I must admit I'm quite careless with my blog. The thing is that at some point one has to prioritize some things over others, and that's why my blogging activities has been reduced to a bare mininum almost null.
Anyway, I'll try to catch up and revive the main aim of this blog: to keep update all of you about my activities at this side of the ocean (for all my friends on the other side).
Let's go to the point then. This post is about last summer, where my parents came to visit me. They stayed in Europe for a period of 3 months, of which 2 I spent with them. We decide to take most of the chance they were here, so we did some crazy things. As the flew into Barcelona, I went to meet them and come by car to The Netherlands. This was our itinerary:
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We stayed overnight in Lyon where we did some sightseeing in the city. The day after, we arrived to Eindhoven, stopping at midday in Luxembourg.
My parents stayed at my place for one month that we spent traveling of course. We went to places as Cologne, Aachen (in Germany), the punt of the three countries (D-B-NL), Middelburg, Kinderdijk, Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Den Bosch, Maastricht, Liège, Verviers, Leuven, Antwerp, Gent, Brugge, among others. As I was coming to the university, Brenda y Alberto, friends of mine and the family already, took them out to visit places in the surroundings of Eindhoven. Thanks them a lot!
In the way back to Spain, we passed by Paris where we stayed overnight. The day after passed by Andorra, to stay a few days in Barcelona. Then, following the route of the Mediterranean, we went to Tarragona, Murcia, Lorca, to finish our trip in Pedro Martinez, the village where my father was born. There, we stayed for the main celebration of the town with most of our relatives. We also travel around the village, like going to Granada and Almería.
Of course, in the meantime, I had to come back to continue with my obligations, while they continued enjoyed, with the very nice companion and support of my relatives.
This trip was the best gift I could ever have done to everyone, this was as thanking them for all they always have given me, all the love they could give. Thanks a lot to them, and all who cordially helped us to have a very nice time.
Return trip:
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Showing posts with label distensión. Show all posts
Showing posts with label distensión. Show all posts
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
A bent weekend
A combination of nice and warm weather (sunny, 28°C), a good place (an amusement park), good friends and colleagues were indications for a very spectacular weekend. In fact, it wasn't for me at all :( This would be a perfect post for the fish's blues...
This weekend, we went to Efteling, an amusement park near Eindhoven with all kind of attractions: roller coasters, boat raft, and all kind of kermis-like things. Great! I enjoyed a lot until I got off the Python (plattegrond -> Ruigrijk -> Phyton), a very nice roller coaster. Everything went well, despite some natural fear before riding it, I enjoy the ride very much. I was even thinking of doing it once more! But when I tried to turn my neck to the right, oh oh a pain started to disturb me a little bit. It continued extending quite fast actually, so just for precaution, I made a visit to the emergency service at the park. I wasn't in a happy situation, but they didn't help quickly either! I had to wait for about one hour to get to a doctor who did some checking on my neck, and confirmed a muscular contraction in its right side. It was something like a torticollis but much worse. So imagine that I had to keep my neck completely turned to my left without even being able to turn it a little bit to the left, with a very limited up and down motion. The doctor just prescribed me some painkillers and basicly send me home to have rest.
Okay, okay, I don't blame them for my bad luck, but at least, they could have more staff to solve more quickly these kinds of situations, and for example, let my friends continuing enjoying the day as they were waiting for the diagnose of my apparently serious problem.
Anyway, after it, I was condemn to wait seated while my friends were in the attractions which I couldn't join, as I basically was unmobilized... Even though this very bad experience, I appreciate that they kept watching at me, taking care of me. And somehow, I acknowledge that I spoil such a nice day a little bit...
After the come back home, an open pharmacy needed to be found. The one opened was next to the emergency entrance of the Máxima medisch centrum, a local hospital. As the painkiller I had taken didn't make much effect on me, I went to visit a doctor there. The very same story as before: I took about one hour to get a diagnose (the same as before, luckily). Feel forms, answer questions to the receptionist, and bear the jokes of the nurse who knew I got my bent neck in an amusement park. Thankfully, I was with a friend, and we had the time to talk and get update for the hour I had to wait for the doctor to come and just tell me go home and take these pills...
As a mental note: what would have happened if my injure was something really serious that required quick action? Nothing, the Dutch way of acting in this kind of situation would've condemned me to the worst... I'm not saying it based on this single incident, but on the many I've heard of...
In a nutshell, financially speaking, I have lost 27€ for the entrance to the park, 15€ in food inside the park, and around 71€ in medicines which aren't covered by my insurance company because of the new regulations in Netherlands(1). That is, I spent 100+€ for a bent neck, but there was good weather(2)... Of course, I should tell you that I slept on Sunday until 4pm because of one of the muscular relaxing pill. A wasted weekend...
(1) The first 150€ that you spend in health services are from this year under your account, this is the new regulation. But they were good enough to not to raise the monthly fee (100+€ in my case). Isn't it an implicit cost raise?
(2) I quote someone say of today: "It seems that summer started this year on August 30th!!" to what I replied "... and it didn't lasted more than 3 days..." Yesterday already started to be chilly and today it's raining like crazy (current temperature is 12°C)
Pictures soon, so you can laugh with me, not at me...
Update: One photo of my bent neck, taking it with some humor. Thanks Kathie for it!!
