Archive for the ‘2009’ Category

Ecuador 2009

Posted: September 21, 2010 in 2009, Travel
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Hello again!

I’ve been reading so much good things about Ecuador lately, I decided to fly down and check it out for myself. From snow-capped volcanoes to dense Amazon jungle, from sun drenched Pacific beaches to the famous Galapagos Islands, this is a place of astounding natural beauty. Ecuador is perhaps the most bio-diverse country in the world. Despite covering a mere 0.02% of the world’s landmass, it is home to 10% of the world’s plant and animal species. Ecuador has over one hundred different types of hummingbirds!

Ecuadorians live their lives in jungle river towns, coastal fishing villages, isolated cattle ranches, the grounds of ancient haciendas, and large colonial cities. Its compact size makes it possible to experience many of these different lifestyles in a single day.

I started my journey in the capital city, Quito. Quito has been described as the most beautiful city in South America. Spanish influence here is apparent in its stately colonial architecture. At 10,000 feet in the Andes, it is also one of the highest capitals in elevation.

Wandering the cobblestone streets of the old town was a great experience.

I was impressed with one cathedral in town, that used indigenous animals instead of gargoyles on the façade. There were dolphins, turtles, jaguars, iguanas, monkeys, and anteaters!

Because of the strength of the US dollar (You can retire and live on $300 a month! See article), I was able to rent an entire penthouse apartment that occupied the top two floors of a new building, for the same price that I pay for my one room in a three bedroom apartment in America. And it was very nice:

The view from my bedroom wasn’t bad either, the active Pichincha volcano. It’s Looms over the western side of the city. Quito is also the only capital in the world to be directly menaced by an active volcano.

The Quito penthouse was my base of operations as I worked from the internet, planned my next move, and made new local friends…

A ceviche dinner for less than $5 is hard to beat!

I finally had to leave the city and head for the coast, where I spent time in Canoa. Canoa is described as “a pleasant, laid-back fishing village on the Pacific coast of Ecuador, popular with travelers and yet not over-run by them. It’s an excellent place to chill-out for a few days on the beach or practice your surfing skills.”

Here’s the main strip in Canoa:

I sampled a local drink that included various insects, coca leaves, and a very strong local alcohol…

After returning to Quito and regaining my strength back at the penthouse, I headed off into the Amazon for whitewater rafting. I was joined by my good friend, Mike Galie, from Hawaii. I hadn’t seen him in at least ten years, so it was great to see an old friend. For this adventure, we were off to Tena. Tena is famous for the rainforest and rivers that surround it. The jungle is impressive. One can be changed forever after laying eyes on a pristine stretch of Amazon. Tena has reached near legendary status with whitewater enthusiasts and boasts the best rafting and kayaking in Ecuador. Led by our indigenous Indian guides, Mike, myself, and a cool Irish couple, we were the only ones on the river.

We stopped to jump off waterfalls deep in the Amazon:

We spent six hours on near class IV rapids. The river shown below merged with another river, and the trip got gnarlier. Almost everyone was thrown from the raft at some point…

We were careful to watch out for biting insects and fish that swim up your penis.

Leafcutter ants hard at work…

We saw more wildlife than you can imagine while in the Amazon.

This is a country where jaguars still roam freely. Although this is not one of them, he’s a cool jungle cat all the same.

Sharing a beverage with our indigenous Indian friends at the end of a great day!

What next? I’ll probably stick around for the holidays, and then head off to Africa early next year, God willing. As always, COME JOIN ME!

Peace and Love,

Christian!

Russia (Россия) 2009!

Posted: September 21, 2010 in 2009, Travel
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Hello All,

I’ve just returned to California after almost three months in Russia. In my last email I described my experience in Russia’s political capital, Moscow. This time I reflect on my time spent in St. Petersburg, Russia’s cultural, historical, and architectural capital. It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and is often called ‘The Venice of the North’ because of its many canals.

I rented an apartment for a couple of months overlooking one of the city’s canals. It was a perfect location. I was just blocks from the city’s main thoroughfare, Nevsky Prospect. This is the view from my fourth floor balcony. In the far background you can see Church on Spilled Blood.

Here’s a closer look at Church on Spilled Blood…

Beautiful architecture…

The interior is made up entirely of mosaics!

One of my favorites…

In case you’re curious what my bed looked like. I called it ‘my banana bed’ because of the concave shape it had. My kitchen was cozy and bright.

Kitchen with a view…

Food continued to be good…

But if I ever missed the great taste of America, there was always Pizza Hut.

Speaking of reading English words in Russian, can you make out these movie titles?

Anaconda, Taxi, Idealny (Perfect) Storm, Godzilla, Champion, and Gladiator. By the time I left, I could read Russian fine.

