The Wind Dog's blog

Weeble, Wobble and Crash - Part Two

2010-09-11T07:49:00.000-07:00

Part Two:

So, there we are, on an extreme downhill forest trail, struggling to hold our bikes from crashing down the mountain, when after taking several steps, I feel explosive, mind-numbing, searing pain. It feels like thousands of razor blades are slashing at the connecting tissues of both of my knees. Holy crap!, I think to myself. This is definitely NG - Not Good. I shuffle forward a few more steps, and it gets worse. Hhhhhmmmm Now what?

I start to use my bike, almost like a walker, trying to lean my body weight on the bike, while sort of dragging or swinging each leg around to take a step. The pain is excruciating. Behind me, Al says, Hey - are you alright? No, I say. It's my knees.

I have had this twice before, but never this bad. So, I know one thing - I will be just fine, once I am back on either a flat surface, or on an uphill surface. These connecting tissues only cause me pain when I am descending a downhill surface. At times, this can include stairs.

While I've never actually had this checked out by a doctor, it seems to me that the medial collateral ligaments, and the lateral collateral ligaments of both knees are the sources of pain. Why this happens? What causes this? I have no idea.

How bad is it?, asks Al. Worse than I've ever had it before, I reply, as I continue this weird dragging, swinging motion with my legs. We continue on for a few more minutes, with Al talking to me. When I no longer answer him, he knows the pain is severe.
We decide to stop and take a rest. Alvi takes my bike and says "Keep going, I'll take your bike." While his offer to help is lovely, it simply is not possible. For two reasons. The first being, the trail was so treacherous, that we needed to keep both hands on both brakes, to prevent the bike from toppling over, head over heels. How would he be able to take 2 bikes down? NP - not possible.

And the second reason is, now I simply am unable to move at all. In fact, I am dangerously close to collapsing, as the pain is unbelievable. 'Please give me my bike back', I whisper. Putting my weight on the bike, I resume hobbling down the mountain, knowing that I must keep moving. If I stop again, I may not be able to will myself forward.

The boys stay behind, and I hear them discussing some kind of plan. Something about getting a car to come and get us. The plan seems to be that Alvi will hurry on ahead and try to get help, while Markus will stay with me.

But here are the facts:

We are on a trail that is only accessible by foot.

We are nowhere near anything.

It is getting late in the day, somewhere around 5 pm.

The fastest way home is down this trail.

Due to the steepness of the trail, it not possible to either carry someone or take two bikes.

Conclusion: There is only one way home, and that is down. Each person has to make it down with their own gear, under their own power.

As Markus and I continue to trudge along, things for me get a little worse. Now my legs are cramping, and I've developed several blisters on my feet - probably due to the two soakers from the tunnel. Instead of the weird dragging, swinging thing I was doing before, I am now walking like crab.

While Markus is making jokes to try to cheer me up, off in the distance I hear something. And it sounds like cars....driving fast. As we round a bend in the trail, way down below in the valley, we can see the blessed highway. And hope surges through me.

After Markus takes stock of the situation, he says to me, 'Well, there's good news and there's not so good news'. Yeah? I say. 'The good news is that we are descending this mountain very quickly due to the steepness of this trail.' he says. 'Yeah?' I say. 'But, at the rate we are going, it will take another hour to get down to the highway.' he says.

We look at each other, and I say, 'I can do an hour'. I trust the Hammer. Markus is Swiss, and therefore he is nothing, if not precise.

However, he can be a sneaky photographer, snapping shots when you are not looking. I am eternally grateful that he did not photograph this part of our day.

As we resume, I feel a spring-like step, in my crab-like gait.

While Markus continues to make cheerful conversation, I start to meditate, and try to concentrate on yoga breathing, to ignore the pain. At some later time, I hear Markus yell, "Look! There is Al! And he's waiting for us....on a road."

Sweet Jesus, and Mary, Mother of God - there is my Alvi, standing on a logging road. I feel like sprinting down the rest of the trail, only my almost useless knees will not let me. And so, I crab-walk down the rest of the trail. And weak with relief, I start laughing....

...and sneaky Markus snaps this photo. No, I am not praying. I am trying to revive my numb hands and wrists. In the background, you can see the trail. This photo does not do it justice.

We climb back on the bikes, and start the short descent to the highway. Markus was right - were it not for the logging road, it would have taken an hour to reach the highway.

The ride back to our village along the highway frankly, was a bit of a blur for me. Somewhat euphoric at being pain free, I felt an unexpected surge of energy, and we rode quite quickly through several villages, past an outdoor concert, over a bridge, and up to our hotel.

And we capped off the day with some great conversation, and some much needed and quickly devoured food. The boys stayed up late again..... :0)

Total amount of time in the saddle: 9.5 hours. However, now I know this is not actually important.

Total elevation climbed: 800 m Woo hoo!

Some lessons learned:

Elevation always trumps time in the saddle.

Alvi prefers Swiss strudel to German strudel.

Reaching the top of the mountain is only half the battle. One must also get down.

Markus is hilarious!

The next morning, we said our goodbyes to Markus, and agreed to do this again the next year. Hopefully, in 2011 our group will include a certain someone special, right Hammer?

With that, Markus jumped on his Ducati and blasted off to Zurich, while we packed up and pointed our car towards Morzine, France.

After an incredibly scenic drive, lunching on a cheese sandwich in Gruyere, enjoying a cool bottle of water in Evian, and driving alongside Lake Geneva, we arrived in the bustling sports village of Morzine.

In the winter, Morzine is a ski resort, but in the summer it is a biking haven, noted most for its extreme downhill trails.

The downhillers don their kevlar body armour, clamber aboard the chairlifts, ride to the top, and then blast, full speed, down the mountain. They look like this...

...and they roam through the village in packs, like this....

We, are uphillers or climbers, a concept that the downhillers hold in some disdain. They don't seem to understand the feeling of accomplishment of climbing a mountain. Ok - but that is neither here nor there. One thing I did learn - fast - was, when you hear a pack of downhillers coming (and they sound like a swarm of angry bees) you simply Get. Out. Of. The. Way.

Upon arrival, we strolled through the center of the village looking for our hotel.

Turns out it was located on the mountainside, across the river. After negotiating some serious elevation, and tight switch-back roads, Alvi manouvered the car into a parking spot and minutes after checking in, we were in contact with our pals, John and Anne, whom we had planned to meet for dinner

Both of these cats are serious bikers, and are super competitive. Having arrived one day before us, Superman (John) had already scouted out the area, and had planned not only our routes, but also a number of surprises, namely Killer Mountain Challenge Europe, to name just one.

Before I can continue with the story, I need to try to explain a strange phenomenon that has developed around Alvi, as this biking story has a tinge of it as well.

(Someone throw a log on the fire -it's story time....!)

Since Alvi has developed his biking tours, and has taken folks out biking, he's developed his Killer Mountain Challenge - which simply is a friendly contest to see who can make it up all Six Summits. It's just a fun thing, albeit it is difficult. Which, frankly, is what makes it fun. And competitive.

We've been travelling in our off seasons, and often times we'll meet up in Europe, with some of our pals from here. And this is where Alvi has developed an issue. The folks then plan extreme things for Alvi to do on their home turf- almost in retribution, it seems, for the biking here. This has happened now some 5 or 6 times, with all kinds of things, not just sports. The first time it happened was in the German Alps some two years ago. I said to Alvi - "Hey man, what's going on here?" Alvi just shrugged, and said, "I don't know", and off he went, and did whatever extreme thing was planned for the day.

It happened again, one night in Brugges, but in that case, the people tried to kill him with super strong, Belgian beer, appropriately named 'Duvel' - which means devil in English.

It happened again in Lago di Garda some years ago. I can actually feel it happening - the air becomes thick like pea soup, with super-charged testosterone flying about. Alvi, however, rarely says no to a challenge...., which frankly, may exacerbate the situation.... :0)

The biking thing, is Alvi's thing - not mine, and yet at times, I too, get dragged into the situation. Alvi and I discussed this once, and he said, 'They're trying to kill me because of the biking. You gotta stop hanging out with me". "Damn straight, I said. But if this is true, then you gotta stop hanging out with your own self..... True, he said.

The latest example of this phenomenon was this summer, when we visited our friends Nils and Falcon at Nil's summer house, near Rostock, Germany. We arrive at his summer house around mid-day, and he and Falcon invite us for a kayak. Sure, we say. Sounds like a nice way to spend the afternoon. Suddenly, I feel the air thickening, as I see sidelong glances being passed between Nils and Falcon. Feigning ignorance, I ask, so what's our route, where we going, what should we bring????? Oh, it's not a long paddle, just some 5 lakes or so, with 2 locks in between. We'll stop halfway and get some water. It's not a big deal, says Falcon, with a big grin on his face.

We get in the double kayaks, and those two take off at a sprint. I say to Alvi, You know what's happening here, right? Yeah, he says. Another competition, and we don't even know the rules. How do you want to handle this? I say, let's just pace ourselves, and see what transpires....

Well, it was not 5 lakes. It was 8 lakes. It was not a few hours. It was 6 1/2, almost 7 hours. Just ask my bum.....it took a solid two days for it to reinflate itself.... :0)

Back to Morzine. There is no need to elaborate further on the abovementioned, suffice it to say that I knew that we were in for it. On the way to the restaurant, I said to Alvi - Dude - this is your show. You alone, have to preserve our family honour, ok? Consider it done, he said.

We met up with John and Anne in the town square, and meandered about looking for a restaurant.

Alvi ordered a blond to start,

while we all enjoyed a great Italian meal and planned the coming days.

Happy, happy, happy surfers, who are badly in need of haircuts..... :0)

The morning dawned sunny and clear, and as planned, we hopped on our bikes, made our way down the steep roads to the bridge, crossed the bridge, and entered the town square, where the four of us met up to start our day.

As we head out, Superman lets me know that our first climb is some 500 meters, and should take no longer than an hour or so. No problemo, senor. The group takes off, and I settle into my uphill chugging mode, enjoying scenery like this.....

...this...

...and this.

We decided to stop at a mid-station for some re-fueling

...and to watch in amazement....

...as these downhillers hurl themselves down their obstacle-laden course.

John and Al, standing seemingly, on top of the world, watching the downhillers.

Yikes! Look out behind you, John! It's a bubble-headed, extra terrestrial, and it looks hungry....

After refueling, we begin Killer Mountain Challenge Europe. I think KMC Europe was higher than in El Yaque, with the pitch being the same. However, I was undone by the loose stones and gravel.

While Anne and I virtually tie........ Al gives it a valiant effort......only to be blown away by John......who makes it to the top.

After some photo taking at the summit, and after some now traditional 'summit smooching', we start our traverse along the mountain.....

...and make our way to Les Gets for some lunch.

After a spectacular meal.....

and some hang-gliding watching.....

....we start our descent back to Morzine...

(It is important to note that this is the only time, during the entire biking trip, that I was ever in front of the group. Well, I guess that's not exactly true either, as Superman was so far in front of us, that he had time to stop and shoot this photo.. Ok then - never mind.... :0)

...where after a quick shower and a hair cut we meet up again in the town square for some much deserved libations..... :0)

...and a lively discussion of Apple's latest and very sexy offering - the i-pad.

Over another fabulous meal, we plan our day. John proposes that we climb the same mountain that the Tour de France climbed a few days previous. It is a 14 km climb, 1000 meters of elevation, and he looks at me and advises that it should take me 2 hours to ride. Right. Yikes!

After a beautiful sunrise, the temperatures started to climb, as predicted by the local weatherman. The word he used was 'scorching' temps, and it was already very hot at 9 am when we met up to start our climb. Note the smiles on Anne's and Alvi's faces - whereas I look like I am about to barf.

The group takes off, and I settle into my slow, steady chugging rhythm as I start my climb. Until the muscles warm up, there is a degree of discomfort in the riding of the bicycle. And so the first several kilometers were spent cursing the bike, and the mountain, but mostly imagining ways of exacting revenge on Alvi for planning this trip.... And then suddenly, I felt great! No more discomfort, beautiful views, like this...

...and warm and gooey thoughts of gratitude to Alvi for planning this trip.

The next several kilometers were fun and interesting. I was joined for some meters by local Frenchmen who climb this mountain as their form of daily exercise, who would slow down and chat with me. Many of them were well into their late 50's and 60's, but with the finely tuned physiques of bikers half their age. The conversations were lovely, and their encouragement was much appreciated. I want to be like them, at that age.

The village of Morzine was thrilled to host a stage of the Tour de France, and to show support for their favourite riders, they would write messages like this:

Very cool!

I was feeling pretty good, checking out my surroundings...

....chatting with the dudes, enjoying the views...

...and re-confirming my goal of riding to the top without putting my foot down, when a car full of young down-hillers comes screeching around the bend. "Where are you going?, one asks. To the top - to Avoriaz, I say. One yells out, Vous-etes fou! as he points to the chairlift. Smartass. Another one yells out, "Only 8 more kilometers!" And then in unison, they holler, "Allez, Allez, Allez!"

Thanks, dudes!

Wait...what? Eight more kilometers? Holy crapola...eight more kilometers...:0( And that's when I realized that I had run out of water.

It was very hot, and I was feeling a little deflated knowing that I had 8 more kilometers to go. It was disheartening to look up to see where I was headed, as all I saw was an uphill road. Instead I looked down at the road, shut down my mind, and tried not think about the 8 kms.

Oh look. There's a pebble. That's a small ass pebble. Hey! There's a beetle. Huh - a French beetle. Well, Bonjour to you, Monsier French beetle.

Well, you get the picture. Things were starting to go sideways, as my thirst increased.

Man oh man - it was hot.

Dehydrated, and partially hallucinating, somewhere along the 11th kilometer, I found Jesus.

Although it may have been Alvi - hard to say, as they both have the same haircut.

He was standing by the side of the road, eating a marzipan, poppy-seed ice-cream cone,

with his robes gently flapping in the breeze. "You are almost there, my child", he says. With all due respect, I say, how do you know? I mean, how did you get up here? He sagely nods in the direction of the chairlift. Right. Before I can continue, another car approaches, and a little boy of some 10 years of so, yells out, Two kilometers to Avoriaz, Madame! Allez!

Right on! Listen JC, thanks for your support, I say, but I gotta go - only 2 kilometers more.

I swear, less than a few minutes of climbing, after rounding a bend, the Avoriaz village appeared...! And I was elated.

After a lovely lunch of pasta and salads,

...Anne headed back down to pack up, while Alvi, John and I climbed....

...and climbed....

...and sometimes pushed our bikes....

....always going up.....

...and up....

...until we ran out of mountain.

Superman! There is a reason he is called that - as he is a mountain-biking machine!

Thanks John and Anne, for the awesome biking! See you guys in Italy!

Conclusion:

Total elevation climbed: 1600 meters. Sweet!

While I may be easy-to beat-up-but-hard-to-kill, my Alvi is tough as nails.

Marzipan-poppyseed ice-cream sounds yummy.

