Dionisio Alcala Galiano
Galiano Island, one of the Gulf Islands off the coast of Vancouver, was our destination this past weekend (May 29-30). Together with Chris and Beth, our two new friends and adventure companions, we set off on touring bikes to explore this island and map it too. As it turns out, OpenStreetMap didn't have any vector data on Galiano, so Ben was very keen on bicycling as many of its roads as we could, which considering the island is only a mere 30 km x 3 km, shouldn't have been much of a problem, except for the short-lived steep uphills which had up to 15% gradients!
The island takes its name after the Spanish Naval Captain and explorer Dionisio Alcala Galiano, who together with Commander Cayetano Valdes, were am
ong the first Europeans to explore this region in 1792. The natives, or First Nations people as they are referred to in Canada, had been inhabiting the island for at least 5000 years prior to the arrival of the Europeans. The park where we camped at the northern tip of the island is called Dionisio Provincial Park, also after Captain Galiano. This park, founded in 1991 by the Galiano community (most of the park's lands where donated by the logging company MacMillan and Bloedel) is one of the four parks that protect the many beautiful Douglas Fir forests and wildlife areas of the island. In this visit we had the opportunity to see many sea otters, seals, hawks, geese, hummingbirds and one bald eagle (and a lost peacock!). Chris and Beth are great connoisseurs of the flora and fauna of the Pacific Northwest (they worked at the Olympic National Park for many years, re-vegetating the area, and volunteering in different conservation projects). They taught us about the beautiful Arbutus (or Madrona) tree, native to the area, as well as the ubiquitous Salal, the Salmonberry, and the virulent Scotch Broom.
Galiano has only some 1000 permanent inhabitants, which double in the summer with the arrival of the tourists. The community is trying to keep it rural and not too urbanized, trying to respect the natural order of things as much as they can. But it is clear that there is pressure to sell more lots of land and build more houses, as it seems Vancouverites have an huge appetite for high-priced real state. We can only wonder where all the money comes from really. In their attempts to keep visitors under control, most maps of the island do not show all the roads, not even the 4WD ones. So Ben had a lot of fun mapping them this weekend with the GPS, albeit he is not done - some roads were not biked, so we must come back. The data is already available in OpenStreetMap, for all those who care about freedom.
The Venga Bus Band
Melissa Martens, a long time friend of Ben from Baltimore, Sundari Meacham, Ben's sister who lives in Seattle and her other-half, Elijah Driscol, and us two spent the weekend of May 22nd to 23rd together in Vancouver mostly saying the word "Aquabus" outloud, singing the Venga Bus song (from the Vengaboys), talking design, world matters, and most specially, talking a lot about the game of Mahjong. As Melissa just opened another very successful exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in NYC, where she works as a curator, we had the opportunity to learn a great deal about this game. Now we are desperate to get our hands on one of those beautiful sets to start playing it for real.
Backtracking a bit, we actually started our weekend a bit earlier. We took Friday May 21st off and went to pick up Melissa in Seattle. We toured the city with her, exploring the hippie and progressive neighborhood of Fremont, then venturing downtown for the mandatory visit to Pike's Market Place, and finally closing it with a wine tasting at a fabulous wine bar, Purple (did I mention the succulent melted goat cheese with herbs we had with the wine??). On our way back to Vancouver we sang pretty much every song in the Top 40 Countdown of the week of May 21st, 1983 (got to love Sirius 80s-on-8). The top song that week was no other than David Bowie's "Let's Dance" - so appropriate. 1983 was truly a great year for 80s music: "Every Breath you Take", "Total Eclypse of the Heart, "Beat It", "Billie Jean", "Flashdance", "Come on Eileen" and "Safety Dance". I mean, who can beat that?!
Once in Vancouver, Sundari and Elijah joined us for an unforgettable weekend of great food, laughs, stories and walks. To top it all off, on the Saturday night we all went to see Eddie Izzard's latest stand-up show, "Stripped". A dream come true for most of us, seeing Eddie live, on stage, was quite an experience. The man is just as smart as he is funny - the show consisted of a long stream-of-consciousness conversation about evolution, atheism, history, science and, of course, about how the monarchy is good for nothing. Quite unforgettable. Then on Sunday, after a nice hike in Lynn Canyon Park and a visit to the Fluevog exhibition, we all had a yummy dinner at Habit on Main St., and then met with Susan Grossman, Chris and Beth for drinks.
We truly enjoyed very much showing off our new city and our official base-camp, Castle16, for the (hopefully long) foreseeable future. After Sundari and Elijah went back to Seattle, we spent Monday May 24th with Melissa (public holiday in Canada - Victoria Day), visiting vintage shops and playing really loudly Guitar (Band) Hero at Susan's place on her Wii. Later we picked up Kevin (our friend from Berlin who we hiked with in Patagonia back in December) at the airport. Kevin stayed with us a few more days before embarking on the West Coast Trail in Vancouver Island. We expect to see him again in a few weeks, before we departs to Berlin. We will diligently gather lots of good information about his trip and send him home with good memories of Canada.
