Kalilandia

Santa Theresa Santa Theresa is one of the several party destinations in Costa Rica. We are ready for some "loco fiestas" but we are up for a surprise.  Moon landscapes  Already driving from Samara, we figure that roads are getting worse and worse the more south we go, but when we approach Santa Theresa, and even worse - when we enter into the little Pacific village - we are in disbelief with the moon landscapes on the roads (I must have been too shocked as I have not a single photo of that memorable view). The car is jumping and sinking at every meter, there is not a sign of asphalt - only dirt, which goes through every little hole in the car, all around the air. Some people have given up cars and have jumped on the scooters, wrapped in scarves in order to be able to breath.  As adventurous as it is, and being one of the most recommended destinations on the Pacific coast, we still cannot get the concept and charm of breathing dirt while on holiday. Santa T...

Plane - car - waterfall. Action! After a tremendously long flight of 12 hours from Amsterdam to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, Jenthe and I jump into a little van and experience by far the worst traffic jam in our lives. In San Jose, thousands of cars are simply queuing for several hours for a distance, which should not take more than 30 minutes. Our driver is, however, listening to some reggaeton radio and has apparently no worries in life... Long story short, we have not spent much time in San Jose and frankly, if you have a limited time, it could easily remain a transit place. However, Costa Rica is something to see. It is the most environmentally friendly country in its region, it has no army and geographically, standing over the clashing of massive tectonic plates in the core of the Earth, it possesses a special energy, which explains the spiritual seekers all over the place. The following day, we rent our 4x4 vehicle and head to our first destination, La F...

Time for my annual solo-trip. What better than to satisfy my passions for hiking, yoga & Alps? I have recently developed an addiction to these mountains, after succumbing to the Italian and Slovenian parts recently. ( Read here my non-solo stories from Italy, "The Alps: The right home for the human spirit" , and from Slovenia "Mountains, sea, and a pinch of love" .)   I depart from quiet summery Brussels to fly into quiet rainy Lyon and hop onto a train to Grenoble. I have a master plan to spend a couple of days hiking on my own in the Alps before I go deep into an ashram in the middle of the mountains for a Tantric yoga retreat. You may read a little revealed secrets abou t it here .  Snuggly Grenoble in the midst of the mountains I have no expectations but Grenoble steals my heart from the very first evening. While I am used to vast flat horizons in Belgium, no building in Grenoble can hide the mountains, which surround it from ...

Chame - Upper Pisang - Manang New notions of Cold It is above 3500m. I have been on the trek for a few days, but it feels an eternity. There is no salvation from the cold. Cold has a new meaning for me, a new power, too. I hear myself using indecent words more frequently as I successfully build my lifestyle in the cold. I see my breath while falling asleep in the room, my phone cannot stay turned on outside of my sleeping bag, I have become intimate with my water bottle, which I fill in with hot water to put inside the sleeping bag every evening. I have overpassed all personal records for speedy teeth brushing, figuring out how to take a shower with some different heating solution in every lodge, and running outside to my room wet after a shower in 5-10 degrees below zero. If one surrenders to the unusual conditions, where one is entirely dependent on the nature, the basic sanitation and the lack of distraction, they end up connecting with part of their primal nature. So do I - ...