Mountain biking in the Alps is an absolute blast!

The Weeble, Wobble and Crash Alpine Mountain Bike Tour, by the Helmet Heads

2010-07-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Hope you all had a great summer!

As you can see by the title of this blog, this story is about my biking adventure through the German, Austrian, Swiss and French Alps.

Before I get started, there are a few preliminary things I need to explain.

While I may enjoy many different types of sports, biking is absolutely not my forte. Due to some childhood traumas brought about by my inability to ride a bike between 2 obstacles successfully, I guess I gravitated to other sports. Biking, however, is a major passion of Alvi's. He rode single track trails in Canada, he rode long distances at our old cottage, and now here, he has developed a series of mountain biking trails and competitions for himself, and our guests. All of this has resulted in our Killer Mountain Challenge, which I helped to organize last year. And I have to say, those riders inspired me. And so, Alvi and my buddy Diego agreed to train me for this year's Killer Mountain Challenge. Despite my propensity for crashing into things, all in all, I think I did ok. What's a few cacti scratches, bruises and flat tires......Having said that, I am an absolute newcomer to this sport.

As I was a little swamped with work, Alvi planned this trip for us (car rentals, hotels, Via Michelin route guides etc), and coordinated when and where we would meet up with friends. My only input in the planning was off-handedly suggesting that perhaps we could bike in Chamonix, France. Emailing with Markus Hammer, it was decided that we would ride a few days in Riederalp, Switzerland, a mountain that is the home of the Aletschi glacier, a UNESCO World Heritage site. And, working with Superman, Al planned several biking days in Morzine, which is one valley over from Chamonix. We already knew that Thomas and Karin would guide us through the German and Austrian Alps. Before booking everything, Alvi quickly showed me some photos like this.....

....and this....

...and when I looked at him quizzically he said, 'Don't worry about it. You'll be fine'. Well, if I knew anything at all about biking, I would have recognized right away what I was getting myself into.....But, since I was blissfully wrapped in a cozy blanket of ignorance, I said, 'Ok, let's book it.'

And so, being a newcomer to this sport, I did not know that there are many many many different types of bikes and biking.

There is regular biking as a mode of transportation, where the bike looks like this:

I don't know if there is any specific type of training for this type of biking, other than repetition, but as a newcomer to this sport, I could be wrong.

Then, there is mountain biking, and the bike looks like this:

....and mountain bikers ride a variety of terrain including something like this:

Of course, there is road biking, with the bike looking like this....

Among others, this type of bike is ridden by the athletes at the top of their sport in a little competition called the Tour de France.

Interestingly, there is also something called a downhill bike, which looks like this....

...with the crazy practitioners of this sport riding terrain like this.....

....and this.....

For the antique collector, there are bikes like this.....

For the minimalist, check out this bike!

For the person who has it all, this Swarovsky crystal encrusted bike may just be perfect.

And of course, the dream bike of every little girl in my neighbourhood - some 40 years ago.... :0)

Just to be clear, we are mountain bikers, who ride a variety of terrain. However, the type of training for what we ride here differs wildly from the training required for the terrain we were facing in the Alps. As I newcomer to this sport, I didn't know that before this trip......but I do know this now.

Let me explain. My training here on the island, consisted of full out power on the flats, top speed on the desert trails (this is very dangerous for me...), and full power, with all muscles fully engaged, going up the 35% or so degree incline, for about 400 meters or so. Then a teeth clenching, knuckle whitening downhill on loose rocks, dodging boulders and rain gutters. Then a full speed ride on the highway, into the wind back home.

While we were training, we were in touch by email with John and Anne from Norway, who were posting their training regime. After reading some of their posts, I asked Alvi - 'Hey dude? Are we training properly for riding in the Alps? Alvi's answer, 'Don't worry about it. You'll be fine'. Hhhhmmmm

Ok - so, now you know that I am an average rider at best, I have issues with crashing into obstacles in my path and in all likelihood my training was all wrong for the Alps. However, I am tough, and I am very competitive, and I bought some kick-ass awesome biking outfits!!!!!!

Oh-one more thing. I prefer to receive exact and precise information about any sporting endeavour that I am about to undertake. For example, I appreciate knowing how long this endeavour will be, how many kilometers I am to run/hike/bike etc. With this info, I am able to manage my energy, my food and water consumption etc. Some people are very good at giving this type of precise info, and others......not so much.

Ok - we are off. Day One find us in the German Alps with our pals Thomas and Karin. Thomas grew up in these Alps, and can guide us with his eyes closed. The day starts off like this:

...riding on a single track in the forest. Nice.

To traverse this waterfall, we had to carry our bikes. The scenery was breathtaking...

...with the river snaking between steep rocky canyon walls

After emerging from the forest, we started our first 2 hour climb.

And I attack this $#@!&^ mountain like a wild animal - full power, all muscles engaged, full speed. And within 10 minutes, I've blown out my muscles, and my heart-rate is so high I feel like I might stroke out.

Thomas, my self-appointed trainer, rides back down the hill, circles around me, puts his hand on the small of my back and says, 'Nora, you are riding wrong. Go slower, disengage your quad muscles. You need to rest.' And he starts pushing me up the mountain, telling me to stop pedalling. After my 10 minute rest, he points up and says, 'Go. This is 15 minutes with a 20% incline. Easy. Now go.' And he pushes me. And so.... I go. And I blow it all out again. But, I pushed myself to the top. Not surprisingly, Thomas, being German and all, gave me very precise info of this climb.

After riding some flats, we encounter another climb. Thomas reminds me to go slow, to disengage my quads (what?!?!?!) and to breathe. I blow it all out again, and Thomas circles back, and pushes me again. As we pass various hikers on the mountain, they stare at me/us, and I say nodding toward Thomas, 'Taxi', to another I call Thomas 'my sherpa', and to the third I say 'elevator'... I am trying for humour here, as the Germans find it shameful that you cannot climb uphill. If you cannot, then you have no business riding in their Alps.

Mercifully, we arrive at the top for some sustenance.

While our German friends order big steins of beer and Sprite, Alvi starts his lovely tradition of ordering strudel.

After a high-speed downhill on a gravel road, we pack up the car, head home for a quick shower, and catch the sunset on Chiemsee, at our favourite bar.

Here's Al and Karin, and Thomas and I.

From there we headed to a Bavarian beer garden for dinner, where I had schnitzel.....yummy!

Team Thomas! Total time spent in the saddle: 6 hours.

And awoke early the next morning to drive to another town, to ride across the German Alps into Austria. Here we are at the summit, preparing for our loooonnngggg and fast downhill.

Not alot of photos of this day, as I was (with Thomas' guidance) still trying to master the art of the uphill climb. Result: same as Day One. Blew out my muscles, heart rate dangerously high, a little lift by Thomas every now and then, and then the cycle would start again...pardon the pun. During the last climb, Thomas told me 20 minutes, 18 degree incline - Now go!

Like the idiot I am, I go. For a few minutes there it felt like I was doing it right, but the incline may have levelled off - hard to say.

The photo below clearly depicts why we are the Helmet Heads. All of our equipment was borrowed from Karin and Thomas. The bikes etc were great, but we seemed to have a small issue with the helmets. Alvi has an enormous head, and even though he borrowed his helmet from Thomas (who is a 6' 6" tall giant and while one would think that he would have a large head, in fact, his head is a normal size), it appears as though the helmet is way too small, and is in fact, precariously perched on the crown of his head. To me it looks as though the helmet is pinching the point on the top of his head. Either way - NG - Not Good.

Conversely, I have a small head. And Karin's helmet was too big for me. And so, as if I didn't have other issues to occupy me, my helmet was sliding all over the place, sometimes even tipping down over my eyes. And so, while Alvi looks like the helmet is pinching his very cranium, I look like some kind of a bubble-headed, over-sized-cranium extra terrestrial creature. Also NG.

Anyway, that's where 'Helmet Heads' came from.... :0)

After packing up the bikes, home for a quick shower, and off to Salzburg for dinner and drinks. Total amount of time in the saddle: 6.5 hours

Salzburg at night.

Alvi .... at night..... :0)

Day 3: We climbed into our car, and began our journey through Germany, Austria, a bit of Lichtenstein, and into Switzerland. As Alvi organized this trip, he'd rented us a Hyundai Tuscon, sparkling white, with a GPS navigation system. Sadly, neither one of us could figure out how to program the darn thing. It seemed to want to simply show us where we were, as opposed to telling us where we needed to go.

'Not to worry', says Alvi, as he is handing me a sheaf of 20 papers. 'Look', he says proudly, 'I've printed off the Via Michelin directions'. 'Cool', I say, 'but where's the map?' "We don't need a map', says Al, 'we have the GPS and the Via Michelin directions.'

Needless to say, we barely made it out of Germany, flew through Austria, got severely lost in Lichtenstein (that is hard to do as this place is tiny....!), and didn't even know we were in Switzerland until we saw a pharmacy flying a Swiss flag. Trying to follow those Via Michelin directions is maddening.....! But most importantly of all, we were losing time. We had a long and treacherous drive ahead of us through the Swiss Alps, most importantly through the Furka Pass, and we really wanted to drive through there during daylight hours.

However, we were seriously lost in Switzerland. Finally, I persuaded Alvi to pull over at a gas station, where unbeknownst to him, I was going to buy a map. I ask the girl behind the counter for a map, but she doesn't speak any English. I try some rudimentary German - no go. A little French - nada. Hhhhmmm. In walks an elderly fellow, and the girl behind the counter explains in Swiss German, that this Canadian girl over here wants to buy a map, but since she doesn't speak any English, she can't help me....... (not kidding...!) So, this fellow turns to me with a big smile, grabs a map out of the rack, spreads it all over the ice-cream freezer and asks me, "Where would you like to go?" in perfect English.

As I explain to him where we need to go, he's muttering to himself while peering at the map, and then pulls out a pen, and starts circling the town where we have erroneously found ourselves, drawing a line to the highway, and then with a big flourish, he draws a huge line to Riederalp.

Right! One Swiss map sold to the Canadian girl......!

I go to pay for the map in Euros. The girl shakes her head, and elderly Swiss fellow translates that she can't make change in Euros. Oooookkkkk. No problem - we need Swiss Francs, I say. The girl says that she can`t figure out the exchange rate, and therefore can`t make the change..... Silence.....as the Swiss fellow, the next 17 customers in line, Alvi and I look at her....... Suddenly, in a flurry of activity, elderly Swiss guy wips open his wallet, pays the girl for our map in Swiss francs (with exact change), bids us a safe journey, and leaves the store.

God bless the kindhearted souls that help weary and lost travellers!!!!!!

Now, we are in business. Armed with my map and the static GPS system, I toss the Via Michelin directions in the back seat, and we make great time into the Swiss Alps. The drive looked something like this...... (pardon me for my spectacularly bad photos....but I hope you get the idea..)

This drive has everything from tunnels blasted through the Alpine mountains.....

...to several dozen bridges crossing the valley chasm below.....

....to switch-back roads that seem to turn back on eachother.....

...all at dizzying elevations, as we near the Furka Pass.

Check out how the GPS shows this stretch of road.......!

All was going well, until we hit a trafffic jam. Turns out, a local goat/cow herder was the cause of the problem. It was impossible for him to herd his flock up the steep mountain side. His only option was to herd them on the road....thus blocking traffic. And so, we were delayed by an additional two hours.....and it was already twilight.

Finally, the shepherd steers his flock off the road, up to his farm, at the top of the mountain and the traffic jam eases. And yet, up, up and up we go!

And finally we reach the entrance to the Furka Pass! Yes, that is snow...... We pass a sign that advises us that we are now entering the Furka Pass, and it is covered in stickers left by previous travellers. Stickers that read, `I survived the Furka Pass`. What?

Alvi, who frankly seems to be immensely enjoying himself, asks me, `So now what? What`s the deal with this Furka Pass?` Well, I say, `it seems to narrow...to one lane....but only for a short time.....`

Our conversation stopped until we exited the Furka Pass.

We drove another 50 kms in the same conditions - steep steep steep, but downhill - until we hit the valley floor and made it to our village at the foothills of the Rierderalp.

We pull in to our hotel, and while we are checking in, the concierge says, `There is a Mr. Hammer waiting for you in the restaurant.` Right. We dropped our bags in the room, and ran to the restaurant to meet with Markus Hammer - our pal - for dinner.

Markus rode his Ducati from Zurich to ride the Riederalp with us.

Look at these two! It is always great to be reunited with good friends! After a delicious dinner, the two boys enjoyed great conversation, aged cognac, and fine cigars well into the night. I went to bed.....feeling that tomorrow could be a great day for me - biking the mighty Reideralp. Total time in the car: 10.5 hours.

The day dawned beautifully sunny and warm. After breakfast, we geared up and headed out. After a cable car ride up to the mid-station, we arrived at a little, picturesque village with views like this....

The Riederalp is just one of several mountain peaks that make up this area known as the Valais Alps. Other such peaks of note are the Matterhorn and the Dom. Rising some 4000 meters from the valley floor, the vistas and views at the mid-stations and summits are breathtaking. This area has been deemed a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, and is home to the majestic 23 kilometer long Aletsch glacier, which is comprised of 27 billion metric tonnes of ice, and is reported to be melting/moving a 1/4 inch each year.

Today's goal is to ride/climb up to the glacier.

After taking some more photos....

... and packing water and snacks....

...the boys give me some final words of encouragement. And then I sent them on their way. If I was going to figure out the uphill, I was going to do it alone - no sense in holding up the group.

Markus told me that this climb is 600 meters, which should take me about an hour. And off I go...

With Thomas' training sounding in my head, I finally learn to disengage my leg muscles, apply pressure to the pedals, and moderate my breathing as I slowly start to climb.....and I am elated!!!!!!!!!

What a feeling! The sun is shining, the views are unbelievable, I am not cramping, and yet I am climbing up and up and up. To be fair, my pace is slow, more of a chugging kind of pace really.....but I am chugging uphill and all is well in my world :0)

Before I know it, I chug up to the boys. Alvi, looking a little surprised asks me how I'm doing. Great, I say. Did you figure it out, he asks? I surely did, I reply. How do you feel, he asks? Like I could do this for hours, I grin. Famous last words......

We consult the map to figure out our route. Hammer suggests that we take a small trail through the forest which will take us into the next valley. From there we have another climb up to the mid-station at Fiescheralp, where we'll break for lunch. And off we go.

And we run into issues right at the trailhead.

Cows are blocking our trail.

As Alvi negotiates the right of way with the cows, Hammer and I take a breather. The cows were cute and all, but the important thing to note in the photo below is the trail itself. I do believe, that this photo depicts the trail at its widest. Once we entered the forest, the trail narrowed to a solid 9 maybe 10 inches.

The mountain rising up was so steep, that my left shoulder often brushed the moss and lichens that covered the rocks. And the drop off to my right was so steep, that several times I froze, closed my eyes, took some deep breaths before carrying on. It was not possible to ride this trail with a bike....at least not for me given that I am a newcomer to this sport......and what with my crashing issues and all......

