hmmm.. that were quite some changing days :)
I spent the last night with my friends, chilling in Christians room and this almost until 5am :P ;) and we talked about a lot of stuff.. was a nice evening (better than just watching TV ;) and talked about making fire-toys and kiting the next day, so I really was about to stay a day more! :)
then the next day at noon, when we were supposed to meet up, Christian told me that tired and hangover and so on, but I already checked out the hardware store and would have been quite pissed, if he would not have sold me some kevlar-rope, I needed for my creation. Funny.. after I lost my other ones after almost never using them, I already got something new heavy with me to carry around (and to present time not even lit yet ;P ..so with a bit of genious, I made the first version of my fireswords :) they turned out a bit heavy and unbalanced and maybe won´t burn very long (just thin kevlar jacket), but they will to for a start (version 2 is already in mind and will be realized in Switzerland :D
then I learned to make a monkey knot (picture in the internet and youtube tutorial! :) haha :D just memorized it and can now transform every rope in a waepon, by tying such a knot in the end. Looks like a ball and is perfect to make a fire-meteor! :D ..but unfortunately, I don´t have any non-burning-rope and the one I made with normal rope is so hard, it would be dangerous to practice just for fun with it ;) I rather use my soft meteor and can go crazy with it! :D ..got quite better at it!! :D new moves and more precise handling :)
then the night I felt not hanging out with these people again, because would have been the same thing and I thought, may be good to move further down. Still 1100km to go to Lima. So packed all my stuff, got all my goods ready :) and had a good sleep and breakfast the next day to move further South.
the first 140km I already knew from coming up, but then it turned into a different world! :) reminded me of Tattooine and I was flying on my Pod-Racer through the desert. No Sandpeople tough trying to snipe me and no second sun in the sky ;) but it´s fun to drive through the desert! ..nomans land.. wasteland.. hahaha ;)) :D
could also be out of Mad Max.. destroyed cars off the road and simple dirt hutts along the way, especially as I almost ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere :P ..for being very flat and straight and no curves, was going up to 110km/h, what uses a LOT more of gas, together with strong winds that make me my viser have closed. I stopped and asked some police patrol in the desert and they would have gladly helped me out, but some system in their car prohibits to take gasoline out (I guess why ;) hehe ;) but then luckily a lady along the way sold gas, poured in a one-gallon-plastic-cup and into my tank :)
if sand, wind and terrain match, then incredible things get born.. there were dozens of horse-shoe-formed sand dunes moving over a flat plane. Streets don´t get flooded here, they get sanded :) looks also very wicked, when sand particles are blown over the road, dancing on the asphalt :)
I started with blue sky and then it turned grey at noon and opened up later in the afternoon.. it´s so much nicer to drive with blue sky!! :)
but then at about 4pm, when the sun stands lower, it becomes incredibly chilly!! handgrip-heaters on lvl 2 and every zipper closed and still having cold wearing a pull-over. There is so much cold air blown in from the sea, that even at the beach it get´s cold in the night (looking forward to Cuzco ;) well, gonna buy some warm clothing here and a poncho! :) haha :D and after this, I will put two more layers in my gear, then I should be fine. ..it´s just cold ;) can handle that :)
I first thought to stop at a place along the way, but when I saw the city, I felt like moving on.. then staying two nights at this other place and checking out the ruins. So in the end I was really happy to arrive at this place and asked for the hostal, that my friend recommended me. ..was OK for a night, but for almost nobody staying there (just a few couples), I missed cable TV in the end, read then but something nice from the Dalai Lama :) but same.. going out.. don´t expect too much (especially not an overkill as in Mancora), but a bit of a vibe would have been nice.. yeah.. Mancora: there are for sure precious jewels of wonderful people amongst the masses, but also a lot of tourits, ignorants and idiots :P one of the places where people rope-tear for money :P nahh.. was really time to make a move!
so I figured out that even for somebody a place was best in a country, for somebody else probably isn´t.. because everything changes and we are all living different things. Had dinner by myself :P and the lasagna was not even veggie as ordered :/ but I just thought: you guys can be happy I´m no veggie and I would not want to complain and wait again ;) very easy going ;)
then the ruins this morning did also not super-stun me.. some walls in the sand with other walls and places inside. A lot of work to restore, but not as nice as stone built temples in the jungle.. would be good for paintball tough! ;) haha ;) but OK.. people I ran randomly into were very nice and friendly! :)
Then I had another covered and pretty chill start at 11am until 2pm in the afternoon, when it opened up.. I really like riding in the desert! just see that I get enough gas ;) hehe ;) but the bike runs fine, very reliable and fun to ride! :) just a lot of sand (what makes me my viser have closed most of the time) and cold winds.. need a scarf! :) this is gonna be a good investment! :D
but all the wide open space and mountains, covered partly with sand, leaving trippy textures everywhere! :) ..figured also out, that I will continue South from Lima to Nazca, because I want to see the Nazca-Lines! :D so probably more desert along the way! ;) hehe ;)
then there was a lot of roadwork along the way, sometimes waited and sometimes just asked to let me pass (as I got a bike and can bail out and go through the barriers ;) and yes, they let me go.. everything super nice!
gas costs 50% more than in Ecuador and for using about 25% more gas, it makes it a 62.5% more costly to ride through Peru, but it´s still not too much of a deal.. but probably spending more here on gas than accomodation ;)
so I almost, almost made it to safety, when I learned a very important thing: Police has nasty radar-devices here :P
so having cold and wanting nothing more than arrive, I get stopped by the police.. on the highway. But they told me there is a sign telling 60km/h (nobody anyway cares about speed limits here :P and I was probably 80km/h
so stop, show papers and licence and he asks me, where I´m from.. me: Switzerland and he says: "Oh, Switzerland.. " and I think, once more saved by the bell (because it´s mostly good to be from Switzerland ;) ..but he says: I have to confiscate your papers and send them to the embassy.. :P yaya.. super complicate.. of course, must happen along the Panamericana. So I tell to show me written how much the fine will be and because he couldn´t do that, I was.. "you know, let´s go to the police station and I´ll explain my case and we talk it out" .. so finally I said: Option Number 1: you let me go and I apologize and drive slower .. Option Number 2.. and here he already turned around to talk to his friend, while I was shouting "I´d appreciate!" :) and coming back, handing me out my documents and let me go.. phew.. that was really close. I don´t think they should (or have to) send my documents anywhere and I´m not so easy to rip off on the road. Would have faced to pay a fine, but once it was probably anyway not about a fine (paperwork) more some extra non-factory cash ;)
I´ll spend the week-end (and halloween :) in Lima and then ride down and into the mountains to Cuzco, do some more-day-trek and check out ruins (getting in for free if possible ;) and then to Bolivia.. but even not delaying along the way, it will take 2-3 weeks..
hear soon from me! :)
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
..I like Peru! :)
so before I leave my first destination in Peru, I´ll post a few lines here..
riding along the coast is pretty nice! Well, took until noon to have clear sky, but the blue above and the blue of the see, touching at the horizon do give a nice contrast to the yellow sand and stone of the dry stretch along the coast.
