Rotterdam

I keep telling people that I have been to the Netherlands. What I really should say is that I have been to Amsterdam a bunch (and a short, but fun, stay in Leiden). I have been told many times by people who know that there is much more, the Delta and Zuiderzee works, the Hague, Utrecht. My previous stops have all been short day or two layovers while in transit to somewhere else so time to get around the country has been limited.

This year for Christmas, our family is taking a cruise along the Rhine. My brother and I could each get time off before the cruise started to go to Europe early and play around a bit before joining the rest of the lot. Andy is a pretty big boat nerd, so he chose Rotterdam since for nearly 30 years it had been the busiest seaport in the world.

As I started research, it seemed that Rotterdam did not come up very high on many peoples lists. It is too industrial. It is not a real Dutch town. There is not much going on there. I have to admit that I must disagree. Andy and I really enjoyed out time there.

If you are thinking quaint little houses along canals and old architecture, Rotterdam is not your place. The city was basically flattened on 14 May 1940. After the war, the decision was made to rebuild Rotterdam not as a new old city, but as something completely fresh. This resulted in a boom of different, interesting, and some ugly buildings all over the city. It felt to me like a vision forward. A recognition of 300 years as a naval and shipping power. A desire to be the focal point for Europe in trade from overseas. To that end I think they succeeded.

Perhaps it is because of my engineering background, or because I grew up watching the shipping industry on the Great Lakes, or maybe because I have seen plenty of the traditional arts and architecture in the other hearts of Holland I have seen, but I really though Rotterdam had a very different feel and energy. I think it would be work a couple days on your itinerary.

Get a hotel along the river (we stayed at Inntel at Erasmusbrug). Watch the traffic go by. Take a night time walk and see the bridges. Ride the trams (the discount transit cards is one of the best deals I have seen). Take the harbor tour that goes to see part of the busy port. Visit the Maritime Museum. Take a walking architecture tour. Spend a little time in a slightly different type of the Netherlands.

- Uncle Phool

Location:Rotterdam, Netherlands

English Football

I am not generally a person who makes lists. Perhaps it is because writing it down somehow feels like a contract to be completed, or maybe because I more frequently misplace the list than I do forget things that are on it. One of the things on my list, either mental or scribed, has been to attend an English Premier League match.

My mate Paddy got me watching and paying attention to the EPL back in '97 with his passion for Manchester United, the Yankees of the English League. Fortunately we can get the league matches on satellite in the States and I have spent many Saturday and Sunday mornings with games on my tele. There have also been an influx of American players to the league so the ties across the pond can be a bit easier to foster.

I landed on London early Friday morning and went directly to the hotel to drop off my luggage and spend a good chunk of what turned out to be a nice sunny day securing my football needs. First stop, White Heart Lane, home of Tottenham Hotspurs. I had booked my tickets online a few weeks ago by joining their fan club and picking up a ticket off their exchange service. Since Spurs have two Americans playing for them, I found it easy to root for the home team. I then ran across town to see if the Sunday matchup between QPR and Reading had tickets--and they did! So games for me on both days.

The experiences could not have been more different. White Heart was large and cavernous. The folks I sat with we regulars who talked more with each other than at or about the game. Loftus Road on the other hand was small, quaint, middle of the neighborhood with everyone chanting and paying close attention to the action. It felt like the difference between Miller Park and County Stadium in Milwaukee. Large, comfortable, impersonal vs. cozy, family, active. There were perhaps only 2% women at the Spurs game, today I would say it was more like 1 in 6 at the Rangers. Tons of sons and daughters cheering on Queens Park Rangers at Loftus.

The games were also very different. Hotspurs played like they were entitled to win and got beat by a much less talented side. QPR and Reading played like two teams at the bottom of the table who expect to fight it out to be spared relegation. Even though both of the Americans played well for Tottenahm (especially GK Friedel), neither team showed the passion of the QPR Reading draw. I enjoyed both of the experiences, but the second match was more what I was expecting to see when I came.

