Tag Archives: hiking

Yosemite national park

Mariposa is a nice beautiful little village in California. Tourists come mainly for the access to the Yosemite park. It looks nice and is surrounded by green meadows and little hills. Picture postcard feeling.

Mariposa lodge is ok, fits the purpose. As always, go to bed around 9pm to get up 6:30 next day. Still 45 mins to drive to Yosemite entrance. So we did. Luckily we found a parking spot easily. And decided to do 2 hikes , one for the mirror lake and one to see the old trees in the afternoon. The scenery is breathtaking. Yes we have the Alps and I never made it to South Americas Anden but we were in the Caucasus in Georgia. Enjoy the pictures and believe me, it’s 10 times better in reality.

Yosemite fall
mirror lake with reflections of Halfdome mountain
those belong to Mammut trees and they are between 1.800 and 2.600 yrs old
tourists ☺️

Both hikes were 17 km in total. We spent almost the full day at Yosemite NP.

Oahu – day 4

The most intense day so far. Was really tough but we made it through. 4:45 – alarm clock rungs. Coffee was a must. We were heading towards East Oahu’s shoreside. I ve been told that Lanikai is the most beautiful and breathtaking beach all over the island. Especially for sunrise. And yes , true ….

sunrise at Lanikai

Meanwhile some guys get the canoes to water, looked like a training for an upcoming event…

canoe training

It was soooo nice to sit there and watch the sun rising. One more pic? here you go…

sunrise II

Our breakfast package prepared after the show was almost over and we had our meal facing the Pacific ocean. Stamina was needed for next topic on todays list. Lanikai pillbox hike. Medium rated and yes it was. 500 mtrs up and down within 45 mins. The view was stunning. Have a look

Lanikai hike view

And , the water was shimmering like on pictures…

At the top are two old WWII bunker which are used as a view point terrace. Now down down down hurry up… next stop : Pearl Harbor memorial.

It was raining when we arrived. Baggage costs 6 $ each, the entrance is free to the area. You can move around, watch movies and visit several museums. If you want to get to a battle ship or a submarine you have to pay for. Which is ok, what we didn’t know , you can pick a time slot online to avoid queuing. Otherwise queue lasts for at least 2 hrs. So we walked around and took pictures and read the information.

Been here, done that. What’s next? Diamond head hiking trail. A breathtaking view was promised. But on the way there we found ourselves close to Waikiki beach so we stopped by. Nice beach. For tourists with little kids…

Waikiki beach
official sign
a cheeky guest for lunch at Waikiki

Now was time for Diamond Head. During the middle of the day, 28 degrees, sunny. We climbed the trail up. And down. Unfortunately Mandy broke up, it was too hot. And of course the second hike this day. I made it up to the top and was rewarded with this …

view point Diamond Head

Now we feel groggy but it was the effort worth. For sure. Now the dinner is waiting and we burned so many calories that we will have burger for tonight’s dinner.

Oahu – day 3

Idea for today. Do the coastal hiking trail which will bring you to the most western point of Oahu. Right beside the Pacific ocean with a stunning view.

Coastal hiking trail west Oahu

Whole trail was 5.5 miles, there and back. At the end of the track a big fence stopped us but with a door, closed with a latch. Just to protect the Albatross colony and their breeding. Eggs would be stolen otherwise by rats and mungo.

On the way back the light rain catches us. Nasty even it was not cold. So 2 miles with wet clothes.. not really fun. Pace was increased so we made the round trip within 2:25 hrs for 9,5 km.

Most western hill at Oahu … and rain.

Back to our tiny house for a shower, a quick light lunch and a rest. For the afternoon we decided to visit the Kualoa Ranch, famous for the reboot Hawaii Five-O production. Soon enough Mandy realized that it would be closed as soon as we would arrive. Damn. Skipped this plan for some shopping and coffee so we drove direction Kahuku. Sunday afternoon when in Germany the sky is crystal clear and everyone goes for ice cream or coffee or or or… most locations here were closed from 5 pm on. Wired. But we grabbed food for dinner at Foodland supermarket and spent the rest of the day at Papa’iloa beach for sunset. And were not disappointed… see by yourself

sunset Papa’iloa beach
Me, my Hawaii shirt and Mandy 😊
final stage ….

For tomorrow… go to bed early and get up at 4:30 for a sunrise hike at Lanikai beach. Ride is approximately 45 mins . I hope it’s worth the effort.

Madeira- hiking trail PR 1

Today I did the PR 1 trail, from Pico Arreiro to Pico Puivo. Just 15 km there and back. No not an easy task if you never did it 1.800 mtr above sea level. It was a challenge for me on several levels, my leg and the heights and the wind and …. Mandy was not able to do so and I understood it. Long story short, i made it. And took some spectacular pictures while trying to stay alive.

My personal fear was this stairway.. left and right 1.000 mtr down and I squeezed the metal ropes and pinned my eyes down on the ground

So stay tuned, thanks for reading and keep showing up.

Hiking

Last new years eve we conducted to more activities , and what shall I say, we fulfilled this very well. One of our new hobbies is hiking. And even better we found out that we do not need to travel to Austria or Switzerland coz we have are surrounded by beatiful forests , hills and very well prepared hiking trails. Mostly on Sunday’s we tie our boots. Most trails between 14 and 18 km and our favorite areas are the frankonian Swiss or the frankonian lakeside. It’s fun and healthy and it frees our mind. So either I’m old enough to do it we are following the actual trend. no matter what , we like it. From last weekend an impression

   
 

Viewpoint hiking

After a day of rest for my legs and a wonderful massage given by Master Soen Thein we gave it one more try. Travel guide recommends a view point and we started around 9 am. Crossed the monastery as mentioned (visited the Buddah image made of bamboo strips) and walked on a road with no signs , we had no map at all, only a short description from the travel guide. Road was made for 4 wheel trucks and some small motor bikes. Way showed always up hill for 1.5 hrs and we were well prepared with a lot of water :) We met some girls from a tribe which has its village here and they were asking for … candies ;) Lucky they coz Mandy still had some Werthers Echte left in the daypack. After approximately 9 km we reached the sign “view point – only 7 mins to go” Great. A friendly Nepali family runs a small restaurant and we got delicious Indian food and massala tea.

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The view was breathtaking. An amazing landscape as far as the eyes can see.

Images will follow as soon as the connection is more stable.

At the end we escaped from the rain, had one more Burmese tea and spoiled ourselves with a hot shower. The good news to me was, I made, my muscles worked it out and it’s a pity that it happend to me on the 3 day trek but I have to take it as it is.

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Inle lake tour

yesterday we have been to the Inle lake which is the 2nd largest in Birma and one of the largest bird preservation area in SEA. Amazing landscape, the lake is surrounded by the Shan mountains (up to 2000 mtr) We were two of us one the boat which was very cozy. The floating gardens are breathtaking (I stood on the gras !) and the diversity of birds is incredible. For sure they bring tourists to commercial places like weaving village but it was interesting to see how a scarf or a longi is made from Lotus flowers. Verrrrry expensive. We bought a scarf from silk and some home made Burmese cigars as well. And we decided to skip the visit of the so-called long neck woman coz we don’t want to go to a human zoo. After back at the hotel we thought what to do and decide to go on a 3 day hiking trek from Nyaungshwe to Kalaw. We will have overnight stay in local villages and the chance to get in touch with local people. We are really looking forward. After all, dinner at the night market for 6$ , whole fresh fish for Mandy and Shan noodles for me with a tomato salad and a big bottle of Myanmar beer. cheers ….

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