Three weeks of studying at the University of Canterbury are completed, and things have never been as good. It was a big decision to come all the way to Christchurch but I couldn't have done anything better, cause I'm loving every second.
Same thing is to say about the choice of my courses: Antarctic Studies is cool, Geology rocks and Biology is just in my genes... the latter is definitely the core, involving lots of studying as well as two lab-sessions per week, but I have no problem whatsoever to come up with motivation. There are so many fascinating things in every little bit of live, no matter what it is.
Two examples:
1. Because they are the origin of all life, we first studied a good deal of bacteria. They might appear boring, since you never see them and only think about them when you catch a disease, but these guys are totally important and hugely diverse. Today I examined them for the first time under a microscope with a lense that increases sight by a 1000 times. And it was an oddly exciting feeling to see these tiny busy organisms swimming around in the water.
2. Yesterday I was watching the late news on TV One and they showed some pictures of dolphins, playing with air-bubbles they blow themselves, for sheer fun's sake. Especially if I hear about all the bad things happening in this world - the terror-attack on Sri Lankas cricket team in Pakistan, the assault on Tsvangirai and his wife in Zimbabwe or the shooting tragedy in Germany to name just a few happening recently, not to speak about all the repression and tragedy not making it to the news - compared to the lightheartedness of a dolphin enjoying his community and playing with these jewels of air, I seriously doubt whether human beings are so superior to everything as we think we are. Probably there is a good deal more we can learn from animals than just how they manage to survive.
If you've never seen it, have a look at Youtube under air-bubble blowing dolphins.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Christchurch - Love it, mate!
Actually, my first post about my new home should have been a sarcastic look at the disadvantages of living in New Zealand, since everyone has a positive image of NZ anyway. But after four weeks in Christchurch, there is hardly anything bad to write about, so I'll end up listing the highlights so far, and there are quite a few...
1. University
After just one week at Uni you realise what kind of torture Highschool actually was:
- You can choose which courses you want to take, so my timetable is consisting of cool and interesting things with three Biology, three Geology and one Antarctic Studies paper.
- In classes of up to 400 people, no one cares when or whether at all you turn up and whether you pay attention or not.
- No one cares when or where or how you study, and no one punishes you like a five year old for not doing your homework.
- The lecturers are close to the theme and mostly into research, so they bring in lots of fascination and positive energy, rather than the Highschool teachers who are usually either freaks or underchallenged or both.
- Classes start at friendly times like 10am, so you can actually pick up something rather than sleep through the lessons or end as early as 9am, so that you can actually do something with your day.
2. Living on Campus
One thing Christchurch is not fussy about is space - there is enough for everyone everywhere. The Uni Campus is an own suburb with streets for different facilities, restaurants and shops, two huge sportfields, tenniscourts, a big recreation centre and six residence halls, in the most beautiful I'm living in along with 69 other students. It's peaceful and quite, yet just a 15 minutes walk away from the lecture rooms. We have a wonderful Japanese garden as well as a nice common room with pool table, table tennis and Sky TV.
3. My new Road Bike
Christchurch is the perfect city to ride a bike, since most streets have actually room for three cars on each lane. Therefore I bought myself a brand new Genius road bike at the second weekend and am loving it ever since. My favourite ride in the city is along the Avon river, where hardly any cars are driving and you can observe the ducks among rowers and the caracteristic willow trees. For longer rides, I go up the hills south of the city, which lift you up to an altitude of 400m above sea level and offer breathtaking views over the city, the Canterbury plains, Lyttelton harbour and the Banks Peninsula.
4. My new Tennis club
I joined the Burnside Park Tennis Club and it immediately became my second home in the city. With nine courts and hundreds of members, it offers me heaps of competitive hitting partners and I'm playing more or less every other day. After many years of hitting the ball for its own sake, I now can start working a little at my game again and might be competitive soon as well. Moreover, I get a chance to get into kids coaching there, which I regard as a dream job during Uni. And of course, like everywhere in the world, you easily make lots of friends.
5. Cricket
Hardly anyone is into this sport, but everyone who is into it knows, that they're missing out. I was really longing for it during my time back in Europe and still can't get enough, especially since I'm learning new things everytime I watch it. After a rainy tour of the West Indies in New Zealand, the Kiwis nearly crushed the mighty Australians and are now taking on red-hot India. I was at the first match of the series last Wednesday and saw a world record of Sixes in a comfortable win for New Zealand. What's more, I am occasionally playing a little as well.
