Goodbye Camaguey and off to Bayamo!

We slept very well in Camaguey. We liked our room, colonial styled yet simple, and I made sure that the air-conditioning is blowing on my side of the bed and not on Blondine’s. She cannot handle the air-conditioning while I cannot sleep without it. This is the dilemma we always have when travelling together which is quite odd.

Blondine, who is born in the Netherlands have low tolerance with the cold weather. She is always bundled up at 15C when we go out and cannot handle too much air-conditioning otherwise she will get sick. While I, born and bred in the tropics prefer to go out at 15C (as long as it’s not too windy) without a coat and will not survive the night if it’s too warm in the bedroom. I prefer the air-conditioning blowing on my face and body. Odd, I know.

Breakfast at Camino de Hierro Hotel in Camaguey consists of papaya shake and fresh tropical fruits: guava, pineapple and mango. Then we had some omelette as well.

Across the hotel we saw young students waiting for the rain to stop.

We woke up quite early the next day and had our breakfast before 8 in the morning. We were first served with fruits and a papaya fruit shake. Then we had omelette and some bread. Healthy start for the day I must say.

After breakfast we went to the bank and withdrew money against our Mastercard credit cards. The transaction went smooth and quick. We were actually a bit worried that the same problem at Sancti Spiritus will occur (no connection with Havana), but everything went on as planned.

Funnily, the cashier at the bank asked Blondine to sign on the paper several times because her signature varies greatly from her other signatures. This is (backward) banking in Cuba which means lots of paper trail and signature samples matching each other. Reminds me of the Philippines 15 years ago when I worked at a large IT multinational there. I was managing the payment solutions product line and my customers are the top 20 banks of the country. Back then, there were more banks and mergers are not heard of. I used to sit down with managers and executives discussing about paper trail and how to eliminate this through digitalization. It was a difficult and tedious subject because many banks then were not ready. I am sure the situation in the Philippines now has changed. Here in the Netherlands banking has become teller-less and paperless, and I love it.

Our next main destination is Santiago de Cuba located at the southern tip of the country, and is the second largest city of Cuba. However, we will have a stopover at Bayamo for lunch and a quick city tour.

Click here to check our route: Cuban Road Trip

Manuevering our way around Camaguey. Finding our way out of the city to the main road without a street-detailed map is always a challenge.

Finally, we are on the main road to Bayamo!

While on the way to Bayamo, we encountered this charming Paladar Paraiso 672 along the highway. Here, we stopped for some coffee break. Camaguey to Bayamo is about 3 hours so this was a timely break in our journey.

I ordered the usual black Cuban coffee while Blondine had hers with some milk. She did not like the milk in it. I think in Cuba you better stick to drinking pure coffee with a bit of sugar. You can get good coffee in Cuba almost everywhere. And do trust me because I know good coffee.

This is one of the few nice pitstops in Cuba. CUC$1 for coffee. Take note this is between Camaguey and Bayamo.

Price Comparisons: All Things Considered

[images via Linus Bikes and Gazelle USA]

It's Spring again, and I am receiving more emails with questions regarding which new bike to get. I notice that lots of readers are comparison shopping, and that's fantastic. But when doing price comparisons, the key is to compare like to like - which is not always what happens. Take one of the emails I received this week, from a reader who was trying to choose between a Gazelle and a Linus. She wrote that she has a hard time "justifying buying a Gazelle for three times the price, when a Linus is a perfectly nice bike."



When I checked out the prices online, it became clear that the reader was comparing the $425 Dutchie 1 (Linus's single speed,entry-levelmodel) to the $1,299 Toer Populair (Gazelle's 8-speed, deluxe model loaded with extras). But comparing the cheapest model from Brand X vs the most expensive model from Brand Y is hardly fair - especially since these manufacturers offer more equivalent models: The Linus Dutchie 3 and the Gazelle Toer Basic (pictured side by side above). Both are 3-speeds, with the Gazelle toned down a bit and the Linus fitted with some extras, somewhat leveling the playing field between them. The cost of the Linus Dutchie 3 is $589, whereas the cost of the Gazelle Basic is $849: a difference of $260. Still unjustifiable? Let'ssee what each bike offers at those price points.



[image viaGazelle USA]

At $849, the Gazelle Toer Basic offers: a lugged frame,enclosed drum brakes front and rear, dynamo lighting,a full chaincase, a matching rear rack with huge load capacity, dress guards, and a wheel lock.