A few other thoughts about the play.
1) It is astonishing how much these guys can work a soccer ball in the air. Not just on free kicks, but nearly every single time the ball comes off their foot, it does not go straight. Not even close. It is hard to see the extent of the curve on TV, a bit easier where I was seated at White Heart Lane, but amazing to watch from my seat on the end line at QPR.
2) it was interesting to hear American songs being used by the fans. Battle Hymn of the Republic, Stars and Stripes, and My Darling Clementine were used at both stadiums with different lyrics. Sorry mom, no Welsh hymns.
3) I was surprised that the field seemed to play shorter and wider than its actual dimensions. Balls and players seemed to move up and down the field very quickly, but much more slowly side to side. I have not watched enough soccer live to know if it is usually that way, but in person I got that feeling and never got that sense form the TV broadcasts.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience at QPR today against Reading. The Hotspurs game was not without some fun though. I played the dumb Yank and made friends with the Steward in my section who gave me a long history (he has been coming since '63) about the club, the field, the players, the coach, that this is a blokes event (hence few women), and on and on. Very nice fella and I think I made his day. Pretty sure he will weave me into his future yarns.

Well worth my time and money to go to both these.

- Uncle Phool

London Weekend

I needed to get away. Too many work days without a break and I had to escape. This week sort of came together during a series of conversations that all pointed at the UK for some R&R. Football, Scotch, cycling friends, a new bike.

I have been through London several times over the past ten years but only had stopped twice for a few days to sightsee. On my life list of things to do has always been to attend an English Premier League football match. I have managed to fit in two this weekend. More to come on that later.

There is also a part of me that I think was secretly trying to escape the election and all the nastiness and vitriol that has come along with it. The process is too long. I voted a couple weeks ago and just wish the calls and ads would stop. I stopped counting at one point, but there were about 19 fliers and TV spots about why the other person has failed or is somehow inadequate for every one mention of what a candidate will try to do and how. It appears however that I was not able to run away from it. One of the London papers calls it "The longest, gaudiest, silliest election." Refreshing to see how outsiders view it. Not sure I could have phrased it better. It will be over soon. Whichever way you lean, go vote. Your vote is your voice. Don't be silent.

I spent much of Friday running around securing my football needs, but did decide I needed to visit the British Museum since it is open late on Fridays. I have heard that it is big. Indeed. I am almost glad that I knew I did not have enough time so just went to one section. I made a quick run through part of the Greek section, decided I would not try and figure out who has the upper hand in the debate on ownership there, and went up to the history of the British Isles. Not sure why, but it seemed like I should. Long story short, Blah blah Druids, blah blah Pagans, then in 43 AD the Romans came and fixed it all up spiffy and the empire stole (or not) everything from the Greeks.

Actually I got completely distracted by an exhibition on clocks and one on money and before I knew it, I was being shooed out by the docents. OK, OK, I need to go back and spend more focused time there now that I know the extent of the collection they can show at once. Impressive, and well worth a stop any time you are in town.

A couple of other things have struck me on this trip. First is the food. I don't recall in my previous visits being impressed by the dining options. I always thought there were better selections than all the old jokes. It just seemed to me that there are even more interesting variety to be found this time around. Maybe it is that I was far afield of the tourist areas for much of this stay, or maybe there is more and more influence by the immigrant population. Perhaps a little of both. The pasties and pies are still good. I like that the fish and chips come with peas. There are just many more Asian and African choices. Outside one of my tube stops there was a Polish deli, next to a jerk chicken place, across from an Afghani take-out. Nice.

The second surprise has been the significant number of people who are not speaking english. Yeah, the tourists use many tongues, but in the Tottenham neighborhood, in the area outside the museum, out in Shepherd's Bush often I do not hear English. And when I do, it is a British accent on foreign speech that makes it almost impossible for me to understand. Perhaps that will get my ear in shape for Scotland. I expect that there will be challenges there too.

One last bit of culture before I leave London was to stop by Westminster Cathedral for the Sunday evening organ recitals. Impressive. Tonights was a Sonata on Psalm 93. I don't know that much organ literature, and even less Psalmisms, but the performance was exceptional and free. A very nice way to end three days in London.

