At last: two sunny days in Scotland!

Yesterday, and the day before, the sun shone, sometimes, so there was ample possibility to capture those famous Scottish skies.

This burn was full of water this year (it was almost dry two years ago when we had that boring week of blue sky only) so pasting together those highlights and darks clouds in the skies was easy. With special software in which you load 5 shots, from very over exposed to very underexposed. In the end, this comes out:



And here we have the Ben Nevis range very far away in the background, with massive clouds looming over Glencoe, taken near Corrour Station.



When there is some green available, infrared photos do well. In infrared light, green stands out, and blue becomes almost black, as seen here in this view of Loch Ossian, the main lake on the Estate.





Today: rain again. So, except for a little wet walk after lunch, not much exercise is available - not good! - and time is spent behind the laptop, and packing in the evening for an early start to morrow. Back to Edinburgh and the KLM flight back home! Perhaps there will be another post about this trip. If not, the above picture of our home for the last few days is my Scotland parting shot. Further details: click/look here: http://www.corrour.co.uk/

More pictures in my Picassa Webalbum::

Corrour 2009

Ciao everybody!

A week in not so sunny Scotland

Back in Corrour, a private Estate south-east of Fort William for a week of photo shooting and photo-software instruction. Corrour, 300 km2 large (!, is property of the Swedish owners of Tetrapak and the lodge houses celebrities like Paul McCartney in the weekend. The other buildings, very nice though, are for rent to lesser mortals, and pleasant they are. Depending on the weather! Two years ago we had a week of brilliant sunshine, and it became boring! Now..... . Well, the first day, after being disappointed that a very nice and picturesque piece of woodland had been turned into this: a couple of people climbed a nearby hill and were treated with this typically Scottish landscape. The lake in the distance is Loch Ossian and in the woods near the lake are the Corrour Estate buildings. This is a so called HDR (High Dynamic Range) picture. The results of this pasting toegether of of several different exposures of the same subject look crappy in color, in my humble opinion, but Black & White.......? Let me know. Click or the picture(s) for a 1200 pix rendering.

This is a panorama from a little higher up the hill than the previous shot, made some secends before the weather turned, and we had to leave the hill in a hailstorm! Yesterday was a drizzly day, good for walking. My new Goretex lined boots are great, and very necessary, as every path turns into a little stream in the rain. A little weak sunshine yesterday afternoon produced this small vista in obviously above 100% humidity: The famous Rhododendron garden on the Estate suffers from the rain. The sturdy species from the Himalayas, with the red bark on the trees, are glorious, but the weaker European varietes drop their blooms. Pretty though! So what now? The BBC tells us that this afternoon is better, so off to more software instruction - hard in the evening with all the good wine available - and hopefully a good walk in the afternoon.

Ayo Boneiru, te otro bes ku Dios ke!

A parting shot from Bonaire: Boca Wayaka, almost as far as you can get in Washington Slagbaai N.P. The sandy beach has disappeared in hurricane Omar, and the coral was damaged, but there were many many big fishes, like a Rainbow Parrot Fish, if I am right. Pizza the last night with an american couple from San Diego, and that was about it! Ciao and thanks for reading!

For those that did not get my other messages: http://sanderva.blogspot.com

Underwater Christmastree

Merry Christmas everybody!

Today we went on a snorkel/rum&coke trip to Klein Bonaire, a litle, pristine, island 700 metres, wow, off Bonaire's West Coast. On a catamaran with the whole works. Sea & Sea camera included. That's why. The fishes were undoubtedly happy on this auspicious day.

Yesterday day was really a funny day. Every halfhour during daytime it rained, poured, for 3 minutes, no more. And the rest of the time there was sun. For the evening we had booked in a nice restaurant, outdoors, and when we arrived they were all in a panic, because it had just rained again. Not enough tables inside for the long queue that was waiting. So we said, put us at a table outside please, we can always retire to the bar inside. OK, two hours later we left - not a drop till then - and we walked back to the hotel, 5 minutes away. Then it started, trees did not help for shelter, and we got royally soaked. In the hotel the whole lobby was awash. Today was fine. Now next to the pool, in the shade. Wifi is free!

So again! Feliz Navidad, Bon Pascu and till again!

On Bonaire it only rains at night!

This is a picture of the famous slavehouses at the Bonaire Salt pans. Faithfully, if somewhat sloppily, restored. Photo made yesterday morning very early, jetlag of course!

Today we went to the Washington Slagbaai National pak. Picures to come. The park is very very green, and there is a nice restaurant about as far away as you can get. Our Jeepny does well: the roads are bad because of Storm Omar in September. Which also washed away most beaches as Sander remembers them from 30 years ago.

Tha was a long day (the drive through the park took 6 hours) and now we chill out, sunburned at the pool, in the evening sun. Goes under at 18:15 and yesterday we saw the green flash!

