Cesc.Santa.Blogging

Melbourne and Sydney/Bondi

2010-02-07T15:58:00.007+01:00

Tassie was my real vacation treat, but I enjoyed other days, weekends mostly while down under.

I was with a work colleague in Melbourne for Australia Day (national day for BBQing :D ) and we grabbed the chance to get tickets to the Australian Open, quarter finals, for a Nadal-Murray game ... cool huh? my first tennis game live ever ... and then goes Nadal and gets injured and retires :( Oh, we also drove a couple laps around the Albert Park F1 circuit ... how cool is that! :)

[Me inside the Australian Open space]

[Celebrating Australia Day during the match]

[Nadal got injured and retired ... would have lost anyway]

[Albert Park F1 Circuit, pit lane]

On another day we went to Philip Island, a couple hours drive from Melbourne ... beach destination for city people (we had a "swim" in the south pacific! what a surf!); host of the Moto GP championship (also check, visited :D ) and most touristic of all, home of the Penguin Parade. Though in other places (like Tassie, New Zealand, ...) you can get maybe closer and even make pictures, here you get really looots of penguins. An average night, some 1000 penguins may come out of the water at sunset and go "home" for a sleep. We didn't see that many, but a good 400, in big groups of 60 or so ... nice cute little penguins :) Tip: don't go for the cheap general admission ... pay extra and get a private tour, you'll sure see more and much closer.

[Here we had a swim ... ]

[The Penguin Parade ... not my photo, you are not allowed - they say penguins go blind with the flash]

Last I wanted to get some Bondi beach surf experience ... the famous surfing beach just outside Sydney. Had everything ... a hotel next to the beach, a full weekend, summer ... except for the leftovers of hurricane "Olga", which dropped in a day more than half the water expected for the whole month, including horrible winds. So, not much done. Next time better ... next time

[Bondi Beach ... after the storm, next day]

[Bondi's Ocean Pool and Bondi's Surf and Rescue :)]

Cesc

Tasmania in 4 days

2010-02-07T15:40:00.004+01:00

Tassie ... mainland aussie make it the target for jokes about the "little island" and "double headed people", but it is a beautiful place and with lovely people.

I was there for barely 4 days, so had time to do the highlights on the east cost ... which means lots of kilometers through [tasmanian style] highways (that means sometimes one lane roads with no markings :D ). So, if you are gonna do it ... don't count on doing 110Km/h on average ... it is more like barely 80.

So, my diary:

Day 1: Hobart aiport to Port Arthur, the convict station ... nice place, creepy place. But it is real aussie history, from when british convicts were sent down under to serve time.

[Convict suit for the most dangerous ... up to two years without speaking and in solitude!!]

On the way back, I went to see Tasmanian Devils ... very different from the Warner Bros cartoon character. Strange marsupial, though. Seeing them being feed was quite a show .. Don't miss either on the spectacular cliffs and caves around ... look for the "Remarkable Cave", and if lucky to be there during low-tide, you can walk all the way under it :)

Manage to sleep in nowhere's town (Sorell), just convinient for quick sleep (Pembrooke Hotel) on the way to Freycinet.

[Tassie Devils being fed]

Day 2: From Sorell to Feycinet National Park, to see among other things Wineglass Bay ... amazing paradisiac beach! 2 hours return walk up a steep track. Totally worth it though! Managed to drive all the way to Launceston.

[Wineglass Bay beach from the lookout ... 1 hour return]

[At Wineglass Bay beach ... 1 hour return, from the lookout. Water was on the cold side :)]

Mental note: all over australia, never let your fuel tank go below half full ... or you could end up sleeping in the middle of the bush. For me, I could spare 20km range when I got to the gas station, but came veeery close :)

Day 3: Launceston - Craddle Mountain - Launceston ... it is a very nice place ... if you can see the mountains :) I got a really foggy windy day ... anyway, the walk up to Marion Lookout is worth it (and you can say you made the start of the Overlander Track :D ), if not just for some excercise.

[Lake Dove, on the way down from Marions Lookout]

Day 4: Launceston to Hobart ... Tassie's capital. Nice cute little town. Again a foggy day, though I was lucky I got 10 minutes of clear weather up in Mount Wellington for amazing views.

Next time ... the west coast.

[Hobart bay view from Mount Wellington]

It was short but fun ... next time I'm there, the west coast.

Cesc

Australia, repairing damage from the past ...

2009-11-17T22:46:00.003+01:00

It was not always surf, sun & fun in Australia. At least, not for everyone.
Some gruesome stories from the near past, fortunately being partially repaired. Saying "I'm sorry" is a good step, we would all hope that this happened more often in all our countries and lifes.

Read about "The stolen generation"

Read about the "Forgotten australians"

Wolfskamerloop - 5Km in 24:00 ... not too bad

2009-10-25T23:55:00.002+01:00

Just run today my first "competitive" 5Km.

24 minutes. Not too bad, given my goal was under 25 (see result sheet attached).

And also given all the messed up stuff I went through with all the
time changing during the night (damn, remember that Nokia phones
update the time automatically, thus you don't need to do it again :D), which included me falling down a flight of stairs
... so, I got to the start line just 2 minutes before the start, with no time to warm up.

Next goal is either beat my own time or go for the 10km ... But it may
have to wait till spring, it gets cold and rainy here in NL, not best
to go for a run. But today was a really nice warm sunny day.

Oh, our company was one of the main sponsors ... so a group of
colleagues joined, though most did the 10Km.

[above: The Thales Team]

[below: look for line 40 ... that's me]

How developed is your country? (according to the UN)

2009-10-05T22:50:00.003+02:00

The UN Development Program just released another "Quality of Life" index list. You can look for your own country ... and if you don't like where it is placed ... then you can go live to a beter one :) [you can try also complaining to Mr President Ban Ki-moon ... ]

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index#2009_report

Justice - What's the right thing to do?

2009-09-27T21:32:00.001+02:00

Suppose you could save five lives by taking one - what would be the correct thing to do?

Link to "Justice", a series of lectures from Hardvard professor Michael Sandel.

Lay back and listen, you may learn something ... :)

The Great Ocean Road

2009-06-29T02:16:00.004+02:00

Tot el finde conduint, uns 1200km que han valgut molt la pena.
La ruta comença oficialment a Torquay o Anglesea, però per mi la sortida va ser desde Melbourne, via Geelong, i cap avall i cap a l´oest. La carretera, que voreja la costa, en alguns moments al costat del penya-segat, deixa imatges espectaculars. Son uns 200km fins a Warrnambool.

A l´estiu és un bullici de turistes, peró ara a l´hivern és molt relaxat. Avis: conta amb unes bones 8 hores de conduir per fer tot el trajecte, entre parades, visites i tal. Jo vaig fer nit a Port Campbell, un poblet turistic molt convienient per al turista amb presses ... les vistes més famoses es troben a un radi de 10 Kms.

Després, i com la ruta per tornar al poble on estc treballant em venia ¨més o menys de camí¨, vaig passar pel Grampians Natural Park ... peró va ser tard i rápid ... fa molt bona pinta. M´ho apunto per la próxima vegada. Per cert ... els cangurs se´m creuaven pel mig de la carretera!

Cesc

The Twelve Apostles (els 12 Apóstols)

The Arch

The London Bridge

The Footy - Australian Rules Football

2009-06-29T02:02:00.004+02:00

Aahh ... quin gran esport! Super actiu, puntuacions estratosfèriques ... Us recomano que intenteu veure'n un partit, segur que us enganxa.
És com un derivat del rugby, barrejat amb futbol, futbol americà ... però millor :) Reparteixen unes bones lleques (tackles, com al rubgy), juguen amb una pilota similar al rugby, però en un camp rodó (com al cricket, 150 metres de diametre) ...

Jo vaig anar amb uns amics de la feina, al Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG, o ¨The G¨ pels amics), amb capacitat per 110.000. El partit, Essendon - Carlton, tots dos de Melbourne (la capital del Footy (així l´anomenen per aquí). Va anar tot rodat, ja que els companys eren de l´Essendon, que va guanyar de pallissa, per 11 gols de diferencia (21 a 10, amb un total de mes de 130 punts :O ).

Adjunto unes fotos ... la majoria no són meves, peró es que la càmara del telèfon va mooolt malament :((

Cesc

Melbourne City

2009-06-21T15:34:00.002+02:00

Un finde a la capital de l'estat de Victoria.