I´ll have about three days of riding to get to Lima and will stay a few more nights on the beach, before hitting the mountains again :)
Peru is really nice! Policemen are waving friendly along the road and even getting in this country was super chill! didn´t cost a single dollar, they even made the copies themself (normally I have to go to a copy-shop ;)
The food here is very good and even if more expensive than non-touristy places, it doesn´t ruin me ;) for 7 dollar you fill your stomach with lot´s of tasty things! :)
then on the other hand, I´m already done with the place.. was awake for 36 hours then slept for 12 hours and repeated the whole thing again, because there was a lot of party and after party and so on.. :) these places are predestined to be lived this way. It´s OK, normally start a country this way by going to a place like that and resupplying for the rest. Then I´m fine and the continuation is more quiet.
I met some good people that are helping me out here and we spent quite a while together, having lots of fun! :)
didn´t meet anybody super special though, so not too much hold me back here.. jumping on my bike and riding on, for there are many more places I want to see Peru :)
I guess, I missed out on kite-surfing :-/ would have been payable, but for I just was going out with friends, I missed the oportunity. Looks really fun!! :) but then it would also be a very local thing and along my trip would not have lot´s of oportunities to practice and especially not being back in Switzerland. So it´s Ok.. another day! ;) hehe ;)
then going on this full moon party, I took my fire-fans and two silver contact balls with me and managed to get it stolen in the night :`( *sniff*
well.. got the small ball back, but the big one is gone and I´m on my last set of balls (brought a lot of spare stuff with me) and can´t afford to lose one anymore (or getting it too scratched or broken). Probably will get bags for them and find a system I can take care of them! :)
the fire-fans though are not really easy to replace.. they were 100 USD each and even if they were pretty old, they still served well. I guess, I´ll have to get new ones in Switzerland or even make them myself (so no more practice for the next 9 month). but also have to say that I didn´t use them too much, not even that very night (that´s why their treachery is almost justified). One less thing to carry around and if I´ll get new ones, I´ll use them for sure more (or don´t get them in the first place). ..glad I got all the rest of my (more used) stuff :)
hmm.. so the roads are good here (motorbikes don´t pay! =D just the gas is waaay more expensive in Peru (probably double price?) but still cheap compared to Switzerland ;)
living in general is cheap and I´m sure I will spend about only half of what I spend normally squandering along my trip ;) hehe ;)
here a lot of dead animals are brought to the beach with the tides.. I´ve seen three Pelicans and a Sea-bear (pretty big animal), without teeth, because those have been scavenged already by a local artesania-guy ;) hehe ;) heard also a Dolphin was found a few days ago. So if you do handycraft, then you can get cheap raw-materials here from local people :)
had a Ceviche here (raw fish with lots of lemon and onion and spicy) and really liked it! (the last one, when I tried that the first time, I swore to never enter a Cevicheria again ;) but was really good! like to taste local food, especially when it´s fresh sea-food while being at the beach :)
so met a few random people and can tell you that I would not get old in a place like that.. even to sell bracelets and jewelry seems a pain in the ass to me (because you have to sell where there are a lot of tourists and lots of competition). Aaaahh.. really appreciate to get my paycheck by end of the month for doing some 8 hours office job! :D haha ;)
OK.. going out to be in the sun again! :) have not been bathing in the sea yet, but made some excercises on the beach. More like to be at the water then jumping in by myself (even if playing with the waves can be fun for a moment ;)
the typical Peruanian dogs here are super ugly (look like big rats ;) because having just a few single hair on their skin :P eventually get a picture of one ;)
so I´m fine.. recovering from the week-end and soon being back on the road again :)
hear from me further down..
riding along the coast is pretty nice! Well, took until noon to have clear sky, but the blue above and the blue of the see, touching at the horizon do give a nice contrast to the yellow sand and stone of the dry stretch along the coast.
I´ll have about three days of riding to get to Lima and will stay a few more nights on the beach, before hitting the mountains again :)
Peru is really nice! Policemen are waving friendly along the road and even getting in this country was super chill! didn´t cost a single dollar, they even made the copies themself (normally I have to go to a copy-shop ;)
The food here is very good and even if more expensive than non-touristy places, it doesn´t ruin me ;) for 7 dollar you fill your stomach with lot´s of tasty things! :)
then on the other hand, I´m already done with the place.. was awake for 36 hours then slept for 12 hours and repeated the whole thing again, because there was a lot of party and after party and so on.. :) these places are predestined to be lived this way. It´s OK, normally start a country this way by going to a place like that and resupplying for the rest. Then I´m fine and the continuation is more quiet.
I met some good people that are helping me out here and we spent quite a while together, having lots of fun! :)
didn´t meet anybody super special though, so not too much hold me back here.. jumping on my bike and riding on, for there are many more places I want to see Peru :)
I guess, I missed out on kite-surfing :-/ would have been payable, but for I just was going out with friends, I missed the oportunity. Looks really fun!! :) but then it would also be a very local thing and along my trip would not have lot´s of oportunities to practice and especially not being back in Switzerland. So it´s Ok.. another day! ;) hehe ;)
then going on this full moon party, I took my fire-fans and two silver contact balls with me and managed to get it stolen in the night :`( *sniff*
well.. got the small ball back, but the big one is gone and I´m on my last set of balls (brought a lot of spare stuff with me) and can´t afford to lose one anymore (or getting it too scratched or broken). Probably will get bags for them and find a system I can take care of them! :)
the fire-fans though are not really easy to replace.. they were 100 USD each and even if they were pretty old, they still served well. I guess, I´ll have to get new ones in Switzerland or even make them myself (so no more practice for the next 9 month). but also have to say that I didn´t use them too much, not even that very night (that´s why their treachery is almost justified). One less thing to carry around and if I´ll get new ones, I´ll use them for sure more (or don´t get them in the first place). ..glad I got all the rest of my (more used) stuff :)
hmm.. so the roads are good here (motorbikes don´t pay! =D just the gas is waaay more expensive in Peru (probably double price?) but still cheap compared to Switzerland ;)
living in general is cheap and I´m sure I will spend about only half of what I spend normally squandering along my trip ;) hehe ;)
here a lot of dead animals are brought to the beach with the tides.. I´ve seen three Pelicans and a Sea-bear (pretty big animal), without teeth, because those have been scavenged already by a local artesania-guy ;) hehe ;) heard also a Dolphin was found a few days ago. So if you do handycraft, then you can get cheap raw-materials here from local people :)
had a Ceviche here (raw fish with lots of lemon and onion and spicy) and really liked it! (the last one, when I tried that the first time, I swore to never enter a Cevicheria again ;) but was really good! like to taste local food, especially when it´s fresh sea-food while being at the beach :)
so met a few random people and can tell you that I would not get old in a place like that.. even to sell bracelets and jewelry seems a pain in the ass to me (because you have to sell where there are a lot of tourists and lots of competition). Aaaahh.. really appreciate to get my paycheck by end of the month for doing some 8 hours office job! :D haha ;)
OK.. going out to be in the sun again! :) have not been bathing in the sea yet, but made some excercises on the beach. More like to be at the water then jumping in by myself (even if playing with the waves can be fun for a moment ;)
the typical Peruanian dogs here are super ugly (look like big rats ;) because having just a few single hair on their skin :P eventually get a picture of one ;)
so I´m fine.. recovering from the week-end and soon being back on the road again :)
hear from me further down..