So, there I am, merrily walking along this 'trail', minding my own business, when a slight misstep sends me sliding down the gully in the photo below.....with the weight of my bike pulling me down. My slide was halted by one of those bushes, however my leg landed in a pile of cow poo.....

What the @#$%? I wasn't even riding.....I was walking......Thank goodness there was no one around to witness this. I pick myself up, and start climbing back up to the 'trail'. Al must have heard my cursing and muttering, as he doubled back to check on me. Are you ok, he asks? Yeah, I mutter. I just slipped. You what? he says. I @#$&^ bloody well slipped off this trail and landed in that bush down there with the cow poo, I say.

I hear Markus call back to Al - Hey! Where are you guys? Al calls back, "Nora just fell off the Riederalp. Don't worry, we're coming!" "What? Nora fell off the Riederalp???!?!?! And I hear Markus' laughter rebounding off of the mountain walls...... Lovely.

Jokesters......

The 'trail' wound its way through the forest for a few more minutes, and in the distance I could see a clearing. But a large obstacle was sort of impeding my view of a spectacular waterfall. This large obstacle was in fact, a huge piece of rock jutting out from the mountain, and it was cantilevered over the trail. There was a piece of rope attached to said rock for holding onto. And what appeared to be a series of rotting logs, created a ledge that connected to the trail on the other side of the rock.

Oh oh, I think to myself, as my knees start to tremble. 'Um, Alvi? A little help here!', I call out. Alvi doubles back and looking a little pale himself, he thankfully takes my bike. After a few breaths, I grab hold of this old rope and start across the rotting logs. This time, there is no gully below, no bush with cow poo, just.....air.....

Here's Alvi after helping me.

After passing the rock, I can now see the waterfall....and it is spectacular!

And in the next moment I realize that the trail intersects the waterfall, and the only way forward is by crossing the damn waterfall.....

Exiting the forest...

....and crossing the waterfall....

....and getting a soaker....

...while the waterfall cascades merrily 2000 meters down to the valley floor below.

After another 20 minutes or so of trekking, we exit the forest trail and prepare for another 500 meter climb to Fiescheralp.

I gotta say, I've never been so happy to see a road! No matter that it only went uphill! I've got that covered.... :0)

Over a spectacular lunch, we plotted our next route to the glacier, with Hammer calculating the elevation of the climb. "Why are you always figuring out the elevation that we climb?', I ask Hammer. 'Elevation climbed is all that matters', he says. 'No one cares how many kilometers you rode, or how many hours you rode In the Alps, the bragging rights go to the one who climbed the most height."

Hhhhhmmmm, Newbie Nora learns something new again.

Yipee! I get kisses for sorting out the climbing thing, for not falling off the rotting log ledge, or slipping down the waterfall...

...and we celebrated with some strudel....Swiss strudel....

And we set off on our last climb to the glacier...

...while enjoying views like this...

...we are happy riders!

And then we come upon this...

This 600 meter long, 2.5 meter wide tunnel means that we are very close to the glacier. Just through the tunnel, and a short 500 meter ride, and we've reached our goal.

As Markus and I go to check out the tunnel we realize a few things.

#1 It is freezing inside this tunnel - absolutely freezing - and so we all don our windjackets.

#2 Half of the tunnel floor is in fact a river. This river is a glacial stream that runs in our direction through the tunnel and down the mountainside. The stream is also freezing.

#3 This tunnel is very poorly lit.

#4 There are hikers walking along the left side of the tunnel, as the stream is on the right side.

#5 The walls of this tunnel are nothing more than roughly hewn rock.

#6 Actual rideable space which is calculated as total width of tunnel, less 50% for the stream, less 30% for the hikers = 20% rideable space.

So, what does this mean for me? This means that the likelihood that I will weeble, wobble or crash into something or someone has risen exponentially.

We start into the tunnel, which looks like this.....

....and get halfway, when the lights go out. Perfect! Now I won't see the wall coming...!

Alvi asks me if I am ok, after I weeble and wobble through the stream, getting another soaker. 'I'm ok, I'm just trying not to crash into those poor, unsuspecting people', I say. 'Focus on the light at the end of the tunnel', wisely says Al.

We emerge from the tunnel none the worse for wear, cleverly stash our bikes behind a boulder...

and hike over to the glacier...

And there it is....

...23 kilometers long....

...consisting of 27 billion metric tonnes of ice....

...all in all, very cool!

Off in the distance, behind the visible peaks , shrouded by the swirling mists stands the treacherous Eiger, with its famed North Face.

As Alvi ties his shoe..

... Hammer and I discuss the rapidly approaching inclement weather. With the temperature dropping by several degrees, and the storm clouds gathering, we decide to hurry back to the stashed bikes, and start our descent.

Look! There's a bubble-headed, extra terrestrial with an over-sized cranium, leaving the glacier....!

We hop on our bikes, traverse the 500 meters back to the tunnel, I weeble and wobble my way through the tunnel narrowly missing the wall several times, and get a soaker on my one remaining dry shoe, and start a very fast downhill on the road that we climbed. Woo hoo! Downhills are fun!

The rain lets up a bit, but the temps are still chilly. The cold is exacerbated by the fact that we are going down hill, and not really using any muscles. I can't seem to warm up, and I notice an odd twinge in the connecting tissues of both of my knees.....hhhmmmm...weird. We literally zip all the way down to the mid-station of Fiescheralp, where we encounter a sign, that simply says 'Downhill'. The sign has a picture of a bicyclist going down hill. As we stop for some water, a group of local hikers notice us looking at the trail. 'Good luck', they call out to us. Hhhhmmmm

We drop into the trail, and for the first two kilometers, I would say, it was a relatively normal trail, albeit with a steep downhill grade.

And then we hit the forest trail. Incredibly steep downhill trail, with obstacles littering the trail.

Was this an extreme downhiller trail?

Well, yes. Of course it was.

This trail was not rideable by any of us, and so we all started down, holding/carrying/pushing our bikes.

After I took three steps, disaster strikes!

Next blog: Part Two: The rest of the story.

An Easter Story

2010-04-04T07:44:00.000-07:00

Many years ago, a girl, and her little brother were walking home from school on the last day before Holy Week. Home was a little shack in the desert. They lived with their disciplinarian grandmother, because the mother of this girl and her little brother was murdered by their father, and their father was now in prison. Although the grandmother was very poor, she made sure the girl and her little brother had clothing and books to attend the local school. The grandmother stressed education above all else.

As the girl walked home, she thought about Holy Week, and all of the rituals, the foods, and the traditions. And she knew that she and her little brother would not enjoy these Easter traditions this year. Abuela did not have any money for the traditional Easter foods - rice with coconut, rice with milk, a sweet dessert made of green papaya, caramelized sugar, cloves and cinnamon.

As she walked home, her path lead her past the wealthy man's house. In his garden, she saw a worker washing the wealthy man's cars. And she thought to herself, "I can do that. This would be a good job for me during Easter break." The girl turned around, went to the wealthy man's house, and knocked on the door. The wealthy man answered and looked down at the girl. The girl said, "I would like to come and wash your cars for you for the next five mornings. And I would like you to pay me for my work." The wealthy man smiled, and said, "I expect you here tomorrow morning at five in the morning."

The girl woke each morning before the sun, and washed the wealthy man's cars. And each day, the wealthy man paid the girl 100 bolivares viejo - the equivalent of a dime. And at the end of the five days, the girl knew that she had enough money to buy the foods necessary to surprise abuela with the traditional Easter meal.

Happily, she showed her abuela her earnings. The grandmother did not believe the thirteen year old girl, and marched her over to the wealthy man's house.

'Did you pay my granddaughter to wash your cars", the grandmother demanded of the wealthy man?

'I did', the wealthy man answered, gesturing to the row of gleaming cars in his garden. 'And I would hire her again, as she is a hard worker.", he said.

That Easter Sunday, with a table laden with all of the traditional foods, the girl and her little brother and the grandmother enjoyed the finest meal they had had in weeks. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It was the wealthy man. He said to the grandmother, "Your granddaughter is a hard worker. If you are the one who taught her to work hard, then I would like to offer you a job as my launderess."

The grandmother worked for the wealthy man until his death. This job saved her family.

The girl who saved Easter, and was instrumental in finding employment for her grandmother - her name is Luz.

Luz is now a 37 year old mother of three children. Her oldest daughter is studying medicine in university. She owns her own beautiful house, and is looking to buy a new piece of land, to build her dream home.

Happy Easter!

Killer Mountain Challenge 2010 - Part One

2010-03-27T13:50:00.001-07:00

Hello All! Hope everyone is enjoying a nice spring.

This post is titled 'Killer Mountain Challenge 2010 - Part One'. The Killer Mountain Challenge part of the title is self explanatory, but the part that says 'Part One', implies that there will be several parts to the particular story. As with the challenge itself, this story seems to be growing of its own accord, and has become multi-faceted. Thus, I had to chop it up into parts. There is alot of info to write, so let's get going with Part One.

Big Al and I were sitting on the terrace one evening in late February, reviewing our guest calendar for March. I noticed that during the last two weeks of March, Casa Nora was full with hard-core athletes, all of whom are major mountain bikers, with names like Super Dave, Radical Radu, Wild Man, and Superman. Hhmmm.....I said to Al. We should do something fun for these guys. Al said, Yeah - we should get them all out to the Killer Mountain to see if anyone can beat Superman. After we caught our breaths from laughing so hard, Al said, 'As if anyone can beat Superman.' 'Yeah', I said, 'But let's put something together, ok?' 'Okey dokey', said Big Al.

The next day I was booked to have a beach massage with possibly the world's best massage therapist, Yomana. During our usual pre-massage chat, I mentioned that Al and I were thinking of organizing a little bike challenge. 'Yeah?', she said. 'When?' 'I don't exactly know, but sometime at the end of March, I said. 'Cool', she said. 'I'd like to offer post-race massages to the racers.' 'Really?', I said. 'Really!', she said. And so, the Killer Mountain Challenge 2010, had its first sponsor.

BEACH MASSAGES BY YOMANA

Thanks Yomana!

On my way home after the massage, I ran into my friend, Tom de Brendt, professional sports photographer, team rider for Fanatic and North Sails. Tom posts an on-line newspaper that runs stories about El Yaque. I mentioned to him that Al and I were organizing a little bike race, and he offered to help advertise it on his site.

Sponsor number 2! In a few days , please check out http://www.elyaquenews.com/ for more info about El Yaque.

During our discussion Tom asks me for the Killer Mountain Challenge logo, rules and regulations...... Yikes! I don't have anything prepared, I say. He says, no problemo. Email it to me when you have it. Right.

Now, I am racing home to start planning this event, when I run into my neighbour, Stefan. As he is a regular member of Big Al's biking group, I tell him about the challenge. And he offers his big blue truck as transportation for judges, racers and spectators on race day. Thanks, Stefan and Magic Margarita Tours! Sponsor number 3!

When I finally get home, Al asks about my massage. Well, I say, Yomanahasofferedtosponsorfreemassagesfortheracers,Tomwilladvertisetheevent online,Stefanhasofferedtransportation,holycrapolaIambusy,needalogo,rulesandregulations, andneedtopickadate. And my massage was awesome!

I immediately pick a date, and email my buddy, my webmaster, and all 'round go-to-digital-guy, Antonio Franco for a logo. Two hours later, he produces this:

Thanks Tony! You rock, dude! Please check out Tony's work at http://www.antoniofranco.net/. Sponsor number 4.

While I am busy at my computer, Al is busy on his, sending out personal invitations to our previous Killer Mountain Challenge Champions, spreading the word to the riders in our village, and writing the rules and regulations. While I was working with Antonio, I quickly posted the date of the challenge on Facebook. Immediately, I received an email from Kathy from the Vela windsurf centre, offering to sponsor prizes like Vela caps, sunglass cases and DaKine wallets. Thanks Vela! Sponsor number 5.

While I am working the logo and the sponsor logos etc, I notice a flurry of activity from Al's corner of the room. What's up, I ask? He says to me that Diego (the manager of the newest restaurant on the beach called La Chiva Loca), has offered to sponsor the post-race evening meal - pizza and beer, while we watch a slide show of the challenge. Muchas gracias, Diego and La Chiva Loca! Sponsor number 6.

It was nearing the end of the day, and we were out of beer for our weekly Casa Nora Happy Hour. I jumped into the truck and raced off to our local bodegon, owned by a pal of mine, William, also a biker. What the heck! I mention the event to him, and he offers to sponsor us with snacks, lots of water and ice.

BODEGON DE WILLIAM

MINI-MARKET

Muchas gracias, William! Sponsor number 7.

As Al and I and our house guests make ourselves comfy on the terrace for the traditional viewing of the sunset, Al starts describing our day. And he recruits our guests, Dave and Sarah (from England) to be our judging committee. Sarah and Dave spent 2 months with us here, and we miss them..... :0( And so the discussions began - how to properly judge this event. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Dave and Sarah for all of your work, and for donating your time!

Sometime during those discussions, Big Al reminds me to add Casa Nora as a sponsor......duh.....! So, sponsor number 8. We hosted the event, and gave out the newest and hottest windsurf movie called "Four Dimensions, An Andre Paskowski Production" to all of the racers. Thanks Casa Nora! You are welcome Killer Mountain Challenge 2010!!!

And so, at the end of Day One of planning this event, we were offered 8 sponsorships, a judging committee, several volunteers, and were receiving emails from around the world from our previous Killer Mountain Challenge participants, most notably from the defending World Champion, John Kalhovde, otherwise known as Superman, who posted the following on his Facebook site:

...with the following profile status:

To all of the competitors of the Killer Mountain Challenge 2010: Get used to this view....it's the only angle you will get of me!!!

Oh. My.

Day Two of planning included more discussions with our judging committee, finding volunteer judges, sorting out logistics, spreading the word in the village, and enjoying the trash talking flying across the internet. Without a word of a lie, this event came together in a few days. But only because of the generosity, sponteneity, enthusiasm and sense of adventure of all of our sponsors and volunteers. And for that, Al and I offer all of you guys our profound thanks!

Here are our volunteers:

Please meet Lii, from Riga, Latvia. Lii helped to paint our Killer Mountain Challenge banner. But, most importantly she also took photos of the event. Paldies, Lii!

My friend and neighbour, Nancy, also came over to help Lii paint the banner. And her lovely boyfriend, Alessandro Ferrari, kitesurf instructor extraordinaire, and Margarita Island's distributor of Sea Specks sunglasses, sponsored us with a pair of awesome sunglasses. Many many many thanks to both Ale and Nancy. Sponsor number 9.

Here are the girls working on the banner.....

... as Wildman (aka Herb Loeman) looks on and offers support .....

... before assuming his duties as Race Commentator. Thanks Wildman! You did an awesome job!

While Al inspects the banner......

... Kathy, Yomana and I make the racing bibs.....

... display the trophies.....

....and start prepping the refreshment table.

