Frenchman. After we arrived, we were immediately provided a glass of the local beer. Our towels, on the other hand, we had to go ourselves to look for in a cabinet later that evening. It is a chaotic pile and so is the included breakfast; you must go yourself in the storage area adn the refrigerator to look for everything. Sometimes new guests called, but then the host was at the supermarket or he was a few blocks away talking with someone and then we showed the new guests around and told them how much a room costs......On one evening we stood in front of a locked door (it was 12:30 a.m. in the night) and then we had to throw stones against a window until someone finally let us inside.
And what was more to experience in Punta Arenas? It appeared that there were penguins in the area. Therefore we wanted to go and see them. We bought a ticket for the ferry boat that would take us there. During the time we waited for the ferry, we took a few photos: (see Dutch Blof for the photos).
Once the boat sailed, we were sent, by a young Chilian girl in a direct but friendly manner, from the deck to the inside area. There she told us the following: (first in Spanish and then in a sort of "language" that at some point could have been English): "Hello, my name is Jessica and I am your guide for today. We will sail for two hours to the island, then you can walk around there and after that we will sail back. We will go very close to the penguins, but you are not allowed to touch them because they bite". Further she told us still more details over what sort of penguins and more, but what for you blog readers would be of little interest. We wnjoyed the two hour boat ride going out on the deck and having a beautiful view.
Once we reached the island, Jessica began to scream at everyone like a crazy person and waved her arms as if she was in panic. She wanted everyone to stay close by the boat. The wind was blowing rather fierce................and that's putting it mildly. We were blown out of our socks, so to speak, and the blowing sand got into places in large amoutns where you really don't want to have sand (ears, nose, between our teeth....) Because there seemed to be a threat that the boat could float away, we were only allowed to remain there for about 10 minutes. Enjoying the waddling Penguins could not really happen because we had to do our beset to just stand up straight. Kapu nevertheless was able to make a few photos.
Now it is enough for us with the cold and windy climate. We fly to Puerto Montt, which is a bit further north. To be continued..........
Written by Irma 10 February 2010.
12. After the extreme physical conditions during our walk in Torres del Paine (camping with a maximum temperature during the day of 10 C was very cold, even with fleece clothes and thermal underwear, and not to mention the huge amount of nutritious "ready to eat" food that we had with us), we decided to stay a few days in picturesque Puerto Natales to get our strength back. :)
Also we treated ourselves to a horseriding excursion in the area. The horses were saddled in Western style and that takes a bit of getting used to. You guide them very differently than yo do with horses saddle in the English style. I had, when I booked, asked for a fast excursion and that request was met----one galloping followed immediately by another and we could indulge ourselves on teh sprawling pampas. Kapu was immediately renamed Gaucho Gerardo (a Gaucho is a South American cowboy) because he galloped enthusiastically after a few cows, loudly calling out "la cena, la cena" (my dinner, my dinner).....
From Puerto Natales we took the bus to the city of PUnta Arenas. That is the most southern city of Chili, and at the same time of the American mainland. (Ushuaia in Argentina is a bit farther south, but is on the island of Vuurland adn therefore that does not count, according to the Chilian people...)
The wind is strong here, and then immediately it's good again, but with wind gusts to 120 km/hour if you are not lucky. It is sadi that on some of the street corners they hang ropes on which the people can catch hold to, but we did not see any of those. We made a walk through the city, to a beautiful viewpoint, which was very handy because there we could find immediately the coordinates for the next part of our trip:
Also we visited the cemetery. It reminded us of the Recoleta, the cemetery that we visited in Buenos Aires, with huge tombs where the entire family lays happily together. But as we walked more to the back, we came upon what looked like flats or apartments in a sort of neighborhood for people in not so good economic circumstances. First we thought urns were in those but it turned out that the coffins were cemented into the walls, each neatly above the other. On the one hand, smart because it avoids use of a large amount of space and on the bottom row they stick the coffins 3 deep.
In the hostel where we stayed there occurs some rather strange scenes.
