NektaR in the World Wild Web

Beirut vibes

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 17:36:00 -0400

Some impressions from a past trip to Beirut!

Beirut from above

El Manara

Cedar tree on a wall

Νature recaptures balconies

Raouché rocks

Hilton Beirut Downtown

La Belle Époque

Lebanese dine in

Candies for your.. eyes!

Remnants of another era

Wounds are still evident

In-car shop

Al-Amin mosque

Unknown words of wisdom

Modern buffet

Ancient flavours

Happy birthday mate!

Beirut is dancing..

..till morning

Stay strong!

Yes, I do!

Time flies

Wild Africa part2

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 19:12:00 -0400

From the magnificent Victoria Falls we returned back to Kasane through Zimbabwe's Zambezi National park. Our Land Rover Defender 110 Puma was waiting for us and after a few hours familiarizing ourselves with the car and all the amenities included, we drove into Namibia through the Ngoma bridge. We were excited as from now on we were on our own. Our vehicle included all what we needed to be independent and safe on our way. There was a fridge, storage areas and enough space for tools and everything else required to survive in the harsh African roads. We filled our deposits with supplies and hit the road.

Welcome to Namibia!

Land rovering

Our first overnight stop within Namibia was in a community camp called Mavunje located in Kwando core area. A fully equipped camp located next to a beautiful lagoon. This is a result of an initiative run in conjunction with the local community with a proportion of the financial benefits from the income generated going to community development projects. We really 'enjoyed' our stay with the sounds of elephants and crocodiles next to us flipping in and out of the water.

Flying over the camp

Mavunje camp setting

Our first sunset in Namibia

Next day we were on the go again. On a glorious sunny and clear day we drove past the Caprivi strip, a long land strip between the borders of Botswana and Angola. The road was a straight line between dense forest. We saw very few cars and many signs to beware the passing elephants. Of course, we had to take a photo to remember...

Driving through the Caprivi Strip

Just us (and maybe elephants)

Next stop, Ngepi camp. An award winning camp with amazing bush huts by the Okavango river. One of the highlights here is the caged swimming pool, where someone can swim in the river along with crocodiles in safety. Another highlight is the accommodation over the river. We stayed in a treehouse with a balcony over the water. We truly had an once in a lifetime experience to sleep in such bed and wake up literally with the sunrise between our toes!

Here, we had an interesting talk with the camp owner, a south african ranger, that moved to this location two decades ago and established this camp and all the difficulties he experienced. He also explained to us in a simple way how to orientate ourselves using the stars at the night sky. The sky that night was simply breathtaking.

Crocodile safe swimming pool

What a place to sleep..

...and to wake up!

The coolest balcony

The few days we stayed in the area, we explored the Bwabwata National park and the surrounding areas. We went to the Popa Falls and to the Cubango river banks. There was a large concentration of elephants, giraffes and a variety of unique birds and other mammals. Of course we stayed in the car.. We enjoyed our game drives and returned back to the camp satisfied that our car/boy toy was full in mud!

Following a drive at Bwabwata National Park

The following day, and after some arguments whether to wash the car or not, we drove about 560 kilometers to reach the famous Etosha park. This is one of the largest game reserves in Namibia and in order to explore it properly we planned to stay for few days. The vast salt pans are the most noticeable features in the park. The concentration of animals is large. We spotted zebras, elephants, hyenas, springboks and giraffes. Unfortunately, we did not spot rhinos even if we waited for sometime in many waterholes. Nevertheless, we drove through some epic landscapes and this is place to truly remember!

Entering Etosha park at Namutoni gate

A fort within Namutoni resort

The vast Etosha pan

Acrobatics..

Epic shot, with Loufos @Etosha

Together we (still) stand!

Our Land Rover still standing too

Typical African landscape

A photographer's shadow

Following our days in Etosha, we were off for the remotes of Namibia. We wanted to experience some of the off-the-beaten track routes away from the well known touristy spots. So we decided to move west towards the Skeleton Coast. Driving hundreds of kilometers on gravel roads, with the dust entering easily within the Defender's cabin, we reached Sesfontein, a settlement in the Kunene region. We stayed in a remote camp in the middle of nowhere and enjoyed the starry African skies. We felt the awe of this remoteness and had a very basic overnight stay with the few food supplies that had left.

At the Namibian remotes

Our home + transport

Another German fort at Sesfontein

Such a cool kid on the block..

..along with his mates

The days at the Namibian remotes brought us closer to the people and the original tribes of Herero and Nama. We experienced what it means to live (and survive) in such remote areas away from cities, traffic and crowds. Just raw nature. We left the place to continue towards the coast and the Atlantic Ocean. Vast open landscapes, breathtaking views and the feeling of adventure. What else to wish for?

The highest we reached 1540m, at Grootberg pass

Never ending gravel

and flat shaped hills

At last we reached the ocean! After thousands of kilometers, from the Okavango Delta through the Victoria Falls, through the Namibian remotes, we saw the open sea at Torra Bay! Another remote place this one, we saw very few vehicles passing by. Your car brakes down here and you are in big trouble. It was windy and didn't stay long at the beach, we had to find accommodation as there is no camp within the park. Driving the coastline we saw the ship skeletons, motionless shipwrecks that this place took the name from. The place where the sands dunes end at the ocean's waters. The place where Africa gives its way to the vast south Atlantic ocean.

Enter at your own risk!

Shipwreck at Skeleton coast

Africa 2017, another dream come true!

Driving down the coast, we reached the city of Swakopmund, a beach resort and an example of German colonial architecture. Plus, Namibia's largest port. In fact nothing resembled the villages we passed by few days ago. There were shops, malls, hotels and generally an air of holidays. We did our shopping and enjoyed fish food, including kalamari and greek(!) salad, well not tzatziki. :) We only stayed for few hours. Reloaded our supplies for the last part of the trip, the mighty Sossuvlei dessert, Namibia's most spectacular landmark.

Familiar setting..

The drive was not easy but we wanted to push and driver further in order to arrive in the park area on the same day. We drove till night in some very difficult roads but we made it on time to reach Agama River camp and stay at an amazing camp next to the dunes. We spent the night and next day morning we drove to Sesriem camp located within the Sossuvlei National park.

Checking the efficiencies

Driving through the dessert

Welcome to the most iconic landscape

Spectacular night sky viewing deck at Agama River camp!

And open sky facilities

This epic landscape left us speechless. The more ancient the sand dunes the more red the colour becomes. These are the highest sand dunes on earth, some of them reaching even 400m tall! The landscape is dry and somewhat apocalyptic. Driving in the thin sand was very tough to keep going, but thanks to the team's best driver (well yes myself:) no one got hurt and enjoyed another game drive with our Defender. The day passed climbing up the dunes and rolling down again. These elliptical shaped yellow and red hills seemed that never end over the horizon.

Epic landscape

Dune 45

Posing for glory

Tough driving at the thin sand

At the tip

Pure Namib

The surrounding area is one of the best night sky viewing spot in the world as clear skies and absolute no light pollution favors the night skies to be viewed with detail. So we did. Took our chairs out, sat in the middle of the dessert and contemplated the majestic view of the cosmos. The 'moonset' we experienced that night was simply breathtaking to watch. We couldn't resist taking some epic night-sky photos...

In the African night@ ***_***

Celebrating the moonset

Early morning next day we packed the car and we were on our way to experience the sunrise from the east over the red sand dunes. We read from our trusted travel books that this is a no-miss. To drive very early to the dunes, have sometime to climb onto one and then wait for the sun to rise. That really worth the effort! The colours and the sunrays and the red dunes and the hot air balloons in the sky resembled perhaps one of the best sunrises of my life! We couldn't resist contemplating this beauty. A very photogenic place and perhaps Namibia's most photographed landscape.

Early morning in the Sossuvlei

Never ending sand dunes

Apocalytpic

Another photographer's shadow

Autofocus at the tip of the dune

The days passed so fast and we had to drive to the capital Windhoek, in order to deliver the vehicle and get our flights back home. The last 380kms drive to the city were quite and thoughtful in the car, trying to summarize on our brains what happened the last three weeks in these places. To help acclimatize into the city life faster, Spyros upgraded our accommodation to a Hilton room. We arrived totally dirty and red from the sand dunes, funny moment to remember offloading all of our dusty gear at the hotel's main entrance.

The capital of Namibia seemed another German inspired city with not much character to express. A rather peaceful place with 320k population with not much traffic or crowds. We only stayed for a night before taking our flight out.

Windhoek from Hilton's sky bar

Windhoek downtown

Time to take our flights. So happy that everything went just fine. It was a properly designed and executed adventure that we worked for months to set it up as we did. From our records, we did about 4200 kms from start to finish, 2500 of them on our Defender, in some of the most wild places on earth. A huge thanks to Angelos for the co-planning and to Spyros for his support and upgrades! Guys you are awesome co travellers!!!

So that was it, another great adventure came to an end and it's that time to return back to the places we all call home. We collected amazing experiences and pictures on our minds (and cameras) and came close to places that only in documentaries existed till now. This was a journey to the heart of Africa and perhaps to humanity's most ancient roots. I could only say that our world is simply amazing!

Paul Kalkbrenner on play

Sunrise over the Red Sea

And out of Africa..

ps. just hit my profile and contact me directly should you need more info about all the places mentioned in this post

Wild Africa -part1

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 17:30:00 -0400

This is the first part of two posts to publish material, words and thoughts of an amazing trip to Africa. The first one will cover the days in the reserves and open pans of Botswana and will include a bit of Zim and Zam (Zimbabwe and Zambia that is) and the visit to the majestic Victoria Falls. The second part will start right at the Chobe riverfront at Ngoma bridge and will end up few thousand kilometers away in Namibia's capital, Windhoek. Exactly as it took place in April/May'17.

Flying into Africa

Flags to get to know

So here we are, 3 good tried-and-tested friends, embarking for the beauties of the southern regions of the African continent. After months of preparations, late night planning meetings, skype calls and almost daily negotiations with our African counterparts, we got in a plane to the south. Intermediate stops at Cairo and Johannesburg, and voila Maun/Botswana! This was perhaps one of a few trips that insertion to the country was at a remote airport and not in the capital.

By the time we landed, we were already there, at the vast expanse of the mighty Okavango Delta, one of Africa's most iconic landscapes! Apart from the countless animal wildlife, the ghostly silhouettes of dead trees give the delta a hint of the apocalypse! The African savanah breeze was a warm and nice natural welcome to the new environments. At the tiny Maun airport, it was a matter of seconds to find our agent. He took us to the camp and arranged what we needed for the next few days at the reserves. On the same day we managed to do a boat ride at the local Thalamakane river. So our first evening ended by watching the sunset on-board of a riverboat into the delta's waterlands..

Entering the plane for the heart of the savannah

Early next day, we were already on the go. An open Toyota Land Cruiser with a fully equipped trailer, the driver/guide, the cook and the three of us. First stop at Khwai game reserve. We set camp and slowly realised our new environments next to the water and of course along elephants, rhinos, crocs and any other mammals anyone can imagine.

Heading to the wilds

Luxury facilities!

Giraffes passing by..

..and elephants take their bath

The next days were full safari days. Game driving around the reserve and spotting wild animals. No walking or trekking or chilling around on our own. We had strict guidelines that we must always remain in the vehicle. So we drove and stop and drove and stop for hours. Except in some areas, the landscape was predominantly dense bush making it difficult to see far but only around us. In the evening we moved to the open plan, tried to spot wildlife game and enjoyed the majestic sunset over the savanah.

Looking for the mammals

Elephant family

Black or white?

The cutest giraffe in the Okavango!

Two days after and about 120kms afar we camped within Savuti game reserve. A vast open expanse the Savuti marsh is open land and spotting herds of wild animals is relatively easier. The area was once a very large lake that stretched across northern Botswana, today it is a dry large opening with a distinctive harsh and empty feel to it. There, we were lucky enough to spot a group of lions having set a trap to a buffalo. Amazing feeling of contentment to be so close to the king of the jungle, at its natural environments. It was one of the highlights, truly an experience to remember.

