Azkenik Iranen!

Armenian mugako herria den Meghri atzean utzita ibaia jarraituz Irango mugara iritsi ginen, azkenik horren polemikoa den herrialdea bertatik ezagutzeko garaia iritsi zen. Mugan paasaportea pare bat aldiz erakutsi ondoren gainean generaman dirua Rial-etara aldatu genuen (Iranen dauzkan santzioak direla eta ezinezkoa da atzerriko txartelekin dirua ateratzea beraz egonaldi guztirako dirua ekarri beharra dago hasieratik). Iranek errepideetako heriotz taasarik altuenetakoa izan arren bertako gidariak gu bizikletan ikusita mantxotu eta distantzia  on bat mantenduz aurreratzen gintuzten, beste batzuk berriz aurrerago geratu eta Iranen atzerritarrek gehien entzuten dituzten bi esaldiak errepikatzen zizkiguten; Nongoak zarete eta ongi etorri Iranera. Bertako biztaleak etzitren izan baakrrak gure joan etorrien berri izan nahi zuurenak, lehenego hiru egunetan poliziak hiru aldiz geratu gintuen pasaporteak ikuskatu eta Iran zer egin behar genuen galdetzeko.

Arreneko bi asteak Irango Azerbaiango probintzian menditsuan igaro genituen, bertako hiriburu eta zetazko bideko gune garrantzitsu izan den Tabrizraino. Probintzia hontako biztaleak ez dira persiarrak “turkoak” baizik eta Farsia hitzegin ordez  Turko Azeria hitzegiten dute.

Tabrizen egin genituen lagun berriei esker egun bateko egonaldia izan behar zuena hiruko egunkoa bilakatu zen, Erfan, Reza, Hadi eta beste hainbesterekin hiriko txokoak ezagutu eta Iraniar kultura bertatik ezgutzen hasteko aukera izan genuen.

Iraniarren  eskuzabaltasunak mugagabea dirudi, agian honen azalpena Iraniarrek oso barneratuta duten “taarof” abergikortasun kodea izan daiteke, adibidez gonbidatuak dituztenean hoinek esaktutako guztia eskaintzera behartuta daude, alddi berean gobidatuan eskainitako guztiari ezetz esan behar dio, tira bira honetan pixkanaka jarraitzen dute baikotzaren benetako intentzioak argitu arte. Halere askotan eskeintza egiten dizutenean “no taarof” esaten dizute eskeintza benetazkoa dela adieraziz.

Iraneran iritsi aurretik hainbat aldiz emakumeen eskubideak urratuta daudela entzuna nuen, esan beharra daukat bidean bixitatu ditudan herrialde batzuetan baino askatasun daukatela hemen; 1963tik bozkatzeko eskubidea dute (europako herrialde batzuetan baino lehenago), errepidean kotxeak gidatzen nonhai ikus daitezke eta lan munduan ondo integratuta daudela dirudi, unibertsitateetako ikasleen %60a emakumeak dira. Egia da kalean ilea estali beharra daukatela baino ezagutu degun jendeareen etxe askotan atea gurutzatu orduko zapia kendu eta ilea agerian utzi dute.

Gobernu sitemarekin ere desadostasunean bizi direla dirudi, uste baino bildur gutxiago erakutsi du jendeak beraien eritzia emateko garaian. Askok reboluzioarekin  Sha garaiko bizimodua hobetuko zen esperantza zuten baino etzen horrela izan.

Dena ondo izanik Irango bisadoa beste hilabetez berritzeko aukera izango dugu, hurrengo sarreran idatziko dut gehiago. Gaurkoan argazki batzuk eta Fernando eta Veronikak egindako bideo bat zintzilikatu dizkizuet.

Meghri - Tabriz from Fernan_ci on Vimeo.

Finally in Iran!

Leaving Meghri in Armenia we cycled along Aras river for some kilometres until we reached the bridge that connects both countries, after almost 10000km on the road I was eager to get in and find out more about this controversial country.

Our Passport was checked twice at the border control, customs police also ordered me to open a pannier, once the official was satisfied he said “welcome to Iran” and we were in! First thing we did  was to Exchange currency, due to international sanctions no foreign card works in Iranian ATM´s so travellers have no choice but to bring all the cash for the entire stay in their pockets.

We slowly started Cycling up into the mountains, despite Iran ranking as one of the most dangerous countries when it comes to road safety, we found drivers to be very respectful towards cyclists slowing down and giving ample space when overtaking. Some drivers would even stop ahead of us to greet us with probably the two most common phrases to foreigners in Iran; where are you from and welcome to Iran. Not only villagers showed their interest in us, the police also wanted to know about our whereabouts and we were stopped and questioned three time on our first three days!

On the first two weeks we travelled through the northwest of Iran in Azerbaijan province until we reached the capital Tabriz, people from the region are not Persian and instead of Farsi they speak Azeri Turkish.

Iranian people have reputation to be one of the friendliest bunch in earth so when we reached Tabriz it didn’t take long before we made many new Friends. Erfan, Reza, Hadi and many others showed us around the city and gave us a good insight into Iranian culture.

Iranian hospitality is really incredible, I learned that they have a hospitality etiquette called “taroof” that is deeply rooted in Iranian culture, for example a host has to offer anything a guest might want and equally the guest has to refuse anything the host might offer, and this goes on until both parts find out the real intentions. But this is not always the case, sometimes they would say “no taroof” meaning that the offer is genuine.

Before visiting Iran I often Heard about women’s right being violated (and population in general too) while this might be true I have to say that I expected this to be much worse than actually is. Women have the right to vote since 1963 (before tan some European countries), 60% of the university students are female they seem to be well integrated in the workforce, also it’s common to see them driving cars. They head scarf is still mandatory but I found that that quickly goes off a soon as you enter their homes.

People also have openly showed their disagreement with the government policies. After the revolution many have hoped for a better and fairer system but based on the accounts we have heard this is not the case…

All going to plan we should be able to extend the visa for at least for another month so I will publish another entry when get to know more about this fascinating country, in the meantime I uploaded some pictures and also a video that Fernando and Veronika made about our first few days in Iran. 

Meghri - Tabriz from Fernan_ci on Vimeo.

Armenia EUSKARAZ

Tbilisin atseden hartu ondoren armenia bidean jarri ginen, bi herrialdeak ortodoxoak diraeta kulturalki nahiko antzekotasun dituzte, zorionez gidatze kontuetan antza gutxi dute eta Armeniarrak askoz lasaiagoak dira Georgiarrekin alderatuta, bertan egindako kilometroak bidegorri batean eginak dirudite.

Mendate txiki bat pasa eta bi herrialdeak banatzen dituen Debed ibaiaren arroilari jarraituz Armenian sartu ginen. Ibai honen kutsadura maila harrigarria da, bidean jarraitu ahala laister jakin genuen zergaitia,  Debed-en bi aldeak kobre meatzez josita daude eta Alaverdi hirian izugarrizko galdategia dago Sobiet garaietatik ia ladaketarik izan ez duena. Hirian geratzeko asmoa genuen baino bertako aire grisa ikusi ondoren aurrera jarraitu genuen (galdategiko tximiak inguruko mendi bateraino luzatu dituzte kutsadura murrizteko baino ondorioz mendiko basoa desagertzen hasi omen da).


Fernandok egunean zehar maiz begiratzen du mugikorra eguraldia kontsultatzeko, 25 graduko tenperaturarekin lasai gebiltzala hurrengo egunean elurra iragarrita zegoela esan zigun! Zoritxarrez iragarpena ez zegoen oker eta egunean zehar termometroa etzen 3 gradutatik pasa, hurrengo egunetan eguraldia askoz hobea etzelea izango ikusirik atseden egunik hartu gabe hegoaldeko Meghri izeneko herriraino iritsi ginen. "Presa" puntu honek bertako jendearekin normalean izaten ditugun hartuemanak murriztu egin zituen nolabait, halere Armenia dan bezelako herrialde menditsua izanik bertako piasaia aldakorretaz gozatu genuen; mendi harritsuak, belar motz horidun goi-lautadak edo herrialdearen %5-a okupatzen duen Sevan laku ikusgarriaren inguruan ibli ginen.