We would like to tell you that this hostel is a cover for illegal cocaine transportation from Punta Arenas to the rest of South America........................But that is not so. :o)
Our hotel was in fact the departure point for the Brazilian and Spanish athletes who were taking part in the "Wenger Patogonian Expedition Race"----a race through the unexplored southern part of South America that will test the team. During one week they complete a course with use of a kayak, a mountain bike and on foot. Also they must do some climbin over one part. The sacks of white powder that you see are a protein mix, a sort of "power food". Further, they take with them, among other things, the following delicacies: plastic sacks filled iwth a mix of cream potato powder, milk powder and parmesean cheese, which during the completing of the course they mix with cold water and drink. That is something we should have thought about for our hike!!!!! Geert's back pack would have been a bit less heavy. :)
The host at the hostel is also a happy Frenchman. After we arrived, we were immediately provided a glass of the local beer. Our towels, on the other hand, we had to go ourselves to look for in a cabinet later that evening. It is a chaotic pile and so is the included breakfast; you must go yourself in the storage area adn the refrigerator to look for everything. Sometimes new guests called, but then the host was at the supermarket or he was a few blocks away talking with someone and then we showed the new guests around and told them how much a room costs......On one evening we stood in front of a locked door (it was 12:30 a.m. in the night) and then we had to throw stones against a window until someone finally let us inside.
And what was more to experience in Punta Arenas? It appeared that there were penguins in the area. Therefore we wanted to go and see them. We bought a ticket for the ferry boat that would take us there. During the time we waited for the ferry, we took a few photos: (see Dutch Blof for the photos).
Once the boat sailed, we were sent, by a young Chilian girl in a direct but friendly manner, from the deck to the inside area. There she told us the following: (first in Spanish and then in a sort of "language" that at some point could have been English): "Hello, my name is Jessica and I am your guide for today. We will sail for two hours to the island, then you can walk around there and after that we will sail back. We will go very close to the penguins, but you are not allowed to touch them because they bite". Further she told us still more details over what sort of penguins and more, but what for you blog readers would be of little interest. We wnjoyed the two hour boat ride going out on the deck and having a beautiful view.
Once we reached the island, Jessica began to scream at everyone like a crazy person and waved her arms as if she was in panic. She wanted everyone to stay close by the boat. The wind was blowing rather fierce................and that's putting it mildly. We were blown out of our socks, so to speak, and the blowing sand got into places in large amoutns where you really don't want to have sand (ears, nose, between our teeth....) Because there seemed to be a threat that the boat could float away, we were only allowed to remain there for about 10 minutes. Enjoying the waddling Penguins could not really happen because we had to do our beset to just stand up straight. Kapu nevertheless was able to make a few photos.
Now it is enough for us with the cold and windy climate. We fly to Puerto Montt, which is a bit further north. To be continued..........
Written by Irma 10 February 2010.
Monday, February 8, 2010
11. Sunday 31 January 2010
With 30 kilos on our backs going up the mountain and back!!!
Puerto Natales
Bus trip from El Calafate to Puerto Natales.
The town of Puerto Natales is the base point for walking tours through the Park Torres del Paine. It is on a creek from the sea and also right by the mountains. That is something you have in such a narrow land as Chili…
Torres del Paine
And then we went 4 days walking through Torres del Paine. Ik have to report from Geert that only his backpack weighed 30 kilos and the backpack from me only 20 kilos (this is a rough estimate since we naturally have no scale with us).
Photos show:
Advanced scouting techniques were placed in order to show our route.
And this is the tent.
Totally on top with----a bit difficult due to the clouds---a view on Torres
And now still a few more views of our hike………………..
Placed by Irma 31 January 2010.
Labels: no toilets, Torres, dirty toilets, walking stick.
With 30 kilos on our backs going up the mountain and back!!!
Puerto Natales
Bus trip from El Calafate to Puerto Natales.
The town of Puerto Natales is the base point for walking tours through the Park Torres del Paine. It is on a creek from the sea and also right by the mountains. That is something you have in such a narrow land as Chili…
Torres del Paine
And then we went 4 days walking through Torres del Paine. Ik have to report from Geert that only his backpack weighed 30 kilos and the backpack from me only 20 kilos (this is a rough estimate since we naturally have no scale with us).
Photos show:
Advanced scouting techniques were placed in order to show our route.
And this is the tent.
Totally on top with----a bit difficult due to the clouds---a view on Torres
And now still a few more views of our hike………………..
Placed by Irma 31 January 2010.
Labels: no toilets, Torres, dirty toilets, walking stick.
10. Friday, 29 January 2010
Does Anyone Want an Ice Cream?
After a week in Buenos Aires th etime is ripe for more news…..
We have otherwise had everything great: a look at many important places; hours walking around in the different neighborhoods/areas of the city and enjoying a coffee or beer on one of the many plains or sidwalk cafes; went swimming in a GIANT open air swimming pool, with first a medical control to see if you had any athlete’s foot or head lice. The pool lies right under the runway of the domestic airport (spectacular!); enjoyed the BEST ice cream of all time with flavors such as tiramisu, banana split, Tramontana and still other wonderful flavors which I have no idea how to translate from Spanish to Dutch. In short, Buenos Aires is a wonderful city, a world city!
