phew.. first Skype-Interview to get a job and it actually was going really well! :D
first I wasn´t sure if the Bolivian internet is fast enough to have such an interview and then I struggled with non-working headsets, but one of the ladies organized me a brand new one and everything worked just in time! :)
so I talked to the HR-manager and my future boss and it looks, as I would get that job!!! :D haha!! :D ..the only open point is my salary (I´m still reaching for the stars with having an exorbitant sum in my mind ;) but I think this will not be the NO-GO of the deal.. but let´s see what they propose me ;)
and one little bitter pill is the ammount of time abroad.. it´s about 70% :/ that´s on the upper limit.. means that I probably wont have a long term relationship :´( and also my apartment should be cheap and will not be so important (living in hotels around the world I guess ;) ..but hey, the job description is like AWESOME!! and I want to do something special! so I might just have to handle the fact that I won´t spend too much time in Switzerland.. instead of buying a computer to play games, buying a powerful laptop that keeps me connected to the world while being abroad.
I really studied some papers and knew a lot more about GMD and the business that they asked me.. so I feel, I´m having a good start! :D
so until end of the week, I got the last details and then let´s make that happen!! :D means, I´ll be back in Switzerland before mid of April and praying to the weather-gods: let it be nice back home!! ;D haha ;)
that was point 1 of 2 here in Bolivia.. during the week, I´ll check my bike-selling task and then have to send home some gear and soon leaving the continent (for a little while ;) ..GMDs are installed in South America, Australia, Asia and North America.. all destinations I gladly travel to!!! :D
then to catch up with the last day.. I had one really, incredible, wonderful riding day from Tupiza to Potosi.. just the last 40 minutes got a bit wet and cold.. so I got an "expensive" hotel in Potosi, where I could store my bike (the city is horrible to drive in.. all one-way roads, very narrow and steep). The city is built on a slope of a mountain and wouldn´t it be that cold and would not the whole ambient be dominated by big mining industry, it would be a nice place.. but like this it was not really worth to spend time there.. furthermore the main attraction, going into the mine, is not as spectacular as other trips I made into mines.. another payed tour that I left out!! ;)
so just chilled out and warmed my frozen bones in Potosi and the next day made it to Cochabamba.. 2 hours of super-freezing cold in the morning, then some rain (not too bad) and then hitting the road between Cochabamba and LaPaz.. there was a landslide, so I had to wait for 30 min and then there was another landslide that made me take a dirtroad along the slope of the mountain..
they said, it just happened and there was a X-tons heavy rock in the middle of the road, taller than a man and no space to drive around.. no idea how they solved that. Also thought, if I´d have had a bad timing, then this would have been the end of me and my bike.. but that is why I have so much confidence in life.. feel safely guided by the universe! :)
then the road along was nice, but narrow and there were trucks coming from both sides and it´s just not possible to cross.. so while I just barely made it and went on the asphalted road again, the line of busses and trucks got bigger (they can´t turn around where the landslide was and from both sides big vehicules started to taking the alternative road, what has to lead to a total chaos up there.. because the stretch is about 2km and I want to see a truck driving backwards 1km on this narrow road (and all cars behind). I was SOOOOOO happy to continue my ride and getting closer to my final destination..
so pretty much an appropriate final riding day! ;)
got my apartment back (just for 3 weeks as it looks) and hooked up with Karen again!! :) ..well, yesterday it was a disastreous night where many things have been said that really impacted on both of us.. my point is that I´m leaving very soon to come back home and that´s my 1st priority (and it sucks to say it like that :( makes it sound as I would not really appreciate being with Karen or at least, I´m not willed to make any commitment for it..
BUT.. I was so distracted and concerned while riding back to CBBA, meeting Karen again really grounded me and brought us back to the wonderful time we had before!! that was truely magic!! to feel all these special vibes, all the love and even more sexual desires!! ;) haha ;) ..I guess, you just have to make it with the right girl ;) ..so I really enjoy my last stop here in CBBA and this week, I get the bike-stuff done and want to get my teeth cleaned here (as long it´s so super cheap ;)
then as soon as I arrived, there was a lot of rain again in CBBA.. but as long I can stay in bed with my beloved one, it´s no big deal ;)
on Saturday there was also Eli´s monthly full-moon party and I really enjoyed it!!! was pretty trippy ;) and the moon was big and shiny as it´s only every 20 years (so even more special the event ;)
then a lot of chilling out on Sunday and recovered again until today (yes.. was my big day with the job interview).
Okay.. I guess that´s it from me.. will hear more in a few days.. and they will be the last entries in my travel-journal! :)
I´m happy this is coming to an end.. it has been the biggest and most epic thing I´ve ever done and as everything in life, had it´s timespam :)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
..getting to an end..
..so that´s it.. two more days of riding and then chilling out for a little while in Cochabamba and hopefully having a job waiting back home.. we will see.. :)
so after 1 1/2 year, I met my friend Renzo along the way!! :D that was really cool!!! took forever until he catched me up, but hey.. I got a headstart of almost a year ;)
there were local elections in town and everybody was partying.. gave us a nice background to have some beers ;) ..funny, they get money to vote.. and it´s not even called corruption ;)
we also exchanged bikes for a ride and since then I enjoy my BMW even more ;) the KTM is probably better Off-Road, but makes a lot of noise and vibration and compared to it, I got a real couch under my ass ;) couldn´t be more comfy! and having put a sheep skin on top of it, I could ride forever, would not my back stress me from time to time :( ..got a bit better, but never really healed.. and it´s two weeks ago, I guess since that started.. ahh.. whatever, being a badass traveler and biker, I can live with that little flaw ;)
..with some 97 octane gasoline and probably the height or RPM I´m riding, the consumption of my bike turned out 3lt/100km.. can you believe that!?!? then even at 4000m.a.s.l. it runs fine with it´s fuel injection. Met a guy today on a BMW 1200 and he told me, the 800 GS was also giving some issues (as his 1200) and that the 650 GS would be the perfect bike for the trip.. I actually believe him! :) the 800 is very young, so might still have some issues, but the 650 is well proven.. so I`m more convinced than ever :) has about the same power and speed as the KTM (not surprising, they´re both 650 ;) but was really worth to feel another bike as well!
So I drove out of Mendoza and along the Route 40.. after 54 000km, it was my final exam and I mastered it flawlessly! :D I took rivers as they wouldn´t be there, had lot´s of technical driving, along steep slopes, lot´s of dirtroads.. sandy parts that made me slide from one side to another and I had some close calls (and some super-duper-close-calls ;) but I just got that bike on it´s wheels and I couldn´t even say how I did it.. must be mussle memory! :D ..I feel, I know more than 10 years riding bikes in Switzerland :)
The road is really beautiful.. crossed some people on bikes, and even push-bikes (must be a lot of shaking on these roads ;) even for me it was pretty bumpy, but the bike and I made it! :D even hit a deeper bump and almost threw me off (it actually did in Alaska, in my first weeks ;) but this time, I stayed on it ;)
..then I got rewarded by quite some fauna along the way.. even an armadillo was running across the road in front of me :) hundreds of Llamas (eat one of it with some patatoes.. tasted good, almost as cow ;) --> sorry, had to try how they taste.. I know, they look super cute!
there are also wild donkeys and horses .. dropped down through a sea of clouds (that was pretty freezing ;) and this morning, where it was very clouded where I was.. I just rode up the mountain and got blue sky until Bolivia :) ..here it´s not too bad, but got cloudy and some rain drops. Still.. the rainy season is supposed to be over. I hope for 2 nice days at least to reach shelter in CBBA.