All in all, life here is greater than the highest expectations, I just love it and am so excited about sticking around for a long time in beautiful Christchurch.
1. University
After just one week at Uni you realise what kind of torture Highschool actually was:
- You can choose which courses you want to take, so my timetable is consisting of cool and interesting things with three Biology, three Geology and one Antarctic Studies paper.
- In classes of up to 400 people, no one cares when or whether at all you turn up and whether you pay attention or not.
- No one cares when or where or how you study, and no one punishes you like a five year old for not doing your homework.
- The lecturers are close to the theme and mostly into research, so they bring in lots of fascination and positive energy, rather than the Highschool teachers who are usually either freaks or underchallenged or both.
- Classes start at friendly times like 10am, so you can actually pick up something rather than sleep through the lessons or end as early as 9am, so that you can actually do something with your day.
2. Living on Campus
One thing Christchurch is not fussy about is space - there is enough for everyone everywhere. The Uni Campus is an own suburb with streets for different facilities, restaurants and shops, two huge sportfields, tenniscourts, a big recreation centre and six residence halls, in the most beautiful I'm living in along with 69 other students. It's peaceful and quite, yet just a 15 minutes walk away from the lecture rooms. We have a wonderful Japanese garden as well as a nice common room with pool table, table tennis and Sky TV.
3. My new Road Bike
Christchurch is the perfect city to ride a bike, since most streets have actually room for three cars on each lane. Therefore I bought myself a brand new Genius road bike at the second weekend and am loving it ever since. My favourite ride in the city is along the Avon river, where hardly any cars are driving and you can observe the ducks among rowers and the caracteristic willow trees. For longer rides, I go up the hills south of the city, which lift you up to an altitude of 400m above sea level and offer breathtaking views over the city, the Canterbury plains, Lyttelton harbour and the Banks Peninsula.
4. My new Tennis club
I joined the Burnside Park Tennis Club and it immediately became my second home in the city. With nine courts and hundreds of members, it offers me heaps of competitive hitting partners and I'm playing more or less every other day. After many years of hitting the ball for its own sake, I now can start working a little at my game again and might be competitive soon as well. Moreover, I get a chance to get into kids coaching there, which I regard as a dream job during Uni. And of course, like everywhere in the world, you easily make lots of friends.
5. Cricket
Hardly anyone is into this sport, but everyone who is into it knows, that they're missing out. I was really longing for it during my time back in Europe and still can't get enough, especially since I'm learning new things everytime I watch it. After a rainy tour of the West Indies in New Zealand, the Kiwis nearly crushed the mighty Australians and are now taking on red-hot India. I was at the first match of the series last Wednesday and saw a world record of Sixes in a comfortable win for New Zealand. What's more, I am occasionally playing a little as well.
All in all, life here is greater than the highest expectations, I just love it and am so excited about sticking around for a long time in beautiful Christchurch.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Melbourne - Surprise, it's hot!
Spending 10 days in Melbourne taught me a few lessons:
1. The Oz summer is hot
When I stepped out of the air-conditioned airport hall at 11am on January 20, having flown in from Auckland, a decent wind blew into my face being so hot that my nose immediately started bleeding. However, the first day was relatively cool with a high of 34 degrees - it was up to 44 when I left! In fact I experienced the first time in a hundred years that Melbourne had three days in a row over 40 degrees. As long as your in the shade - as I was in the 2nd week, reading and listening to music in the botanic gardens or near Albert lake - you have a chance to survive. But if your unlucky to be a tennismaniac and don't want to miss out on any second of Grand Slam action...
2. I love the Australian Open
The tournament has been my favourite sports event for a long time. I was in Melbourne Park on six days, watching around 70 hours of livetennis. The crowd is amazing, the matches are fantastic, the venue is beautiful, the city is great and it's incredibly cheap: I paid just 160 Oz-Dollars for all days and have been several times in the big stadiums, seeing some of the most amazing five-set-battles and players like Federer, Safin, Roddick, Tsonga or Murray.