BUT because we nevertheless had no desire to stay there for 6 months, we took a local flight to El Calafate. This is a town in the far south of Patagonie where according to the taxi driver--who picked us up at the airport---it almost never rains. We stayed two days….and we had two days rain, luckily with once in awhile during the two days a bit of clear weather. The weather actually was not predictable; you could sample all four seasons in one day (what a few days later was proven with a few hours of sunshine followed by cloudy skies, heavy hail, rain and once again a beautiful blue sunny sky).
The city of El Calfate itself it really boring, ugly, touristy. The former water purification station has been rebuilt into a casino (you don’t want to know how ugly---no , we don’t have any photos) and there is a wide avenue with one tourist shop after another. Geert and I had the same raction: leave as quickly as possible! But in the area of this dragon of a town is the most beautiful glacier in the world; therefore, we disregarded the town itself and remained there. Now a few impressions of El Calfate; Perito Moreno is the name of the glacier. Formed out of snow that is blown through a small pass in the Andes Mountains, this huge ice has formed slowly over innumerable but many years. The glacier flows through a long but small lake to the other side. The lake therefore splits the glacier in two parts and because of this there are differences in the water levels between the two lakes, which action continuously affects the glacier itself. From that there are really fanciful forms in the ice and you hear the glacier literally cracking and thus on a regular basis big pieces fall and thunder into the water. The biggest piece that we saw falling down was so high as the glacier itself---about 60 meters---and at least 10 meters wide.
S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R!!!!!!!
Beautiful, breathtaking, this is one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen in my life!!!!(Other than Kapu, who is more beautiful J . The whole day we stood looking and listening and looking and listening….and we also took a boat ride along the glacier. On the photos uyou get only a small idea of what we saw. In reality it is 1000 times better.
And now we are in Chili--in Puerto Natales--and it suits us here great. Argentina was nice, but Chili is really very COOL!!!! Here they cook good, they are much more warm and friendly, they have the feeling to make a restaurant decorated in a way that makes it enjoyable and warm, and also the landscape is more varied and colorful. Now we will go a week walking with our backpacks. So long as we are not during this eaten by a puma, you will hear more from us later.
Does Anyone Want an Ice Cream?
After a week in Buenos Aires th etime is ripe for more news…..
We have otherwise had everything great: a look at many important places; hours walking around in the different neighborhoods/areas of the city and enjoying a coffee or beer on one of the many plains or sidwalk cafes; went swimming in a GIANT open air swimming pool, with first a medical control to see if you had any athlete’s foot or head lice. The pool lies right under the runway of the domestic airport (spectacular!); enjoyed the BEST ice cream of all time with flavors such as tiramisu, banana split, Tramontana and still other wonderful flavors which I have no idea how to translate from Spanish to Dutch. In short, Buenos Aires is a wonderful city, a world city!
BUT because we nevertheless had no desire to stay there for 6 months, we took a local flight to El Calafate. This is a town in the far south of Patagonie where according to the taxi driver--who picked us up at the airport---it almost never rains. We stayed two days….and we had two days rain, luckily with once in awhile during the two days a bit of clear weather. The weather actually was not predictable; you could sample all four seasons in one day (what a few days later was proven with a few hours of sunshine followed by cloudy skies, heavy hail, rain and once again a beautiful blue sunny sky).
The city of El Calfate itself it really boring, ugly, touristy. The former water purification station has been rebuilt into a casino (you don’t want to know how ugly---no , we don’t have any photos) and there is a wide avenue with one tourist shop after another. Geert and I had the same raction: leave as quickly as possible! But in the area of this dragon of a town is the most beautiful glacier in the world; therefore, we disregarded the town itself and remained there. Now a few impressions of El Calfate; Perito Moreno is the name of the glacier. Formed out of snow that is blown through a small pass in the Andes Mountains, this huge ice has formed slowly over innumerable but many years. The glacier flows through a long but small lake to the other side. The lake therefore splits the glacier in two parts and because of this there are differences in the water levels between the two lakes, which action continuously affects the glacier itself. From that there are really fanciful forms in the ice and you hear the glacier literally cracking and thus on a regular basis big pieces fall and thunder into the water. The biggest piece that we saw falling down was so high as the glacier itself---about 60 meters---and at least 10 meters wide.
S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R!!!!!!!
Beautiful, breathtaking, this is one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen in my life!!!!(Other than Kapu, who is more beautiful J . The whole day we stood looking and listening and looking and listening….and we also took a boat ride along the glacier. On the photos uyou get only a small idea of what we saw. In reality it is 1000 times better.