This weekend, we went to Efteling, an amusement park near Eindhoven with all kind of attractions: roller coasters, boat raft, and all kind of kermis-like things. Great! I enjoyed a lot until I got off the Python (plattegrond -> Ruigrijk -> Phyton), a very nice roller coaster. Everything went well, despite some natural fear before riding it, I enjoy the ride very much. I was even thinking of doing it once more! But when I tried to turn my neck to the right, oh oh a pain started to disturb me a little bit. It continued extending quite fast actually, so just for precaution, I made a visit to the emergency service at the park. I wasn't in a happy situation, but they didn't help quickly either! I had to wait for about one hour to get to a doctor who did some checking on my neck, and confirmed a muscular contraction in its right side. It was something like a torticollis but much worse. So imagine that I had to keep my neck completely turned to my left without even being able to turn it a little bit to the left, with a very limited up and down motion. The doctor just prescribed me some painkillers and basicly send me home to have rest.
Okay, okay, I don't blame them for my bad luck, but at least, they could have more staff to solve more quickly these kinds of situations, and for example, let my friends continuing enjoying the day as they were waiting for the diagnose of my apparently serious problem.
Anyway, after it, I was condemn to wait seated while my friends were in the attractions which I couldn't join, as I basically was unmobilized... Even though this very bad experience, I appreciate that they kept watching at me, taking care of me. And somehow, I acknowledge that I spoil such a nice day a little bit...
After the come back home, an open pharmacy needed to be found. The one opened was next to the emergency entrance of the Máxima medisch centrum, a local hospital. As the painkiller I had taken didn't make much effect on me, I went to visit a doctor there. The very same story as before: I took about one hour to get a diagnose (the same as before, luckily). Feel forms, answer questions to the receptionist, and bear the jokes of the nurse who knew I got my bent neck in an amusement park. Thankfully, I was with a friend, and we had the time to talk and get update for the hour I had to wait for the doctor to come and just tell me go home and take these pills...
As a mental note: what would have happened if my injure was something really serious that required quick action? Nothing, the Dutch way of acting in this kind of situation would've condemned me to the worst... I'm not saying it based on this single incident, but on the many I've heard of...
In a nutshell, financially speaking, I have lost 27€ for the entrance to the park, 15€ in food inside the park, and around 71€ in medicines which aren't covered by my insurance company because of the new regulations in Netherlands(1). That is, I spent 100+€ for a bent neck, but there was good weather(2)... Of course, I should tell you that I slept on Sunday until 4pm because of one of the muscular relaxing pill. A wasted weekend...
(1) The first 150€ that you spend in health services are from this year under your account, this is the new regulation. But they were good enough to not to raise the monthly fee (100+€ in my case). Isn't it an implicit cost raise?
(2) I quote someone say of today: "It seems that summer started this year on August 30th!!" to what I replied "... and it didn't lasted more than 3 days..." Yesterday already started to be chilly and today it's raining like crazy (current temperature is 12°C)
Pictures soon, so you can laugh with me, not at me...
Update: One photo of my bent neck, taking it with some humor. Thanks Kathie for it!!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Leisure Trips Part I
After some time, finally I managed to find some time to sit and write. The question is of course what happened? Just some trips, quite some work, and some social life. Indeed I'm supposed to work now, but I don't feel like doing that, I feel actually sleepy, tired, then let's write something.
Back to the end of April, some cousins came to visit me for the second time, I also took some days off, and we traveled a little bit, through Holland, we visited places as De Keukenhof, the huge park full of tulips and many other flowers I visited 2 years ago.
We also went to Gouda, the town where the Goudsekaas (the Goudse cheese) is originally from. Also to the capital city of the Noord-Brabant province, 's Hertogenbosch.
As as it couldn't be less, on April 30, we went to Amsterdam to celebrate queen's day. I did this already last 2 years, but every year it is a different party. Too crowded according to my perception.
From there, we flight into Prague, and during two days, we visited such a beautiful city. The people a bit rude though, but we had a nice time walking through its streets, going to restaurants, and more walking!
After that, they came back to Spain, and I visited a friend in Bonn, the birth place of Beethoven. I had gone to Köln which is just "next door", but this small and peaceful city is gorgoleous! It just coincide with the Rheininflammen, an exhibition of fireworks that takes all the Rhein river long. Together with her friends, we had a nice time. Here there are some more pictures by my friend.
That week I enjoyed a lot, ended very tired, but after 4 days just another trip was going to come... this, for a future post :)
Back to the end of April, some cousins came to visit me for the second time, I also took some days off, and we traveled a little bit, through Holland, we visited places as De Keukenhof, the huge park full of tulips and many other flowers I visited 2 years ago.
We also went to Gouda, the town where the Goudsekaas (the Goudse cheese) is originally from. Also to the capital city of the Noord-Brabant province, 's Hertogenbosch.
As as it couldn't be less, on April 30, we went to Amsterdam to celebrate queen's day. I did this already last 2 years, but every year it is a different party. Too crowded according to my perception.
From there, we flight into Prague, and during two days, we visited such a beautiful city. The people a bit rude though, but we had a nice time walking through its streets, going to restaurants, and more walking!
After that, they came back to Spain, and I visited a friend in Bonn, the birth place of Beethoven. I had gone to Köln which is just "next door", but this small and peaceful city is gorgoleous! It just coincide with the Rheininflammen, an exhibition of fireworks that takes all the Rhein river long. Together with her friends, we had a nice time. Here there are some more pictures by my friend.
That week I enjoyed a lot, ended very tired, but after 4 days just another trip was going to come... this, for a future post :)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
İstanbul
What a wonderful city! Between Europe and Asia, Istanbul is the city I went lately. A treasure for humanity, three cultures shaped it to make it unique. I still can't find the words to describe how beautiful the city is. To this, I should add all the wonderful people that inhabits it: just a mixture of cuteness, politeness and trickiness. The monuments it holds are just impressive and far unique for a city. Its traffic is also a mix of adventure, irritation and illegality. Of course, this trip couldn't have been the same without the companion of two of my colleagues at the university, Peter and Sebastiaan. To give some impressions, let me elaborate more in some experiences I had, in a somewhat chronological order.