..yes.. can´t complain.. have been blessed by many, many hours of sunshine and nice temperatures (well.. got colder further north, but still.. nothing to what I experienced along this trip ;) hehehe ;)
then I had to clean out one of my boxes, because a bottle of wine broke :( ..was not the 2 USD of the wine, but the work to clean it and .. oh boy.. the home made peach jam I got gifted broke as well :´( this really *sniff* ..I wanted to tell at the boarder about the wine, but they didn´t ask and I forgot.. so I assume, it´s no big deal to bring some wine from Argentina :)
Yesterday was a pretty long day, because after seeing some train-bridge and looking for hotsprings (they were so small, you couldn´t take a bath ;) there was no hostal where I thought to find one and it took me over an hour more to find a place to stay.. and was getting dark and cold :/ and I have to admit, my eyesense sucks at night :P so I was happy to have found a place and eating some Llama and veggie-soup ;) to lower my stress-level.
the place, don´t even know how it´s called, is very, very, very touristy, but I was happy to have a bed (even without sheets ;) but also no bedbugs ;)
tonight I´m the big spender and stay in the biggest hotel in Tupiza.. it´s 20 USD and I gladly pay the price, because you don´t get so much in Argentina.. in fact, I payed more many times having less.
also had great food here and all in all was 2.50 USD and even cheaper than CBBA.. also lot´s of tourists here.. another printed-in-bold-place of the lonely planet. Well.. can´t blame them.. it´s beautiful around here!! just don´t have time or energy to talk a lot to these folks ;)
..hmm.. had quite some riding days lately and made also some pictures.. will upload them in CBBA, once I have more time to do it..
my tyres are completely down, but I´m pretty sure that I´ll make it to CBBA.. would have been way easier and more relaxed driving on the Route 40 with off-road tyres ;) hehe ;) but with improved bike-handling skill, I can still ride it that way..
there is anyway some things that have to be done, so I´ll find a lower price to sell it.. ..that´s also an open point.. have to see, what happens if you sell it and leave the country and for how long you can´t go back.. :/ or let´s see.. there will be a solution (and praying to the gods that my job may come through!! :D
what more.. hmm.. sorry.. that was all crazy random the way I listed the events. Was quite a while for not writing stuff down and keeping it all in my mind ;) but had lot´s of hours of epic riding! I guess that was what the last days were about.. just hit it and enjoy the ride!! :D haha! ;D
..I had a lot of thoughts along this trip.. about me, about life and the universe.. I can say, I came quite to some ideas about it! ;) ..once you realized that there is no objective reality, that it all depends on the observer (you) and that you activly create your reality, then better start to create it in a beneficial way! :D (beneficial for all of us)
okay.. cu all soon! (let´s see what Switzerland holds for me! :D
so after 1 1/2 year, I met my friend Renzo along the way!! :D that was really cool!!! took forever until he catched me up, but hey.. I got a headstart of almost a year ;)
there were local elections in town and everybody was partying.. gave us a nice background to have some beers ;) ..funny, they get money to vote.. and it´s not even called corruption ;)
we also exchanged bikes for a ride and since then I enjoy my BMW even more ;) the KTM is probably better Off-Road, but makes a lot of noise and vibration and compared to it, I got a real couch under my ass ;) couldn´t be more comfy! and having put a sheep skin on top of it, I could ride forever, would not my back stress me from time to time :( ..got a bit better, but never really healed.. and it´s two weeks ago, I guess since that started.. ahh.. whatever, being a badass traveler and biker, I can live with that little flaw ;)
..with some 97 octane gasoline and probably the height or RPM I´m riding, the consumption of my bike turned out 3lt/100km.. can you believe that!?!? then even at 4000m.a.s.l. it runs fine with it´s fuel injection. Met a guy today on a BMW 1200 and he told me, the 800 GS was also giving some issues (as his 1200) and that the 650 GS would be the perfect bike for the trip.. I actually believe him! :) the 800 is very young, so might still have some issues, but the 650 is well proven.. so I`m more convinced than ever :) has about the same power and speed as the KTM (not surprising, they´re both 650 ;) but was really worth to feel another bike as well!
So I drove out of Mendoza and along the Route 40.. after 54 000km, it was my final exam and I mastered it flawlessly! :D I took rivers as they wouldn´t be there, had lot´s of technical driving, along steep slopes, lot´s of dirtroads.. sandy parts that made me slide from one side to another and I had some close calls (and some super-duper-close-calls ;) but I just got that bike on it´s wheels and I couldn´t even say how I did it.. must be mussle memory! :D ..I feel, I know more than 10 years riding bikes in Switzerland :)
The road is really beautiful.. crossed some people on bikes, and even push-bikes (must be a lot of shaking on these roads ;) even for me it was pretty bumpy, but the bike and I made it! :D even hit a deeper bump and almost threw me off (it actually did in Alaska, in my first weeks ;) but this time, I stayed on it ;)
..then I got rewarded by quite some fauna along the way.. even an armadillo was running across the road in front of me :) hundreds of Llamas (eat one of it with some patatoes.. tasted good, almost as cow ;) --> sorry, had to try how they taste.. I know, they look super cute!
there are also wild donkeys and horses .. dropped down through a sea of clouds (that was pretty freezing ;) and this morning, where it was very clouded where I was.. I just rode up the mountain and got blue sky until Bolivia :) ..here it´s not too bad, but got cloudy and some rain drops. Still.. the rainy season is supposed to be over. I hope for 2 nice days at least to reach shelter in CBBA.
..yes.. can´t complain.. have been blessed by many, many hours of sunshine and nice temperatures (well.. got colder further north, but still.. nothing to what I experienced along this trip ;) hehehe ;)
then I had to clean out one of my boxes, because a bottle of wine broke :( ..was not the 2 USD of the wine, but the work to clean it and .. oh boy.. the home made peach jam I got gifted broke as well :´( this really *sniff* ..I wanted to tell at the boarder about the wine, but they didn´t ask and I forgot.. so I assume, it´s no big deal to bring some wine from Argentina :)
Yesterday was a pretty long day, because after seeing some train-bridge and looking for hotsprings (they were so small, you couldn´t take a bath ;) there was no hostal where I thought to find one and it took me over an hour more to find a place to stay.. and was getting dark and cold :/ and I have to admit, my eyesense sucks at night :P so I was happy to have found a place and eating some Llama and veggie-soup ;) to lower my stress-level.
the place, don´t even know how it´s called, is very, very, very touristy, but I was happy to have a bed (even without sheets ;) but also no bedbugs ;)
tonight I´m the big spender and stay in the biggest hotel in Tupiza.. it´s 20 USD and I gladly pay the price, because you don´t get so much in Argentina.. in fact, I payed more many times having less.
also had great food here and all in all was 2.50 USD and even cheaper than CBBA.. also lot´s of tourists here.. another printed-in-bold-place of the lonely planet. Well.. can´t blame them.. it´s beautiful around here!! just don´t have time or energy to talk a lot to these folks ;)
..hmm.. had quite some riding days lately and made also some pictures.. will upload them in CBBA, once I have more time to do it..
my tyres are completely down, but I´m pretty sure that I´ll make it to CBBA.. would have been way easier and more relaxed driving on the Route 40 with off-road tyres ;) hehe ;) but with improved bike-handling skill, I can still ride it that way..
there is anyway some things that have to be done, so I´ll find a lower price to sell it.. ..that´s also an open point.. have to see, what happens if you sell it and leave the country and for how long you can´t go back.. :/ or let´s see.. there will be a solution (and praying to the gods that my job may come through!! :D
what more.. hmm.. sorry.. that was all crazy random the way I listed the events. Was quite a while for not writing stuff down and keeping it all in my mind ;) but had lot´s of hours of epic riding! I guess that was what the last days were about.. just hit it and enjoy the ride!! :D haha! ;D
..I had a lot of thoughts along this trip.. about me, about life and the universe.. I can say, I came quite to some ideas about it! ;) ..once you realized that there is no objective reality, that it all depends on the observer (you) and that you activly create your reality, then better start to create it in a beneficial way! :D (beneficial for all of us)
okay.. cu all soon! (let´s see what Switzerland holds for me! :D
Thursday, March 10, 2011
..Ready to go home..
..it seems the Epilogue of my trip has come :)
so the biggest news is my Jobsearch.. I found an incredible offer at (how could it be different) the ABB and I´m willed to do whatever it takes to get that job!! (well, if it doesn´t include dead bodies ;) ..but when I was looking through job offers in Santiago, I figured out that the ABB has the most jobs that could fit me.. big company, something with rectifiers and internationality. A place where they look after their employees and where you can find a good ambient.. so simly ABB :D
I don´t want to get to crazy about it, before I have it, but I´m really concerned at the moment to make this happen and next week, there will be a Skype-Interview and I hope we can carve it in stone from then on. ..the job I want to get is Teamleader for electrical maintenance of Gearless Mill Drives (GMD).