Ah, and it rains here. At night only! Isn't that nice?

Bonaire: Terschelling in the Tropics!

Notwithstanding the brilliant sun and the sights like the slavehouses, Sorobon, Goto lake, we get a real Terschelling (island in the north of the Netherlands) feeling here. Book- and souvenirshops managed by big-boned blond women in their fifties, beaches, tourists, even the food! But it is nice, also to be back!

Here we are at the central Bonaire spot, the Market at the beach in Playa:



After a very good flight and a quiet day yesterday - with a drive to the salt pans and to Goto Lake in the evening - things changed today: a cruise ship of Brobdingnagian proportions showed up. First a big white blob on the horizon, then after 30 minutes of mooring this monster, with 3000 people on board! (photo from the hotel grounds)



The girl in the City cafe said: they never eat here; it is free on the ship! Very nice place, the City cafe, for lunch - since Sanders constitution returned to almost normal - and even with wifi. An example of modern Papiamentu: "Bo ta klar pa surf riba e wep!"(Esuse:-)

Tomorrow there will be two of those cruisers, so we go to Washington Slagbaai National Park. With the little Susuki Jimny 4WD: wish we had that car in Namibia! Should be nice: the island is very very green, compared to thirty years ago. Also in winter then, the landscape was gray and brown. The climate seems to have become cooler and wetter.

So, if the dodgy wifi in the Hotel keeps up: more to come. If not Bon Pascy y Feliz Ano Nobo!

18 South Africa and Namibia Pano's!

Some people like panorama's; I do! The best of South Africa and Namibia are now on my website Pictures with the Leica in a new subweb Panorama's 2008. Enjoy!

From Windhoek to Amsterdam

The last of this South Africa-Namibia series! Of course, a sunset Panorama, from the 'sundowner' viewpoint at our Sossus Lodge. And I changed nothing in the colors in this pictures! The view extends to the dunes that lie between this point and the Atlantic Ocean. That is Namibia: one can see perhaps 40 km far from here!


(Click on the picture for a larger view!)

Not shown here are the table and chairs waiting behind the camera, with snacks and an excellent, cold, Chardonnay. All set up by guide Matthias, who drove up the steep slope with a big 4WD.

The flight back home was OK, and that is all I can say. Now we are back home and loving it too. Miss the views of SA and Namibia! The automatic emails from this Blog will now stop, but I will sure publish some more stuff, Bye!

But OK; for you who come back to this Blog, a bonus of three Panorama's: stitched from vertical pictures, mostly made with a tripod; always click on the picture for a larger view!)

In chronological order:

1. A flower field in Goegap Nature Reserve near Springbok: the center of Namaqualand. If there has been enough rain in May and June, this otherwise very dry region erupts in flowers in Spring: nowhere better than here, in Goegap!



2 A colorful but drier view of some dunes in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The sun has just set and we are still 25 km away from camp: that is only possible during a sunset drive!



3. An early morning view of Dead Vlei in Namibia. It speaks for itself!



All the best!
Sander & Ger

From Sossusvlei on to Windhoek

Some days later now, and we are now in Windhoek, to fly back tomorrow. Sossusvlei was wonderful and the little pictures in this Blog do not do it justice. Coming soon!

North of Sossusvlei is a special place, Solitaire, that made its fame with a book by Dutchman Van der Lee with the same name. Now, sure for Dolf van Elten:-), a picture of the gasstation and of the interior of the store.





The Internet in the Vondelhof Guesthouse is a little dodgy, so more news and pictures when we are back. A quiet day tomorrow, and then a night flight via Johannesburg to Amsterdam. Ciao everybody!

Namibia: Fish River and Namib Naukluft Park

Fish River was our first destination in Namibia. Here we are with guide Jannie on the canyon floor. Very special trip. We will tell more in this post when back!



Now we are in a Little Sossus Lodge near Sossusvlei: the famous red dunes. The last hours of yesterdays drive were breathtaking. Sure the widest vista in the world. Had we known where the lodge was, we would have seen it from 40 km! Tomorrow we will visit the dunes. All is well. The satellite connection here is very slow, so that's all for today! Ciao from the most beautiful golden valley anywhere!

Vastrap Guest Farm, South Namibia

Yesterday we were a bit late to get to to the hotel before dark so we stayed at a Farm south of Gruenau; Here are some pictures. First the surroundings:


The Farm buildings:


And now we are in Keetmanshoop, and here you have the Kaiserliches Postambt!
Viele gruesse!

Springbok to Kgalagadi and Augrabies

Just before taking the turn to Namibia, from Upington, out last news from Suid Afrika.

