Tuesday, March 31, 2009
T minus 9 hours
We are finally leaving in the morning, keep in touch by coming by to check out our blog with your cup of coffee when you get a chance.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Iceland '07
Past trips, installment two...
Iceland was something else, and this is an understantment. We spent about one month in a very small tent, about a 1 & 1/2 person tent, outfitted in full down gear. Apparently Icelandic winters last until June, and April is a terrible month to go there. Well, terrible weather, but all camping is free when it is all closed for the winter. No one else is there yet which made for a very quiet trip. We also made the mistake of planning Iceland for the month after the Thailand trip. We recommend planning the warm and easy trips AFTER the cold and expensive ones, rather than following in our footsteps.
We lugged around about 200 pounds of gear so that we could do some skiing, camping and mountaineering. We did get some good skiing out of it. Nice and mellow slopes on the volcanoes.
Iceland has some amazing things: stately volcanoes, stark treeless landscapes, powerful winds, geothermal energy, gysers, proud Icelanders, trolls and tiny horses. Oh, and $12 beers, $9 a gallon of gas and $32 burgers.
Iceland was something else, and this is an understantment. We spent about one month in a very small tent, about a 1 & 1/2 person tent, outfitted in full down gear. Apparently Icelandic winters last until June, and April is a terrible month to go there. Well, terrible weather, but all camping is free when it is all closed for the winter. No one else is there yet which made for a very quiet trip. We also made the mistake of planning Iceland for the month after the Thailand trip. We recommend planning the warm and easy trips AFTER the cold and expensive ones, rather than following in our footsteps.
We lugged around about 200 pounds of gear so that we could do some skiing, camping and mountaineering. We did get some good skiing out of it. Nice and mellow slopes on the volcanoes.
Iceland has some amazing things: stately volcanoes, stark treeless landscapes, powerful winds, geothermal energy, gysers, proud Icelanders, trolls and tiny horses. Oh, and $12 beers, $9 a gallon of gas and $32 burgers.
Thailand '07
Past trips, installment one...
Thailand was high on the hit list. Easy living and incredible beachside limestone sport climbing. After a hard days climbing, we would jump into the ocean, grab a beer at the bar bungalow and relax on the warm sand. It was an incredibly easy trip -- simple logistics and great climbing. We took this trip in March 2007 to celebrate Kelly finishing her Masters degree in Vancouver, BC and our joblessness before moving back down to Seattle.
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It was some easy living in a Bungalow, walking through feces throwing monkies and jungles to get our morning breakfast and coffee at another bungalow, cliffs next to beaches, and bars with cool beers within reach.
See the bar in the background?
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While most of the climbing is hard sport and the scene is mainly comprised of males, Kelly was able to rocket up some climbs and wasn't showing any fear.
Thailand was high on the hit list. Easy living and incredible beachside limestone sport climbing. After a hard days climbing, we would jump into the ocean, grab a beer at the bar bungalow and relax on the warm sand. It was an incredibly easy trip -- simple logistics and great climbing. We took this trip in March 2007 to celebrate Kelly finishing her Masters degree in Vancouver, BC and our joblessness before moving back down to Seattle.
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It was some easy living in a Bungalow, walking through feces throwing monkies and jungles to get our morning breakfast and coffee at another bungalow, cliffs next to beaches, and bars with cool beers within reach.
See the bar in the background?
.jpg)
While most of the climbing is hard sport and the scene is mainly comprised of males, Kelly was able to rocket up some climbs and wasn't showing any fear.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Last few days. . .
Well, the last couple days are a little bit of rush and hassle. Lots to do when you leave a place and embark on a long string of adventures. Fortunately this is not the first time that Kelly and I have traveled together. Over the course of a few international trips -- Guatemala, Thailand, Iceland, and Mexico -- we have learned a few things that make the trips a lot smoother. Good planning! So that you don't get stuck in snow, rain, and sleet in a small tent in the middle of nowhere in Iceland where everything is closed for a month, beers are $12 bucks and nowhere can you find a good cup of coffee. So this time we are trying to be organized. (But not too organized). So far we know that we are flying in to Nairobi.
Basically our year long international trip turned into 2 trips to Africa and a long road trip climbing in North America. Ignoring the U.S. Department of State warning, we will still be going to Madagascar, then East Africa where we will spend most of our time in Uganada, but also Kenya and Tanzania. Afterwhich we will return to the U.S. to climb for 4-5 months until we return to West Africa, specifically Ghana, to help Always On Solar install some Solar Water Pumping Stations for 3 villages. Check out the project at http://www.sunepi.org/SunEPI/Ghana.html
Until we leave, I'll highlight some places we made it to in the past and some climbs that we really enjoyed.
Basically our year long international trip turned into 2 trips to Africa and a long road trip climbing in North America. Ignoring the U.S. Department of State warning, we will still be going to Madagascar, then East Africa where we will spend most of our time in Uganada, but also Kenya and Tanzania. Afterwhich we will return to the U.S. to climb for 4-5 months until we return to West Africa, specifically Ghana, to help Always On Solar install some Solar Water Pumping Stations for 3 villages. Check out the project at http://www.sunepi.org/SunEPI/Ghana.html
Until we leave, I'll highlight some places we made it to in the past and some climbs that we really enjoyed.
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