Downfoot at Savuti

African skies

Time for dinner

Next day we glided across the waters in a mokorro, a shallow canoe that is led and moved by a standing poler. The peace and serenity of the activity was only stopped when we spotted a hippo showing off his jaws. They can become unpredictable if they feel that their own space is invaded. Of course we didn't go close but around, we rather took the long way.

Our guides (and canoe polers)

Hyperolius parallelus (or simply the reed frog)

Serenity

A male hippo showing off his jaws

Crocodilino

Another amazing day comes to an end

Moving on from Savuti, we camped at Chobe river front. This was perhaps one of the best spots we camped during our days in Africa. We had an amazing sunset at the banks of Chobe with elephants passing by. It was trully mesmerizing and a moment to remember for a lifetime! The next day we saw all mammals concentrated at the river banks, giraffes, impalas, bufallos, elephants, kudus all leaving together in harmony.

We arrived in the town Kasane about midday. We arranged for a river boat to take us and see things from the waterside. We've seen elephants crossing the river, a group of hippos taking a bath, some crocodiles and amazing birds, only meters away from us!

We returned to Kasane and departed for the border with Zambia nearby. We crossed the river/border with a primitive ferry against the strong currents if Chobe. Luckily we've made it and entered Zambia in good moods.

Typical savanna

Waterhole in the middle of nowhere

The lion king

and the family

A young male looking for hunt

An elephant at its natural spot

African evening skies

Setting up dinner

On the go again

Wild buffalo Spyros

Drive on thin and loose sand

Baboons blocking the way..

An elephant strolling by the river

Ma-gni-fi-scent setting

With the boys sailing Chobe river

We crossed the border at the Kazungula ferry, where four different country borders (Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe) meet right at the heart of Zambezi river. Even if it was a short ride the cross was epic, considering the strong river currents and the fact that the ferry was a true wreckage platform taking you across to the other side. Plus we had to step into water in order to reach Zambia. To avoid it, we got hold at the back of an exiting track. Funny entry to the country..

We moved quickly to Livingstone, a mostly touristic town in Zambia servicing the crowds visiting the Victoria Falls. We walked around and had nice dinner, realizing that people here looked more stressed and worried compared to the Batswanas. Next day, off to the might falls!

The setting is an amazing gorge between flatlands on the Zambezi river. The weather was not so great and the amount of water flowing was at its peak at this time of the year. Meaning visibility was relatively low, even if we were so close to the waterfalls. We enjoyed getting soaked by the spray and rain and moved on.

Victoria Falls bridge

Praying for the rain to stop

Million of litres per second

Victoria Falls bridge

Photobombing on our epic photo!

Ready to take on our own wheels and hit the Namibian roads!

Africa, here we come!

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 06:38:00 -0400

Botswana, little of Zim and Zam, and Namibia. With great friends and the best ever trip planning! Really looking forward, 20 days before departure!!!

A stunning sunset at Etosha as a teaser

Post-earthquake Nepal

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Wed, 24 Feb 2016 17:38:00 -0400

Hello to everyone!

It is really exciting to write back into this blog after quite sometime. It even gets emotional considering that I have returned from a recent trip to Nepal, the country that originally sparkled the creation of this blog! The country and people that have been through tough times in the past, and needless to say, in the last months since the earthquake happened in April'15.

The world news about an earthquake in Nepal spread fast on the morning of Saturday the 25th of April. I didn't know until a friend called saying "Nek, there is a serious earthquake in Nepal"! For a moment I froze. I hoped it happens somewhere far, deep in the Himalayas, far from any inhabited areas. Few hours later I found out the earthquake's epicenter location was in Gorkha! Oh my god, that cannot be true.. I checked again and again and sadly realised the epicenter was only 12 kms from the village of Dhawa. Thousands of pictures passed through my mind, I started thinking of the village and what could be the impact of the earthquake at the local communities, families and to the local poor infrastructure, including our schools that I have been working for the last 5 years. As the news where unfolding at the international media, I thought that everything is lost. Communication was almost impossible, not only that day but for weeks after. I felt distressed and great sorrow. I knew that disastrous events in very poor (and politically paralyzed) nations such as Nepal often become a long drawn out of chain events, in that one disaster feeds into another for years. I felt so little and powerless to help.

In the midst of events, I managed to talk with the village and the first news said that there were no casualties recorded to that moment. Lucky enough, the earthquake happened at the most convenient time, when school is closed and everyone is out of their homes. That was a relief and an opportunity for a deep breath. I thought to get on the next plane to Nepal and get there to assist. A small Learning Planet response team flew from London few days after. With better communication and more news flowing in the media, I was able to find out more. Long power cuts, shortage of water, shortage of fuel, chaos. I decided to stay back at home. This is an emergency situation and not a humanitarian yet. Emergency response experts were needed, not reconstruction people. So I stayed back and watched the events unfolding. Few days after, another post-earthquake hits Everest region and kills 200 making it 8,964 casualties in total and thousands more homeless.

In December 2015, I finally took the plane and returned back to Nepal after almost two years. The plan was to assist as much as I could for the two weeks I had available. With good preparation and the assistance of all of you who donated through Youcaring fundraising site, I took off to assist in rebuilding the semi permanent school classes that will house the students until the main school premises are constructed. At least they will be out of the tents..

As soon as I arrived in Kathmandu, my brain adapted fast into the well known senses that a city like this has to offer. Eight months after the devastating events, it looked surprisingly calm and quite. I arrived on Saturday so this was expected but as the days were passing by it remained as such. The busyness and vibe of the city was still recovering. After sorting myself at the guest house I went out for a plate of momos and a walk around the city.

Local papers over a platter of momos

It was expected that reconstruction will be taking place. But the government unfortunately had not distributed the billions of internationally donated $$$ fund yet. They were still to decide, eight months after, who is going to manage this fund. So in fact reconstruction was only happening at historical monuments and public buildings. I met Kaasim, a 20 years young man who lost his father and sister when his home collapsed in the suburbs of Kathmandu. We discussed for hours. We took a bus and went to Boudhanath stupa which was actually a worksite. From there, he took me to his nearby tent where he is now living with his remaining family, homeless and unemployed.. on the way we stopped at the local noodle making that serve the homeless in the open parks of Kathmandu.

Reconstructing Boudhanath stupa

Noodle making in the slums

I stayed in Kathmandu only for few days. I met Monika (Learning Planet's new architect) and Nripal from Abari, designer and fierce promoter of the bamboo and earth housing structures (he builded the bamboo roof at Balimtar school). In these few days I tried to discover the impact of the earthquake in the capital and also acclimatise myself in the environments. But this time my days were limited so I needed to move fast. I was already in touch with Giri and had already planned to go to Chitwan, at the city of Bharatpur to meet him. His father was sick in the hospital. Plus being close to the Indian border, prices to buy cement and what is required for the school are cheaper comparing to hard hit Gorkha.

Mobile eatery

Elephant stroll in Sauraha, Chitwan

Overlooking the Rapti river and the Chitwan National park

During the days in Bharatpur, I was given the opportunity to talk to young students who are taking science subjects at their final college year. I was approached by one of the teachers of Orchid Science College, Baburam a friend of Giri, to visit their school and talk about the engineer profession and what is like to work as an engineer today. I talked of what and where I studied, about my work life so far, new technologies and ideas and answered to numerous questions I was asked (in clear English). They all seemed thoughtful about their futures and the possible tracks to the profession of engineer. I talked to two classes of about 25 students each. I really felt honored and hopeful that I bring a positive message to them. We had really interesting talks and a good laugh. At the end, they offered me delicious momos.

Introducing engineering..

..or better 'imagineering'!

Next day, after hours of bus riding the hell out of it, I arrived in Gorkha, very close to the epicenter of the earthquake. Someone could easily sense the devastation although not all buildings were destroyed, some where still standing strong. In the city of Gorkha buildings are made stronger comparing to those in the surrounding rural areas. Approaching Dhawa with the off-road bus I saw one of the most beautiful sunsets of my life, in a familiar and loving landscape, the Himalayas. I arrived to my old neighborhood where most people greeted me with my name. That was quite an emotional moment.

Over the clouds at Gorkha

My neighborhood in Dhawa village

Next day it was time for action! I went first to see the students of Shree Prabhat and the school structures. I had mixed feelings of happiness for seeing them again -grown by two years- and sadness of what happened to their lovely school and their family homes (60% of houses were destroyed). Tents replaced their classrooms while computers and library materials are resting waiting for the new building for them to be housed. They are now 'schoolless'.. It is difficult to experience disaster of good work done for so many years. I felt bittered and disappointed. Hardly tried to find reasons for optimism. At least it was natural disaster, not man-made...

Morning school assembly in the Himalayan mist

Tent classrooms

Shree Prabhat school from above

I inspected all school areas to get an understanding of the situation. The lower main school building is declared unsafe by government officials. That means there is only one way: demolition! I felt unsafe walking around and in the building, the smallest tremor and it can collapse in seconds. As I first walked around I took pictures of the once nicely refurbished building. I felt sad of what happened and that this school premises belong to the past. Slowly slowly, intact windows and doors will be removed and kept aside to be reused along with all power equipment including the photovoltaic panels. Whatever remains usable it will be reused in the new school buildings to reduce reconstruction costs as much as possible.

School building declared UNSAFE

Major crack at teachers room

Serious opening at class 9 upper floor

Failed section below the PVs

Old satellite classrooms destroyed

Devastation

As always, kids were happy to see someone looking after their school. Even though I did not have time to rebuild many things, I think just my presence there gave them a sense of hope that they are not left alone. That someone outside of Nepal is looking to improve their school facilities, someone who has been there in the past. They transferred great energy to me and reminded me why I am coming back again and again to this country and village.

Giri delivering a lesson

With the boys of class 10

Having a hopeful laugh

Nepal loving student

Shree Prabhat school, cast representation

I also walked down to Balimtar to check out the ECD school. I knew already that our three newly constructed classrooms withstood the earthquake impact without even a crack. The buildings were first used as a shelter for people to protect themselves from the rain just hours after the earthquake and then for cooking the village's meals. Balimtar now has returned to normal and the school accepts kids for classes.

Balimtar ECD school survived!

Roof and walls remained solid

Materials were unloaded in Dhawa to be ready for the construction workers. Finding skilled workers in Nepal these days is not an easy task. They are all occupied in reconstruction works spread across the affected areas. Their rate has gone up too. Our usual skilled workers are back to their villages reconstructing their own homes. Some arrangements have been made for them to start in mid-March when the team will be back on-site. Carpenters are even more scarce to be found. The one (and only) who was based in Dhawa is now away working in Chitwan. The pre-welded metal beams are pretty straightforward to install with good instructions about bolts and structuring by the manufacturer. The designs are for three classrooms with half height brick walls.

Other charities have started implementing reconstruction plans in the region of Gorkha. Work of course is focused in communal and public buildings like schools, local and regional offices, health posts. Homes are to be rebuilt on their own capacities. Many of the iNGOs are reluctant of sending volunteers in a country that they cannot guarantee their safety. I heard some of them are given restrictions by their travel insurance providers and cannot send volunteers. I hope by now the issue is resolved.

Bringing cement to the school

And metal beams

For the reconstruction of semi permanent classrooms

Quick clip from new flooring works (sent by Giri)

Reconstructing support building

I walked around the village extensively. I wanted to get a feel of how people have accepted what happened some months ago and how life is moving on for them. Recovery takes much longer in countries like Nepal. Although, their life somehow has returned to normal while at the same time they are trying to heal the wounds the earthquake brought.

Boys at their Saturday wash

Traditional Nepali daal bhat

LondON!

I have also visited the Parvati Womens Committee twice. This is a group of about 450 women with a main purpose to help other women to learn new skills, provide micro-loans, establish training classes and help those that they're having really difficult time to get on with their every day lives. Each woman pays a monthly subscription fee of 50 Nepali rupees (~0.50 euros). The collected money are distributed to those in urgent need. Women in Nepal do all the hard work. They have to work hard in the fields, cook, fetch water, look after the children, they even work in construction. So I visited the Committee during their meetings and discussed their current issues. I was overwhelmed by their participation. They were all talking loud and I had difficulties to fully understand them, even with the interpretation of my good friend and english school teacher Kashindra. I promised them I will help them as much as I can, so I pledge all of you if you know any women group that is interested to cooperate with this group of Nepali women, please come in touch!