3. No worries
In Australia, such a thing as a problem doesn't seem to exist. The whole holiday went absolutely smooth. After living with my billet from Auckland and a friend of hers in a flat with the perfect location near the MCG, I was supposed to move into the apartment of a friend for the last three nights. After a misunderstanding, I was left with my luggage but without accommodation at 10pm on the streets of Melbourne, a hopless time to find a bed in the city. I called up the only person I knew and had the number of and asked whether I could spend the night on their sofa, and despite barely knowing her, she gladly welcomed me. Many thanks for that and another example of no need for worries in Australia.
4. There are weird people in every city
As every big city, Melbourne has got some seriously weird people, and I happened to meet two of them within 12 hours. The first meeting was in a tram, where the - beyond doubt - gayest gaylord in the whole gayworld started talking to me. I got off the very next stop!
The second meeting was somehow more pleasant, since it was an extraordinarily hot Indian girl, making me beautiful eyes and starting conversation. She was worringly straightforward - until she found out that I'm not having a flat in city for her to stay overnight. We were talking in a park when I went off to pee, and coming back she was gone, and I was glad that I had decided not to trust her and take my bagpack with me.
1. The Oz summer is hot
When I stepped out of the air-conditioned airport hall at 11am on January 20, having flown in from Auckland, a decent wind blew into my face being so hot that my nose immediately started bleeding. However, the first day was relatively cool with a high of 34 degrees - it was up to 44 when I left! In fact I experienced the first time in a hundred years that Melbourne had three days in a row over 40 degrees. As long as your in the shade - as I was in the 2nd week, reading and listening to music in the botanic gardens or near Albert lake - you have a chance to survive. But if your unlucky to be a tennismaniac and don't want to miss out on any second of Grand Slam action...
2. I love the Australian Open
The tournament has been my favourite sports event for a long time. I was in Melbourne Park on six days, watching around 70 hours of livetennis. The crowd is amazing, the matches are fantastic, the venue is beautiful, the city is great and it's incredibly cheap: I paid just 160 Oz-Dollars for all days and have been several times in the big stadiums, seeing some of the most amazing five-set-battles and players like Federer, Safin, Roddick, Tsonga or Murray.
3. No worries
In Australia, such a thing as a problem doesn't seem to exist. The whole holiday went absolutely smooth. After living with my billet from Auckland and a friend of hers in a flat with the perfect location near the MCG, I was supposed to move into the apartment of a friend for the last three nights. After a misunderstanding, I was left with my luggage but without accommodation at 10pm on the streets of Melbourne, a hopless time to find a bed in the city. I called up the only person I knew and had the number of and asked whether I could spend the night on their sofa, and despite barely knowing her, she gladly welcomed me. Many thanks for that and another example of no need for worries in Australia.
4. There are weird people in every city
As every big city, Melbourne has got some seriously weird people, and I happened to meet two of them within 12 hours. The first meeting was in a tram, where the - beyond doubt - gayest gaylord in the whole gayworld started talking to me. I got off the very next stop!
The second meeting was somehow more pleasant, since it was an extraordinarily hot Indian girl, making me beautiful eyes and starting conversation. She was worringly straightforward - until she found out that I'm not having a flat in city for her to stay overnight. We were talking in a park when I went off to pee, and coming back she was gone, and I was glad that I had decided not to trust her and take my bagpack with me.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Auckland - Working in Paradise
Celebrating the New Year in a plane, believe me, is not worthwhile. I would have expected at least a glass of champagne to drink on a good year, but most people were just sleeping through it or watching a movie.
The flight Down Under is long and straining, no matter how much your used to or excited about flying. I had some decent stuff to read and my new mp3-player with me, a good chat with a Hongkong flight attendant on holidays who was sitting next to me and the 8 hours stopover in a smoggy Hongkong with winter-temperatures of 16 degrees was wonderful. But arriving in the early afternoon on January 2 in Auckland, I had picked up only a couple hours of sleep, after starting my journey in Zurich at noon on New Year's Eve.
Kiwi-summer: 50 degrees warmer
The excitment to see New Zealand after hours of sea and after looking forward to it for so long was overwhelming. I was welcomed by a humid 25 degrees (it was -25 back home) and by Clare Wade, who was so friendly to take care of me and give me a home for my two and a half weeks in Auckland. Very fast I realised why I've been missing this country ever since leaving it. The broad roads, green parks, random people greeting you cheerfully, cricket, the sea and the uncomplicated relaxedness and lightheartedness of everything make it a unique and wonderful place.