Bidean gauetako hotza saiestu nahian aterpeak bilatzen saiatu ginen, automobil-garbitegi baten barruan lo egin genuen eta baita baztertutako tren bagoi batean ere.

Orain Irango mugara  iristeko 10km besterik etzaizkigu geratzen, bertatik datozen bidaiari ugari ezagutzekko aukera izan degu, denek oso ondo hitzegin digute bertako jendeataz eta irrikitan nago bertara iristeko! Internet sarea oso kontrolatuta omen daukate eta ez dakit handik bloga eguneratzeko nola moldatuko naizen, izango dezue nere berri!

Hurrenarte!

Armenia EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Armenia ENGLISH

After resting in Tbilisi we set off towards Armenia, both countries share the same religion and have many things in common, though  luckily for us,compared to their Georgian neighbours, Armenian drivers are much more friendlier towards cyclist and we felt like riding along a bike path.

We crossed the river Debed which forms a natural boundary between both countries and entered a canyon full of copper mines, the water coming down the river was really polluted and when we reached the industrial city of Alaverdi we understood why, there is a huge copper smelter in the town centre, releasing a vast amount of toxic fumes into the atmosphere. This factory has seen little changes since the Soviet times, they have extended the chimney into a nearby hill however the town still has smog all over it.

Fernando who is very organized always keeps good check of the weather forecast, after few days of sunshine he announced that we would have snow on the following day. As hard as it was to believe the forecast was correct and next day we woke up to a freezing morning! Armenia is very mountainous and we had to cross several high passes on our way south so we had to rush a bit before we got into trouble. This has translated in less interaction with the locals who they all are very friendly, however we've been able to enjoy the ever changing scenery very much; going over rocky mountains, grassy plateaus  or  around the immense lake Sevan which takes up 5% of Armenia's land.

We now in the southern town of Meghri, just 10km away from the Iranian border. We've come across few travelers who just visited Iran saying nothing but great things about its people, we feel very excited about going in and I think it will be one of the highlights of this trip. On the downside they do have some internet censorship so I'll have to try to find a way around it, don't worry if you don't hear from me on the next two months:)

Cheers

Armenia-ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Georgia EUSKARAZ

Turkiako Trabzon hirian astebete itxaron da gero Irango bisadoa lortu eta martxan jarri nintzen Fernando eta Veronikarekin batera ( elkarrekin oso ondo moldatzen gara eta batera jarraitzeko asmoa daukagu) Itsaso beltzeko kostari jarraituz egun pare batean Georgiara iritsi ginen.

Iritsi ta aldaketarik nabarmenenak erlijioa (Georgia ortodoxoak izanik Mezkitak eta errezoatarako eguneko 5 deiak desagertu ziren) eta Turkiako Te eskaintzak Vodka eta ardoa eskaintza bihurtu ziren. Georgia izan zen munduko lehengo herrialdea ardoa egiten beraz ez da harritzekoa edateko afizio hau  izatea. Beste bitxikeria bat Georgiarraren eta Euskararen arteko lotura da, nahiz eta hizkuntzak entzunda erabat ezberdinak iruditu bertakoiei euskalduna naizela esan dietenean asko poztu dira eta anaiak garela esaten didate.

Halaere georgian gehien gustatu zaidana, kaukasoko mendietan kokatuta dagoen Svaneti lurraldea izan da, Pamir mendikatea alde batean utzi behar izanak sortutako tristurak erabat kendu dizkit. Iparraldean Errusia, ekialdean Osetia eta mendebaldean Abkhaziaz inguratuta, mendi artean galdutako herrixka txikiak eta ia kotxerik gabeko errepideak aurkitu daitezke 5000m-tik gorako tontorrez inguratuta. Eguraldia lagun izanik udazkeneko kolore ederrak miresteko aukera paregabea izan genuen. Bertako familia baten egoteko aukera ere izan genuen eta Veronikaren errusiarrari esker (hemen ingelesa ez da oso erabilgarria) bertako istoria eta kulturari hobeto ezagutzeko aukera izan genuen.

Mendiak atzean utzita beheko bailareta jeitsi ginen, Gori izeneko herritik pasaz, bertan bidaikako 9000km tara iritsi nintzen,  herri hau ezaguna da sobiet batasuneko buru izan zen Joseph Stalin-en jaioterria delako. Bertako biztanlek berarerenganako mirespena erakusten dute oraindik eta bere omenezko museoa eta bidaiatzen zuen tren bagoia bixitatu daitezke. Eta hemendik ia zuzenean Tbilisi-raino,  etorri gara, bertan bloga eguneratu eta deskansu txiki bat hartzeko tartea hartuz, hurrena Armenia!

Bideoa:


Georgia EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Georgia ENGLISH

It a week of waiting in trabzon before we could get hold of our Iranian visas, once all was sorted we continued along the black sea until we crossed the border into Georgia.

The mosques were replaced by orthodox churches and vodka and wine were offered instead of "chai". Georgia was the first country in producing wine and the Georgians are proud of it, whenever you are invited into a house you pretty much are expected to get drunk, I sometimes had to decline the drinking offers using cycling as an excuse... they all got dissapointed!

It was also interesting to see their reaction when I told them that I was from the basque country, (there is a theory that relates Basque laguage to Georgian which all of them seem to know about) they would smile and call me brother in most cases. Despite basque being my mother tongue I have to say that Georgian sounds completely different.

However my favourite part of the country has been a region called Svaneti, located on the caucasus mountains bordering Abkhazia, Russia and  South Ossetia. The stunning mountains have made up exceedingly for the loss of the Pamir route, also the weather has been really warm for this time of the year and we've been able to enjoy  the beautiful autumn colours surrounded by +5000m  snow clad peaks. We also have been invited to some georgian homes where Veronikas russian has been very useful, without her communication would have been very limited as English is not widely spoken.

Once we left the mountains we returned to the valleys where busy roads filled with dangerous drivers awaited for us, my speedo clocked 9000km in Gori, a town famous for being Joseph Stalin's birthplace. The locals still admire him despite the atrocities that were carried out under his mandate.

Now we are in Tbilisi taking rest and updating our blogs, I'm getting on really well with fernando and veronica and for now we'll continue together towards Armenia, they have a blog in spanish which they update more frequently than I do and with more detailed info about the trip: http://viajarenmtb.es/

Video:

Georgia ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Itsaso Beltzan barrrena

Iadanik hiru aste igaro dira Ane agurtu eta Istanbul atzean utzi nuenetik, bitartean turkia iparraldean dagoen Itsaso beltzeko kostari jarraituz ekialdeko Trabzon hiriraino iritsi naiz.

 Orain arte bidaiari gutxi topatu baditut denak itsaso beltzea zai neuzkalako izango zen, konpainia ezin hobean ibili naiz Joe eta Carmen britaniarrekin eta Basaurikoa den Alberto eta bere emazte Veronika lituaniarrarekin . Itsaso beltzeko kosta  oso menditsua da eta gainera Euskal Herriaren antzera euria oso maiz egiten du, halare hemendik gogoan emango dudana, zalantzarik gabe, bertako jendearen abegikortasuna izango da; egunean tea edateko hamaika gonbidapen izan ditugu eta beraien etxetara ongietorri gaituzte. 

Orain Iraneko bisadoa lortu nahian nabil, Trabzonen, normalean egun berean ematen dute baino  momentuan ez dute bisadorik egiten eta astelehenean itzuli beharra daukat. Bestalde Pamir mendikatea gurutzatzeko ametsa beste baterako uztea erabaki det, negua gainean dela oso zaila eta gogorra izango litzateke da eta hemendik aurrera ibilbide hau jarraitzea erabaki det: Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Arabiar Emirerri batuak, Oman, India... Fernando eta Veronika ere antzeko bidean doaz eta zihurrenik tarteka elkartuz joango gara.

Hemendik turkian egindako lagun berriei eskerrak eman nahi dizkiet, bereziki Ali, Ergun, Yasin, Murat, Yetkin eta azkenik Yalcin eta Ayvaz familiei. 