Sifting the millet

Women at (constant) work

Parvati Womens Committee

The last couple of days I moved from Dhawa to Pokhara in order to take some much needed rest before returning back. Pokhara is the trekkers entry point to the Annapurna Himalayas, one of the most spectacular trekking circuits in the world. I stayed in a basic guest house and strolled around. I hired an Enfield motorbike and went to one of the best viewpoints in the Himalayas, a place called Sarangkot. From there someone can see the mighty peaks of the Annapurna Himalayas. It was a trully mesmerising moment.

Machapuchare (6993m) -left peak

Annapurna II (7939m) -middle peak

Fewa Lake, Pokhara

Sunset at the Annapurnas

Time flew so quickly again and I had to take the plane back home. Another journey to the Himalayas has come to an end. But this is only physically because mentally is a place I am always visiting. This is the place to feel 'selflessness' to its majesty. Something that is sometimes hard to sense in the western world.

A huge thank you goes out to all those of you who donated, even the smallest amount, to rebuild the school fundraiser. It meant a lot to the head teacher and to all the teachers of the school. I hope by now everyone received their card and diary. It was a small Thank you from the school children of Shree Prabhat School, I can ascertain you they felt that they are not helpless. On their behalf, we are deeply grateful. They are all waiting for you to visit them!

Spread the message, be happy and simply offer Never Ending Peace And Love to others!

Be well

Nektarios

p.s some relevant music to help your travels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpraoWWzNBY

Help re-build schools in remote Nepal

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Sun, 1 Nov 2015 13:27:00 -0400

Nepal in tremors!

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 06:55:00 -0400

I can't describe my inner feelings with words.. unfortunately the district where we have been working for 5 years was just 12kms from the earthquake epicentre. Our new school below stood strong, as it was designed to do. Although, 90% of buildings in Dhawa are almost completely destroyed. Luckily everyone in the village survived. My thouhgts and prays are with the peoples of Nepal.

Happy 2015!

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Fri, 2 Jan 2015 09:30:00 -0400

Happy New Year everyone!

Bhutan, the Land of the Thunder Dragon

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Sun, 30 Mar 2014 11:29:00 -0400

Welcome to Bhutan! The Land of the Thunder Dragon! The Land of Happiness! :)

Photos from the recent trip to the last Himalayan Buddhist Kingdom!

Eastern Himalayas

The King (and the Queen) welcomes you

Downtown Paro

Remnant building at Paro valley

Bhutanese boy

Smoking in public spaces, prohibited!

Taking a break from the cycle ride

King's birthday celebrations

Karma (Phallus) Choden

TEDx event speakers

Elder monks at the prayer wheels

Weaving in progress

Precious garments

US$ 8300(!)

The capital Thimphu from above

The Buddha place

Step #1

Step #2

Result!

Ngultrums

Archery, the national sport

142m walk for each throw

High-tech bow

Life is not a race

Wonderful is life!

Monk at the Dochula pass

Emergency exit at the Druk Wangyal temple

Another tree of life

Bhutanese youngster

Phallus arts

Decoration at a restaurant

Wearing the traditional Gho's

Kinley and the blessing(!)

Hydroelectric intake

Works undergoing

Cob housing

To keep the evil spirits away

Wearing the traditional Kira's

Marathon's finishing line

Interpreting the symbols

Inside Punakha Dzong

Incredible detail

...and colours

Monks chatting

With the boys at the dzong's bridge

Young novice monk

Punakha Dzong

Schoolboy

On the way uphill

Prayer flags to go with the wind

Script written in Uchen

Hidden between the rocks

Blessings

Prayers flying high

Tiger's Nest (Taktsang monastery)

The Royal holiday villa at Paro

Rinpung dzong interiors

Monk

The bridge at Paro dzong

Bhutan's only international airport

Bhutan's only international airline

Jomolhari peak, 7300m

Life in Dhawa (v.2)

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 14:51:00 -0400

Hello from the Himalayas!

I would like to write so much of what is happening here these days, to transfer all these life enhancing experiences to you all, but at the same time, my devotion to help those people, my temptation to have an insight of their lives does not allow me to spend too many hours on my computer typing.

Things have seriously changed in Dhawa since the last time I was here. And when I say change, I mean change for better. The school has now state-of-the-art facilities for remote Nepali standards and the whole community makes the best out of these facilities too. The new school at Balimtar is soon finishing construction and it looks amazing not only for Nepali standards but comparing to any ECD school in the world. It will be powered by a small hydro-power plant; at the moment we are still taking water flow measurements to evaluate the energy yield from the water stream. With the tireless input of Matthew Bowman (engineers without borders) we are building Dhawa.net, a wi-max network that will enable 14 schools in the region, plus everyone between them, to have, cheap, stable and uninteruptible internet and telecoms access. We have even equiped the local health post with a solar panel (and everything that comes with it), a computer, internet and a telemedicine software licensed by Harvard University, to assist the doctor in diagnosis and in his/her approach to cure.

The most encouraging of all is the people who are benefited from our work. Especially the young, they are so much worth our efforts and hard work. They so much deserve to have free access to the right, stimulating environments in order to learn new things, to discover, to express themselves and their talents.

Last but not least, I am extremely thrilled to be back in the mighty Himalayas, the greatest mountain range on earth! The scenery here is simply breath-taking, day and night. We have a 8000m peak (Manaslu) on clear view for our daily background. You can get a glimpse of all the above at the following captions..

Enjoy viewing!

Tashi Delek!

Nektarios

On the bus to Dhawa, dazed and dizzy

Entrance to Balimtar village

Over the clouds

Shree Prabhat upper secondary school

Please enter shoes-less

New computer room

Skyping session with son abroad

Namaste class 3!

Outdoor class by Manaslu peak

Outdoor class by Ganesh Himal peak

Learning Planet's new ECD school at Balimtar

Varnished bamboo

Down to the river

Pico-hydro power flow measurements

Tree of life

Telecoms and internet node

Testing Village Telco

Installing node at health post with Matt

Learning Planet workers skyping with Justin

Over the clouds again

Sunseting at the mighty Himalayas

Local villa

Dal bhaat power 24 hour

Indigenous woman

Didi

Sujita and her naturally made ear rings

Out in the fields

Always smiley Mandira

Crazy Santosh

Sleek

Dhawa boys

Babu and the clan

Breakfast time

Hand made haze rugs

Ramati school

Engaging the community in what is coming

With Giri Raj

Tree of another life

Contemplating...

High and above

Plato at Ramati school walls

Kathmandu live!

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 09:58:00 -0400

Hello from Kathmandu! 8 Magh 2070 here! No cars don't fly yet, you will see below, but returning here is like flying 1400m above sea level, in a sensory overloaded city.

A new journey has just started, already acclimatised, and ready to depart for Dhawa. I will meet again all those people who we lived together back in 2010, at the foothills of the Himalayas. The kids at school must have seriously grown up now and I can't wait to see them all. Working with Learning Planet, we have some really exciting projects undergoing.

More to follow, but first I need to get to Dhawa, my first challenge...

All the best to all!

Nektarios

Shree Gha

UNESCO Durbar square

Happy 2014

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 09:36:00 -0400

Reflections on St Lucia

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Sun, 3 Nov 2013 14:04:00 -0400

Photo-reflections from a trip to St Lucia island

Greco-St Lucian cooperation

The Pitons

An UNESCO natural site

With good friends Marina, Dimitris, Maria

Heading to the pool

Volcanic plug

Downtown Soufriere

Piton wall painting

Lush tropical jungle

The Diamond waterfall

Simply beautiful

Worlds only drive-in volcano

Totem sign

Sunseting at the Pitons bay

Boarding a ferry = very complex situation

Accused for being a terrorist...

(never back to St Lucia :)

More reflections on Dominica

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Sun, 25 Aug 2013 15:00:00 -0400

Photo-reflections from another trip to Dominica

Strictly local products

Exhausted

Paddling

The Indian river

Unbelievable scenery

Pirates of the Caribbean II scene

Paddling and talking (yeah man!)

River creatures

Stunning fractals

More river creatures

Batibou Bay

(Empty) bar by the beach

From Caribbean with love

Palm trees leaning to the sea

Grilled banana and other specialties

Brenda, the vender, the very tender you will always remember!

Entering the Kalinago territory

Indigenous

Amazing thatched roof

Gathering the tribe

Combed by the Atlantic winds

Another creature in the jungle

Kalinago art

Traditional basket in the making

My bargains

Nice to meet you

Kalinago kids

Secret Bay

Picturesque

Shower in the jungle

Secret Bay villa

Totally relaxing

Sunset somewhere in the Caribbean

Reflections on Morocco

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Wed, 29 May 2013 19:04:00 -0400

Photo-reflections from a trip to Morocco

Warm welcoming Morocco

Casablanca_Guests at the cheikh Lalhou's home!

Casablanca_Magnificent Hassan II mosque

Casablanca_With the Lalhous

Casablanca_Mosque detail

Casa not so Blanca

Casablanca_Taking a rest

Marrakesh_Jemaa el-Fnaa square in the evening

Marrakesh_Trades from all over Morocco

Marrakesh_Walking in the Medina

Marrakesh_Overload at the sense of smelling

Marrakesh_Islamic art

Marrakesh_Colorful droplets

Marrakesh_Entrance to public baths

Marrakesh_Colorful alleyways

Marrakesh_Beautiful passage

Marrakesh_Gorgeous entrance to a riad

Marrakesh_Riad internal

Marrakesh_At YvesSaintLaurent's Jardin Majorelle

Marrakesh_Seller at Jemaa el-Fnaa

Marrakesh_Yummi :)

Marrakesh_Pray time

Marrakesh_Ben Youssef madrasa

Marrakesh_An ex-islamic college

Marrakesh_Beautiful mosaics

Marrakesh_Tanneries

Marrakesh_Fatima's hand graffiti

Marrakesh_Endurance awards

Marrakesh_Trippy

Marrakesh_Berbers so to be

Marrakesh_Morocco's hopeful future!

Marrakesh_Main gate train station

On the move

At the forefronts of great Sahara dessert

Sunset somewhere in Africa

Miami and Puerto Rico mix up!

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 22:22:00 -0400

Hello digital world!

It has been sometime since I wrote for this blog last. Life is moving so fast, so unpredictable and there is little time for me to stand and think a little bit. Stand and look back and plan better for the future. Intensive work patterns here in Martinique makes it even harder to devote good time for myself. I have been through some really gloomy times the last few months but I now get better indeed, stronger and happier and I realise how precious that gift called life is.

This post is a retrospective look to a small break I did here in the region. I visited Florida for the well known Miami's Winter Music Conference WMC2013. This is a week long electronic music event held every March since the mid 1980's in Miami Beach. Many dance music insiders, artists, record labels, promoters, producers, djs, technology representatives, are attending that week. And of course plenty of party goers from all over the world, especially from the Americas. So, along with my London friends who flew in from there, we went and we had some fabulous few days strolling around Miami and dancing to the nicest electronic tunes on earth nowadays. Here are some photos and text to convey your couch surf.

Over the Bahamas

Miami from above

To move around as it should we hired a convertible Mustang. Only to realise few days after that only tourists drive those cars. The locals have Lambos and Ferraris and big vans. For us it was good enough, and the price of petrol here is cheap as chips. No wonder why all these US 'expeditions' taking place in the middle east, in the name of peace(!). USA will always bring images we all have seen on the cinema and TV and Miami did this to me also. Think about the police cars; will bring to my mind numerous American movies I have watched in the past. That is why a popular, US touristic marketing moto back in London, that was all over the place few years ago, was reading: 'You've seen the films, now visit the settings'. Accurate to the point.

Ole Ole get to the cabriolet :)

Florida, the sunshine state

Heading downtown

The guys with Maria were there few days already when I arrived. Two more friends from NYC were joining us too for the remaining days. So a nice group of people, good friends, nice weather, good mood, good musics and events was a guarantee of good quality time while discovering this part of the world. They kindly picked me from the airport and went for my first round downtown and to Miami beach. I was dazzled by the size of things, roads, cars, buildings etc. So American. I think excess is in their bloods and they like everything big. Someone must taught them that size is not a matter of greatness..