After a slightly rainy start, the two tournaments I worked at as a line-umpire we were spoiled with the most beautiful Kiwi-summer-weather and it was working in paradise for me. The team of umpires, as at pretty much every tournament I guess, was very welcoming and blessed with all kind of nice and weird people, so we had good fun together. They gave me a lot of time to work on the serviceline, a new challenge for me, which I consider as another level of umpiring compared to the other lines. I made many mistakes during the ladies event, some on the first day because of the jetlag, some because I still had to learn how to deal with the serviceline and some I just couldn't explain to myself. So I was really eager to improve towards the mens event and did fairly well, conceding just one overrule and making two bad calls during the whole tournament. I was pleased to do more serviceline and to make the final, where Juan Martin del Potro unfortunately crushed Sam Querrey in straight sets.
Next stop: Oz Open
I was working on 14 of the first 15 days in New Zealand, leaving only little time to enjoy the city. I went for runs around the beautiful Orakei Basin near my house, played tennis at Parnell with my billet and different mates, was invited for several dinners and a very interesting bbq, was spoilde by Clare with good food, watched some amazing cricket and, on my only free day, went to Piha and Whites beach on the westcoast for a swim and walk.
It was definitely a good start into my time in New Zealand and I'm looking forward to come back to Auckland someday and meet all the people I've got to know. But now, the Australian Open, my favourite sports event, is about to start and I seize the chance to go to Melbourne for 10-day-holiday, before coming back to NZ - and stay.
The flight Down Under is long and straining, no matter how much your used to or excited about flying. I had some decent stuff to read and my new mp3-player with me, a good chat with a Hongkong flight attendant on holidays who was sitting next to me and the 8 hours stopover in a smoggy Hongkong with winter-temperatures of 16 degrees was wonderful. But arriving in the early afternoon on January 2 in Auckland, I had picked up only a couple hours of sleep, after starting my journey in Zurich at noon on New Year's Eve.
Kiwi-summer: 50 degrees warmer
The excitment to see New Zealand after hours of sea and after looking forward to it for so long was overwhelming. I was welcomed by a humid 25 degrees (it was -25 back home) and by Clare Wade, who was so friendly to take care of me and give me a home for my two and a half weeks in Auckland. Very fast I realised why I've been missing this country ever since leaving it. The broad roads, green parks, random people greeting you cheerfully, cricket, the sea and the uncomplicated relaxedness and lightheartedness of everything make it a unique and wonderful place.
After a slightly rainy start, the two tournaments I worked at as a line-umpire we were spoiled with the most beautiful Kiwi-summer-weather and it was working in paradise for me. The team of umpires, as at pretty much every tournament I guess, was very welcoming and blessed with all kind of nice and weird people, so we had good fun together. They gave me a lot of time to work on the serviceline, a new challenge for me, which I consider as another level of umpiring compared to the other lines. I made many mistakes during the ladies event, some on the first day because of the jetlag, some because I still had to learn how to deal with the serviceline and some I just couldn't explain to myself. So I was really eager to improve towards the mens event and did fairly well, conceding just one overrule and making two bad calls during the whole tournament. I was pleased to do more serviceline and to make the final, where Juan Martin del Potro unfortunately crushed Sam Querrey in straight sets.
Next stop: Oz Open
I was working on 14 of the first 15 days in New Zealand, leaving only little time to enjoy the city. I went for runs around the beautiful Orakei Basin near my house, played tennis at Parnell with my billet and different mates, was invited for several dinners and a very interesting bbq, was spoilde by Clare with good food, watched some amazing cricket and, on my only free day, went to Piha and Whites beach on the westcoast for a swim and walk.
It was definitely a good start into my time in New Zealand and I'm looking forward to come back to Auckland someday and meet all the people I've got to know. But now, the Australian Open, my favourite sports event, is about to start and I seize the chance to go to Melbourne for 10-day-holiday, before coming back to NZ - and stay.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Switzerland - Last week back home
There was one week left to wrap up a fantastic 2008 and I would spend it, as supposed to at christmas time, with my family in Switzerland. One more week before starting the adventure New Zealand, and it was very much like the other brackets I spent at home during the last 8 months.