And now we are in Chili--in Puerto Natales--and it suits us here great. Argentina was nice, but Chili is really very COOL!!!! Here they cook good, they are much more warm and friendly, they have the feeling to make a restaurant decorated in a way that makes it enjoyable and warm, and also the landscape is more varied and colorful. Now we will go a week walking with our backpacks. So long as we are not during this eaten by a puma, you will hear more from us later.
9. Thursday 28 January 2010
The Home Front : Belgium vs. Argentina 6-4
No, this (the title) is no football result. The Red Devils (Belgium’s national team) now have our Dickie (Dutch coach) as coach but they are not so far along that they can win over Argentina.
This is in fact an answer to Geert’s newest sign of home sickness in the last blog: his question over the Presidents of Belgium. Naturally so long as Albert sits on the throne, we don’t have one president, but we have indeed still 6 Minister-Presidents. More therefore than the four in Argentina that Geert reported on. And then here in Belgium not one after another in one month. Still going on!!!! At the same time!!!!!!
Therefore, dear world travelers, no need to feel uneasy. In Belgium nothing has changed.
For the Belgium readers is this all very clear. For the Hollanders I have explained more .
Click on “REACTIES”.
Placed by Dad on 28 January 2010.
The Home Front : Belgium vs. Argentina 6-4
No, this (the title) is no football result. The Red Devils (Belgium’s national team) now have our Dickie (Dutch coach) as coach but they are not so far along that they can win over Argentina.
This is in fact an answer to Geert’s newest sign of home sickness in the last blog: his question over the Presidents of Belgium. Naturally so long as Albert sits on the throne, we don’t have one president, but we have indeed still 6 Minister-Presidents. More therefore than the four in Argentina that Geert reported on. And then here in Belgium not one after another in one month. Still going on!!!! At the same time!!!!!!
Therefore, dear world travelers, no need to feel uneasy. In Belgium nothing has changed.
For the Belgium readers is this all very clear. For the Hollanders I have explained more .
Click on “REACTIES”.
Placed by Dad on 28 January 2010.
8. Thursday, 28 January 2010
Trivia Time in Argentina
--a metro ride in Beunos Aires costs 1.2 pesos or in euros 20 cents
--a steak of a bit over a pound, thus enough for two persons, purchased at the local supermarket (Coto) which is like in Belgium Delhaize Supermarket (or in Texas Kroger) costs 7 pesos or about Euros 1.20
--despite that, 30% to 40 % of the Argentines live in poverty. The Argentine Statistics Office actually stopped a few years ago with publishing numbers, because “they are working on a new method of measuring such.”
--more news in the meat industry: in Buenos Aires there there daily about 100 breast operation. Thus, (and I am roughly quoting) about 200 new boobs per day!!! Private health insurance includes for every two years the availability of one plastic surgery procedure. The cosmetic industry is therefore a booming business in Argentina and the people talk about medical tourism to this country because the prices in the West are much higher than in Argentina.
--Certain goods and services such as air flights, entry costs for the national parks and so on cost for the foreigners (including world travelers) up to 2/3 more than for Argentines.
--Between 1880 and 1920 Argentina was one of the richest countries of the world. That happened because of immigration from Italy and Spain but most of all because of the massive sale of meat to European nations, starving after the first World War. After a short increase in it economy during the Second World War, the country declined .
--People call Buenos Aires “the Paris of the south” becaue many buildings have a look of being French and because the city is filled with very expensive housing for the elite, chic and wide avenues, parks, statues and so on. It follows from the decadence of the beginning of the last century: some families were so rich that they filled the ships that transported the meat to Europe with all sorts of expensive things, building materials, furniture, art and so on so that the ship did not have to return empty.
--The losses to the British in the Falkland Islands war stood for a so-called loss of face for the meglomaniac military dictators so that in 1983 for the first time democratic elections were organized. Argentina is really still a young democracy….in December 2001 (period of the fall of the economy) there were in one month 4 presidents. ….. (which brings up) how is it doing in Belgium right now?
Placed by Geert on 28 January 2010
Labels: Steak, Paris, Boobs
Trivia Time in Argentina
--a metro ride in Beunos Aires costs 1.2 pesos or in euros 20 cents
--a steak of a bit over a pound, thus enough for two persons, purchased at the local supermarket (Coto) which is like in Belgium Delhaize Supermarket (or in Texas Kroger) costs 7 pesos or about Euros 1.20
--despite that, 30% to 40 % of the Argentines live in poverty. The Argentine Statistics Office actually stopped a few years ago with publishing numbers, because “they are working on a new method of measuring such.”