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
..leaving Ecuador after all..
first of all, I totally forgot to mention that I also visited the local waterfall close to Baños and spent an hour there practicing martial arts :) ..it´s a fun way to keep yourself (a bit) fit and flexible and I found that over time I got quite a bit better at it ;) listening psy-trance and swinging sticks and balls around! =)
after that visited the zoo on the way back.. didn´t take any pictures.. feel sorry for the animals, but then I think, what do we know? and too many aspects on both sides in Pro and Contra.. so I´ve seen some Condors and big cats and was thinking about Zoos and how they impact on both sides..
getting out, I was shocked when I didn´t find my helmet and gloves (another bike that was parked next to mine was gone) and got sad for two minutes (beeing betrayed in my faith into people), before I figured out that the lady took it that owns the parking.. didn´t realize that I have to pay a dollar for the parking, but was happy to have my stuff back ;) ..jaja.. should never worry too early ;) hehe ;)
this is my last entry in Ecuador, tomorrow early morning I cross the boarder to Peru. They said my, it´s kinda similar, so I´ll see ;) hehe ;) but got already spots along the way to stop on my map (finally I hit the area of one of my maps that I brought from home ;) hehe ;)
so the jungle thingy was not too stunning.. made it close to Tela and just spent a night in a hotel, being pretty much the only guest there. Nice were the little monkeys on the beach, hanging out on branches and bothering each other ;)
Some people go on jungle tours, but they are pretty expensive (has to be group) and then I didn´t feel in the mood.. almost did a auto guided hike in a botanical garden, but left it out, instead drove a long day to Cuenca. Felt as moving on south and felt good to hit the road! :) ..just took me very long to get over a mountain with lots of unpaved road and road construction! got lately some drops of rain while driving, but then I always outrun then, just small grey clouds, dripping locally.. nothing that would make me stop ;) hehe ;)
dogs can be pretty annoying.. not that they would bite, it´s just unnecessary that they run after you and bark, because when I stop they stop too (don´t come too close) and when I turn around and chase them on the bike, they run.. cowards!!! ;)
was probably also because I got a bit tense after riding for hours. Always helps to make a little stop, drink something and take a deep breath ;)
was getting dark though when I arrived in Cuenca and was glad to find quickly (after driving through half the town :P a nice play to crash for a night (breakfast included and great parking! :)
..eat probably a lot of dust during this ride, but got fantastic views and nice temperatures! :) ..that´s not always the case here in the mountains, but I think for future rides I get the thermo layers inside my gear :)
so from Cuenca, just passing Loja, short stop in and out and going to Vilcabamba, a small town in the mountains with great hiking opportunities! :)
this is also what I did three days in a row.. different hiking routes, where the hosteria-place where I stayed offered nice hiking maps with good descriptions on marked trails! outstanding!! :) I had four to six hours self guided hikes with lots of water and a bottle (box) of wine and it was really fun! :D (my so called wine-walks ;) ..my mother had a saying sticked to the fridge: "Wasser macht Weise und froehlich der Wein, darum trinke sie beide um Beides zu sein!" :D ..haha.. how true! :) the first of my hikes was the most thrilling one.. quite a long part along a ridge with steep slopes on both sides! :) but seems that after many experiences like that, I handle it quite easier than I did in the beginning ;) hehe ;)
..once more: it´s all mental!
a wonderful experience, to go back to the nature and connect for a few moments. Was daydreaming a lot (seems to be part of my vivid fantasy ;) hihi ;) was thinking about life and the universe and all kind of stuff.. just letting my mind flow, making breaks to enjoy the moment and the view and doing some excercices with my fancy kung-fu-weaponry out in nowhere along the way! :) ..ahh.. what a life!! :D
met quite some German speaking people (must go with the fact, that the owners of the place are Germans), but was a really nice place to stay, was in a dorm (supportable) for 10USD with breakfast and had all in all great times!! :D didn´t really go out at night, but very active days, a massage inbetween (to recover my back and legs) and got my plans ready for Peru :)
oh.. and break pads seem to be more expensive than expected (as almost always with BMW parts ;) hehe ;) but keep negotiating with the guys in Lima.. they ordered it for me and it´s gonna be up to 100 USD more expensive than in Colombia :P but it´s definitively not the part you want to save ;) and even if I could make it in one day to some place here in Ecuador, the time (and money I spend for a day back and fourth) evens it out.. same with getting a parcel from Colombia or so.. too stressful to get it done and probably still with delays. So I´ll bite "in the sour apple" ;) hehe ;) and get the parts changed in Lima, where hopefully also some paragliding can be done! :)
it´s one of the usual organizing-stuff-tasks that have to be done along the way :) some phone calls, some emails, nice words and things are happening! :) it´s just amazing how we influence our life! :D
..so, it has been done. Just wrote to my friends in Bolivia and let´s see who´s still alive and who I gonna see again after five years :) (I´m looking forward to that!! :D
oky.. hear from me out of Peru :)
after that visited the zoo on the way back.. didn´t take any pictures.. feel sorry for the animals, but then I think, what do we know? and too many aspects on both sides in Pro and Contra.. so I´ve seen some Condors and big cats and was thinking about Zoos and how they impact on both sides..
getting out, I was shocked when I didn´t find my helmet and gloves (another bike that was parked next to mine was gone) and got sad for two minutes (beeing betrayed in my faith into people), before I figured out that the lady took it that owns the parking.. didn´t realize that I have to pay a dollar for the parking, but was happy to have my stuff back ;) ..jaja.. should never worry too early ;) hehe ;)
this is my last entry in Ecuador, tomorrow early morning I cross the boarder to Peru. They said my, it´s kinda similar, so I´ll see ;) hehe ;) but got already spots along the way to stop on my map (finally I hit the area of one of my maps that I brought from home ;) hehe ;)
so the jungle thingy was not too stunning.. made it close to Tela and just spent a night in a hotel, being pretty much the only guest there. Nice were the little monkeys on the beach, hanging out on branches and bothering each other ;)
Some people go on jungle tours, but they are pretty expensive (has to be group) and then I didn´t feel in the mood.. almost did a auto guided hike in a botanical garden, but left it out, instead drove a long day to Cuenca. Felt as moving on south and felt good to hit the road! :) ..just took me very long to get over a mountain with lots of unpaved road and road construction! got lately some drops of rain while driving, but then I always outrun then, just small grey clouds, dripping locally.. nothing that would make me stop ;) hehe ;)
dogs can be pretty annoying.. not that they would bite, it´s just unnecessary that they run after you and bark, because when I stop they stop too (don´t come too close) and when I turn around and chase them on the bike, they run.. cowards!!! ;)
was probably also because I got a bit tense after riding for hours. Always helps to make a little stop, drink something and take a deep breath ;)
was getting dark though when I arrived in Cuenca and was glad to find quickly (after driving through half the town :P a nice play to crash for a night (breakfast included and great parking! :)
..eat probably a lot of dust during this ride, but got fantastic views and nice temperatures! :) ..that´s not always the case here in the mountains, but I think for future rides I get the thermo layers inside my gear :)
so from Cuenca, just passing Loja, short stop in and out and going to Vilcabamba, a small town in the mountains with great hiking opportunities! :)
this is also what I did three days in a row.. different hiking routes, where the hosteria-place where I stayed offered nice hiking maps with good descriptions on marked trails! outstanding!! :) I had four to six hours self guided hikes with lots of water and a bottle (box) of wine and it was really fun! :D (my so called wine-walks ;) ..my mother had a saying sticked to the fridge: "Wasser macht Weise und froehlich der Wein, darum trinke sie beide um Beides zu sein!" :D ..haha.. how true! :) the first of my hikes was the most thrilling one.. quite a long part along a ridge with steep slopes on both sides! :) but seems that after many experiences like that, I handle it quite easier than I did in the beginning ;) hehe ;)
..once more: it´s all mental!