GMDs are totally the shit!! :D you should google that up.. that are huuuuuge grinders, directly connected to a huuuuuge synchroneous motor and use up to 20 MW .. that´s quite some power that´s used to crush stones and ore. Reading the job description its exactly what I want to do and demands for lots of special skills that I actually can provide, such as handling an international team, conflict management and having Hands-on-mentality with lots of self initiative and flexibility..
so the details of all this will be talked about next week, but so far I informed myself in the internet about it and I´m trying to get a guy from ABB Argentina on the phone to ask for some further explanations about GMDs, so next week I got an idea about how it works ;)
I checked a schematic and I really like the complexity of the plant.. there is even an excitation system, but now it´s just one of several modules. In other words, the technology is interesting and will challenge me for sure :)
so if the how much and when is clarified, I get my ticket back home and you see me probably very soon!! :D
Then I had another fun week-end in Santiago with lots of other crazy experiences I´m glad I made ;) not too much to mention next to swingers and meeting people in the city ;)
played more magic with Cyrill and had great conversations (Swiss German is a wonderful and funny language!! ;D was concerned with finding a job and could finally wash my clothes.
my back still hurts and it´s not really getting better, but I´m also doing fancy Kung-Fu and somehow was irritating more nerves doing that :P well.. if I get to pissed by it, I take some anti-inflamatory medicine, but I´m still trying to avoid that :)
then it took me quite a while to get out of Santiago and while the weather was nice, there was SOOOO much smog in the air.. haven´t seen that very often. The mountains closeby appeared very whitish and just by crossing the boarder to Argentina, it cleared up and the colors of the Andes were shining clearly.. so poor Chileans.. it´s quite hard to live in so much pollution I guess (to mention, haven´t seen Mexico city).
crossing the boarder was easy again.. I´m really getting into that ;) haha ;) but was the second last time with my bike I guess.. from here on just straight to Bolivia and hanging out with Karen for some more time and organizing my trip home. For none of the people answered I wrote in Rio Cuarto y Cordoba, it made it even easier not to bail out to see anybody.. and going to Cordoba would have been 700km flat.. 2 days of being bored on the bike.
So I decided to just follow the Andes up to Bolivia and can do it in 5 days of riding + making some stops along the way. But not interested to do lot´s of stuff here in Argentina..
I´m trying to see my friend Renzo along the way.. he´s kinda close, but decided not to drive to Ushuaya, but going home instead (well, it´s anyway already too cold down there..) got some rain in Bolivia and I hope it might be over when I´m getting there again. once more.. it´s incredibly HOT here in Mendoza.. tomorrow will be better, having the wind in my face :)
then I had a really crazy encounter yesterday.. since that psychopatic woman from Isreal that I met in Canada, I haven´t met another psycho, but there are still some around.. so when I went to pick up my stuff, I asked for the way and the lady freaked out, yelling at me she could not read the map with her eyes, while I was telling her, she doesn´t have to, but I need to see it to know where to go.. then she asked me 30 pesos for having my boxes during 6 days under her stairs. I said.. "you didn´t say anything about that, but what about 20 pesos?" (offering 5 USD instead of 7.5 USD seemed fair to me, especially because I asked her a favor and she agreed). So she was so mean to me that I fired back and said: why are you so bitter? ..and then she really exploded and ended up kicking my metal boxes outside.. well, nothing that could brake anyway, but what behaviour is that?! people outside were asking if they should call the police and I was just.. "never mind". but I got to my limits as well.. so she yells at me, kicks my boxes and then takes my didgeridoo and my fireswords (they are all plastic tubes) and throws it outside past my left side.. and for Jedi Knights presence the future, I grabbed all of them right away out of the air with my left hand and was so suprised by it, that for a second, I was just looking at her, wanting to tell her: "have you seen that!?!?! I just grabbed them all in the air!" but of course wasn´t saying that, because she got even more angry and when she tried to pick up my stuff to damage it, I shouted "STOP IT!!" and sent her inside.. I got REALLY mad for a second.. I hate if this happens, but she had to do quite some work to get me there.. I feel sorry for somebody having such a fucked up life! maybe she couldn´t read or I don´t know what was the matter.. but I guess it took her another few days of her miserable life by getting that angry.. it took me then almost 10 minutes talking to some other nice guys to calm myself down and I was happy for feeling some good vibes after that unexpected interaction picking up my boxes..
then I met two Swiss guys at the gas station with also 650 BMW, but rentals from Chile and riding just one month around Chile and Argentina.. well, a bit late in my opionion and must be crazy expensive getting bikes in Chile. and furthermore there are not many places you want to drive down here.. as I´m trying to get the nice roads, it´s not for riding all over the place.. it´s the Rute 40 and some smaller roads through the mountains, but there are other countries more recommendable for riding (well, then you should spead Spanish ;) ..they didn´t and they were not really enthuiastic hearing about my trip ;) maybe they envied me a little for it..
but then the really good news: had many Km of beautiful road and fun riding while getting here from Santiago.. first the Andes with all their different shapes and colors, topped with blue sky and bearable temperatures (more hot than cold) ..then the guys showed me another way from Uspallata to Mendoza than I took.. a gravelroad that leads over some more mountains.. the guy was: it´s pretty steep and narrow and you have to be careful (what I really did), but turns out it´s a bad-ass trip to Mendoza.. many, many curves and stunning views! I think, I´ve even seen two Condors!! :D ..the guy told me I could see some if I´m lucky and then I´ve seen to birds in the very far and while I ran on top of a hill, they came so close that I didn´t see them any more in the far and when I spotted one, it was passing by much closer, but against the sun.. so no confirmed sighting. then by turning my head further, I noticed that the other one must have flewn almost directly above me, but I just gasped the view from behind.. would have been the first Condors I´ve seen as wildlife! :)
Then there were some kilometers of loose gravel.. almost sandy.. or at least deep enough to sink in and drive in 1st gear, while sliding on the road.. no steep slopes on that part, but tyring in my arms for holding the bike upright. Managed that without dropping it and passed even a few cars that confirmed to me that I´m on the right path ;)
I took some pictures.. hope they turned out good.. was driving down a very steep and curvy road with an incredible view!!! ..honked a lot, a lot.. after I hit that car in Peru, I rather honk 10000 times too much than 1 time to less ;)
made it then to the airport and asked the information desk about a place to stay.. they couldn´t really help me out, put pointed a direction.. for I was just 5 minutes, the dude at the exit left me out without charging me the 1 USD I would have to pay and I really appreciated that!
then I drove into Mendoza.. this time from north and it was way less stressful than the first time. Stopped twice to ask for the way and then finally in some corner, somebody told me about a hostal.. just 1/2 block away, cheap styaying in a dorm, having parking lot for my bike and a super cute dog!! it´s a Scooby-Doo-type and white/grey with black spots.. a blue and a brown eye and the size of a small calf :) have to love it!! :D
they did some checkings about skydive and paragliding here.. but skydiving is expensive (rather wait until being home) and paraglide I got no answer, but I may just leave that out.. would take me 2-3 extra days, would need good conditions and good site instruction, for it´s more technical here.. all in all, I feel like going to Bolivia (and flying there if it´s possible again).
So I had an easy day today.. just relaxing and studying GMDs (it´s a while I read about technical stuff, but still get it and still find it interesting!! :D ..putting it out a 100% into the Universe that I want to get that job! :D
now I´m going to bed.. sweet dreams and gonna hear from me! :)
so the biggest news is my Jobsearch.. I found an incredible offer at (how could it be different) the ABB and I´m willed to do whatever it takes to get that job!! (well, if it doesn´t include dead bodies ;) ..but when I was looking through job offers in Santiago, I figured out that the ABB has the most jobs that could fit me.. big company, something with rectifiers and internationality. A place where they look after their employees and where you can find a good ambient.. so simly ABB :D
I don´t want to get to crazy about it, before I have it, but I´m really concerned at the moment to make this happen and next week, there will be a Skype-Interview and I hope we can carve it in stone from then on. ..the job I want to get is Teamleader for electrical maintenance of Gearless Mill Drives (GMD).
GMDs are totally the shit!! :D you should google that up.. that are huuuuuge grinders, directly connected to a huuuuuge synchroneous motor and use up to 20 MW .. that´s quite some power that´s used to crush stones and ore. Reading the job description its exactly what I want to do and demands for lots of special skills that I actually can provide, such as handling an international team, conflict management and having Hands-on-mentality with lots of self initiative and flexibility..
so the details of all this will be talked about next week, but so far I informed myself in the internet about it and I´m trying to get a guy from ABB Argentina on the phone to ask for some further explanations about GMDs, so next week I got an idea about how it works ;)
I checked a schematic and I really like the complexity of the plant.. there is even an excitation system, but now it´s just one of several modules. In other words, the technology is interesting and will challenge me for sure :)
so if the how much and when is clarified, I get my ticket back home and you see me probably very soon!! :D
Then I had another fun week-end in Santiago with lots of other crazy experiences I´m glad I made ;) not too much to mention next to swingers and meeting people in the city ;)
played more magic with Cyrill and had great conversations (Swiss German is a wonderful and funny language!! ;D was concerned with finding a job and could finally wash my clothes.
my back still hurts and it´s not really getting better, but I´m also doing fancy Kung-Fu and somehow was irritating more nerves doing that :P well.. if I get to pissed by it, I take some anti-inflamatory medicine, but I´m still trying to avoid that :)
then it took me quite a while to get out of Santiago and while the weather was nice, there was SOOOO much smog in the air.. haven´t seen that very often. The mountains closeby appeared very whitish and just by crossing the boarder to Argentina, it cleared up and the colors of the Andes were shining clearly.. so poor Chileans.. it´s quite hard to live in so much pollution I guess (to mention, haven´t seen Mexico city).
crossing the boarder was easy again.. I´m really getting into that ;) haha ;) but was the second last time with my bike I guess.. from here on just straight to Bolivia and hanging out with Karen for some more time and organizing my trip home. For none of the people answered I wrote in Rio Cuarto y Cordoba, it made it even easier not to bail out to see anybody.. and going to Cordoba would have been 700km flat.. 2 days of being bored on the bike.