* Sleepy taxi driver.
Just arrived, after some waiting, going to our hostel, our first adventure starts. I wanted to look at the city with more details, I decide to go to the front seat of the van that transported us. After some minutes in a traffic jam, the driver starts falling asleep, to what I reacted giving some conversation. After pointing out that he looked tired, he asked whether I had a driver license and after my positive answer, he offered me to drive the van to the hostel! I scarily denied, and after all, we safely arrived!
* Attracting/sticky sellers.
Every time we walked in front of a bar/restaurant/shop someone standing outside will persuade to sell something... the game was to convince the prospective customer with different techniques. One of them will explain us everything he had to offer in the restaurant in everyone's language: Dutch, Spanish (in our case) but also French, English, Italian... not only that, the spontaneousness to make a topic conversation.
* Tulips all the city around.
Do you think that Holland is the paradise of tulips? Well, yes, but the only one place! During our stay they were celebrating the tulip festival with different kind of tulips, figures made with them everywhere! Most of tulips were imported from Holland though :)
* Topkapı Palace.
Main residence of the sultans during the Ottoman regime, it holds many antiquities, and beautiful building as well.
* Basilica Cistern.
A cistern basilica-shaped, ordered by a Byzantine emperor. Very well restored and a nice atmosphere. Two Medusas were used as support of one of the pillars.
* Grand Bazaar.
It's a big market place, a mixture of a flea market and some tend shops. The structure of the building is unique, and sellers quite smart: bargaining is mandatory, and giving up early would follow by some subtle teasing... Even more surprising is that *all* sellers will address me in Spanish, without opening my mouth at all!
* Black sea.
Istanbul is just 30km away from the Black sea which at a first glance seems to be close and easily reachable. It is indeed a short distance, but took us 5 hours to get there. First, because noboby really knows how to get there, specially by public transport. After figuring out how to get closer and closer, we didn't count on the traffic jams: we were going for nearly 2 hours at walking speed. By chance in one of the intermediate stops, we saw a bus with a sign to go to Kylios. After some time, we finally arrived. It was a dreams made true for me, although the beach isn't the great thing. In any case, I could dip my toes into its sand...
* Cheating taxi drivers.
When you take a taxi, you would definitively be fooled. They will, for example, magically make the tachometer run up very fast and sudden. Also change the banknotes when you pay them. Fortunately, we were aware of this issue and we weren't teased. In a sense, we tried to avoid taxis to avoid stressing situations...
* Taksim square and Beyoğlu district.
This is the very city center in the European side. Woohh I can't explain how vivid is this part of the city: full of people at any time! Bars, discos, pubs, restaurants all over this portion of the city, the indisputable heart of it. BTW, going to discos is quite expensive: 5€ for a 330cl bottle of normal beer!
* Golden Horn and Bosporus strait.
We also took a boat trip to have a view of the city from the sea side. We crossed under the two bridges that communicate both continents. Under the bridges on the Golden Horn there are fishermen getting some fresh fish, I think as a hobby.
* Aya Sofya.
This is a Christian church converted into a mosque by the Ottoman occupation. Interestingly, from inside it looks like a church, but full of Islamic symbols. Aya Sofya means Holy Worship, not Saint Sofia as sometimes is translated into.
* Blue mosque.
Situated in front of the Aya Sofya. It has very beautiful internal decoration with blue tiles. Its yards are just huge and imposing.
* Time to pray.
One thing that really makes this city to belong to a Muslim religion are the praying songs played 5 times a day across the city from (I guess) each mosque. Here I recorded a video to make you feel what it is like. People, though, don't pay much attention to it, a few really go into the mosques to pray, getting cleaned at the faucets located outside some mosques before entering to pray.
* Turkish bath.
We couldn't have left Istanbul without taking a hamam. First 15 minutes in a hot room (86ºC, 30% humidity) and a shock slump into cool water. Later, lay on a marble bed, receiving splashes of cold and warm water and a scratchy massage. After we are covered by foam and a complete corporal massage follows. Finally, you are so relaxed that you must go to bed!
* Nargile (Shisha, hooka or water pipe)
Nothing compares to sit on a street of Beyoğlu district and enjoy a water pipe. This usually comes with some flavoured tobacco, like apple, banana, orange among others. It is a quite relaxing activity, accompanied playing black gammon. It would be strange that some strangers join you at the table to tell all their adventures in Istanbul.
* One city, two continents.
This is yet another magic thing about Istanbul: it is divided by the Bosporus strait which separates Europe and Asia. It is all an experience to cross a bridge and being in another continent.
Just to make a summary: the best city I have ever visited! It defeated clearly to Barcelona who was among my favourite cities.
BTW, and although it is not mentioned, this was a business trip, but we took some days off to do some sightseen. And this explain why I went to a workshop in another continent and came back to Europe in a few hours :)
I'd like to thank Peter and Sebastiaan for providing most of the pictures in this post and their very nice humor sense, kindness, support and companionship.
* Sleepy taxi driver.
Just arrived, after some waiting, going to our hostel, our first adventure starts. I wanted to look at the city with more details, I decide to go to the front seat of the van that transported us. After some minutes in a traffic jam, the driver starts falling asleep, to what I reacted giving some conversation. After pointing out that he looked tired, he asked whether I had a driver license and after my positive answer, he offered me to drive the van to the hostel! I scarily denied, and after all, we safely arrived!
* Attracting/sticky sellers.