--more news in the meat industry: in Buenos Aires there there daily about 100 breast operation. Thus, (and I am roughly quoting) about 200 new boobs per day!!! Private health insurance includes for every two years the availability of one plastic surgery procedure. The cosmetic industry is therefore a booming business in Argentina and the people talk about medical tourism to this country because the prices in the West are much higher than in Argentina.
--Certain goods and services such as air flights, entry costs for the national parks and so on cost for the foreigners (including world travelers) up to 2/3 more than for Argentines.
--Between 1880 and 1920 Argentina was one of the richest countries of the world. That happened because of immigration from Italy and Spain but most of all because of the massive sale of meat to European nations, starving after the first World War. After a short increase in it economy during the Second World War, the country declined .
--People call Buenos Aires “the Paris of the south” becaue many buildings have a look of being French and because the city is filled with very expensive housing for the elite, chic and wide avenues, parks, statues and so on. It follows from the decadence of the beginning of the last century: some families were so rich that they filled the ships that transported the meat to Europe with all sorts of expensive things, building materials, furniture, art and so on so that the ship did not have to return empty.
--The losses to the British in the Falkland Islands war stood for a so-called loss of face for the meglomaniac military dictators so that in 1983 for the first time democratic elections were organized. Argentina is really still a young democracy….in December 2001 (period of the fall of the economy) there were in one month 4 presidents. ….. (which brings up) how is it doing in Belgium right now?
Placed by Geert on 28 January 2010
Labels: Steak, Paris, Boobs
7. Monday 25 January 2010
Buenos Aires in pictures.
Buenos Aires is a world city!!! Following are a few photos of it s beauty.
Plaza De Mayo (with Sabrina)
La Boca
Street Tango
Puerto Madero: Irma is on the pedestrian bridge
Geert in San Telmo
Recoleta Cemetary
Metal Flower: (a giant statue, where the leaves open and shut with light sensors…)
Added by Irma on 25 January 2010
Labels: Beer, Buenos Aires, Tango
Buenos Aires in pictures.
Buenos Aires is a world city!!! Following are a few photos of it s beauty.
Plaza De Mayo (with Sabrina)
La Boca
Street Tango
Puerto Madero: Irma is on the pedestrian bridge
Geert in San Telmo
Recoleta Cemetary
Metal Flower: (a giant statue, where the leaves open and shut with light sensors…)
Added by Irma on 25 January 2010
Labels: Beer, Buenos Aires, Tango
Note from the translator: I’m putting in red any comments I have that are directed at explaining a translation point. I’ve stumbled with a few words I’m not familiar with but now have a good source to check out dutch words I’m not so familiar with. An online dictionary.
Also to view the photos, go to Irma and Geert’s Dutch blog.
Also to view the photos, go to Irma and Geert’s Dutch blog.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Translation of the Journey Begins for Irma & Geert
First, a word from me; Irma and Geert are from Belgium; well, actually Irma is Dutch but moved to Belgium years ago and now is a Belgie. She's my cousin's daughter. They have begun a long trip that is taking them from Brussels to a number of countries and if you read this you will see how the trip is going. Irma is posting on her blog in Dutch so she's asked if I might post in English (since I'm already translating her trip comments to English for her American family). Hence this blog (incidentally my first blog) was born.
1. Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Where it all began ...
Giri and Kapu at the Rooster Passage (street) in Brussels ... where it all began (Irma says this was just a test to see if the image upload works since a photo was included. Giri and Kapu are nicknames that stem from a trip they made to the Himalayas and the guide could not say Irma and Geert. So Irma is Giri and Kapu is Geert.)
Posted by Irma at 22.12.09 2 comments
2. Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The big plan
On January 19 we leave to go around the world! Our first stop is Buenos Aires in Argentina. Approximately a half year later we will return from Moscow in Russia flying back to Brussels. In the meantime we will go to Chile, Los Angeles, New Zealand, Australia, China, Mongolia and Siberia. On this computer site, you can read and look (photos) how it goes with our trip ...
Posted by Irma at 23.12.09 0 comments
3. Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Welcome To Russia Part 1: applying for a visa
No easy guys, those Russians. To apply for a visa you must arrange the following things:
****passport photos, with your signature on the back (ok, that was easy)
****a letter written in English that you have a travel assistance insurance that is valid in Russia (Europe Assistance looked a little weird at us when we asked, but they still agreed to help us)
****thermal underwear, ski jacket, hat and glove----------------- the waiting room of the Russian Embassy is .... outside, also at -9 degrees, and you only go one by one, through the metal detector of course,
Duh :)
****the sum of € 35 per visa
****and last but not least: an official letter from a person or organization in Russia that they have invited you to Russia.---------------------Oops (we thought), how do we get that, anyway just look thru my address book ... no Russians listed. An old love perhaps? Sorry but unfortunately no. Fortunately there is at the site of the Russian embassy a link to a Russian Internet company that shows that for $ 30 (use credit card) they will invite a person to Russia. Okay, almost all things over there are so easily settled with possibilities like that! And I thought that Belgium was a “monkey land“.