Curiosament, fan l'exposició més gran mai feta a Australia sobre Salvador Dalí. Vam anar amb uns amics ... estava a reventar. Els cartells informatius ... en anglés, castellà i català. Premi!

La resta, Melbourne molt maca ... més habitable que Sydney. Cada una amb els seus encants.

PS - Sabieu que l´Australian Open (tennis), es juga a Melbourne?

PS - Melbourne és el centre neurálgic de l´esport més típicament australià: el ¨footy¨, o ¨Australian Football Rules¨. La setmana que vé anirem a un partit :)

Australian Wildlife

2009-06-15T04:06:00.004+02:00

De moment, tot i els multiples senyals de carretera advertint el perill de cangurs i d'altres bèsties, ens hem de conformar en anar a una espècie de zoo per veure els animalons típics de per aquí ¨down under¨. La avantatge? que els veus de prop i els pots tocar :)
Per cert ... els koales ... moníssims ... llastima que dormen 20 hores al día i están desperts de nit. Que dura és la vida :)

Cesc (15-Juny-2009)
PS - el lloc es diu ¨Featherdale Wildlife Park¨, a les afores de Sydney.

Un koala sobant ... el tio ni s´inmuta!

Un cangur! Aquests són inofensius ...

Els "emus" aquests fán més por ... mantindrem la distància ¨por si aca¨

Un cangur ... en posició cangurial ...

Sydney weekend

2009-06-08T04:07:00.001+02:00

Oops, m'havia oblidat de penjar algunes fotos típiques de Sydney. Vam ser-hi un cap de setmana sencer, de fet, el primer de la meva visita a Australia.
Preciós, i a més, un temps perfecte ... 22 graus amb sol ... no ta mal, per ser l´hivern :)
Nota: molt recomanable agafar el ferry des de Circular Quay cap a Manly, que et porta per uns 4euros a (obviament) Manly, que dóna a ambdós cantons de la bahía (interior i exterior). A més, passa per davant del Harbor bridge i el teatre de la ópera. Bones fotos!

Cesc

El teatre de l´Opera i el Harbor Bridge, des dels Botanic Gardens.

Circular Quay, des del Harbor Bridge

Nokia ... synchronizing your contacts, calendar, SMSs, images ...

2009-02-09T00:21:00.001+01:00

Just got a new Nokia N79. Quite an upgrade from the old 6600, 5 years old. But 5 years gives for a lot of accumulated info, which I needed to transfer.
I tried with the PC Suite from both phones, with limited success: some numbers don't get transfered/synched, birthdays get lost, multiple mobile numbers under the same contact are not accepted by any program (Windows Address Book WBA, Lotus, etc). It can be done, but it is work ... a lot of work.
There are some tools out there to export contacts to VCF format ... as above, they work, but in a limited way.

Until I was snuffling around in the phone, and hidden in the Menu->Tools->Utilities->Switch ... I found THE TOOL.
It works for Nokia to Nokia transfers. It automatically installs, via Bluetooth, an application on the other phone and allows you to retrieve ALL contacts and calendar items, all SMSs, images and videos!
It is not perfect perfect, but much better than the PC Suite.
And, once the stuff is on the newer phone, the PC Suite synchronization does work better ...

Now, work is just begun. All my gmail and work contacts need to be entered ... that may take just a few more weeks :)

Holland on Ice

2009-01-11T20:48:00.002+01:00

The last days/weeks its been cold ... very cold in the here, the Netherlands.
Nice weather (sunny, no rain), but cold (all day below zero). And fortunately I'm not in the south ... they are getting a lot of snow and as low as -17!

So ... cold weather + water = ICE!
And dutch people are crazy for ice skating. Last time it was posible on "natural" ice was some 10 years ago, so they were all expecting it. A pitty the most tradition "elfsteden tocht", a very long ice circuit in the north of the netherlands, could not be setup. It was not cold enough :)

Some pictures of Loosdrecht lakes, all turned into ice :)

Catalan Trivia and Facts Blog

2008-11-13T01:05:00.003+01:00

Hi,

Did you know that ...

... Chupa Chups lollypops are made in Catalonia?
... the Nokia Tune comes from a catalan guitarrist, Francesc Tarrega, who wrote the melody in the 19th Century?
... the Moulin Rouge, the famous cabarette in Paris, was founded by yet another catalan, Josep Oller?
... the mexican national anthem was composed by Jaume Nuno (you guessed, yet another catalan)?

You can find all these facts, with lots of extra information, in this blog about trivia and facts about Catalonia, the beautiful region in the northeast of Spain, capital Barcelona.
CantonTrivia - CataloCuriositats (http://cantontrivia.blogspot.com/)

Did I mention that he's a good friend of mine and that the name was created while we were on vacation?

Oh, maybe some day he'll translate it to english ... meanwhile, I would recommend to use Google's translation services ... it is not perfect, but you'll get the idea. Just click here! :)

Enjoy!

A map to remember ...

2008-11-07T00:02:00.001+01:00

Now, just wait and see WHAT change will come ...

Let's Hope Audacity wins tonight ...

2008-11-05T00:29:00.003+01:00

Hi,

Finally, they are voting. The long campaign is over ... and hopefully, when I woke up tomorrow morning, things will have changed.

Among all the media articles and docs available these days, I would like to go down memory lane and rescue the moment when "a star was born". An inspirational speech, worth 18 minutes of your life. Of course, watch it with a USA mentality, as many things seems quite obvious to the average european. Actually, I would say to the average person in this world :)

"The audacity of Hope", DNC - Democratic National Convention 2004

No more excuses not to vote for Obama

2008-10-31T23:06:00.002+01:00

He's taking an internship from Spain's Prime Minister Zapatero ...
Apparently it is a real good internship program.

Real funny :)

Video: Obama Undertakes Presidential Internship To Ease Concerns About His Lack Of Experience

McCain contradicting himself ... Be smart, vote Obama!

2008-10-30T22:46:00.002+01:00

Funny how politicians are constantly contradicting themselves ... Grandpa McCain is good at it, but yet not as good as "W" is.
Here a collection of videos made by Brave New Films, partnering with Michael Moore (yes, the lefty fat guy :D).

From: info@bravenewfilms.org
Subject: Michael Moore Says Take Action, Check Out Brave New Films

Dear Friends, Colleagues and Supporters, When you downloaded Michael Moore's Slacker Uprising, we knew you were the type who not only enjoyed high quality, hard-hitting political videos, but that you liked seeing them for free. We partnered with Michael Moore to distribute Slacker Uprising because the film conveys the need to stand up, get involved, and do something -- now! It's a message we're deeply committed to at Brave New Films.

That's why we bring you short videos on issues facing all of us: the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, health care, corporate greed and more. That's why we've given you a free Brave New Films video subscription, so that you can join over 8 million people who have seen John McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare, the 2 million who watched FOX Attacks Obama, and the 1.5 million who viewed John McCain vs. John McCain. Be part of this growing Brave New movement to get involved and take action.

Check out the videos below for a taste of the great content to come from Brave New Films in 2009.

1. John McCain's YouTube Problem Just Became a Nightmare
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtZlR3zp4c

2. John McCain: Economic Disaster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4egXbhSOhk

3. FOX Attacks Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouKJixL--ms

4. John McCain vs. John McCain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioy90nF2anI

5. Tell McCain to End the Politics of Hate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5mdIPNB8t8

Jo TAMPOC sóc de primera hora

2008-10-24T16:04:00.001+02:00

Un article trobat a "El Periodico de Catalunya", 24-10-2008.

I és que jo tampoc soc dels de primera hora del matí :)

No sóc de primera hora

JOSEP MARIA Espinàs

Avegades em pregunten: "¿Li va bé a primera hora?". Quan vull concertar una visita amb un metge, per exemple. Quan algun periodista em vol fer una entrevista a la ràdio. Quan algú vol venir a casa perquè li dediqui un llibre. Com que "a primera hora" no vol dir res, he de demanar una mica de concreció. I aleshores descobreixo que, per a uns, la primera hora són les vuit, per a uns altres, les nou, i hi ha qui està pensant en les deu.