Kathy, aside from helping with the race prep, and aside from being our Vela sponsor, also had the most important job of being the judge halfway up Killer Mountain One.

On the left, Imants (el carpintero) Zakis from Latvia was a judge, and Lii on the right helped paint the banner, and took photos of the event. Thanks guys!

Colette, aside from being the wife of Deigo (major contender for the Killer Mountain Challenge) was also a judge mid-way up Killer Mountain One. Thanks, Colette!

Lucy, a guest of Nancy's posada called the Windmill, also helped us out. Thanks, Lucy!

On the left, Lucy's boyfriend, Mike was stationed at the summit of Killer Mountain Three, on the right, masseuse extraordinaire and judge, Yomana, and in the middle, our judges, Sarah (the Missus) and Dave (the Guv'nor) Reynolds. Gracias!

THE KILLER MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE

Ok - so, you may ask, what exactly is the Killer Mountain Challenge? And why all of the hoopla, chicanery and highjinx?

It is a little difficult to explain in words, but I will give it a go.

Despite living in the desert here in El Yaque, not far off in the distance there is a beautiful .... rise in elevation. Some call it a mountain (I being from Canada and having skied the Rocky Mountains, am reluctant to call it a mountain....), others call it a hill. I guess it depends on one's perspective. However, that is neither here nor there.

The initial rise in elevation is perhaps some 350-400 meters long, and has a 35 degree of incline. This is Killer Mountain #1.

I know, it sounds ridiculous. However, full on Hawaii Iron Men have tried to summit this, ... and failed. Big, muscular Germans, the size of tanks have tried, ... and failed. Folks training for triathlons have tried, ... and failed.

Until Superman, from Norway. This dude, scampered up Killer Mountain #1 like some kind of a gazelle! And he didn't stop there. He then discovered and added 5 additional summits - which Big Al then dubbed, 'The Six Summits of Superman'. Al then rolled all six summits into our "Killer Mountain Challenge 2010".

The object of this challenge is to a) actually make it up Killer Mountain #1, b) and then see how many of the other summits one can climb.

Rules:

This is not a timed event. Take all of the time you need.

If you put your foot down, at any time during the challenge, your ride is over.

Each challenger has three tries, all of which must begin at the bottom of Killer Mountain #1.

The challenge must be completed using regular sneakers, and regular pedals. No clips, no baskets, no cages...or whatever those things are called.

Before all of you riders out there send me emails about the insanity of this, I know, I know. Using clips you can generate 30 - 50% more power, etc etc etc. The reason for this rule is that Superman, the guy who set the bar for this challenge, made it up Killer Mountain #1, #2, #3 and mid-way up #4, using our crappy bikes, with regular sneakers and pedals.

And so, there it is. That is the challenge.

RACE DAY

The challengers marshall at Casa Nora at 5:30 am......

..... and listen to Sarah and Dave, our judging committee, as they explain the rules...

... while Lii enjoys her handiwork....

... and the registration of the challengers begins....

Hector, from El Yaque, brought his wife and infant son to the challenge.

Dave, The Guv'nor, coordinating the rotation of Group Three.

Super Dave, from Calgary, but soon to be resident of El Yaque, signing in.

Anne and John from Norway, reading the rules.

My Al, signing in, and lookin' good!

El Yaque local, "DNA Diego" (thus named as he has left more of his DNA on that mountain than anyone) signing in.

Above photo - Stefan, our neighbour signs in, while in the below photo, Super Dave, and Bad-ass Bidu (from Switzerland) discuss strategy....

..... while the Defending World Champion, John 'Superman' signs in.

And with that, the Killer Mountain Challenge 2010, El Yaque, has begun.

The next blog: Part Two: The Challenge itself.

And after that: Part Three: The Contender......woo....scary, eh Superman?!?!?!

Killer Mountain Challenge Winner 2009

2009-10-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Warm greetings to you from the sunny and windy South Caribbean Sea! Hope everyone is well, not working too hard, and not stressing too much about the fact that there are only some 20 shopping days left before Christmas....!

This blog, as the title suggests, is about our 2009 Killer Mountain Challenge (mountain biking) Winner, but before I get to that, I just want to say......

There seems to be a great deal of uncertainty out there these days. For example: for folks living in Calgary with -24 degree temps - will my car start this morning with these frigid temperatures?

For folks living in cold and snowy Norway - do these snowmobile boots match my snowsuit for the commute to work this morning?

And for the rest of the world: will Tiger Woods' wife really leave him? And if so, for how much? Will this affect Tiger's golf game?

Amidst all of this uncertainty, one thing, however is very clear. The winds here in El Yaque have NOT stopped blowing all year. We are having a phenomenal wind season this year!

The viento has been howling throughout September and October, meaning that we will have a super windy season! So, leave all your worries behind, jump on a plane and come on down to windy El Yaque for the best windsurf/kitesurf vacation of your life!

For you Europeans, Condor offers a direct flight from Frankfurt to the island, and at times offers major seat sales. (Please monitor the Condor website to take advantage of the seat sales.) There are direct charter flights from Paris to the island for the Christmas season, as well as flights from the UK to Grenada and Trinidad - just a puddle-jumper flight away from our island. And of course, thanks to El Grand Papa Chavez, all of you Russians now have direct flights from Moscow to Caracas.

Ok - on to the biking.

Well, actually, before I get to that, a little about our season so far. Our season here at Casa Nora began alot earlier this year, and we have had some lovely lovely guests stay with us. For example: Peter and Antra, both from Jelgava, Latvia.

Antra is the chief accountant for an agricultural firm, and Peter, originally from Holland, is an organ tuner.

What a lovely couple! These two were the busiest guests that we've ever had here. These two were on the go every day, what with the hiking,

.....the early morning, guided kayak tours offered by Vela Windsurf Resorts,

....the touring of the island....

.....and yes, the contemplation of gas prices here.....

(No, the pump is not broken. Gas really does only cost peanuts . We pay US $2.00 to fill up our pick-up truck....and that includes a tip to the attendant! Love it!

One evening Antra and Peter offered to cook dinner for all of us - a traditional Dutch meal, with beef stewed in mulled red wine, and marinated pears. Just lovely!

The after dinner discussion was quite intellectual - about the Catholic Church no less.......

All of which makes this final picture, a little difficult to explain.

Aw well, we all have a little devil inside of us, eh?

Okey dokey - biking. But before I announce last season's Killer Mountain Challenge Winner, I just want to comment on the State of the Union, here in El Yaque. Our surf village is undergoing some kind of a real estate and construction boom! World economic crisis be damned! In the last 2 months, 4 properties adjacent to Casa Nora have been sold, with 2 already under construction. Prior to that, another 2 properties were snapped up, with one currently under construction. Un-be-lievable! Seems to me that lots of folks want to own their personal piece of paradise! Can't says I blame them.... :0) One such lucky person is our friend, Nils.

Here he is signing his title documents at the Land Registry Office.

Yes, here in South America (or at least in Venezuela) all official documents require one's thumbprint. Odd? For sure. Effective? Who's to say?

For super happy Nils, and to welcome him to the neighbourhood, we hosted a well......a 'Welcome to the Neighbourhood Party', with champagne and 4 different types of home-made pizzas........Yum.....pizza....

Kathy, Lii and I prepared the pies......

.....while guests like Tommy (proprietor of Vela Windsurf Resorts) and Hector (owner of Mormaii surf shop) and.....

.....newlywed Pele and his family......

....and Diego (manager of La Chiva Loca), Artis - in the awesome flowered shirt (owner of the new beach restaurant "La Chiva Loca").....

.....and old friends Emile and Stefan.....

...all enjoyed the champagne and pizza.

Meanwhile, Wim - owner of his own kite school and awesome kite instructor, as usual, is hangin' with the beautiful ladies - Lii and Maryluz.....!

Congratulations Nils! We're looking forward to having you as a neighbour!

Alrighty! On to the main event - the Killer Mountain Challenge 2009 Winner is...

Ai caramba - before I forget, I should really mention a phenomenal new event that has occurred in the windsurfing world. Anyone that is remotely interested in windsurfing needs to know about this. There is a new windsurfing movie out called "Four Dimensions". (An Andre Paskowski Production.)

This movie is to the windsurfing community what Warren Miller's movies are to the skiing/extreme sports community. This movie is phenomenal! I am not really going to tell you what is in the movie,

Marcilio Browne of Brazil

......suffice it to say that the four riders featured in the movie are awesome,

Victor Fernandez Lopez

the footage is breath-taking,

Victor Fernandez Lopez

the production value is slick,

Gollito Estredo - Current World Champion in Freestyle

and the sound track is groovy.

Of particular interest to those of us from El Yaque, is Jose `Gollito`Estredo, as the current World Champion in Freestyle is a native of this beach.

This guy is so good, that watching him sail takes my breath away. He is so much better than the rest of the field, that when the others do a trick with 2 hands, he does it one-handed. When the rest try it one handed, Gollito does it no-handed.....seriously....no-handed..... completely defying the laws of gravity...

If you travel here for no other reason than to watch Gollito train, I guarantee you that your trip will have been worth it.

And Gollito's segment in the movie is awesome!

Congratulations to all 4 riders, and a special congrats to Andre, the guy with the idea for this movie!

To get a copy of this movie, in time for Christmas, please go to http://www.fourdimensionsmovie.com/ and ENJOY! For those of you coming to visit us here, I still have a few copies left for sale.

Without any further ado, The 'Killer Mountain Challenge Winner' for 2009 is........ from the USA - an emergency medicine resident at the UMass Medical Centre.... Jose Dundee!

Felicitaciones Jose!

For those not in the know, my husband, Big Al, offers guided mountain bike tours throughout the local countryside. He has developed three different tours, all of which offer spectacular vistas, single-track trails, riding through salt-flats or salinas, coastal riding etc. One such tour is called the "Killer Mountain Challenge". It is quite odd really, as the mountain isn't really a mountain at all - it is a 300 meter trail/old road, which at times is washed out by rain. The 'incline' is no more than 35 degrees, which I would say hardly qualifies it as a mountain. However, the length combined with the tricky terrain make technical ability necessary. Many many many have tried to summit......

....these Canadians have tried....

....as have these Swiss.....

.....as has this Latvian...

.....but to no avail.

Only 4 in the world, over 5 years of running this challenge, have summitted. We've had some unbelievable athletes attempt the Mountain, from German ski instructors, to French Iron-Men, to folks who train for triathlons. We've even had a few super heroes attempt the Killer Mountain Challenge. Which is why, with his single attempt summit, Jose has joined an exclusive club, indeed!

Here is Super Dave after one such attempt.

He appears possibly ......well.....deflated.....but by no means defeated. Super Dave will be back twice this year to launch another summit attempt.

Also returning this year, the man to beat himself, John from Norway! Or as we call him 'Superman'.

John not only summited the Killer Mountain, he went on to ascend 3 more mountain tops in an effort to be the first to successfully climb the "Six Summits of Superman".

At the moment, Big Al is training with a large group of hopefuls - Diego - a local cutie patootie with whom Al is having a bromance, Davis - a restauranteur from Riga whose new restaurant, La Chiva Loca is opening in a few days, Stefan - a local posada owner and dear friend, and Ralfins - a free spirit/kite punk with super hero potential, from Riga, and of course, Big Al - transplated Canuck y mi amour. I have high hopes that perhaps Davis and/or Ralfins will summit this year!

So there it is - the challenge has been set, the gauntlet has been thrown, the line has been drawn in the sand. All of you mountain bike dudes like you Pedro from Canada, and you Ricardo (that's right Ricardo Hallman - I'm callin' you out dude! Get your kiting, surfing, skiing, biking, photgraphing, smilin' self out here!), and you Freddie from Switzerland, and you Arvil (my brother from Toronto), and you Thomas from Germany (and bring Roman, if you can), and you Markus from Swissyland, and you guys Christophe, Patrick and Frederic from France, and you Ice-cream Dave - your date with destiny has been set for the end of March, early April. Let's for once and for all determine who will be the "King of the Killer Mountain Challenge for 2010".

Competitions, kiting, cameras, 'copters and other assorted craziness...

2009-06-21T03:02:00.000-07:00

Hola. Happy belated summer solstice to one and all! I sincerely hope that summer has finally arrived in Europe and North America.

Lots and lots going on here in El Yaque. Let's start at 'other assorted craziness' and let's work our way backward to 'competitions, kiting, cameras and 'copters.' Well, the 'other assorted craziness' is actually the world's best kept secret, that I will now share with you guys, in spite of considerable risk to my well-being. I am sure there are more than a few folks that would rather this info stayed private. However........

I am sitting on my terrace writing to you on June 30th - and the cups and saucers are tinkling in my kitchen cabinets. Why, you ask? Because the wind is howling. And has been howling, every single day since the end of March. That is 3 months of solid wind. Not every other day, or once a week. I mean, every single solitary day - for 3 months straight - with no end in sight. Al and I are anticipating at least 3 more weeks of wind, before we head off on our vacation. And by wind, I don't mean 12 knots. I mean, the kind of wind where Al is perfectly powered on a 4.7 meter sail, and the kiters are out on small kites by the end of the day. So, reason Number 1 for coming here in April, May and June is:

A lot of this.....

And the good news continues. Not long after the Easter holidays, most airline companies begin to offer discounted fares to tropical destinations. They figure that with the onset of spring, travel to tropical destinations lessens, as people begin to enjoy warm and sunny weather in their home countries. But, let's be realistic. According to my sources, summer has not yet arrived in Northern and Eastern Europe, it just arrived in Canada about a week ago, and I shudder to think what is going on in the Scandinavian countries. I have photographic evidence of friends sitting around a bonfire by the Baltic Sea last week, wearing ski jackets. My point is, real summer only starts in July, so there is plenty of opportunity, 3 months in fact, to travel here very inexpensively, to enjoy great wind in a sea that does not require the sailor to wear a 5 mm thick wetsuit. So, reasons 2, 3 and 4 for coming to El Yaque in the spring are:

This......

......instead of this....

This.....
.....and this.....

....probably with a little of this.......

.....instead of this.......

To top it all off, the hotels and posadas here ALSO drop their prices during what they call 'low season', making the cost of accommodations much lower. The windsurf and kitesurf centres also offer reduced prices for rentals during this time. So, the best reason to come to El Yaque in the spring, aside from alot of this:

....is not having to part with alot of this.......

.....resulting in alot of this......

Another great reason to come to El Yaque at the end of May, is this:

.....the Margarita Wild Winds Pro-Am. Resurrected this year, after a short 5 or 6 year hiatus, this event was a huge success. The Wild Winds showcased both windsurfing and kitesurfing this year, and attracted both major international talent, as well as our local former, present and future champions.

As this is a pro-am, one of my favourite amateur disciplines to watch are the kids races. These kids, many of whom are already awesome windsurfers, have so much fun racing each other, while learning the ropes of a bona fide competition. Check this out.....