So the visa question became a bulky file ……………….poor pine tree - and the Visa was picked up this morning.
4. Tuesday, 19 January 2010
The home front NOTE FROM LILYAN: here the story is picked up by Irma's father (my cousin in Belgium who is also Dutch born).
Giri & Kapu have asked me to act as a columnist in this blog, on a regular (or perhaps unregular) basis. They were a bit vague about why, but I suspect that this is the first sign of premature homesickness. Walking around over the Argentine pampas, the Mongolian steppes and the Siberian permafrost, they will be deprived of news from the homeland.
The local newspapers are still difficult to read, having only at hand one book with "what and how in Chinese". And CNN is not everywhere. Moreover, even on CNN they hardly know where Belgium is ("Are you from Brussels? Nice, I love Denmark")
And how can you as a Belgian go six months without knowing if Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV) is split, or if there are yet more new strange things being done by Michel Daerden? The Dutch readers of this blog (NOTE ADDED by LILYAN----ditto for the English speaking readers) are probably now in a state of confusion .......But before you type in BHV in Google: Do not do this. You will get 2 million hits. And if you look on Wikipedia: The article on the split of BHV is longer than the article about atom splitting. If you Dutchmen understand nothing of BHV, no worries. Most Belgians also understand nothing.
The strange things that are done by Michel Daerden are easier: look on YouTube and remember that this man is a Belgian government minister. But, with 6 governments (or is it 7?) in this country there can sometimes be a joke among them.This column will keep our world travelers and the Dutch readers informed of the latest developments in Belgium.In about ten minutes Irma and Geert will be here in Bekkevoort, the last stop before Buenos Aires. They still want a little of “stew a la Mama” to eat tonight before they go in the plane.So that's the second sign of premature homesickness.There will be more going on with this trip ..........
Posted by Dad at 19.1.10 0 comments
5. Tuesday, 19 January 2010
THEY LEFT.
Finally ..... the backpacks and travel bags are packed. One weighs 30 pounds and one about 13 (?).
And the stew a la Mama eaten.
On to Zaventem and of course check-in goes smoothly………………………Not so.
"The maximum weight per piece of baggage is 24 kilos Madam. You must therefore pay extra € 35.”
Irma’s frugal Dutch genes sprung into play. So Irma and Geert began calmly and quietly repacking, staying there at the check-in counter with a lengthening line forming behind them. After about 6 kilos of books, travel guides and “how-and-what-in -Russian” guides are moved to the backpack, finally the farewell photos could be made.Now an hour to London and then in 15 hours via Sao Paolo to Buenos Aires .......
Posted by Dad at 20.1.10 0 comments
6. Wedneday 20 January 2010
The first impressions
We are in Buenos Aires, we are relaxing and having our first Argentine beer (Quilmes for the connoisseurs). What a contrast to last week:There is much to check and review for travelers going away for a half year, and Kapu and I walked through the house during the past 2 weeks like chickens without our heads, totally unorganized . Everything Kapu put somewhere to pack, I was always a second later moving to an entirely different corner of the house.A lot still had yet to be settled, the house needed to be tidy because we have temporary tenants and we naturally had to pack our suitcases. We had endless discussions about what we would and would not take. I definitely did not want to drag with us too much junk, but on the other hand, I can’t go 6 months only in shorts and sandals. So dresses and boots and even more had to go along.
Kapu found then the basis for saying what junk he could take with us. He didn’t need a lot of clothes so the room he didn’t need for that, he thought he could fill with books: "Because I like reading when I travel" . When we finally found that in both suitcases, after packing, there was still room, then that space was filled with more books (under my loud protests). What happened to all those books you have read the previous post.
And then there were the farewell parties, in addition to the fact that they are deadly if you want to leave on the trip well rested, people brought us a bit of everything. So we got a few useful farewell gifts (super thanks everyone for this !!!): euros (very useful in South America), half a bank card, a champagne cork, a survival guide for tough guys with the chapters that include "How to prevent an attack from a polar bear” (very useful in the southern hemisphere) and "how to survive Christmas with your family” (hide behind the Christmas tree), another book (with 399 tips from experienced travelers), and then also a medal from St. Christopher that should protect us against accidents while traveling. Oh and last but not least our mascot Sabrina (a small plush giraffe).