Com que jo sempre vaig a dormir molt tard, les primeres hores dels altres per a mi no existeixen. Encara no he retornat al món on viuen els meus conciutadans. Els qui no ens llevem a les hores convencionals sempre ens hem de justificar. He construït una explicació que té un cert èxit entre els meus amics: jo tinc una gran confiança en els barcelonins. Sé, per experiència, que sempre saben posar el dia en marxa. Cada dia. Quan em llevo i miro per la finestra, veig que tot funciona: els autobusos circulen, les botigues han obert, un home surt d'un bar on ha pres un cafè, o potser ja ha esmorzat. Passa un taxi lliure. Al davant de casa hi ha un solar on s'està construint un edifici, i veig els paletes com treballen. O sigui que tot funciona, i ja funcionava quan jo encara era al llit.

I formulo aquesta conclusió: "¿Per què he de llevar-me abans, si està comprovat que a mi no em necessiten per posar el dia en marxa?". Jo sóc una peça insignificant en aquest mecanisme, i ningú em trobarà a faltar.

Des que hi ha torns de treball que comencen a les sis de tarda i acaben a les dues de la matinada, el valor moral de llevar-se d'hora s'ha acabat. Ja no hi ha un horari "virtuós". El manament de llevar-se aviat va néixer quan el treball era bàsicament rural. Abans de la invenció de l'electricitat calia estar al camp a punta d'alba i l'instrument de treball eren els braços i les eines del camp. Ara hi ha qui treballa quan és fosc i assegut en una cadira, sovint davant d'una pantalla.

És clar que jo també m'he llevat aviat molts dies, al llarg de la meva vida. Per exemple, per agafar un avió quan es podria dir que encara no havia desplegat les ales. O a les sis del matí, per pujar en un globus. Em va agradar molt veure sortir el sol des d'aquella altura solitària. Però la meva laboriositat no és matinera. Si em jutgessin pel que he fet abans de les dotze, el Tribunal del Rendiment em suspendria. Com en el tennis, intento guanyar el meu partit tan bé com puc al llarg del segon i del tercer set.

Emerce E-Day Conference in Rotterdam

2008-09-21T18:16:00.003+02:00

I was this last thursday at what turned to be a very interesting conference: Emerce E-Day (http://www.emerceeday.nl/).
It was about new online trends (crowdsourcing, user-generated, co-creation, ... ) and the bussinesses around them.

I got into some good lectures about my current line of work: Innovation ... what is it, how to make it systematic, application to a bussiness. From those, two highlights:
- a quote: "Research turns money into knowledge; Innovation turns that knowledge into money"
- and a source of materials: http://www.innovationfactory.nl ... a good starting point for reading material

Oh, but the best ... the last keynote speaker: Lawrence Lessing, from Stanford Law School, on "Economics and Culture". A reaaaally great presentation on how the last half of the 20th century turned our culture from a "RW - Read write" culture (everyone created and distributed media content) in a "RO - Read only" culture (creation and distribution was one way only, from the media companies to the people), due to the changes in technology. But these same changes have taken us so far today that everyone can create, remix, reuse, modify and distribute "culture", making it more egalitarian and democratic and open.

One great and hilarious example: "Bush and Blair - Endless Love"

See you!

Kumite IX - Kickbox Gala - Hilversum

2008-09-15T18:05:00.001+02:00

Last weekend took place the Kumite IX Kickbox gala in Hilversum (The Netherlands), organized by Everybody Gym (it happens to be where I do my trainning :D ).
This time I helped organizing (it became a veeery long day), so I got to be a bit closer to the show ... and take some shots. It was my first such attempt at photographing such sports event, which proved to be much more challenging than I thought at first.

Hope you enjoy the shots and ... maybe see you in the next one!

Cesc

Mostra del Correfoc, Manresa 2008

2008-09-04T16:19:00.005+02:00

I'll write this in english, let's see if we can promote our local festivities internationally :)
Every last weekend of august, Manresa (Catalonia, Spain), celebrates a one week long festivity, as do most towns around here. It is called the "Festa Major".

Among many cultural activities, some fun stuff takes places. For most, like me, the summit is reached in the "Correfoc" (Fire Run), which takes place in the old part of town, through crooked streets. In it, all sorts of figures (daemons, dragons, dwarfs, ...) throw all sorts of fire directly to the people (from firecrackers to springs of fire), making it a lot of fun with a tat of danger. Good protective clothing is needed, a lot of adrenaline is released, a lot of fun is what you reach.
I attach some pictures from the pre-show, which takes place a couple of days before the actual event and is rated for all publics. In it, in the town hall square, all figures dance to the music and fire, making it an impressive event.

If you'd like some live video, you can follow this link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N9-1vtLDxU) to some youtube videos ... they are out of this world!

Cesc

Star Wars freaks

2008-08-05T23:22:00.002+02:00

It is good to have a hobby ... but sometimes you can go to far. No wonder they get scorned :)

Link:
Funny interview to a group of Star Wars fans ... old, but still funny :)

A language is a culture ...

2008-08-05T01:26:00.001+02:00

So, can two languages slash cultures cohabitate in the same state?
If even the seemingly neat split in Belgium between French-speakers and Flemish/dutch-speakers does not work ... what about in Spain and Catalonia? or Spain and Vasque Country? Feel free to bet as to how much longer will it hold up together.

Article in the New York Times: "With Flemish Nationalism on the Rise, Belgium Teeters on the Edge"

El nacionalisme espanyol es el mes excloent

2008-08-01T11:20:00.002+02:00

Reprodueixo un article aparegut a "El Periodico de Catalunya", el 1 d'Agost del 2008.

Moltes gracies!

Article a El Periodico de Catalunya

1/8/2008

L'ENTREVISTA AMB JUAN CARLOS MORENO CABRERA, CATEDRÀTIC DE LINGÜÍSTICA

"El nacionalisme espanyol és el més excloent"

L'autor d'El nacionalismo lingüístico oposa arguments als dels firmants del Manifiesto por la lengua común.

NÚRIA NAVARRO

--¿Els firmants del Manifiesto por la lengua común s'equivoquen?
--No. Són coherents amb una ideologia nacionalista: el nacionalisme lingüístic espanyol. Però no diuen cap novetat...

--¿Què vol dir?
--El manifest té uns fonaments similars als exposats per la Real Academia Española en un escrit que va elevar al president de les Corts el 1978. Demanava que, en l'article segon de la Constitució, el que parla de les llengües espanyoles, hi cons- tés que el castellà és la llengua espanyola per antonomàsia.

--La petició no va ser acceptada.
--¡Però s'actua com si ho hagués sigut! Les altres llengües espanyoles estan en un segon pla. Se les considera menys útils, regionals, minoritàries. Ara això es repeteix en el manifest, que comença dient que existeixen llengües espanyoles, però que n'hi ha una que està per sobre, que és la llengua de la comunicació, la democràcia, la ciència. En la nova versió fins i tot se li dóna un enfocament economicista, se l'associa a una "inversió en capital cultural".

--El castellà guanya en parlants.
--Quan una llengua s'expandeix es deu a qüestions polítiques, no a raons lingüístiques. No és més apta ni més rica ni millor. ¿I com s'emmascara això? Dient que la llengua espanyola té una sèrie de valors intrínsecs superiors a les altres. El manifest insisteix en això.

--Al darrere hi ha Vargas Llosa, Pombo, Savater... ¡Iker Casillas!
--No s'adonen que estan de part d'una ideologia ferotgement nacionalista. El gran problema d'aquesta ideologia nacionalista és que no és concebuda com a nacionalista. Se la concep com a ideologia cívica. No té valors ètnics, ni identitaris i, per ai- xò, s'associa l'espanyol amb "llibertat" i "democràcia", cosa que desposseeix automàticament les altres llen- gües d'aquests valors. La manipulació és terrible, però el pitjor de tot és que la gent no és conscient d'aquesta manipulació. El nacionalisme espanyol és el més radical i excloent.

--Ells diuen que els drets pertanyen als ciutadans, no als territoris.
--Són els mateixos que veuen natural que l'espanyol sigui oficial a tot el territori. En la ideologia nacionalista espanyola, el castellà és l'espanyol. I als que parlem espanyol ens sembla molt bé, però el suport que li dóna el Govern no té com a objectiu recolzar els espanyols sinó arraconar les altres llengües.