- Uncle Phool

Location:Cardington St,London,United Kingdom

Day 12 -- Back in Chile

We had a rest day in San Martin de Los Andes. It came at a good time. I certainly was ready for a day off the bike. We did some laundry, walked around town a little, tried out some of the coffee shops. It was 50ish and raining all day so the views and our motivation to get out and about were both less than ideal.

 Day 12 was the day we ride back into Chile. We had a transfer to near a national park that contains Volcan Lanin. We rode 35km up hill to the pass with this giant looming on our left hand side the entire way. It was never out of our sight and provided quite a backdrop for an uphill pull into yet another headwind.

This is also the home of the monkey puzzle tree. I had never heard of it before this trip, and still know very little about it. It seems to be a very curious type of pine relative with a long stick of artichoke leaves (I know, pines don't have leaves) that leave a strong stalk when they fall off. The mass of each branch is substantial and seems to contradict the gravity we know. Look this tree up. It is very curious.

The down hill ride from the pass landed us in the town of Pucon. It is a vacation home town for people for the larger cities in Chile. This is the first town we have been in all trip that really feels like a resort tourist town that is thriving and teeming with people. It has the kind of activity that I was expecting to see in the towns on the Argentine side, but did not--either because of the volcano or because it is just different.

Day 13 is another rest day. Dave and Deniece went and climbed a volcano, looked into the depths of the earth, and slide on their butts down the snow field to get down. I hear it was wonderful and had spectacular views. Deniece has decided that the sliding down a snow field on her butt was fun and that she has found a new sport she likes. Not sure what happened to her up on the mountain, but perhaps we can find a way to indulge her new fun. I on the other hand went out to the thermal pools and soaked in the sun, the mineral baths and stretched out my weary cycling body. I think a good day by all.

Day 10 -- San Martin de Ls Andes

Day 10 -- San Martin de Los Andes It rained all night in Villa Angostura. The disco across the street played until 7am. It was raining when we packed up the van. It rained during our morning transfer. When the van stopped to let us off for the 15km of ash gravel road riding to start the day, none of us moved. We all decided that would would start on the pavement. Riding gravel roads is one thing. Riding in the rain is another. Put them together and none of us were really that interested. So we started on the pavement. And there was much rejoicing. It was mostly drizzle with a little sun poking through as we rode to lunch. Then the rain and wind picked up. Nearly all of us ate inside the van or tucked behind a tree. As we started again the headwind became quite strong. The road cut at the top of one long uphill had gusts directly in our faces that I guess were 40-50mph. I actually had to use my granny gear to go down the hill on the other side. We had a couple people in the group that were nearly blown off their bikes and took a seat at the side of the road for a while to collect themselves. I think it was as hard as I have worked for 15km on the road on a bike. The nice end to the riding for the day though was an 18km decent into the valley of San Martin de Los Andes. The route description called it grin-enducing. I smiled the whole way down. - Unclephool, Dave, and Deniece

Days 8 & 9 -- Villa Traful and the Ruta de Las Siete Lagos

These two days of riding are the favorite of our guide on the Argentine side of Patagonia. Nearly 100km of riding along and above the shores of the seven lake chain--the Ruta de Siete Lagos. This area has been and is still being covered in ash. We could see the cloud in Bariloche, but drove through it and started out our ride on the north side of the plume.

The first day was a hard 35km on ashen gravel roads through spectacular river and lake views. Lunch was along a lovely little stream that looked a bit like the Middle Fork of the Gila if you dumped ash into the water. We finished the ride at our cabanas in Villa Trufal.

Lovely suite of cabins all hand made over the past ten years with lumber recovered from the dead and down on the property. Dave and Deniece had a cute little bungalow with stairs nearly as steep as a ships ladder. I shared a family cabin with two of the other single blokes in our group. Each cottage had its own design and charm. Much better than I can ever remember seeing in the north woods lakeside cabin rentals.

Villa Traful is small, only 540 residents. Usually they are full with tourists this time of year, but, again, the Puyehue effects are being felt. So we had the place pretty much to ourselves. The cattle wander down the street back to the barn to be milked. One family gathered at the rodeo grounds to celebrate something. Kids riding around on their horses wearing gaucho hats. Very very peaceful.