Every time we walked in front of a bar/restaurant/shop someone standing outside will persuade to sell something... the game was to convince the prospective customer with different techniques. One of them will explain us everything he had to offer in the restaurant in everyone's language: Dutch, Spanish (in our case) but also French, English, Italian... not only that, the spontaneousness to make a topic conversation.
* Tulips all the city around.
Do you think that Holland is the paradise of tulips? Well, yes, but the only one place! During our stay they were celebrating the tulip festival with different kind of tulips, figures made with them everywhere! Most of tulips were imported from Holland though :)
* Topkapı Palace.
Main residence of the sultans during the Ottoman regime, it holds many antiquities, and beautiful building as well.
* Basilica Cistern.
A cistern basilica-shaped, ordered by a Byzantine emperor. Very well restored and a nice atmosphere. Two Medusas were used as support of one of the pillars.
* Grand Bazaar.
It's a big market place, a mixture of a flea market and some tend shops. The structure of the building is unique, and sellers quite smart: bargaining is mandatory, and giving up early would follow by some subtle teasing... Even more surprising is that *all* sellers will address me in Spanish, without opening my mouth at all!
* Black sea.
Istanbul is just 30km away from the Black sea which at a first glance seems to be close and easily reachable. It is indeed a short distance, but took us 5 hours to get there. First, because noboby really knows how to get there, specially by public transport. After figuring out how to get closer and closer, we didn't count on the traffic jams: we were going for nearly 2 hours at walking speed. By chance in one of the intermediate stops, we saw a bus with a sign to go to Kylios. After some time, we finally arrived. It was a dreams made true for me, although the beach isn't the great thing. In any case, I could dip my toes into its sand...
* Cheating taxi drivers.
When you take a taxi, you would definitively be fooled. They will, for example, magically make the tachometer run up very fast and sudden. Also change the banknotes when you pay them. Fortunately, we were aware of this issue and we weren't teased. In a sense, we tried to avoid taxis to avoid stressing situations...
* Taksim square and Beyoğlu district.
This is the very city center in the European side. Woohh I can't explain how vivid is this part of the city: full of people at any time! Bars, discos, pubs, restaurants all over this portion of the city, the indisputable heart of it. BTW, going to discos is quite expensive: 5€ for a 330cl bottle of normal beer!
* Golden Horn and Bosporus strait.
We also took a boat trip to have a view of the city from the sea side. We crossed under the two bridges that communicate both continents. Under the bridges on the Golden Horn there are fishermen getting some fresh fish, I think as a hobby.
* Aya Sofya.
This is a Christian church converted into a mosque by the Ottoman occupation. Interestingly, from inside it looks like a church, but full of Islamic symbols. Aya Sofya means Holy Worship, not Saint Sofia as sometimes is translated into.
* Blue mosque.
Situated in front of the Aya Sofya. It has very beautiful internal decoration with blue tiles. Its yards are just huge and imposing.
* Time to pray.
One thing that really makes this city to belong to a Muslim religion are the praying songs played 5 times a day across the city from (I guess) each mosque. Here I recorded a video to make you feel what it is like. People, though, don't pay much attention to it, a few really go into the mosques to pray, getting cleaned at the faucets located outside some mosques before entering to pray.
* Turkish bath.
We couldn't have left Istanbul without taking a hamam. First 15 minutes in a hot room (86ºC, 30% humidity) and a shock slump into cool water. Later, lay on a marble bed, receiving splashes of cold and warm water and a scratchy massage. After we are covered by foam and a complete corporal massage follows. Finally, you are so relaxed that you must go to bed!
* Nargile (Shisha, hooka or water pipe)
Nothing compares to sit on a street of Beyoğlu district and enjoy a water pipe. This usually comes with some flavoured tobacco, like apple, banana, orange among others. It is a quite relaxing activity, accompanied playing black gammon. It would be strange that some strangers join you at the table to tell all their adventures in Istanbul.
* One city, two continents.
This is yet another magic thing about Istanbul: it is divided by the Bosporus strait which separates Europe and Asia. It is all an experience to cross a bridge and being in another continent.
Just to make a summary: the best city I have ever visited! It defeated clearly to Barcelona who was among my favourite cities.
BTW, and although it is not mentioned, this was a business trip, but we took some days off to do some sightseen. And this explain why I went to a workshop in another continent and came back to Europe in a few hours :)
I'd like to thank Peter and Sebastiaan for providing most of the pictures in this post and their very nice humor sense, kindness, support and companionship.
Friday, March 28, 2008
A "round" trip
Last weekend was Easter and almost everybody over here, we fled away. With Rogelio, Ángela and Paty, some friends, we went a tour to nearby cities in Germany, France and Luxembourg.
Our first stop was in Frankfurt, what a beautiful combination of modernism and the very ancient style. Of course, we didn't leave without tried the very well-known Frankfurt sausages.
We continued on to Heidelberg which is just the nicest city I have ever visited. A very nice downtown area, combined with some hills, plus the snow that accompanied us all the way along our trip.
That was time to cross the border and go to a most Latin country, finally, after a long time I was missing it. We stayed in Nancy, and before passed by Metz. We liked a lot the main square, and ate a very nice fondue! The morning after, a nice and huge breakfast at the Excelsior brought to my memories those days I went to have breakfast to a bar in Argentina. The same coffee, the same croissants and the very same pistolets with jam and butter.
After that, we wandered through Luxembourg, a very nice combination of a modern city and at the same time a very small village. Impressed of the only 3% VAT, cheap gasoline and smaller than we thought, we suddenly ended up in Belgium, after queuing for filling the car's tank.
The night felt, and the snow as well. In Ardenes region the snow accumulated over the pavement in the highway was a few centimeters thick (±10cm I'd say).