--Vostè, madrileny sense màcula, admet haver tingut prejudicis.
--En vaig tenir, però un coneixement més gran de la realitat lingüística em va ajudar a eliminar-los. Em dol que els meus col.legues, que saben el mateix que jo, no lluitin en aquesta direcció. La ciència no és una disciplina immune a les relacions de poder.

--Doni un argument inapel.lable.
--La llengua correcta, la de la RAE, la del diccionari i la gramàtica, no és una llengua real. La gent pensa que la llengua col.loquial no és més que una realització imprecisa d'aquest model. I no és així. És el model el que es basa en la llengua parlada.

--Segueixi.
--Es diu que l'espanyol té 450 milions de parlants. ¿Dominen tots la llengua estàndard culta? No. Té moltíssimes varietats.

--D'acord.
--No es pot dir que el català o el basc són un conjunt de parles, perquè l'espanyol també ho és. Passa que, de totes les varietats, es va seleccionar el que se'n diu un dialecte, el castellà, i se'l va associar amb la construcció d'un Estat supranacional, central i fort. Per tant, l'espanyol és una espècie d'idea de caràcter polític que es va establir basant- se en el dialecte castellà.

--¿Quan va començar tot?
--Al segle XIII, el castellà va començar a utilitzar-se a la cort d'Alfons X per a qüestions administratives. Així que es van anar unint els regnes i Castella va adquirir poder, el dialecte castellà, que no tenia valor literari, es va imposar com a model, associat al poder central.

--Ha passat massa temps. ¿Hi veu alguna solució?
--Espanya és un Estat multinacional i és evident que hi ha un dret d'autodeterminació que és absolutament necessari respectar. La situació millorarà quan els pobles basc, català i gallec decideixin com volen ser. El que no és acceptable és que el Parlament català estigui segrestat per l'espanyol. Cada vegada que pren una decisió, el Parlament espanyol s'inventa articles d'inconstitucionalitat.

--¿Algun avantpassat català?
--No. Només vull defensar la meva llengua, que no se l'associï a cap imposició ni cap tipus d'imperialisme.

--Assenyali un error dels catalans al plantejar la defensa de la seva llengua.
--Els retrec que no hagin sigut més intransigents en el seu ús. Haurien de parlar-lo a Madrid. Al Congrés. En les entrevistes.

Apadrina un nen ...

2008-07-30T18:40:00.001+02:00

Apadrina un nen ... el deficit fiscal no es suficient per tirar Epanya endevant ...

Need a new laptop?

2008-07-30T13:55:00.001+02:00

Need a new laptop? just go wait at a gate at your airport.
It appears out of a study that lots of people losse, forget or get robbed in the airport.
For example, in Schiphol Amsterdam, 750 laptops per week are lost or stolen.
London Heathrow is the best place to get a new laptop ... 900 per week disapear.
But even beter, LA LAX tops the ranking with an amazing 1200 per week!
I was there just two weeks ago ... didn't pay attention! Damn!

If you read dutch ... http://www.bright.nl/op-schiphol-750-laptops-per-week-kwijt

Cesc

OpenSER becomes Kamailio Project

2008-07-28T16:42:00.002+02:00

Just forwarding some information from an open source project I was involved about SIP (VoIP, Voice over IP).

=======================================================
OpenSER becomes Kamailio Project

OpenSER project and the community around it have grown considerably in the past three years. Because of its extensive development and high adoption rate, conflicting interests related to the OpenSER name and similar trademarks emerged.

Consequently, we have been forced to find a new name for the project that stands on itself and represent the project in its future expression.

Starting with version 1.4, OpenSER is called Kamailio. Existing OpenSER users can keep on enjoying the benefits of the best open source SIP server available on the market under this new name.

All project infrastructure like the website and mailing list will be in the future accessible under the kamailio.org domain, but we will keep the old one functional for a transition period to make the switch as easy as possible for you.

Kamailio is a hawaiian word. Kama'ilio means talk, to converse. It was chosen for its special flavour. It is hopefully easy to remember and the meaning fits well with the project purpose. We hope you like it too!

For more information visit:
http://www.kamailio.org (former http://www.openser.org)

The Primos Team @ Holland

2008-07-22T13:55:00.004+02:00

Eps!

Pos aquest finde, ja quasi 100% recuperat de les 3 setmanetes de trote ... visita del "Primos Team", format pel Quico i el seu cosi, i com no, el meu cosi.
Com es pot veure a les fotos, ens hem fet un fart de visitar Amsterdam, museus i carrers amagats, descobrint coses que no haviem vist mai.
I un dia, fent un cafe, vam estar xerrant amb un parell de cosines hungares rosses molt simpatiques, pero ja era hora de marxar.

Hasta luec!!

Cesc

LA Quick Tour ... i tornada!

2008-07-13T01:23:00.002+02:00

Escrit 12/07/2008

Be, doncs aixo arriba a la fi. Escric des de l'aeroport LAX, esperant l'avio. El Cristian hauria d'estar fent el mateix, xo com no agafem l'avio des de la mateixa terminal, doncs jans hem despedit.

I que hem fet avui? Molt important ... La maleta. Sort q em deixen facturar 2 bultos i sobrepes, si no mal rollo :)

I despres? Hem fet un tour extra rapid x alguns highlights de LA. Foto amb el cartell de Hollywood (una de les grans icones del segle XX). I tb un passeig xl passeig de les estrelles (comensa amb estrelles i estudis de cine i acaba amb sex-shops i homeless). I despres, visita a "La Mission" de LA, la part mes historica de la ciutat (x cert, gran lloc x jalar menjar mexica de veritat, inclos tacos, carnitas, orchata de llet d'arros o unes bones tortitas). I ja de cami a l'aeroport, volta xls barris hyper mega pijos de Beverly Hills 90210 i Bel-air. Wow!

I res ... Q m'esperen 11 hores d'avio :(

Cesc

Well ... this is coming to an end. I'm writing from LAX airport, waiting at the lounge for my flight. Cristian must be doing the same, but because we fly with different companies, we are in different terminals ... we already said goodbye!

And what did we do today? Very important .... pack the suitcase! Fortunately we can check-in two suitcases and some overweight ... otherwise we'd be screwed :)

And then? We did a quick tour to LA highlights. A picture with Hollywood's sign at the background (an icon of the 20th Century). A walk on the Walk of Fame (which starts with starts and cinema studios and ends up with sex-shops and homeless). Then, for lunch to LA's Mission, for a real mexican treat (tacos, carnitas, tortitas and orchata of rice milk) and the most historic part of the city. And on the way to the airport, a tour through the mega posh neighborhoods of Beverly Hills 90210 and Bel-Air ... quite amazing.

And that's it ... now just 10 more hours in the plane and home!!

[Cesc and Cristian, with Hollywoods sign ... an icon of last century]

[Walk of Fame ... in front of the Chinese theather]

[LA's Mission ... historical center]

Catalans a California

2008-07-12T17:34:00.002+02:00

Escrit el 11/07/2008 (penultim dia de viatje!)

Avui ha estat un dia intens i de contrastos. No cal dir que ens hem fotut una bona raccio de milles, de forma q igualarem dema les 1000 milles (1600 km) q vam fer a Alaska!

Hem comensat esmorzant a Morro Bay, estuari i poblet pescador. I despres directes a la super maca i encantadora Santa Barbara. Aqui hi ha una "Mission", on missioners "espanyols" "educaven" als indis locals. I es que California era fins el 1821 espanyola, despres mexicana i fins a ser dels Usa el 1846. Just abans de comensar la febre de l'or.

I lo dels catalans? Doncs el fundador de moltes de les misiones de California va ser el Pare Junipero Serra, de Mallorca.

Ah, i jo m'he banyat x 1er cop al Pacific, a Santa Barbara ... S'estava be, fins i tot aigua tebiona :) i sense tiburons!

I despres ... Be, una paradeta tecnica a un outlet, x acabar de fer reventar la maleta, i cap a Los Angeles. Be, a l'aeroport, q es on tenim l'hotel. Pero hem nat a supar i prendre algo a Santa Monica ... Molt d'ambientillu hi havia.

I res, dema visita llampec a LA i a agafar l'avio a mitja tarda. I diumenge tarda ja a casa ... Hilversum i Viladecavalls/Bcn respectivament :)

Fins aviat!