Look at this little guy, winning this heat of the kids slalom...... I mean, this is priceless. I think he weighs about 20 pounds soaking wet, with his harness on! He may be all of 6 years old (they start them off young here.....), but look at his form. Excellent! Not to mention the sail number on his sail - V -1. Venezuela #1! This kid has ambition!

And here's his little baby brother - in training.......with his sail caddy!

And here are all the kids - on the podium.

Mark my words - the future world champion is among these children..... Love it!

Colette Guadagnino, (former world champion free-styler, and competitor at this competition)..........

........one of the main organizers of this event, asked if we wanted to host a professional photographer at Casa Nora during the Wild Winds. We said no problemo. So, please meet Richard Hallman, a.k.a Ricardo - photographer extraordinaire, all round extreme athlete, and resident of Hood River, Oregon.

Ricardo's assignment was to photograph the event, to photograph the competitors, to photograph El Yaque, and to write an article about his trip for Kiteboarding magazine. Happily - even though he worked really hard, he also had some time for kiting, windsurfing, mountain biking with Al, and even a little partying. Ricardo - love your job, dude! Our guests at Casa Nora during this time were some pals of ours:

Arti and Lii:

....and Davis and Aija....

While the primary reason for their visit to El Yaque was to research a location to start a new restaurant, they also couldn't resist the allure of the wind, and ended up learning to kitesurf. In fact, Al and Davis became kitesurf-learning buddies. Check out the smiles on these two, after a kite lesson with Wim.

So, while Ricardo was working hard organizing early morning photo shoots, that yielded photos like this.....

......and this......

.....and organizing sunset photo shoots that yielded photos like this......

.....this......

......and this......

..... the restauranteurs at Casa Nora were busy experimenting with and perfecting their culinary delights, like this......

.....and this......

.....resulting in some pretty well-fed and happy people like this......

During his first day here, Ricardo met with Colette to get an understanding of the itinerary, and the schedule of the competition. And he already managed to get some pretty cool photos, like this.....

......this.......

....this......

.... this.....

....and this.

Ricardo and I were walking on the beach, when he said to me, 'Listen, I can get some great photos of the event, of El Yaque, of the competitors, but what would really put this assignment over the top for all of us, would be if you guys could arrange for me ...... a helicopter. The aerial shots of the beach, of the slalom events etc, would be the killer photos for this event.' Slightly stunned, I looked at him to see if he was joking, and I was met by a poker face, but with a slight challenging twinkle in the eyes. I thought about it and said, 'Y'know what, we might not have paved roads here in this village, nor a proper home address, but I betcha we can indeed, procure you a helicopter.' Ricardo grinned and said, 'If you get me a helicopter, I will try to arrange it that you and Lii join me for the ride'. And so, when you find yourself in an outrageous situation such as this, you gotta call in the big guns. So, I went to find Colette. And Colette found this.....

.....resulting in Ricardo being able to get photos like this.....

.....this.....

.....and this.

Pretty cool, and a job well done by Ricardo.

The Wild Winds event offered many other distractions apart from the actual competitions. There were giant fiestas every night on the beach, there was a windsurf free-style exhibition one night. In the following photo, Gollito, Kiri and Taty wait for the night surf to begin.

There were performances by local Venezuelan bands and dance groups, adding some lively local music and culture to the event.

And of course, there were the closing ceremonies that included the handing out of the trophies to the competitors. Congratulations to everyone who participated, but especially to the winners!

And a big thank you to the organizing committee!

So, if you guys ever needed an extra reason to come to this windsurfing or kitesurfing paradise in the spring, aside from the great wind, warm water, sunny weather, low off-season prices, remember to consider the Margarita Wild Winds Pro-Am - usually held at the end of May. Come and be blown away, not just by the wind, but by the spectacular talent of the competitors!

Ricardo - many thanks for the awesome photos, and we will see you and Natalie in Brasil!!!!Richard Hallman can be reached via his website at http://www.freelanceimaging.com/ for his professional photography services.

Next blog: 'Killer Mountain Challenge' 2009

.....in paradise.....

2009-04-15T10:13:00.001-07:00

A pictoral essay titled.....in paradise....

.....critters.....

.....natives.....

.....la comida.....(good eats)

.....local wildlife.....

.....flying.....

.....bliss.....

.....in paradise.....

Photography credits:

All good photos by: Arti and Lii

Other photos by: a nameless, faceless photographer, who shall remain in hiding

Vela's Wine Tasting, and Canada Day

2009-03-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hola everyone - from sunny, warm and windy El Yaque! I hope you all are well, and keeping warm in your part of the world. By all accounts, spring is on its way in some parts of the world, so hang in there......... If you really cannot take much more of Old Man Winter, might I suggest a restorative windsurf or kitesurf vacation in the South Caribbean?

Life here at Casa Nora is as lively as ever, with new guests coming and going (Barry), some guests returning for a second vacation this year (Super Dave), and frankly, some guests just never leaving....(Michelita.....!)

A few weeks ago, Casa Nora, for the first time in history, was full of Canadian guests. And Vela, the best windsurf station on our beach, was also full of Canadian sailors. So, Kathy (proprietor of Vela) and I had an idea. Since Al and I are never in Canada on July 1st (Canada Day) we thought we would celebrate Canada Day in February - in honour of all of our Canadian guests. So, we organized a Canada Day bbq - featuring all beef hamburgers with Cheddar Cheese, and Bacon, twice baked and stuffed potato skins topped with Bacon, mashed potatoes garnished with.....bacon, and to honour our multi-cultural Canadian heritage, we threw in a Greek salad, and a Caprese salad. Coolers full of beer? - goes without saying......! The only stipulation was - Canadians had to wear red and white. Non-Canadians (oh....those poor people...!) had to wear the colours of their national flag.

Example: Barry and Michele - Canadians.

Barry was to have vacationed here with a friend of his, who suddenly took ill.

Barry, posing at Vela with/without/for Carla.....

...so Maryluz and I did our best to make Barry feel at home.

Super Dave, from Calgary, demonstrating some of his Super Powers..... Super Dave is a veterinary surgeon, and here is one of his patients.

Nora and Barry (Canadians), Elita and Estere (honorary Canadians), and Luzi (Venezuelan...dressed in the yellow, red and blue of the Venezuelan flag.) Very nice!

And here is an example of some Canadians, who cannot follow instructions - Jim, Kersti, Shaker and surprisingly, Big Al.

Super Dave claimed that his sunburn was his 'red'. Well, ok, I'll let it go at that......

Before the bbq, Tom and Kathy (of Vela) organized their first ever 'Vela Wine Tasting', where they showcased 2 whites and 2 red from South America. Included in the presentation, was the discussion and use of the 'Vinturi', shown below.

I will leave the mechanical explanation of the Vinturi to Tom from Vela, suffice it to say that the wine tastings included a before-Vinturi tasting and an after-Vinturi tasting.

The event was held in the churuatta in our garden. And Kathy took great care with the set up, including written descriptions of the wines to be sampled.

Tom and Kathy Mastbaum of Vela. Please note Tommy's spectacular red, white and blue shirt...... (They are both Americans.) Well done Tom!

Tommy making his presentation with the wines and the Vinturi.......

......while Kath described the food pairings that were to be sampled with each wine.

Yum!

Tommy hard at work with the Vinturi, while Dave, using his super powers, is trying to deduce the inner workings of this device.

After the tasting of the 4th and final wine.........

...... when things were starting to go slightly wacky......

.....and sideways.....

....it became more than clear that food was required. So. Luzi fired up the grill and grilled us all some fine cheeseburgers.

Having averted mass starvation........

......everyone found a place to sit............

......and we all enjoyed some great Canadian fare.

With Tom and Kathy's input, perhaps we will make Canada Day in February, an annual Casa Nora tradition!

Next blog: .......in paradise......

Fajitas, Farewell Fiestas, and Physical Fun

2009-02-12T06:22:00.000-08:00

Well, hello everyone! Greetings from sunny, warm and windy El Yaque! We certainly have been busy here at Casa Nora the past few weeks, saying goodbye to some new friends, and greeting our new arrivals. It seems that we have a new tradition here - a farewell dinner the night before any of our guests have to return home.

Casa Nora at dusk. Photo by Aldis Bremze

Al, Ilona, Simo, Sini, Adrian, Alison, Nora and Christian

So, this was a farewell fiesta which featured fajitas for our friends from far off places, namely Alison and Adrian from the UK. Some of you may recognize these two from my previous blog.

Big Al and Simo are toasting Aldis' bbq'ing efforts.

Enough of the farewell fiestas and fajitas, and time for some physical fun. Big Al has had a great season this year with his guided mountain biking tours. While we do not yet have a Killer Mountain Champion for this year, it certainly was not for the lack of trying.

Michele and Regi slogging through some muddy terrain.

Karl, Regi, Fritz and Al - after the Killer Mountain Challenge.

These are our Swiss biking enthusiasts - Karl, Regi and Fritz. These guys were great....very enthusiastic, in great shape, and very determined. I think Regi is probably training somewhere in the Swiss mountains right now......!

Karl - on the other hand - is an enigma, inside a mystery, within a secret....... He claimed that he and his wife came to the island together, but while he was staying and windsurfing in El Yaque, his wife was enjoying herself on the other side of the island.......... What? What are these Swissies up to over there in Switzerland? He swore upside down and backwards that his wife was indeed, on the other side of the island. In fact, he stated, that she would be joining him for the last 2 days of 'their' vacation. Really....... The day before their departure, the Swissies came up to say goodbye, and lo and behold, Karl introduces us to a very beautiful woman, claiming that she was his wife. Interestingly, this vivacious woman claimed that she was an actress hired by Karl to play the part.......! I mean, we all know the Swissies to be very private, but this really is taking matters a little too far...... Either way, it was great hanging out with Regi, Karl and Fritz, and it was lovely meeting Karl's pretend wife/actress friend.

These guys deserve a second photo, as they worked really hard to summit that mountain.

These two girls from the UK also deserve a photo as they went out biking in the pouring rain. As many of our guests know, biking in the rain here is very hard, as the terrain turns into a heavy mud. Being concerned about them, I took the truck to effect a rescue. I came upon this motley crew about 5 km from home and offered them a ride home. With big grins on their faces, mud splattered everywhere, they all declined. And therefore to Sondra and her pal from the UK - Big Al looks forward to seeing you again next year to tackle that mountain!

Another fajita fiesta

Someone in the house had a craving for fajitas, (it was probably Lawrence) so we had a little fiesta. In this photo - Cathy (Lawrence's girl from New Zealand), Maryluz, and Michele (from Canada). While some of the girls prepared the toppings.........

Stefan, Big Al and Lawrence

.......some of the guys grilled the beef..........

.......while some of those same girls and guys got huggy........

.......and then those same girls got a little crazy.....!

After Stefan taste-tested the very spicy 'pico de gallo' sauce......

.....and the girls wrapped up their fajitas........

......while Lawrence relaxed between two beautiful women.......

......we all enjoyed a great meal.

Please meet Cathy and Lawrence - she's from New Zealand, he's from England. Jeez - Al and I truly thought we had it made in the shade - that is - until we met these two.

This is their office.

This office is moored somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea - it could be St. Tropez, it could be Portofino or it could be Cannes. They work very hard (he as First Mate - she as Chief Stewardess) some 3, possibly 4 months a year while the owners or their friends are on board, and the rest of the year they are responsible for maintaining this beautiful boat. Great salary - check. Room and board - included. Travel to exotic and luxurious locales - included. Time off - plenty. Taxes - none. These two win lifestyle of the year award - hands down.

This is Michele from Canada - originally from Edmonton, now residing in Newfoundland. She originally came for 8 days, but has extended her stay twice, and will now have been here for over a month. It looks like she's happy about her decision!

In between her very busy schedule of yoga, mountain biking, intensive Spanish classes and windsurfing, Michele has found the time to improve upon some of the systems here at Casa Nora - namely she created a sign up sheet for the pool. And when Chavez recently cancelled Valentine's Day, and we were all feeling a little blue, she made a Valentine's card for Casa Nora. And during our illegal and therefore secret Valentine's dinner, it was Michele's idea to re-christen the dinner a Chavista dinner, should we be busted by the authorities.

These guys are my 'Yoga Super Stars'.

These three worked very hard each morning, and perservered until they themselves could feel the progress that they were making. And some days, according to Lawrence, they were just knackered....

Up dog.....

....and Down Dog.....

This is Cathy demonstrating a very difficult balance move in 'Power Two'.

Michele has great form in her 'Down Dog'.

And Lawrence has mastered the upper push up position.......nothing is touching the floor except his toes and the palms of his hands.

......as well as this very difficult abdominal pose.......

It's always great to have men join our yoga classes! Especially Lawrence, who I think, will now practise yoga consistently.

Way to go guys!

Farewell Fiesta for Lawrence and Cathy, and Bienvenidos fiesta for Dave (aka SuperDave)

Cathy, Lawrence, Nora, Al, Michele and Dave

At this fiesta we were saying goodbye to Cathy and Lawrence, and saying 'Bienvenidos' to Dave.

And before we could even serve the food, things started to go sideways.......

Hhhhhhhmmmmmm

Very quickly, the farewell fiesta turned into a salsa dancing lesson and the food part of the fiesta, frankly, was forgotten.

Farewell to our friends from far away! Cath and Lawrence - we hope you visit again. If not, we will visit you on the boat, disguised as the carpet cleaning detail - as we discussed!

Up next: Wine tasting, and Canada Day

New Year's Eve, and THE WHEELS OF DOOM

2009-01-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

Hola everyone! And Happy New Year! Big Al and I would like to wish you all a healthy, happy and adventurous 2009!

Here at Casa Nora, we had a spectacular New Year's Eve, complete with a great bbq dinner, good conversation, and fireworks on the beach - with all of our fun and interesting guests.

We had guests from Finland, from the UK, from France, and two groups of houseguests from Germany - who no longer reside there. As Al said - it was like having dinner at the UN.

Simo and Sini - from Finland

Please meet Simo and Sini. He's an engineer, and she's a police officer - and they both are major windsurfers and lovers of heavy metal music!

And they are also newlyweds! Aaaaaaawwwww....

Alison and Adrian

Here are Alison and Adrian from Manchester, England. These two are 'kite buggy' racers. Yes, that's what I said. They race 3-wheeled buggies that are attached to a kite. In fact, Adrian is ranked third in England, and is sponsored by Ozone. And, he's a major dare devil! (The ghostly figure behind them, is my husband, Big Al, fooling around......again.......)

Laetitia and Bertrand
Laetitia and Bertrand are from France, and dropped over for a few days to celebrate New Year's.

Lea and Simon
Lea and Simon are from Germany, currently residing in Dallas, Texas. And both are alot of fun! Thanks for the ring, Lea - I love it!

Mama Nora and Christian

Christian is also from Germany, but currently resides in London, England. Hhhhmmmm - I'm starting to see a pattern here...... Christian is a business man, who previously managed such musical acts as Terrence Trent Darby and Milli Vanilli....... And is a close personal friend of Snoop Doggy Dog. His stories are fascinating. A day without Christian is like a day without sunshine......