A common factor in the trip was that we visited all churches we could, and we were amazed with all of them.
We all agree that we enjoyed ourselves a lot, and I hope we can repeat the experience of traveling soon!
Note: I owe pictures of the latest places we visited, I'm awaiting my friend to submit them. Hurry up!
Our first stop was in Frankfurt, what a beautiful combination of modernism and the very ancient style. Of course, we didn't leave without tried the very well-known Frankfurt sausages.
We continued on to Heidelberg which is just the nicest city I have ever visited. A very nice downtown area, combined with some hills, plus the snow that accompanied us all the way along our trip.
That was time to cross the border and go to a most Latin country, finally, after a long time I was missing it. We stayed in Nancy, and before passed by Metz. We liked a lot the main square, and ate a very nice fondue! The morning after, a nice and huge breakfast at the Excelsior brought to my memories those days I went to have breakfast to a bar in Argentina. The same coffee, the same croissants and the very same pistolets with jam and butter.
After that, we wandered through Luxembourg, a very nice combination of a modern city and at the same time a very small village. Impressed of the only 3% VAT, cheap gasoline and smaller than we thought, we suddenly ended up in Belgium, after queuing for filling the car's tank.
The night felt, and the snow as well. In Ardenes region the snow accumulated over the pavement in the highway was a few centimeters thick (±10cm I'd say).
A common factor in the trip was that we visited all churches we could, and we were amazed with all of them.
We all agree that we enjoyed ourselves a lot, and I hope we can repeat the experience of traveling soon!
Note: I owe pictures of the latest places we visited, I'm awaiting my friend to submit them. Hurry up!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
El PSV apoya a la Feria del CLO = PSV supports the CLO's fair
La semana pasada fui a un entrenamiento del equipo de fútbol del PSV. Nos juntamos con gente del CLO para hacer algo de propaganda a la Feria Latinoamérica, que será en junio.No fue nada especial, ya que esperamos mucho sufriendo el clima bien frío, pero al final todos los jugadores latinoamericanos salieron en ropas bien veraniegas para tomarse algunas fotos con nosotros.
Más allá de la lluvia y del resfriado que me gané, la pasamos muy bien. A propósito, hay un artículo en la página oficial del club PSV.
Last week I went to a PSV soccer team training. We gather together with the CLO to advertise the Latin American Fair, coming in June.
This was nothing special, as we waited outside suffering an extreme cold weather, and in the end all Latin American players came out in very summery clothes to take some pictures with us.
The most important news was that all these players gather some money to sponsor the fair which is a very nice thing to highlight from them.
Despite the rain and the cold I got, we enjoyed ourselves a lot! BTW, there is an article at the official PSV webpage.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Summer Challenge 2008 (actualizado/updated)
Hace un tiempo, propuse hacer una bicicleteada desde Salta hasta Cafayate, unos 200 km. Recibí muchos comentarios de todos tipo, desde los más negativos (yo paso) pasando por los neutrales (lo pensaré, pero me tengo que entrenar) y los positivos (seguro, ¿cuándo es?). Por supuesto que la mayoría de los comentarios fueron neutrales y negativos, así que me decepcioné un poco.Para mi sorpresa, alguno de los que respondieron positivamente han empezado a tomárselo bien en serio y ya están entrenándose, y hasta hay una fecha inclusive. También, por una cuestión de seguridad y precaución (ya que 200km no es una distancia corta), ellos decidieron partir desde Coronel Moldes, acortando el camino en unos 90km, y evitando para parte más transitada de la ruta.
Por lo tanto, lo voy a hacer, acompañado de más o menos 10 personas. Así que si sos uno de los negativos, o no te has hecho la idea todavía, empezá a entrenarte como yo lo haré. Estoy seguro que lo pasaremos bien y vamos a disfrutarlo!
¿Cuándo? Sábado, 13 de enero de 2008.
¿Dónde? Coronel Moldes.
Todavía podemos arreglar cómo llegar allí, y muchos otros detalles, comentando este post, por email, por teléfono o personalmente. No importa, cómo el punto es hacerlo. Aquí les dejo unas fotos que encontré el flickr (cliqueá sobre ellas para ver más) de gente haciéndolo. Espero verlos por allá corriendo juntos!!
Actualización (8/12): Obviamente, aún no es claro si lo vamos a lograr. Lo que es seguro es que vamos a tener un equipo de apoyo (o socorro), que si no llegamos al destino, ellos van a hacer la ruta en sentido inverso hasta que nos encuentren :) (espero que vivos!). Y vamos a tener algunos mates a la llegada. También, la estadía en Cafayate y la vuelta no están claros. En el peor de los casos, podemos quedarnos en un camping y volver el día siguiente en colectivo (o en bicicleta, quién sabe). Sugerencias son bienvenidas.
A time ago, I proposed to do a cycling tour from Salta to Cafayate, about 200km. I got comments of all kinds, from negative opinions (I pass) going to neutral (I'll think about it, I have to train for sure) and rather positive ones (sure, when is it?). Of course most of comments were both neutral and negative, so I felt a bit disappointed.
For my surprise, some of the positive answerers have start taking it very seriously and they are already training for the challenge, and there is indeed a date scheduled. Also, for a matter of safety and precaution (as 200km is not a short distance), they decided to departure from Coronel Moldes, shortening the total path for 90km, and avoiding the busiest part of the road.
Therefore, I'm going to do it, accompanied by more or less 10 more people! So, if you were one of the negative cyclers or didn't make your mind yet, start training as I will do! I'm sure we will have a very nice trip and enjoy a lot!!
When? Saturday, January 13th, 2008.