Miami vice

Ocean drive, south beach Miami

The beach is a long white strip of sand overlooking the Atlantic. Not the easiest swim but they were many, mostly young, people in the ocean waters. An atmosphere of fun and play was evident everywhere. There are many hotels and clubs by the beach. In fact everything is happening by the coast or the Ocean drive along the beach. Bars, clubs, hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, expensive cars. We wanted to see life by Miami beach so we booked to go to a party at hotel Delano. The dj line up was good, the event organiser, and we've been told the crowds too. Outside the hotel, couple of Lamborghinis plus some plastic blond girls were welcoming the people entering.

Famous Miami beach

and its birds..

Entrance to Delano

Daytime party

Party goers

After-party burger eating

We have been to some other interesting events including the famous Get Lost Miami which we heard is a guarantee success every year. Also an open air day event, we spent hours of dancing and meeting crazy people from all over. It seemed to me that in Miami Spanish is the first language and not English. Everywhere you go they speak Spanish. Even in the airport when you are checking in to go, they talked to me in Spanish rather than English! I even saw an advertisement for a sales job indicating that in order to apply you must know English!

CrossTown Rebels_Get Lost Miami '13

Wynwood is an art district in north downtown Miami. There are more than 70 galleries, museums and art collections. Wynwood is also home to Wynwood Walls, an outdoor mural permanent exhibit featuring some of the world's most renowned street artists. Additionally, there are hundreds of other street art and graffiti around the district making it one of the biggest street art districts in the world. We've been to an event taking place inside a gallery! We were dancing between pieces of art and some weird installations. Really unique experience. That night ended up in an English-like pub (a last minute change of the event venue) where we all felt somehow familiar. :) The crowds were cool and the live appearances too. There I met the lead guy from Thievery Corporation, Rob Garza. He was explaining me why the Thieveries are so in love with Greece and their Greek fans. They did their first ever gig outside the US in 1996 in Greece and as he told me it was legendary. As most of their gigs in the country. We love Thievery!

Wynwood district by night

DJ Osunlade on da decks

Electric Pickle crowds

Passing the message (courtesy by Rg)

After the hangovers and some souvenir shopping I left Miami behind with the best memories. It is indeed a place to go and cheer (if not say cheeeese) between some of the best clubs and electronic events in the world. I am not posting info about artists and musics played here. It is going to be a long list of worthies, I will just say that it was a nice celebration of listening to good electronic music. Only few places on earth can be compared with Miami's house music scene and I was happy I got a taste of it. While living my own American dream for a bit. It was nice, despite the fact I am not so keen with all American things. It was a nice break that included a little surprise at the end...

My flight back was going through Puerto Rico, a major US hub towards the Caribbean and Latin America. My friends were also flying through Puerto Rico but they had a plan to stay few days and discover. My flight from Miami left late so we missed the one per day connection to Fort-de-France. A day after I went to take the plane and after 30 minutes on air the plane had to return back to San Juan because of a fault. A small American Eagle plane did few crazy things up in the air and seriously everyone, including me, thought it was our last flight of our lives! Thanks God, the pilot took us down BACK to San Juan for a second day of delay.

Not to complain though, I had the chance to go out and discover a bit of San Juan (the capital of the island) along with my friends who were already there. The sun was shining and despite the tiredness from the previous days, we managed to see lots of interesting sites mainly within the beautiful colonial Old San Juan.

Puerto Rico supposed to be US but at the time of writing is an 'unincorporated territory'. Officially, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is not an independent country but part of US. And as they say in about a year or two, it will become the 51st state. So there is still some atmosphere of the Hispanic Caribbean that is unknown if it will keep to exist the coming years. Puerto Rico, Hispaniola (Dominican Republic & Haiti) and Cuba were the first islands to be colonized by the European (Colombus). It was the home of Tainos, the original indigenous people of these islands who arrived with canoes from Latin Anerica's Orinoco delta. Historically enemies of the neighboring Carib tribes, they had divided the island in chiefdoms. The Spanish of course changed the island to a colonial trade hub. It appeared to me that Spanish is the first language and not English, though everyone could speak English (with a Spanish accent). The influence of the colonial era is manifesting itself through numerous well preserved buildings, an UNESCO fort site overlooking the Caribbean and Atlantic, churches and beautiful pebbled street neighborhoods. Here are some photos.

Downtown San Juan, Puerto Rico

Typical neighborhood, Old San Juan

In God we trust

Easy rider police department

Castillo San Felipe del Morro (UNESCO site)

Colonial Puerto Rico

Music was playing everywhere and someone could sense the fiesta style of living even if it was a Monday the day I was strolling around. The atmosphere, sounds and smells were certainly Caribbean, away from Florida's hype. Even if people from cruise ships arrive here in hordes, it still has some nice character; and there are some corners in Old San Juan that still take you back in time. It felt relaxed and I was lucky within my -flights- unluckiness (greeklish:) to have the chance to explore this beautiful place.

'La musica es mi arma' (yes it is)

PuertoRican delight

Drunk cat

A little magic shop in the heart of San Juan

Reflecting on all the above, I will stop and think. My mind will remain silent for a moment, to get on-board a consciousness journey that leads to a deep end. But who cares where it leads. The journey is equally challenging and fulfilling and a gift itself. After all notions, life is not measured by the breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away.

Be well, as you devise

Listen to good music

Dream big

Nektarios//

Reporting for Dominica

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:50:00 -0400

This has been a small break into the neighboring island of Dominica. A lush tropical island in the south Caribbean (the Lesser Antilles). The reason? My good friends from the homelands visited me here in Martinique! They left then for Guadeloupe and Dominica. I went to meet them there and we returned back to Martinique together. They had fabulous time in all three islands and I was very happy to have them for their few days here.

I left Martinique on a commercial liner boat, the Express Des'iles. The weather was great as well as the mood. It was nice to see the island from the sea, you get a totally different perspective on views. The sea was relatively calm and everything smooth up to the point we left Martinique behind and the boat started moving quite a lot. People got sick and a pleasant sail ended up fighting for survival(!) I will not go in detail but it was an experience to go through this and felt proper relieved when I touched my feet onto the Kubuli land, Dominica.

Leaving Martinique

Approaching Dominica

Entering an independent country

Dominicans are proud for their history and culture. 72,000 inhabitants-islanders forming an independent Commonwealth country. The last of the Caribbean islands to be colonised by the Europeans, it gained independence from the British in 1978. The Caribs were fierce fighters and had the assistance of the thick jungle and mountainous terrain to retain most of invaders. Though Domenica (Sunday) was the day that Christopher Columbus first sighted the island, the locals call their country something maybe more poetic, Waitikubuli, which means 'tall is her body'. Kubuli pride is everywhere, at signs and posters, the name of the national beer!

Dominica offers one of the best places in the world if you like natural hot spa under a leafy jungle environment. Due to its volcanic nature, hot springs are everywhere. There is even a hot lake up in Trois Piton National Park called the boiling lake. The temperatures are really boiling. The spa cottage were we stayed had an outdoor pool plus a smaller indoor one with water with higher temperatures.

I did also sense some environmental awareness in Dominica. No litter and signs provoking you to respect the environment and the surroundings are in most places. The locals seemed respectful towards nature and I liked that. Kubulis have a beautiful piece of volcanic rock and I see no reason why shouldn't they be proud for their country.

Dominica_..the Kubuli country

Dominica_Environmental awareness

Dominica_Follow the sign to the jungle...

Dominica_...and submerge yourself into the hot waters

Dominica_Indoor hot pool

We followed the so called longest trail in the Caribbean, the Waitukubuli trail. We walked in a wet, muddy, full of roots trail in a thick tropical rainforest. Was beautiful and wild in vegetation. We stopped and enjoyed the few sun-rays passing through the tall trees. About 20 minutes after we arrived at the Middleham waterfall. An amazing waterfall, cascading off a rainforest ridge falling about 60 meters into a tranquil blue swimmable pool. We didn't swim it but we left wet by the intense spray from the fall. It was about a 3 hours return walk to the fall and were thirsty. So we stopped by and enjoyed the local pride..

Dominica_The longest trail in the Caribbean

Dominica_Raga roots

Dominica_Stunning Middleham waterfall

Dominica_Visiting with the expedition from Megara

Dominica_Local pride

Dominica looks poor from the first sight. Not to a poverty level but still someone can sense that there is only little to be shared here. Comparing with Martinique it's like a world away. The roads with potholes, quickly made housings that remind Africa, old cars, and shops that you can buy cigarettes per piece. The eastern Caribbean dollar is certainly not as strong as other hard currencies. Although people are proud for their country and despite the difficulties most of Dominicans seem happy people.

Dominica_This is Kubuli

Dominica_Chilling by the side walk!(!)

Cooperative credit union of Dominica

Dominica_Your patriotic neighbor

We got bikes and rounded the south part. We visited several places including the magnificent Trafalgar falls. We could choose to relax in a natural hot spa under the thick jungle or swim the cold waters from the waterfalls. It was an exhilarating experience. Couple of hours after being submerged into the sulfur waters your skin feels smooth and clean; your mind too.

Anarchy in Dominica

Dominica_The Trafalgar falls (Mama and Papa)

Dominica_Placid feelings

We continued south till the end tip of the island. We arrived at the Scotts Head, a small peninsula nearby the village. the Carib name of the peninsula is Cachacrou which means 'hat which is being eaten'. From there we could see the north side of Martinique too.

Dominica_The Scotts Head peninsula

Dominica_Walking to the Champagne reef

It has been really nice short break to the neighboring Dominica and even for this short while I was able to get a glimpse of the local hospitality and their culture. I realised that even if it is so near to Martinique it is a world away. Colonisation in the Caribbean has separated not only economically but also culturally the islands and people. We spoke with the man here below and told us he has never been to Martinique, an hour and a half with the boat away. He seemed happy though so maybe it is better for him and everyone to stay where he belongs. We took a set of silly pictures, he wanted to get photographed with everyone. :) Pitty I don't even remember his name.

Dominica_Cool Kubuli people

Dominica_Ready for everything

Great place to visit, but my advise is only if you are around. Don't travel too far to reach Dominica, it's little and you will want mooore :)

All the best

Wild things

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 17:11:00 -0400

Discovering mystic ways through rhythm and sound in an idyllic Caribbean location ...

Happy New Yeeeaarrr!

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 13:01:00 -0400

Life in the Caribbean

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:39:00 -0400

Well, imagine is raining, and it is already end of November, sitting at the veranda writing this post. The only difference is that the temperature is 30'C and the rain lasts only for 10-15 minutes. And this is one of the last, because 'summer' approaches soon and rain will come back again next summer eerm winter eeem summer or winter? Anyway, I am sure you know what I mean by all this. This is the south hemisphere, somewhere close to the tropic of cancer, in the south Caribbean sea where life gracefully brought me here.

It is almost 6 weeks since I arrived in Martinique and the more time goes the more I like it. I work at the upgrade of the one and only power plant in the island. Work is going well and I think I have already manage to absorb what is new and start applying it to practice. New types of work, new people, new house, new environments, I am excited! As a fresher in the island, in weekends, I tend to explore certain regions and I have discovered some precious locations, similar to those in postcards. I also start to learn the locals, this weird mix of afro-caribbean and french cultures. They have their own perceptions, their own beliefs and history and arts and music, blended in a special way with one of the largest european cultures, the french. This is my first time living within a black (modern) community, and my intentions are to understand them and respect them as they respect me. I am full of energy to face anything that comes across, good or bad, rain or sunshine, dream or reality.

LondOFF

For the palm trees...

the beach...

and beautiful sunsets

So the last few weeks, I have been exploring this Caribbean island, whenever I get some free time. My base is a beautiful home in Scholecher at the outskirts of Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique. I am taking it easy, during the week I have only time to see the sunset while returning back from work. Work takes most of my time here but despite that I have adapted well after 9 whole months of work break. I have made new friends, there are some new people around me of multicultural nature, plus the one and only, the guy who invited me here, my co-traveller in the RTW trip, Spyros a.k.a Loufos. We have worked closely (in distance) when at More London, now we work together. Funny to see ourselves from the tree houses in Lao few months ago to work together here in Martinique. He is a great friend and now a great colleague.