And then, on Wednesday May 26th, Melissa had to go back to her beloved NYC, leaving a bit of a hole in the house and a desire to see her again very soon. It was a great visit of the now-officially-named Venga Bus Band! Even Enzo, our car, has gotten a second name - The Venga Bus! Fortunately, soon we will see Sundari and Elijah again when we go down to Seattle for the Fremont Fair weekend (apparently, there's even a naked bike ride in the works...).
^ TOPVancouver Goods and Gods
It has been now three months and a half since we arrived in Vancouver, Canada. We left Germany on Jan 27th, and started working at MDA on Feb. 1st. Much has happened since, and to make a long story short, we've summarized in a list the main activities that we've been engaged in lately. So, since Feb. 1st we have:
- Been working at MDA Systems Ltd.
- Obtained work permits and applied for permanent residency to Canada.
- Lived at the lovely home of Donna Peerless and her sheriff Percy in Kerrisdale.
- Watched a bit of the Winter Olympics (best part - Virtue and Moir gold medal in ice dancing).
- Purchased a 4WD Jeep Patriot, which we baptized with the name of Enzo.
- Played curling for a full afternoon at a social event (our residency exam!).
- Found a house to rent in a lovely neighborhood called Mt. Pleasant.
- Moved into this house, received our things from Germany, unpacked and purchased some furniture.
- Been at two concerts - Armin van Buuren and the magnificent La Roux.
- Been twice in Seattle visiting Sundari and Elijah (Ben's stepsister and her fiance).
- Seen several wonderful Burlesque acts (Moisture Festival and The Olymphixx) and Variete shows (Nanda).
- Visited Ben's parents in New Hampshire and Chris and Maya in Massachusetts.
- Traveled on a business trip to Montreal and Ottawa, where Maria saw the Parliament building.
- Started exercising - biking and running.
- Joined the BC Mountaineering Club (BCMC) and been at several of their socials.
- Participated in the Vancouver Sun Run, the largest 10K race in Canada.
- Gone on a BCMC Trip up a beautiful mountain called Sun God in the Sea to Sky region.
- Biked to work - a 15 km ride each way on nice streets and a new bridge.
- Found a family doctor (by far the most difficult of all the things we've done!).
Of all these activities, it is number 17, the hike to Sun God Mountain, that is the one that has made us feel the happiest. It is because of them mountains that we moved to Vancouver in the first place, and this first trip has more than exceeded our expectations about the area in every regard. We had a great time with the group of BCMC people (Sabine, Tracy, Jim, Jamie, Ryan and Paul) we joined on this trip; they were really friendly and very interesting. The trip was led by Sabine, who took great pictures during the trek. One of the group members, Ryan, wrote a very detailed account of the trip in Club Tread, a great portal for trail resources.
In summary: we still cannot believe our luck: that we ended here in Canada, a country known for its friendliness, and in Vancouver, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, both working in the same company, one with a healthy working environment to top it off, living in a pretty area, and with mountains, ocean and gorgeous big trees all around us! It is just possible that we might not be wanting to move out of here in a very long long long time. Cheers!
^ TOPBetween Patagonia and Canada
Since we will most likely not be seeing our friends and family in Europe as often as we would like now that we are moving to the west coast of Canada (i.e. 16 hours of air travel away...), we decided to jam as much time as possible with them before heading back to Berlin for packing and getting ready for the departure to Vancouver at the end of January. So we went from Patagonia to Spain to spend Christmas and New Year's with my parents, sister and brother-in-law, and from there traveled to Darmstadt to see all our great good friends, Julia and Derick, Nacho and Virginia, Belén, Eoin, Julie, Thomas and Florence, Richard, and Pete and Michelle. We also spent two days at Eumetsat, visiting our ex-coworkers and bosses, talking about the new changes - both in our lives as well as at Eumetsat. It was rewarding to feel the positive atmosphere that is now present at Eumetsat. They are very clearly headed for a promising new decade.
The atmosphere in Moià, my parents town, was relaxing and joyous. Even though my parents are sad that we will be so far away from them, especially now considering their old age (my Dad is 86 and my Mom is 79), they are so happy for us. They know this is a good change and they look forward to seeing all the pictures we will send them. My sister Carolina and her husband, el lupo Felix, are already looking up diving opportunities in Vancouver and are excited we are going there so they can visit us and go diving too! My best memory from this time in Moià will be the happy faces of my parents on New Year's Eve. They looked so so happy, I will never forget it.
Spending time in Darmstadt with Julia, Derick and their little ones, Marta (6) and Kelvin (3), was also an unforgettable experience. Their kids are the most lovable kids ever, and so smart too. They both speak three languages quite well - Spanish, English and German. Needless to say both Ben and I are quite jealous of them. For me, as always, seeing and being with Julia was the most important thing. How much have I missed her, and how much more will I miss her. That, I guess, is the price we pay for moving around so much. One gains something, but loses something else.
In any case, I am sure they will all come to visit us in Vancouver! We are flying there on the 27th of January and starting our new jobs at MDA on the 1st of February. And so, the new wild ride begins.