Springbok was enough for an overnight stop and a huge dinner at Tauren Steaks. Funny waiters and a fancyful interior. Miners galore (there is a big copper mine there). The Afrikaners seem huge and overweight, the Blacks are skinny. Next morning to nearby Goegap Nature reserve where the famous Namaqualand springflowers have started to bloom. Best in August, but early this year for the small Asters and the yellow 'Dubbeltje'.


Then more than 300 Km to Upington through an immensely wide landscape to friendly Affinity Guesthouse. Huge room with view on the Oranje Rivier.

The trip to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, 260 Km further was a little long but the park (a huge chunk of the Kalahari Desert) is rewarding. As shows this picture:


We made a 100km trip ouselves in the park, with lots of Gemsbok, Springbok, Wildebeest and Stokstaarties. Many birds, also the big ones: Secretary Bird and Gompauw.

Equally good where the sunsetdrives, and we did them both two evenings. Saw a whole pack of lions, the animels hereabove, and after the sunsets, in searchlights, a huge owl, many small jumpy animals like the Springhaas, Kaaphaas, Jackals and wild cats.

Yesterday we were at Augrabies falls where the Oranje Rivier falls into a huge gorge. The falls thing is a bit touristy. Not so the 4 hours trek where Ger slipped on a rock, but was not hurt fortunately.

So now, after some shopping at the Pick' n Pay we are off to Namibia! Ciao everybody!

Via Cederbergen to Springbok.

After Langebaan on the West Coast we drove to Kromrivier in the Cederbergen area. From even the Coast we could see the snow on the mountains. That had fallen during the terrible weather some ten days ago. Olifantsrivier was to high so we even had to make a detour.

Cederbergen is not high, some 2000 meters on the highest top, aptly called 'Sneeuwberg'! Here we are just under the top:


That was a nice walk, the last hour in the snow. The 2nd day we saw the Bushman's-peintings and the weather detoriated, so we spent the rest of the day in the selfcatering cottage, with Fawlty Towers (audiobook) on the Ipods and with excellent rose and red wine from... Cederbergen.

Today up early, detour again, and then 350 km, as the TomTom flies, to Springbok. Only 160 km from the Namibia border. But first tomorrow direction Kalahari and then with a stop at Augrabies falls - probably spectacular now - to Fish River in Namibia.

Not sure about Internet the next few days, so stay tuned!

West Coast

Yesterday, after only two hours drive, via Darling, we arrived at Langebaan, on the north tip of the West Coast Park.

The weather is unbelievably clear. From the beach at the far end (north) of the park Table Mountain at Kaapstad was visible. So are the Cederberg Mountains where we are going tomorrow, and the have snow on their tops! The last week it has rained so much that tomorrow we have to take a detour, because the bridge we should take to cross Olifantsriver has been flooded. So has the whole valley up north at Vredendal.

On the West Coast the flowers are starting to show. We hope there will be more up north, where it is warmer, but we are early. Next 3 nights at Cederbergen are selfcatering so we bought food at the local AH: Pick @ Pay. Prices are about half what they are in the EU, and so is the price of gass. Almost 500 Km on 17 EUR untill now: not bad!

The car, a Toyota Yaris, is OK. Quite ugly: when we first saw it Ger said: what a creapy car! (Enge auto). There is almost no trafic, already now, so when you turn up on the highway and drive on the right, nothing happens :-). Fingers crossed for tomorrow, when we first pass Vredenberg, oeps: Vredenburg.

That's all for now: the USB of this PC does not read from my reader: otherwise we would have shown a nice flower picture. Or a fossil bone, from the Museum nearby, of the short-necked giraffe, that lived here 5 million years ago. Next post: hopefuly in Springbok. Ciao!

At the Cape! South Africa Trip started!

Hi Everybody! As can see we have arrived at in South West point of Africa! Of course this is not Capetown, this is the Cape of Good Hope, the little hump in the distance. Went there yesterday, with Hans in his 4 wheel drive. A good trip to get used to the distances here. And it was the first day of good weather since weeks. In the last week almost half of the winter-rains fell, and rivers are rising. Whole settlements have been affected. Now it is over.

Arrived in the evening of 8 July, and spend 9 July in wet and rainy Capetown. Shopping and going to the great aquarium. Beautiful Kelp Forest display.

Today we are going to Langebaan, to the West Coast National Park. First past Blaubergstrand with the views of Table Mountain and the to Darling to visit Evita se Perron. More about next time, when there is more tine for a leisurely report. Everything else OK. No jetlag (!), no sunburn, yet. All the best from Sander and Ger!

Three Sumba Panoramas

After a few months fiddling around on my laptop - a new but very dodgy version of DXO spoiled most of the fun - I have come around to present some interesting panoramas, made on the island of Sumba in East Indonesia.

The first shows a beach north of the capital Waingapu. This was indeed a lucky pano. No tripod, no pano setup, just 20 pictures shot by hand - with some discipline - and then stitched with PtGui. Only very few corrections to be made afterwards in Photoshop. Click on the picture for a larger view: best done with rightclick and opened in a new window.