C&C

Today has been an intense day, full of contrasts. Of course, we had our daily ration of miles, in a way that we will match the 1000 miles (1600km) that we drove in Alaska.

We started with breakfast at Morro Bay, estuary and fishing town. And then, to Santa Barbara ... super cute and enchanting. Here we visit one of the spanish "Mission", where spanish missioners "educated" native indians. Remember that California was spanish territory til 1821, then was part of Mexico and became a part of the USA in 1846 ... one year later, the Gold Rush began!

And what about the catalans thing? The founder of most of the missions in California was Father Junipero Serra, original from Mallorca.

Ah! And I took a swim in the Pacific ocean in Santa Barbara ... it was great ... water was even not cold ... and no sharks! :)

After Santa Barbara, we drove direction LA, but with a pit-stop at an outlet in Camarillo on Highway 101, just to burn the rest of the credit card and fill in the suitcase :) And then, to the hotel in LA, which is located next to the airport. Just drop the stuff and drive to Santa Monica for dinner and drinks. It is friday, so there's quite a lot of movement around. But we are beat ...

And ... tomorrow a short visit to LA and ... back home! Around 5PM we have both the flight which will take us back home: Hilversum and Viladecavalls/BCN.

[Santa Barbara Mission]

[Taking a swim in the Pacific Ocean at Santa Barbara]

Sequoia National Park

2008-07-11T08:25:00.003+02:00

Escrit el 10/07/2008

Despres del desgast fisic d'ahir, hem dormit com angelets ... 10 horetes ben merescudes. I ja veient el nostre desti final (Los Angeles), hem fet un detour d'uns 300km per visitar els arbres gegants (sequoies) de Sequoia National Park.

Hi ha molts tipus de sequoies, xo les del parc aquest son especials xq nomes creixen naturalment en aquesta zona, a una altitud determinada ... I son grans i massissos. I poden ser moolt "iaios". El mes famos, el General Sherman Tree, fa 11 metres de diametre, es tant alt com l'estatua de la llibertat i te, creuen, uns 2200 anys!

El bosc sembla encantat. Les sequoies creixen entre els pins (tipus redwood, sugarpines i ponderosa) i s'alcen grossos i majestuosos. Pero tb son delicats ... La majoria moren caiguts xl seu propi pes. Aixi hi ha coses curioses com un tunel foradat a una sequoia o un altre q fa de pasarela caminable.

Ens hem parat a sopar a Visalia, a fer un rodizio brasiler (carn, una mica mes de carn, i llavors mes carn). Molt bo ... Ara, quina calor q fot aqui! Com ahir a Fresno. Aixo de la vall central de California es insuportable ... Sort, q dema ens banyarem a la platja de los "Vigilantes de la playa" ... Ja us explicarem :)

Cesc
PS - Nota mental publica ... q guapes les "Park Rangers" americanes (Ranger Melissa de Denali; Ranger Amelia i la Ranger sensenom de Sequoia) :)

After yesterday's physical effort, today we sleep like babies. 10 very deserved hours. And now that we already have our final destination (LA) in sight, we still make a small detour (300km) to visit the giant trees at the Sequoia National Park.

There are many types of sequoias, but the one in this park are special because they only grow naturally here (something to do with climate, rain, altitude, ...). These trees are huge and thick ... and can get to be very old. The most famous, General Sherman Tree, is 11 meters in diameter, as tall as the Statue of Liberty and is, they believe, some 2200 years old.

The forest is enchanted. Sequoias grow among the pines (redwoods, sugarpines and ponderosa types) and they grow magnificent and big. But they are also delicate ... most of them die fallen by their own weight. This way, curios tings like a tunel drilled through a sequoia or another which is a walk-way.

We stopped for dinner at Visalia, to eat a brazilian rodeo (meat, some more meat and then some more ... all you can eat). But men! it is hot in here ... just like Fresno. This weather of the central California valley is real bad :) Lucky us, tomorrow we'll be swimming at the "Baywatch" beach ... we'll tell you!

PS - Mental note: US Park Rangers women are real hotties (Ranger Melissa in Denali; Ranger Amelia and Ranger Jane Doe in Sequoia) :)

[Entrance of the park]

[above and below ... General Sherman Tree]

[above and below ... fallen sequoias!]

Hem fet el cim! Half Dome!

2008-07-10T23:07:00.002+02:00

Escrit 10/07/2008

6:00am, comencem el trekking del Half Dome: 25 km, 1500 metres de desnivell fins arribar al cim, a 2695 m. Teoricament no es recomanable ferlo en un sol dia, xro es pot fer. Una de les gran excursions dels USA! Les dues primeres hores s'han passat rapid perque encara feia fresca i em passat les Vernal i Nevada falls, dues cascades impressionants. El cami ha continuat pujant fins arribar a la base de la muntanya, tot aixo sota un sol lacerant a 30 i pico graus. Per acabar, els ultims 400 metres es fan amb una inclinacio de 45 graus, ajudant-te per uns cables. Durissim! Pero a merescut la pena; un cop a dalt les vistes eren espectaculars.

La part dura es la baixada, amb constant descens i un sol de justicia. X sort hi havia el riu Merced, on ens em refrescat. Despres d'11 hores de caminar, podem dir que em fet el cim!

Reventats xro contents conduim fins a Fresno on fa un calor de mort i dormim en un motel, esperant anar dema a veure les Sequoies!

C&C

6AM, the trekking to the top of the Half Dome starts. 25km round-trip and 1500 meters of altitude gain to the top (2695m). They recommend to sleep half-way, but we prefer to do it in one day. This is one of the great treks in the USA. The first 2 hours go fast ... it is still cool weather. We already passed the Vernal and Nevada Falls, impressive both. We keep going up, all the way to the base of the dome, under a hitting sun at 30 degrees. To finish the effort, the last 400meters are done using some cables, as the wall is too steep (45 degrees, see pic). It was hard, but once at the top, it was worth it. And from the top, the view is extraordinary.

The hardest part is going down, with hard and steep downhills and the sun hitting fully. And we run out of water ... so it becomes harder. Even we have Merced River next to us, water needs to be purified and we don't have the gear to do so. But after 11 hours, we are back ... and we've made it! Summit!

Really beat but happy, we drive to Fresno where a heat wave is killing us. We sleep at a hotel, waiting for tomorrow to see the Sequoias!

[last 200 meters, up using the cables]

[that's how you do it!]

[Cristian, arriving at the top ... tired!]

[Cesc and Cristian, top of the half dome, thanks to a fellow climber]

[going down ... much easier :D ]

[serious ... so steep is the wall ... that's why you need cables]

Problemes tecnics ...

2008-07-10T23:01:00.002+02:00

Estem tenint problemes tecnics amb el wireless ... perdoneu les interrupcions.

C&C Serveis Informatics

Disneylandia! Ay, vull dir Yosemite

2008-07-10T19:22:00.002+02:00

Escrit 09/07/2008

Ahir la nit supertard vam arribar a Yosemite National Park. L'allotjament (Curry Village) es una cabana amb terra de fusta i la resta de lona. Ah! I una caixa anti-ossos x guardar el menjar :) I sabeu la gran millora de California respecte Alaska? Es fa de nit! Ahir a Alaska vam tenir 4 hores de penumbra ... Avui mes de 8 vuit de negra nit! El Cristian ho agraeix molt ... Gracies Governador Schwarzeneger!

Yosemite es un parc creat per un glaciar, que va escarbar una vall enmig del granit. La vall esta plena de cascades, parets verticals (El Capitan) i cims massissos com el Half Dome.

El dia ha estat relaxat. Hem fet el mes destacat del parc ... Yosemite Valley, Glaciar Point (un mirador), la paret vertical de El Capitan i les cascades (Yosemite Falls i Bridalveil Falls). I el Visitor Center, amb museu i audiovisual inclos (val la pena, x info sobre el parc ... Tb pots mirar a Wikipedia!).

Des de Glaciar Point hem tingut una gran vista al parc i la vall, i ens hem fet una foto amb el nostre objectiu de dema: el mitic Half Dome, una muntanya massisa q sembla partida en dos.

I a dormir d'hora, que dema sera dur. Si sobrevivim l'experiencia, dema tindreu un nou missatge al blog. Stay tuned! A la mateixa Bat-hora i al mateix Bat-canal!

