Author: manuela

A work trip to the US. Immediately upon arrival I spot a slight difference to the UK. Instead of signs saying “Don’t offend our staff. We’ll press for the highest charges!”, we can read “Our pledge to the visitors”.

Welcome to the new world!

My assigned immigration officer speaks German (“You’ve got to learn something on this job!”) and although Omar doesn’t drink alcohol he loves German beer and lists a few non-alcoholic brands from the top of his head. After translating for a French tourist in search of his suitcase (picture me standing between two massive black guys, one French and confused, the other one American and longing for shift-end), I head out.

Here I am in JFK, longing for oxygen and four hours until my connecting flight to Chicago. Waiting at the gate looks like wasted time and with the sun up and shining a trip to the waters surrounding Long Island is enticing.
150 bucks for a brief beach return trip? The casual way the taxi driver offers it shows that somebody spending this much is in the range of the possible.

Well, I head to the trains instead, immediately mingling with local blue-collar workers. I get tips on the best beach views, and after hearing I flew in from London, a guy asks me “Did you English ever forgive the Germans for what they did to you?”. What a package to receive! I replied putting on my best London accent.

I caught some breathtaking glances at the ocean before going back to the airport on a train with around 150 school kids – why am I mentioning that they were all black? Because I thought I was going to the US, not to Kenya and I can’t help but noticing the huge split between communities: who lives where, who eats what, who takes which jobs, who transports themselves how. I’m wondering how many decades it will take to see changes on this one.

The first day in Chicago was amazing. It was sunny and warm, so I explored the city walking between the skyscrapers, relaxing at the Magnificent Mile with a Salted Caramel Mocha, taking in the exchange between tourists, shoppers, beggars and business people. I went along the harbor and the pier past the Museum Mile. I even took a (refreshing) bath in Lake Michigan and ended up sunbathing while watching the skyline. People on the street looked me straight into the face (difference 2 to London, where staring at the pavement while walking is socially acceptable) and after just few hours I felt home and welcome.

During dinner in a great Italian restaurant I chatted with a lady sitting next to me (a kindergarden teacher well above 50) and we had such a good chat she ended up giving me a gift from the Chicago Institute of Art. I wondered when last I had such a random conversation with no influence of alcohol 😉

For the second day I decided to be a bit more adventurous and use the DIvvY city bicycles. This meant I could get around much faster, so I went to see the lions in the zoo, to the 95th floor of the Hancock building, the Chicago History Museum and a lot of other things.

Cycling is easy because most roads are one way streets and people are much calmer and more relaxed than in NY. I found the best part about the traffic rules to be junctions with stop signs on all four entries of the junction (only Germans may relate to this).

If you want some tech nostalgia, watch the bridges go up at 9am for high boats to pass. Two teams of 20 engineers each pull up the 28 bridges every day and thus stop traffic in the city for a good 30 minutes.

I was able to secure a reduced ticket for a blues musical about Pullman porters. A great evening about work and livelihoods, racism and conflicts between generations, about fatherly love and a lot about the Blues spirit. On leaving the theatre, I was back to reality: Dozens of homeless were getting ready for a night in the park or on the riverside walk while a dad with his 7-year-old son still hadn’t given up hope to collect the 42 USD he needed for a hostel for the two from passers-by.

For my last day I had plotted how to get to Indiana Dunes State Park for a more “rural” experience. (Google “Indiana d” and see what pops up… that’s some bad marketing for a state, I’d say!). I’m starting to give directions to tourists on Chicago’s streets, so getting on a commuter train to ride to Indiana feels like holidays on holidays.

We ride through bleak looking suburbs, where many houses remind me of the “ultimate house makeover”. We pass steel factories. In Ogden Dunes I get off and take a 20 minute stroll through the village to reach the beach.
I nearly can’t believe it, extremely white sandy beach with a Baltic Sea feel. From this wonderful beach we can see Chicago’s skyline at the horizon. I read the 7 habits of highly effective people and have loads of chats with locals who are enjoying their weekend on the beach (and gave me cold beer – gift 2 in three days).

After I just decided to stay for an extra two hours before catching the train back, an old fragile looking couple comes to sit with me on a bench in the shade. We have great conversations about politics (he had followed the German elections closely), the world and my job (he was not surprised to hear about VC investments and Social Businesses in Emerging Markets). He had even heard of Stephen Covey’s book I’m reading!