Since april I was planning lo leave my homecountry permanently, so everytime I went home, which was between 4 and 10 days once a month, I could enjoy it a great deal. Eating typical food, attending events, hiking in the engadin valley, playing tennis with my brother, enjoying Zurich and our fabulous public transport system, just seeing my family and talking to them or this time around skiing, playing icehockey, catching up with old schoolfriends and looking at the breathtaking mountains covered in snow were things I never had enjoyed that much before. The fact that life and every little bit in it is volatile, that we are mortal, that nothing lasts, that's what makes life precious.
Why would I do such a crazy thing and leave Switzerland, a place so well-known for its wealth and beauty all around the world? Maybe because I am crazy. But then, everyone of us has his pecularities, and as long as it doesn't cause any harm to anyone, there is no reason for hiding them. In short, Switzerland didn't feel right anyomre when I came back from Down Under a year ago. The idea of living my life there was unbearable, and it felt like I could do something better with my life. I choose Christchurch and New Zealand because I believe that I'm going to have a great time there. After 15 months of treaveling I need a place to call home, where I can take part at regular activities, be part of a community and build up something. Christchurch is the place that I believe will suit me most.
In the end, saying goodbye to everything in Switzerland was tough, but staying any longer would have been impossible. And, by bording the train to Frankfurt from where I would fly to Auckland at New Year's Eve, the excitment about 2009 and my future in New Zealand was overwhelming.
Since april I was planning lo leave my homecountry permanently, so everytime I went home, which was between 4 and 10 days once a month, I could enjoy it a great deal. Eating typical food, attending events, hiking in the engadin valley, playing tennis with my brother, enjoying Zurich and our fabulous public transport system, just seeing my family and talking to them or this time around skiing, playing icehockey, catching up with old schoolfriends and looking at the breathtaking mountains covered in snow were things I never had enjoyed that much before. The fact that life and every little bit in it is volatile, that we are mortal, that nothing lasts, that's what makes life precious.
Why would I do such a crazy thing and leave Switzerland, a place so well-known for its wealth and beauty all around the world? Maybe because I am crazy. But then, everyone of us has his pecularities, and as long as it doesn't cause any harm to anyone, there is no reason for hiding them. In short, Switzerland didn't feel right anyomre when I came back from Down Under a year ago. The idea of living my life there was unbearable, and it felt like I could do something better with my life. I choose Christchurch and New Zealand because I believe that I'm going to have a great time there. After 15 months of treaveling I need a place to call home, where I can take part at regular activities, be part of a community and build up something. Christchurch is the place that I believe will suit me most.
In the end, saying goodbye to everything in Switzerland was tough, but staying any longer would have been impossible. And, by bording the train to Frankfurt from where I would fly to Auckland at New Year's Eve, the excitment about 2009 and my future in New Zealand was overwhelming.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Ecuador - Welcome to the jungle
With one week left in Ecuador time was due to do something else than hiking. Galapagos is too expensive, the coast something I´ll get enough from in New Zealand, so the choice fell on going to the Amazon jungle for a few days.
After a beautiful 5 hours busride, I arrived on monday at 3pm in Tena, a 10.000 habitants village located at the gate to the Amazonas. The climate was quite a change, beautifully hot and sweaty humid. Two big rivers - Pano and Tena - come together here and build the heart of this adrenalin tourism place.
Parque Amazonico
One thing I´ve noticed very fast was that the girls from Tena seemed to like me a great deal for some reason. I wasn´t in town for half an hour, when I suddenly found myself accompanied by two of them for a visit to the Parque Amazonico, a kind of zoo stretching over about a squarekilometer. The girls were everything but shy and wouldn´t let go of me till I caught a little ride on a rope between two towers.
Finally free, I enjoyed the most peculiar zoo I´ve ever seen. There are some interesting plants and very few animals, of which particularly the Jaguarundi impressed me, locked up in cages. Since the park lies on an island, however, most animals are walking aroung free and are about as shy as the two girls.
So you suddenly hear a noise in the bush and out comes a wild pig on a mission, you look amazed into the snakes cage and a monkey grabs your legs and looks at you hopefully or you have to get away from the track cause a big fat tapir ir filling it all up - welcome to the jungle.
