A story of a trip to the Pantanal area of Brazil. Some people like spending their holiday relaxing on a beach while others prefer swimming in a river surrounded by crocodiles and piranhas, feeling their skin being nibbled at, unable to see the culprits through the black water. I prefer the latter.
On a recent trip to Chile I was standing in line at Santiago airport, waiting to be checked in for my flight to the Colombian capital Bogotá, when a person behind me in the line addressed me. “Do you speak Spanish?” she asked (in Spanish). “Yes,” I replied (in Spanish). “I remember you from the festival,” she continued. “Festival?” I asked as if I had been to more than one festival during my short stay in Santiago. “Yes, the festival…
On a Thursday morning in late November I took the bus from the Argentinian town of Bariloche to the nearby village Colonia Suiza. I was headed for a two day hike up to the lake Laguna Negra which is located in the northern Patagonian national park Nahuel Hupai. I stated my hike on the outskirts of the Swiss colony. I walked slowly through the woods, following a well marked path. The path itself was nothing particularly challenging, but since I…
When I visited the Iguaçu falls on the Brazilian side, the experience was slightly underwhelming. I guess my expectations were too high. I had expected more power. Consequently, when visiting the Argentinian side of the falls a couple of days later, the experience was slightly overwhelming. I had lower expectations while the natural forces were much stronger.
On my second day in the Paraná area I spent the morning on the border between Brazil and Paraguay, visiting the World’s largest hydro-electric power-plant — the Itaipu Dam. My initial plan had been to take the full tour of the dam — visiting it inside-out. However, I arrived a bit late at the site and without having made a reservation. The morning tour was fully booked and taking the afternoon tour was not an option as I wanted to avoid risking missing the last bus to Argentina. I did thus settle for a panoramic tour of the exterior part of the power-plant.
On a trip from São Paulo to Santiago I spent three days on the border between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina — enjoying a varied view of water. It’s power — both unleashed and leashed. The fist stop was Foz do Iguaçu on the Brazilian side. After lunch on my first day in Foz I took the bus to the Cataratas do Iguaçu National Park. The itinerary on Brazilian side starts quite a bit downstream from the main falls and visitors…
When I was in Iceland this summer, I had a very pleasant experience. I was walking to the local swimming pool when I passed an old woman on the sidewalk who greeted me and wished me a good day. I thought it was very a cute and hospitable act. I wondered that being greeted on the street by a complete stranger could only happen in Iceland or other small communities. Today I took a stroll in Parque do Ibirapuera in…
Collserola Mountain Range is said to be the lung of Barcelona. The forest clad hills separate the city from the towns in the Vallès. It is an ideal recreation area for hiking, running and cycling. On a lazy Sunday it is nice to go for an easy hike from Barcelona to Sant Cugat, stopping at Masia Can Borrell for a traditional Catalan lunch. We started the hike from Mundet metro station and followed the marked trails through the Collserola Park….
A hike from the valley of Vall de Núria to the summit of Puigmal (2911m) on the border between Spain and France in the Catalan Pyrenees.
A half marathon through the streets Reykjavík, Iceland. A tale of a limping leg, aided by venio-muscular compression technology.