Hurrenarte!

PD. Ibilbideko sekzioan mapa berri bat sortu det, hemendik aurrera akanpaatzen deten toki bakoitzean argaazki bat atera eta bertan eguneratzen joango naiz, http://trackmytour.com/wHQft#611495

Hona hemen bideoa:

Itsaso beltza EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Along the black sea

It's been three weeks since Ane returned home and I left Istanbul, following the black sea I cycled all the way to Trabzon.

The first few days where hard, my body had become lazy and after been in good company for month and a half it was time to continue on my own. Luckily I met Carmen and Joe whom I shared the road with for few days, together we had a chance to taste some of the best Turkish hospitality. We've been invited for tea on countless occasions and there have many times when people have welcomed to their homes too, no words can describe the kindness of Turkish people!

Carmen and Joe were on a tight schedule due to visa entry deadlines so it was fun to push ourselves over the steep roads of the black sea, unfortunately we have planned different routes and had to say goodbye in Trabzon. Now I'm cycling with Fernando and Veronika, a spanish-lithuanian couple, we plan to follow similar routes for some time so will probably share the road for a while (as winter is approaching decided that is not a good idea to go to the Pamir mountains and will head south instead). That will be if we manage to pick an Iranian visa, Trabzon has reputation to be one of the easiest place to get one but so far we've been told to return to the embassy a week later...

I'll let you know how we get on.

I'd like to thank you all the people who have helped us along the black sea, special mention to Ali, Ergun, Yasin, Murat, Yetkin and finally to Yalcin eta Ayvaz families.

PS. I've started using a new app to update the route, I'll be uploading waypoints with pictures along the road, just click on the waypoints and it will open up a page.

 Video:

Black Sea ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Azkenik Turkian!

Ederki kostata baina halako batean famili eta lagunak agurtuta Grezia kontinentala atzea utzi eta Tukiako kostatik oso gertu dagoen Chios irlara bidaitu genuen. Irla ez da oso turistikoa eta bitxikeri bezela bertako  Mastija  zuhaitzak dira, munduan beste inon hazten ez direnak (gozogintzan, txiklea eta likorea egiteko erabiltzen da batez ere). Irlara juteko arrazoi nagusia Grezi eta Turkia arteko ferri konexio falta izan zen, halere behin bertara iritsita egun pare batean buelta heman genion ezagunenak diren Pyrgo eta Mesta herriak bixitatuz. 

Ia itzulia bukatzear geudela aldapa gora gindoazela ia lurrera erori nintzen; pedaleko biela bitan puskatu zitzaidan zutik nijoala!! Nolabait hiribururarte geratzen ziren 12km-ak hanka batekin eraginez egin eta biela berri baten bila hasi ginen.  

Chiosen aurkitu ez genuenez, beste itsasontzi txiki bat hartu eta 30minutuko ibilbidea eginez Turkiako Cesme herrira iritsi ginen, 6.800km egin ondoren azkenik asian!! Hemen ere ez genuen zorterik izan pieza aurkitzen eta gaueko autobusa hartu eta zuzenean Istanbulera jutea erabaki genuen. Turkiako autobusekin harrituta geratu ginen, eserleku bakoitzak bere tableta zuen interneteko konexio ta guzti eta gainera bidean izozkiak atera zizkiguten, a ze zerbitzua!!

Behin Estanbulera iritsita ez genuen arazorik izan bizikleta konpontzeko,  bertako warmshowers-eko kideetaz baliatuz, Bugra-ren etxea egun bat eta Alirenean beste egun batzuk pasaz hiria ezagutzeko aukera ederra izan degu. Bertako jendea ere oso atsegina da baino "gaizki ulertu" bat izan genuen ilea moztera joanda, Estanbul hiri haundi eta turistiko izanik normala dela suposatzen det, WS-ko gure lagunak bikain portatu dira eta zihur nago bidean aurrera joan ahala bera bezelako jende asko topatuko degula. Hemendik eskerrak heman nahi dizkiegu Ali eta Bugra-ri berain laguntza guztiagatik. 

Eta eskerrak batez ere Aneri, azken hilabete ta erdi ontan bidailagun ezin hobea izan delako, zoritxarren itzultzeko garaia iritsi zaio eta atzo aireportura lagundu eta agurtu ginen. Berari eskerrak berriz indarberriturik nago bideari ekiteko.

Bihar goizean Estabuletik atera eta Itsaso beltzeko kostari jarraituz ekialderuntz abiatuko naiz.

Hona hemen azken bideoa:

Atenas-Estanbul EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Finally in Turkey!

After spending over a month in mainland Greece we took a ferry to Chios Island, we had no special interest in visiting this island but since there are direct sea connection between Greece and Turkey we choose Chios for its "northerly" location. The island itself is not very touristy and it's better known for the Mastic trees that   grow only in there (its resin is used to make sweets, chewing gums, liqueurs, etc.). We decided to explore the island a bit touring around for two days, we really liked the towns of Pyrgi and Mesta with its unique architectural style. 

As we were nearing the end of our island tour my pedals started developing a strange noise, after a quick visual inspection, seeing nothing wrong we continued our way. Shortly after a while as I was standing I heard a "crack" sound and  mi right foot missed the pedal; the crank snapped across the pedal thread!! From that point "skateboard style pushing" and one leg pedalling took us to Chios capital with was just 12km away.  

Having no luck in finding a replacement we booked a ferry to the Turkish town of Cesme. Unfortunately no luck there either so after hesitating we decided to take a bus all the way to Istanbul. Despite not being a fan of bus travelling have to admit that we were really impressed with Turkish buses, each seat had a tablet with internet connection and they even gave us ice cream!!

Arriving to a city like Istanbul is always stressful, all the stories about the horrendous traffic were true but thanks to our mobile maps we managed to take a less conventional route to the bike shop. We were really well looked after at Gesgini bikes, they had the right part and Rahman gave thorough check to the bike.

An once again people from WS community helped us, Bugra and Ali were really helpful via email and they helped me locating the right bike shop as well as offering accommodation in their homes. We spent a night with Bugra who took us to drink beer with his friends whom we had interesting conversation about Basque and Turkish culture and politics. The we moved to Alis place where we spent several days, he has been a great host making us feel comfortable and as he is a very good with electronics he even fixed my phone!!

We spend these days sightseeing Istanbul, we really liked the city and apart from one incident at hairdressers we had a great time (despite my comment on the video about Turkish people 99% of them have been really helpful and kind).

Unfortunately time was up for Ane and yesterday she flew home, I want to thank her from here for the fantastic month and a have I spent with her, now I'm ready to hit the road again!

Thanks also to Bugra and Ali for all their help.

Now the plan is to follow the Black sea all the way to Iran.

Video:

Athens- Istanbul ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Grezia EUSKARAZ

Kaixo,

Albaniatik greziako iparraldera iristean jendea bide ertzetatik desagertu eta bero bortitzak agerraldia egin zuen. Ala ere, iritsi eta lehenego egunean Kaloneri izeneko herri batean trago bat hartu eta wifi-ra konektatzeko geldialdia egin nunean, Valantisek bere tabernan lotan geratzea eskeini zidan. Lo askorik ez nuen egin  gau hartan, herriko festak ziren eta bere lagunekin Safiris Melas (grezian oso ezaguna den abeslari bat) entzutera joan eta garagardo eta retsina artean goizeko 5ak eman zizkiguten erretiratzerako.

Hurrengo 3 egunak, zalantzarik gabe bidaieko gogorrenak izan ziren. Lo falta alde batetik eta 40ºC-ko tenperaturak bestetik bizikletaz asko ez gozatzea eragin zidan. Hala ere, disfrutatzen jarratzeko modua aurkitu nuen goizean goiz hasi eta eguerdiko ordu beroenetan deskantsatuz. Horrela, Atenasera iritsi eta Anekin elkartu nintzen eta biok batera osaba-izebakin egun polit batzuk pasa ondoren, beraiek oparitutako 2 eguneko tour-a egin genuen Delfos eta Meteora barrena. 

