Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico labels itslef "la isla del encanto". So let's verify. First, a good sign is that the label is in Spanish. Good point! And to my surprise, Spanish is really the dominant language there. Good for my practice. So let's translate - the island of enchantment.

Second, since Puerto Rico was the second place the Spanish "discovered" in America (in 1493), it has a charming Spanish look. The old town - well renovated - has nice colorful houses, with their traditional patio, cobblestone streets, a protective wall, a big church.

Third, while the Spanish were not the nicest of colonizers, they built a big castle - el morro - to protect San Juan. It proved useful against the Dutch and the English, but not against the Americans.

Third, the vegetation is lush and we enjoyed a good hike in El Yunque national forest, up to the cool waterfalls La Mina.

Fourth, the beaches! Waow. The water was so welcoming. One of the best beach was in Luquillo, where you can combine a relaxing swim with tasty food (for example, a pineapple stuffed with seafood and rice) and a glass of parcha - the local passion fruit drink. Talking about food, the desserts were also delicious, thanks to the Spanish influence.

Fifth, Puerto Rico has some natural wonders like the Camuy cave. Another good hike and, of course, the guide had to point at formations and argue that they looked like Jesus and angels... In the cave, we saw some bats flying around, which reminded me that bats are the only type of wild mammals who populate to the island.

Sixth, Puerto Rico is also an island of scientific enchantment. The world largest radio telescope sits in a natural hole in between small peaks at Arecibo. Like a lot of technological constructions, it is an impressive achievement, yet it looks a bit outdated or even eroded. Its moment of fame is probably its background role in the James Bond movie Goldeneye. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH2qnn4D0kY

Seventh and best was the discovery of bio-luminescence! Puerto Rico boasts three of the five places on Earth were you can see these little organisms (pyrodinium bahamense) create light. After paddling on a kayak through a mangrove canal, we reached a lagoon where these micro organisms live. Once it became dark, we stirred the water and there it was - light was created! Apparently, these micro organisms generate light by rotating on themselves when they sense that the water gets stirred by its approaching predator (a prawn). By doing that, the prawn becomes visible to its predator (a fish). Generating light is an inventive defense mechanism. And I must say that observing light being created by these micro organisms and then a fish swimming towards that light was a brilliant experience.

Williamsburg - Jamestown

How far can you go back in history in the USA ? Interesting question indeed. Well, one major answer is to be found in Jamestown, which boasts to be the "first permanent colony of the English people, the birthplace of Virginia and of the United States". Nothing less! And yet, when did that happen? On May 13, 1607... 

There is not much left of the "James Fort". The fences built in a rectangular form have been recreated. Most of the area is just open fields, with some digging going on. It is difficult to assess how things were in those days, except that the situation looked very precarious. One of the best known figure of the early Jamestown is Pocahontas, the Indian lady who eventually married an Englishman, and traveled to England to demonstrate that Indians are not enemies.

More impressive is the town of Williamsburg, which succeeded Jamestown as capital of Virginia in 1699. There is recreated - emphasis on this word - Colonial Williamsburg. Walking around, it feels like between in an outdoor museum or maybe even a sort of theme park. For example, there is the Governor's Palace and the Capitol. Some actors play the role of historical figures, moving around on horses or in a carriage, and dressed like in the old days.

There are also a few main roads with recreated shops, businesses and bars. The local souvenir shop sells "memorabilia" from the old times. "Memorabilia" made in China...!!! Already in those days.

Lastly, it was also the occasion to spend a day at Virginia Beach, a very enjoyable beach. Playing beach volley was most fun.

Solar Impulse

It seems that June is the month of flying objects. After the balloon and before the commercial airplane, here is Solar Impulse. A sun-powered airplane, which can fly even during the night.

After landing at midnight in Washington, there was an open door afternoon to showcase the airplane. My impression is of an impressive technological achievement, yet not so revolutionary. 

The aisles are the same length as the ones of standard airplanes, but they look much bigger since the main part of airplane is small. There is space only for one person, the pilot.

On top of the wings is where the solar panels are located. My only criticism about the exhibition is that we could not see the plane from above. Maybe they should have organised a platform, so we could have a sense of how important the solar panels are.

I must admit that I like the logo "an idea born in Switzerland". Then there are the (numerous) sponsors. Hopefully, the tour across America is helping with the finances. It seems that the public interest is there. Finally, it feels good to witness such an idea coming to reality, but at the same time, I was left puzzled at the next steps. I hope to have another entry on this topic soon.

Balloon flight

5.10 am ! Yes, that it was the meeting time for a balloon flight. OK, I did wake up for that. I must say that I am glad our flight succeeded at the first attempt. Some other people were trying to lift off for the fourth time...

Our group moved to an open field next to a church. Is that a good sign?

The three balloons were quickly unwrapped and hot air was blown into them. Soon they started to become alive. Then it was time to ignite the propane - there was a big flame, almost welcomed in the chilly morning. Soon, we would get to have enough of that flame, as it would burn the top of our head... especially to those without/with few hair.

And then, it was time for the twelve of us to jump into the balloon. Notice, that there was no check-in, no security control, no taking your shoes off, ... Take off!! Smooth and slow.

The balloon's shade would follow us, at the gentle speed of 15 kilometers/hour.

The balloon flew at a decent height of around 500 meters above ground.