The fishing here is reported to be amazing. Exploring the lakes would be a great way to spend a few days. I could certainly come back to Villa Trufal. Day 9 has us leaving Trufal and riding along the Ruta de Siete Lagos towards Villa Angostura. Again riding ash-pumice-gravel roads to meet up with more major thoroughfares as we get to the bigger towns. I took today off from riding. Dave and Deniece are doing quite well.

The weather up until today has been sunny and warm (80s), windy on occasion. Today is breezy, a bit rainy, and quite a bit cooler. The rain keeps the dust down a bit, the cool is a nice change. Villa Angastura is yet another cute little town in the mountains. This one unfortunately appears to have been impacted more greatly than Bariloche.  Perhaps 40% of the eight block downtown has either been closed or is renovation that appears to have stopped. If Puyehue does not stop soon, I think it could be hard for this little hamlet to survive. - UnclePhool, Dave, and Deniece

Puyehue Ash

I have mentioned it before several times, but the effects and images from the ongoing Puyehue eruption are amazing. There are several websites that make daily predictions of the direction of the ash cloud, but like weather forecasting, it is not always reliable. No one really knows when it is going to end. The eruption did not come out of a central crater, but rather a 12km long seam below the summit. Apparently there is not much experience here in the Andes with this type of eruption so consequently they are not sure how much longer they are stuck in this mess. It is just everywhere.

The ash on the roads. It is piled up along the sides and pushed off the surface by graders in the same way we clear snow. It mixes with the gravel and makes huge clouds every time a car, truck, or bus goes over it. It is impossible to see through the cloud, and even harder to breathe. I have been blowing ashen soot out of my system for several days. It gets into all the bike gears and gums them up quite well. At the end of the ride, you are covered in this fine abrasive dust from head to toe.

We have seen:
- fields and happy little forests with leaves dusted as if by Bob Ross
- cows standing in their pastures with ash piled on their back
- campgrounds that were likely green, now just dusty ash
- wispy ash clouds coming off mountain tops like spindrift off Everest
- mountain passes that look like the Rockies in color, but this 'snow' will not melt any time soon
- lakes covered in ash and pumice that leave no ripple when you throw a rock in
- houses with more than a foot of ash still piled up on the roof.
- forests near the volcano that are stripped bare and dead from the hot ash that initially fell
- allowing a breeze into your cabana ends up covering everything with a fine gray powder that does not always wipe off well.
- a fine dust that is getting int all my electronic stuff, the camera lens, the iPad FW port

Just think of every snowfall scene you can picture, now replace the snow with ash. Pretty amazing to see the effects up close. We all hope that it ends soon.

- UnclePhool, Dave, and Deniece

Day 7 -- Bariloche Argentina

Thursday the 26th found us getting up and not having to pack. It is certainly nice to have a couple nights in the same place to air things out a bit. It also gave us time last night to try the classic Argentine beef at Tony's. A place that served American sized portions of filet and flank that were as good as I have eaten in many years. I would almost say better than any I have ever had from Texas.

Today's ride was a road ride by the Llao Llao resort on Lago Nahuel Haupi along what the locals call Cicuito Chico. 42km of wonderful scenery of the lakes and peaks. The volcano was throwing its ash to the north of us which obscured the long views but what we could see was excellent.

Bariloche is an interesting center of outdoor activity in Argentinian Patagonia and would normally be full with skiers this time of year. Usually. This Swiss German enclave of 102,000 should be teeming with tourists. Unfortunately about one day in every three or four it is square in the path of the ash cloud. Puyehue has been a real drag on the economy. Shops in the downtown were closed. Nearly all of the hotels had occupancy. Unusual for this time of year.

This evening I had dinner with a high school friend. About a week before coming down here, I saw a Facebook post from Becky Loraas saying she was heading to Buenos Aires in a week. I wrote back to her saying I would wave to her across the Andes. As it turns out, we were both going to be in Bariloche for the same two days. I took a cab out to her hotel this evening and had dinner with her, her husband, and several of their traveling companions at a nice German restaurant. We had not seen each other in 15 years so it was really good to catch up. Amazing who you can meet just about anywhere. It really can feel like a small world some times.