And now a pano I like a lot. Sodan village is in the South West of Sumba on a high and steep hill.
This pano was made making use of a few minutes of sunshine. For the human element, there are some kids to be seen at the far right.

This is an old and venerable village - Kampung - and not long ago on one of the attics in the top of the 'hat-roofs', a drum was found with a human skin. May sound morbid now, but in earlier times, like 100 years ago, such 'treasures' were indeed fabricated after a victorious war. Now the people are christians and work in the field, down the hill at the riverside. But the customs regarding burial still persist. On of the graves with a large raised tombstone can be seen next the first communal house.

One of the best know tombstones on Sumba can be found in Rende, in the east. The village is not so pure anymore but the tombstones of the princely families are awesome. The large rock shown here was towed to the village from many miles away. The considerable manpower for such a feat has to be fed, and the family saves for many years before being able to afford the slaughter of scores of buffalows needed at lunch for such a ceremony , and for the energy involved!

All pictures made with the Leica M8 and the new 16-18-21 Wide Angle Tri-Elmar M.

Rinjani Caldera: View from the crater rim

Some photo's from one of our two Volcano treks in Indonesia - July/August 2007.
(See August 3 for Rinjani and August 9 for Tambora)

This is a 180 degree + panorama, made on the rim of the 6 km wide caldera of Rinjani Volcano on Lombok. Lombok is the first big island east of Bali. The top of Rinjani, left in the picture, is the second highest peak in Indonesia, after the snow capped mountains - show not expected to be there for much longer - on New Guinea.

The height of the rater rim at photo point is 2650m:Garmin GPS details: 01/08/2007 16:50:08 2650 m S8 23.049 E116 24.011

I used a Leica M8 plus WATE (Wide Angle Tri-Elmar) at 18mm. The IV/UR filter probably caused the reflections at the right. The panorama was stichted with PtGui. Click on the picture for a larger view.

And here you find the spot the panorama was taken from in Google Maps (click):
http://maps.google.nl/maps/ms?f=q&hl=nl&geocode=&num=10&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=109402382047109712499.00043abb8d249ba57fac6&t=k&om=1&ll=-8.382544,116.404266&spn=0.123804,0.138702&z=13

Appreciate the width covered by the panorama (put together with 12 vertical wide angle pictures) with this Google Maps screenshot:

Plus below I pasted a Google Map in which, in Google Earth Plus, the Garmin Track and Waypoints were imported, so you can see the actual route of the trek: straight up :-)

Indonesian Jungle Panorama

In the next weeks I will publish some Indonesia photo's on this Blog. Here, to start, is a Panorama, made at Pos II on the Rinjani trek. 11 photo's, upright and made with the Leica M8 plus WATE lens at 21 mm, stitched together with PTGui.

Back in Amsterdam.

With only one of our 30 days left on our visa, as the Immigration officer at Bali Ngurah Rai Airport happily remarked, and with a full day stop in Singapore, we are now back in Amsterdam, since yesterday. Greeted at Schiphol not only by Troy but also by colleague Wil!

Singapore has changed and not changed. Its skyline is impressive, and many old buildings and streets have disappeared. But people are still sitting outside, and - more so in the former Chinese quarters - seem to be sitting outside the whole afternoon and evening to eat. Vast amounts of delicious Chinese fastfood. Yummy!

Far many of our readers, Indonesia may, after the previous posts, seem a far and primitive destination, Not so, and to prove that, here are two pictures made at hotels in Bali. The first is a view from the bar of the Ubud Inn in Ubud, Bali. At the Lotus Pond. Most civilised.

And this is a picture from the pool at the Sofitel Seminyak, 1 kilometer north of Kuta. Also on Bali. Comments?


Thanks everybody for bearing with our posts! The Blog stays, but the automatic email feature is now switched of. Till next time!

Ger and Sander

A week in Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara

Sumba is an hour's flight away from Bali, but in fact Indonesia as it was 50 years ago. (Except for the ubiquitous GSM in everyone's hand, mainly for SMS use)

The villages are unique, very pure in the east, and spectacular in the west, in Kodi, where the rocket-shaped roofs soar to 15 meters. Space obviously needed for the many spirits in the communal house after so many years of use. Some houses are, their frames at least, hundreds of years old.

Here you see a couple, with some villagers:



We rented a car with driver and guide, and that was fun. The guide, listed in Lonely Planet as it appeared later, spoke very good English, and knew all the head men of the villages (kepala desa), which made introduction easy. Helped with the usual offering of siri and betelnut, chewed by everybody. Ruining their teeth, and coloring their lips brilliant red. Sander tried, at a funeral, and spit out copious amounts of red sap, making all the bereaved, including the mother of the deceased, chuckle with laughter.