Bidai hau bukatzerako irrikitan geuden biok bizikletekin martxan jarri eta aurreko egunetan jandako feta gazta guztia erretzeko.  Pixkanaka, Atenas atzean utzita, Korintoko kanala gurutzatuz Peloponesoko itzuliari ekin genion. Nafplio eta Esparta bisitatu ondoren, 30 biztanleko Melissa izeneko herrira iritsi ginen, bertan Sotiris eta Evirekin astebete zoragarria pasatzeko aukera izan genuen.

Toki turistikoak ikusteaz gain, beraiekin bertako bizimodua nolakoa den ikasteko aukera izan genuen (eztia, oliba olioa eta beste hainbat produktu modu ekologikoan ekoizten baitituzte). Melissatik, inguruko beste herri batera joan ginen, Arna. Bertan, beste lagun bat zegoen gure zain, Panos. Mutil oso mendizalea denez, hondatzak ikusteaz gain, beste proposamen bat egin zigun : Peloponesoko gailurrik altuenera igo (Taygetos 2407m) eta bertan gaua pasatzea, eta nola ez, guk ein izan genuen ezetz esan.  

Grezian material asko pilatu dugunez, gaurkoan zati bat eta hurrengoan beste guztia argitaratuko dugu.

Grezia EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Greece ENGLISH

When I crossed the Albanian-Greek border the first main difference I noticed was that the people working on the roadside suddenly disappeared. As I rode south the temperatures got increasingly hot making it for a reeally unpleasant ride. 

The quietness of the day changed when I met Valentis in my first night in Greece, he owns a cafe in a village called Kaloneri, when I asked for a suitable camping spot he immediately offered me  a place to crash in his bar. As it happens Kaloneri was celebrating it's saint and the whole town was having a big party in the town square, people from all ages dancing the songs of Zafiris Melas while having some glasses of the popular retsina wine. With very little sleep and slightly hangover, I thanked Valentis for his generosity and continued towards Athens.

In Athens I meet my girlfriend Ane and together spent few days with my family, my uncle and Auntie treated us to a bus tour to Delphi and Meteora which we really enjoyed. Once the tour was over we were eager to start cycling together, slowly leaving the busy city of Athens behind, crossing the Corinthian channel we went into Peloponnese peninsula. We visited Nafplio, Sparta and then stopped at Sotiris and Evi’s house in Melissa, We spent nearly a week with them, they took us to Mani and cape Tenaro as well as some amazing beaches. They both work hard in the farm producing bio olive oil and honey, it was very interesting to see how all is done, now we'll need to volunteer for a whole season picking olives to pay back all they have given to us!!

From Melissa we went to a nearby village called Arna which is famous for having one of the biggest platanus tree in Greece. There we meet Panos (a hiking enthusiast) and went up to mount Taygetos, the highest peak in Peloponnese (2.407m), we slept in the peak and had a chance to witness one of the best sunsets I've ever seen. 

As we have spent over a month in Greece we plan to make another video, here you have the first part:

Grezia ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Kosovo- Albania EUSKARAZ

Jendearen aholkatutakoari kaso gehieegi egin gabe, hegoaldera bidean Kosovo eta Albania gurutzatu nituen. 

Bi herrialdeak eta batez ere Albania, bidaia honetako tokirik interesgarrienak izan direla esango nuke. Toki behartsuak izanik errekurtso exkaxak dauzkate eta lurra euskal herrian duela 50-60 urte lantzen zen modu berean (asto eta mandoen laguntzarekin baliatuz) egiten dute. Lotako toki lasai eta izkutua bilatzea etzen erreza,  jendea goizean eguzkia ateratzen zen unetik iluntzerarte lanean aritrzen baitzen. Halere baimena eskatuta ez nuen arazorik izan eta batek baino gehiagok gonbidatu ninduen beraien etxean lo egitera.

Atenasera iristeko presak bultzata nahi baino azkarrago igaro nituen bi herrialde hauek baino zihur nago etorkizunean itzuliko naizela toki zoragarriak baitira.

Ona hemen bertako bideoa:

kosovo albania EUSKARAZ from lander on Vimeo.

Kosovo- Albania ENGLISH

Despite many people advising me against, I went through Kosovo and Albania on my way south, glad I didn't listen to them as they have been the most interesting countries of the trip so far.

The reason why I found them so interesting is because the way they live, which I thinks is very close to the way that my parents’ generation lived during their childhoods in the Basque farms. The lack of agricultural machinery means that most of the work is done manually or with the aid of horses and donkeys. It was common to see young children looking after cattle while adults cut and pilled grass on the fields.

 Putting the tent without being noticed was virtually impossible as there would always be someone working nearby, luckily people were very hospitable and whenever I asked permission to pitch the tent  I had always been welcomed.

I was in a bit of rush to get to Athens so I didn’t spend as much time as I wanted but hopefully there will be a next.

I want to thank Jetmir and Alban for allowing me a space for the tent and treating me for a lovely dinner.

Video of Kosovo and Albania:

kosovo albania ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Serbia ENGLISH

Cycling in bad weather was something I didn’t enjoy so much in Bosnia, luckily as I neared the Serbian border the sun made its appearance. Serbia, once the most powerful country within Yugoslavia, had to endure few international sanctions in post war times. These led the country to a difficult economical period, 20 years on, many foreign companies are investing and the economy is slowly gaining the strength it once had.

Soon after entering country, the idea I had about the country being flat quickly disappeared, I rode through some beautiful woods and hilly farmlands until I reached Lazarevac, a small city near Belgrade where my friend Suzana was waiting for me.

 Trefalt family took me in like another member, Suzana had everything planned so I didn’t miss any of the main sights of Belgrade, every morning we boarded the busy bus to Belgrade and when returning home Suzana’s mum would have a traditional dish ready to recharge batteries. After meals we enjoyed sitting around the sofa chatting and drinking Turkish coffee with her family.

When I was about to leave Lazarevac, one of the fiercest storms I’ve ever seen hit the area, trees went down and roofs took off like it where made of paper. I was lucky to be at home and not camping somewhere in the countryside. The storm was followed with a 24hr blackout (only two months earlier Serbia had endured the worst floods in recent history). Thankfully the storm went away as it came and the following days after double checking the weather forecast I said goodbye and started heading south on my bike.

As I cycled I pondered whether I should go through Kosovo or Macedonia, in Serbia everyone warned aabout the dangers of entering Kosovo but the funny thing is I had similar warnings before entering Serbia and all I could find was nice people willing to help. Near the city of Krusevac I did a quick search in warmshowers and found a cyclist called Momir, I sent a very last minute request which he immediately accepted.

Momir is not the average cycle tourist, he self-discovered cycle touring and have gone from touring with a 5 people tent and a hammer to a really lightweight set up. When I met him he just returned from a 2000k tour around Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia (an incredibly brave thing to do as most Serbians don’t dare to cross the border into Kosovo). After hearing his interesting tales from the road I decided to continue towards Kosovo…

PS. I’m currently in Greece with Ane, we’ve been busy visiting friend and family, will try to bring the blog up to date ASAP.

Serbia EUSKARAZ

Iepa,

Bosnia gurutzatu ondoren Serbiara iritsi nintzen. (Yugoslavia garaian kideen artean boteretsuena izan zen arren, gerra ondoren zigor asko jaso zituen eta  bertako ekonomiak beherakada handia jasan zuten. Zorionez  bertako eskulan merkeak  atzerriko inbertsio ugari erakarri du eta pixkanaka gauzak hobetzen ari dira.) Baso eta landa aldapatsuak gurutzatuz egun pare batean nere aspaldiko laguna den Suzana-ren herrira, Lazarevac-era iritsi nintzen.

Trefalt familiak beste kide bat bezala hartu ninduten beraien etxean, Suzanarekin egunero autobusa hartu eta Belgradoko inguruak goitik behera ezagutzeko aukera izan nuen. Etxera itzultzean berriz eta  bere amak egunero bertako janari tradizionalen bat  prest izaten zuen eta denak mahai inguruan eserita Serbia eta Euskal herriari buruzko hizketaldiak izaten genituen.