[image viaLinus Bikes]

At $589, the Linus Dutchie 3 offers: a welded frame, rim brakes, no dynamo lighting or battery lights, a partial chainguard, a rear rack with lesser load capacity, no dress guards, and no wheel lock.



Even if we leave frame construction and ride quality out of it, the Gazelle's extras alone are worth over $500, which more than makes up for the $260 price difference.Are lower-end bikes a bargain? The only way to determine that is to do the comparison fairly: Have a look at all the models available, choose equivalent models for the comparison, and make a list of all the features included in each.

Pink Roses

Wordless Wednesday :: Receding Tide

Near Pensacola, Florida. March 1974.
Copyright © 1974/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Fall in Her Glorious Splendor

Maybe it is because we have missed so many years of this, but I am completely enamored by the fall colors.

Rotterdam: you are not my cup of tea

Many not so nice things have been said and done about Rotterdam—‘lelijke stad’, industrial city, ‘just’ modern boring buildings, ‘ongezellig’, there is no real center, no character, so un-Dutch and the Nazis bombed the city mercilessly during World War II which culminated into the Dutch surrendering to the Third Reich. Much of Rotterdam did not escape the war; it was destroyed and the city had to be rebuilt. Gone are the pretty gabled old Dutch houses, the real Rotterdam is gone. Because of this, the image of the city have always struggled. It was so bad that local tourism launched several campaigns to promote it years ago hoping to change its representation to an inviting, hip and trendy place to be.



Rotterdam's modern shopping center in the underpass on a rainy Saturday afternoon.





If there is abstract art, there is abstract architecture. Piet Blom's (Dutch architect) Cubic Houses (Kubus Woning) - these are real apartments with real people and families living here, and one of the apartments is a museum. Very 1980's, very Rubiks Cube isn't it? I was told that if you are inside the museum you will get disoriented for a minute. Didn't have enough time to check out the museum so when I am back, this is high up in my agenda.



The 'Pencil Building' and a bit of camwhoring with MadamE inside a shop. Girls and mirrors =)



Personally, I’ve been to Rotterdam a few times and one of those few times I’ve been there, this was with the Dutchman back in the early days, we did this touristy 'Harbour Tour' along the massive Rotterdam haven, alleged to be the biggest in the world. Unfortunately, we were only shown a tiny fraction of the whole trading marvel as it was explained in the audio that it would take days to survey the entire port area. Well, we don’t want to be staring at forklifts, cranes and containers for days so that's a good idea. It was pretty impressive though, business wise. Rotterdam harbour is one of the top moneymakers in the country (and those speeding cameras too!). For those who know a bit of the past, the Dutch have always been the (rogue) traders in man's history.


Anyway, I went down to Rotterdam the other week meeting an old friend, MadamE who reluctantly moved from Amsterdam to the terrain of the Feyenoords. Her husband filled me in about their Ajax buff daughters making friends with a few Ajax neighbors down the building. That is chilling. To be an Ajax aficionada in Feyenoord infested ground. Info: Ajax is Amsterdam's football club and Feyenoord is Rotterdams'; they are sworn enemies.

I don’t know but Rottedam is just not my cup of tea?



Sigh—I think I have loooong been jaded about charming, time-honoured and elegant European cities artistically inspired by its own extravagant flagship of period artists that when I see Rotterdam—with its modern tall buildings, cemented roads, the lack of a main 'gezellig' square and just the random ‘werkzaamheden’ (construction works) around the city make me lose my appetite to further explore its environs. This I find sad because I know there is so much to see and learn of Rotterdam.

I will definitely come back another time and will try to look for more interesting things to see and do, and positive things to say thereafter.

Some important facts: Rotterdam belongs to the South Holland (Zuid Holland) province. 46% of the city's population of 600,000+ are foreigners or are of non-Dutch origin. It takes less than an hour to travel by train and car from Rotterdam to Utrecht or Amsterdam.
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Gunks Routes: Unnamed (Pitch 1 5.0), Dis-Mantel (5.10b) & Dat-Mantel (5.10b)

(Photo: Gail giving Dis-Mantel (5.10b)a try.)



Did I mention that I am on vacation?



I am at the beach. I cannot go rock climbing.



But I am going to try to catch up on my posting.