- UnclePhool, Dave, and Deniece

Day 4, 5, & 6 -- Chilean Fjordland and into Argentina

I had written a much better post for these days but a hiccup in the interwebs wiped it out. I hope to sort it out and repost later. So here is a brief replacement until that time.


We started our first day of riding (Day 4 Mon Jan 23) by taking a transfer in our van along the coast from Puerto Varas to Arenas where we took the ferry across the first fjord of Chilean Patagonia. Great scenery as we passes mussel and salmon farms. The weather was about what you might think from the fjords. 40 degrees and raining. We were all braced for the cold and wet as we started. Fortunately before too long, the clouds parted, the sun shone, and the rain stopped. We were treated to lovely views that reminded me of a combination of New Zealand, Switzerland, Yellowstone, and the Tetons all rolled into one.

The riding today was along a loose gravel road that is used by the fishermen to tend their farms. Several years ago a virus nearly wiped out the salmon crop and the population has been slow to be restarted. So it seems like the car, truck, bus, and moto drivers use this road as their personal world rally training ground. It was a bit nerve wracking to negotiate the traffic.

The day did finish with a lovely ride down across the Rio Blanco and into the pastoral cabanas near Puelo where we parked for the night. Ours was an interesting grass roofed family cabin tucked into the trees. Very quiet and peaceful. Our hosts made a huge meal with chicken and lamb all fresh from the field accompanied by local vino tinto.

Day 5 began on the same gravel road along the edge of the fjord through the village of Puelo. I have found it very difficult to capture the scale of the views with a camera. Steep mountains rising directly out of narrow bays topping out in volcanic peaks. The nice thing about taking a guided trip is that every 12-15km our van stops ahead of us and you can decide how much of the days ride you care for. Today i took advantage of this and was driven a few of the sections. Dave and Deniece did us proud by riding the entire 82km today.
We finished in one of their volcano national parks and got the photo of the three of us with Volcan Osorno.

Day 6 sent us into Argentian and directly into the path of destruction left by Pueyhue when it erupted this past June. The pass we went throughg that forms the border looks like Loveland Pass in the winter but there is no snow. There is almost nothing growing up there at all. Just ash. Everywhere. Astonishing the damage. Take a look at this link to see some of the photos from the eruption.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/06/volcano_erupts_in_chile.html

We had a long downhill ride to the Argentinian border station before getting picked up by the van for our trip to Bariloche. The land scape on the eastern side of the Andes is completely different than the fjords of the west. It looks like the high plains ringed with mountains of central Turkey, of the Spanish sets of the Fist Full of Dollars films, or even of some of New Mexico.this is the place where I would expect to see the gaucho herding his cattle.

On to Bariloche, the adventure hub of Argentinian Patagonia that has been devastated by the effects of the volcano.


- UnclePhool, Dave, and Deniece

No Photos

I tried out several ways to get my trips notes it before we left. I tested all the possible way to break the process and ought I had it figured out. I guess either I am not smart enough to make it work now, or something is different now that we are on the road.

In any case, there are not photos embedded in these tales. You will have to go over to the Picasa site to take a look at them. Hopefully this link will take you there.

https://picasaweb.google.com/unclephool/BikingChileArgentina02#5701379906962735410


- UnclePhool, Dave, and Deniece

Day 3 -- Puerto Varas

We had booked a hotel near the airport in Santiago so that our morning flight did not make us get up too early. After a little geocaching at SCL we got on our hour long flight to Puerto Montt along with a gaggle of women adventure travelers from the NYC area.

We expected to see our Saddle Skedaddle host Ernesto, but apparently he had the wrong flight information and we sat at their nice new airport for 3 hours waiting first for him, then for the next flight of our fellow travelers. He was kind enough to buy us lunch, but I think all three of us were a bit annoyed. We ended up staying not in Puerto Montt but rather in Puerto Varas which sits on the edge of Lago Llanquhue. Across the lake are two volcanoes that appear from the waters edge kind of like Mount Fuji. Very impressive. Puerto Varas was settled by the Germans. While not known for their hoge colonization efforts, they are still known for the bier culture they left behind. We drank so cerveza with some visitors from Deusseldorf who judged the bier to be more than adequate. I heartily agree.