So I decided to just follow the Andes up to Bolivia and can do it in 5 days of riding + making some stops along the way. But not interested to do lot´s of stuff here in Argentina..
I´m trying to see my friend Renzo along the way.. he´s kinda close, but decided not to drive to Ushuaya, but going home instead (well, it´s anyway already too cold down there..) got some rain in Bolivia and I hope it might be over when I´m getting there again. once more.. it´s incredibly HOT here in Mendoza.. tomorrow will be better, having the wind in my face :)
then I had a really crazy encounter yesterday.. since that psychopatic woman from Isreal that I met in Canada, I haven´t met another psycho, but there are still some around.. so when I went to pick up my stuff, I asked for the way and the lady freaked out, yelling at me she could not read the map with her eyes, while I was telling her, she doesn´t have to, but I need to see it to know where to go.. then she asked me 30 pesos for having my boxes during 6 days under her stairs. I said.. "you didn´t say anything about that, but what about 20 pesos?" (offering 5 USD instead of 7.5 USD seemed fair to me, especially because I asked her a favor and she agreed). So she was so mean to me that I fired back and said: why are you so bitter? ..and then she really exploded and ended up kicking my metal boxes outside.. well, nothing that could brake anyway, but what behaviour is that?! people outside were asking if they should call the police and I was just.. "never mind". but I got to my limits as well.. so she yells at me, kicks my boxes and then takes my didgeridoo and my fireswords (they are all plastic tubes) and throws it outside past my left side.. and for Jedi Knights presence the future, I grabbed all of them right away out of the air with my left hand and was so suprised by it, that for a second, I was just looking at her, wanting to tell her: "have you seen that!?!?! I just grabbed them all in the air!" but of course wasn´t saying that, because she got even more angry and when she tried to pick up my stuff to damage it, I shouted "STOP IT!!" and sent her inside.. I got REALLY mad for a second.. I hate if this happens, but she had to do quite some work to get me there.. I feel sorry for somebody having such a fucked up life! maybe she couldn´t read or I don´t know what was the matter.. but I guess it took her another few days of her miserable life by getting that angry.. it took me then almost 10 minutes talking to some other nice guys to calm myself down and I was happy for feeling some good vibes after that unexpected interaction picking up my boxes..
then I met two Swiss guys at the gas station with also 650 BMW, but rentals from Chile and riding just one month around Chile and Argentina.. well, a bit late in my opionion and must be crazy expensive getting bikes in Chile. and furthermore there are not many places you want to drive down here.. as I´m trying to get the nice roads, it´s not for riding all over the place.. it´s the Rute 40 and some smaller roads through the mountains, but there are other countries more recommendable for riding (well, then you should spead Spanish ;) ..they didn´t and they were not really enthuiastic hearing about my trip ;) maybe they envied me a little for it..
but then the really good news: had many Km of beautiful road and fun riding while getting here from Santiago.. first the Andes with all their different shapes and colors, topped with blue sky and bearable temperatures (more hot than cold) ..then the guys showed me another way from Uspallata to Mendoza than I took.. a gravelroad that leads over some more mountains.. the guy was: it´s pretty steep and narrow and you have to be careful (what I really did), but turns out it´s a bad-ass trip to Mendoza.. many, many curves and stunning views! I think, I´ve even seen two Condors!! :D ..the guy told me I could see some if I´m lucky and then I´ve seen to birds in the very far and while I ran on top of a hill, they came so close that I didn´t see them any more in the far and when I spotted one, it was passing by much closer, but against the sun.. so no confirmed sighting. then by turning my head further, I noticed that the other one must have flewn almost directly above me, but I just gasped the view from behind.. would have been the first Condors I´ve seen as wildlife! :)
Then there were some kilometers of loose gravel.. almost sandy.. or at least deep enough to sink in and drive in 1st gear, while sliding on the road.. no steep slopes on that part, but tyring in my arms for holding the bike upright. Managed that without dropping it and passed even a few cars that confirmed to me that I´m on the right path ;)
I took some pictures.. hope they turned out good.. was driving down a very steep and curvy road with an incredible view!!! ..honked a lot, a lot.. after I hit that car in Peru, I rather honk 10000 times too much than 1 time to less ;)
made it then to the airport and asked the information desk about a place to stay.. they couldn´t really help me out, put pointed a direction.. for I was just 5 minutes, the dude at the exit left me out without charging me the 1 USD I would have to pay and I really appreciated that!
then I drove into Mendoza.. this time from north and it was way less stressful than the first time. Stopped twice to ask for the way and then finally in some corner, somebody told me about a hostal.. just 1/2 block away, cheap styaying in a dorm, having parking lot for my bike and a super cute dog!! it´s a Scooby-Doo-type and white/grey with black spots.. a blue and a brown eye and the size of a small calf :) have to love it!! :D
they did some checkings about skydive and paragliding here.. but skydiving is expensive (rather wait until being home) and paraglide I got no answer, but I may just leave that out.. would take me 2-3 extra days, would need good conditions and good site instruction, for it´s more technical here.. all in all, I feel like going to Bolivia (and flying there if it´s possible again).
So I had an easy day today.. just relaxing and studying GMDs (it´s a while I read about technical stuff, but still get it and still find it interesting!! :D ..putting it out a 100% into the Universe that I want to get that job! :D
now I´m going to bed.. sweet dreams and gonna hear from me! :)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
-=30th Anniversary Special=-
so here we go.. reached 30.. lived already 3 decades (from my point of view a veeeery long time already!) and in this post, I'll write down the things I remembered, just looking 10 years back.. 10 years is a nice number for a timespam and I did quite some things..
I did 100 days of army, studied 3 years (luckily didn't have to repeat one!), then 6 month thesis, while playing an awesome roleplay with a good friend (hundreds of hours!!), then going to South America, finish my duties for my country, learning Spanish and having a whole bunch of incredible experiences!!! :D
coming back, starting working at the ABB, saving money, doing my OpenWater and Advanced diving certification, riding a horse in Argentina and quitting my job to travel in South East Asia.. more countries and experiences and finally buying a bicycle and cycling almost 6000km through S.E.A., where I realalized: I need a motor attached to this two wheels! :D ..so I found a bike in Google, bought it with my Visa card and then had to go back a year, because I missed out that I'm actually not allowed to ride this bike :P ..getting a job in the ABB again within 3 days (of yelling out loudly my needs to the universe! ;) and having the best year ever in Switzerland, living in an alternative dumpsterdiving living community and doing a lot of cool stuff as Life-Roleplay and Psytrance parties! :D (another big smile!)
then picking up my bike finally about 21 month ago and starting this epic, epic, awesome trip down to Argentina! :D ..it has been SOOOOOOOO long!! time moves differently if you're traveling and I had tons of special experiences and changed (as I'd say from myself) quite a lot! :)
so I have been a Tank-Commander, -gunner and -pilot, fired a 20mm cannon, drove a 20 ton vehicle On- and Offroad, watched the stars with nightvision goggles, I learned about chemistry, physics, about the micro and the macrocosm, economy, history, a shit lot of math (so much you could never imagine these things exist.. as third dimension deferencial equations to calculate magnetic fields around a conductor.. crazy shit! ..and I never used it again ;) haha ;) but I'm glad I heard about.. balances out my esotherical part :)
during this time I also learned to play the guitar, play didgeridoo and jaw-harp (not too complicated ;). I became quite a roleplayer (good fun!) and had my first trip on my own in India.. (also changed my life a lot! :)
I drove ATVs and longboards (don't like skateboards and inline skates.. they are too dangerous to me! ;)
..then I had a good time off in Bolivia.. my other home now (not that I would want to live there, but was also wonderful to go back and always had great times! :D
I managed to get an internship in the worlds biggest powerplant (at the time.. now it's no.2 ;) that was a lot of shaking hands and going out to eat with my new pals there! got a ass-kicking letter of reference (wrote it myself ;) and got a good job back home in no-time. ..then during my first job in the ABB, I lived in Bern, was a lot with my friends that decided to not leave the canton, Shakti the Shaman, a LARP Character came to life that I still love to play and I was in love quite some of that time! :D
then a spontaneous trip in South East Asia that made my Alaska-Argentina that great! wouldn't have done it on a motorbike befor having the push-bike experience ;)
the year I came back to make my drivers license has been the best one in Switzerland I've ever had and it would not have been possible to make this trip in the form I was doing it.. in fact, more than 50% of my funds came from that year!! I probably would have had to stop or to life cheap (no fun, because saving that couple of dollars doesn't make any sense in these countries.. rather make use of the price differences and do something real!)
furthermore I restored and improved my position in the ABB and had a great, great job that made me know, what I want to do in life (the next years at least ;) and where I'm good at!