Lunch was usually taken at a local market, like this. Fried banana in dough cannot go wrong.





We have, by the way, not been sick since in Indonesia!. Except tired from the Malarone. A good idea to take that, said an American naval doctor. who worked with a anti malaria campaign. Sumba was rife with malaria, including the deadly Plasmodium Falciparum parasite. And lots of mosquitos in the evening.

We stayed in a great beach resort, spectacular beach, and the first night we were the only quests. Electricity went down, and their we were having our beer and very good diner with candelight and with our headlamps. Staff sitting on the side, and whispering only. Very memorable. The second night the American docter was there, and there was electricity.

Now we are back in Ubud Bali, in the same hotel we stayed in 5 years ago. Tomorrow we will visit Gunung Kawi and the famous sawah-lookouts.

All the best from Bali!

(Pictures are untreated, because this PC has no imaging program)

Volcano bagging done!

Back in Bali from Sumbawa! Hiking Mount Tambora was totally different from Mount Rinjani. This was not a trip for pretty pictures but a real jungle adventure. To start: here we are, about half way in Sumbawa, near Empang: the trasi capital (for the Indo-culinary interested) of Indonesia. In the distance you see Tambora. The whole flat top is the caldera (wide crater). It is not very steep, but that is the only one bonus (see further)!

The way up to the Tambora base in Pancasila is a good 12-14 hours drive from Poto Tano Harbour on West Sumbawa. And the road gradually changes from good to bad to -- what can we say. We arrived in Pancasila village in the evening and slept in a local home. Very tired. Get up 06:00h, then a bone shaking ride on motorbikes to shorten the route with 3 hours. And then?

This, for the next 10 hours up, 1500 meters climb:



And this actually is the good stuff. The path was opened some ten years ago, and now perhaps 30 people walk it, per year. So it is totally overgrown, seemingly narrowing daily as it had already recovered when we walked back from the top. About 30 centimeters wide, through meters high grass, ferns, ect. And some uncovered patches in very dark jungle. 60 meter high trees, etc. Very humbling and exiting but not for pictures. Hence the adventure!

And then the bonus, the word used by the porters: indeed an unexpected extra: 3 hours up fighting through a giant and super-ferocious relative of our European stinging nettles (brandnetel)! Where the tree cover was less dense, so that was on the steeper paths, of course. The oh's and auw's kept the group together.

That was composed of the competent and cheerful owner of Lombok Trekking, Sunny, two local and very strong porters and student Rahman originally from the same region. And 2 Bule(tourists): we.

The first night we slept 700 meters under the top (which is at 2700m) at the last level spot , where Sunny cooked up a famous nasi goreng. We got up at 03:30h and there we went. Ger was some ten minutes before Sander at the rim, and saw the crater and crater bottom. And fortunately took pictures. Sander only got some glimpses of the other side of the crater, 6 km away and of the awsome rim, before the clouds came in. But nevertheless a great experience!

Then a 14 hours 2200m slip, stumble, walk down (no, actually it was fun!), the last part, 6 hours in the rain and and later also the dark (darker and more mysterious than Harry Potter will ever know). Followed the bike ride, and back at the village late. The mandi (cold bath) was great, and so was the dinner waiting for everybody.

Next day we had a 12 hour ride, cheered up by Sunny and driver Nasir, a man of great humour.

The day was ended with 2 hours on a ferry in very choppy seas from Sumbawa to Lombok and a nasi goreng in a street stall in Mataram (Lombok's capital), Sunny's favourite, and the best nasi goreng we ever had. With tea only, as the whole trip was alcohol free ( :-).

So was the pilot from Lombok to Bali, as the flight and landing was super smooth! What about all this Indonesian airline ruccus? This pilot was good!

Last night in Bali, Ger woke up and felt the hotel tremble. Yes, earthquake! 7 on the Richter scale, somewhere in Java. Sander slept through it and was very disappointed there fore that he could not enter that terremoto to his list of consciently experienced natural disasters :-(

Next post if possible from Sumba, and, if not, from Bali where we hope to be back 18 August, staying in the Ubud Inn in Ubud.

Ger and Sander

Second Post from Indonesia: Rinjani

Hi! we are in Senggigi on Lombok. And are back from Mount Rinjani. The caldera of Rinjani is one of the biggest in Indonesia, and the Crater Rim where we stayed is at a height of 2671 meters. As our trusted Garmin GPS showed.

Very cold at night, well, relatively. But the views are superb, when at the end of the afternoon the clouds lift. Here is a picture looking back to the sea north of Lombok:

After a cold and windy night, the sunrise is even more beautiful and one can see Tambora Volcano on Sumbawa, our next destination. Westwards you discover the Gili Islands - we stayed at no 3, Gili Trawangan, the island with the little hump at left. And in the far distance, on the other side of Strait Lombok, you see Mount Agung on Bali:

Yesterday it was time for a 2000 altitude-meters slog down to Senaru, the base where the car waited.