New home at Schoelcher, Martinique

One of the first expeditions, apart from the beaches, was to conquer the highest peak of the island, the volcano Pelee. Located at the north part of the island, the volcano erupted violently 110 years ago claiming the lives of 30000 people in the town of Saint Pierre, the capital of the island back then. Saint Pierre was a rich in culture town, well known not only here but to the rest of the Caribbean. There were theatres, commercial buildings and markets and a harbor. In May 1902, pyroclastic lava pulverised the town and its people within minutes from the eruption. Bodies were found at peaceful positions, like they didn't even have realised what was happening. Everything happened so fast. One man only survived, a prisoner locked in a prison cell with no windows and air intakes. We visited a museum with photographs from the aftermath of the disaster, as well as items collected few days after. Shocking to see the bell melted by the immense heat of the lava.

We saw the museum and went to start the climb up to the top, at the crater. We chose the fast but difficult way. It was around 3 hours return from the place we left the car, in a steep but well marked path. Unlucky that day, like most of the days, a thick cloud was sitting on top, preventing the views to the rest of the island and to the neighbouring Dominica. We reach (almost) the top and returned back, semi satisfied. A good reason to return there though. Will definitely try it again on a clear day.

View of Mont Pelée from Le Carbet

Saint Pierre_The remains of a pulverised theatre

Saint Pierre_Deformed

Saint Pierre remains two days after the disaster

Views from Mont Pelée

Morne Lacroix nearby the top

Couple of weekends ago we embarked with a catamaran for a sail to the south shores of the island. We left Trois Isles about 9 am and returned back just before dark. A kind of a touristic activity that I don't regret at all to have taken it. They offered plenty of drinks including endless planteur (a mix of rum and fruit juice, very popular here), really nice food on board, snorkeling gear, good music and good vibes. We visited some precious smaller beaches and circled the rocher du Diamant, a 175m high basalt island off the coast of Le Diamant beach. A great battle has happened here in 1803 between the French and the British, both claiming Martinique back then. The day continued by diving into some of the nicest waters I have ever dived, and exploring the coast from the sea.

Rocher du Diamant (The Diamond rock)

Anse d'Arlet

Under and over water Caribbean beauty

Nek & Rg sailing

Progress in the capital of Martinique seems to have stopped somewhere in the 1970's. Feels like the buildings, the shops even the people take you few decades back although in a nice relaxed way. I had a stroll while looking for the markets and discovered a city that runs in a slow tempo, in its own unique way.

The few night bars that stay open till late have strombo and disco lights and artificial smoke to fix up the mood. The music is usually a mix of ragga and dub with black vocals while women perform the 90 degrees dance to their partners. :) The drinks are almost standard mojito or caipirinha and some local beers. It is still fun. We have been also to some private parties, that happen quite often, in villas away from the public eye. Bars and clubs are only few, people preefer their pools and bbqs in private. Nothing to blame.

Fort-de-France_Downtown

Fort-de-France_The fruits market

Fort-de-France_Cool façade

Fort-de-France_Cool façade (2)

Fort-de-France_Foot bridge

Fort-de-France_Graffiti

Fort Saint Louis

Last Sunday we did an excursion to Presqu'île de la Caravelle, the only protected natural reserve in the island. It is the peninsula that sticks out to the Atlantic. There someone can visit the château Dubuc, a kind of castle used in the past either to accommodate the goods the pirates have stolen or later to receive the slaves from West Africa. A small museum shows pictures of the treatment the slaves have had when they arrived here. Shocking... I'm happy that since then the world has changed to better in regards to this atrocity called slavery.

Château Dubuc

Château Dubuc and the Atlantic

Slavery memorial (1)

Slavery memorial (2)

Le route de l'esclave, déportés africains

The reserve offers opportunities for some fine walks into the nature, into some pure tropical forest mixed with lagoons and sandy beaches. Very clearly marked, the walks vary from 1 to 4 hours paths that circle the presquille. I believe this is one of the most beautiful areas in the island. We saw some incredible trees submerged into the sea water and their branches and roots offered an eye watering psychedelic parenthesis to the green and blue landscape. Always keeping in mind for the highly venomous Martiniquan viper snakes that future in the regional flag too. It was a beautiful day out and certainly I will return there to do the longer path when I get the chance.

Presqu'île de la Caravelle_Lagoon

Presqu'île de la Caravelle_Psychedelic walk

Presqu'île de la Caravelle_Dream or reality?

Presqu'île de la Caravelle natural reserve

There are more to discover here and I tend to take it easy not to run out of new places quickly. A visit to neighbouring, english speaking, Santa Lucia island is under discussion and I hope we can make it there at some point. Flights and connections around the region are not highly available except if you want to visit Dominica or the more primitive Guadeloupe. There are a lot to discover still and I'm happy. Xmas almost here and it's strange to experience that under 30oC by the beach. :)

Wish you all the very best of life

From Martinique

NeKtaRioS

p.s and Happy Christmas!

Frogs feast at our cats plates...

The viper flag of Martinique

And for those unaware where Martinique is :)

Vive la Martinique!

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 22:35:00 -0400

With love from the 'Island of Flowers'!

Les Salines, Martinique

34 and counting....

N

+596 696 298 336

p.s check the king of cadence-lypso from neighboring Dominica.. Great spirit..

10000 clicks special [India-Nepal'09]

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:53:00 -0400

This is a special edition post to commemorate the first 10,000 clicks landmark of this blog! I am delighted to see that this link has been already loaded 10,200 times at the time of writing this post. Considering not much have happened since August, I decided to create a post from an epic trip back in 2009 when we embarked for a journey through northern India and Nepal. The plan was to travel from New Delhi to Varanasi and then to Nepal. From Pokhara to the Himalayan Annapurna trail, then Kathmandu, then fly back to New Delhi and back to Europe. All this in about 17 days..

Tour map

We arrived in Delhi in immense heat, and considering I had left London only few hours ago with cold and rain pouring, it was a kind of a shock to get off the plane and feel the 40oC heat on my skin. We met our friend Aris who was living in Delhi already 6 months teaching at a local school. Knowing the city, he suggested few site seeing tours and monuments to visit. We got our tuk-tuks and got submerged in the mad mad traffic of New Delhi. We visited the famous Bahai Lotus temple which people comparing it with Sydney's Opera house. From there we visited a world heritage site, the Humayun tombs, built around 1,600AD. Someone could sense the Persian influence to the architecture. The complex was large and it took us few hours to explore it in full.

New Delhi_Bahai Lotus temple

New Delhi_Isa Khan's tomb

New Delhi_Isa Khan's mosque

New Delhi_Humayun tomb

New Delhi_Humayun tomb interior

New Delhi_Dealing with tuk-tuk drivers

We left New Delhi to start our much anticipated planned journey. We got tickets for the train to Varanasi and the same day we were already on board. The train journey supposed to take around 11 hours, but in fact took 12 and a half hours to arrive to our destination. That was a train ride I will never forget. A low speed 'sleeper' train, with fans for air conditioning and some missing windows. We could go between the wagons and smoke at the open doors. I could actually sit at the doors while the train was running and stare at the night sky. A trip to remember...

New Delhi_Train to Varanasi

Arrivied in Varanasi at morning and we embarked for the difficult task to find a decent place to stay. It took us about 2 hours to find something. All the guest houses we saw were at an awful state. Every single we visited was worse than the previous others. And with the immense sun above us it was not a pleasant experience. Luckily enough we found 'Mama'. A nice Sikh lady which offered us her large house to accommodate us. Thankfully, she also provided us with food as the local restaurants and street food sellers were serving mainly fried unidentified objects...

'Mama' and her husband

Varanasi_Lunch at Mama's

We visited the silk district, a place were saris and clothing and other fabrics were made. Mama's cousin showed us around. Then of course he took us to his shop trying to sell his stuff. Interested tour, we bought some bargains and continued to river Ganga.

Varanasi_Saris on sale

Varanasi_Workers at the silk district

Varanasi, also known as Benares, is one of the oldest, constantly inhabited cities on earth. It widely known as the holy city of India. Pilgrims from all over India come here to take a bath at the holy waters of the river Ganges. Hindus consider the water of the Ganges both pure and purifying, despite the fact that it is considered as one of the five most polluted rivers in the world.. By bathing here however, Hindus are not necessarily attempt to remove physical dirt but symbolic 'dirt'. Its waters wipe away the sins of the bathers, not just of the present but of a lifetime.

The city is built at the east river bank. Everything happens at the east bank of the river, bathing, ceremonies, cremations and any kind of spiritual activity. We spent hours waking along its banks, the so called ghats.

Varanasi_East of the river Ganges

Varanasi_Lazy cows

Varanasi_Cobra charmer

Varanasi_Local hucksters

Varanasi_Vishwanath temple

Next day morning some (brave) of us, woke up early to take a row boat and experience the sunrise and its smooth light over the ghat buildings. I say brave because what we were about to experience was not for the faint hearted. Paddling through the dirty holy waters, we saw cremations and groups of people silently mourning for their dead. The dead were being wrapped in cloth and covered with wood for burning. At the cremations points, the burning ghats, you could smell the burning human flesh. Those who are lucky enough to be cremated at the banks of Varanasi are granted instant salvation. Salvation can also be achieved even if death has occurred elsewhere, considering the ashes of the burned body are thrown in the waters of Ganges.

It was personally difficult to digest all this. How can you consider its water pure when the large concentrations of coliform bacteria are almost 120 times more than the official permissible? How can you have people died from leprosy, bitten by snakes, people who committed suicide or pregnant women thrown unburned(!) into the river to disintegrate? It is a fine line between reality and spirituality. There is no clean or not clean for the Hindus, there is holy or not holy. And this applies not only for the Ganges waters. I will avoid writing about the hygienic standards at the city, as it can become very uncomfortable reading about it...

Varanasi_Sunrise at the river Ganges

Varanasi_Beautiful Hindu architecture

Varanasi_Holy dip

Varanasi_Ahilya ghat

Varanasi_Manikarnika burning ghat

Varanasi_Another burning ghat

Varanasi_Paddling through the 'holy' waters

We tried to discover a bit more of Varanasi, apart from the Ganges. It is a busy city, flooded with tourists, pilgrims, locals, motorbikes, cars, tuk-tuks, pedestrians, cows and many other types of paraphernalia. We hired a driver and went to the outskirts of the city to visit a Buddhist temple at Sarnath. Despite the Hindu population, there is a growing number of Buddhists in the region. We visited the monastery and... at last some peace!

Varanasi_Downtown

Varanasi_Buddhist temple at Sarnath

Varanasi_Novice monks praying

After few days of experiencing the extremes of Varanasi we took another train to go north. Our train arrived three hours late, at 3.30 in the morning. Three hours at Varanasi train station that I will never forget for reasons I will not expand here... Next day morning we arrived at the city of Gorakhpur at the eastern part of Uttar Pradesh region, near Nepal. From there we hired the most dangerous driver in the world to takes us to the border. After playing with death several times on the way and a break down, we finally arrived at the border of Nepal.

On the way to the border

Still going...

India ends- Nepal starts

From the moment we stepped in Nepal soils everything suddenly became quieter and peaceful. Someone could sense that this is not India anymore, even if it was just on the other side of the border. The people were more relaxed, the mess was less and our driver was driving the van as normal.. After few hours driving, we left behind the low plains and ascended to the foothills of the mighty Himalayas.

Peace and Love

Nepal_On the way to the Himalayas

We stayed in Pokhara, a popular tourist destination in central Nepal. We wanted to trek the Annapurna trail. We stayed few days to get some rest and explore this beautiful area. Pokhara has taken its name from the beautiful lake located next to the city. Pokhara is the second most populous city in Nepal. Here you can find anything you wish as a tourist, good accommodation, good food, places to go out, other international tourists and generally a nicely bustling environment. Pokhara is situated at the foothills of three (out of the ten) highest peaks in the world within 50kms north from the city. Most tourists, like us, coming here to depart, or return, from the Annapurna trail.