Once our group got all together, we got fitted for our bikes, made the necessary changes, and loaded them on the trailer. There are 13 on the trip. Saddle Skeddadle is from the UK so we figured that there would be a large fraction from the mother land. This time however, the colonists out number the Brits. 3 Yanks, 4 Canucks, a Scott, an Irishman, and 4 of the Queen's own. Ages from late 20s to active retired cyclists. Two of the group had even met before on a different Saddle Skedaddle trip.

We had a big group meal with more seafood--conger eel for me, and a bit of calamari to go with it. The different between the seafood at home and what is pulled fresh from the sea is truly amazing. I could get totally hooked on the freshness of the seafood here. Perhaps I already am.
Tomorrow the first day of riding.

- UnclePhool, Dave, and Deniece

Location:Puerto Varas Chile

Lovely Santiago

Friday the 20th all three of us were very ready to get out of town. Leave the cold and snow. Stop bicycling in the chilly wind on sandy roads. Run away from all the fun at work. Go explore another corner of the world. Just to go.

None of us had ever done such a long flight basically in the same time zone. Sure Chile is 4 time zones east of New Mexico, but it was going to be a ten hour flight that got us there. Unfortunately it was one of the rattiest most uncomfortable worn out 767 that I had been on in a long time. Perhaps the only worse plane I have seen recently is an old Russian Tupelov. The crew was not in much better shape. Oh well, the luxuries of exotic foreign travel I guess.

I was not sure what to expect with Santiago, but I was surprised--and really enjoyed it. It looks a bit like Phoenix in that it is a very flat city but ringed by mountains. Within the city there are small hillocks (cerros they say here) that pop up in a few places and give a great view of the city. It is an easy city to get around. We started out at the Pajarito metro station which seemed appropriate for us.

One of the interesting things we found was that there we very few English speaking tourists. We are here in high season and apparently the Chilean schools are out of session now. It also appears that there are not a ton of non-Spanish speakers that visit since most of the signage is only in Spanish. For some reason I am always happy to find spots on the globe that are not completely infected (or affected) by the needs and wants of the American visitor.

We were hoping for some good seafood being so close to the coast. We even watched the No Reservations episode on Chile while we flew down. There was no problems finding fantastic fruits of the sea. We have all taken a liking to Congrito (conger eel) which could easily be rebranded as fish and you would never know.

We also found a local summer special drink that starts with barley pellets with peaches and juice poured in the top. Surprisingly tasty even though the texture is not what you would expect coming from a cup.


All in all, I really liked the city. I would come back here again for sure. It was easy to get around, felt very safe, had not been invaded by the northern tourists, great food, very very friendly people.


- UnclePhool, Dave, and Deniece

Location:Santiago Chile

Getting Ready for Chile & Argentina

It is one week until Dave and Deniece Korzekwa and I head out on our biking trip in South America. We have ridden together in Czech Republic, Spain, and Tasmania, but this will be the first trip for any of the three of us in SA. We fly to Santiago then to Puerto Montt and ride east and north across the Andes into Argentina through the Lake District. We understand there will be volcanoes and lakes and views and beer and wine and good food. I am pretty sure that none of us really want to wait.

Our previous trips have all been self-guided where we get maps and the company sets up hotels/inns and moves our luggage each day. This time around we have a guide, which means we also have a sag wagon if any of us wimp out and would rather be carried along by chariot rather than our own two feet. Deniece found the tour operator on line--Saddle Skedaddle. You can find a few photos and a short description at
https://www.skedaddle.co.uk/cycling/holiday/Cycling_Holidays/Chile__Argentina_Lake_District_-_Cycling_Holiday/4/view.rails

I must admit that I have nowhere near enough riding in to be ready for this trip. We have gone to Albuquerque a couple times to ride the Bosque Trail and today we are doing the ride-eat-ride training to the Tesuque Village Market (did manage to get tire changing practice today--twice). But I cannot claim a pile of adequate seat time. Good thing that there are no huge long days on the itinerary. I am very much looking forward to being able to casually stroll and see the scenery. If only we could make this week go faster.



Thinking of bikes rides in the past.

- UnclePhool, Dave, and Deniece

Location:Los Alamos NM USA