But we deviate, so Buenos Aires. After a much too long - but nothing more significant - flight, we took a cab to our hotel in the Palermo district. A nice place, the hotel has a shared garden / living room / kitchen, and every day we can have tango lessons. We are especially taking time to get over the long journey, the jetlag (fortunately only 4 hours time difference) and ending up on the bottom side of the globe. To make this as pleasant as possible, we have just gotten a stash of beer, wine, bread, cheese, sausage and we have discovered that the Argentines are not much in touch with the concept of ecology. In total we bought 11 products in the local supermarket which were packed by the friendly young lady with a broad smile who was at the checkout area and who packed them in at least 6 different plastic bags .... Well when the bag is half full, it’s considered full. Oh and if you put a bottle of wine in the plastic sack, then that is put into a second sack because heavens forbid if that should break!!!!!
Kapu has now 2x already had a compliment because he speaks Spanish so well, but he rattles on with anyone, as though he never did anything else.
The next few days we will further explore Buenos Aires. Tuesday we fly to the south to El Calafate and from there to go to in Patagonia.
Posted by Irma at 20.1.10
Moela said Enjoyed the photos at the airport, enjoying reading your adventures, will print for Tante Lies and will translate for Bill 24.1.10
First, a word from me; Irma and Geert are from Belgium; well, actually Irma is Dutch but moved to Belgium years ago and now is a Belgie. She's my cousin's daughter. They have begun a long trip that is taking them from Brussels to a number of countries and if you read this you will see how the trip is going. Irma is posting on her blog in Dutch so she's asked if I might post in English (since I'm already translating her trip comments to English for her American family). Hence this blog (incidentally my first blog) was born.
1. Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Where it all began ...
Giri and Kapu at the Rooster Passage (street) in Brussels ... where it all began (Irma says this was just a test to see if the image upload works since a photo was included. Giri and Kapu are nicknames that stem from a trip they made to the Himalayas and the guide could not say Irma and Geert. So Irma is Giri and Kapu is Geert.)
Posted by Irma at 22.12.09 2 comments
2. Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The big plan
On January 19 we leave to go around the world! Our first stop is Buenos Aires in Argentina. Approximately a half year later we will return from Moscow in Russia flying back to Brussels. In the meantime we will go to Chile, Los Angeles, New Zealand, Australia, China, Mongolia and Siberia. On this computer site, you can read and look (photos) how it goes with our trip ...
Posted by Irma at 23.12.09 0 comments
3. Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Welcome To Russia Part 1: applying for a visa
No easy guys, those Russians. To apply for a visa you must arrange the following things:
****passport photos, with your signature on the back (ok, that was easy)
****a letter written in English that you have a travel assistance insurance that is valid in Russia (Europe Assistance looked a little weird at us when we asked, but they still agreed to help us)
****thermal underwear, ski jacket, hat and glove----------------- the waiting room of the Russian Embassy is .... outside, also at -9 degrees, and you only go one by one, through the metal detector of course,
Duh :)
****the sum of € 35 per visa
****and last but not least: an official letter from a person or organization in Russia that they have invited you to Russia.---------------------Oops (we thought), how do we get that, anyway just look thru my address book ... no Russians listed. An old love perhaps? Sorry but unfortunately no. Fortunately there is at the site of the Russian embassy a link to a Russian Internet company that shows that for $ 30 (use credit card) they will invite a person to Russia. Okay, almost all things over there are so easily settled with possibilities like that! And I thought that Belgium was a “monkey land“.
So the visa question became a bulky file ……………….poor pine tree - and the Visa was picked up this morning.
4. Tuesday, 19 January 2010
The home front NOTE FROM LILYAN: here the story is picked up by Irma's father (my cousin in Belgium who is also Dutch born).
Giri & Kapu have asked me to act as a columnist in this blog, on a regular (or perhaps unregular) basis. They were a bit vague about why, but I suspect that this is the first sign of premature homesickness. Walking around over the Argentine pampas, the Mongolian steppes and the Siberian permafrost, they will be deprived of news from the homeland.