I was there during the White Nights, during which sunsets are late, sunrises are early, and darkness is never complete. At the peak, the sun only dipped under the horizon for three hours, from midnight until 3am. Among cities of the world with over one million people, Saint Petersburg is the northernmost. The White Nights are a time of celebration and one highlight is the Scarlet Sails Festival, in which one million people attend.

I had a free room in my apartment, so I had some of my friends come stay. Tony, my American friend, living in Poland, got into a little trouble. That’s him on the far left.

I actually saw more people get kicked in the head here than anywhere else I’ve been.

My friend Adrian, from London, was more of a lover than a fighter. Here he’s enjoying a local pub.

Finally, Sherwin, from LA, looked me up on www.couchsurfing.org and stayed with me a few days. (Hand signs representing the West Coast.)

No doubt, that many times in Russia, good and bad, are spurred on by Russian vodka, the national drink. It can be less expensive than milk!

“St. Petersburg is a city of haunting magnificence, an imperial capital that seems to have been built as a monument to its own passing. Less than three centuries have passed since Peter the Great began building his grand city on the Gulf of Finland, but it is difficult to visit its vast, crystalline squares and palaces without feeling the enormity of the gulf that separates that time from our own.”

Here is the grand staircase in The Hermitage:

The Hermitage Museum/The Winter Palace is Saint Petersburg’s prime attraction, a massive palace-cum-museum showing the highlights of a collection of over 3,000,000 pieces spanning the globe. The Hermitage is truly one of the world’s great museums, with an imposing setting displaying priceless works by Rembrandt, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Reubens and more.

No trip to St. Petersburg is complete without seeing a Russian ballet performance. The Mariinsky is perhaps the most well-known institution. Here, I watched the classic, The Nutcracker, as well as a more modern interpretation of The Little Humpback Horse.

No photos allowed!

I did get outside the city a bit. Peterhof, home of the sumptuous “Russian Versailles”, was once the summer palace of the tsars, and is adorned with magnificent fountains, parks, and museums.

I also made a day trip to Vyborg, a town situated about 20 miles south of Russia’s border with Finland. Here, Swedish built castles, started in the 13th century and extensively reconstructed by Russians in 1891–1894 and one of the most spacious English parks in Eastern Europe, are highlights.

 

I listen intently as a guide is happy to explain the tower history.

For a very long time…

In conclusion, the Russian people are some of the most friendly and hospitable people I’ve met anywhere. Cold war stereotypes are simply false. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in this beautiful country, rich in culture and history and would love to visit again!

Where to next? After hanging out in California for a while, I was thinking to maybe rent a penthouse in Ecuador, based on the dollar’s strength there. Would you like to join me? Let me know! J

Lots of peace and love,

Christian!

From Moscow with love… 2009

Posted: September 21, 2010 in 2009, Travel
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Hello once again,

…this time, from Russia.

“Looming over the rest of Europe with its immense, inhuman size and dark, brutal history, Russia is an essential and fascinating destination, the flipside of modern Europe and still an unknown quantity to most travelers. Somehow Russia manages to pull off the truly impressive feat of being both a really exciting place to travel while never relenting on its tediously bureaucratic approach to life. Stay in the European Union if you want things easy and hassle-free, but venture east for one of the last truly adventurous and unpredictable destinations on the continent.”

Russia is the largest country in the world. It spans 11 times zones. Russia’s area is like the USA and Europe put together. The capital of Russia is Moscow and the second largest city is St. Petersburg (which is also called the “Northern capital”). Here’s St. Basil’s church in Red Square, the center of Moscow:

Lenin’s tomb, also in Red Square:

Visiting Lenin’s tomb is an eerie experience. You go down underground, under this large marble structure, into almost complete darkness. Every step of the way is you are carefully watched by a fully armed soldier. When your eyes finally adjust, you gaze upon the embalmed figure of the former leader, resting peacefully, although he looked slightly mannquien-esque to me. (If that’s even a word…)

Red Square borders the Kremlin, seat of Russian political power:

…and the war museum:

St. Basil’s at night gives an entirely different aesthetic:

If you’re curious what it looks like inside, here’s a snap inside one of these towers:

I’ve taught myself how to read the Russian alphabet. It’s really not that hard. See if you can read this sign:

It reads, “Starbucks Coffee”, just like it sounds in English.