Oh yes, we were really thrilled that the campsites are sweeped - with a sapu lidi - every week, all paper burned and plastic bottles taken down. Indonesia is changing!

This afternoon we leave with the Lombok Trekking people to Sumbawa to climb to the rim of Mount Tambora on Sumbawa. The is a 4 day trip, and not many people do it because it is very far. But it should be easier than Rinjani which is steeper. Formerly Tambora was > 4000 high - must have been a sight - but in 1815 it blew its top with the biggest bang in recorded history. 10 times Krakatau. And on the Volcano blurp-scale it ranks immediately below the largest expected cataclysm of all: the eruption of the whole of Yellowstone. When? That is only a matter of waiting.

Ah, we did not show a picture of Rinjani caldera, because, it cannot be captured otherwise than with a panorama photo. Which will be coming after we are back in Holland.

And every else is fine, even the weather ;-). Ciao everybody!

First 2007 Indonesia post!

Just an ordinary everyday shot while arriving at Gili Trawangan Island off Lombok :-). Sun and sea!

This was last night after a nice afternoons' trip from Bali. Everything seems to go fine (except that the Epson 2000 battery gave out, so now it only works off the electricity net. This detail for techlovers!)

We had the fastest arrival ever at Ngurah Rai Bali airport: 35 minutes from plane to taxi, including visa, luggage finding and customs! Kuta is hectic as ever, but the beach scene with the pijit (massage) ladies hasn't changed in 30 years. The Legian Beach Hotel is nice as ever, and so is the nasi campur at Made's Warung.

Good weather here, as opposed tot Singapore, where the plane took 30 minutes to fly to the top of the murky clouddeck. Borneo smoking? Looked like it.

Here on Gili we can see Rinjani Volcano in the morning on Lombok and it looks huge! That is for the day after tomorrow, and tomorrow we will do nothing as there is not else to do here anyway. There aren't even cars, only cidomo's, horse carts! And excellent Illy coffee.

After coming back to Bali from Lombok and Sumbawa on 8 August, we will leave for Sumba on 11 August for a week's stay. Then a couple of day's on Bali again, and then 'selesai' (finish)

Ma, can you relay this and further messages to the Rolsmas please?

Blog, with picture, at http://sanderva.blogspot.com

Sampai Jumpa Lagi!

Sander and Ger

Scotland visited in a week of glorious weather!

From 24 April till 4 May 2007, just before turning 60 on May 10 :-) , I participated in a week's Photo and Video shooting on Corrour Estate in the Scottish West Highlands. Deer stalking yes, shooting: only with camera's!

Corrour lies east of the corrour Station on the Glasgow -Fort William line, and is only accesible from there on foot. Cars are allowed for guests only from the other side of the Estate, a 1 hour drive.

My Website ( http://www.vanhulsenbeek.com/ )gives you the picture- and panorama pages. Our Grouplog ( http://corrour2007.blogspot.com/) shows more about panorama building, an exiting recently accessible development of digital photography.

The BLOG is revived!

About time! Certainly in view of our upcoming travels to Lombok and other islands in Indonesia Nusa Tenggara: go east, go east!
Sorry, no pictures of our Rajahstan travels, and just one, here above, of my Scotland Photo-Video week end of April 2007 on Corrour Estate. One week: no clouds (except those in the picture), no wind and 25 Centigrade in the daytime. Scotland.....?
OK: Stay tuned for further announcements!

Christmas in Limburg

No Sri Lanka this year (Rajahstan in Februari 2007 by revanche), but with Aunt Hettie in Epen, Limburg. Delicious home dinner last night, soup this afternoon at the 't Hijgend Hert' and here is is, for now, a picture of a real Guava - tastes good in a Dutch Winter! Stay tuned for more warm - India _ pictures coming up in February!

For Marianne and Wayne!

So,

Hi again! Knowing that a picture says more than a thousand words,
I am including 3 pics in this post! > 3000 words; wow!

This is Ger and me over 25 years:















And here you have the Van Hulsenbeek-Sieger family in July 2006 , and our house in Amsterdam. That's where we had the 2005 NZ-invasion, and now we are expecting a replay in 2007 :-)














Bye!

Peru Images are on the Website!

Several images of our travels to Peru are now on my website.

Please visit http://www.vanhulsenbeek.com and click on Peru at the top.

And why no leave a comment here? :-)

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and End of Journey

Back from the Inca trail - El Camino Inca - and that was the end of our Peru trip.