Jungle experience near Serena
The next day I met Fausto at 6.30am to spend a day out in the forest and discover its miracles. He is a native from a tribe near Coca, studied chemistry and biology and has a travel agency in Tena. We went by bus to a small native village called Serena, where he prepared a wholesome breakfast. Then we went for a walk straight into the jungle, where he explained me fascinating things about the whole ecosystem. There weren´t many animals, mainly insects and butterflies as well as a sloth and a snake, but therefore a broad range of beautiful trees and a stunning view over the hilly countryside. After the tastiest spaghettis I´ve ever had in my live, I relaxed at and in the nearby river, visited a museum about the Kichwa (native people), a large family from the town as well as the local school and caught the 6pm bus back to Tena.
Kayaking with more girls
On wednesday I tried myself in a new sport - kayaking. With all the equipment and my private teacher Boylan, a young fella just slightly older than me, we drove up the river Pano to a nice beach where the water is deep and calm. One day is very little time to learn kayaking and I first just tried to get comfortable in it.
It went all well till noon, when about 15 jungle-beauties arrived to swim in the river. Whilst I was trying to focus on learning the escimorole - something very difficult for me because being head upside down in the water isn´t exactely where I feel comfortable - they all gatered around me, asking me all sorts of questions (Where from? Girlfriend? How long in Tena? What doing tonight?) and making remarks (ojos bonitos, muy simpatico).
After being head upside down for at least 30 times and being kayaking for about five hours, I was getting really exhausted, blisters all over my hands, and decided to call it a day. The weather had been most welcoming the whole day, but now a storm was creeping up and we tried to make it back to Tena before it started to rain. This didn´t work, but it did´t matter anymore anyway cause the river had been stronger than me, leading me too close to some low branches and I capesized, just about saving my paddle. Luckily Boylan caught the kayak and we somehow made it back without another accident.
After this tough day out on the river, I just relaxed the rest of the time in Tena, enjoying the good restaurants and bars as well as reading near the river. I was quite happy to make it back to Quito on thursday night, since the mozzies got me really badly. Apparently there are very few in Tena, I hadn´t seen any at all, but I had at least 50 bites in each of my calves.
After a beautiful 5 hours busride, I arrived on monday at 3pm in Tena, a 10.000 habitants village located at the gate to the Amazonas. The climate was quite a change, beautifully hot and sweaty humid. Two big rivers - Pano and Tena - come together here and build the heart of this adrenalin tourism place.
Parque Amazonico
One thing I´ve noticed very fast was that the girls from Tena seemed to like me a great deal for some reason. I wasn´t in town for half an hour, when I suddenly found myself accompanied by two of them for a visit to the Parque Amazonico, a kind of zoo stretching over about a squarekilometer. The girls were everything but shy and wouldn´t let go of me till I caught a little ride on a rope between two towers.
Finally free, I enjoyed the most peculiar zoo I´ve ever seen. There are some interesting plants and very few animals, of which particularly the Jaguarundi impressed me, locked up in cages. Since the park lies on an island, however, most animals are walking aroung free and are about as shy as the two girls.
So you suddenly hear a noise in the bush and out comes a wild pig on a mission, you look amazed into the snakes cage and a monkey grabs your legs and looks at you hopefully or you have to get away from the track cause a big fat tapir ir filling it all up - welcome to the jungle.
Jungle experience near Serena
The next day I met Fausto at 6.30am to spend a day out in the forest and discover its miracles. He is a native from a tribe near Coca, studied chemistry and biology and has a travel agency in Tena. We went by bus to a small native village called Serena, where he prepared a wholesome breakfast. Then we went for a walk straight into the jungle, where he explained me fascinating things about the whole ecosystem. There weren´t many animals, mainly insects and butterflies as well as a sloth and a snake, but therefore a broad range of beautiful trees and a stunning view over the hilly countryside. After the tastiest spaghettis I´ve ever had in my live, I relaxed at and in the nearby river, visited a museum about the Kichwa (native people), a large family from the town as well as the local school and caught the 6pm bus back to Tena.
Kayaking with more girls
On wednesday I tried myself in a new sport - kayaking. With all the equipment and my private teacher Boylan, a young fella just slightly older than me, we drove up the river Pano to a nice beach where the water is deep and calm. One day is very little time to learn kayaking and I first just tried to get comfortable in it.
It went all well till noon, when about 15 jungle-beauties arrived to swim in the river. Whilst I was trying to focus on learning the escimorole - something very difficult for me because being head upside down in the water isn´t exactely where I feel comfortable - they all gatered around me, asking me all sorts of questions (Where from? Girlfriend? How long in Tena? What doing tonight?) and making remarks (ojos bonitos, muy simpatico).