a wonderful experience, to go back to the nature and connect for a few moments. Was daydreaming a lot (seems to be part of my vivid fantasy ;) hihi ;) was thinking about life and the universe and all kind of stuff.. just letting my mind flow, making breaks to enjoy the moment and the view and doing some excercices with my fancy kung-fu-weaponry out in nowhere along the way! :) ..ahh.. what a life!! :D
met quite some German speaking people (must go with the fact, that the owners of the place are Germans), but was a really nice place to stay, was in a dorm (supportable) for 10USD with breakfast and had all in all great times!! :D didn´t really go out at night, but very active days, a massage inbetween (to recover my back and legs) and got my plans ready for Peru :)
oh.. and break pads seem to be more expensive than expected (as almost always with BMW parts ;) hehe ;) but keep negotiating with the guys in Lima.. they ordered it for me and it´s gonna be up to 100 USD more expensive than in Colombia :P but it´s definitively not the part you want to save ;) and even if I could make it in one day to some place here in Ecuador, the time (and money I spend for a day back and fourth) evens it out.. same with getting a parcel from Colombia or so.. too stressful to get it done and probably still with delays. So I´ll bite "in the sour apple" ;) hehe ;) and get the parts changed in Lima, where hopefully also some paragliding can be done! :)
it´s one of the usual organizing-stuff-tasks that have to be done along the way :) some phone calls, some emails, nice words and things are happening! :) it´s just amazing how we influence our life! :D
..so, it has been done. Just wrote to my friends in Bolivia and let´s see who´s still alive and who I gonna see again after five years :) (I´m looking forward to that!! :D
oky.. hear from me out of Peru :)
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Beach - Mountains - Jungle
so yes.. leaving the mountains again and heading to a jungle lodge to spend a night or two in the very green ;)
yesterday I had a real low-energy-phase of not knowing what to do and how long this trip will be.. for once I missed out paragliding in Crucita and appaerently skydiving in Salinas and why not going to Galapagos to get some real good dives?
many thoughts in my head and thinking about making the trip bigger.. but then it would mean to return in the cold months of Switzerland and this definitively would SUCK! :P
so then this morning I got it all pretty straight, when I got the update (thanks Mom! :) of my finances and after swallowing empty, it became quiet clear that Galapagos is not an option at the moment. Would calculate to spend about 2000 USD in 10 days and for having been big spender over some time, this would cut too much into my budget :(
I actually am (with all my expensive projects ;) just in what I planned to spend over time.. (probably because I knew I got that much ;) hehe ;) so 100USD/day for 450 traveling days and another 260 days remain (9 Month.. 9 + 15 = 24 = 2 years). A good time for being away. Should not be longer (not until spring 2012 ;) hehe ;)
so it´s still half a year more than if I would have done it directly after South East Asia. and there are moments, where I´m daydreaming about things I want to do in Switzerland, coming up with new LARP projects ;) and thinking back to things I did, people I know, places.. so I think two years is very OK ;)
it´s probably just the first time that I realized that more than half of my trip is over (3 month delayed ;) ..but no reason to panik, there are still 9 month to be filled with incredible adventures ;) hehe ;) And then I don´t even know, if I can get a job next Summer.. but should apply for 1.8.2011 (starting with the national holiday ;) and being back in July to get things settled.
but well.. it´s a warm and sunny day and I´m riding off to new adventures, after having decided to let go of some additional projects in Ecuador :) ..could easily spend a month+ here in Ecuador :) beautiful!! :D
I was the last four days in Baños, having a hot bath every night in the public hot springs (very relaxing! ;) and doing pretty much everything you can do in that place :D haha ;) ..arrived in the afternoon and got some ideas and as always, made a plan for the next days ;) hehe ;)
starting with jumping off a bridge in a pendulum swing (movie will be in FB soon ;)
it´s 100m deep and you fall 40m (about one second ;) and the rope is 60m.. very smooth, great experience of standing on the edge and jumping down! :D
then going horseback riding on my own for 1 1/2 hour :) ..I talked directly to the lady with the horses and she would not let me go on my own. So I paid the 7USD/hour for having horse and guide on horse to do a 2 hour trip.. but the horses were not ready, then with other group that wanted to go 3 hours other direction and with people that never were on horses (FREAKS ME OUT!!) and this after I very, very well explained myself to the lady.. so said them I won´t be on this one. ..then the guy from the agency brought me to another place where a lot of horses were ready and within 3 minutes I was riding on my own on a pretty nice horse up the mountain :)
there was just one moment where I had to get down and lead the horse (maybe scared by the dog, but didn´t show it), because it just stopped and was not to animate again ;P but the ride was awesome.. run on the way back where it was flat and got a cool movie of it (uploaded soon in FB, but here the upload is suuuuuper slow 0.01kB/sec or so :P
and went for a two hour hike to both lookout points and down to town again :) ..doing some active stuff as well ;) hehe :)
hot bath in the evening and going out for a moment.. didn´t really go out in that place. It´s nice to know people to go out together, but meeting people going out was a bit exhausting..
the next day I made a ride on my bike on the other side of the mountain (dirt road, but nice scenery :) and captured some movies.. will soon make a helmet-cam upgrade, so I can take a short movie of stunning places while riding! :D ..so this movies also soon in FB :)
tried over four days to go paragliding (would have been SOOOOO nice!!) but didn´t happen :`( ..mostly because the weather was not good enough. Too bad, I would have LOVED it!!