Peaceful Pokhara (Phewa) lake

Pokhara_Canoes for hiring

Jewelry on wheels

Herd on a bus!

Nepal_Local kids

Pokhara_Photo with a Newari lady

The team separated here as some were not up to trekking, they preferred to see other landmarks and so we decided to meet back again in Kathmandu. For us there would be four days of trekking passing through beautiful landscapes and the Himalayan villages of the region. We booked our tour, hired a local tour guide to come with us, paid the fees, bought walking poles and embarked to the mountains.

Annapurna_Bhurjung river

Annapurna_Carrom playing

The first day was mainly easy walk next to the Bhurjung river. We met some nice people on the way and we were greeted with Namaste! So peaceful and easy going. At some point it started raining and in order to reach our first destination before dark we decided to get the small local bus. We actually climbed and went over the top of it but when rain came back again, the driver stopped and we went back inside. Good fun but not with rain.

Annapurna_Newari girl with her brother

Annapurna_..and mum

Annapurna_Local 'shop'

We arrived at Tatopani village which literally means hot water. This is because there is a hot spring where locals and tourists taking a warm bath in its waters. We didn't have time as early next day morning we had to get going. We had requested to fit a six day trek into four days so we were mostly on the move. Which means we were exhausted most of the time. The second day it was all uphill. We did 25 kms uphill. We climbed from 2,100 altitude at Tatopani village up to 3,150 at Ghorepani. It was one of the most exhausting activities I have done in my life, and we all agreed that we regretted doing it in shorter time.

Annapurna_Hot springs at Tatopani village

Annapurna_Happy to be here

Annapurna_Himalayan village

Never Ending Peace And Love

The food was basic and supplies limited. I remember, upon our arrival wherever we were staying for the night, they were asking us what to eat so they can start preparing it about 6pm to eat at 9. I also remember seeing someone picking up a chicken from his backyard and taking into the kitchen for 'preparation'. Overall, I don't want to complain, we had enough and good food to keep us going...

Annapurna_Alu, naan and dal

Annapurna_Terraced rice fields

Annapurna_Typical Nepali house interior

Annapurna_Tough trail uphill

Annapurna_Buffalos

Annapurna_A welcome from the Maoists

Annapurna_Ghorepani village

Annapurna_Take me with you plz

During our stay in Tikhedhunga, our guide called in Pokhara only to discover that the Maoists had close the roads due to a (usual) strike. Which means our driver could not come and pick us up from the meeting point, Bheni village. We were a little bit concerned as to how we are going to go back to Kathmandu to catch our flight on time. Luckily enough, the strike ended next day and we were able to move on with our schedule back to Pokhara.

Stop over at Tikhedhunga village

Annapurna_Prayer flags

Annapurna_Fellow trekkers

Annapurna_Happy kids

Annapurna_Shops at Bheni village

Upon or return, we got another small tourist van from Pokhara to Kathmandu. It took about 8 hours to do a trip of 200km! The main national road is small way with lots of turns, and trucks and buses passing so close. Numerous accidents happening every day. We even saw few... We were stopped for more than an hour at a massive traffic where non of the vehicles was moving. After an exhausting trek, we had an exhausting trip to the Nepal's capital Kathmandu. We finally arrived well, in one piece...

Kathmandu_Back to 'civilisation'

Kathmandu is one of the most fascinating cities I ever visited. Located at the Kathmandu valley at an elevation of 1,400m asl. Hinduism and Buddhism are equally practised and respected here. It is definitely a spiritual city with plenty of temples, stupas and Buddha statues spread across the valley. The infrastructure, despite that it's the best in Nepal, it is still pretty basic. Load shedding (power cuts) occurs very often and the traffic is immense. I loved Kathmandu though. I met my ex class mate in Stockholm who is from here and he gave me an insight of the city. He said, there are a lot of problems to be solved but people are generally happy.

Kathmandu_Downtown

Kathmandu_Sadhus at Durbar square

Kathmandu_Temples in Patan

Kathmandu_Newari architecture

Kathmandu_Trans-mission impossible...

We saw a Tibetan protest in one of the busy streets of touristic Thamel. You see, unlike within China, here in Nepal Tibetans can freely express their views against the Chinese regime occupying their region. It was peaceful, however Nepali army police had a close eye of what was happening.

Kathmandu_Tibetan protesters

Kathmandu_Riot police

Kathmandu_Royal gardens

After exploring the most important sites in Kathmandu we flew back to New Delhi. Another two days there and then we got in a plane to return to Europe. The views from the air plane over the Annapurna range were majestic! We read in our guide that we should sit at the right hand side of the plane in order to have the views of the Annapurna and so we did! When we arrived in Delhi, we had promised ourselves to leave moustaches so we can 'blend in' with the locals easier(!) Well, we hoped so..

Annapurna from above

New Delhi_Moustache boyz

This journey had almost everything. Cultural and natural beauties, easy and difficult times (difficult especially related with our suffering stomachs). I personally learned a lot for the Hindu culture despite the few days we travelled. I fell in love with Nepal and it was then when I decided that I really wanted to come back here and work and help those disadvantaged communities. It was a start of my pursuit that ended up by completing the Light4Life school project in the remotes of Gorkha region (see posts from May'10). Since then I feel a great sympathy for Nepalis and a never ending desire to come back here. It is the land of the greatest mountain range on earth, the land of Never Ending Peace And Love.

Be well

Nektarios~

The Dreamtree Project - Jadur Madur - Rising Up

Hellas, the most beautiful country in a RTW trip

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:02:00 -0400

After a long trip around the globe, and a quick stop in London, I ended up in my home town, Megara. Everything seemed so small and kind of different. Is it me I see things in a different way or the place is indeed tiny comparing to large cities I visited such as Bangkok, Sydney, Buenos Aires? Whichever way you see it, this is the place I grew up, the place where my parents live, my brothers and sister and childhood friends, in a currently highly problematic country. People keep asking me which was the most beautiful country out of all those I visited, and I keep answering the same: Hellas, the most beautiful country of this trip!

To confirm that, only few days after I arrived back, my good friend Angelos invited me (once again) to go to Lefkada island. Along with my RTW co-traveller Spyros and two more good friend of ours, we got in car and after 4-5 hours we were in Lefkada. I have posted photos from Lefkada here from last summer also, but to fully cover the beauty of this place I have decided to post more pictures of its amazing beaches and its clear blue waters. We spent few days at probably the most spectacular beaches in Greece. Swimming in these waters make you feel rejuvenated. Like a treatment to your body and mind. The food we had at the tavernas was as always amazing, incomparable to any other food we tried throughout the RTW trip.

Lefkada_Passing at Kathisma beach

Lefkada_Porto Katsiki beach

Egremni, this stunning beach, left us for once more speechless. Its crystal clear blue waters, the white sand and the vastness of this place can take you into another level of summer day dreaming. :) A nice basic beach bar in the middle of the beach was providing cold drinks and good music. The way to reach the beach is stip and while the way down is easy, the way up the cliffs is daunting, especially with the 38oC heat. It definitely worth it! The pictures below will justify this.

Lefkada_Egremni beach

Lefkada_Plenty of space, one way...

Lefkada_...or the other

Lefkada_Tired friends

Lefkada_Sunset to the Ionian Sea

After Lefkada the days passed slow and easy. Happy with family and friends, mum's food and care. :) With the temperature never going below 30oC, we were every day at the beaches nearby Megara. During midday the heat was climbing up to 41-42oC. It can become very tiring even if I wasn't doing much. I think the heat in Greece has been more intense since the years I was living here, maybe due to global warming. Despite we had a proper winter with cold, rain and even snow, the summer gets pretty hot.

Sunset at Saronikos Gulf

Rebelious...

We had plans to visit the Greek mountains. It was time for us to explore the mighty Greek terrain and realise that in fact Greece is the most mountainous country in Europe! We have more than just islands. :)

Tseke and Tatty had proposed to visit Tzoumerka at northern Greece. A region in the Pindus mountain range famous for its glorious mountains and rivers. So we did! We packed the car and drove about 5 hours to reach the area. We stayed at some unique housing; self-sufficient bio-climatic igloos built by local stone and wood and located within a beautiful forest nearby the mountainous village of Ktistades. An amazing place to stay in, a tippie-like house. Our host Mr Nikos was very nice and welcoming (as well as his dogs) and provided home made bread and jam for breakfast. The houses provided a truly unique accommodation for us.

Tzoumerka rocks!

Kostas+Tatiana(+a newcomer)

Lovely house

theasis-igloo.com

We explored the region by car. The roads were basic and full of turns but this didn't stop us from wanting to see more. We had to go down and up again to overcome the big hills and mountains. The views were breathtaking. At some point we've seen an old monastery built in to the rocks. I was stunned to find it was built in 1212! We stopped and visited it. There is a large cave in there where the monastery extends to further almost 150 meters! There was a safety bridge that the monks use to lift to stop the invaders. Awesome location...

Monastery of Kipina

Built into the rocks 800 years ago

What a location!

Safety pass

We left our igloos and head for the Kouiassa's gorge. We heard this was an easy walk next to the river, over a stone bridge and then deep into the forest. It was indeed a very beautiful walk in the most lush green spot of the area. The river water was flowing through the gorge and when we tried to get into the water, we realised it was freezing cold. Even in the middle of August the waters were so cold for swimming. There were some places that someone could think that fairies dancing here in the nights.

Kouiassa's river

Natural pool at Kouiassa

Fairies playground

Tree onto the rock!

Delicious honey within

Festivities in middle August are celebrated all over Greece. August the 15th is a major festivity for the Christians so it is in Greece. It is evident from the number of fiestas organised in every village. We went to the church to light up a candle and attend this festive mass. Lots of villagers in the church.

15th of August mass

For Virgin Mary (and then for us:)

Community gathering

Pramanta village_Busy main square

We were also lucky to witness a proper 'panigiri' =fiesta. Despite the fact that it wasn't so much fun going on the time we arrived, the band itself was so amusing. Check out where they stand at the photograph below...

Pramanta village_Panigiri

Pramanta village_Band on beer cases...

We drove further away to explore an ancient oracle site. The oracle of Dodoni. A famous site in ancient Greece where people use to go to listen the predictions of the oracle. Within the same compound there was a theatre and many other temple ruins dedicated to Greek gods. In the middle of the day the heat was immense and we stayed only for a quick tour. We attempted unsuccessfully to locate the mythical 'Hades Gates' but the roads were making us feeling dizzy and sick. Instead, we head for Ioannina for some chill out time. A beautiful city, with nice people and many universities. I returned here after 14 years when I served in a nearby camp when I was in the army.

Dodoni_Theatre built 2,400 years ago

Dodoni_Above the changing rooms

Dodoni_The oracle and the worshipper

Ioannina_Lake Pamvotida

Ioannina_Entrance into the old town

On our return to the village, we had planned to do rafting. The waters were not very high due to the season and we've been told that there is no path or way to walk along the river. At this stage of Arahthos river there is a deep gorge. We wanted at least to experience the landscape and had some fun even if it wasn't an adrenaline high activity. Angelos and daughter Iliana came for the day from Lefkada and joined us for the rafting ride so it was a good opportunity. For those who know about rafting, its difficulty level 3 decreases to 2 during the summer months. We did not regret it at all! It was such a nice ride and we all enjoyed it.

Arahthos_Getting prepared

Starting our ride

We stopped at a nearby waterfall ending up at Arahthos. It was a short walk and we had the opportunity to swim in the pond. The waters were extremely cold. We were shouting but we really felt alive. The ride from there on was inside the gorge, a landscape of outstanding beauty. At the end, we passed below the old stone bridge of Plaka. One of the largest of its kind in the region. It use to be the border between Greece and Turkey during the Ottoman war. We've been told it has survived several attempts to destroy it during wars but never collapsed. Its bonding material consisted by animal hair and 20,000 egg whites! A beautiful bridge, we passed below slowly to contemplate it.

Arahthos_Freeeezing

Arahthos_Dedicated reporter

Arahthos_The old bridge of Plaka

Arahthos_Arahthos river

We left the region to return home by climbing up Pindus mountain at altitude 1905m asl. On the way we saw a stream of water coming out from the rocks. Spectacular! From high above the mountains the views were simply amazing.

