The border of the road we are driving uphill is skirted by giant bushes of hortensias and beautiful trees. Every time the dense vegetation permits our gaze wanders over gently curved hills, covered by green fields and the blue sea in the background. After a little while we arrive at a viewpoint overlooking a paradise on its own. We are looking at what thousands of years ago was a huge fire spiting crater of a volcano, but today is maybe one of the most idyllic places on earth. The walls of the crater are covered by a beautiful green forest and in its centre are two tranquil lakes. One with blue, the other with green waters. Legend has it that once Read the rest of this entry »

We are anchoring in a nice little bay with withe sand enclosed by hills with green bushes and trees which are standing so close together and whose branches are so fine and crocked that from a distance they seem like a giant broccoli. Our plan for this morning is to take the dinghy in order to get some bread and vegetables in the nearby village of Bahia de Praia. Even it is Sunday today we hope to find a shop which is open in the morning. As we arrive on the beach of Bahia there is already some entertainment going on. A group of children is dancing to rhythm given by a instructor in front of the only building on the beach. Some people are taking a bath while others walking the beach up and down. I do enter into a bar in the building and I meet a couple which came for a visit over from São Miguel. They tell me that there is a shop further up the hill but without a car it would be a 20 to 30 minutes walk. We start walking on the main road Read the rest of this entry »

This is one of the most important sayings I have learned during this crossing from Lanzarote to the Azores. Low pressure and high pressure systems are the main responsible forces in creating wind. The atmosphere tends to equalize those pressure differences and for this reason air is flowing from the high pressure areas towards the centre of the low pressure systems. The result is the wind blowing into the sails of our vessel and so moving it over the surface of the ocean towards our destination in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. But this wind also pushes our little boat into a constant angle Read the rest of this entry »

The air is hot an humid. Each step I take I get the sense of yet another smell so different, new and unknown. Fragrances of incense sticks and exotic foods are mixing up with the traffic and the noises of the metropolis. Singapore… Where the ancient traditions of the continent of the rising sun meet the achievements of the western world. Whenever I have the chance I love to spent a few days in this city full of contrasts. No city in Asia brings all the different oriental cultures so close together as one can see in Singapore.

I dive into the side streets of China Town with it’s hundreds of shops offering bizarre looking goods and pharmacies full of herbal medicines and elixir. I step inside Buddhist temples and watch men playing nine men’s morris and betting in the streets. On the river walk a group of athletes, dressed with the latest gear and iPods, are having a workout. In Little India a sweet aromatic smell is present everywhere. Read the rest of this entry »

“One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.”

When walking through the volcanic landscape of the Timanfaya National Park this passage out of “The Lord of the Rings” often comes to my mind. At its shores, where the rivers of lava have been halted by the sea a unreal place with extreme contrasts and bizarre shapes arose. During hundreds of years wind and sea formed, modeled the cliffs emerging from the sea like as if by a divine curse petrified warriors. Lined up, standing against the relentless chisel of the surf they defend their kingdom. A mystical air surrounds every rock, breathes through every cave and stone arch washed out by the sea, is present in every rock pool the outgoing tide leaves behind. And as the setting sun vanishes behind the horizon, the soul keeps its breath and time stands still for a moment.