C&C

Problemes tecnics

2008-07-10T18:54:00.001+02:00

Estem tenint problemes tecnics: ens costa trobar cobertura pel mobil i per internet. Ho solucionarem en breu!

C&C, servei tecnic

We are having some technical problems ... it is being difficult to find cellphone coverage and internet. Hopefully, it will be solved in short!

C&C, Technical Service

Dia de viatje: d'Alaska a Yosemite

2008-07-10T07:19:00.001+02:00

Escrit el 07/07/2008

Avui es dia de viatjar. 300km de cotxe x Alaska, 4.5 hores d'avio fins a SanFran i x culminar, 4 hores de cotxe fins a Yosemite National Park, on dormim en unes tendes/cabines ... Ja explicarem k tal. Xo tot i aixo, hem vist un "moose" a Anchorage passejant per un parking d'un centre comercial. I desde l'avio, es veu California i SanFran downtown coberta de fum, pels focs de Big Sur ... Entre d'altres.

Hem pensat k, ara k tenim el viatje x Alaska fresc, podem escriure 4 coses/recomanacions.

Juneau (icefield) va estar molt xulo, es a mes dels glaciars, un paisatje diferent de la resta, molt boscos. Pero arribar-hi costa temps i diners, i a Alaska hi ha altres glaciars ... S'haurien de comparar.

Anchorage ciutat s'ha de fer de passada, ara b, el Anchorage Museum i el Heritage Center son obligatoris!

Obviament, Denali s'ha de veure. I el bus, fins a Wonder Lake! ... No et deixis espantar x les 12 hores de bus, passen rapid i es quan veus les bestioles, ja q els conductors tenen "vista de lince". El rafting va estar be, i si tens cotxe, hi ha molts llocs makus x dormir (pe Perch lodge o Creekside). Si tens temps i/o ganes de mes aventura, pots portarte la tenda (compra-la a Annchorage, igual q tots els queviures) i fer 2,3,4 dies d'autentic camping/aventura. Ara, requereix certa logistica i entre mosquits i ossos, no es apte x a tots els publics.

L'ultim que hem fet es Fairbanks ... potser la part mes fluixa d'un tour a l'estiu. La resta de l'any es un lloc ideal x veure l'aurora boreal (les llums al cel).

Ens han quedat molts llocs x fer. El mes recomanat es la peninsula de Kenai, al sud d'Anchorage ... Amb la perspectiva del temps, potser hauriem d'haver canviat x Fairbanks.

Una altre gran aventura, x a gent curtida, es anar al nord de Fairbanks, fins al mar artic, a Deadhorse. Necesites llogar un 4x4 especial, ja q les companyies normals no t'hi deixen anar. I de cami, entrar als parcs d'alla (pe Gates of the arctic), nomes accessibles x avioneta i fer uns dies d'acampada/supervivencia. Ha de ser espectacular!

Esperem que t'ajudi a planejar el teu viatje! I per preguntes/questions ... Email!

SCT (SantaCanton Tours)

Today is a day to travel. 300km by car through Alaska, 4.5 hours flying back to San Francisco and then, 4 more hours drive to Yosemite National Park, where we'll sleep, in some tents. We'll tell you about it. But still in Alaska, we've come across a moose in Anchorage, lurking in the parking lot of a shopping mall (see photo). And from the plane, we saw the fires in California, which cover Frisco with smoke.

What we've thought is that now that our trip in Alaska is fresh, we can comment on what we think of it and what we like and don't like.

Juneau (Ice Fiel) was great. Not only the glaciars, but only the rain forest landscape, a very different landscappe compared to the rest of Alaska. But getting there took time and money ... and there are other glaciear fields in Alaska. Maybe could have avoided it ... but no regrets.

Obviously, Denali is a MUST. The bus to Wonder Lake ... also a MUST. Go all the way, don't get scared by the 12 hours ... they go fast and the further you go, the more animals you see (thank the drivers, they'll show you the animals, they have a great eye). The rafting was a great activity, and not very expensive. If you have a car, there are great places to sleep (i.e Perch Lodge o Creekside). If you are looking for more adventure, take a tent (buy in Anchorage, just the food) and do a few days of backcountry. It requires a certain amount of logistics and due to mosquitos and bears, it is not for everybody.

Last we did was Fairbanks. With hindsight, probably the weakest part of the tour ... in the summer. The rest of the year it is an amazing place to view the Aurora Borealis (the night sky lights).

There are many places we did not visit ... alaska is huge. The most recommended is the Kenai Peninsula, south of Anchorage. We should probably have gone there instead of Fairbanks ... but yeah, no regrets.

Another great adventure, for those looking for more, is to go north of Fairbanks ... all the way to the Arctic Sea at Deadhorse, following the Dalton Highway. You need to rent a special 4x4, as normal rental companies don't allow you to take their cars there. On the way, you can go to Gates of the Arctic park, only accessible by plane and backcountry for a few days there. The real adventure!

We hope this helps you plan your Alaska trip. If you have questions ... email us!

[moose in a parking lot in Anchorage]

[Frisco under the smoke of the fires]

Rafting al riu Nenana (Denali)

2008-07-07T09:40:00.005+02:00

06/07/2008
Despres d'una passejada x la vila de Fairbanks, em agafat l'autopista direccio cap a Denali. Abans ens em parat al poble d'Ester (Valverde), on, inversemblantment, no la coneixien.

La activitat del dia ha estat anar a fer rafting per riu Nenana, al costat del parc d Denali. Aquest riu es l'afluent mes virulent del Yukon ;), amb rapids de categoria 3 i 4 (el rafting de Sort te categoria 1 i 2, x ferse una idea). Lo millor es qe ens han posat davant del raid, mig capitanejant el grup. Una experiencia brutal!

Per acabar el dia em conduit fins a Talkeetna, a 100 milles d'Anchorage on dema agafarem l'avio cap a San Francisco. Sopar i repos en un local on feien jazz de poble. Per cert, k Talkeetna es un lloc molt pintoresc ... 800 habitants i amb carrer principal i tot, no ta mal x Alaska. I el lloc on estem ... hem fet el check-in i pagat a la panaderia de la planta baixa, rodejats de croissants i chocolate brownies ... :) vuras tu dema l'esmorzar!

C&C

Today started with a walk around Fairbanks town. The, we start driving south again, final destination Anchorage Airport. First stop was at "Ester" town ... we asked if they knew our friend Ester, but they never heard of her ... strange!
Today's activity was white water rafting down the Nenana River at Denali National Park, which is one of the wildest afluents of the Yukon River ;), with rapids of category 3 and 4. The best is that we got to captain the boat, as we were the most experienced on board (excluding the guide, of course :D ). Cesc was 1st captain, Cristian was second :P

To finish the day, we went to Talkeetna for the night. It is 100 miles from Anchorage, where from our plane departs tomorrow direction San Francisco. We have dinner at a nice local restaurant and then went to the local bar for some Jazz ... great! Did we tell you Talkeetna is a really pintoresc place? 800 inhabitants and even has a Main street, not bad for Alaska. And our hotel (Talkeetna Roadhouse)? we'll, we've checked-in at the bakery on the ground floor, surrounded by croissants and chocolate brownies ... my mouth is watering again! You'll see tomorrow what a great breakfast!

[Fairbanks downtown]

[Ester's village]

[Nenana River white water rafting]

[our car ... full of mosquitos]

[Jazz in Talkeetna]

Fairbanks, Chena Hot Springs ... i baretos cutres

2008-07-06T19:40:00.001+02:00

05/07/2008

Entre la son i problemes tecnics, tenim intrnet intermitent ... Xo avui enviem tot l'atrassat.

Avui, dissabte, ha estat dia relaxat. Hem agafat el cotxe direccio uns "hot springs" (aigues termals). Xo de cami hem parat a visitar una seccio de la "Alaskan pipeline", la tuberia que porta el petroli tret del mar artic, al nord, fins a Valdez, al sud, a 1500km. Aprox 1 milio de barrils diaris. Tota una obra d'enginyeria!

I despres, doncs a les termes aquestes, a Chena ... (Llo Challenge, xo a Alaska :D). I l'aigua esta hyper calenta ... I amb la calda q fotia (25 graus), pues ens hem kdat xafadets :) Ah, a la tornada hem fet mini-visita als highlights de Fairbanks: pioneer park (super mini parc d'atraccions, xo un museu d'avions interessant), i el museu de la Universitat d'Alaska.