After being head upside down for at least 30 times and being kayaking for about five hours, I was getting really exhausted, blisters all over my hands, and decided to call it a day. The weather had been most welcoming the whole day, but now a storm was creeping up and we tried to make it back to Tena before it started to rain. This didn´t work, but it did´t matter anymore anyway cause the river had been stronger than me, leading me too close to some low branches and I capesized, just about saving my paddle. Luckily Boylan caught the kayak and we somehow made it back without another accident.
After this tough day out on the river, I just relaxed the rest of the time in Tena, enjoying the good restaurants and bars as well as reading near the river. I was quite happy to make it back to Quito on thursday night, since the mozzies got me really badly. Apparently there are very few in Tena, I hadn´t seen any at all, but I had at least 50 bites in each of my calves.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Ecuador - Laguna Quilotoa and Cotopaxi Volcano
After finishing my four weeks course at Simon Bolivar Spanish School in Quito, I had two more weeks left for traveling the small but diverse country of Ecuador.
The time at school was great and learnful. In a total of 80 private lessons with my teacher Julio we went through the grammatical basics, but most of the time we were just conversating freely about all sorts of things (mainly girls). Therefore I feel very comfortable in talking and understandig, but am usually just guessing the right conjugation.
Fiestas de Quito
The last week at school coinicided with the fiestas de Quito, celebrating the foundation of the city some 474 years ago. On friday afternoon, the school held a party with heaps of silly foodgames, shows and more. After skipping out of the salsa show the night before, I was still busy taking part in all the games, a funny play and - last but not least - the Miss Simon Bolivar election. Me and four peers dressed up as girls and did some catwalk and dancing in front of a laughing-out-loud crowd. I came runner-up...
Beautiful Quilotoa
Ecuador has basically four different regions - the mountains, the jungle, the coast and the galapagos islands. The first week was supposed to be spent in the mountains, with a climb to the top of the Cotopaxi volcano as the big objectiv. Davide from Boston and Daniel from Sydney, two peer students, had the same plan, so we decided going there together.
To succeed in climbing up to 5897 meters above sea level, we were desperate for a good acclimatisation. We had started with hikes around Otavalo two weeks before, then climbed the Pichincha volcano near Quito twice, before catching a bus to Quilotoa on Monday. This little village on slightly less than 4000 meters altitude was a highlight in itself.
The reason is a beautiful lagoon in the middle of a fascinating mountain landscape. The volcanoes definitely created some nice places on this planet, and I reckon Quilotoa is the greatest of them. We walked all around the lagoon on the crater, which took us about 4 hours, and then enjoyed a great dinner at our hostel. In the evening, a strong wind was blowing some chilly air and was shaking the house during the whole night. I went out for a little walk in the bright full moon and the sparkling stars, deciding that, apart from Maria Island, this was the most awesome place I have ever been.
Bloody Dogs on the Way
Next day, we walked down the crater, did some kayaking on the lagoon (where I got my only long pants soaking wet) before we walked off to Chugchilan, another little town some 12 kilometers away. The challenge was to work out the right track and, most of all, surviving the protecting dogs on the way.
I do not have anything against dogs in general, but I can´t stand the barking ones. Last year in Italy I was attacked on the bike by four huge dogs fearing death and escaping luckily - an event which will leave me traumatised forever. The experience here was nothing in comparsion but scary nevertheless.
What happend was, that a little black dog was barking at us, more afraid of us than we from him. My mates, armed with sticks and stones, considered it harmless and everbody thought we were out of trouble once he moved off the track and let us pass. Shortly after, however, I felt a bite in my left shoe.
We made it safe and sound to Chuchilan where we spent one and a half days relaxing in a hostel with a remarkably tasty dinner. Then we caught a 3am bus to Saquisili, where we visited a big market, eating all sorts of stuff and observing the buy and sell of chicken, rabbits and guinea pigs among others.
Freezing, Cloudy, Snowing - We Made it
After spending the night in a luxurious hostel with a godly wirlpool, we set off towards Cotopaxi on friday. Together with our guides Fernando and Sergio as well as Ryan, a former Simon-Bolivar-student from California, we got all our gear and drove off to the parking lot on 4500 meters. From there we walked to the basecamp Jose F. Ribas, located just below the snowboundary on 4800 meters above sea level. There we made last preparations, got some food in our belly and slept a few hours.