Hiru egun ondoren beraien etxetik abiatzeko puntuan nitzela  izugarrizko ekaitza izan genuen,  zuhaitzak errepide erdira erorita, etxeko teilatuak haizeak eramanda… aurten eguraldia bere onetik aterata dabilela dirudi, duela bi hilabete izugarrizko uholdeak izan baitzituzten. Ekaitzaren ondorioz ia 24 ordu egon ginen argindar gabe. Hurrengo egunean ekaitza baretu ondore ondo deskantsatuta eta norabide garbirik gabe martxan jarri nintzen.

Hegoalderuntz nijoala warmshowers bidez kontaktatu nuen Momir-ekin,  Krusevac-eko hirian bizi den txirrindularia, segituan gonbidatu ninduen bere etxera. Momir ez da bidai eroso eta errexekin konformatzen den tipoa. Ezagutu nuenean Albania, Kosovo eta Macedonian barrena 2000km eginda bueltatu berria zen. Gehienei nahiko normala irudituko zaizue bidai hau baino Kosovo eta Serbiarren artean oraindik izugarrizko tentsioa dago eta jende gehiena ez da muga gurutzatzera ausartzen, izugarrizko adorea behar da berak egindako bidaia egiteko. Momir-ek bere izaera jator eta irekiari esker,  arazorik ez baino lagun berri mordo bat eginda itzuli zen bidaiatik.

Bere bideko kontakizunekin animatuta Momir agurtu eta Kosovo bidean martxan jarri nintzen…

PD. Greziara iritsi ezkeroz  Aneren bixita alde batetik eta lagun eta familiari bixitak direla eta  ordenagailua erabat baztertuta eduki det. Saiatuko naiz Turkiara iritsi aurretik  dena eguneratzen!

Bosnia ENGLISH

The Balkan war brought lots of casualties to Bosnia, the country has three ethnic groups; Bosniak or Muslims account for about half of the population, orthodox Serbs 35% and the rest are Catholic Croats.

After the war in 1995 a peace treaty was signed in Dayton (USA), dividing the country in two: the Croat-Bosniak federation on one hand and the Serbs republic on the other. This has stopped violence but from my experience the parties are still very divided.

The old brigde of Mostar was reopened in 2001, but city remains ethnically divided. Education is still segregated, each group has it's own post office... This felt really strange as all groups were always very kind to me.

Bosnia also had some outstanding nature, big mountains and rivers with some narrow, almost claustrophobic valleys. Shame the weather didn't help while I was there.

I'll try to make a video of Serbia next.

Regards from Macedonia,

Bosnia english from lander on Vimeo.

Bosnia EUSKARAZ

Kaixo,

 Bosnian izan nintzenetik egun batzuk pasa dira,baino tarte bat hartu det hango goraberekin bideo txiki bat egiteko.

Balkanetako gerrak heriotz asko ekarri zituen inguru onetara. Hiru talde bizi dira bertan, biztanleriaren erdia Bosnio edo musulmanak dira, %35-a Serbiar ortodoxoak eta gainentzekoak Kroaziar katolikoak. Gerra ondoren, 1995ean, Dayton-eko akodioa sinatu zen lurraldea bitan banatuz, alde batetik Bosnio-Kroaziar federazioa eta beste aldetik Serbiarren errepublika sortu zuten. Akordio oni esker pakea mantentzea lortu duten arren hiru taldeen artean banaketa haundia nabari da.

Adibidez Mostarren gerran puskatutako zubia berreraikitzea ez da nahikoa izan hirian Kroata eta Bosnioak gerturatzeko. Talde bakoitzak bere eskolak, posta-etxea, mugikor sareak ditu... hiri batean bi herrialde dauden sentsazioarekin geratu nintzen. Beraien arteko goraberak alde batera utzita, Bosnia baso, ibai eta mendi ikusgarriz betetan dago eta balkenateako beste herrialdeetan bezela, jendea beti prest laguntzeko.

 Hurrengo geldialdian Serbiako bideoa egingo det.

Ordurarte besarkada bat macedoniatik
Bosnia euskeraz from lander on Vimeo.

Croatia ENGLISH

Hi,

 While cycling in Croatia, good weather on one hand and the beautiful scenery on the other kept me away from the computer, now I'm in Bosnia where the scenery unlike the weather continues being beautiful...perfect time to spend some time editing videos!

 Currently in Visegrad, a small town in eastern Bosnia just 5km away from the Serbian border. Bosnia shares a complex history along with its ex-Yugoslav neighbours. People are still divided and don't feel much sympathy towards each other, however it is an interesting place to visit with an amazing landscape.

 I'll try to make a video soon so I can share what I've seen in these beautiful country.

 Cheers

kroazia English from lander on Vimeo.

Kroazia EUSKARAZ

Kaixo,

 Kroazian barrena nebilela eguraldi ona alde batetik eta paisaiak ederrak bestetik, ez nuen tarterik hartu bideoa egiteko. Orain bosnian nabil, paisaia ederrak bai baino euri ugari, beraz bideoa egiteko momentu paregabea!

 Visegrad-en aurkitze naiz, bosnian, serbiako mugatik 5km-ra. Bosniak balkanetako bizilagun guztien antzera historia konplexua dauka eta berta bizi diren; kroata, bosnio eta serbiarren artean uste nuena baino distatzia gehiago mantentzen dute

.Aurrerago tarte bat hartzen detenean hemengo paisai politak erakutsi eta bertan ikusi detena kontatzen saiatuko naiz.

Hona hemen bideoa, ea gustoko dezuen.

 ondo segi!

kroazia from lander on Vimeo.

Into the Balkans

Hi,

Some people have  been asking if I´m still alive so thought  it was time to update the blog.

On the last three weeks I crossed Austria,  been through a tiny stretch of Italy, across Slovenia all the way to the Croatian coast.

After leaving Munich behind, I had few quiet days on the road before getting to Salzburg, I decided to take a day off to visit the beautiful city which also happens to be Mozart's birthplace. From here I headed south following the Euro velo 7 cycle route which takes you across the alps avoiding the hardest climbs. On the last day in Austria I met an interesting German cyclist who would ring on virtually every house asking for a free room until someone felt sorry for him and let him in! Unfortunately this didn't work when I was with him so we ended up booking in into a hostel.

After crossing Austria I was ready to move on to Slovenia, but as a local cyclist warned me there was a high pass between the two countries so I took a detour through Italian territory along an old railway line. When i got to Italy I really felt like continuing down south but I'm am concerned that winter will find me in the Pamir mountains so  I decided it would be more sensible to continue east.

In Slovenia I crossed Triglav national park and stopped in the touristy town of Bled, It's a famous rowing lake and it's really pretty, however my best memories from this place will be for the traditional kremma rezina cake which was delicious!

From Bled I headed to the capital city of Slovenia, Ljubljana, where Robin (from WS) agreed to host me. After going through lots of quiet towns in Europe it was  nice to find a lively place like this, plenty of people in the streets anytime of the day.

From Ljubljana I arrived to the Croatian border in couple of days, used as I was to open European borders I ignored the police on the border thinking that they were doing random checks and cycled on, they immediately started yelling at me! apparently Croatia is not part in the schengen agreement so everyone must show passport in their way in and out.

Once the misunderstanding was clarified I continued towards Zagreb where another member of WS, Drago was waiting for me. Drago is a very generous person and has done lots of crazy cycle trips, also like many Croatian people he is very religious and is an active member of the International Church of Christ. On Sunday I attended mass with him, it was an entertaining ceremony, he translated all the priest said and had a chance to meet many of hiss friends who where interesting and knew quite a bit about the basque country.

Following Dragos advice I change route and headed towards the coast visiting plitvice national park on the way. I've seen lots of signs of the relatively recent war they had in ex-Yugoslav area, they've kept the damaged facades untouched and in mountainous areas I came across lots of sings warning about landmines.

Now the plan is to get to Split and from there to go to Bosnia and later on to Serbia, I heard the Croatian version of the war so it will be interesting to hear the neighbours view on it.