went then climbing for a couple of hours (until my arms were hurting too much -> missing experience and technique makes me climbing too much with my arms instead of legs.. so I made barely a 5A (highest I´ve ever done), so could say I suck climbing, because for every climber this would be piece of cake ;) hehe ;) but also a good experience.. 25m climbing up and not freaking out.. just fall two times on a more complicated route that would not let me advance at a certain point ;)
so complete the package I went also canyoning! (what I´ve never done before) and had a lot of fun with my private guide (took him along on my bike ;) with no waiting and doing the more crazy stuff as grappling down face forward! :D Muhahaha!! :D as in the movies and I did not too bad for the first time ;) ..even of this I got a movie I want to show the world! ;) hehe ;)
yes.. like to capture short movies of special stuff.. it´s kinda more fun than taking just pictures. So I want to make a small Action-Man-Series of stuff I´ve done in my life (accompanying the skydive and paraglide movie ;) hehe ;)
next to all these activities, I had some good food, met some people (not too many though) and watched finally some of the DVDs, I bought earlier (there was no DVD-player available before..). So I´ve seen Tekken movie that surprised me for being more than expected, the Mercenaries, a masterpiece of Stallone (how can this be?! ;) but really liked it! as many stars as Ocean 11, but more action! hahaha! ;)
the Machete from Roberto Rodriguez (super style, cult, must see! :D and some other less mentionable titles ;P ..had some rain during these days, so was a perfect solution to spend these hours inside :)
now I´m already left the mountains and I´m in the flat jungle region, going to Tena and finding a suitable place to spend a day or two :)
oh.. almost forgot.. met a great dude, that gave me a lot of information about paragliding!! :) too bad we didn´t fly in these days, but still he helped me out with many things, up to a friend who was bike mechanic who helped my to fix my loose chain problem (missed a day flying because having technical problems on the way up :P so we changed after 35 000km the sprockets and chain (is the 3rd chain already) and the old parts were really worn off! was good to change it, even if it took 2 hours and taking the rear part of the bike apart because the chain had no lock :P but now running fine, no more noise as the old chain and sprockets made :)
so believe me.. the last days were full-on! :) just missed out on a massage.. would have been around 20USD for an hour and I just hoped to meet a nice girl for a backrub session, what never happened ;)
hear from me.. heading down South, not speeding up, but not troddling and delaying for once ;) hehe ;)
yesterday I had a real low-energy-phase of not knowing what to do and how long this trip will be.. for once I missed out paragliding in Crucita and appaerently skydiving in Salinas and why not going to Galapagos to get some real good dives?
many thoughts in my head and thinking about making the trip bigger.. but then it would mean to return in the cold months of Switzerland and this definitively would SUCK! :P
so then this morning I got it all pretty straight, when I got the update (thanks Mom! :) of my finances and after swallowing empty, it became quiet clear that Galapagos is not an option at the moment. Would calculate to spend about 2000 USD in 10 days and for having been big spender over some time, this would cut too much into my budget :(
I actually am (with all my expensive projects ;) just in what I planned to spend over time.. (probably because I knew I got that much ;) hehe ;) so 100USD/day for 450 traveling days and another 260 days remain (9 Month.. 9 + 15 = 24 = 2 years). A good time for being away. Should not be longer (not until spring 2012 ;) hehe ;)
so it´s still half a year more than if I would have done it directly after South East Asia. and there are moments, where I´m daydreaming about things I want to do in Switzerland, coming up with new LARP projects ;) and thinking back to things I did, people I know, places.. so I think two years is very OK ;)
it´s probably just the first time that I realized that more than half of my trip is over (3 month delayed ;) ..but no reason to panik, there are still 9 month to be filled with incredible adventures ;) hehe ;) And then I don´t even know, if I can get a job next Summer.. but should apply for 1.8.2011 (starting with the national holiday ;) and being back in July to get things settled.
but well.. it´s a warm and sunny day and I´m riding off to new adventures, after having decided to let go of some additional projects in Ecuador :) ..could easily spend a month+ here in Ecuador :) beautiful!! :D
I was the last four days in Baños, having a hot bath every night in the public hot springs (very relaxing! ;) and doing pretty much everything you can do in that place :D haha ;) ..arrived in the afternoon and got some ideas and as always, made a plan for the next days ;) hehe ;)
starting with jumping off a bridge in a pendulum swing (movie will be in FB soon ;)
it´s 100m deep and you fall 40m (about one second ;) and the rope is 60m.. very smooth, great experience of standing on the edge and jumping down! :D
then going horseback riding on my own for 1 1/2 hour :) ..I talked directly to the lady with the horses and she would not let me go on my own. So I paid the 7USD/hour for having horse and guide on horse to do a 2 hour trip.. but the horses were not ready, then with other group that wanted to go 3 hours other direction and with people that never were on horses (FREAKS ME OUT!!) and this after I very, very well explained myself to the lady.. so said them I won´t be on this one. ..then the guy from the agency brought me to another place where a lot of horses were ready and within 3 minutes I was riding on my own on a pretty nice horse up the mountain :)
there was just one moment where I had to get down and lead the horse (maybe scared by the dog, but didn´t show it), because it just stopped and was not to animate again ;P but the ride was awesome.. run on the way back where it was flat and got a cool movie of it (uploaded soon in FB, but here the upload is suuuuuper slow 0.01kB/sec or so :P
and went for a two hour hike to both lookout points and down to town again :) ..doing some active stuff as well ;) hehe :)
hot bath in the evening and going out for a moment.. didn´t really go out in that place. It´s nice to know people to go out together, but meeting people going out was a bit exhausting..
the next day I made a ride on my bike on the other side of the mountain (dirt road, but nice scenery :) and captured some movies.. will soon make a helmet-cam upgrade, so I can take a short movie of stunning places while riding! :D ..so this movies also soon in FB :)
tried over four days to go paragliding (would have been SOOOOO nice!!) but didn´t happen :`( ..mostly because the weather was not good enough. Too bad, I would have LOVED it!!
went then climbing for a couple of hours (until my arms were hurting too much -> missing experience and technique makes me climbing too much with my arms instead of legs.. so I made barely a 5A (highest I´ve ever done), so could say I suck climbing, because for every climber this would be piece of cake ;) hehe ;) but also a good experience.. 25m climbing up and not freaking out.. just fall two times on a more complicated route that would not let me advance at a certain point ;)
so complete the package I went also canyoning! (what I´ve never done before) and had a lot of fun with my private guide (took him along on my bike ;) with no waiting and doing the more crazy stuff as grappling down face forward! :D Muhahaha!! :D as in the movies and I did not too bad for the first time ;) ..even of this I got a movie I want to show the world! ;) hehe ;)
yes.. like to capture short movies of special stuff.. it´s kinda more fun than taking just pictures. So I want to make a small Action-Man-Series of stuff I´ve done in my life (accompanying the skydive and paraglide movie ;) hehe ;)
next to all these activities, I had some good food, met some people (not too many though) and watched finally some of the DVDs, I bought earlier (there was no DVD-player available before..). So I´ve seen Tekken movie that surprised me for being more than expected, the Mercenaries, a masterpiece of Stallone (how can this be?! ;) but really liked it! as many stars as Ocean 11, but more action! hahaha! ;)
the Machete from Roberto Rodriguez (super style, cult, must see! :D and some other less mentionable titles ;P ..had some rain during these days, so was a perfect solution to spend these hours inside :)
now I´m already left the mountains and I´m in the flat jungle region, going to Tena and finding a suitable place to spend a day or two :)
oh.. almost forgot.. met a great dude, that gave me a lot of information about paragliding!! :) too bad we didn´t fly in these days, but still he helped me out with many things, up to a friend who was bike mechanic who helped my to fix my loose chain problem (missed a day flying because having technical problems on the way up :P so we changed after 35 000km the sprockets and chain (is the 3rd chain already) and the old parts were really worn off! was good to change it, even if it took 2 hours and taking the rear part of the bike apart because the chain had no lock :P but now running fine, no more noise as the old chain and sprockets made :)
so believe me.. the last days were full-on! :) just missed out on a massage.. would have been around 20USD for an hour and I just hoped to meet a nice girl for a backrub session, what never happened ;)
hear from me.. heading down South, not speeding up, but not troddling and delaying for once ;) hehe ;)
Friday, October 8, 2010
..thin air..