I res, despres de sopar, una visita a un bar local, k com els d'ahir, pos diguem k ... Be, no diguem massa :) Molt de la zona, molt americans, gent molt pintoresca, molt d'Alaska :) Per si mai us trobeu perduts a Fairbanks: restaurant x sopar (Portabella) ... I els garitus de copes, a escollir: midnite maid, kodyak jack (amb toro de rodeo) i barracuda. The real american experience! :)

Una abrasada,

C&C

Due to lack of sleep and technical problems, we have internet access only sporadically ... But today we sent all the delayed material.

Today, saturday, has been a relaxed day. We drove to Chenai Hot Springs and on the way we stopped at the Alaskan Pipeline. This pipeline travels north to south, bringing the oil drilled in the arctic sea all the way to Valdez in the south of Alaska, some 1500km (1000mi), sometimes underground, sometimes over ground, and often through permafrost (frozen ground). Some 1 milion barrels a day. A great feat of engineering!

So, the Chenai Hot Springs ... extremely hot water ... which on a hot day like today (25 degrees C) was not the most appropriate thing to do ... we are really beat :) On the way back we visited some Fairbanks highlights: Pioneer Park (mini theme park, with a great aviation museum) and the Alaskan University Museum.

And then dinner and then a tour of the local pubs and bars, which, like the ones from yesterday, were ... ah! forget it! :D Very local, very american, very apart people ... very Alaska! Some names, just if you ever find yourselves lost in Fairbanks: for dinner, Portobella) and for a drink, Midnite Maid, Kodyak Jack (included rodeo bull) or Barracuda. Real american experience! :D

A hug!

Bye Denali, Hello Fairbanks

2008-07-06T19:35:00.002+02:00

04/07/2008

Despres de la tunda d'autobus (que va valdre molt la pena), avui hem fet una bona dormida ... fins i tot el Cristian que esta tenint "problemes" amb aixo de les 21 hores de sol ha dormit d'un tiron :)

I res, avui hem fet un trekking x Denali, a Savage River ... K porta a Stampede Trail, on passa la peli d'"Into the wild". I ens hem trobat amb el mateix pavo de la universitat de fairbanks que ahir, i l'hi hem tornat a contestar l'enquesta :) diu que no enten com la gent resisteix vivint alla dalt ... A -40c!

Despres de despedir Denali ens toquen dues hores de cotxe fins a Fairbanks, la ciutat/capital de Alaska interior, 30mil habitants. L'allotjament es a un B&B, amb l'amo trotamundos millonari en bancarrota septuagenari d'Illinois: John Davies.

I nosaltres q esperavem festa grossa amb focs artificials ... Ens hem quedat amb les ganes: es fa fosc a les 12:30, tecnicament el dia despres ... ;er tant, no hi ha focs! :(

Cesc & Cristian

After the long bus ride (it is really worth it!), today we slept in a bit. Even Cristian, who's having some problems getting used to the 21 hours of sunlight has slept like a baby!

So, today we did a small hike in Denali's entrance, Savage River. This valley leads to the Stampede Trail, where the "Into the Wild" movie takes place. Oh, we came across the same guy from the University of Alaksa at Fairbanks ... and we filled in the same questionnaire as yesterday :D He says he doesn't understand how people live up there in Fairbanks at -40 degrees in the winter :)

After saying goodbye to Denali, we have a couple hours drive to Fairbanks, the major city of the interior, with some 30K inhabitants. We stay at a cute B&B, where the owner is a bankrupt millionaire 70-year-old original of Illinois ... John Davies.

And as said, today is Independence Day ... we were expecting some fireworks and a big party ... but none happens. Sunset is at 12:30, so fireworks would be rather senseless :(

Denali - bus, McKinley ... i ossos!!

2008-07-04T08:12:00.003+02:00

03/07/2008 (revetlla del dia de l'independencia)

4:40 del mati toquen diana. A les 5:30 arranca el bus que, 6 hores i 150km despres, ens deixa a Wonder Lake, als peus de la plana de la montanya mes alta dels USA: Mount McKinkey (6100m). Paisatge sub-artic i tundra, gel i neu al rerafons. Nomes 1 de cada tres dies fa bon temps, i nosaltres hem vist ahir i avui la montanya sense nuvols!

De cami, rollo safari dins un bus ... Cada animalo es mereixia una parada x fer fotos ... aixi hem vist, per fi, ossos!! I un llop jalant-se una llebre ... Tb hem vist caribus, falcons, alces, aligues dorades ... I mes ossos amb les criatures! :) Ah! I uns de Manresa! Que petit es el mon!

I res, dema ultimes hores al parc i anar tirant nord, cap a fairbanks a celebrar el 4 de Juliol, dia de l'Independencia.

C&C

4:40 in the morning and the alarm goes off! At 5:30 the bus leaves ... a bus which, 6 hours and 90miles later, drops us at Wonder Lake, all the way into Denali, an at the base of the tallest mountain in the USA (Mount McKinley, 6100 meters). A sub-arctic landscape and tundra, ice and snow in the background ... beautiful. We've been fortunate ... only 1 in 3 days is good weather and we got a good view yesterday and today!

The bus ride is some sort of safari. The bus driver is great at spotting animals and he stops for us to take pictures. And so, we've come across a ... bear! at last! :D And a wolf with food in the mouth ... and of course, mooses, caribouss, eagles ... and more grizzly bears. Ah! we also found some people from Manresa (my home town) ... what a coincidence!

And tomorrow ... some more hours in the park and then drive a bit more to the north ... to Fairbanks, just in thime for 4th of July, Independence Day.

Trans-Alaska: de Juneau a Denali

2008-07-03T08:24:00.001+02:00

02/07/2008, 22:20

D'hora demati, vol Juneau-Anchorage ... Ultimes vistes desde l'avio dels glaciars (foto!).

A Anchorage hem llogat un cotxe i comprat queviures, ja que anem cap al parc natural de Denali i alla ni supers ni hipers ... Just 4 restaurants i el tenderete de l'estacio de servei :)

I res, carretera i amunt. De cami ens hem fet la foto amb el Mount McKinley (k esta dins el parc k anem) ... I ens hem trobat la primera bestia seria, un "alce" (moose, in english). K guay! :)

I a dormir d'hora (heu vist l'hotel? Son unes cabanes al costat d'un riu, des d'on escric el miss), q dema entrem amb bus al parc ... 6hores d'anar, 6 hores per tornar ... Aiiiiiiii!

Ciao!

Early in the morning ... flight Juneau-Anchorage. Great views from the air of the glaciars (see pic).

In Anchorage, we rent a car and bought some food. We are going north to Denali and it seems that you'd better stock up here, as it is cheaper. There you find a few restaurants and the gas station mini-market.

And then, drive ... and drive ... through magnificent landscape. Half-way we got our first picture with Mount McKinley. And we also found the first animal of the trip ... a moose. Neat!

And today we go early to bed (have you seen the nice hotel/cabin next to the river?? ), because tomorrow we take a 12-hour ride in a bus to go all the way into the park ... it seems long!

[glaciar from the air]

[Cesc and Cris, with Mount McKinley at the back]

[a moose ... or caribou]

[our hotel/cabin ... next to the river ... beautiful]

Herbert Glacier - ultim dia a Juneau

2008-07-02T08:07:00.001+02:00

01/07/2007

Avui es l'ultim dia a Juneau. Dema a les 8 del mati agafem un avio de tornada al "mainland" d'Alaska, direccio Denali i Fairbanks.

Per rematar les caminades, avui ens hem fet 16km fins arribar davant el Herbert glacier, mes petit k el 1er k vam veure, xo igual de impressionant. Pero la fita mes important ha estat sobreviure als mosquits tigre amb el repelent caducat ... ara ja'n tenim un de bo.

I res, sopar en un restaurant/barraca al costat del riu (Gastineau Channel): salmo i halibut fins que no puguis mes :) Sort que cremem moltes calories caminant :)

Fins la proxima!

C & C

Today is our last day in Juneau. Tomorrow at 8AM we take a plane back to "mainland" Alaska (Anchorage Airport), going to Denali National Park and Fairbanks.