 

This gave ample opportunity to enjoy the rural scenery above the Shenandoah valley. Nice fields. At some stages, we flew over chicken farms, disturbed cow herds, made horses gallop, rabbits run, and dogs bark. The best was flying over this deer, which observed our object and in two, three jumps disappeared in the bush.

 

After one hour, it was time to land. Approaching the ground, the wind slowly pulled the balloon towards a tree. Branches were approaching. Leaves were approaching. The bang with the tree was avoided, but not the one with the ground. It was a gentle bang, though. Nice landing. And it would have been a shame to damage a flying object worth 90.000 dollars.

Close encounters at Yellowstone

Yellowstone was first about numbers: 5 entrances (which one to choose?), a road making a big 8 in the park (which direction to drive it?), and 10 best things to see (which ones are indeed a must see?). Quickly this changed as soon as we entered the park. It is indeed a true national park, with beautiful settings, great nature, many wild animals, and of course some unique features.

Let's talk then about wild animals, with a variety apparently unparalleled in the US. The first picture shows deers and the second one, bisons - just in case you do not recognise them yourself... Ok, we got a big yellow leaflet saying that you should not approach the wildlife and keep a distance of 25 yards from bisons. But who knows what 25 yards are? Meters please! This was a close encounter. Yet the closest one was when we were in the car and literally surrounded by a huge herd of bisons. So many of them. 

The animal that I was most keen to see was the bear. And we had to be committed to find one. Indeed the most direct road to the Lamar valley was closed - we could not drive through the entire 8 road, as a few roads are closed during the extended winter time time (yet, we were there at the end of May...!). The detour was worth it. First, we saw two baby grizzly hanging way up two different trees. I did not know bears were climbing trees so high up. An American tourist (who studied in Switzerland...) kindly offered us to look through his binoculars. Apparently, their mother had gone hunting, and the baby's best protection is to stay up in the trees. A few miles down the road, we got to see two black bears this time. The bigger one is pictured above. They were grazing...! So we can definitely say that Yellowstone is a great place to see bears.

Yellowstone was mostly created after a big volcano eruption. Of course, in the crater of the volcano, there should be a lake. This one is huge and peaceful - and more or less normal or even "boring". No trace of underground activity. Beautiful setting for a lunch picnic, with the snowy mountains in the background.

Indeed, other lakes, or rather basins, are more active, bubbling, "alive". Water heated up by the underground lava is coming to the surface. This happens in different ways. The first one is through wide openings - the temperature of the water can reach 70 degrees.

The second one, most spectacular, is through geysers. One called "Old Faithful" faithfully erupts according to a very predictable calendar. Tourists can then plan to sit and wait to see this geyser erupt. I was much more impressed by the one above - the castle geyser. I got lucky to see it, as its rythm is more erratic and infrequent. But there is was. The eruption lasted more than 20 minutes. It's difficult to image on the picture, but there is also a strong noise and the odor of rotten egg (because of the sulfur). So much so that my friend said one could fart unnoticed...  

Another manifestation of the heat coming from below is the smoke/vapor. Driving through the park, time and again there is smoke coming out of the ground and raising above the trees.

 

A more gentle form is the hot springs. Apparently, in winter, animals come and sit in these ponds to warm up.

There are also spectacular waterfalls in the park, like the lower Yellowstone river falls. Notice the snow still on the left side of the falls.

San Francisco

It is certainly the first time - and probably the last time - that I start my entry with a garage door. That is San Francisco for you... a strange place. This garage door is officially where Silicon Valley started. That is where Mr. Hewlett and Mr. Packard started their now well-known business. The running joke here is that garage rentals are higher than flat rentals.

Silicon Valley is also the place of Google, Apple, Facebook, other start-ups, as well as Stanford University. Guess what trees grow up in Steve Jobs' garden... yes, apple trees! Further, we saw google employees walking around with trial google glasses. They should become the next big technological device. In the meantime, I just got to ride the google bike. It is apparently a very popular way to move around the huge google compound.

 For such a short distance, I did not need google map - there is the car taking all these pictures.

San Francisco is not only for geeks but also for tourists. So there we go for the highlights. First, the Golden Gate bridge. It indeed is a great architectural achievement.

Second, Lombard Street and its steep slope. Of course, when you are in a Mercedes, it is a piece of cake to drive it down. I am still puzzled that this is one of the main touristic highlight... but I did it, so I guess I contribute to it.

Third, the cable car. There we did not get to board it as it was too crowded. It is hard to understand that in this town at the cutting edge of technology, the cable car is so old and outdated. Maybe it says something about the gulf between the private and public sectors.

Fourth, Alcatraz. Prisons on island seem to be a classic. Let's see if Guantanamo will reach the iconic status of Alcatraz.

Inside Alcatraz, there is a very well done audio tour which guides you through the various areas of the jail and presents stories from the prisoners' and wardens' point of view. Thankfully, that day was neither chilly nor wet - being in jail was not too much of an ordeal.

All in all, a very good week-end in San Francisco!

Cherry Blossom

After a never ending winter, including a cold month of March, Spring finally arrived. The trees and blooms took their time to blossom. So much time, that the cherry blossom festival had to be postponed by two weeks.

Just by walking around the city, the trees are everywhere to be seen.

Most tourists and visitors go towards the Tidal Basin and the Monuments, yet this year we decided to go to the Chevy Chase neighborhood. This was a little gem. There are four-five streets with 1200 trees, which were in peak blossoming conditions! 

Driving around, it almost feels like being inside the trees.