Where? Coronel Moldes
We can still arrange how to get there, and many other details by commenting this post, by email, by phone, or personally. It doesn't matter how, the point is doing it! Here there some pictures I've found in flickr (click on them to see more) of people doing it. I look forward to seeing you there!
Update (8/12): Obviously, it is still not clear if we will make it. What is sure is that we will have a support team keeping track of our movements, if we don't show up at the final destination, they will do the path in the inverse direction until they find us :) (I hope alive!). And we will have mates at the final destination. Also, staying in Cafayate and the way back is not clear how will be done. In the worst case, we can stay in a camping site and come back by bus (or cycling, who knows!). Suggestions are welcome!
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Lichtjesroute
Hace un par de semanas, Franca, la editora de la página en inglés del periódico semanal de la universidad, invitó a algunos estudiantes y empleados internacionales de la universidad a seguir la lichtjesroute en bicicleta. Esta ruta consiste en muchas figuras armadas con bombillas en la calle, puestas de forma tal que arman un circuito que puede hacerse en auto o bici. Este evento ha sido una tradición en Eindhoven desde 1948, como una manera de levantar el ánimo a la gente justo después de la segunda guerra mundial.
Así lo hicimos, y seguimos la ruta completa en bicicleta, un total de 23 km. Por supuesto, hubo una nota al respecto, y aquí hay un link con la versión electrónica:
http://www.tue.nl/cursor/internet/jaargang50/cursor04/news/news.php?page=e1
Hay algunos comentarios que le hice a Franca que se incluyen en la nota. También hay dos fotos, en las que yo aparezco en una! ¡Los desafío a encontrarme!
A couple of weeks ago, Franca, the editor of the page in English of the university newspaper, invited some international students and employees from the university to follow the lichtjesroute by bike. This route consist of plenty of figures made with bulb lamps on the street, all of them arranged in a circuit that can be done by car or by bike. This the event has been a tradition in Eindhoven since 1948, as a way of making people happier just after the world war II.
So did we, we follow the entire route by bike, a total of 23 km. Of course, there was a report out of it, and here is the link of the electronic version:
http://www.tue.nl/cursor/internet/jaargang50/cursor04/news/news.php?page=e1
Some comments I made to Franca are in the report. And two pictures, I am in one of them! I challenge you to find me!
Actualización 1/11: Aquí va la solución:
Así lo hicimos, y seguimos la ruta completa en bicicleta, un total de 23 km. Por supuesto, hubo una nota al respecto, y aquí hay un link con la versión electrónica:
http://www.tue.nl/cursor/internet/jaargang50/cursor04/news/news.php?page=e1
Hay algunos comentarios que le hice a Franca que se incluyen en la nota. También hay dos fotos, en las que yo aparezco en una! ¡Los desafío a encontrarme!
A couple of weeks ago, Franca, the editor of the page in English of the university newspaper, invited some international students and employees from the university to follow the lichtjesroute by bike. This route consist of plenty of figures made with bulb lamps on the street, all of them arranged in a circuit that can be done by car or by bike. This the event has been a tradition in Eindhoven since 1948, as a way of making people happier just after the world war II.
So did we, we follow the entire route by bike, a total of 23 km. Of course, there was a report out of it, and here is the link of the electronic version:
http://www.tue.nl/cursor/internet/jaargang50/cursor04/news/news.php?page=e1
Some comments I made to Franca are in the report. And two pictures, I am in one of them! I challenge you to find me!
Actualización 1/11: Aquí va la solución:
Monday, October 08, 2007
De museos = About musea
Este fin de semana hice una vuelta de museos organizada por la Asociación de Estudiantes Internacionales de Eindhoven (ISN/e). Junto a alrededor de otros 20 estudiantes fuimos a tres museos. Por supuesto, fuimos de uno a otro en nuestras bicicletas.
La primera parada fue en el Museo de la DAF. DAF es una fábrica bien conocida de camiones, autos y ómnibus. El museo lo lleva a uno a través de la historia de la compañía desde sus comienzos en la década de 1920 hasta la actualidad.
This weekend I went to a Musea-tour organized by the International Students Association Eindhoven (ISN/e). Together with around 20 other students we went to three musea. Naturally, we commute between them riding our bikes.
The first stop was at the DAF Museum. DAF is a very well known maker of trucks, cars and buses. The museum brings one to trough the history of the company, from its beginnings in the 1920's to the current days.
La segunda parada fue el Museo de Philips, también conocido como fabriekje (la fabriquita). Ubicada en el lugar donde Philips empezó la elaboración de las primeras bombillas, la visita guiada nos introduce en el proceso primitivo de desarrollo de las bombillas hasta llegar a nuestros días.
The second stop was at the Philips Museum, also known as the fabriekje (the little factory). Located at the place where Philips started producing his first lamp bulbs, the guided visit introduces us from the primitive development process of them, to the one employed nowadays.
Y al último, pero no por eso menos, el Museo Medieval. Este museo está en el medio de los Genneperparken. Hay un grupo de actores quienes constantemente muestran cómo se vivía en la edad de hierro y en el siglo XII. Es un concepto diferente de museo.
And lately but not least, the Medieval Museum. This museum is in the middle of the Genneperparken. There is a staff of actors who perform as they were living in the iron age and in the 12th century. It is a very different concept of a museum.