The local newspapers are still difficult to read, having only at hand one book with "what and how in Chinese". And CNN is not everywhere. Moreover, even on CNN they hardly know where Belgium is ("Are you from Brussels? Nice, I love Denmark")
And how can you as a Belgian go six months without knowing if Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV) is split, or if there are yet more new strange things being done by Michel Daerden? The Dutch readers of this blog (NOTE ADDED by LILYAN----ditto for the English speaking readers) are probably now in a state of confusion .......But before you type in BHV in Google: Do not do this. You will get 2 million hits. And if you look on Wikipedia: The article on the split of BHV is longer than the article about atom splitting. If you Dutchmen understand nothing of BHV, no worries. Most Belgians also understand nothing.
The strange things that are done by Michel Daerden are easier: look on YouTube and remember that this man is a Belgian government minister. But, with 6 governments (or is it 7?) in this country there can sometimes be a joke among them.This column will keep our world travelers and the Dutch readers informed of the latest developments in Belgium.In about ten minutes Irma and Geert will be here in Bekkevoort, the last stop before Buenos Aires. They still want a little of “stew a la Mama” to eat tonight before they go in the plane.So that's the second sign of premature homesickness.There will be more going on with this trip ..........
Posted by Dad at 19.1.10 0 comments
5. Tuesday, 19 January 2010
THEY LEFT.
Finally ..... the backpacks and travel bags are packed. One weighs 30 pounds and one about 13 (?).
And the stew a la Mama eaten.
On to Zaventem and of course check-in goes smoothly………………………Not so.
"The maximum weight per piece of baggage is 24 kilos Madam. You must therefore pay extra € 35.”
Irma’s frugal Dutch genes sprung into play. So Irma and Geert began calmly and quietly repacking, staying there at the check-in counter with a lengthening line forming behind them. After about 6 kilos of books, travel guides and “how-and-what-in -Russian” guides are moved to the backpack, finally the farewell photos could be made.Now an hour to London and then in 15 hours via Sao Paolo to Buenos Aires .......
Posted by Dad at 20.1.10 0 comments
6. Wedneday 20 January 2010
The first impressions
We are in Buenos Aires, we are relaxing and having our first Argentine beer (Quilmes for the connoisseurs). What a contrast to last week:There is much to check and review for travelers going away for a half year, and Kapu and I walked through the house during the past 2 weeks like chickens without our heads, totally unorganized . Everything Kapu put somewhere to pack, I was always a second later moving to an entirely different corner of the house.A lot still had yet to be settled, the house needed to be tidy because we have temporary tenants and we naturally had to pack our suitcases. We had endless discussions about what we would and would not take. I definitely did not want to drag with us too much junk, but on the other hand, I can’t go 6 months only in shorts and sandals. So dresses and boots and even more had to go along.
Kapu found then the basis for saying what junk he could take with us. He didn’t need a lot of clothes so the room he didn’t need for that, he thought he could fill with books: "Because I like reading when I travel" . When we finally found that in both suitcases, after packing, there was still room, then that space was filled with more books (under my loud protests). What happened to all those books you have read the previous post.
And then there were the farewell parties, in addition to the fact that they are deadly if you want to leave on the trip well rested, people brought us a bit of everything. So we got a few useful farewell gifts (super thanks everyone for this !!!): euros (very useful in South America), half a bank card, a champagne cork, a survival guide for tough guys with the chapters that include "How to prevent an attack from a polar bear” (very useful in the southern hemisphere) and "how to survive Christmas with your family” (hide behind the Christmas tree), another book (with 399 tips from experienced travelers), and then also a medal from St. Christopher that should protect us against accidents while traveling. Oh and last but not least our mascot Sabrina (a small plush giraffe).
But we deviate, so Buenos Aires. After a much too long - but nothing more significant - flight, we took a cab to our hotel in the Palermo district. A nice place, the hotel has a shared garden / living room / kitchen, and every day we can have tango lessons. We are especially taking time to get over the long journey, the jetlag (fortunately only 4 hours time difference) and ending up on the bottom side of the globe. To make this as pleasant as possible, we have just gotten a stash of beer, wine, bread, cheese, sausage and we have discovered that the Argentines are not much in touch with the concept of ecology. In total we bought 11 products in the local supermarket which were packed by the friendly young lady with a broad smile who was at the checkout area and who packed them in at least 6 different plastic bags .... Well when the bag is half full, it’s considered full. Oh and if you put a bottle of wine in the plastic sack, then that is put into a second sack because heavens forbid if that should break!!!!!
Kapu has now 2x already had a compliment because he speaks Spanish so well, but he rattles on with anyone, as though he never did anything else.
The next few days we will further explore Buenos Aires. Tuesday we fly to the south to El Calafate and from there to go to in Patagonia.
Posted by Irma at 20.1.10
Moela said Enjoyed the photos at the airport, enjoying reading your adventures, will print for Tante Lies and will translate for Bill 24.1.10
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