I’m invited to spend the night at their house which I can’t because my flight to NY is at 6am the following day. At least I have to go to the village chilli cooking contest and take a glass of red wine at their house and look at the paintings (she’s an artist!). Well that sounds great I say and we drive off. A lovely house, speaking of a successful industry career and attention to detail as I haven’t seen it in years.
At the village party where I taste hot dogs with at least 10 variations of chilli con/sin carne, I realize what a big heart the lady has: Many people tell me of her acts for them and their families.

The lady tells me that she loves her husband of 49-years like on the day they met, when she was 16. She also tells me that he is dying of brain cancer and she takes him to the lake every day for the remaining three or so months. More than by hearing the details of the disease and seeing the comfortable life they created for and with each other I’m inspired by her commitment to him, to the community and to her art. She later thanks me via email for the wonderful gift of sweet distraction I gave to her husband through the discussions we had.

Back in Chicago I’m having lebanese takeaway dinner seated outside the hostel, it’s such a warm evening! I’m lost in thought until drops fall on my hands and I come to senses pondering if they are tears or rain.

A weekend in Tromso. Sunlight from morning ’til… well morning!

Today I went hiking in Colombia – just two hours drive from Bogota you can find wonderful nature!

Laguna verde (“green lake”) was the destination. After getting out of the car, we walked through a high altitude plateau (3300-3700 m) with rare plants, the beautiful colours and the relieving fresh air that you only get in the mountains.

After around 2 hours hike we had chatted with each other and former strangers had become friends – the bizarre scenary made it possible.

Approaching Laguna Verde we saw a group of tents on the shore. A group of around 15 people in hiking gear were starting to pull down their tents. A bit late, we thought – how far can they reach if they start their day’s hike at 1pm?

We passed them with a few greetings and climbed up the mountain behind the lake to get the full panoramic view. Our guide decides to stay behind with a lady that got tired, but the majority of us wouldn’t return home without reaching the peak!

Of we go, climbing up around 200 steep metres. Just a few metres below the peak we couldn’t trace the path. High scrubs everywhere. “No hay un camino claro!” was mumbled by a lady. (“There is no clear path!”)

Of course we made it somehow – I lead the group upwards, to me the direction “to the peak” is clear enough when climbing a mountain. I remember the inspiring statement about leadership that I heard so often… About leaving a trail where is no path. I am not satisfied by the extend of my leadership, my impact – so I drop the thought quickly.

A stunning view and the well-deserved lunch break awaited us. Sandwiches and fruits were unpacked and munched… until a sudden rain hit us and we jumped in our rainjackets and hurried down the hill to find a shelter.

“Scrubs?” I am thinking.

Until we reached the campers, the rain had subsided and become a drizzle.

They shouted at us and waved us over to their camp. They had a pot of soup that they wanted to share with us. Moving closer I saw that the cook who was wearing shorts had only one leg – the other one had a prosthesis. Looking around I saw more of the campers with leg prostheses – many had two!

We are in the middle of wild nature. I see people wearing high-tech hiking wear. I see branded hiking boots. I see metal connecting the two. I am deeply disturbed. I can’t make it work in my head. I can’t even accept the soup that I am offered.

Nobody else seems to be bothered. The campers are fitting the last tent equipment back in their backpacks. My group mates are chatting and eating. They are teasing me that I don’t eat the soup – is it that I don’t like the intestines it includes?

The language barrier makes me shut up even more.

I remember: Colombia is the country with the highest amount of landmines victims worldwide.

The leader of the group himself has one prothesis. He explained to us that this is a group of former soldiers who are preparing to climb Kilimanjaro in August. A team of mechanics, psychologists and doctors will accompany them. They have been fundraising for the trip for long.

What big an inspiration can this group be to thousands of landmine victims?

What faces will they encounter in Tanzania’s airport?

Is it physically possible for them to reach the peak?

What looks will they attract from other hikers?

How many protheses could be fitted with the money that is donated for this trip?

Many questions could be asked. I don’t ask. I can see:

This man is a leader. He has the goal clear.

Go where there is no path – and leave a trail!

More about the hike: http://www.caminantesdelretorno.com/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=110:the-green-lake-tausa&catid=11:short-hikes&Itemid=2

More about landmines: http://www.the-monitor.org/index.php/publications/display?url=lm/2004/colombia.html

A week of walking in rough and beautiful nature… Last week I hiked the West Highlands Way in Scotland. The famous Lochs, the foggy valleys, volcanic hills, the food and culture. A great time off from London and its buzz!

Preparations:

The Way is a famous tourist attraction and there is quite some infrastructure around it. We made reservations for all our accommodation beforehand (which was not necessary in April, but is well advised in the high season from May). We had a map, which is not required for the well-marked way, but nice because it gives you an idea of the distances and the names of rivers and mountains around you!