So I have seen Angkor What, Tikal, Palenque, Machu Picchu, the Grand Canyon, Salar Uyuni, Lago Titicaca, the Rockies to the Andies, was at Iguazu-Falls, Niagara-Falls (and lots of other falls ;), caressed the sea, whenever I was passing it, I did some snowboarding, longboard, ATV, small and big motorcycles (one especially lot ;), can drive cars, even tanks. I certificated myself up to Divemaster, where I now everything that includes recreational diving (equipment, physics, physiology) and have more than 100 dives, some with big manta rays or hammerhead sharks, others into sunken ships, have seen thousands of corals and colorful fish, turtles, squids and so many other things, I can't even remember how they're called ;)
Then I learned how to jump out of a plane safely and how to attach yourself to a kite that big, it takes you up in the air.. I'm a paragliding pilot and a novice skydiver (with a good set of skills).
As I do contact juggling for more than then years and started with staff, double stick and meteor, did a year of Thai Chi and a year of Aikido (never liked Karate ;) I got some movement-skills.. too bad my back is kinda fucked up, so I'm in pain while writing these lines and I hope it gets better over the next days (its a bit on and off and did a lot of activities lately.. seems has to rest a bit)
I flew even a looping with a two-winged-plane! that was unforgettable!! :D
..also seen a lot of wildlife.. not just big cockroaches, but also bears, moose, sat next to a big eagle, held a tarantula on my hand (loved it! :), was holding snakes (also love it!! ;), have seen dolphins jumping in front of the boat.. so close, could almost touch them! have seen a whale and it's fin coming out of the water, have swum with a 10m long whaleshark out in the blue! (also unforgettable!!!), have seen the strangest insects and plants on my travels.. have climbed so many mountains and volcanos.. some even active! and put a wooden stick in a lava-stream (probably have to go to Guatemala to do that! ;)
and that are just the things that popped out of my mind, when I was thinking back to the last 10 years.. there are so many more, that are just found in private journeys of mine or unpublished blogs ;) special experiences that are mine and not to share with the world in an unfiltered version, but as special and as deep and changing as they can be.. and beautiful! :D
so I can't complain about my life at all! ;)
so what will the next 5 years be then? ..easy: going back home, getting a great job, save a lot more of money ;) Roleplay, Psytrance Parties and enjoying life in Switzerland, having a train pass that I can use all public transports :)
want to do more skydiving and take some diving holidays in the red sea! :D there are some divespots, going there for 2 weeks is enough.. because you can dive a lot and enjoy the sport intensively where it's best to do it! :)
then hopefully I will share my apartment with my soulmate (the one for the rest of my life ;) and going traveling again together, other side of the world :) let's see how and when and everything.. lies veeeeeeery far in the future! ..but if she would have a bike-license, it could be handy, then we could make the trip with two BMW 800 GS (bought cheap in Switzerland) and drive from home to Australia (final destination of my next trip ;) ..the 800 GS is awesome!! bigger brother of mine and would really want to ride such a bike.. and then.. why not traveling again on 2 wheels.. will figure it out. For this trip, it's end has come and my little baby (dragon ;) did a great job bringing my down here!
..if we survive that trip, probably children ;) HAHAHA :D
so here is what I would call my real-life-character sheet:
as an introduction: in Life-Roleplay, I'm always a good character and playing someone else than me, try to be better than me in real life (roleplaying gives you the perfect oportunity to learn about yourself!). And because of in Life-Role-Play you interact with other players and fight the villans, I prefer to have to other players all my friends.
in a table Roleplay, where you have your character on a sheet and you belong to a party of other players to survive the story of the gamemaster, it's a different story! here my characters lack completely of Intelligence and Charisma to get extra points for Dexterity (aiming, defense) and Strength (melee attack and damage) to make some really bad, but superstrong "heros" that are best fighting and killing. Sorry, but I love this type of guy! ;D the thing is.. even if I'm a really bad guy, I just fight nonplayer characters that the gamemaster invents.. so I'm not really hurting anybody, not even offending the gamemaster, because he sends you orks that you chop off their heads! :D MUHAHA ;))
then I also like the "powergaming", where you make your char as good as the rules allow.. without bending the rules, you can become the most superior at your level, if you contribute skillpoints right and buy the right feats.
so the chars I use to play are very different.. my barbarian doesn't need to read or write or have any other knowledge than about weapon and killing, while in real life it's totally the other way round! :) so I wanted to make my own character sheet, where 1 is poor, 5 avarage and 10 good (note: you can get more than 10 if you're really excellent at something ;)
==> sorry the formatting got messed up and I don't want to put it in order.. have to read it like that :P
Name: Markus Hirsig
Age: 30
Race: Human
Eyes/Hair: blue/dark brown
Height: 1m77
Weight: 70kg
Level: 10 (composed as followed)
3 levels of Scientist (my studies obviously ;)
5 levels of Planeshifter (travel, work, life..changing through awareness)
2 levels of Dragonrider (especially proud of ;)
Strength: 4 not especially strong
Dexterity: 4 would be better without ostechondrosis :P
Constitution: 7 hey, I ran a Marathon! :D
Intelligence: 6 made my bachelor of science
Wisdom: 8 runs pretty smoothly my life :)
Charisma: 7 not that beautiful, but know how to talk ;)
Balance 5 no slacklining ;)
Bluff 3 can be seen playing poker ;)
Climb 5 up to a 5a (not too hard)
Computer Use 7 not really good for an ingeneer ;)
Concentration 7 did some meditation too
Chemistry 6 no chemist..
Electronics 8 better.. :)
Mechanics 6 no mechanic neither ;)
Diplomacy 9 we got better at that ;)
Disguise 7 LifeRolePlay :D
Drive 8 50 000km help
Gamble - I never do that!
Gather Info 7 because of languages
Handle Animal 7 animal-lover! :)
Hide 5 dont use that too often ;)
Intimidate - also not used in my life..
Jump 5 very average
Listen 5 "
Move Silently 5 "
Dance 7 best to Psy-Trance! :)
Pilot 1 hey, it's activated! :)
diving 8 almost as a fish ;)
Read/Write Language 9 5 languages spoken/written! :D
Repair 8 little McGyver ..mostly :P
Research 7 internet rulez! ;)
Ride 7 owned a horse once :)
Search 5 could never find the Lego parts ;)
Sense Motive 6 people don't lie to me very often..
Spot 4 had sharper eyes before 20..
Survival civilization 9 ..I'm still alive after all! ;)
Survivel in nature 3 would probably not make it.. Orientation 7 my inner compass
Swim 7 still, better not fall off a cruiser ;)
Treat Injury 6 I'm EFR.. but that's it.