Water pouring from the rock

Rugged terrain

Layers of faulty ground

Spectacular high pass in Pindos mountains

Milk and honey

We stopped for few hours at Meteora. An UNESCO world heritage site. Rocks perfectly shaped and orthodox monasteries built on top of them. The location reminded me a little bit of New Zealand. We went up to two monasteries but unfortunately it was little late and we were not allowed in.

Meteora_Sandstone rock pillars

Meteora_Extreme architecture

Meteora_Holy Monastery of Varlaam

Meteora_Lifting mechanism

Meteora_Out of this world

It was an amazing August in Greece. I have fully enjoyed every bit of it and especially the fact Clarisse was with me for many days. The summer is over now, autumn starts tomorrow and I have to put my head together and start working again. After all these months, all these travels and experiences, I am now full of energy to start something new, something great.

All the best

Nektarios~

ps I took this photo this evening from my BB. It is the last sunset of the summer...

From Puerto Natales (Chile) through Ushuaia to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 05:36:00 -0400

Following our visit to the breathtaking Perito Moreno glacier, we left El Calafate aiming for the tip of south america. The weather was getting less and less welcoming considering it was autumn in the south hemisphere. We crossed the border back to Chile at Dorotea pass, customs took again all of our fruits and food as they are not allowed(!) to take them into the country. Something I couldn't understand as we were not entering an island or into another region with different vegetation.

We reached the Patagonian town of Puerto Natales. An out of this world place, I was wondering how it would be to have born and raised in a place like that. People were friendly though. We stayed at an empty hostel, just us and three more others along us. Most people visiting this town in order to visit the world famous Torres del Paine national park, a vast area of pure Patagonian beauty. So we did, we booked our one day tour and next day morning we embarked for a day of natural wonders!

Puerto Natales_Tree shells

Puerto Natales_Planky housing

First we visited the cave of the milodon. A large cave where an ancient mammal, the milodon, use to live in. It became extinct about 10,000 yrs ago. Our nice guide, of which I cannot remember his name, told us that the cave was created by a glacier retraction, some hundreds thousand years ago. The surroundings were amazing, the cold intense.

Torres del Paine_Bienvenido

Torres del Paine_Our guide

Torres del Paine_Cueva del Milodón

Torres del Paine is one of Chile's greatest national parks. Many trekkers arrive here, especially during the summer months, to walk the world famous W trail, as its shape of the trail recalls the letter W. We left the van at several stops and had short walks in the park. We saw some magnificent landscapes; most of us remained speechless at the sight of the gigantic granite monoliths, the higher of the three reaching 2,460 asl. The clouds prevented us from taking clear photos from all the three tops but still the views were simply amazing.

Torres del Paine_Steppes vs glaciers

Torres del Paine_Granite spires

Torres del Paine_Stunning beauty

During the walk, we pass close to lakes Pehoé and Grey. Both Patagonian glacial lake, at the foothills of Torres del Paine spires. We couldn't stop taking photos of this stunningly beautiful land. Blue pieces of sculptured ice from the Grey glacier were floating in the lake. Local guanacos were grazing the land.

Torres del Paine_Mooring at lake Pehoé

Torres del Paine_Sculptures far from the glacier's ablation zone

Torres del Paine_Cuernos del Paine

Torres del Paine_Picture perfect Chilean Patagonia

Torres del Paine_Local guanacos

We arrived in Punta Arenas by bus early morning looking for a place to stay. We ended up at an old lady's house and gave us a tiny twin room to sleep for the night. Our communication was minimal to the basics but we could still feel she was nice and welcoming, unlike the city itself. Punta Arenas was another out of this world town. It is the capital of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chillena, one of the largest cities in the entire Patagonian region. About a month ago the city was hit by severe floods and works to clear the place were still undergoing. Every place we walked it was full of mud. Except at the main square, where the statue of Magellan was sitting in the middle. People say if you touch the foot of the statue you will come back again. We did not... We were not so kin to return to this place. We stayed couple of days and planned our gateway to Tierra del Fuego and the city of Ushuaia.

Punta Arenas_Typical house

Punta Arenas_Where the Knight Rider retires...

Punta Arenas_Muddy city

Punta Arenas_Ferdinand Magellan memorial

Punta Arenas_Touch the foot, come back again

We left this town with no regrets and headed to the Tierra del Fuego. The Land of Fire is actually an island so we had to cross the strait of Magellan in order to continue the trip to the south. Again we had to go through the custom technicalities as the island is divided between Chile and Argentina. The cross was not an easy one. It was very windy and rainy. Although it was a short crossing, it wasn't an easy one. Happy to step in to Tierra del Fuego, we both felt kind of proud. We made it! The bus continued to Ushuaia, and as the dusk was arriving I could see the landscape change. Instead of dry vast steppes, there were forests and ancient looking like trees, just like in the westocoast of south New Zealand. From the crossing, there was another 300 kms in the the island, through Rio Grande to reach the southernmost city on earth, Ushuaia.

Crossing the strait of Magellan

Entering Tierra del Fuego

Ushuaia is well known as the town at the 'end of the world'. Well, there is a dispute here, there is another town a bit more south, in Chillean soil called Puerto Williams. They say that there lives the last standing Yaghan person. Yaghans were the indigenous tribe, nomads of Tierra del Fuego. When Magellan arrived here he found the tribals surviving the extreme cold wearing only a piece of skin to cover their genitals with no permanent housing to protect themselves. However they survived for centuries, only to die from diseases that european explorers brought over with them. Today, only one last person survives, an old 90 years old woman, the last speaker of the extinct Yaghan language.

We stayed almost a week in Ushuaia. A beautiful town where most of the Antarctic expeditions start from. Taxation here is very low as the Argentinian government wants more Argentinians to settle there. Cigarettes and other goods were so cheap comparing to the rest of Argentina. The location under the Martial mountains make this place a unique place. We did a one day trek to the Tierra del Fuego national park. Down there, the winds are severe and the cold can get really cold with the aid of the strong gusts coming from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean.

Ushuaia_Under the Martial mountains

Ushuaia_Peaceful

Ushuaia_Fin del mundo!

Ushuaia_'No mooring for the English pirates'

Most of the buildings here are made by tin usually painted in vivid colours in order to overcome the cloudy grey environments. We stayed in a beautiful hostel with great views over the city and port. We also visited a big jail that is today used as a tourist attraction. Ushuaia was originally established as a penal colony, bringing into this end of the world jail dangerous and political prisoners.

Ushuaia_Colorful tin (1)

Ushuaia_Colorful tin (2)

Ushuaia_Colorful tin (3)

Ushuaia_Colorful tin (4)

Ushuaia_View from our hostel

We left Ushuaia for the lighthouse in the Beagle channel. It is called the Les Eclaireurs lighthouse, not to be confused with Cabo del Horno which in order to reach it we would have to cross again into Chile. We've seed sea lions and some birds lying on some rocks in the channel. We reached the lighthouse, the southernmost place on earth I ever been! Exciting moments even with rainy weather. The surrounding mountains and landscape was stunning.

Ushuaia_Sailing the Beagle channel

Ushuaia_Local residents

Ushuaia_Geogrpahic-extreme happy

Ushuaia_Sea lions on the rocks :)

Ushuaia_Docked to walk

Ushuaia_Guide and our Morrocan friends

Ushuaia_Together we (still) stand

Following our days in Ushuaia, there was only way north from there. We booked an Aerolineas Argentinas flight and in three and a half hours we landed in Buenos Aires. The second in size city in Latin America (after Sao Paolo) is a beautiful, mostly colonial, the capital of Argentina. We stayed at an area called Palermo, a very populous area in the centre. We've seen roads with nine(!) lanes per direction. A taxi driver was telling us it's the widest road on earth! Colonial architecture was almost everywhere. Beautiful, well preserved buildings in the centre were adding to the beauty of this massive city. People were nice, I felt them very close to us, very Mediterranean. We also visited La Recoleta cemetery, to check out the massive beautiful tombs.

Buenos Aires_Colonial heritage (1)

Buenos Aires_Colonial heritage (2)

Buenos Aires_Eva Peron memorial

Buenos Aires_La Recoleta cemetery

La Boca is a traditional (mostly touristic) neighbourhood in east Buenos Aires. Its main characteristic is the colourful houses and the Bombonera stadium, home of the Boca Juniors football club. The Caminito street, is full of tango dancers and souvenir shops. It reminded me Plaka, just below the Parthenon rock in Athens, well on a different style.

Buenos Aires_La Boca's colorful buildings (1)

Buenos Aires_La Boca's colorful buildings (2)

Buenos Aires_In Diego we trust!

Buenos Aires_Boca Juniors FC ground

Buenos Aires_El Caminito

Buenos Aires_Tango land

Buenos Aires_Tango fun

Buenos Aires_More tango at La Boca

Buenos Aires has modern aspects too. It is a fast developing city and a business centre not only for Argentina but for the rest of Latin America. We walked around Puerto Madero, a place that reminded me Canary Wharf in London. Very beautiful, clean and tidy. There was a famous bridge built my architect Calatrava, the same man who designed the Olympic stadium in Athens. It was a nice stop over in this cosmopolitan place. We went out few times and discovered how similar Argentinians are with the Europeans, especially the south Europeans. I loved that place, and despite the traffic and pollution it is a place I could re visit again in the future.

Buenos Aires_Puerto Madero

Buenos Aires_Puerto Madero yachts

Buenos Aires_Calatrava's bridge

After almost a week in BsAs, we headed for the city of Rosario. We had yet another bus breakdown on the way, only 20 minutes on our way... We waited for more than an hour and finally another bus came to pick us up and continue.

Yet another breakdown

Rosario is a relatively nice city adjacent to the Parana river. It is the hometown of footballer Lionel Messi and the birthplace of Che Guevara. The place was not something to be excited for. Not so much open space, long roads cutting the whole city in boring squares. We stayed couple of days and then got in a bus to Puerto Iguazu, to visit the mighty Iguazu waterfalls.

Rosario_The Propylaeum

Rosario_City Hall

Rosario_Che's birthplace

Bus to Iguazu

Bus food

We arrived at Puerto Iguazu and the Tres Fronteras in the morning. We could sense the tropical heat and the jungle that surrounded us. Most people come here to visit the cataratas. So we did. the village itself had nothing to offer other than souvenir shops, hotels and restaurants. Ah! And the Tres Fronteras, a location couple of kilometres from the village that you can see Brazil and Paraguay from the Argentinian soil. We got information for the cataratas and next day we spent a whole day contemplating this amazing natural phenomenon.

Tres Fronteras_Three different countries on sight

Tres Fronteras monument

Iguazu falls was one of the most spectacular things I've seen during this trip. It's one of the greatest waterfall complex in the world and one of the seven new wonders of the world! Muscular rainforest rivers coming down to this earth fault and fall with sheer force from heights over 60 meters. The first half of the day was rainy but nevertheless, the spray generated from the waterfalls makes it 'rainy' all year round. We took the upper trail first where someone can see the falls from above and in some points exactly above the point where the water falls down. Simply amazing! The walks around the park take you through dense jungle around almost to every waterfall. We took a boat to take us exactly below the waterfalls. Waterproofed, we went below two different waterfalls and felt the force of the water above us. It was an unforgettable moment. :)

Aerial view of Iguazu waterfalls (Courtesy of Wikipedia)

Iguazu falls_Views from the upper trail

Iguazu falls_The famous view point

Iguazu falls_Computer screenshot(!)

Iguazu falls_Salto Mbigua

Iguazu falls_Rainbow in the spray

Iguazu falls_With the boat to the waterfall

Within the park, we took the little train to the Garganta del Diablo (the Devil's throat) station. This is the most spectacular waterfall I have ever seen in my life! The Garganta, also known as the Union Fall, is a U-shaped, 82 meters high and 150 meters wide waterfall where most of the Parana's water falls in. We remained speechless for long time to realise the nature potential.

Iguazu falls_Next stop: Garganta del Diablo!

Iguazu falls_Mind the snakes

Iguazu falls_To the Garganta

Iguazu falls_Water intake

Iguazu falls_The mouth..