Allí, encontré algo que disfruté un montón. Luego de más de 15 años me subí a unos zancos. Descubrí que aprender a caminar con ellos es como aprender a montar una bicicleta: tenés que desarrolar la habilidad de hacerlo y nunca lo vas a olvidar. Muchos intentaron caminar con ellos, pero fallaron porque no es tan fácil como parece :)
There, I found something I enjoyed a lot. After more than 15 years I walked on stilts! I found out that learning to walk on them is like learning to ride a bike: you have to develop the ability of doing and you never forget it. Many tried to stilt, but failed because it is not as easy as it seems :)
Actualización (20/10): Aquí está el link con nota en Cursor, el periódico semanal de la universidad:
Update (20/10): Here is the link with the report in the Cursor, the university newspaper:
http://www.tue.nl/cursor/internet/jaargang50/cursor06/news/news.php?page=e1
La primera parada fue en el Museo de la DAF. DAF es una fábrica bien conocida de camiones, autos y ómnibus. El museo lo lleva a uno a través de la historia de la compañía desde sus comienzos en la década de 1920 hasta la actualidad.
This weekend I went to a Musea-tour organized by the International Students Association Eindhoven (ISN/e). Together with around 20 other students we went to three musea. Naturally, we commute between them riding our bikes.
The first stop was at the DAF Museum. DAF is a very well known maker of trucks, cars and buses. The museum brings one to trough the history of the company, from its beginnings in the 1920's to the current days.
La segunda parada fue el Museo de Philips, también conocido como fabriekje (la fabriquita). Ubicada en el lugar donde Philips empezó la elaboración de las primeras bombillas, la visita guiada nos introduce en el proceso primitivo de desarrollo de las bombillas hasta llegar a nuestros días.
The second stop was at the Philips Museum, also known as the fabriekje (the little factory). Located at the place where Philips started producing his first lamp bulbs, the guided visit introduces us from the primitive development process of them, to the one employed nowadays.
Y al último, pero no por eso menos, el Museo Medieval. Este museo está en el medio de los Genneperparken. Hay un grupo de actores quienes constantemente muestran cómo se vivía en la edad de hierro y en el siglo XII. Es un concepto diferente de museo.
And lately but not least, the Medieval Museum. This museum is in the middle of the Genneperparken. There is a staff of actors who perform as they were living in the iron age and in the 12th century. It is a very different concept of a museum.
Allí, encontré algo que disfruté un montón. Luego de más de 15 años me subí a unos zancos. Descubrí que aprender a caminar con ellos es como aprender a montar una bicicleta: tenés que desarrolar la habilidad de hacerlo y nunca lo vas a olvidar. Muchos intentaron caminar con ellos, pero fallaron porque no es tan fácil como parece :)
There, I found something I enjoyed a lot. After more than 15 years I walked on stilts! I found out that learning to walk on them is like learning to ride a bike: you have to develop the ability of doing and you never forget it. Many tried to stilt, but failed because it is not as easy as it seems :)
Actualización (20/10): Aquí está el link con nota en Cursor, el periódico semanal de la universidad:
Update (20/10): Here is the link with the report in the Cursor, the university newspaper:
http://www.tue.nl/cursor/internet/jaargang50/cursor06/news/news.php?page=e1
Monday, August 27, 2007
Salta-Cafayate Summer Challenge 2008
Since a time ago I have become a bit more active in my bike: I do mountain bike at least twice a week and during the last three weekends, together with some friends, we went to cycle around, doing on average 60km. Since I came back from Argentina last January I cycled about 1200km...
The day after of one of this trips I was on the chat with Gonzalo and talking him about this, he commented on many people doing the way between Salta and Cafayate by bike, and at that moment the temptation was immediate.
De un tiempo a esta parte me volví más activo con mi bicicleta: hago al menos dos veces a la semana algo de mountain bike, y en lo últimos tres fines de semana he salido a dar unas vueltas paseando algunos amigos en nuestras bicicletas, haciendo un promedio de unos 60km cada vez. Desde que volví de Argentina mi bicicleta acumuló unos 1200km...
Al día siguiente de uno de estos recorridos, estaba en el chat con el Pescau y comentándole esto, me tiró el comentario de gente que se va desde la ciudad de Salta a Cafayate en bicicleta, y en ese momento la tentación fue inmediata.
Besides, he sent me some images from Google Earth which more or less depict the path to follow (in the pictures the north is at the bottom):
Me mando algunas imágenes bajadas del Google Earth, que más o menos depictan el recorrido que se debe seguir (en la imágenes, el norte está abajo):
It is about 183km, leaving from Salta city at 1182masl and arriving to Cafayate in the hearth of the Valles Calchaquíes at 1685masl. The track o relief is more or less flat, there are ups and downs all the way in the path (as fas as I remember from my trip by car).
As you'd be imagining, my idea is to do it by bike. I don't know what you think about it, there is enough time for training and prepare to make an attempt. According to my newbie experience, going to a pace of 25km/h is doable, what implies that the entire trip can be made in 10 hours, including stops for resting and having some liquid. Of course, the way back will be by four wheels :P Also, a assistance team can be formed which can meet us in the middle of the route to see if we still are alive...
Obviously, I won't do this alone, but if someone of you joins me, why don't start to plan it from now on, what do you think? And feel free to distribute this announcement and find people to join us. If you've never met us, also feel free to contact us here. Suggestions are very welcome as well!
Update (08/09): It seems I'm not the only one who is crazy: In this report some guys are planning to do the route Salta-Cachi, around 157km but the altitude difference is incredible: Salta is at 1182masl, half way, Piedra del Molino is located at 3690masl and Cachi itself is at 2300masl. So, I'm not that crazy... moreover they title this as a spare time activity... BTW, here is the link http://www.nuevodiariodesalta.com.ar/diario/noticias_v.asp?7719
Son unos 183km, partiendo de la ciudad de Salta a 1182msnm y llegando a Cafayate en el corazón de los valles Calchaquíes a 1695msnm. El terreno, o relieve es más o menos chato, hay subidas y bajadas en general en todo el camino (por lo que recuerdo de hacer el recorrido en auto).