To finish with the hikes in the area, we take a 16km (10mi) long walk to Herber Glaciar, smaller than our first (Mendenahll), but equally impressive. But our achievement of today was surviving the friggingly big mosquitos with an expired "mosquito repelant" ... we now bought a good one :)

And then ... dinner in an all-you-can-eat shack next to the river (actually, Gastineau Channel). To eat: salmon and halibut, till you break! Luckily we burn a lot of calories walking ...

Hasta la vista!

Juneau Ice Field

2008-07-01T19:38:00.001+02:00

Escrit el 30/06/2008.

[El mes fotut es que no se quan llegireu aquest post, ja que hem sembla que tot el poble (capital d'alaska, amb 30mil habitants) s'ha quedat sense internet ... Xq us queixeu de telefonica!]

Altre cop el Cesc escrivint, reporteru dicharacheru ... Despres de la caminata d'ahir, avui ha estat mes relaxat (hem fet migdiada al cotxe i tot!).

Al mati hem anat amb helicopter, 45min, per el Juneau Icefield, que es la zona muntanyosa que genera totes les llengues de glas de la zona (veure el post d'ahir). Fins i tot ens han baixat 15min a sobre el glas x caminar ... espectacular!

A la tarda hem fet un cami relaxat a traves dels boscos frondosos de la zona (rain forest). Mooolt maku, ben cuidat i net!

Ah ... I que bo que esta el 'king crab' (cranc rei) ... N'hem dinat i sopat :)

Cesc

[The worst is tht we don't know when you will read this post, as it seems that the whole Juneau (remember, Alaska's capital, 30K inhabitants) is under an Internet blackout ... don't complain then about your local ISP! :D ]

This is Cesc writing again ... your loyal reporter. After yesterday's long walk, today has been rather relaxed (we even took a nap in the car :D ).

In the morning we took a helicopter ride, 45 minutes, over Juneau's Ice Field. It is the mountanouis area which generates all the glaciars in the area (for example, yesterdays Mendenhall). The helicopter even lands on one such glaciar "tongue" and you can walk for 15 minutes around ... amazing!

In the afternoon we took a relaxed walk in the rainforest around Juneau ... very green, very nice.

Oh ... and at night ... "King Crab" legs. Delicious!

Mendelhall glacier - Juneau

2008-06-30T05:40:00.002+02:00

29/06/2008
El meu primer blog, soc el Cristian. Avui a tocat dia de caminar. Hem anat al Mendelhall Glacier, a tocar el gel. El que tenia que ser una passejada de 4 hores, s'ha convertit en un trekking extrem de mes de 6 hores al intentar tornar del glaciar per un cami que ens em inventat. Cortesia de Canton Tours.
Una dutxa que ha estat gloria i cap a sopar salmo.

By Cristian Canton

Hi, this is Cristian writing ... my first post. Today has been a long day walking. We hiked to Mendenhall Glaciar, all the way to the ice (we even went under it, as you can see in the picture). What usually is a 4 hour walk, has become a rather extreme trekking of more than 6 hours thanks to trying to go back through an unmarked way, courtesy of Canton Tours :) Recommendation: don't do that, it's dangerous!
A shower at the Alaskan Hotel and salmon for dinner ... a great day!

Alaska!

2008-06-29T09:15:00.002+02:00

28/06/2008
Divendres a les 12 de la nit vam arribar a Anchorage, semblava quasi de dia!
Ja dissabte, dia de museus (Anchorage Museum i el Native Heritage Center) sobre alaska, la seva historia i la seva gent nativa (indis, esquimals, inuit, ... ). Visita imprescindible!
PS - hi ha anat el Cesc solet ... El Cristian pobret s'ha passat el dia en un soterrani a la conferencia ...

I res, que escric aquest missatge altre cop a dins un avio ... anem a Juneau, capital d'Alaska, per cert, innaccessible per carretera! Curios, eh? Aqui estarem 3 dies, de visita a glaciars sobretot. Ja us explicare :)

Cesc

Yesterday, friday, we arrived in Anchorage at 12 at night ... it was almost like day! Already on saturday, it was a "museum day" (Anchorage Museum and the Native Heritage Center): Alaska's history and its people (native, inuit, skimo, ...). You can NOT miss it. Oh ... Cesc went to the museums ... alone ... Cristian has spent the day in a basement at the conference center :)
And I am writing again from a plane ... this time going to Juneau, Alaska's capital, which is by the way not accessible by road ... funny, huh?! We'll be here 3 days, hiking to glaciars and in the nature. Sounds great!

Alcatraz, The Rock

2008-06-28T11:00:00.001+02:00

27/06/2008 23:59

Ultim dia a SanFran. D'hora al demati hem anat a visitar Alcatraz, la famosa preso immortalitzada a les pelicules, a 2km de la costa. Sabieu que va comensar com a forti de defensa de la bahia I que ara es parc natural?
Despres hem fet la turistada del 'cable car', el tramvia que va pels carrers tant empinats. Molt diver.

I be, escric el miss desde l'avio cap a Alaska. We are going "Into the wild" ... Pero amb maleta de rodes I d'hotel :)

PS - aterrant a Anchorage sobrevoles uns massissos nevats / glaciars .... k maku! fotos en proxims misstgs.

This is our last day in Frisco. Early in the morning we have booked a visit to Alcatraz, the famous out-of-service prision, popular in the movies, about 2Km far from the coast.Did you know it started as a Fort, to defend the Frisco Bay and that now is a natural reserve and that it may become a hotel?

We've then made the "for tourists" Cable Car ride, going up and down the hilly streets on a real old tram. Real fun!

I am writing already on the plane to Anchorage, Alaska. We are going "Into the Wild" ... but with a suitcase with wheels :) By the way, flying over Anchorage you get beautiful views of snowy mountain ranges and glaciars. Lovely! Pics on the next post.

Golden Gate by bike

2008-06-27T08:26:00.002+02:00

26/06/2008 23:30

De compres a un outlet per provisionar-nos per les caminades i la fresca d'Alaska, i despres, bici I a fer el golden gate bridge ... Precios. I x acabar, tornada amb ferry desde Sausalito ... Poble pijet a l'altre canto del pont.

We went shopping at a sports outlet near the beggining of the Golden Gate (we need some gear for the hikes and the fresh weather of Alaska). We then take a bike and spend the whole day crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, going up to Vista Point and to Sausalito (a posh and touristic and nice and quiet town on the other side of the bridge). The way back is on the ferry, from Sausalito, passing by the Alcatraz Island.

[View from San Francisco side]

[in the middle of the bridge]

[From Marin County, Vista Point]

San Francisco Tram & Napa Valley

2008-06-26T07:52:00.005+02:00

25/06/2008 23:30

Comencem el dia veient els trams, a Fisherman's Wharf (foto Cesc I Cristian). Despres, amb cotxe, anem cap al centre (passant primer pel mitic carrer Lombard Street ... impressionant la pendent) visitar chinatown (estan a tot arreu!) ...

The day starts with a view of the typical San Franciscan Cable Cars, at Fisherman's Wharf (Cesc & Cristian in the picture). We then drive to Chinatown (of course experiencing the mythical Lombard Street ... that is downhill!) and have a bite to eat there.

... hem agafat el cotxe i cap a Napa Valley (nord de san fran), a fer uns tastets de vi de california! (foto amb Cesc, Cristian, Masha i Stuart).

Afterwards we decide to make use of the car and head off for Napa Valley (north of San Fran), for some wine tasting at Stag's Leap Winery and Robert Mondavi. On the picture, Masha, Stuart, Cristian and Cesc).

California Map

2008-06-22T12:57:00.002+02:00

Hei,

Not to forget, California is also on the schedule. To visit:
I que no se m'oblidi, California tambe es part del viatje. A visitar:

San Francisco, Yosemite, Sequoia, Los Angeles

Cesc

Alaska Map

2008-06-21T11:08:00.002+02:00

Ep!
Un mapa d'Alaska ... just abans de marxar cap alla. A visitar:
A map of Alaska ... just before I leave. To visit:

Anchorage, Denali National Park, Fairbanks and Juneau (Glacier Park)

Cesc

First Post Ever!

2005-12-27T01:41:00.000+01:00

A omplir.
To fill in.
:D