..so yesterday I made it to the Chimborazo..
was not really raining when I drove to Guayaquil, but small particles of water in the air hurted my eyes, so for once I drove with my viser closed. Not too spectacular of a ride (but also not very long). still flat and then with covered sky.. glad I could listen to some music ;)
when I arrived in town, I decided to change oil and filter (just about time) and stopped at a service place of some car brand and the guys were INCREDIBLY helpful! :) while I had a burger, someone washed my bike shiningly clean and then I changed the oil and got the air pressure checked and adjusted the chain (it´s pretty strange that it loosens up so much..). Gave some tip for the help and looked for a cheap place in town to stay for a night. Tried some tasty aguardiente with flavor, but then passed out and missed dinner :P but a nice and calm night in town.. didn´t really feel as journeying out for wild adventures..
after a good sleep, started early direction Chimborazo.. people told me everything between 3 and 7 hours.. made it it about 4 hours with lunchbreak :)
beautiful ride!! first covered sky, but then opening up in the mountains.. gaining a lot of altitude and having a relaxing and fun ride into the "Sierra". Good cheap food along the way and many breath taking views.. a safe ride to Riobamba, where I got money and asked for some info about hiking the mountain and then a few km back to the turnoff to the volcano. For being at 5000 m.a.s.l. it´s not really cold (nice for reading wearing a sweater below the jacket :)
so I made it to the basecamp, saw some Lamas along the way and lucky me, didn´t have to pay the 10 USD entry fee, because kinda just went to "check it out" ;) so drove to basecamp 1 at 4800m and walked then to basecamp 2 at 5000m.. super streneous! :P had to catch breath a few times, for the air being really thin and me not used to it :P ..touched some snow tough! :) and figured out, that I won´t climb that mountain.. for one.. it´s climbing and not hiking. The guide charges 150USD (expensive, isn´t it?) and need to rent a lot of equipment, would have to stay 1-2 days to get used to the hight and don´t even have thermo-pants or a sleeping bag. So it would be a lot of circumstances and quite expensive. But then walking down to my bike, I met some guys that climbed it over night.. you start at 11pm and arrive at 7pm in the morning. Ice axes and good shoes with spikes and harness and rope.. a bit too much for me (at least the guys climbed some mountains before and planned it a bit longer, so I don´t feel so bad, not doing this one ;) hehe ;) it would be for sure hell of an experience and VERY, VERY mental (ice climbing). So the 1300m from basecamp 2 to the top are about 8 hours of getting there :P ..I will try to make some nice hiking (with clearly marked paths) in Vilcabamba and Peru and will figure out where to make a nice trekking or a good climbing (matching my level).
but beautiful landscape up here! (and wasteland ;) ..got finally my pics online.. still from Colombia up to now :)
yesterday ordered yummi food to my room in this very nice 20 USD hotel in Riobamba :D suffered a little headache yesterday night.. might be because of dehydration (didn´t drink too much) and for sure because of the hight. Feeling muuuuch better today and after this post heading on to Baño and the hot springs :)
posted my bike on horizonsulimited.com and let´s see if someone wants to buy it off, when I get there ;)
the roads are not stunningly nice, but mostly in good shape, even tough with a lot of road construction.. but not a lot of traffic, what makes it pretty sweet for riding! :D
was not really raining when I drove to Guayaquil, but small particles of water in the air hurted my eyes, so for once I drove with my viser closed. Not too spectacular of a ride (but also not very long). still flat and then with covered sky.. glad I could listen to some music ;)
when I arrived in town, I decided to change oil and filter (just about time) and stopped at a service place of some car brand and the guys were INCREDIBLY helpful! :) while I had a burger, someone washed my bike shiningly clean and then I changed the oil and got the air pressure checked and adjusted the chain (it´s pretty strange that it loosens up so much..). Gave some tip for the help and looked for a cheap place in town to stay for a night. Tried some tasty aguardiente with flavor, but then passed out and missed dinner :P but a nice and calm night in town.. didn´t really feel as journeying out for wild adventures..
after a good sleep, started early direction Chimborazo.. people told me everything between 3 and 7 hours.. made it it about 4 hours with lunchbreak :)
beautiful ride!! first covered sky, but then opening up in the mountains.. gaining a lot of altitude and having a relaxing and fun ride into the "Sierra". Good cheap food along the way and many breath taking views.. a safe ride to Riobamba, where I got money and asked for some info about hiking the mountain and then a few km back to the turnoff to the volcano. For being at 5000 m.a.s.l. it´s not really cold (nice for reading wearing a sweater below the jacket :)
so I made it to the basecamp, saw some Lamas along the way and lucky me, didn´t have to pay the 10 USD entry fee, because kinda just went to "check it out" ;) so drove to basecamp 1 at 4800m and walked then to basecamp 2 at 5000m.. super streneous! :P had to catch breath a few times, for the air being really thin and me not used to it :P ..touched some snow tough! :) and figured out, that I won´t climb that mountain.. for one.. it´s climbing and not hiking. The guide charges 150USD (expensive, isn´t it?) and need to rent a lot of equipment, would have to stay 1-2 days to get used to the hight and don´t even have thermo-pants or a sleeping bag. So it would be a lot of circumstances and quite expensive. But then walking down to my bike, I met some guys that climbed it over night.. you start at 11pm and arrive at 7pm in the morning. Ice axes and good shoes with spikes and harness and rope.. a bit too much for me (at least the guys climbed some mountains before and planned it a bit longer, so I don´t feel so bad, not doing this one ;) hehe ;) it would be for sure hell of an experience and VERY, VERY mental (ice climbing). So the 1300m from basecamp 2 to the top are about 8 hours of getting there :P ..I will try to make some nice hiking (with clearly marked paths) in Vilcabamba and Peru and will figure out where to make a nice trekking or a good climbing (matching my level).
but beautiful landscape up here! (and wasteland ;) ..got finally my pics online.. still from Colombia up to now :)
yesterday ordered yummi food to my room in this very nice 20 USD hotel in Riobamba :D suffered a little headache yesterday night.. might be because of dehydration (didn´t drink too much) and for sure because of the hight. Feeling muuuuch better today and after this post heading on to Baño and the hot springs :)
posted my bike on horizonsulimited.com and let´s see if someone wants to buy it off, when I get there ;)
the roads are not stunningly nice, but mostly in good shape, even tough with a lot of road construction.. but not a lot of traffic, what makes it pretty sweet for riding! :D
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
..heading on for some nature experience..
hmm.. after 4 days of being in this little party town, I feel already like moving on.. had the experience of such a place in Zipulite, San Pedro and Bocas del Torro, so figured out I rather use my time for doing something else than just partying and as I heard here from travelers about some beautiful spots in Ecuador, I decided to make a move and check out Chimborazo, a volcano with possible hiking options and then going to baño, jungle, waterfalls, hot springs, maybe see some lagoons on the way and then going further south to Vilcabamba, where also lots of mountains and hiking options.. I think that´s exactly what I should do :) had lot´s of party and city lately and don´t feel like doing more tours and extreme sports at the moment. So learning about the scenic nature part of Ecuador seems best :)
was not too bad tough here in the last days.. met quite a few local people and artesanas and had some good party ;) found finally time to practice with my toys on the beach (was good fun and feel that I´m getting better ;) was walking up and down the beach and for a small hike outside of town. Watched the waves crushing on "la punta", end of the beach.. had also two days of recovering after going out (that´s why I figured, a break partying makes sense ;)
played some guitar and didgeridoo.. haven´t done it for a while but it´s still fun. Wish there would be more of a jam than just me.