Text with pictures: http://sanderva.blogspot.com
Email address: vanhulsenbeek@wxs.nl

We had 4 days of glorious weather, including the appropriate clouds at the first pass, and fog in the Cloud Forest. But a great view of the Vilcabamba Range here at the Sayacmarca Ruins in the third day. The first time I walked this trail - 27 years ago, and about that later - the ruins were covered with vegetation and a little more romantic as they are now, beautifully restored. Never mind, this way they will be better preserved:

That 27 years ago, the weather was not so good, in January, and actually we had rain all four days. Here is a picture of that time, on the second day, in the first hours up to the first pass. Quite steep and evidently time for a break:

Now, in retrospect, that walk must have been something. I was more or less acclimatized but totally unprepared, never been in relatively remote mountains, carrying 25 kilos, with an oldfashioned tent ( Erdman Schmidt's " de Mier", I Think) , no walking sticks, no "never cold, never warm, never wet" polyester clothes, just a Levy shirt and jeans. No wonder I look a little baffled here! Now a much happier picture, in the modern age and on the first pass, taken by our great guide Ruben:

But the campsites were quiet in 1979, different from today in the high-season, when the limit of 500 people, including porters and staff is reached. Amazingly, you do not see them all. Before the new regulations, imposed in 2001, some days more than 2000 people started on a single day. Chaos ensued. The damage done then can still be seen, like at the little lake before the second pass above Runcuracay Ruins. So kudos here for the authorities!

After the Intipunku Sungate, just after the glorious first view of Machu Picchu we had an (expected) surprise: Remquito Dalkmann joined us for the walk-out, as he had arrived the night before in Aguas Calientes with his SNP-group. Here is the proof! And also you can see how the Inca Trail now is kept in good order, but somehow a little wider as I remember ......

So there were the last days in Peru. We stayed for one night in Ollantaytambo, to visit the ruins in the morning, and they are truly amazing. But even nicer is the little village, of which the center has not changed much since Inca times. Pictures to be published on my website.

The morning of our flight back to Lima: surprise; Rain! The first in our time in Peru. The flight was on time though, and so was KLM in the evening. Unruffled despite the Heathrow scare, and we were only checked for bottles with liguid. But Remko's group, who had to fly via Miami and London ...............

Thanks for your patience, and for your mail. This Weblog will remain active, but the mail via Google groups will stop for now. Ciao! Sander and Ger.

In Cuzco, after Puno

Hola Amigos!

Text with pictures:
http:/sanderva.blogspot.com
Email address: vanhulsenbeek@wxs.nl

Puno was advertised as a frozen hole, but actually it was quite nice. Not too much to do, but great Pisco Sours and even not too cold. The trip to Amatani Island and Taquile was, hm, special. The preceding Uros visit has in twenty years evolved into an embarassingly commercialised spectacle. See us here, nevertheless: sitting on a Totora-reed island, surrounded by well instructed locals. 27 years ag0, there were very few Uros to be visited. Now it looks lik a stadium full.

The stay with the family on Amantani island - 4 hours by boat from Puno in Lake Titicaca - was sweet. Their life is very basic, and it must be a little sad for them, having all those well fed and rich gringos visit.

Then we took the 10 hour long train ride from Puno to Cuzco: Inka-Class this time. Orient Express like, with running waiters, Pisco Sour in the Lounge (Abraham Lincoln style wagon with open balcony at the back) 4 course lunch, fashion show with Alpaca Wool, more Pisco, more real coffee, high tea etc: nice! And arrived in Cuzco `en punto`.

Here we nicely cover the famous 12 cornered Inca stone in the street above Calle Triunfo. So you must wait for more pictures. Cuzco is great. Also to see again. Cafe Ayllu has not changed at all. Same Mozart, excellent coffee and cakes. But the city center is now brimming with jewelery shops, the contents you will not wish to see. We already feel almost beatified after visiting the Cathedral and the Compania de Jesus, filled with the richest and most gaudy religious art anywhere. The poorer the people, the richer the (Catholic) Church!

Ger is now sleeping in his chair in the Internet Cafe, so this is the end of this blog entry. Till the next!

Back from Colca

Hi all!
(Text with pictures at: http://sanderva.blogspot.com
Email: vanhulsenbeek@wxs.nl )
Back in sunny and warm Arequipa after 3 days in the beautifull but cold Colca Canyon. Well below zero at night. Hotels dispensed hot water bottles!
No altitude problems. In Remko´s group several people had to take oxygen. We were more excited by the Fiestas Patrias, the Indepence Days ( yes, 2!) festivities. Allways nice to see such ceremonies in a small provincial place, with marching school children instead of endless military. San Martin´s Indepence Declaration was recited by a creaky old professor, who was nearly overcome with emotion: had to be helped where to continue with his speech. Several school brass bands. In one particularly cute band, most of the musicians had no clue how to play their instruments! Great! It is all on HDV-Video.
In the afternoon we saw the unofficial festive side: a Corrida de Torros, in small and far away Madrigal. A Corrida with brass bands on both both sides of the arena, happily trumpetting against each other. Timid bulls, and many drunk men wanting to participate. Their wives had to tow them out to the merriment of the public. Next to the arena a great drinking and dancing festival was going on, with people with masks, feeding us (the only gringos to be found) with endless beer and other stuff. Beter to drink than to look at.
On the last days we saw the condors at the Cruz del Condor, a high spot where condors soar up and by on thermic winds from down the canyon.
This is one of them. They are, fortunately, completely oblivious of all the tourists that come to watch. And there were about a thousand, in the second Fiestas Patrias day! Including many Peruvians.
Next back to Arequipa, for a day of rest. So now back to hotel for a sunbath. Mind, it is winter here, warm in the sun, cold in the shade.
All the best from Peru!
Sander and Ger,
(Ma: kan je Ma Rolsma informeren? Dank)