The climb started at 1.20am, in order to walk on compact snow. The weather was really ugly, it was snowing most of the time and troubling our adventure. Despite fears of having to return, we were right below the top at 5.30am - too early. We had to wait for dawn before making the last 100 meters to the peak, where it was so cold that the water in my bottle froze. Usually there is a breathtaking view up there, but unfortunately it was all cloudy this saturday morning. However, we were just happy that we all had climbed the highest active volcano in the world without any problems.
The time at school was great and learnful. In a total of 80 private lessons with my teacher Julio we went through the grammatical basics, but most of the time we were just conversating freely about all sorts of things (mainly girls). Therefore I feel very comfortable in talking and understandig, but am usually just guessing the right conjugation.
Fiestas de Quito
The last week at school coinicided with the fiestas de Quito, celebrating the foundation of the city some 474 years ago. On friday afternoon, the school held a party with heaps of silly foodgames, shows and more. After skipping out of the salsa show the night before, I was still busy taking part in all the games, a funny play and - last but not least - the Miss Simon Bolivar election. Me and four peers dressed up as girls and did some catwalk and dancing in front of a laughing-out-loud crowd. I came runner-up...
Beautiful Quilotoa
Ecuador has basically four different regions - the mountains, the jungle, the coast and the galapagos islands. The first week was supposed to be spent in the mountains, with a climb to the top of the Cotopaxi volcano as the big objectiv. Davide from Boston and Daniel from Sydney, two peer students, had the same plan, so we decided going there together.
To succeed in climbing up to 5897 meters above sea level, we were desperate for a good acclimatisation. We had started with hikes around Otavalo two weeks before, then climbed the Pichincha volcano near Quito twice, before catching a bus to Quilotoa on Monday. This little village on slightly less than 4000 meters altitude was a highlight in itself.
The reason is a beautiful lagoon in the middle of a fascinating mountain landscape. The volcanoes definitely created some nice places on this planet, and I reckon Quilotoa is the greatest of them. We walked all around the lagoon on the crater, which took us about 4 hours, and then enjoyed a great dinner at our hostel. In the evening, a strong wind was blowing some chilly air and was shaking the house during the whole night. I went out for a little walk in the bright full moon and the sparkling stars, deciding that, apart from Maria Island, this was the most awesome place I have ever been.
Bloody Dogs on the Way
Next day, we walked down the crater, did some kayaking on the lagoon (where I got my only long pants soaking wet) before we walked off to Chugchilan, another little town some 12 kilometers away. The challenge was to work out the right track and, most of all, surviving the protecting dogs on the way.
I do not have anything against dogs in general, but I can´t stand the barking ones. Last year in Italy I was attacked on the bike by four huge dogs fearing death and escaping luckily - an event which will leave me traumatised forever. The experience here was nothing in comparsion but scary nevertheless.
What happend was, that a little black dog was barking at us, more afraid of us than we from him. My mates, armed with sticks and stones, considered it harmless and everbody thought we were out of trouble once he moved off the track and let us pass. Shortly after, however, I felt a bite in my left shoe.
We made it safe and sound to Chuchilan where we spent one and a half days relaxing in a hostel with a remarkably tasty dinner. Then we caught a 3am bus to Saquisili, where we visited a big market, eating all sorts of stuff and observing the buy and sell of chicken, rabbits and guinea pigs among others.
Freezing, Cloudy, Snowing - We Made it
After spending the night in a luxurious hostel with a godly wirlpool, we set off towards Cotopaxi on friday. Together with our guides Fernando and Sergio as well as Ryan, a former Simon-Bolivar-student from California, we got all our gear and drove off to the parking lot on 4500 meters. From there we walked to the basecamp Jose F. Ribas, located just below the snowboundary on 4800 meters above sea level. There we made last preparations, got some food in our belly and slept a few hours.
The climb started at 1.20am, in order to walk on compact snow. The weather was really ugly, it was snowing most of the time and troubling our adventure. Despite fears of having to return, we were right below the top at 5.30am - too early. We had to wait for dawn before making the last 100 meters to the peak, where it was so cold that the water in my bottle froze. Usually there is a breathtaking view up there, but unfortunately it was all cloudy this saturday morning. However, we were just happy that we all had climbed the highest active volcano in the world without any problems.
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