Then going to Galapagos would be sweet, but will ask my friend when she´s back how it was and how much it was ;) would be a nice touch for this trip, but maybe I just save the money (would not want to afford more than 200USD/day all in all, including flight.. but let´s see. Will have some low-cost-days in the nature and then I´ll know :) ..will miss the good food here!! had some chicken breast in wine sauce with pesto rice and salad and was just super-super-yummi! :D
now heading off for a big breakfast and I hope the sky opens up (should accordingly to forecast :P
hear soon from me! :) and be well!
was not too bad tough here in the last days.. met quite a few local people and artesanas and had some good party ;) found finally time to practice with my toys on the beach (was good fun and feel that I´m getting better ;) was walking up and down the beach and for a small hike outside of town. Watched the waves crushing on "la punta", end of the beach.. had also two days of recovering after going out (that´s why I figured, a break partying makes sense ;)
played some guitar and didgeridoo.. haven´t done it for a while but it´s still fun. Wish there would be more of a jam than just me.
Then going to Galapagos would be sweet, but will ask my friend when she´s back how it was and how much it was ;) would be a nice touch for this trip, but maybe I just save the money (would not want to afford more than 200USD/day all in all, including flight.. but let´s see. Will have some low-cost-days in the nature and then I´ll know :) ..will miss the good food here!! had some chicken breast in wine sauce with pesto rice and salad and was just super-super-yummi! :D
now heading off for a big breakfast and I hope the sky opens up (should accordingly to forecast :P
hear soon from me! :) and be well!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
..a deep breath in Montañita! :D
made quite a distance since my last entry.. somewhere between 700km and 800km in two days, what is a lot compared to my last.. hmm.. many weeks ;)
when I woke up in Quito and saw the news of what happened during the night, I thought could not travel at all.. people emptying shops and a lot of chaos. but then the police appologized and started working again.. everything calms down here, exept for it´s still in the state of emergency, but is not really noted where I drive ;) When I was having and awesome breakfast in a restaurant, I talked to some people about recent events and got the precious information, where to go in this country: Montañita! a place on the beach, two day rides away, where it´s chill and relax and where you don´t want to leave too soon ;) hehe ;)
so I saddled my dragon and took off heading south.. well, took me an hour to get out of town (always the same with capitals :P ;) and then with some sweeeet goa-trance tickeling my ear, over mountains with steep slopes into deep canyons, where I was amazed that people found ways to build roads, serpents winding through the mountains to infinity! yes.. a really nice ride.. quite some construction going on and a lot of dirt (did I mention it.. it´s really bad here :P but all in all a nice ride, thinking about life and figuering out some plans for my future.. they call it the saturn return and I say they are damn right! ;) hehe ;) ..so if you ask me, I´ll be back in 2011 working for two years, doing some great things and safe money to see the other side of the world. being back home, I´ll party on with my elvish friends in the forest and full-moon-parties and will show up with a new LARP char ;) hehe ;) yess! got some Pen´n´Paper friends and FreeForm-People and will not live alone in a house.. some skydiving close to my work and of course the usual stuff that you enjoy.. BBQ, jumping into rivers, seeing friends, enjoying beautiful natre.. :D
then the other side of the world for 1-2 years, hopefully not alone ;) hehe ;)
no rush for family before 35, but then.. hmmm.. ? we gonna see.. would be a 20+ years project and in the end, building a simple, but nice house somewhere in a faraway place in probably South America :D hehe ;) ..yeah.. let´s see.. I´m looking really forward to persuive this road! :D haha! :D
ahh.. where were we.. this ride out of town.. had a tasty piece of meat (lomo) with fried yucca and yummi salad! :) worth it´s high price ;) hehe ;) then in the afternoon out of mountains to some no-view-roads, my Ipod was out of battery and the sky turned clouded :P then into some more scenic (but dirty) parts, onto a 4-lane highway for just a second and into some town.. from there another hour and a half to some beachplace (my goal: pedernales was out of reach). on the way I got stopped by some police (was joking about they kidnapped the president ;) and one of them wanted to buy my bike ;) was hard to explain that even if I would want to, it wouldn´t be legal ;) hehe ;) ..I go mostly with 80km/h what seems quite fast to me ;) if good road up to 100km/h but that´s what the bike is made for.. but if you ask the police, how long it´s gonna take to get there, they will say: "whit this bike.." ..and you think: "hey, do you tell me I can go as fast you think this bike goes?!¿ ;) they all overestimate it in speed, but I´m well better off with a climbing factor and considering my load, it´s doing a great job! :D
so yes.. crushed in this "Mumpicho" beach-place, where the ride to was super-duper-muddy (glad I didn´t fall ;) hehe ;) and found a nice place to play some guitar, have a drink, dinner and watch some TV. They were so kind to give me a 6 people room with huge terrace ;) hehe ;) super quite and chilly and super small, nothing would ever get lost in a place like that! :)
woke up today at 5.30 and started driving at 6.30 ..found at 8.30 finally some breakfast with coffee with milk and juice ;) and fought on the way some nasty sensation in my left eye (couldn´t get rid of it, even washing out.. as it disappeard finally after 30 min of worrying me ;) ..the way south on their "Interstate" E-35 is quite a rough ride for the first part.. road mostly not finished and just one lane for both directions :P and well.. in a few years, it will be nice, I guess ;) but at least my Enduro pays off ;) haha :D
I really enjoy riding with psy-trance.. makes everything even nicer ;) must be some connectedness between senses that gives wings to my being ;) enjoyed the ride today (after getting out of the mud, back on the road ;) ..first through hilly green jungle forest and then through dry wasteland, back to green nature.. :D (sorry, no pics ;( was a fun day! arrived pretty early, have two reservations for nice and cheap places (8 USD with breakfast) and want to stay a week or so.. really LOVE it here! :) so tonight Saturday and going out.. hopefully some electro music somewhere ;) hihi ;)
on the way I got stung in my cheek by something.. :P I think I hit the beast with the soft side of my helmet or it got stock and panicked :P hurted like hell for a moment!! now almost invisible (for my standards ;) ..instead of being allergic to stuff, my body seems to process toxics quite good :D JUHUII! :D haha ;)
and !SHOCK! ..when I filled my tank, I saw a pannier dripping and in a milisecond I knew that the half gallon of water was leaking inside.. hmm.. now drying stuff in my room :P lost 4 packets of precious rolling papers (well, still can use them to roll forward with a new obtained skill of mine ;) but it´s kinda siffy.. so I was cursing when I saw that. But then tonight.. the real damage: my dive logbook.. more than 50 looged dives (half of them with ink and al the ink of the stamps :( well.. hope I can still open it. Doubt I will need as proof for Dive-Instructer (goes to far for me) but might have been nice to check your earlier dives.. same with skydives.. but then on the other hand, I might have never done it anyways.. was just careless of mine to leave that log in the pannier and not safe with my other logs and to not re-seal the plastic bag with the delicate papers.. and then assuming the container would stay closed (didn´t put pressure on it) ..but anyway, I guess, it´s called learning ;)
still a great day! quite some distance and now stay and rest and chill and enjoy, before heading on to Peru.. I found my place here! ;) (know this, after being here for a couple of hours ;)
ehhmm.. I guess that´s all for now.. don´t expect too much in the next days.. probably be busy with other stuff..