Y como ya se lo están imaginando, la idea es hacerlo en bicicleta. No sé qué les parece, hay tiempo para entrenarse un poquito, y hacer el intento. Por mi muy novata experiencia, a un ritmo de 25km/h promedio se puede hacer, lo que incluyendo paradas de descanso y todo, puede llevar a lo sumo 10 horas. Hay que llevar mucho líquido, y de más estar decir que la vuelta es en cuatro ruedas :P De todos modos también se puede armar un equipo técnico, que nos podría alcanzar en la mitad del camino para ver si todavía estamos vivos.
Yo obviamente solo no lo hago, pero si alguien de ustedes se anima, por qué no empezar a diagramarlo desde ya, ¿qué les parece? Y sientanse libres de difundir este anuncio y buscar gente que se nos una. Y si ni nos conocés, también no dudés en contactarnos aquí. Sugerencias, ¡también son bienvenidas!
Actualización (08/09): Parece que no estoy taaan loco, o no soy el único por lo menos: En esta nota unos chavones están pensando en hacer la ruta Salta-Cachi, cerca de 157km pero la diferencia de altitud es increíble: Salta está a 1182msnm, a mitad del camino, en Piedra del Molino se está a 3690msnm y Cachi mismo está a 2300msnm. Así que no estoy tan loco... además ellos titulan esta actividad como algo recreativo... Les dejo el vínculo http://www.nuevodiariodesalta.com.ar/diario/noticias_v.asp?7719
The day after of one of this trips I was on the chat with Gonzalo and talking him about this, he commented on many people doing the way between Salta and Cafayate by bike, and at that moment the temptation was immediate.
De un tiempo a esta parte me volví más activo con mi bicicleta: hago al menos dos veces a la semana algo de mountain bike, y en lo últimos tres fines de semana he salido a dar unas vueltas paseando algunos amigos en nuestras bicicletas, haciendo un promedio de unos 60km cada vez. Desde que volví de Argentina mi bicicleta acumuló unos 1200km...
Al día siguiente de uno de estos recorridos, estaba en el chat con el Pescau y comentándole esto, me tiró el comentario de gente que se va desde la ciudad de Salta a Cafayate en bicicleta, y en ese momento la tentación fue inmediata.
Besides, he sent me some images from Google Earth which more or less depict the path to follow (in the pictures the north is at the bottom):
Me mando algunas imágenes bajadas del Google Earth, que más o menos depictan el recorrido que se debe seguir (en la imágenes, el norte está abajo):
It is about 183km, leaving from Salta city at 1182masl and arriving to Cafayate in the hearth of the Valles Calchaquíes at 1685masl. The track o relief is more or less flat, there are ups and downs all the way in the path (as fas as I remember from my trip by car).
As you'd be imagining, my idea is to do it by bike. I don't know what you think about it, there is enough time for training and prepare to make an attempt. According to my newbie experience, going to a pace of 25km/h is doable, what implies that the entire trip can be made in 10 hours, including stops for resting and having some liquid. Of course, the way back will be by four wheels :P Also, a assistance team can be formed which can meet us in the middle of the route to see if we still are alive...
Obviously, I won't do this alone, but if someone of you joins me, why don't start to plan it from now on, what do you think? And feel free to distribute this announcement and find people to join us. If you've never met us, also feel free to contact us here. Suggestions are very welcome as well!
Update (08/09): It seems I'm not the only one who is crazy: In this report some guys are planning to do the route Salta-Cachi, around 157km but the altitude difference is incredible: Salta is at 1182masl, half way, Piedra del Molino is located at 3690masl and Cachi itself is at 2300masl. So, I'm not that crazy... moreover they title this as a spare time activity... BTW, here is the link http://www.nuevodiariodesalta.com.ar/diario/noticias_v.asp?7719
Son unos 183km, partiendo de la ciudad de Salta a 1182msnm y llegando a Cafayate en el corazón de los valles Calchaquíes a 1695msnm. El terreno, o relieve es más o menos chato, hay subidas y bajadas en general en todo el camino (por lo que recuerdo de hacer el recorrido en auto).
Y como ya se lo están imaginando, la idea es hacerlo en bicicleta. No sé qué les parece, hay tiempo para entrenarse un poquito, y hacer el intento. Por mi muy novata experiencia, a un ritmo de 25km/h promedio se puede hacer, lo que incluyendo paradas de descanso y todo, puede llevar a lo sumo 10 horas. Hay que llevar mucho líquido, y de más estar decir que la vuelta es en cuatro ruedas :P De todos modos también se puede armar un equipo técnico, que nos podría alcanzar en la mitad del camino para ver si todavía estamos vivos.
Yo obviamente solo no lo hago, pero si alguien de ustedes se anima, por qué no empezar a diagramarlo desde ya, ¿qué les parece? Y sientanse libres de difundir este anuncio y buscar gente que se nos una. Y si ni nos conocés, también no dudés en contactarnos aquí. Sugerencias, ¡también son bienvenidas!
Actualización (08/09): Parece que no estoy taaan loco, o no soy el único por lo menos: En esta nota unos chavones están pensando en hacer la ruta Salta-Cachi, cerca de 157km pero la diferencia de altitud es increíble: Salta está a 1182msnm, a mitad del camino, en Piedra del Molino se está a 3690msnm y Cachi mismo está a 2300msnm. Así que no estoy tan loco... además ellos titulan esta actividad como algo recreativo... Les dejo el vínculo http://www.nuevodiariodesalta.com.ar/diario/noticias_v.asp?7719
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