I have been on the hunt for the easy 5.10 climbs at the Gunks. The climbs on the Mantel block seemed like maybe they would be good candidates. They are short climbs up the sixty-foot block, with roof cruxes.



But those one-move cruxes can be stiff for the grade. I was also worried that these climbs might not be very good, a waste of time.



I had bugged Gail to do these climbs with me for the last few months. We finally got around to them on Friday.



I decided to start with Dis-Mantel, the climb on the right. From the ground it seemed to me that I could get pro in the flake at the first, 5.10b roof. And I thought I might have better luck on Dis-Mantel than on the climb to the left; the roof on Dat-Mantel looked incredibly large.



the early moves up to the first roof on Dis-Mantel were simple enough. But the pro in the flake at the lip was kind of iffy. I got a green Camalot to sit in there but I wasn't absolutely sure about it. I had a rock solid piece back where the roof met the wall but I wanted something higher. There was absolutely no pro up over the roof.



I can't remember if I ever really tested that green Camalot. What I do remember is that I couldn't figure out the move at all. I kept going up and climbing down, trying this and trying that. There was a good hold that was very very far away. I'd read that the climb was height-dependent but this was ridiculous. I couldn't figure out how anyone could reach it. I tried under-clinging the roof, I tried using the flake as a side pull. I tried holding on to various parts of the shallow left-facing corner above the roof. I tried using a little fingerlock seam below the jug. Eventually I decided to give up, climb down a few moves and try Dat-Mantel to the left.






(Photo: Getting the holds above the lip of the roof on Dat-Mantel (5.10b).)



I found a few interesting moves on my way over to the Dat-Mantel roof. I was still below the roof, confronting a thin move up an orange face, when I realized that I didn't have any of my big cams. I'd left my blue # 3 in my bag and I'd somehow used both my red # 1 and my yellow # 2 below. I could see that I needed at least one bigger cam for the horizontal beneath the roof. And who knew what I might need above?



I was trying to decide what to do about this problem when it started raining.



This was the excuse I needed. Things weren't exactly going in my direction anyway. I decided to bail. I backed up my top piece and had Gail lower me, thinking when the rain stopped one of us could go up Unnamed, the climb that ascends the left side of the Mantel block at 5.0, to set up a top rope and retrieve the gear.



When I got to the ground the rain stopped before it even really began. So I led up Unnamed, a climb that has a 5.3 second pitch above the Mantel block. The first pitch, which goes up the left side of the block, is just 5.0. It isn't bad climbing for 5.0. It's better than Dirty Chimney, for sure. The pro is a little funky. There are big vertical cracks but they are flaring. At one point there are three old pitons hammered into one crack, right on top of one another. Maybe they were put in as practice placements, forty or fifty years ago?



Up atop the block is a stone with several ratty old slings and a couple of newish ones threaded. This anchor is well placed for Dat-Mantel. You don't even need a directional.



Gail took the first stab at Dat-Mantel on toprope. She looked a little shaky at the thin move up the orange face below the roof, where I had given up the lead. Then I got the benefit of watching her figure out the huge overhang, which surely helped me when it was my turn. Still, I was happy with how it went when it was my turn. I figured out an easier way to get through the orange face. And I went at the roof a little differently than she did. She crimped up to the horizontal above the roof using some holds that looked truly awful. I had a notion that it would be easier to get up there if I moved a little to the right and this turned out to be a good call. Then I threw a heel, pivoted up, and presto-- I had done it on the first try.



Dat-Mantel is a nice little climb. There are a few nice moves below the roof, and then the roof itself is a good challenge. It is well-protected, too. There is a good slot right where the underside of the roof meets the wall, and then once you get the horizontal above the roof, but before you attempt pulling over, you can get another solid placement. I wish I had been more insistent on going ahead with the lead of this climb. If I'd tried it first instead of Dis-Mantel maybe I would have done it.



I hope to go back this year and send Dat-Mantel on lead.



Dis-Mantel, on the other hand, remains a mystery, and I don't think I will be heading back to lead it. Neither Gail nor I could figure it out, even on top rope. (We set it up from the same threaded station, using a directional placement.) And I'm still not sure how I feel about that cam in the flake at the crux roof. There aren't any cracks for pro above the roof, so even if the cam in the flake holds I don't really like the thought of the fall at that roof if you blow it on lead. The second (5.8) roof also looks to have funky pro. Each of us tried it on top rope by cheating around the first roof to the right, doing the Kernmantle crux before heading left to the second Dis-Mantel roof. Gail had no problem with the second roof but I was so hot and tired by the time I got up there that I blew it once before pulling through it on the second try.