Curious about Russian food? Although they do have McDonalds, Subway, Pizza Hut, and other “American” food places, the more Russian foods include blini, caviar, borsch, kvas, etc…

Blini with caviar:

This picture was taken from the City Scape Bar, atop a 360 degree view of the city ala Space Needle. The view from up here overlooks one of “The Seven Sisters”, a series of skyscrapers built in the Stalinist style, during the dictator’s last years:

 

And my cheerful waitress:

The subway system in Moscow can be a little confusing for Westerners, but most stations are decorated with beautiful and elaborate art or sculpture:

Alas, I’ve now left Moscow behind, and have relocated to St. Petersburg, “The Venice of the North”, the most European of Russian cities. It is a city built upon canals, and is also known as Russia’s cultural center. I’m renting an apartment for a couple months right in the heart of the city, in a balcony apartment, overlooking a canal. Here I am enjoying a beverage on the street after viewing the The Nutcracker ballet at the nearby Mariinsky Theater:

As always, all are welcome to come visit me!

Хорошее Здоровье и Любовь,

Christian!

Quick trip to Dominican Republic 2009

Posted: September 21, 2010 in 2009, Travel
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Hi,

Although I’m still planning on going to Moscow and St. Petersburg (I already have my tickets, leaving May 15th), I couldn’t stay put for long, so I took a quick jaunt to Santo Domingo, the capital of The Dominican Republic.

“Why choose Santo Domingo? (From in online source:)

Santo Domingo is the oldest city in the New World, where the settlement of all the Americas began. See the first cathedral, the first hospital. Wander down cobble stone streets among the Spanish colonial architecture and imagine how things were back in the 1600s.

No other city in the Caribbean has a greater variety of restaurants and night life. There are so many restaurants in this city that it is practically impossible even for those who live here to have visited them all. And it’s a great place to meet people. A lot of young single executives who come here to work end up leaving (if they leave) married to a Dominican.

Santo Domingo is the most bustling and diverse city in the Caribbean. It has a population of over three million inhabitants within the city and the Province of Santo Domingo and sprawls out over 250 square kilometers. “

A bit like Tijuana in the tropics, in a good way.

View from my hotel room window:

The first hospital in the New World:

The first Cathedral… with statue of Columbus. (His brother founded Santo Domingo, this first city in the New World in 1498)

Fresh seafood:

Friendly locals…

Sunny beaches…

Cool kids…

…a bit of tropical rain…

And some diverse culture…

…with a cherry on top!

Until next time,

Christian!

Samoa and New Zealand 2009!

Posted: September 21, 2010 in 2009, Travel
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Hello all!

Happy New Year! I’m just back from six weeks in New Zealand and Samoa. In 2008, I’ve been outside America one out of every three days. I’m truly blessed with a job that allows me to work remotely from the internet.

I only spent a short time in Samoa, but it is a gorgeous, tropical paradise:

I could definitely return someday…

 

I found New Zealand to be a truly beautiful country inhabited by very friendly people.

My first two weeks I spent on the North Island, in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city:

 

I did a controlled base jump off the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere, the Auckland Sky Tower:

 

Looking down…

 

It was a bit scary when you’re up there looking down, and the wind is blowing.

I also did some sight-seeing on the weekends, soaking in thermal baths,

 

and experiencing The Zorb, a big inflatable ball that’s filled with warm water and humans, and then sent rolling down a steep, grassy hill:

 

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I’d sometimes finish the day at “Minus 5”, a pub made entirely of ice:

Next I was off to the South Island’s Queenstown, “The Adrenaline Capital of the World”.

 

My first day I did the country’s highest bungee jump. Over 8 full seconds of freefall before the cord finally starts to stretch. Then it’s a few more seconds of defying gravity before you’re sucked back up into the air. You jump off a small ledge in the middle of a canyon, and it’s over a football field straight down before the cord starts to catch, and you’re jerked up by your feet. This is me:

 

The next day I was up the shallows of the mountain streams in a jet boat. The boat is very fast and quite capable of doing 360 turns in tight areas:

 

From there I hopped on a helicopter and landed at the top of the Shotover river for some class 4 white water rafting. (Class 5 is the most dangerous). Then took a gondola up to one of the highest peaks, mountain bike in tow. An exhilarating ride back downhill to the bottom left me quite bruised and bloody, as I flew over the handle bars a few times:

 

I didn’t let my injuries stop me, as I had already booked a canyoning adventure in the afternoon. Wading through freezing cold water, (we had wetsuits and helmets), we jumped off cliffs, rode zip lines, and repelled down cliffs, finishing off with a few river slides.

Finally, I flew up to Nelson for three weeks. This city not only boasts the most sunlight hours in New Zealand, but is flanked by two national parks.

 

Here’s some pics I took during a two day hike in the Abel Tasman National Park:

The water was a bit cold, but still beautiful…

 

Did I mention the food? Yum!

What next? I’m suffering through the harsh California winter now, and planning to live in St. Petersburg, Russia, for the upcoming summer. If anyone has any contacts there, or would like to come with, I’d appreciate it!

Love to know hear what you’re up to this new year.

God bless you,

Christian Nommesen