Everyone decided to pitch in to help prepare our New Year's Eve feast. In this photo, Simon and Simo are preparing their appetizers.

Leticia and Bertrand prepared a bowl of mojitos........

....while Alison (whose hobby back home is making hand-made chocolates) used Big Al's dark chocolate to prepare dessert.

Brownies..........yum!

Lea, Sini and Simo - now all good friends.

Michael, Nora, Lea and Simon

We all hung out a bit, waiting for the food.....................

......and then enjoyed the appetizers - Finnish meatballs, and toasted bread with goat cheese.

While Al finished grilling the beef and the salmon.......

.......we all gathered around the table for a truly delicious feast.......

......of which, Christian, a connoisseur of fine food, approved!

Simon relaxing after the meal.

Alison and Adrian relaxing after the meal.

And Sini relaxing after the meal. Hhhhmmm, must be some kind of a Finnish custom.....

The evening was capped off with champagne and fireworks on the beach! Happy '09 everyone!

THE WHEELS OF DOOM!

As previously mentioned, Adrian is a kite buggy racer, as well as a dare devil. During conversations with Al, Adrian discovered that Al had purchased a set of all-terrain roller blades. These behemoths are about 3 feet long, with a large wheel on either end, with a contraption in the middle into which you strap your feet. Adrian's eyes lit up, 'Ah, you've got the Wheels of Doom, then?" he asked Al. Nodding slowly, Al said, 'Yes, I believe I do.' 'Do you mind if I try out the Wheels of Doom with my kite?' asks Adrian, as silence descends on the terrace, while we all picture the outcome of this idea.........

What happens when you add the Wheels of Doom, plus a kite, plus a salina or salt flat, plus Adrian?

It might help to visualize this:

The Wheels of Doom

.....a kite....

+

......plus Adrian.....

equals

@!#$*!?*%!

One fine sunny day, Adrian decides that on this day he will try to kite with the Wheels of Doom. Simo and Sini, Alison, Al and I load up the truck with the Wheels of Doom, with Adrian's kite and head off searching for the perfect salt flat. It really seemed like a terrific idea, until we did find the perfect salina, and Adrian strapped himself into the Wheels of Doom, and it really seemed like he was going to do it. Simo, his video camera at the ready, was smiling nervously at me. While Al was helping Adrian get ready, Simo asked how close the nearest hospital was. That got me thinking, and I had a quiet discussion with Al. Al asked Adrian if he had any medical insurance or even life insurance, but Adrian just laughed......!!!! And Alison seemed completely unperturbed by the whole thing, while she pumped up Adrian's kite, and prepared his kite lines.

Simo and Alison pumping up the kite.

Sini, nervously looking on. (Please note the power lines and highway off in the near distance...)

Adrian, with his pit crew (namely Al) readies himself for the big event.

After several moments of quiet introspection, checking wind speed and direction, Adrian declares that 'We are a GO!' And for better or worse, Al and I cheer him on.

And he's off! Looking a little wobbly, and heading directly towards a cactus patch. Yikes!

Oh crapola.......

Having averted potential disaster with the help of his pit crew, Adrian begins his second pass......

......and is looking terrific. Great form, good lean, nice edging with the Wheels of Doom.....

Simo records Adrian's third pass with his video camera. Simo will create a YouTube video set to the music of perrenial heavy metal favourite, AC/DC's 'Hells Bells.'

It may appear that Adrian's pit crew is looking perplexed or bewildered, or both, but that is not the case. He is holding onto his cap, as the wind picked up considerably. Excellent!

Up.....up.....and........

.....away.......!

Perfect form! Nice speed! Well done, Adrian!

After several passes, Adrian is done. After removing the Wheels Of Doom.........

Adrian, literally, jumps for joy!

Adrian, relaxing in the pool, during a well deserved rest.

We would like to thank and commend Adrian's sponsor, Ozone, for their righteous decision to sponsor this crazy dude! One small suggestion for future sponsorship contracts - perhaps include some health insurance. And maybe throw in a little something for the spectators as well.......!

Adrian - you rock!

Europe - Summer of 2008

2008-09-20T08:10:00.001-07:00

Hola everyone from Al and Nora in El Yaque! I hope you've all had a great summer. Big Al and I surely did, as we travelled Europe, partly on business, and partly for fun. The idea was work in various cities in Europe for 2 weeks, and then relax in Italy for 6 days, where we had planned to meet up with a bunch of friends to windsurf on Lago di Garda, and to celebrate my 40th birthday.

So, the trip started off in Munich, where our friends Karin and Thomas picked us up and drove us to their country place in Chiemsee - a lake near Munich that is known for the windsurfing.

Our friend Roman, had prepared a fabulous meal of sausages as a starter, and then grilled steak! Delicious!

Al and Roman relaxing after the meal. (Please note the blanket.....it was cold...!)

Jet-lagged and exhausted, I was awoken at 6:00 am by the sounds of a marching band. What? I poked Al and asked him, "Do you hear what I hear?" He mumbled, 'Yeah, a marching band is playing Val d'Isere.' I tip toe to the window, and sure enough, down in the street, a marching band decked out in their lederhosen and dirndls are playing their hearts out. Hhhhmm

Unable to sleep, Karin and I went for a run in the countryside. And I was astounded by the cleanliness, the orderliness, the care with which the residents maintained their village. All of the Bavarian style houses had perfect, blooming flowers in flower boxes on their balconies, the cars in the driveways were spotlessly gleaming in the morning sun, and the cows in the pastures - had not a speck of dirt on them. As my friend Maryluz says, 'I think this is the kind of place where the leaves have to ask permission to fall from the trees....'.

After a lovely breakfast of fruit, and sausages (breakfast sausages, I believe), our German friends wanted to take us mountain biking and hiking in the German Alps. Excellent! Sounds like fun. The guys took their bikes, and Karin and I planned to hike. Al and I thought - no problem - some switchback trails winding up the mountain - piece of cake. Not the case. This was two hours - straight up the mountain - at a vicious incline.

Roman, Nora, Al, Karin and Thomas

Suddenly the trail opened up into a breath-takingly beautiful alpine meadow - complete with sheep grazing in the distance. It was all I could do to refrain from breaking into the song "The hills are alive..... with the sound of music."

Roman and Nora, and Thomas' boots

After clomping up the mountain wearing Thomas' hiking boots (Thomas is the dark haired, 7 foot tall guy), after being passed on the trail by a) little children swinging baskets in their hands, b) elderly couples taking in the mountain air.... I was feeling dispirited, and opted to take the cable car down the mountain, while the guys rode down.

Back in the car, and off to Munich. Our friends took us to a Bavarian style restaurant for dinner. After a lovely meal of pork knuckles and cloven hooves, we ended the meal with dessert - dessert sausages, if I recall correctly.

Al, Nora, Karin and Thomas

And retired to our hotel.

The next day was spent checking out Munich, which is a lovely city. Big Al's favourite moment - standing in the main city square, waiting for the glockenspiel to rotate in the clock tower! Dinner that night was at a typical Bavarian beer hall, complete with steins of beer, enormous plates of schnitzel, with a side of ....... sausages.

After a series of planes, trains and taxis, we now found ourselves in the charming town of Bruges, Belgium, where Al switched his diet from red meat, to Belgian chocolate and Belgian beer. This town is so beautiful and charming, it reminds me of the illustrations in a Hans Christian Anderson children's book.

Nora, Lieven, Wim and his girl.

One evening we met up with Lieven, Wim and his girl, and Tom. (Please note the jackets....it was cold!)

Nora, Evelyne, Danny and Al.

The next evening we met up with our pals Evelyne and Danny in Antwerp.

Evelyne and Danny

For sushi. Yum!

And then it was off to Brussels, for a little business, and to see our pals Tom and Francisco.

Al, Nora, Tom and Francisco

We began the evening at a very charming wine bar, enjoyed a wine tasting session, complete with fabulous appetizers.

Francisco and Al

And had dinner in a restaurant that focused only on mushrooms. The chef kept sending out dish after dish, each tastier than the one before. Fantastic!

Nora and Tom.

Our thanks to Tom and Francisco for a great evening!

And then we were off to Riga, Latvia for business, and some exploration of the countryside.

We spent a weekend taking our time driving from Riga to a seaside town called 'Pavilosta', and stopped in each little town along the way. Beautiful.

We were accompanied by our pals Agita, Mareks and their daughter, Megija.

At the seaside in Pavilosta.

Please note the jackets......it was a little chilly....

Along the way, we stopped at a historically significant site called 'Jurkalne'. It was from this point along the coast, that thousands of Latvians fled the country during the second World War.

Hard to visualize what I imagine must have been a chaotic scene - thousands of people, entire families - with infants crying, desperately trying to board the Red Cross boats for passage to safety.

Our road trip included a stop at my father's ancestral farmlands.

The property is beautiful, with the stone remains of the farmhouse and some outbuildings.

As well as many fruit and nut trees, and wild berries of all sorts.

Near the property, we found some vestiges of the Soviet occupation of Latvia. A field of abandoned concrete hangers used to house and conceal Soviet fighter jets.

These structures are enormous. And are covered by a layer of sod, to prevent them from being spotted by air.

Al on the runway. The actual tarmac has been pilfered long ago.

The front doors are made of 2 metre thick concrete, with a steel frame, painted in camouflage green.

This place is cavernous. Al was thinking that this was a good location for a nightclub - possibly named 'The Hanger' or 'The Bunker'.

Later that night, we had a head-banging good time at the Metallica concert in Riga......

...with our pals Valter and Oksana. Thanks for the tickets, Valter!

Next - Italy.

We began our Italian vacation in the Chianti region of Tuscany.....

....... at a wine and olive oil producing farm called 'Castello di Meleto'.

The surrounding countryside is really beautiful.....

..... the food and wine - absolutely outstanding.

And the architecture speaks for itself.

Lago di Garda. This is our kind of place - a beautiful village, full of athletic folks from all over Europe. Some windsurfing, some mountain biking, some hiking.

John and Anne - from Norway

The plan was for a bunch of our pals to meet up in Lago di Garda - to a) conduct a windsurf slalom race to determine once and for all, who is the champion, and b) to celebrate my 40th birthday.

Sadly, we were skunked on the wind.

But, we managed the celebration part.

Anne, Roman, Karin, Thomas, Nora, Al and John

First with a spectacular dinner in an adjacent village organized by Thomas and Karin......

.... and then drinks at a bar in Lago di Garda.....

For me, this was the perfect way to celebrate my birthday. But now, that's it. No mas. Basta.

Some observations of our trip: too much red meat really does wreak havoc on a pseudo-vegetarian's system; summer no longer exists in Europe and parts of Canada; and finally, you can take the girl out of Scarborough, but you cannot take Scarborough out of the girl......

After a superb 3 week vacation in cottage country in Muskoka, we are now back home in El Yaque, getting Casa Nora ready for the season. Thanks to everyone who made our trip so eventful!

Next post: Upgrades at Casa Nora

Ricardo and Gollito - An Epic Battle in Spain

2008-09-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone - past, present and future guests of Casa Nora. I hope you've all had a great summer. Big Al and I surely have, travelling Europe and Canada. But more about that in a future blog. Upon returning to El Yaque a few weeks ago, after being away from home for 7 weeks, I was astonished by how much I missed being home. The garden looks great, the pool is cool and refreshing, and the desert is lush and green. And the windsurfing has been pretty good, due to the stormy winds generated by the hurricanes. It felt so great to be back out on the water! While Al and I have the opportunity to grab our gear and head out to the water to get our windsurfing fix, many of you guys cannot, due to such annoying things as work........

To get your juices going, I present a pictoral collage of the "Battle Royale of Spain" between Ricardo and Gollito in the Canary Islands this summer. (For those of you new to the sport of windsurfing, these two - Ricardo Campello and Gollito Estredo - are natives of El Yaque beach and are currently battling to be Number 1 in Freestyle on the World Tour.)

Ricardo (left) and Gollito (right) take a moment to mentally prepare before competing.

Gollito performs for the crowds - beachside.........

.......while Ricardo executes a double front loop.

Gollito executes a jibe at top speed.......

...... while Ricardo prepares for his next manouevre.

Gollito executes an aerial trick.......

...... and so does Ricardo.

Some hang time by Gollito........

....... is matched by some serious air by Ricardo.

And then it happens. After a series of complicated, aerial free-style moves by Gollito......

....... in an unparelleled display of daring, panache and spectacular talent, Ricardo attempts the first ever TRIPLE FRONT LOOP in competition.

But, he had to bail.

After this unbelievable display of showmanship and talent, both Ricardo and Gollito earned spots on the podium. Currently, Gollito is Number One on the World Tour for Freestyle, while Ricardo is Number 3. Congratulations to both!

I hope you enjoyed the photos! They make me want to head to the water, to work on that pesky carve jibe........

Next blog: Our trip to Europe

2008-06-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

Guests Gone Wild at Casa Nora

It all started innocently enough. We had a house full of really fun guests, and one night during Happy Hour, our pals from Belgium (Tom and Joelle) suggested that we all organize a dinner one night at Casa Nora. Sounds great! Immediately, our friends from Norway, Anne and John, start suggesting tasty sounding recipes. We all chime in with ideas, and very quickly we had decided on a delicious menu. (The fact that we were all starving after a great day of sailing brought out some terrific recipe ideas!)
And so, on the day in question, the kitchen was full of very capable chefs, each preparing various dishes.

Tom and Joelle prepared bruschetta bread, as well as grilled shrimp appetizers.

John and Anne created a lovely salad, with sun-dried tomatoes – yum!

Mary prepped the meat, while I made a huge pot of mashed potatoes with butter, real bacon bits, and a little bacon fat!

While grilling the meat under Mary’s watchful eye, Big Al and Tom enjoyed a fine cigar.

And, listo! Dinner is ready. Everything was still fine up until this point. Just as we sat down to dinner, and after I had managed to scarf down maybe half of my plate, some El Yaque sailors, dissatisfied with their current accommodations, dropped by Casa Nora to check out our set-up. So, I had to leave the table, and show the new people around. No problem. I gave them refreshments, I showed them the rooms, and the garden, and we sat by the pool. It was lovely. However, I kept hearing the music being turned up, and up, and up. I take the newcomers back upstairs, and we all find ourselves in the midst of a raging party! My current guests had gone wild!

It was more than clear that dinner was over. My guests had cleaned up spotlessly, and were now dancing.

Some even on the kitchen counter top.

The newcomers asked if dinner was always like this at Casa Nora, but my answer, thankfully, was drowned out by the ever increasing volume of music. I saw the newcomers to the gate, and by the time I returned, all hell had broken loose.

There was dancing, Sambuca shots, and still more dancing!

Mary even absconded with Big Al’s cigar – which I must say, she regretted the next morning……

From left to right: Anne-a librarian, Maryluz-a Spanish teacher, Joelle – an account manager. Yeah right! Maybe by day! Definitely and obviously party animals at night!