PS.I been having difficulties to find people to host me in this area so haven't taken time to make a video, I'll try to do in when I find a suitable place to work.

Alemaniatik Balkanetara

Kaixo,

 Baten batzuk bizi ote nintzen galdezka aritu zaizkit beraz bloga eguneratzeko garaia iritsi da.

Munitxetik atera ezkeroz, Austria, Italia (zati oso txiki bat) eta Eslovenia zeharkatuz Kroaziako kostaraino iritsi naiz.

 Munitxetik nekazal herri txikietatik igaroz Austriako Salzburgo hirira iritsi nintzen, Mozart-en jaioterria izanik turista asko erakartzen ditu baino  bertako eraikin eta gaztelua ikusgarriak direnez ondo merezi izan zuen bertako bazterrak ikusteko tarte bat hartzea.

 Salzburgo atzean utzita Eurovelo 7 ibilbidea jarraituz (alpeetan barrena doan bidegorri moduko bat) Austriako hegoaldera iritsi nintzen, egun pare batez Alemaniako beste txirrindulari batekin ibiltzeko aukera izan nuen, berak lotako tokia bilatzeko metodo kuriosoa zeukan, atez ate ea gela librerik zeukaten galdezka joaten zen! Zoritxarrez nerekin zegoenean etzuen funtzionatu ta hostal bat hartu behar izan genunen.

 Austriatik Esloveniara zuzenean gurutzatzeko mendiko portu haundi batetik igaro behar zenez, Italiako Tarvisio herritik berrena doan trenbide bati jarraituz pasa nintzen, pena pixkat heman zidan Italian denbora gehioz ez geratzea baino Asia erdialdeko mendietara negu partean iritsiko naizen beldurra daukat eta ez det bidaia gehiegi luzatu nahi.

Eslovenian sartu eta triglav parke nazionala gurutzatuz, Bled izeneko herri/laku famatura iritsi nintzen, lakua eta oso politak dira baino neri gehiena bertako tipikoa den kremma rezina izeneko tarta gustatu zitzaidan. Bled-en indarrak hartuta, Lubianara iritsi nintzen, hiri oso polita da eta kaleetan oarain arteko herrialdeetan topatu ez dudan giroa dauka, eraikintzak italiako kutsu bat daukate eta benatan toki polita da. Gainera WS-ko Robin-ei esker bertan bi gau geratu eta hiria ondo bixitatzeko aukera izan nuen.

Sloveniatik berriz Kroaziara sartu nintzen, orain arte bideko muga guztiak irikita topatu ditudanez naiz eta polizia  batzuk ikusi nituen, gelditu gabe aurrera jarraitu nuen, poliziak builaka hasi zitzaizkidan pasaportea erakutsi behar nuela esanez!  Hasieran aurpegi txarra jarri zidaten baino  anektoda batean besterik etzen geratu, gero azaldu zidatenez Kroazia europar batasuneko kide izan arren ez dago schengen akordioaren barne beraz bai sartu eta ateratzeko pasaportea erakutsi beharra dago.

Mugako goraberak pasata Zagrebera iritsi nintzen, bertan Drago txirrindulariak bere etxean geratzeko baimena heman zidan. Bere etxean hiru egunez geratu nintzen, tipo oso irikia eta beste kroaziar asko bezela oso fededuna da. Bere eliza kristau da , 70garren hamarkadan Bostonen sortutako beste adar batekoa, Igandean berarekin jun nahi nuen galdetu zidan eta aspaldiko partez mezetara joan nitzen berarekin, eliza katolikoaren antzekoa iruditu zitzaidan (dragok dena itzultzen zidan) baino abestia alaiagoak eta jendeak dantza moduko bat egiten zuen, oi bai sermoiarekin ez dute asmatu, gure elizetan bezain luze eta monotonoa iruditu zitzaidan.

Horrela Zagreb atzean utzita Plitvice-ko parke natural ikusgarria bixitatuz kostaldera etorri naiz, Zadar-era hain zuzen. Bidean gerrako aztarna asko ikusi ditut, ondatutatko eraikinak, minaz jositako basoak eta nolabait jendeari ere "poza"  falta zaion sentsazioarekin nabil.

Hurrengo egunetan kostan bera jarraituko det Split-eraino eta handik Bosnia gurutzatuz Serbiara joango naiz, Kroaziako jendeak gerraren ikuspuntua heman didate eta interesgarria izango Bosnia eta Serbiako jendearen iritzia entzutea.

Laisterarte,

PD. Aldi ontan ez det bideoa egiteko denborarik hartu, inguru ontan zaila da CS edo WS kontaktuak topatzea, aurrerago toki lasai bat daukatenen saiatuko naiz bideoa egiten.

From Munich

It's been about two weeks since I updated the blog last time, I was in Erlach, town which divides the French/German speaking parts of Switzerland.

Once more, thanks to people's hospitality I barely had to use my tent in all these time. In Zurich Rainer and Guang accepted my very last minute request via WS. We shared a nice dinner and went for walk afterwards, shame they had to leave early next day as they had lots of interesting stories from their travels. Then I continued my way towards Immerstadt (in Germany) where I meet my good friend Oli, who despite having a really stressful week took some time to spend with me and paid my hotel expenses! The next stop was Fussen, where I visited castle of Neuschwanstein. Nearby I was hosted by Arto and Sandra who are also members of WS and prepared a nice dinner for me.

 And yet I had one more friend to visit on my way to  Munich, Uli whom I’d met  last summer while hiking across the Pyrenees, he invited me for a traditional Bavarian menu, perfect to recover from a long cycling day.

And now I’m in Munich, a friend from my hometown, Isaac, has allowed me to stay with him for a whole week, it’s been nice to take some time off the bike and became a “conventional” tourist. Thanks to him I also have met some Basque people and get to know a bit more about living as foreigners in Germany.

   The Bavarian scenery is the favourite of this trip so far, it has a really nice combination of traditional villages, lakes, woods and mountains.

Now the plan is to head south towards Greece, passing through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia…

Erlach-Munich ENGLISH from lander on Vimeo.

Munich-etik

Kaixo,

Azkenekoz idatzi nuenean, Erlach-en negoen, Suiza "alemaniarra" hasten den tokian, orduztik Austriako zati txiki bat gurutzatu eta iparraldera jarraituz Munitxeraino iritsi naiz.

Bidean jende berria ezagutu eta aspaldiko lagunekin gozatzeko aukera izan det.  Zurich-en Rainer eta Guang-en etxean egon nintzen, gero  kontanz lakua inguratu eta Austrian 40km egin ondoren Alemaniara iritsi nintzen, bertan aspaldiko laguna nuen Oli bixitatu nuen Immenstadt-en, izugarrizko hotzarekin iritsi nintzen baina berak gonbidatu ninduen menu bavariari esker segituan ahaztu zitzaizkidan eguneko goraberak, oso denobora gutxirekin zebilen baina halaere tarte bat hartu zuen nerekin egoteko. Ondoren Fussen inguruan  Arto eta Sandra WS-ko kideen laguntza izan nuen, bertan neuschwanstein-eko gaztelu famatua bixitatu eta handik Wolfratshausen-era, GR11 ibilbidea egiten ezagutu nuen Uliren etxera. Honek ere menu bavariar batera  gonbidatu ninduen eta garagardo batzuk edanez solasaldi ederra izan genuen. Horrela zainduta, ia erabat indar berriturik Munitxera iritsi nintzen, Ixak tolosarrarak bere etxean geratzeko gonbidapena luzatu zidan eta aze nolako astea igaro dudadana! Municheko uskaldunak ezagutu, garagardo batzuk dastatu, herriko bisita turistikoak, bizikletan bueltak, parrandak, denetik egin degu. Tolosatik pasaeran zegon Josu-rekin egun bat pasaatzeko aukera ere izan degu.

Ikusten dezuen bezela aspertzeko denborarik gabe ibili naiz, hemendik eskerrak heman nahi dizkiet lagun zahar/berri hauei denei.

Bihar Austria aldera abiatuko naiz, gero eslovenia eta kroazia aldera jarraitzeko asmoz.