From sunny Arequipa, Peru

And sunny it is, 360 days per year. Fortunately we choose sunny days :-).
Arrived yesterday from Nasca in an overnight Ormeno Royal Class Bus. Only tourists can afford it (15 EUR for 8 hours), and the reclining seats put KLM World Business Class to shame. So much for good old KLM.
Nasca was nice. Foggy in the morning and we feared for our sobrevuelo - flight over - the Nasca Lines. But the skies cleared at noon, and suddenly at 14:00 we were shoved into a 6 seater with a gung-ho pilot. 45 minutes over the lines and saw them all. Paper bags were almost necessary.The lines were amazing and spectacular. What a sight!
The Casa de Mi Abuela Hotel (my grandmother`s house) was very welcoming, and we went straight to the Plaze the Armas, that must be the most beautiful in Peru.The Sta. Catalina Convent is the other world class site. Amazingly colorfull and picturesque. Halas, no pictures as all PCs here are Win98, so no USB connection. Maybe in Cusco. Next we saw the Recoleta Convent. With a great library with original Erasmus copies.
Juanita, the Andes Ice Maiden, was the last we visited before this report. Discovered some years ago on Ampato Volcano: a Noble Inca girl in full dress, sacrified some 500 years ago and preserved in the bitter cold on the top of the mountain. The museum is top, but the sight of the girl in her see-trough fridge is a little lugubrious.Good she did not know at the time she would be displayed like she is now, many years later.
OK, this text already survived one PC crash, so more after our Colca Canyon trip starting tomorrow!Mail is welcome at Sanders normal email address at wxs.nl
Ger is hooked on Pisco Sour!

A First Hello from Peru

After a very uneventful flight with good old - I am talking about the videoequipment of the MD11 here - KLM, we arrived one hout to early in Lima. And had a wonderful view of Alpamayo in the last sunlight.
Very nice reception in Hostal Mami Panchita, and a beer too many. Even Ger.
Next day to Pisco in a Royal Class Bus, where Ger refuses to tast Pisco Sour. Pisco is nicer than reported. But, walking on the streets, it is evident that provincial towns and their people are better off in Brazil, Argentina, and even Paraguay. Peru´s economy is not booming as in in Brazil for that matter. Today was devoted to the seabirds on Ballestas Islands. Off the Pisco Coast. Their guano - produce of daily natural duties - accumulates and in the 19 century provided lots of cash for Peru. No more so, and now only tourist in fast boats come and have a look. Nice!
The afternoon we visited Paracas Penisula, where this picture was taken. By a Dutch couple who went camping there. Totally overequiped. Too much weight, too many camping gadgets, sounds familiar? The weather: a little sun after two days of winter Garua: the peasoup fog caused by the cold Humboldt Stream, and covering these coasts in winter.
So much for this first report, in English for Troy and Alain and Philippe. :-)
Next: from sunny Arequipa. Adios! Ger and Sander
(Troy, Ger asks if you can phone Theo for his emailaddress!)

Almost on our way to Peru

Less than a week and, if all goes well, we will be on our way to Peru.
And then this is only a test message!

For the Blog and other messages: click here

Pictures with Leica & Canon

Pictures with Leica & Canon : my own website

Country roadside in France

Three weeks ago: a weekend in rural France, somewhere on the border between Ile de France and Normandy. An overcast day and here is a view of some simple roadside flowers. Ordinary things can be nice too :-) !

From behind the Geraniums

Just a peek, on yesterday's sunny and balmy evening, from the balcony of our home on the park. Two guys, talking, nice guitar music coming from the car of the guy with the hat. Cool!

59!

Lived safely trough my 59h birthday ( of 58th?) Exchanged my Canon 16-35 and 50/1.4 lenses voor the brand new 17-55 IS on Saturday morning. Advertised it on the net last Sunday, and got my first buyer in 15 minutes! And a happy one too. Here is a picture with the new lens: one of the blooms of the rare trees in our Fredriksplein park.