Mmmmmmmm – Hagen Dazs ice-cream and fresh berries! Love it!

Clearly a lot of fun was had by all, but just to indicate the type of evening it was, I must show this photo.

What started out at a very normal evening, a nice dinner and some wine, somehow ended like this. The title of this photo simply is “Bloody Mary”.

With the party still raging, I secretly and quietly did a guest head count to make sure no one was missing.

Up Dog Down Dog

2008-06-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

Up Dog, Down Dog

Up Dog, Down Dog and Sun Salutations both mean the same thing. A series of strenuous exercises designed to stretch sore muscles, improve balance and flexibility, and to build strength. At Casa Nora, we work out with Bryan Kest DVD’s. Bryan is a yogi from California, who has created three levels of Power Yoga. All of my female clients love Bryan! Maybe it is his sexy voice, maybe it is because he conducts his classes without his shirt on. Who knows, and who cares. We love him, and we love the workout! My male clients have issues with him – probably for exactly the same reasons……..

Having said that, I am very proud of my male yoga clients, especially the repeat ones – Francisco (from Spain), Daniel (from the USA), Dean (from Norway), and Big Al, among others.

Lower push-up position – only hands and toes can touch the floor

But, my yoga girls are the best! The classes this season have been full almost every morning, with my girls working hard, yielding great results.

Down Dog – one of the best shoulder stretches in all of yoga

Classes start at 7:00 am every morning, and are held in the ‘churuatta’ in my garden. A non-slip yoga mat is provided, along with a white towel (to wipe off the sweat), as well as a cool bottle of water.

Up Dog – great for the arms, lower back, buttocks and legs

Yoga ultimately, is a body sculpting program. Practised consistently (3 times a week), for one month, Power Yoga will visibly change one’s body, adding long, lean muscles, improving flexibility, and building strength. Guaranteed.

Tree pose – or Standing Balancing pose

My classes have been so full this season, that I am grateful that Kathy (my daily yoga partner – on the left) enjoys practicing on the deck of the pool. Thanks Kath!

Warrior Pose – great for the thighs, buttocks and balance

Look at Kathy go! Nice position, Kath! The beauty of yoga is that it is an individual practice. It is not a race, or a competition, as every body is unique, with differing strengths and weaknesses. The point is, by executing the poses in the combinations created by Bryan, to the best of each person’s abilities, each body benefits, becoming stronger and more flexible.

One arm balancing – only one hand and one foot touch the floor

For all of the windsurfers and kitesurfers here in El Yaque, yoga is a terrific way to stretch out those sore muscles in preparation for another windy day on the water.

To all of my yoga partners – thanks for a great season! Keep practicing, and see you all next year!

Namaste

Next blog: Guests Gone Wild at Casa Nora

The Six Summits of Superman

2008-06-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

As many of our Casa Nora house-guests know, we offer a rigorous mountain biking program, with 3 different tours offered by Big Al. That's Big Al on the left in the photo. For one of his tours, we developed the 'Killer Mountain Challenge', where we encourage our riders to make it up Killer Mountain in one try. Many have tried, but only a rare few have succeeded. Their names and images can be found in earlier blogs.

And then.......there is Superman.

Also known as John, from Norway (in the centre of the photo.) Pedro, also an avid biker, is on the right.

John, a mountain bike enthusiast and racer in Norway, will go out on a 2 hour ride early in the morning, before swimming 40 laps in a 20 metre long pool, and logging in a six hour windsurfing day. (No, I am not kidding....)

Needless to say, he summitted Killer Mountain - without any problems.

Here he is on the summit - looking relaxed and refreshed - and barely breaking a sweat!

During his next successful summit bid, he added an additional peak to the length of Killer Mountain, and successfully navigated that as well.

Standing atop Killer Mountain, Al and John spotted five additional moutains, and John decided to conquer them all.

A slightly fatigued and de-hydrated Al, stood by and watched in disbelief as John attempted to climb all five mountains.

Of the five additional peaks, John successfully summitted three.

And that's why we call him Superman!

And that's why the new mountain bike challenge for next season will be called "The Six Summits of Superman" or just "The Super Six". John has summitted 4 of the 6 Summits of Superman. Is there anyone out there who can summit all six?

So, all of you mountain bikers - start training! And we'll see you next season!

John, relaxing with Diesel - Super cat!

John and his girl, Anne.

Yes Superman - you really are King of the Hill.

Next blog - Yoga at Casa Nora

Sailing the Ocean Blue

2008-05-05T03:58:00.001-07:00

There is absolutely nothing more fun than grabbing one's windsurfing gear, heading down to the beach, and spending the afternoon sailing with friends. Which is exactly what Al and I did one afternoon. On the water, we met up with Superman (John from Norway). Immediately, a discussion broke out about organizing a race. As we are all practising our carve jibes, these turns had to be an integral part of the race. So, we decided to create a course which was essentially a figure 8 - starting from the pier, sailing upwind to a yacht moored on the outside, carving around the yacht, sailing back to the pier, and carving again. This was considered one lap. The race consisted of 5 laps, 5 carve jibes on the outside, and four on the inside. Thanks to Tom Discart (our pal from Belgium), lap one of the race has been immortalized in these photos!

All of the competitors have assembed for the skippers' meeting, where the parameters and rules of the race were discussed and agreed upon.

Sails are in the ready position - racers are ready. Al = green sail, Nora = blue sail, Superman = orange sail.

And they're off, with Nora holding a very slim lead.

A great start for all of the competitors, although Superman looks a little off-balance.

Nora's initial lead is diminishing as Al is powering up behind her.

And here, he is shamelessly sailing upwind of her, and stealing her wind.

And the lead has changed, with Al in the upwind and lead position, Nora just behind, and Superman........hhmmmm, where is Superman?

Al is pulling away, and maintaing a very nice lead, heading into the first carve jibe.

Approaching the yacht, Al has the inside track for the carve jibe, while Nora has opted to carve a little on the outside. During the execution of the jibe, Al starts trash talking, and throws off Nora's concentration..........

Almost at the end of Lap One, all racers have navigated the first turn, and are heading back to the beach. And there, with the orange sail is Superman - gaining ground.

In third, Superman, sponsored by 'Diesel', (a company that promotes snuggling with other peoples' cats and trying to lure them away from their loving owners) is really digging in, and making up some lost ground.

Alone in second, Nora, sponsored by "Maryluz' Booty Camp" (an incredibly difficult work-out led by Maryluz, that focusses on one's glutes and abs) can hear the chatter of Superman's rig behind her, and is terrified!

Big Al, sponsored by "Deisy Shake" (a healthy breakfast shake containing nuts, seeds, bark and gravel, invented by our friend and Venezuelan supermodel Deisy Arvelo -http://www.deisyarvelo.net/ )
is alone in first. But, not for long......

Al blows his carve jibe on the inside (hee hee hee), and Nora is hot on his tail.

Nora executes an ugly, yet functional carve jibe around Al, who is desperately trying to get his gear organized.

But, here comes Superman.

Super executes a flawless carve jibe, while Nora is powering up behind him.

Super flips his sail, Nora is powering up, but where is Al?

And they're off on Lap Two, with Superman in the lead, Nora is second, and Al bringing up the rear.

Crapola - Al is up to his wind stealing tricks again.

There really is no need for any photos of the rest of the race, as this photo says it all. Superman won, Big Al came in second and Nora came in third. Congratulations Super! In fact, he won the subsequent next two races.

Mountain biking

2008-05-05T03:16:00.000-07:00

We have had quite a mountain biking season this year. All kinds of biking enthusiasts have joined Big Al at 7:00 a.m. for one of his guided tours - we've had triathletes, Iron Men, marathon runners, road racers and Super Heroes - from all parts of the world. But, I have never seen a better looking group than these folks!

Meet Joelle (from Belgium), Kathy (from El Yaque) and Anne (from Norway). Please keep in mind, it is 7:00 a.m. and these girls look like they're ready for a photo shoot.

Here are Big Al and Superman - a.k.a John from Norway. (More on Superman and his incredible feats of endurance a little later.....!)

There's always time for a little romance at Casa Nora - apparently.....................................................

Shine-y, happy people! I am willing to bet 10,000 bolivars viejo that Tom's white outfit won't stay white for long.......!

Kathy, Al, Anne, John, Joelle and Tom enjoyed the 'Musipan Tour', which begins at Casa Nora, winds through the village on a paved surface, cuts into the desert for some single track riding, continues along the coast through a few fishing villages, crosses over a 'salina' or salt flat, and returns to El Yaque on a paved road, riding right into strong headwinds. For most riders, this is considered a good 1.5 hour work-out. For Superman, this is a warm-up ride.

Next mountain biking blog: The Six Summits of Superman

Blue water sailing

2008-04-21T03:31:00.000-07:00

After the relative and totally inadvertant success of the downwinder, I e-mailed our adventure pal, Pedro, in Toronto, and invited him to sail across the channel to the island of Coche. Without a moment's hesitatio, he agreed. We planned this blue water sail a little more diligently that we did the downwinder. This time, we hired Alex (head instructor at Vela) to be our guide. He, in turn, hired Alexi (former freestyle competitor on the World Tour) as an auxiliary guide. And, most importantly, we hired a chase boat. However, still no life jackets, flares, walkie-talkies........ But, Alex did throw in some extra harness lines, and mast foot bases. Good thinkin' Alex!

After Alex conducted a skipper's meeting, where he drew a diagram showing wind direction, the coast line of Coche, the slight upwind line that we would have to take, and after checking our gear, and switching all of the guys to much larger sails, off we went. Funny, how Coche looks so close when you are standing on the beach at El Yaque......... But impossibly far when you are out in the ocean, surfing the swells, as your front leg starts cramping.........!

We were almost there, about a 1/2 kilometre off the coast of Coche, when suddenly the wind either dies, or the direction changes completely. The swells seemingly grew in size, and also changed direction. I get out of my straps and harness, and am trying to balance on these swells, when disaster strikes. I fall in. I heard Superman racing behind me, and frankly, laughing maniacally. He passed me as I fell in, and then, he also falls. The others sail past us, and the Alex sails over to give me some much needed instruction. He said, 'Welcome to the hole. From here until shore, bear off severely downwind." Excellent advice, if I could only lift my sail high enough above the huge swells to execute my water start. With all the strength I had left, I manage to lift my sail, and get on my board. I see Superman do the same, and off we sail to the shore. But, the conditions about 200 metres off shore were also dodgy. Tough sailing getting to the beach. But we made it.

The Coche crossing team from left to right: Alexi, Alex, Nora, Al, Pedro and Superman.

We had some chocolate and water, and while I de-rigged my gear for the boat ride back, the boys prepared to sail back.

The coastline of Coche, showing the 'hole' or windless spot in the middle of the ocean. Weird...

Big Al, Pedro and Superman contemplating the sail back to El Yaque.

And off they go. Of course, it was after this photo that my camera ran out of battery power...... The sail back was difficult as the wind seemed to drop, and the group of sailors could not stay together in the ocean. Superman took off in a downwind direction, and Alexi chased him to guide him back to El Yaque. (The village and beach of El Yaque is impossible to see from the ocean, so the guides were much appreciated.) Big Al took off on a serious upwind line, and from my position in the boat, I soon lost sight of his sail. I thought that perhaps he had decided to sail to Porlamar. Pedro and Alex sailed in together. Some 30 minutes of seriously difficult slogging and some 10 minutes of high speed sailing saw the group reconvene on our home beach. Fun!

Next blue water sail - Punta de Piedras to the island of Cubagua.

Pool Party

2008-04-21T02:30:00.000-07:00

We have so many good friends visiting us at the moment, that Al and I decided to throw a pool party for our visitors, and for our friends in the village.

Far left - Francisco (our houseguest from Spain) is clearly engaged in an intellectual conversation with Peter (Pedro) from Canada. Francisco is working on a new technology that very well may revolutionize mobile phone use. Francisco - after you've made your billions, don't forget my 10% introduction fee to Pedro.........!

Mary and I are giving Pedro a traditional island greeting for those who have travelled from cold, and far off lands.

Pedro and Al seem to be greeting Elita in the same manner. However, she lives here on the island........ hhhhhhmmmmmmm

This is Stefan, our neighbour, who frankly has the best collection of tropical shirts that I have ever seen!

Mary and Emile (our friend and neighbour) appear to be practising for the .......... well ........ something............

This is our Norwegian friend John, a.k.a. Superman, demonstrating his super powers.

Tom (our houseguest from Belgium) and Big Al are bonding.

Emile and Stefan are engaged in very serious conversation, probably about who has the snappiest wardrobe.

Superman and his girl, Anne, from Norway.

Contrary to popular opinion, these Norwegians sure do have rythm. The Latinas have been put on notice.

Mary and I - two coconut heads!

Al and Mary - two more coconut heads!

Mary and Pedro. I guess at this point, Mary took control of the camera.

Some of the party guests.

Some of the female party guests.

John and Anne snogging - aawwww!

Belgian Tom telling us about his street cred......and we are spellbound.

Faye, our neigbour, who just returned from a visit to the USA. Welcome back Faye!

Thomas Layton Mastbaum (owner of Vela), Mary (of course), Martin (owner of Casa Viva and Sharks), and Kathy (my pal and yoga partner, and owner of Vela, and wife of Thomas Layton).

Our Swedish friend Pele discussing life in Moscow with Pedro. Pele manages the most successful and longest running bar/nightclub in that fair city.

The Downwinder

2008-04-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

Casa Nora always has interesting house-guests. Case in point, our pal from Switzerland - Markus Hammer, heretofore referred to as 'Hammer'. (See photo to the left - an image of Hammer and Big Al) One evening, over a glass of wine and a cigar, Hammer tells Big Al that he wants to do a downwinder - a long, downwind sail, from Point A to Point B. Several glasses of wine later, this seems to be a fantastic idea, and they decide that two days later, they and Mary and I, will do this sail. Frankly, at the time, it sounded like an adventurous idea. Not much more was said about it, until the day of the sail - at breakfast. Hammer and Al decide that we will leave at 2:00 pm, that the ride should take no more than an hour, and that we should arrive at an abandoned beach (the location of which only Al knows) at the same time that our pick-up team would arrive. Al drew a sketchy little map of said abandoned beach for our pal Johnny T from Toronto, who was driving our truck to the pick up location. John had never been to this part of the island, but his girl, Diane, had ridden her bike somewhere near there.

The boys were thrilled with how the plan was coming together. They make a call to the Vela centre to get a wind update, and they were told that the wind was light, and would continue to be light for the duration of the afternoon. So, we decided to take our largest sails. Perfect.

Hammer and Al get to work loading the truck with Al's and my gear. And Hammer and Mary take off for the Vela centre to get their gear. As we are loading the truck, at the last minute, I wrap my cellphone in 4 plastic baggies, and stuff it into Hammer's harness pocket. I give Al's cellphone to Johnny T and our pick-up team. As we are pulling out of our house, I'm thinking....hhhmmmmmm.... maybe we need some other safety measures, but it was too late. Oh, did I mention that the boys had planned the downwinder on the day that we had invited 25 people over for a bbq at 6:30 pm that evening?