and hey! just before getting here, I made an incredible breakthrough with juggling with 2 balls!!! :D haven´t tried for a long time, but just juggled with one ball and somehow I got it really synchronized between my both hands with two different balls and it just felt AWESOME!!! :D haha :) ..sorry, thought I want to let you know ;)
so.. no worries.. I´m totally safe and sound and more than fine! :D ;)
P.S. this has been written in less than 40min ;)
when I woke up in Quito and saw the news of what happened during the night, I thought could not travel at all.. people emptying shops and a lot of chaos. but then the police appologized and started working again.. everything calms down here, exept for it´s still in the state of emergency, but is not really noted where I drive ;) When I was having and awesome breakfast in a restaurant, I talked to some people about recent events and got the precious information, where to go in this country: Montañita! a place on the beach, two day rides away, where it´s chill and relax and where you don´t want to leave too soon ;) hehe ;)
so I saddled my dragon and took off heading south.. well, took me an hour to get out of town (always the same with capitals :P ;) and then with some sweeeet goa-trance tickeling my ear, over mountains with steep slopes into deep canyons, where I was amazed that people found ways to build roads, serpents winding through the mountains to infinity! yes.. a really nice ride.. quite some construction going on and a lot of dirt (did I mention it.. it´s really bad here :P but all in all a nice ride, thinking about life and figuering out some plans for my future.. they call it the saturn return and I say they are damn right! ;) hehe ;) ..so if you ask me, I´ll be back in 2011 working for two years, doing some great things and safe money to see the other side of the world. being back home, I´ll party on with my elvish friends in the forest and full-moon-parties and will show up with a new LARP char ;) hehe ;) yess! got some Pen´n´Paper friends and FreeForm-People and will not live alone in a house.. some skydiving close to my work and of course the usual stuff that you enjoy.. BBQ, jumping into rivers, seeing friends, enjoying beautiful natre.. :D
then the other side of the world for 1-2 years, hopefully not alone ;) hehe ;)
no rush for family before 35, but then.. hmmm.. ? we gonna see.. would be a 20+ years project and in the end, building a simple, but nice house somewhere in a faraway place in probably South America :D hehe ;) ..yeah.. let´s see.. I´m looking really forward to persuive this road! :D haha! :D
ahh.. where were we.. this ride out of town.. had a tasty piece of meat (lomo) with fried yucca and yummi salad! :) worth it´s high price ;) hehe ;) then in the afternoon out of mountains to some no-view-roads, my Ipod was out of battery and the sky turned clouded :P then into some more scenic (but dirty) parts, onto a 4-lane highway for just a second and into some town.. from there another hour and a half to some beachplace (my goal: pedernales was out of reach). on the way I got stopped by some police (was joking about they kidnapped the president ;) and one of them wanted to buy my bike ;) was hard to explain that even if I would want to, it wouldn´t be legal ;) hehe ;) ..I go mostly with 80km/h what seems quite fast to me ;) if good road up to 100km/h but that´s what the bike is made for.. but if you ask the police, how long it´s gonna take to get there, they will say: "whit this bike.." ..and you think: "hey, do you tell me I can go as fast you think this bike goes?!¿ ;) they all overestimate it in speed, but I´m well better off with a climbing factor and considering my load, it´s doing a great job! :D
so yes.. crushed in this "Mumpicho" beach-place, where the ride to was super-duper-muddy (glad I didn´t fall ;) hehe ;) and found a nice place to play some guitar, have a drink, dinner and watch some TV. They were so kind to give me a 6 people room with huge terrace ;) hehe ;) super quite and chilly and super small, nothing would ever get lost in a place like that! :)
woke up today at 5.30 and started driving at 6.30 ..found at 8.30 finally some breakfast with coffee with milk and juice ;) and fought on the way some nasty sensation in my left eye (couldn´t get rid of it, even washing out.. as it disappeard finally after 30 min of worrying me ;) ..the way south on their "Interstate" E-35 is quite a rough ride for the first part.. road mostly not finished and just one lane for both directions :P and well.. in a few years, it will be nice, I guess ;) but at least my Enduro pays off ;) haha :D
I really enjoy riding with psy-trance.. makes everything even nicer ;) must be some connectedness between senses that gives wings to my being ;) enjoyed the ride today (after getting out of the mud, back on the road ;) ..first through hilly green jungle forest and then through dry wasteland, back to green nature.. :D (sorry, no pics ;( was a fun day! arrived pretty early, have two reservations for nice and cheap places (8 USD with breakfast) and want to stay a week or so.. really LOVE it here! :) so tonight Saturday and going out.. hopefully some electro music somewhere ;) hihi ;)
on the way I got stung in my cheek by something.. :P I think I hit the beast with the soft side of my helmet or it got stock and panicked :P hurted like hell for a moment!! now almost invisible (for my standards ;) ..instead of being allergic to stuff, my body seems to process toxics quite good :D JUHUII! :D haha ;)
and !SHOCK! ..when I filled my tank, I saw a pannier dripping and in a milisecond I knew that the half gallon of water was leaking inside.. hmm.. now drying stuff in my room :P lost 4 packets of precious rolling papers (well, still can use them to roll forward with a new obtained skill of mine ;) but it´s kinda siffy.. so I was cursing when I saw that. But then tonight.. the real damage: my dive logbook.. more than 50 looged dives (half of them with ink and al the ink of the stamps :( well.. hope I can still open it. Doubt I will need as proof for Dive-Instructer (goes to far for me) but might have been nice to check your earlier dives.. same with skydives.. but then on the other hand, I might have never done it anyways.. was just careless of mine to leave that log in the pannier and not safe with my other logs and to not re-seal the plastic bag with the delicate papers.. and then assuming the container would stay closed (didn´t put pressure on it) ..but anyway, I guess, it´s called learning ;)
still a great day! quite some distance and now stay and rest and chill and enjoy, before heading on to Peru.. I found my place here! ;) (know this, after being here for a couple of hours ;)
ehhmm.. I guess that´s all for now.. don´t expect too much in the next days.. probably be busy with other stuff..
and hey! just before getting here, I made an incredible breakthrough with juggling with 2 balls!!! :D haven´t tried for a long time, but just juggled with one ball and somehow I got it really synchronized between my both hands with two different balls and it just felt AWESOME!!! :D haha :) ..sorry, thought I want to let you know ;)
so.. no worries.. I´m totally safe and sound and more than fine! :D ;)
P.S. this has been written in less than 40min ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)