Laisterarte!!

Erlach-Munich Euskaraz from lander on Vimeo.

Switzerland- English

The arrival to Chamonix was not as I had imagined in my dreams, it was rainning heavily and the mountains were hidden among the thick fog. However, once again luck was on my side as Yohann had accepted my last minute request to stay in his house.

Yohann has been travelling around Europe for 11months with his wife and son on a very tight budget, I enjoyed hearing his stories from the road, he talked about the harsh conditions they encountered in Iceland and how whenever he saw a rainbow or a shooting star he took it as a good omen. The weather didn't help while I stayed at Yohann's so after a short visit to Chamonix we said our goodbyes and I set off towards Geneva. On that night, after pitching my tent, as I was getting in the sleeping bag a shooting star crossed the sky, then I remembered my conversation with Yohann... within minutes rain started pouring down.

Next morning things didn't get any better, the rain didn't stop and the contact I had in Geneva sent me a text saying he could no longer host me. Feeling a bit down and after buying some food provisions I crossed the border into Switzerland. What happened next was simply amazing, Pierre took me to his house to help me planning the Swiss route, later I met Sebastien who has a pedicab business in the city and he immediately invited me to stay in his house, things were looking great already and yet on the way to Sabastien’s house, another cyclist, Juan, approached me and after a short conversation he invited me for lunch lunch with his Colombian family!

I spent three beautiful days in Geneva, I enjoyed spending time with Seabastien and his housemates, had a chance to try some Colombian Sancocho soup and also had a great laugh with Juan's family. 

After saying goodbye to my new friends in the city, I continued north around the Lake Leman, visiting Lausanne and Neuchatel on the way. The Swiss countryside is really pretty and it's got excellent bike lines. I'm currently in Erlach, I have been invited to stay at Ines's and Vincent's house, both seasoned travellers with lots of interesting stories from their trips.   Now I plant to continue towards Germany, passing through Zurich and Lake Kostanz. While I continue my way north, I’ll keep an eye for rainbows and shooting stars! 

Alvertville-Erlach-English from lander on Vimeo.

Suiza- Euskaraz

 Chamonix ingurura iristea ez zen nik imaginatu nuen bezain idilikoa izan; hotza, euria eta mendiak lainoz estalirik topatu nituen... halere beste behin zortea izan nuen eta Les Hauches-eko herrian Yohann-ek bere etxean egoteko baimena heman zidan.

 Yohann bere emazte eta semearekin europan zehar 11hilabetez bidaiatzen ibilia da. Islandiako haize bortitzaz eta bideko beste mila anekdotataz hitzegin zidan, eta baita ostadar edo izar iheskor bat ikusten zuen aldiro nola zorte ona ekarriko zion fedea izaten zuen esan zidan.

Eguraldiak etzidanez lagundu, Chamonixera bixita azkar bat eginda, Yohann-etaz agurtu eta Ginebra-runtz abiatu nintzen. Gau artan bertan, zerura begira nengoela izar iheskor bat ikusi nuen eta Yohannek esandakoaz gogoratu nintzen, hortik gutxira izugarrizko euri zaparrada hasi zuen...

 Hurrengo goizean oraindik euripean eta 5 graduko frexkurarekin, Suizareko mugara iritsi nintzen. Muga gurutzatu aurretik erosketa egin eta emailak irakurtzeko tartea hartu nuen, Ginebran neukan kontaktuak mezu bat bidali zidan bere etxean ezingo nuela geratu esanez. Horrela pixkat burumakur iritsi nintzen Ginebrara.

 Iritsi eta segituan Pierre izeneko tipo bat gerturatu zitzaidan eta bere etxera eraman ninduen suizako mapak erakutsiz ibilbidea planifikatzeko,ezta hasiera txarra, pentsatu nuen. Ortik gutxira Sebastien ezagutu nuen, bizikleta-taxi batekin ari zen lanean eta segituan luzatu zidan bere etxean geratzeko gonbidapena eta ori nahikoa ez bazen Sebastienen etxera bidean nijoala, Juanek, Kolonbiako txirrindulari batek, hurrengo egunean bere familiarekin bazkaltzera gonbidatu ninduen!!

Sebastienen etxeko jende irikiari esker etxean bezela sentitu nintzen,  Juan-en familiarekin berriz Sancocho zopa dastatu eta kolonbiar umorearekin nahiko farre egiteko aukera izan nuen.

 Hiru egun igaro ondoren hiriko lagunetaz agurtu eta abiatzeko garaia iritsi zen,  Leman lakua inguratuz, Lausanne eta Neuchatel-etik igaroz Erlach izeneko herri batera iritsi naiz, hemen berriz ere ezezagun batek, Vince-ek bere lagun baten etxera gonbidatu nau, Ines-ren etxera. Munduan zehar ibiliak dira hauek ere eta makina bat histori interesgarri entzuteko aukera izan det. Orain Zurich-etik barrena pasaz Munich aldera jarraitzeko asmoa daukat, badaezpada oheratu aurretik erne egongo naiz ea beste izar iheskor bat ikusten  deten!

Alvertville-Erlach-Euskera from lander on Vimeo.

Alps- ENGLISH

Hi,

I’m currently in Albertville, I’ve ditched the initial plan of following the Rhone river all the way to Switzerland, when I saw the alps in the horizon it was too tempting not to leave the beautiful but rather boring river path on the side.

Last time I updated the blog I was in Montpellier, I had a great time thanks to David, a guy from Madrid who approached me on the street (must have looked a bit lost) and within 2 minutes he invited me to stay in his apartment!

I spend two fantastic days with him, he not only showed me the touristy bits of the city but also took me for a bike ride along the coast and gave me lots of interesting facts about the city, French culture etc. After spending time with David I was ready to hit the road again, this time I was heading towards Grenoble where I’ve contacted Tan via CS.

To get to Grenoble I had to do more kilometres than I’m used to and most of them on hills, I was absolutely knackered by the time I made it to Tan’s house but it was worth every effort because I was about to meet Tan, another great host in this trip.

Tan is from Vietnam, he’s a scientist finishing his PHD. In Grenoble. He is one of the most hospitable person I’ve ever met, he always welcomes travellers from all over the world and cooks delicious meals for them. I ended up spending three days with him, we cycled, hiked, swam and above all had great time getting to know each other.

Now I really hope both David and Tan will be able to come to see me when I’m finished with this trip, it will be a pleasure to host them.

Thank you guys!

Now the next destination is Chamonix, really looking forward to take a closer look to those giant mountains.

PS. In the video a made few mistakes and some parts are in Basque, it’s too time consuming to fix it so hope you are able to enjoy it as it is!

Montpellier-Alvertville-engl from lander on Vimeo.

Alpeen hasiera- EUSKARAZ

Kaixo,

Montpellierren gutxitan gertatzen diren gauza orietako bat pasa zitzaidan, ezezagun bat bizikletan urbildu eta bere etxean geratzeko gonbidapena luzatzea.

 David Madrildarra da eta dentista bezela lan egiten du hemen. Kasualitatez, bera ezagutu eta hurrengo eguna jai zuenez,  bizikletak hartu eta Monpellierko visita turistikoa eginez kostaldera eraman ninduen. Gauz interesgarri asko ikasi nituen Davidekin baino bi egun pasa ta gero abiatzeko garaia iritsi zen, pena pixkatekin David agurtu eta kosta alde batera utziz iparralderuntz abiatu nintzen.

Monpellier atzean utzi eta laister izan nituen alpeak begibistan, hasiera batean Rodano ibaia jarraitzeko asmoa izan Suizan arren mendiak ikusit eta berehala ideiaz aldatu nuen!

Orduan helburua Grenoblera iristea zen, bertan Couchsurfing-eko tipo batek bere etxean egoteko eskaera onartu bai zidan, bi egunetan 210km egin nituen mendietan barrena, eta nahiz eta mendi txikiak izan, erabat txikituta iritsi nintzen Grenoblera.  Normalean lasaiago joaten naiz baino Tan zain neukan Grenoblen eta bestalde eguraldi oso txarra iragarrita zegoen.