Al and I arrive at our launch location and meet up with Hammer and Mary on the water, and Mary takes off like a rocket, on a severe downwind angle. Downwind sailing is an entirely different proposition than regular, slightly upwind sailing. The stance is totally different, the speed is incredible, but the chances of a catapoult are huge. It took me several reaches to figure out the required stance. At this point I had separated from the group. In fact, I could no longer even see Al's sail. The wind did not stay light, in fact, it picked up ...... alot. So, we were all over-powered. After several catapoults, I realized that it was every man, woman and child for him/herself, and I started cutting severely downwind. Battling the huge swells, the incredible wind, and a rising sense of panic, we all keep going. Finally, somewhere out in the ocean I meet up with Al. I'm trying to figure out where this beach is, and he keeping pointing downwind. I am exhausted, but I point my board and just go. Al and I finally reach the beach, and drop our gear, totally exhausted on the beach. We look out into the ocean, and there is no sign of either Markus or Mary. We look at the beach, and over the sand dune, and there is no sign of our pick up team. One of the locals that had gathered to check out these crazy gringos, offers me his cellphone (that latest model with a camera). That was very sweet, except that I don't know Al's number off by heart, as it is programmed into my phone, which currently is somewhere in the ocean in Hammer's harness pocket. The locals start asking about how we navigated the reef. Reef? What reef? And then they ask if we spotted the shipwreck. What the f*#@! Mercifully, we encountered neither the reef, nor the rusted out and incredibly sharp shipwreck.

Now, it is getting late, and it is cold. And still no sign of either Hammer and Mary, or the pick up team. With the help of the locals, Al and I pick up our sails to give Hammer and Mary some kind of a visual indication of where we are. Some ten minutes later, we see the fading sunlight glinting off of their sails, way out in the ocean. But, they are heading right for us. As they draw closer, I can see Hammer's big ass grin! Both of them are heading for the beach at top speed, not knowing that the water level changes dramatically.....it gets shallow...fast! And they both get catapoulted about a metre off the beach!

Finally, we meet amidst hugs and alot of relieved laughter. Then the stories begin. Mary had been sailing behind Al, when she spotted two big black fish swimming in his wake. In fact, his fin hit one of the fish. Thereby creating chum. Not good. Mary freaked out, sailed to shore, and contemplated staying there. Hammer had to promise to sail right beside her, and to sail with her right to the abandoned beach. And they made it!

While we are exchanging stories, I see our pick-up truck making its way around the sand dune, onto the beach. Unbelievable.

We de-rigged our gear, packed the truck, and made it home one hour to spare before our bbq. We were all showered, the food was ready for the bbq and the beers were cold 10 minutes before our guests arrived.

Needless to say, we had a terrific party. Here is the photographic evidence......!

Photos from the party:

Killer Mountain Challenge Champions

2008-03-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

Having been raised with three brothers, I have borne witness to an interesting phenomenon. When you place more than one male in a room, and introduce a competition of any kind, large amounts of testosterone begin permeating the air, leading to various strange behavioral changes in the participants of said competition. Previously timid men may begin boasting of their skills, while others will try to undermine the confidence of their competitiors.

Our Killer Mountain Challenge is no different. By the time the trash talking ended, and the dust had settled, one could have sworn that one was in the company of Olympic level mountain bikers.

Case in point: Emile, a former road racer, and generally all round excellent rider, hails from Holland. Which is flat. As in - without hills. Thus, Emile is a terrific, strong and fast rider on the flats. Fredie, whose idea of a relaxing ride is traversing the Swiss Alps for exersize after work, is ok on the flats, but can navigate up a mountain side as effortlessly as the billy goats of his native Switzerland. By placing these two characters together in this competition, one is almost suffocated by the levels of testosterone. Emile blasts away from the group on the flats, while Fredi seemingly without strain floats up the mountain. At the end of the ride, they both turn on Big Al, whose riding strengths do not include either flats or mountains, but rather the technical, single track trails of the rolling hills of Canada.

That aside, despite Emile's greatest efforts, he was able to climb only 50% of the way up the mountain. Always only as far as a certain metre deep pit, on the left side of the trail. Fredi has since christened it the Emile pit, as Emile seems unable to veer away from it, and consequently winds up falling into it.

Please meet Fredi Miklevic - from Switzerland.

Fredi is our Killer Mountain Champion for the 2006-2007 season, with a remarkable 88% of the mountain conquered. Conratulations Fredi! When are you coming back for a visit, dude? You have to meet your new challengers!

For all of the other guys that attempted the mountain - keep training, and we'll see you again next year!

The competitive spirit is alive and well among the women, as we have had many women attempt the 'Killer Mountain Challenge' as well. It is interesting to note the differences in preparation between the men and the women. There is less trash talking, more checking of the equipment, and more hydration among the women. Some of our female competitors logged their best effort after several attempts at conquering the mountain. One such woman is our Women's Killer Mountain Challenge Champion for 2006-2007.

Please meet Diane Horton of Toronto, Canada.

Diane Horton - The Women's 2006-07 Killer Mountain Challenge Champion

After several gruelling yet determined attempts, Diane logs in as our female champ with a well deserved 50% of the mountain conquered. Congratulations, Diane!

Killer Mountain Challenge - 2007-2008 Season

We have had a very strong season so far, with many attempts at the mountain challenge. The trash talking among the men continues unabated, while the women continue to hydrate.....! However, I must share this story - about my three favourite Frenchmen.

I received a call from one of the hotels that there were several guys interested in the mountain bike tours. No problem. I go to meet the customers, to explain about the 3 tours, the early morning pick-up etc. That is when I met Christophe Chaput. I start to explain about the three different rides, and start telling him about the mountain challenge. Well........ Christophe starts looking around and asking 'What mountain? Which mountain? How high is it? Why hasn't anyone made it to the top? I will make it to the top. Who is this Fredi?

We make all of the arrangements, I pick up Christophe and his two friends, Patrick and Frederic on the morning of the ride. While Al is getting the bikes ready, Christophe is totally stoked about the challenge, and asks me to send Fredi a trash talking e-mail, basically telling Fredi that his crown is being threatened! Just before the group left, I asked Al if he had his camera with him, but Patrick assured me that he had his. I just had a feeling about this group.........!

After my yoga girls had gone home, I see the riders making their way up the last hill. And I hear Al shouting - 'Nora - get the camera!' Not only one of their group made it all the way up, but two. Both Christophe and Patrick challenged the mountain and won.

Please meet Christophe Chaput, Patrick Casalino and Frederic Chevalier - of France.

This is photographic evidence of Patrick's one, successful attempt to conquer the mountain. Congratulations, Patrick!

After a few attempts, this is Christophe's ride. The others in the group, stood by the side of the trail and cheered Christophe on, as he made his way up the mountain.

Al and I had so much fun with these guys, that we invited them to our 'White Party' to inaugurate our new swimming pool.

In this photo from left to right: Frederic, Patrick, Maryluz (of course!), Christophe and Kathy.

For all of you extreme athletes out there, you gotta hear this! Christophe is planning an epic bike ride journey, from his home town in Marseilles, France to northern China. This mammoth undertaking is called "The Iron Bike Adventure". If anyone is interested in following Christophe's progress, please email me at: nowind-nocry@hotmail.com and I will pass along his contact info to you. Christophe - Good luck on your ride, and may the wind always be at your back!

Mountain biking

2008-03-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone!

Wow - had a great morning sail yesterday, the crowds of Semana Santa notwithstanding. Al and I, and Tom and Kathy (the owners of Vela)went out for about an hour and a half, and had a great time. Tom said he counted only 5 other sails besides ours, so the ocean was wide open! I had a few spectacular crashes on the outside while trying to jibe. Tom took pity on me, and gave me an impromptu carve jibing lesson. As hard as it is to teach an old dog new tricks, some of what Tommy taught me actually stuck, and my jibing improved. Thanks Tommy!

We have been offering guided mountain biking tours for several years here in El Yaque, and have met some very cool athletes in the process. My husband, Al, is an avid mountain biker, and when we decided to live here full time, we went exploring by bike to find some good routes. We developed three tours. The photo above depicts the 'Macanao tour', which consists primarily of desert trails right next to the ocean. It is a spectacular ride! This tour runs approximately 4 hours, as we have to drive to the western part of the island (and back) and has a riding time of about 2 hours.

Check out the bike carrier that we had locally made. This welded contraption was designed to carry six bikes. It lasted for two rides out to Macanao...... :( Needless to say, we now have a new system. In this photo, Big Al is heading out with Maryluz, our friend Emile (who now owns and runs his posada called 'Rancho Delfin', and Hector, our friend who owns the surfshop called 'Mormaii'.

On a light wind morning, this is the perfect way to work in some cardio into one's windsurfing vacation. This tour leaves from our house, Casa Nora, at 7:00 am and arrives back in El Yaque at around noon. I pack a cooler full of food, water, fruit and chocolate, so there is enough sustenance for the riders for breakfast and lunch.

Here's another group enjoying some food after the ride. From the left, Wayne (from the UK), Johnny T (from Canada), and Emile (originally from Holland, now a resident of El Yaque).

A new feature of this tour is a swim in the ocean mid-way through the ride. As I understand it, clothing is optional.........!

As you can see, by this year, we created a new bike transport system, which seems to be working really well. From left to right, the riders are: Emile, Big Al, Karen (our friend from Germany), Anita (Stefan's fiancee), Roman (from Germany), and kneeling down, our neighbour and posada owner, Stefan.

Welcome to the "Killer Mountain Challenge". This challenge is part of our second tour, which leaves from Casa Nora at 7:00 am and returns in time for breakfast at about 9:00 am or so. This is a beautiful ride through various terrain, near El Yaque. It just so happens to have this hill near the beginning of the tour. Emile, a former Dutch road racer has tried many times to make it to the top. So, has Al. But to no avail. I have tried - and no go. And we can't figure out why. It is not a particularly steep incline. Nor is it very long. Many, who have tried unsuccessfully to make it to the top, call it 'technical'. Hhhhmmmmm

Al and I decided to make this a competition, which we dubbed the 'Killer Mountain Challenge'. During each attempt, Al would play the role of judge, and ascertain what percentage of the mountain was climbed. The person who made it the highest would be photographed and posted on our blog. (The winners of last year and this year are posted on a separate blog.)

Well, the minute the competition was announced, we had folks lining up for a chance to challenge the mountain. We've had triathletes, Iron Men and Women, marathon runners, road racers, and mountain biker racers - all have tried, but only a few have succeeded in taming the mountain. Please look for my next blog for the names and photos of our champions!!!!!!

Our third tour is called the 'Musipan' tour, which also leaves Casa Nora at 7:00 am and returns about an hour later. This is a very relaxing and relatively short ride through the desert near El Yaque. The terrain varies from single track desert trails, to road riding, to riding through a salina, as well as some coastal riding through a fishing village. This ride is a great warm up for the other two tours.

As you can see, the mountain biking here is as varied, as it is scenic. We have tours to challenge the most dedicated riders, and we also have tours that are a relaxing morning ride. Big Al and his group of pals, ride virtually every morning, so if anyone wants to come along, just email me at nowind-nocry@hotmail.com to make arrangements. Once you have arrived in El Yaque, you can also call me locally at: 0416-296-8038. Once you have decided which morning you'd like to ride, I will pick you up at your hotel or posada at 6:45 am, and drive you to Casa Nora, where Al will outfit you with your bike and gear. The price of each tour is US $40.00/tour, but if you take a 3-pack of tours, I'm sure Big Al will give you a discount.

Welcome to the new No Wind No Cry/Casa Nora blog!

2008-03-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

Hi there everyone!

Hola to all of our former houseguests, mountain bikers, scooter rental folks, yoga enthusiasts, windsurfers and kiters, and friends all around the world.

Welcome/Bienvenidos to our new blog, where you will find all of the latest news and info from our beach, as well as photos of all of the exciting and fun goings-on at Casa Nora and in El Yaque!

First - a note of thanks to our new WebMaster and computer genius, recent house-guest and windsurfing enthusiast - all the way from Sweden - Sone Alvelund! (See photo.) In less than one hour, Sone solved all of our web-related issues, and suggested that instead of trying to edit our nowindnocry.com website (and thereby having to learn html and Java Script codes - yuck!), we should just create a blog. So, here we are. Thanks Sone! In fact, he has made this blog interactive, so if anyone wants to leave a comment, please do so. We would love to hear from you guys!

The blog

Since the inception of Casa Nora and No Wind No Cry, I have amassed quite a collection of stories and photos, which I want to post on this blog. So, I am going to start at the beginning, some years ago, and end up posting the most current news, info and photos of this 2007/2008 season. While I will post the blogs chronologically, I will address specific topics, like mountain biking, or upgrades to Casa Nora, or a World Tour Freestyle competition in El Yaque, or a bbq here - well, you get the picture.

Speaking of pictures - through the next series of photos, I'd like to introduce you all to some people that I think you should know.

If you guys don't know who this is - well, then I don't know what to say..... :( This is Gollito, a native of El Yaque, and last year's Freestyle Champion. He recently won first place in the Freestyle competition held here in El Yaque.

This guy is so good, he defies description. And, he's a very nice guy to boot.

This is Cheo. Also a native of El Yaque, and last year's Number Two in the world for Freestyle. During the competition here, he placed second.....frankly, as he should, because he is also spectacular to watch. This guy is not only a terrific windsurfer, but he is also a real estate developer. Not bad for a kid barely in his twenties.

And this is Ricardo Campello - former three time World Champion for Freestyle. Also a resident of El Yaque. If you guys don't know who Ricardo is, well, then I really can't help you, or you are not really all that into windsurfing...... Ricardo placed fourth in our competition, behind Andre, from Germany.

Well, this is a photo of Al and Nora. We are also residents of El Yaque, and not in any way ranked in any windsurf competition or rating system. But, we do love to windsurf, and Lord knows, we do try! We also are the proprietors of Casa Nora, and Big Al does the mountain bike tours, and I offer the yoga classes in the mornings.

And, these are my best friends, Maryluz and Kathy. Some of you may know Maryluz as the best Spanish teacher here in El Yaque. And some of you may know Kathy (and her husband Tom) as the owners and operators of the Vela windsurf centre.

And here are some of my favourite people having a great time. Just so you all know, Maryluz is in almost all of the photos that I have - she's like a camera magnet. Among other things, Mary likes to dance, sing, read and write poetry, and she's an accomplished cook. And Kath is my daily yoga partner, who also is a great cook.

Y'see - here is Mary again, dancing with my friend Johnny T, from Canada. John and his girl, Diane visited us here in February for a week. Too much fun!

The wind has picked up, and even though I still have alot to post, I am going windsurfing! Ciao for now!

Nora

P.S. The Wind Dog says: Better, when wet.......

The Wind Dog's first blog

2008-03-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

Boo! Just want to see if this thing really works.
The Wind Dog