We only had 6 days, so we had to skip a couple of days (the hike can take 6-9 days).

There is a bus and train pretty much every day to give you a short cut of 4-7 hours walk, so it’s good to print the bus plan of C8 and 916. Also if you know your return date, have the train return ticket booked before to save money.

Regards Luggage you want to be prepared for any weather (snow through hail and rain to sunshine). We had Travel Lite transport our luggage from every hostel to the next (40 GBP, book here) and only carried our day pack with rain coat and food. What a luxury, but a great delight, especially on the hills!

Day 1: Arrival to Glasgow on train where we had a walk around the river and city centre. Then we took the 6pm bus to Drymen (we skipped the first Day from Glasgow/Milngravie to Drymen). We stayed in a pretty B&B (Elmbank), and had dinner from the supermarket.

Day 2 Our first actual hiking day from Drymen via Conic Hill to Rowardennan. You get to climb the Hill from the less steep behind and through pretty valleys filled with the famous sheep. After lunch on the hill with great views on the loch, we took a shortcut down the hills straight to lake (cutting out Balmaha) and spent the rest of the afternoon walking on the shores of the lake to the Rowardennan Youth Hostel. We stretched the 24 kms over nearly 8 hours, because we took all opportunities for photo taking, picnics and stops on the beaches of Loch Lommond.

Day 3: From the Youth hostel we took the first ferry to the other side of the Loch, an amazing 30 minutes which stunning views over the lake and the slopes. Then we got a bus to Inverarnan, where we had a quick lunch at the Drovers Inn (great pub!). From there we just had to finish a 3-hour through another valley walk until we got to the Youth Hostel in Crianlarich. We met Highland cattle, which can be frightening, especially as they are taking well care of their fresh offspring.

Day 4: A nice surprise waited for us: It has snowed overnight and our walk to Bridge of Orchy started in fresh white. After a warming lunch in Tyndrym we finished the 21-km-leg through light rain: A simple walk through a long valley with steep slopes on both sides and near the railway tracks. The old military road (build in 17xx) on which we were walking is held by an old wall and there are nice views to the wide river at the valley bottom. We also tasted the fresh spring water. The railway has an exciting horse-show form at some point, but we weren’t lucky enough to catch the train in this corner. On arrival in Bridge of Orchy we stayed at the Bunkhouse and had great dinner in the restaurant of the (one) hotel in the place.

Day 5: The next lag is a 5-8 hour hike over the moor, which we summed up in a 20-minute bus ride. Having gotten off at Kingshouse Hotel, we walked an hour or so until we crossed the Devil’s Staircase, which lead into another valley. The descend to Kinglochleven was as beautiful as diverse.  We reached Blackwater Hostel at 2pm and stocked up at the Supermarked, then relaxed there. With a bit more courage, we could have done the whole hike without the bus, just as most others who arrived at 7pm, had 🙂

Day 6 marked already our last day of the West Highland Way with a final lap of 24kms to Fort William. This was actually the most beautiful day and somehow the summary of the whole walk: starting with a nice climb and amazing views out of the valley to another long valley, through forests and volcanic moor until reaching the snow gaped mountains close to Ben Nevis and down to Fort William through the rain on (guess what… boring) car-wide tracks. After a photo at the official end of the track we had dinner on the High Street (Alexandra Restaurant has amazing BBQ chicken, what a meal after 5 days of hike!)

On Day 7 we went shopping for souvenirs, then walked to the old castle and visiting the distillery. Another alternative is climbing Ben Nevis, if the weather is fine.

The highlight and summary was the 4-hour train ride from Fort William back to Glasgow, which showed us the whole hike backwards and many more views over the moor that we had not seen before!

Full cost: 430 GBP incl. train return trip from London, a great deal that we achieved by making our own food and using hostels and early booked transport. You can save more by carrying your luggage, and sticking to hostels or camping.

Full experience: While the way is not too exciting for an experienced hiker in terms of its appearance and not technically demanding, it is highly rewarding for it’s beautiful landscape and the views are amazing every single hour!

An amazing holiday!

(And for some silly reason Channel 5 is showing Water Horse right now… the legend of the Monster of Loch Ness!)

 

The moment when you realize how long you have not seen the sea!

So I just took this random guess on google “Hike near London” and ended up on a website for “Surrey Hills”, downloaded the first hike and went…. after some weeks in London it felt great to get some fresh air!

One of the inscriptions on Chilworth Cementary read “Live is for living” and I could not agree more.