Tan Vietnameko zientzilari bat da, Grenoblen bere doktoradutza bukatzen ari da. Gutxitan ezugutu ditut bera bezain portsona eskuzabalak, bere etxea beti gonbidatuz beteta dago. Berarekin hiria ezagutu, mendi bat igo igeri egin eta batez ere jende asko ezagutu nuen. Iluntze batean 8 lagun elkartu ginen bere etxean afaltzen eta inork ez genuen elkar ezagutzen. Gainera bidean aurrerago pasako naizen herrietarako kontktuak heman dizkit, artista earra da Tan!  

Horrela bailarak jarraituz  Albertvillera iritsi naiz, atzo jai  hartu nuen  bloga eguneratzeko. Ta gaur eguerdi aldera berriz bideari ekingo asmoa daukat, Chamonix aldera, gogoa haundia daukat mendi erraldoi horiek bertatik ikusteko, ea eguraldia portatzen den!

Laisterarte

Bideoa ez da oso txukun geratu baino nahiko denbora kendu dit ta bero ortan uztea erabaki det…

Montpellier-Alvertville-Euskaraz from lander on Vimeo.

Across France

Hi

It’s been nearly a week since I entered France through the coll of Banyuls, this same pass was chosen by many refugees who escaped from Franco’s troops in 1939. I’m not trying to escape from anyone but going rather slowly.

I have some communication issues as I speak no French and despite I’ve been told many of them speak Spanish I had no luck finding those people. However the universal “sign language” is working perfectly and have to say that French people have been most helpful; I’m currently in Montpellier, this morning I’ve must have looked lost when a cyclist approached me and offered accommodation in his house, or earlier this week as I was having lunch on a bench someone invited me to have coffee in his house…

Things are easy for cyclists in France, there are plenty of cycle lanes and campsites, I try to free camp whenever I can otherwise I might have to get a job before I get to Tokyo!

I’ve also decided the route for the following days, I’ll be going to Switzerland through Grenoble and exit the country cycling by lake Costanz toward Munich where I plan to visit some friends.

Below I video that should have been uploaded few days ago and some pictures of the last week.

bcn eng from lander on Vimeo.

Frantzian barrena

Aupa denoi,

Ia astebete pasa da Banyuls-eko mendatetik barrena Frantziara sartu nintzenetik, mendi bide hau bera erabili zuten  1939-an Frankoren tropetatik ihesi zioazen ia milloi erdi errefuxiatuk. Ni ihesi ez baino patxaraz pixkanaka aurrera noa, kostaldea iparraldeuntz jarraituz.

Hemen jendearekin ulertzen dauzkat zailtasunak, nik ez det frantzesik hitzegiten eta nahiz eta askok  gaztelera omen dakiten nik dakiten gutxi topatu ditut. Halere keinuz eta moldatzeko arazorik ez det izan eta esan beharra daukat denak oso lagunkor izan direla; adibidez Rivesaltes-en, banku batean bazkaltzen ari nintzela gizon bat ondotik pasa eta “Bonjour” esan zidan eta hortik pixkatera  berriz itzuli zen ea bere etxen kafea hartu nahi nuen galdezka. Gaur berriz Montpellier erdialdean galdu itxurarekin ikusi nau txirrindulari batek eta bere etxera gonbidatu nau lotara…

Bizikletan berriz oso erraza da bidegorriak  eta kanpinak nonnahi baitaude, ni egun batzutan kanpina eta ahal detenean  nere kontura lo eginez nabil, gastuak pixkat kontrolatu beharra daude bestela lan bila hasi beharko det Tokyora iritsi baino lehen!

Hemendik aurrerako bidea ere erabaki det, Grenobletik  pasaz  Suizan sartuko naiz gero kostantza lakua inguratuz  Munich aldera jarraitzeko.

Hemen azkeneko egunetako argazki batzuk eta aspaldi igo behar nuen bideo bat.

bcn eu from lander on Vimeo.

Kaixo,

 Askotan jendeak galdetzen dit ea nola moldatzen naizen bakarrik bidaiatzeko, ezagautzen nauzuenok badakizue jendearekin egotea gustoko dudala eta biadai honetan ere jende berria ezagutzea da helburuetako bat. Bidaia honetan lehenego aldiz  Couchsurfing eta warmshowers bezelako horrialdeak erabiltzen hasi naiz, bertan beste biadiariek ahal duten einean lotako txoko, dutxa bero eta elkarrizketa interesgarri bat edukitzeko aukera luzatzen dizute.

Warmoshowers bidez ezagututako Godia familiarekin 

Alcarrasen, Godia familiareki

oso esperientzia ona izan nuen Alcarras-en.Beraien "Cal Quiquet" izeneko masian egoten utzi zidaten eta horren ondo sentitu nintzen bertan, hasieran gau bateko egunaldia izango zena azkenean bi egun ta erdiko egonaldia bihurtu zen. 

Cambrils-en berriz orain deza hiru urte, beste bizikleta bidai batean ezagutu nuen lagun baten etxean geratu nintzen. Veronica eta Martha Uruguaikoak dira eta hauen etxean ere bi egun egin nituen eta eskerrak ze Marthak prestatutako otordu goxokein bertan geratzeko tentatuta egon nintzen.

Orain Bartzelonan nago, Anerekin hiru egun eder pasa ondoren berriz bideari ekiteko prest. Gaur abiatuko naiz berriz,  Gironatik barrena pasaz  Frantzialdera jarraitzeko asmoz.

Laisterarte

Veronica eta Martharekin Cambrilsen

Ane eta lagunekin eskalatzen Bartzelonan

Azken asteko goraberak

Tolosa Alacarras from lander on Vimeo.

(scroll down for text in English)

Kaixo,

Ia astebete igaro da Tolosatik abitu ezkeroz, eguraldiak ez du lagundu baino halare asko gozatu det bidean. Bideo txiki bat egiten saiatu naiz aste honetako gora bera txikiak kontatuz. Eskerrak eman nahi dizkiet Ana eta bere pisukideei Iruñan beraien etxean txoko bat egin zidatelako eta baita Erica eta Fran-i Huescan beraien etxean lo egiten utzi zidatelako.

Bihar kostalderuntz abiatuko naiz, ea azken bi egun hauetan bezela eguraldiak laguntzen didan!

Laisterarate

Hi,

It's been almost a week since I left Tolosa, I created a small video to share some stories from the road, unfortunately I'm new to video editing so haven't managed to include any subtitles. 

Despite the bad weather about 10 friends joined me on the first stage to Lekunberri, I had fun but not as much as they did, they made me dress up like geisha and had to ride that way for about 40km... we all stayed in a cottage in Lekunberri and the plas was to ride together to Pamplona on the following day. Next day everything was covered in snow and sice none of my friends had the right gear for cold weather we said goodbye and I set off on my own. Luckily for me though, Ana, a friend from Tolosa was kind enough to let me stay in their student flat in Iruña. On the following day had even more rain and I barely stopped other than for eating as if I stayed still for more than 10min I would have gotten very cold, at the en of the day I clocked 80km reaching the little village of Berdun. It was nearly dark when I arrived so I waent to the only restaurant in town wwhich is located by the road, I oredered a jamon baguette and asked permission to sleep in the front porch which I was granted. Then I rode to Huesca where I was hosted by Erica and Fran through couchsurfing. Erica being a keen traveller herself showed lot's of interest on my trip, after having a nice chat she took me to a vegetarian cuisine course where didn't learn much but had a chance to try all the recipes.
Now I'm about to leave Alcarras after two fantastics days with the Godia familly, I'll weite a post about this soon.

Eguna iritsi da

Bihar goizean abiatzeko ia dena prest dago, goizeko 11tan San Franzisko elizarean aurrean geratu gara, lehenego etapa, lagun artean, Lekunberriraino joango gara.

Ospakizun batzuk ere izan ditugu azken egunetan, eskerrikasko etorri zareten guztioi, bidaia gogotsu hasteko indarrak eman dizkidazue! aurrerago idatziko det lasaiago.