^ TOPUno, Dos, Tres, ¡Salta!
I lost count of the different glaciers we saw on this trip to Patagonia, from small chunky bits clinging to tall peaks to enormous flows in the process of carving fresh valleys, powered by the vast Southern Patagonian Ice Field (Hielo Sur).We flew over the Hielo Sur as we hopped from Santiago de Chile to Punta Arenas, pretty much at the bottom of continental South America. Already from the airplane it was clear we both wanted a hands on look. Thus inspired we rented crampons before entering Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina. Now burdened with an extra half kilo of sharpened steel we set off on a route that would follow river valleys around the north side of the towering Cerro Fitz Roy. This vertical slab of rock is famous in climber circles and lives up well to its native name, El Chaltén. This means "Smoking Mountain" and we had wonderful views of the mountain over the two days we spent trekking in. We left the day-hikers behind and enjoyed watching mist pour off the peak - seemingly generating spontaneous clouds.
Our goal was the M
arconi Glacier at the head of the Rio Eléctrico. Known as the kick-off point for many genuine Hielo Sur expeditions, we hoped to be able to do some unroped tromping around on its lower reaches. We attained the glacier itself after a long morning sampling ever-changing weather as we worked our way across scree slops and through freezing streams. I learned a new Spanish word: vadear - to ford, or wade. Though the current was strong enough that it threatened to become a case of nadar.The Marconi Glacier turned out to be plenty majestic in its upper ice field, but the foot of the glacier where we stood was rotted into steeply leaning seracs and was regularly spitting out fast skittering rocks from above. Clearly this was the end of the line for us without significantly more technical gear. All but two glaciers in Patagonia have shown heavy retreat in recent years, generally blamed on global warming. It's even suspect that the two that hold steady, Pio XI and Perito Moreno, only do so because warmer air over the sea is causing greater winds and precipitation due to sea evaporation. A land conservationist from the Cielos Patagonicos Trust told us that the Marconi Glacier had melted back 300 meters in 9 years, an rate astounding that it is tough to believe.
Three days later we had worked our way to a sheltered campground at Laguna Toro on the south side of Fitz Roy, passing the equally legendary pinnacle Cerro Torre. This route would take us to the top of Paso del Viento where we hoped for good views of the enormous (43 km long) Viedma Glacier. The weather forecast we had from a day before wasn't promising but we thought the trek would be a worthy venture nonetheless because the route would take us directly onto the true right side of the medium-sized Túnel Glacier, which feeds Laguna Toro. Park rangers had assured us that as long as one stays on the the far edge where there would be lots of rock rubble on the surface that the ice would be navigable in hiking boots alone.Stunning blue skies
greeted us in the morning as we set out with bellies full of oatmeal, and the great weather held fast the whole day. We had several more thigh-high glacial stream crossings, so that sun was crucial for thawing out toes after each vadeo. After a final scramble across another steep and loose scree slope we reached the ice itself, and at last strapped on our crampons and stepped onto the glacier proper.We worked our way up the glacier a bit to get a way from the rubble covered edge, but held back from approaching the larger crevasses further up. Instead we chose an intermediate ground to practice crampon travel. Here the ice was safely laid bare of hole-concealing snow by the late spring melt, yet still plenty hard enough for our crampon
points to get a good bite. The trick to crampons is that you trade off any chance of slipping for a much higher probability of tripping. And there were still a few crevasses that implied a bit of gumption to step across the gap. Some of them we made an easy end-run around. Others we approached hand-in-hand and counted, Uno, Dos, Tres, ¡Salta! Though a balance technique of dubious merit, we so enjoyed approaching each crack, always echoing with the mysterious trickling of melt water, and inspecting the deep blue of ice formed in the megapascal glacial forge. When we eventually completed our crossing, and braved a few more steep scree and snow slopes, we climbed to the top of Paso del Viento and enjoyed perfect visibility across the Hielo Sur. Normally the domain of banshee winds, we were tempted to rename it Paso del Sol. We ate a very late lunch on the pass in the company of sun, mountain rock, snow and ice, the rare scraggly bit of moss, and a few venturous (lost?) birds. Perhaps we even took a few pictures.
This is a region which has been historically contested between Argentina and Chile, with adjudication proceeding as recently as early 2008. Thus our various paper and GPS maps were not entirely in agreement of whether we had crossed back into Chile. However our consensus opinion was that the border did in fact run right along the saddle of the pass, meaning that a single step further would have been an immigration violation. For the record: "We did not take that extra step."Retracing our steps back down to our campsite was fast compared to coming up, but it was still late when we finished. Fortunately there was still plenty of light at 10:30 pm to make an enormous pot of instant mashed potatoes. Even after cooking there were easily two more days worth of potato flakes still in the bag, but much as we wanted to keep exploring Los Glaciares, it was time to start heading back to civilization. A day of hiking and a day of buses would still leave us enough time back in Punta Arenas to tour Isla Magdelena and its 180,000 strong population of Magellenic Penguins. And for those pictures you'll have to dip into our Flora and Fauna of Patagonia album.
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