walk tagged posts

In Learning German 2003, Europe On  08/08/2003  One comment

The first week in Berlin was a sort of getting used to the new routine that it will last for a month. I always liked routines in cities where I don’t live. It is like to have an intimacy with a place for a short period of time.

I started with German classes in the mornings and I had afternoons and evening to know the city, see friends and visit museums. On the first days I met Thomas, Lorena and Kai for a beer in Mitte. Thomas I met in Bolivia in 2001. Lorena is my friend from Barcelona and Kai is her friend. We enjoy the warm Berliner night sitting outside and chatting about travels. The talk was a mixture of Spanish and English with some words in Portuguese and German.

I visited the Wall Museum (Haus am Checkpoint Charlie) with Lorena. I thought it was a little disorganized, there was a great amount of photos and newspaper pages hanged on the wall. By the end one could notice some organization. Great part of the museum was about people who wanted to escape from east into west...

In Aparados da Serra 2002, Hiking/Trekking On  30/12/2002  No comments

Sorry, this entry is only available in Português.

In America, Bonito and Pantanal 2002 On  18/12/2002  No comments

I did a tour in São Francisco farm. In the morning we went on the back of a truck for bird watch. We drove through the rice fields, one of the biggest in the state. We saw some capybaras and alligators. By the end of the tour we walked in the woods to observe the vegetation. We could see on trees the marks of the water from the rain season. Normally rain season starts by the end of November but it is mid December and it hasn’t rained yet. They all complain about the lack of rain. The only ones happy about the drought and the beautiful sunny days are the tourists. We went back to the farm house. Before lunch we played volley in the pool. Perfect for refreshing. After a good lunch we rested in the hammocks. Good life!

In the afternoon the tour was by boat. It was time to see alligators and piranhas. When we stopped to fish, the alligators came toward the boat. I believe they are used to be fed with piranhas...

In America, Bonito and Pantanal 2002 On  17/12/2002  No comments

I got to Baia Grande in the morning and was received by Alexandre, the owner. He showed me the house, stable, orchard, bird… The farm works with rural tourism. They receive tourists, in general foreigners, who want a experience of living in a farm. They sleep in the farm’s house. The food is made with aliments produced in the farm and cooked on the old style wood oven.

In the morning I walked around the house and spend some time chatting with Alexandre. By noon a Dutch tourists arrived. We had a typical lunch, rice, beans, steak and salad. The desert reminded me home, figs in syrup and ambrosia (a desert make with sugar and milk). We took a nap in the hammocks to go for a horse hide in the afternoon.

The horse hide was to see the farm, feed the cattle and appreciate the local vegetation. We passed by a small water reservoir where we saw a alligator head in the water. Later we saw a capybara by another reservoir. We also saw birds like woodpecker and toucan...

In Asia, Europe, Turquia 2002 On  24/09/2002  No comments

Recommended by a German friend I decided to see Ephesus. The city near by is Selçuk. I only slept a night there and could notice that they are prepared to tourism. Every time I asked for information they answered with kindness. Many of them spoke English, a sign that they are used to foreign tourists.

I woke up early to visit the ruins. The day was cloudy, ugly… It would be a difficult day, how could I photograph rocks without shadow and volume? Gray days always make me sad.

I walk around the ruins without a guide. Once in a while I would stop and hear a guide from a tour group. Sometime I would have the explanations in Englih, then in French or Spanish, even a Portuguese group I met. Brazilians unfortunately not. Germans, there were many, since I don’t understand the language I would wait for the next group. For me this is the perfect way to visit the ruins, I can go by myself at my own pace...

In Europe, Eastern Europe 2002 On  31/07/2002  No comments

The arrival in Berlin was great. The first day I met a friend, Pepe, and we went to the park. It was a Sunday picnic in the Tierganden park with his English, Australian, American, Bolivian friends… There was no Germans though.

Then we waked to the Reichstag to have a general view of the city. It impressed me the amount of cranes, sometimes I would count 5 or 8 cranes together. Yes, we can see that Berlin is a city on construction. I pointed to my friend all the cranes and construction sites, he wasn’t so impressed. I think when people live there they get so used to see construction that they get indifferent to the amount of it.

We walked on the Unter den Linben avenue to the Berliner Dom and the museums island. The city was quiet. It was Sunday and there wasn’t many people on the streets. A strange feeling, wide streets with large buildings: an emptiness.

Next day I walked around Mitte, a neighborhood in East Berlin...

In America, Adventure, Peru 2001, Hiking/Trekking On  22/06/2001  One comment

Since the arrival on Machu Picchu was disappointing, a cloudy day, I couldn’t see too much. I decided not to photograph, only feel the place and come back next day to work. I left my camera bag in a looker so I wouldn’t change my mind.

First we did a guided tour with some explanation of the place. The group was divided in English and Spanish tour. I joined the Uruguayans in the Spanish one. The tour was a little vague, since nobody know exactly what was the place, there are only guesses or interpretations. After we walked, rested, laughed and enjoyed the landscape. We were cheering every time the clouds would move a little. The sun could show up any time, after all it was the solstice day. No, the sun didn’t show up.

The next day I walk up early an saw it was a cloudy day. I slept again and only left to Machu Picchu at 9 am. This time the weather was better. I went up the highest point and sat down to wait for the sun...

In America, Ecuador 2001, Hiking/Trekking On  18/05/2001  One comment

We (an Australian couple, an English girl, a guide and I) left Baños early to spend a few days in indigenous huts in the jungle. The trip to Puyo was great. We rode on the roof of the bus van, it was the best place to see the scenery. We passed through some beautiful waterfalls. Before going to the camp site we stopped in a place called Reserva Fátima, a natural reserve for animal and environment. The infrastructure was really simple, it looked like a house with a patio full of animals. They take care of turtles, alligators and snails. There are also parrots, macaws and monkeys that the police apprehends and brings there for rehabilitation to the environment.

In the afternoon we got to our campsite to leave our stuff and left for a 4 hours walk in the jungle. We stopped to see some medicine plants. As it was rain season, we walked (with rubber boots) the whole time on the mud. The end of our trail there was a waterfall where we took a shower...