If someone would take me up Dis-Mantel and show me what I'm doing wrong, I'd appreciate it! I still feel reasonably good about the effort. I was safe about it, explored around the roof without losing control, and climbed down when I correctly decided I was out of my depth.

Tuffee Herding

Tuffee is our Border Collie. She was 6 years old as of Feb. 15. As you may know BC's are herding dogs. So Tuffee is determained to herd our horses since we don't have any sheep. In this photo she is trying to herd Sundance, my paint gelding. But horses don't herd as well as sheep do. So instead of moving like Tuffee wants him to do. He will just stand there and once in a while raise a back hoof to threaten her or to tell her to leave him alone. When she botheres him to much he will make a half hearted kick at her. He has been known to actually kick her enough to make her yelp but never enough to actually hurt her. So Far. And I hope he never does. Two of our other horses, Nita and Star treat her the same way. But Trave, one of the ponies will only take her "herding" so long and then he will charge at her and try to stomp her with his front hooves. The dumb dog doesn't seem to learn not to bother the horses. Maybe it is her way of finding adventure in an otherwise dull life. When I see she has bugged him enough I tell her to get OUT. She knows that means to leave him alone and get out of his pen. I am glad she only trys to herd the horses when I am out in the pen with them. She never goes in their pens when I am not in there.

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery....

Newest pack from Arcteryx. Simple is always good.



"Weighing in at just 680 grams, the Alpha FL is an ultralight and highly weather-resistant alpine climbing pack. Designed with custom-engineered N400r-AC2 nylon ripstop fabric, it is weatherproof, exceptionally durable, and yet supple enough to accommodate the shape of its contents, making the bag less prone to punctures. "



More here:

http://www.arcteryx.com/Article.aspx?EN&article=Arc%E2%80%99teryx-Alpha-FL-Pack



and here:



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//05/climbing-packs-part-4.html

Lunch date in Rotterdam

Last week was another one of my lunch dates but this time in Rotterdam at Obba Lounge Restaurant with MadamE.



It has been a while since I saw MadamE, with both our busy lives it is not always that easy to catch up with old friends. The last time that we had a date was last year October in Schiedam where we had lunch at the Schiedam old city hall now transformed into a Café bistro restaurant and afterwards we strolled a bit along the canals of Schiedam (I should be posting an entry of this, hopefully soon as I am so backlogged with my travel posts!).



MadamE is having her Turkish beer while I, naturally, my chilled white wine, and Turkish mezze for lunch (very similar to Greek--both countries does have an interesting history of animosity).







The food is quite good, 4.3 stars out of 5. We ordered the small serving of Mezze’s which are priced on a per person basis. I also like that they have an outdoor terrace, great for chilling out outside when its beautiful weather.



I quite like Obba which means the ‘King’s Tent or Harem’ in Turkish. It’s actually spelled Oba in Turkish but in Dutch it is Obba, with the double B. The lounge restaurant indeed has a beautiful exotic Turkish and Arabian ambiance with a bit of a kitsch-ish feel which actually blends nicely altogether. Plus it is located on the Rijnhaven in Rotterdam. You have tranquil views of the water, quite relaxing to the senses, and not some busy street in the centre.



There is also street parking nearby (going at 2 hours maximum, only coins and chipknip though), so handy.



The lounge restaurant is actually made of steel container van which rightly represents the city and port of Rotterdam, being the seaport of the country and the trading gateway of Europe.



And another foto souvenir together. MadamE, till our next lunch, or perhaps travel together? =)

Lathe Turning

Some of you commented on my posting a month or so aga about the piece of cottonwood that my husband was turning on his lathe. Here is the finished piece. Some really nice designs in the piece of wood from an almost dead cottonwood tree. He has more of the tree to turn later on.



Here is a bottle and a candlestick with electric candle that he turned from a piece of wood he bought.




Christmas decorations he made from left over scrap pine wood. There are tiny holes with a piece of string for hanging on the tree.


Here are two snowmen (maybe the taller is a snowwomen) that hubby made for gifts.