Juggling 8 contact with 1 and 2 balls :)
Melee Weapons 7 my fancy-kung-fu style ;)
Ranged Weapons 6 fired handguns, riffles, shotguns
Feats: Indominable will (willpower +2), Daredevil,
Weakness: bad back (dex -1),
..if there's something coming to my mind, I absolutely have to add, I will do it ;)
I did 100 days of army, studied 3 years (luckily didn't have to repeat one!), then 6 month thesis, while playing an awesome roleplay with a good friend (hundreds of hours!!), then going to South America, finish my duties for my country, learning Spanish and having a whole bunch of incredible experiences!!! :D
coming back, starting working at the ABB, saving money, doing my OpenWater and Advanced diving certification, riding a horse in Argentina and quitting my job to travel in South East Asia.. more countries and experiences and finally buying a bicycle and cycling almost 6000km through S.E.A., where I realalized: I need a motor attached to this two wheels! :D ..so I found a bike in Google, bought it with my Visa card and then had to go back a year, because I missed out that I'm actually not allowed to ride this bike :P ..getting a job in the ABB again within 3 days (of yelling out loudly my needs to the universe! ;) and having the best year ever in Switzerland, living in an alternative dumpsterdiving living community and doing a lot of cool stuff as Life-Roleplay and Psytrance parties! :D (another big smile!)
then picking up my bike finally about 21 month ago and starting this epic, epic, awesome trip down to Argentina! :D ..it has been SOOOOOOOO long!! time moves differently if you're traveling and I had tons of special experiences and changed (as I'd say from myself) quite a lot! :)
so I have been a Tank-Commander, -gunner and -pilot, fired a 20mm cannon, drove a 20 ton vehicle On- and Offroad, watched the stars with nightvision goggles, I learned about chemistry, physics, about the micro and the macrocosm, economy, history, a shit lot of math (so much you could never imagine these things exist.. as third dimension deferencial equations to calculate magnetic fields around a conductor.. crazy shit! ..and I never used it again ;) haha ;) but I'm glad I heard about.. balances out my esotherical part :)
during this time I also learned to play the guitar, play didgeridoo and jaw-harp (not too complicated ;). I became quite a roleplayer (good fun!) and had my first trip on my own in India.. (also changed my life a lot! :)
I drove ATVs and longboards (don't like skateboards and inline skates.. they are too dangerous to me! ;)
..then I had a good time off in Bolivia.. my other home now (not that I would want to live there, but was also wonderful to go back and always had great times! :D
I managed to get an internship in the worlds biggest powerplant (at the time.. now it's no.2 ;) that was a lot of shaking hands and going out to eat with my new pals there! got a ass-kicking letter of reference (wrote it myself ;) and got a good job back home in no-time. ..then during my first job in the ABB, I lived in Bern, was a lot with my friends that decided to not leave the canton, Shakti the Shaman, a LARP Character came to life that I still love to play and I was in love quite some of that time! :D
then a spontaneous trip in South East Asia that made my Alaska-Argentina that great! wouldn't have done it on a motorbike befor having the push-bike experience ;)
the year I came back to make my drivers license has been the best one in Switzerland I've ever had and it would not have been possible to make this trip in the form I was doing it.. in fact, more than 50% of my funds came from that year!! I probably would have had to stop or to life cheap (no fun, because saving that couple of dollars doesn't make any sense in these countries.. rather make use of the price differences and do something real!)
furthermore I restored and improved my position in the ABB and had a great, great job that made me know, what I want to do in life (the next years at least ;) and where I'm good at!
So I have seen Angkor What, Tikal, Palenque, Machu Picchu, the Grand Canyon, Salar Uyuni, Lago Titicaca, the Rockies to the Andies, was at Iguazu-Falls, Niagara-Falls (and lots of other falls ;), caressed the sea, whenever I was passing it, I did some snowboarding, longboard, ATV, small and big motorcycles (one especially lot ;), can drive cars, even tanks. I certificated myself up to Divemaster, where I now everything that includes recreational diving (equipment, physics, physiology) and have more than 100 dives, some with big manta rays or hammerhead sharks, others into sunken ships, have seen thousands of corals and colorful fish, turtles, squids and so many other things, I can't even remember how they're called ;)
Then I learned how to jump out of a plane safely and how to attach yourself to a kite that big, it takes you up in the air.. I'm a paragliding pilot and a novice skydiver (with a good set of skills).
As I do contact juggling for more than then years and started with staff, double stick and meteor, did a year of Thai Chi and a year of Aikido (never liked Karate ;) I got some movement-skills.. too bad my back is kinda fucked up, so I'm in pain while writing these lines and I hope it gets better over the next days (its a bit on and off and did a lot of activities lately.. seems has to rest a bit)
I flew even a looping with a two-winged-plane! that was unforgettable!! :D
..also seen a lot of wildlife.. not just big cockroaches, but also bears, moose, sat next to a big eagle, held a tarantula on my hand (loved it! :), was holding snakes (also love it!! ;), have seen dolphins jumping in front of the boat.. so close, could almost touch them! have seen a whale and it's fin coming out of the water, have swum with a 10m long whaleshark out in the blue! (also unforgettable!!!), have seen the strangest insects and plants on my travels.. have climbed so many mountains and volcanos.. some even active! and put a wooden stick in a lava-stream (probably have to go to Guatemala to do that! ;)
and that are just the things that popped out of my mind, when I was thinking back to the last 10 years.. there are so many more, that are just found in private journeys of mine or unpublished blogs ;) special experiences that are mine and not to share with the world in an unfiltered version, but as special and as deep and changing as they can be.. and beautiful! :D
so I can't complain about my life at all! ;)
so what will the next 5 years be then? ..easy: going back home, getting a great job, save a lot more of money ;) Roleplay, Psytrance Parties and enjoying life in Switzerland, having a train pass that I can use all public transports :)
want to do more skydiving and take some diving holidays in the red sea! :D there are some divespots, going there for 2 weeks is enough.. because you can dive a lot and enjoy the sport intensively where it's best to do it! :)
then hopefully I will share my apartment with my soulmate (the one for the rest of my life ;) and going traveling again together, other side of the world :) let's see how and when and everything.. lies veeeeeeery far in the future! ..but if she would have a bike-license, it could be handy, then we could make the trip with two BMW 800 GS (bought cheap in Switzerland) and drive from home to Australia (final destination of my next trip ;) ..the 800 GS is awesome!! bigger brother of mine and would really want to ride such a bike.. and then.. why not traveling again on 2 wheels.. will figure it out. For this trip, it's end has come and my little baby (dragon ;) did a great job bringing my down here!
..if we survive that trip, probably children ;) HAHAHA :D
so here is what I would call my real-life-character sheet:
as an introduction: in Life-Roleplay, I'm always a good character and playing someone else than me, try to be better than me in real life (roleplaying gives you the perfect oportunity to learn about yourself!). And because of in Life-Role-Play you interact with other players and fight the villans, I prefer to have to other players all my friends.
in a table Roleplay, where you have your character on a sheet and you belong to a party of other players to survive the story of the gamemaster, it's a different story! here my characters lack completely of Intelligence and Charisma to get extra points for Dexterity (aiming, defense) and Strength (melee attack and damage) to make some really bad, but superstrong "heros" that are best fighting and killing. Sorry, but I love this type of guy! ;D the thing is.. even if I'm a really bad guy, I just fight nonplayer characters that the gamemaster invents.. so I'm not really hurting anybody, not even offending the gamemaster, because he sends you orks that you chop off their heads! :D MUHAHA ;))
then I also like the "powergaming", where you make your char as good as the rules allow.. without bending the rules, you can become the most superior at your level, if you contribute skillpoints right and buy the right feats.
so the chars I use to play are very different.. my barbarian doesn't need to read or write or have any other knowledge than about weapon and killing, while in real life it's totally the other way round! :) so I wanted to make my own character sheet, where 1 is poor, 5 avarage and 10 good (note: you can get more than 10 if you're really excellent at something ;)
==> sorry the formatting got messed up and I don't want to put it in order.. have to read it like that :P
Name: Markus Hirsig
Age: 30
Race: Human
Eyes/Hair: blue/dark brown
Height: 1m77
Weight: 70kg
Level: 10 (composed as followed)
3 levels of Scientist (my studies obviously ;)
5 levels of Planeshifter (travel, work, life..changing through awareness)
2 levels of Dragonrider (especially proud of ;)
Strength: 4 not especially strong
Dexterity: 4 would be better without ostechondrosis :P
Constitution: 7 hey, I ran a Marathon! :D
Intelligence: 6 made my bachelor of science
Wisdom: 8 runs pretty smoothly my life :)
Charisma: 7 not that beautiful, but know how to talk ;)
Balance 5 no slacklining ;)
Bluff 3 can be seen playing poker ;)
Climb 5 up to a 5a (not too hard)
Computer Use 7 not really good for an ingeneer ;)
Concentration 7 did some meditation too
Chemistry 6 no chemist..
Electronics 8 better.. :)
Mechanics 6 no mechanic neither ;)
Diplomacy 9 we got better at that ;)
Disguise 7 LifeRolePlay :D
Drive 8 50 000km help
Gamble - I never do that!
Gather Info 7 because of languages
Handle Animal 7 animal-lover! :)
Hide 5 dont use that too often ;)
Intimidate - also not used in my life..
Jump 5 very average
Listen 5 "
Move Silently 5 "
Dance 7 best to Psy-Trance! :)
Pilot 1 hey, it's activated! :)
diving 8 almost as a fish ;)
Read/Write Language 9 5 languages spoken/written! :D
Repair 8 little McGyver ..mostly :P
Research 7 internet rulez! ;)
Ride 7 owned a horse once :)
Search 5 could never find the Lego parts ;)
Sense Motive 6 people don't lie to me very often..