Iguazu falls_And the throat..

Iguazu falls_Spray all over

Iguazu falls_View from the 'balcony'

Following this we entered Brazil and arrived to our last stop, Rio de Janeiro! We looked to find a hostel nearby Copacabana beach but soon we found out that most of them were packed with crazy youngsters. So we moved a bit further away to an area called Botafogo, still pretty central but not so close to the beach. It was the right decision as the area was safer, cleaner, and our (last) hostel was located in the hill, within lush vegetation.

We hanged around the beach and also other areas of the city. Lapa is well known for going out so we did and got sooo drunked with the caipirinhas. Santa Tereza hill was also very beautiful, with a bohemian like style, full of artistic shops and bohemian bars and restaurants. People were nice despite the fact they can get too loud at times! :) We enjoyed every single day of our stay in Rio. In fact we tried to enjoy every day as we knew after here the trip is coming to an end and we are going back to Europe...

Rio de Janeiro_Heritage

Rio de Janeiro_Street art

Rio de Janeiro_Lapaaaa

Rio de Janeiro_Steps at Santa Teresa

Rio de Janeiro_Class on its own

Rio de Janeiro_Favela views from Botafogo

Rio de Janeiro_At the Botanics

Rio de Janeiro_Lily pads

Beautiful Rio had a lot to show but the beaches were in the heart of everything. People were swimming, surfing, playing foot volley, rackets, they were training at the stands and generally everyone was on the move. Brazilians have an active 'beach culture', at least comparing to the Greeks. :) We spent so many hours around the two main beaches, Copacabana and Ipanema.

Rio de Janeiro_Get fit

Rio de Janeiro_Copacabanaaa

Rio de Janeiro_So Brazilian

Rio de Janeiro_Ipanema beach

Rio de Janeiro_Copacabana beach (1)

Rio de Janeiro_Copacabana beach (2)

We went up at the statue of Christ the Redeemer, an iconic monument that brings Brazil in mind every time you see a photo of it. We were expecting to be much higher than what we realised. It is only 40m high plus another 10m the base of it. The views of Rio from up there though were simply amazing.

Rio de Janeiro_Funicular to Corcovado hill

Rio de Janeiro_Cristo Redentor

Rio de Janeiro_Rio from above (1)

Rio de Janeiro_Rio from above (2)

Rio de Janeiro_The statue during the night

At our hostel the monkeys were stealing our breakfast! It sounds incredible this to happen in the centre of a large city like this but yes, we had little monkeys all around us.

Rio de Janeiro_Local residents

Rio de Janeiro_Stealing our bananas...

Rio de Janeiro_Santo Antonio

Rio de Janeiro_Centro

Rio de Janeiro_Botafogo or Copacabana?

Rio de Janeiro_Departing Latin America

London_Back to the Underground!

This was an incredible round the world trip that we will remember for the rest of our lives! We have collated some interesting RTW statistics which I will post soon here. I really wish everyone who reads this blog to do something similar soon or later in their life. It is so worth the sacrifices required to leave home and work for few months and get in the dirt to enjoy our beautiful planet and people.

Be well and spin around the joy of living!

Nektarios~

View Round The World 2012 ( Latin America) in a larger map

From Santiago (Chile) to El Calafate (Argentina)

noreply@blogger.com (NeKtaRioS~) — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 14:42:00 -0400

After a long but pleasant flight over the Pacific, we landed in Santiago de Chile. After passing rigorous checks at the border we tried to withdraw cash from a cash machine. New currency and the ATM menu in Spanish. Well, we did manage to take out some pesos and walked outside to the south american heat. It felt nice as in New Zealand we didn't experience much of warm weather. The cab took about half an hour to take us to our hostel. So different than the previous country; it seems so far from Oceania. We've seen lots of colonial architecture and it was certainly more populous than New Zealand. People were out and about, at the streets, at the parks and open squares.

Santiago_Plaza De Armas station

Santiago_The most beautiful post office

Santiago_Colonial heritage

Santiago_Walking down the aisle

Santiago_Chilling by the motorway..

One thing someone can easily notice is the immense smog sitting above the city of Santiago. The city is located between the Andes range to the east and the Cordillera of the Coast to the west making the smog, especially between months May and September, pretty heavy. An hour and a half from the city and you can be up in the Andes, although due to the smog, it is quite difficult to see the mountains even if they are located near by.

For the first few days, we had some easy walks around the centre while we acclimatised to the new environments. The jet lag was evident, sleeping and waking up at 5am every night. We stayed at a a nice hostel in a central location called Santa Lucia. There was a hill (cerro) nearby so we went up with Polly to get our first glimpse of the city from above.

Santiago_Views from cerro Santa Lucia

I think that Santiago shares some passion with Athens. Here people, especially young students, are often out on the streets fight for their rights. They don't just sit and stare accepting whatever they throw at them. Although we didn't see any riots or disturbances but the police presence was evident almost everywhere. After few days, while watching the news at a tv from Pucon some kind of riots were actually taking place in Santiago. Pinochet's 16 years of military rule has left its marks in the society which still recovers. The economy however is considered to be strong, one of the strongest and most stable in Latin America.

Santiago_Periptero

Santiago_Bellavista street art

Santiago_Watch out...

We went to visit another hill, San Cristobal. We took a small funicular to go up. At its peak there is a church and a twenty two meter statue of Virgin Mary. A great view point, it would be nicer if the skyline was clear, perhaps after rain.

Night life in Santiago is pretty active with many bars and clubs open until the early morning hours. We went out to an area called Bellavista, at a house-converted-to-bar with two live stages and cool people. We had such a good fun. I also visited Andrew and Pillar, two good friends, our nice ex-neighbors in Greenwich, London. They have relocated back in Santiago and already have three wonderful kinds. They gave me good tips for Chile and I was so happy to see them all.

Santiago_Virgin Mary

Santiago_Skyline from cerro San Cristobal

Santiago_Happyyyy (Clemente and Amelia)

We also visited Santiago's Polytechnic school. We wanted to check out the education standards and feel the rebellious student vibe. We spent few hours there, wondering around the buildings and classes. It was interesting to see young engineers within their educational institution. They looked enthusiastic.

Santiago_School of Engineering

Santiago_Exam time

Santiago_And then ping pong..

Having acclimatised, and refreshed our Spanish, it was time to move on and start our journey to south Latin America and the great Patagonia. Polly left us to go north; Spyros and myself we moved towards the south. As always, we got yet in another bus and headed to the village of Pucon, kindly suggested by Andrew. Its location next to a lake and a volcano makes it a popular destination for tourists, from within and outside of Chile.

Pucon_Almost like in the Alps

Pucon_Another day in Pucon

Pucon_Peaceful

Pucon's offers numerous adventures in the region but the most distinctive attraction is the Villarrica volcano. The region of the Andes hosts some of the most active volcanoes in the world. Villarrica is one of only five volcanoes worldwide known to have an active lava lake within its crater! Despite this, the upper part of the volcano is permanently covered by snow. It's peak reaches an altitude of 2,847 meters asl. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to climb it. Weather restrictions restrained all agencies of offering guided tours to the volcano. We stayed contemplating its beauty from below and had some relaxing time around the village and the beautiful lake.

Pucon_Villarrica volcano

Pucon_Volcanic sand by the lake

Pucon_Mitch Buchannon(!)

Pucon_Sunset at Villarrica lake

We left Chile behind to border cross over to Argentina. We could go down south with a ferrie going through the Chillean fjords but the price for it was prohibitive. So we decided to get on a bus and go to San Carlos de Bariloche, a popular Argentinian tourist destination. On the way we stopped at San Martin de Los Andes, a picturesque, kind of posh, village at the far north of Patagonia. We only stopped there for few hours but had enough time to walk around and discover a place that looks pretty similar to central European mountain villages.

Border crossing on a rainy day

San Martin de Los Andes_From a fairytale

San Martin de Los Andes_London's double decker

We stayed in Bariloche for almost a week, a record breaking stay in one place in our RTW trip. It is indeed a beautiful place to spend some time, but the real reason was that the bus route we wanted to take next was scheduled only to run twice a week. And we missed one.. However, we had some good rest, gaining energy for what is coming ahead.

Bariloche is a major tourism centre with ski, trekking and also mountaineering facilities available. Again, the weather was not in our favour. Trekking and mountaineering tours were stopped due to the immense winds and there was no snow to justify a day out skiing. It was middle season, neither summer or winter. Although, there were many visitors around the city, international and Argentinians who flew from Buenos Aires for few days of relaxation.

The city is relatively large (about 100,000 inhabitants). In the 1930's it underwent a major remake and since then it is one of the most notable Argentinian touristic destinations. Some say that many Nazis and SS soldiers, including Hitler and his wife Eva Braun were hiding in the hills around Bariloche, following the Second World War. Some of the buildings in the main square do remind Austrian architecture. The centre of the city was built to have the appearance of an alpine town.

Bariloche_Civic centre, a national monument

Bariloche_Occupied..

Bariloche_Beautiful building

We were lucky to experience a bit of folklore by attending a march for the celebration of the 110 years since the foundation of Bariloche. It was so big, with proper Argentinian music playing loud and hordes of groups and even army marched in front of us. They were even groups of Harley drivers, old mini cars and of course a lot of horses. It was a nice sunny day, our last in Bariloche.

Bariloche_Karate kids

Bariloche_Patagonian pride

Bariloche_Bring back the Malvinas

Following our relaxing days in San Carlos de Bariloche, we were ready for the longest bus ride of our lifetime (not just of our RTW trip). Ruta 40 is a route in western Argentina that runs from the very north near Bolivia down to Rio Gallegos, mainly in parallel, to the Cordillera de Los Andes. It is the longest route in Argentina and one of the longest in the world! It crosses through parks, rivers, Andean passes and about 10 Argentinian provinces. The bus from Bariloche would take 27 hours(!) to reach El Calafate at the heart of Argentinian Patagonia.

It was a relentless bus ride and we knew it. In fact we chose it ourselves against another route to El Calafate that avoids the dirt parts of Ruta 40 and goes through the east coast. We were well rewarded by the vast Patagonian plains and the sense of remoteness of this place. They say there are some unwritten rules apply to the drivers of this windswept highway. If you see someone stopped you must stop to help, or always fill up with petrol when you have the opportunity etc. Our bus had two cool drivers to exchange the work and a tank-looking-like shield in front to avoid pebbles hitting the front window. They even let us smoke by the window. Only 5 people in the whole bus, it was pretty comfortable. We stopped at some out of this world places (in respect of their remoteness). There is no vegetation at all in these remote steppes. On the way we've seen bikers travelling along and only few, if any, local cars. They were long sections of gravel road but the dramatic surrounding landscapes justified the cause. A journey to remember...

Ruta 40_No turn

Ruta 40_Patagonian remoteness

Ruta 40_Granite rock

Ruta 40_Tibet?

Ruta 40_Steppe

Ruta 40_Driving the gravel sections

Ruta 40_Fill up your tank or...

Ruta 40_Expedition stamps

Ruta 40_Local residents

Ruta 40_Sunset in the Patagonian horizon

El Calafate is a lovely Patagonian village. It is located by lake Argentino and is the main gateway to the magnificent Los Glaciares national park. A small lively village, mainly there to serve the tourists visiting the great Perito Moreno glacier. There is a number of glaciers in the region, with some others being 6 times larger than Perito Moreno however access to them is limited and more restricted. The glacier was an epic experience into this trip. I have never seen anything like that in my life. We took a boat and went closer to check the ice from closer. The glacier itself was something like a massive moving ice cube. There was a nice platform to walk around and get better views of the facade. We spent a whole day there and enjoyed the natural beauties that Patagonia offers to its visitors.

El Calafate_Glacier facade

El Calafate_Ice field

El Calafate_Ferry to the glacier

El Calafate_Passage between the lakes

El Calafate_Blue ice

El Calafate_Patagonian explorers(!)

El Calafate_Ice collapses as the glacier advances

Popopo

El Calafate_Cave below the ice

El Calafate_What a balcony!

Here we go again...

On the go again, continuing to reach Ushuaia and Tierra del Fuego....

Nektarios