Spot 4 had sharper eyes before 20..
Survival civilization 9 ..I'm still alive after all! ;)
Survivel in nature 3 would probably not make it.. Orientation 7 my inner compass
Swim 7 still, better not fall off a cruiser ;)
Treat Injury 6 I'm EFR.. but that's it.
Juggling 8 contact with 1 and 2 balls :)
Melee Weapons 7 my fancy-kung-fu style ;)
Ranged Weapons 6 fired handguns, riffles, shotguns
Feats: Indominable will (willpower +2), Daredevil,
Weakness: bad back (dex -1),
..if there's something coming to my mind, I absolutely have to add, I will do it ;)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
..the legendary Ruta 40..
oh my god.. for so long I want to write stuff down and I didn`t find time to do it. finally!
So I rode back to the Andes.. through some not very stunning landscape, but then turning more and more pretty when getting closer to San Martin. I found an acceptable priced place to stay, but had to take a dorm, because the place is really touristy and expensive.. probably more things going on in Wintertime, but met some nice people and we played a cardgame that Karen taught me :) was good fun! :) ..then because Karen wrote me, I realized that my birthday would be on Sunday and not on Monday (sorry, I have no track of the current date or weekday while traveling :P ..so don`t blame me for forgetting birthdays :)
so the plan was riding from San Martin to Copahue, where there are hotsprings.. didn`t feel like "celebrating" my birthday in a special way.. was a great ride (lot`s of dirtroad and lots of shaking, but the bike runs fine!! :D
beautiful scenery and I stopped plenty of times to relax and enjoy! :)
I needed my goggles lately quite some times when 1.lots of mosquitos in the air 2.setting sun directly shining in my face 3.pollums in the air :/ glad to have them (after I lost my sunglasses :P
then I got an expensive room (but didn`t want a dorm on my birthday ;) and eat a piece of meat that was tasty, but not compearable to the first bife-chorizo I had (hasn`t been beaten yet..). There is a medical complex where the only free thing is the hot pool.. so I get registered the night before, but then figured out the next day, that there is a free and in the nature suited pool with mud-bath :D
and I saw a not about hiking a volcano.. so the dude from the Hostel explained me really, really good how to get there and drew a Map of it.. on the way there I checked an abandonned hotel and power-house.. love abandonned things!! :D haha! :) took some pictures.. then riding up half the way, while having twice problems to keep my bike on the wheels going up and down a very steep slope.. but made it after all and saved quite some hiking (having an Enduro is great!!! my favorite type of bike I figured out :)
so I hiked this volcano.. met a guy who was also born on a 27.2. ;) and enjoyed a gorgeous view over surrounding volcanos and mountains! on top you can see down in a crator lake, where sulfur-vapors are araising (if you breath it, you think it has to be toxic, but it`s not really). Also tasted pure volcano-water (dipping my tounge in it) and it`s really acidic.. but people drink it less concentrated. Contains a lot of minerals..
then I ran down the soft slope of the volcano (it`s always fun! :D and went to that nature pool.. lying in hot water and rubbing my body in mud :) ..met also the other guy from the hike again (he told me about the place) and another funny Argentinien guy who asked a lot, but a lot of questions ;) hehe ;) but we had a nice discussion round out there :)
made it then the same day to Chos Malal.. was further than I thought, but also very scenic and nice to ride!!
there are really helpful tourist informacions at smaller places (where there are hotels and restaurants) and within 3 minutes I knew which is the cheapest place that offers what I need and where to find it with a map of the city! :) who needs lonely planet?! :)
this night I wanted also to eat in a Grill-Restaurant, but the one I found was all-you-can-eat and was a bit confusing and while I just wanted and ordered a little bit, I got to pay the whole price (well.. 15 dollars ;). Was a bit unhappy, but they had a good salad bar.. so I was filled up anyway :)
great to watch the Simpsons after a long riding day and drink a beer! ;D
the next day was from Chos Malas to San Rafael.. also longer than I expected, but pretty nice to ride (exept the last part)
on the way I`ve seen a Coyote! (at least I think it was one ;) too big for a fox and not really looking like a dog ;) and a group of very stubborn wild donkeys who were blocking the road :) ..for I didn`t eat during the day and had just two coffees for breakfast, I was starving to death and no bigger place with food about to come.. but then checking closed places, I ended up in a school (very rural) and the teacher said: "I still got something left" :) and it took me 3 minutes to realize that I should take that offer (already drove away to check another place he told me might be open). So I got home-made bread and some tasty plate of meet, cooked with tomatoes and other stuff.. yummi!! :D and he didn`t even charge me for it.. we were just talking about the trip and bikes and riding horses and I was so happy to meet this helpful person!!
then yesterday (damn.. I feel, I`m leaving out a lot, but it`s killing me.. was doing so many things over the last days and need to write that down ;)
so yesterday I ended up in the tourist info of San Rafael and would have found a 22-USD place with all I need (cheapest option in town as alway ;) but then a guy outside was advertising the apartments of his uncle just three blocks donw.. I got it for 25-USD and even had a kitchen (just used it for breakfast as the people invited me coffee and bread and jam :) ..these guys were also awesome!! :) an older couple offering all the help they could give!! ..scared of their grandson from his computer, so I could do my internet stuff (I really felt bad when I realized that) and this morning, the lady gave me a jar of home-made jam on the way!!! :D isn`t that truely awesome!! ..that`s why I always say: the human nature is good!!
to mention, it`s really hot here! :) but riding evens it out.. so it becomes really nice while riding! :) then blue sky and sun all day long! just a few drops today, but they dried on the visor right away (still, have to close the visor if it rains and you drive at 80km/h .. was making some calculation about the impact-forces and seems very small, but hurts actually very much ;)
then the safety-breaker of the kick-stand of the bike got loose, what made turn it off, as soon I put a gear.. for the fault-pattern was very clear, I found in in no-time and fixed it with some wire (should hold for a while ;) never really looked for that part, but now know how it works ;)
the ride today was not really enjoyable.. lot`s of dust and dirt, lot`s of traffic.. didn`t check the map and drove into Mendoza instead of crossing further down.. so not a lot of scenic stuff! the mountains just in the very, very far.. and I could have taken the Rute 40 earlier, but I would have delayed more and bumps and shaking again.. but would have been a bit nicer I guess!
yes.. I really like driving on asphalt! it`s SOOO smooth! and you have more time to watch the surroundings.. because if there`s loose gravel and you hit a little wall of it with 60km/h you might fall (or feel the adrenaline kicking in, while you slide with the bike from one side to the other, balancing it out and back to normal). ..but yes, a lot of beautiful stuff demands driving on such roads, because roads tend to be built where it`s flat and you can build straight.. especially in countries as big as Argentina.
So maybe it`s the fact that I rode already 50 000km, that going to Cordoba kinda frightens me of being bored during many hours of flat Pampa.. I really want beautiful stuff to drive through! :D in the mountains, after every curve you get to see something new and you never know what`s coming next (that`s also why you drive carefully! ;) ..on the highway today, people drive very fast and overtake dangerously.. well.. I still can drive more right if it has to be, but a car should not approuch me on my lane, because taking too long to pass a truck :P
hey.. and then I`ve seen.. no spotted! :) one of this walking-sticks-insects, that look like a small branche.. amongst thousands of grasshoppers (a dead one dragged by lots of small ants to their hive, where it got stock in the entry ;) hehe ;)
tonight I sleep next to Chilean cops.. they rented out the apartment next to me and have a car with black windows in the back that says: Policia de Investigacion (sounds like the CIA to me ;) hehe ;) just make sure they don`t bust me! HAHA ;D
then I`m leaving my two metal panniers here in this little town (I will come back the same way from Chile) and pick them up later.. but not taking them twice along the boarder and having 25kg less luggage attached to the bike will help a lot! :)
still have to go 120km to the boarder, but will start early tomorrow.. having a good piece of meat this night again I guess ;) too bad I don`t have company while eating :( really enjoyed this in Bolivia and in Santiago! totally get`s lost by traveling on your own...
oh.. almost forgot.. the bike is running so much better now! :D probably was the airfilter that dude from the lubricant-shop that borrowed me some tools and cleaned it for me did a great job! :) was probably all sticky and full of dust.. so now I actually reach 160km/h! ;) hehe ;) but that was just a test on a straight and flat road with no traffic at all! ..got pretty scary with 160km/h and all the bags attached ;) even 110km/h is fast to me here.. lot`s of wind in my face.. so driving between 80-100km/h is just fine! makes it a bit more relaxed (even if it takes a bit more time.. )
and I found after 3 years of being out of Argentina, my beloved "vino patero".. artesanal wine, that`s a bit sweeter than normal and you just find it around Mendoza.. so drank some when I was riding in Argentina 3 years ago and now enjoying full this speciality again!! :) (wine is too heavy to send it around the world)
..hmm.. still feel I missed some things out.. but my back is hurting and I need a break from the Internet.. still want to write my 30-year-special-blog.. probably in an hour or so..
hear from me soon! :)
So I rode back to the Andes.. through some not very stunning landscape, but then turning more and more pretty when getting closer to San Martin. I found an acceptable priced place to stay, but had to take a dorm, because the place is really touristy and expensive.. probably more things going on in Wintertime, but met some nice people and we played a cardgame that Karen taught me :) was good fun! :) ..then because Karen wrote me, I realized that my birthday would be on Sunday and not on Monday (sorry, I have no track of the current date or weekday while traveling :P ..so don`t blame me for forgetting birthdays :)
so the plan was riding from San Martin to Copahue, where there are hotsprings.. didn`t feel like "celebrating" my birthday in a special way.. was a great ride (lot`s of dirtroad and lots of shaking, but the bike runs fine!! :D
beautiful scenery and I stopped plenty of times to relax and enjoy! :)
I needed my goggles lately quite some times when 1.lots of mosquitos in the air 2.setting sun directly shining in my face 3.pollums in the air :/ glad to have them (after I lost my sunglasses :P
then I got an expensive room (but didn`t want a dorm on my birthday ;) and eat a piece of meat that was tasty, but not compearable to the first bife-chorizo I had (hasn`t been beaten yet..). There is a medical complex where the only free thing is the hot pool.. so I get registered the night before, but then figured out the next day, that there is a free and in the nature suited pool with mud-bath :D
and I saw a not about hiking a volcano.. so the dude from the Hostel explained me really, really good how to get there and drew a Map of it.. on the way there I checked an abandonned hotel and power-house.. love abandonned things!! :D haha! :) took some pictures.. then riding up half the way, while having twice problems to keep my bike on the wheels going up and down a very steep slope.. but made it after all and saved quite some hiking (having an Enduro is great!!! my favorite type of bike I figured out :)
so I hiked this volcano.. met a guy who was also born on a 27.2. ;) and enjoyed a gorgeous view over surrounding volcanos and mountains! on top you can see down in a crator lake, where sulfur-vapors are araising (if you breath it, you think it has to be toxic, but it`s not really). Also tasted pure volcano-water (dipping my tounge in it) and it`s really acidic.. but people drink it less concentrated. Contains a lot of minerals..
then I ran down the soft slope of the volcano (it`s always fun! :D and went to that nature pool.. lying in hot water and rubbing my body in mud :) ..met also the other guy from the hike again (he told me about the place) and another funny Argentinien guy who asked a lot, but a lot of questions ;) hehe ;) but we had a nice discussion round out there :)
made it then the same day to Chos Malal.. was further than I thought, but also very scenic and nice to ride!!
there are really helpful tourist informacions at smaller places (where there are hotels and restaurants) and within 3 minutes I knew which is the cheapest place that offers what I need and where to find it with a map of the city! :) who needs lonely planet?! :)
this night I wanted also to eat in a Grill-Restaurant, but the one I found was all-you-can-eat and was a bit confusing and while I just wanted and ordered a little bit, I got to pay the whole price (well.. 15 dollars ;). Was a bit unhappy, but they had a good salad bar.. so I was filled up anyway :)
great to watch the Simpsons after a long riding day and drink a beer! ;D
the next day was from Chos Malas to San Rafael.. also longer than I expected, but pretty nice to ride (exept the last part)
on the way I`ve seen a Coyote! (at least I think it was one ;) too big for a fox and not really looking like a dog ;) and a group of very stubborn wild donkeys who were blocking the road :) ..for I didn`t eat during the day and had just two coffees for breakfast, I was starving to death and no bigger place with food about to come.. but then checking closed places, I ended up in a school (very rural) and the teacher said: "I still got something left" :) and it took me 3 minutes to realize that I should take that offer (already drove away to check another place he told me might be open). So I got home-made bread and some tasty plate of meet, cooked with tomatoes and other stuff.. yummi!! :D and he didn`t even charge me for it.. we were just talking about the trip and bikes and riding horses and I was so happy to meet this helpful person!!
then yesterday (damn.. I feel, I`m leaving out a lot, but it`s killing me.. was doing so many things over the last days and need to write that down ;)
so yesterday I ended up in the tourist info of San Rafael and would have found a 22-USD place with all I need (cheapest option in town as alway ;) but then a guy outside was advertising the apartments of his uncle just three blocks donw.. I got it for 25-USD and even had a kitchen (just used it for breakfast as the people invited me coffee and bread and jam :) ..these guys were also awesome!! :) an older couple offering all the help they could give!! ..scared of their grandson from his computer, so I could do my internet stuff (I really felt bad when I realized that) and this morning, the lady gave me a jar of home-made jam on the way!!! :D isn`t that truely awesome!! ..that`s why I always say: the human nature is good!!
to mention, it`s really hot here! :) but riding evens it out.. so it becomes really nice while riding! :) then blue sky and sun all day long! just a few drops today, but they dried on the visor right away (still, have to close the visor if it rains and you drive at 80km/h .. was making some calculation about the impact-forces and seems very small, but hurts actually very much ;)
then the safety-breaker of the kick-stand of the bike got loose, what made turn it off, as soon I put a gear.. for the fault-pattern was very clear, I found in in no-time and fixed it with some wire (should hold for a while ;) never really looked for that part, but now know how it works ;)
the ride today was not really enjoyable.. lot`s of dust and dirt, lot`s of traffic.. didn`t check the map and drove into Mendoza instead of crossing further down.. so not a lot of scenic stuff! the mountains just in the very, very far.. and I could have taken the Rute 40 earlier, but I would have delayed more and bumps and shaking again.. but would have been a bit nicer I guess!
yes.. I really like driving on asphalt! it`s SOOO smooth! and you have more time to watch the surroundings.. because if there`s loose gravel and you hit a little wall of it with 60km/h you might fall (or feel the adrenaline kicking in, while you slide with the bike from one side to the other, balancing it out and back to normal). ..but yes, a lot of beautiful stuff demands driving on such roads, because roads tend to be built where it`s flat and you can build straight.. especially in countries as big as Argentina.
So maybe it`s the fact that I rode already 50 000km, that going to Cordoba kinda frightens me of being bored during many hours of flat Pampa.. I really want beautiful stuff to drive through! :D in the mountains, after every curve you get to see something new and you never know what`s coming next (that`s also why you drive carefully! ;) ..on the highway today, people drive very fast and overtake dangerously.. well.. I still can drive more right if it has to be, but a car should not approuch me on my lane, because taking too long to pass a truck :P
hey.. and then I`ve seen.. no spotted! :) one of this walking-sticks-insects, that look like a small branche.. amongst thousands of grasshoppers (a dead one dragged by lots of small ants to their hive, where it got stock in the entry ;) hehe ;)
tonight I sleep next to Chilean cops.. they rented out the apartment next to me and have a car with black windows in the back that says: Policia de Investigacion (sounds like the CIA to me ;) hehe ;) just make sure they don`t bust me! HAHA ;D
then I`m leaving my two metal panniers here in this little town (I will come back the same way from Chile) and pick them up later.. but not taking them twice along the boarder and having 25kg less luggage attached to the bike will help a lot! :)
still have to go 120km to the boarder, but will start early tomorrow.. having a good piece of meat this night again I guess ;) too bad I don`t have company while eating :( really enjoyed this in Bolivia and in Santiago! totally get`s lost by traveling on your own...
oh.. almost forgot.. the bike is running so much better now! :D probably was the airfilter that dude from the lubricant-shop that borrowed me some tools and cleaned it for me did a great job! :) was probably all sticky and full of dust.. so now I actually reach 160km/h! ;) hehe ;) but that was just a test on a straight and flat road with no traffic at all! ..got pretty scary with 160km/h and all the bags attached ;) even 110km/h is fast to me here.. lot`s of wind in my face.. so driving between 80-100km/h is just fine! makes it a bit more relaxed (even if it takes a bit more time.. )
and I found after 3 years of being out of Argentina, my beloved "vino patero".. artesanal wine, that`s a bit sweeter than normal and you just find it around Mendoza.. so drank some when I was riding in Argentina 3 years ago and now enjoying full this speciality again!! :) (wine is too heavy to send it around the world)
..hmm.. still feel I missed some things out.. but my back is hurting and I need a break from the Internet.. still want to write my 30-year-special-blog.. probably in an hour or so..
hear from me soon! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)