Journeys and homecomings

Marching - 2011 December

2011-12-13T07:33:00.000-08:00

11 December 2011
20km
70km
Al mijn 4e tocht en toch al 70km bij elkaar gestapt! Ik was heel vroeg vertrokken, met de bus van 8:19, het is nog te donker voor een bus vroeger. Er zaten al genoeg wandelaars op de bus. Om iets voor 9u op pad en het was een leuke wandeling, maar ik was te warm gekleed. S'morgens vroeg was het toch wel koud, maar later op de dag is het erg warm als je wat ingestapt zijn. De meeste mensen stappen gewoon met een fleece, misschien moet ik dat ook probeer, want ik zweet toch wel veel. Ik weet eigenlijk niet hoe dat zweten en drinken allemaal samengaan, moet ik ook veel drinken, kan ik kontrole posten overslaan? Ik ben nog niet ervaren genoeg om te weet wat de inspanning op mijn bloedsuiker doen.
Ik voelde dat het alweer twee weken is sinds mijn laatste wandeling. De wandeling ging goed, ik heb het in 4u gedaan en heb heel de namiddag ontzettend pijnlijke voeten gehad, maar maandag voelde ik niets meer. Pas vanaf dinsdag voelde ik dat ik stramme benen had.
Wandeling vertrok van Montfortcollege in Rotselaar en ik stapte dichtbij David zijn oude appartement voorbij.
Nu pas leer ik de mooie plekjes in de omgeving.
Nogal grappig, maar wij waren met 3 koppels en ik wat ongeveer hetzelfde tempo heel de route deed, allemaal op hetzelfde bus naar daar, zelfde hoeveelheid km en dan op hetzelfde bus terug tot aan het station.

Marching 2011 - November

2011-12-13T06:31:00.000-08:00

13 November 2011
14km
Mijn eerste wandeling en dat in Kessel-lo, eerst Kesselberg omhoog en ergens waren we ook in Chartreusebos verzeild geraakt. Het viel enorm goed mee, echt genoten. Het was zacht weer, maar heel erg mistig, niet veel van de landschap was zichtbaar.
Stapte nogal rap omdat ik de meeste mensen voorbij stak! Enkele paseerde mij, misschien de mensen die 20 km doen. Omdat het de eerste keer was dacht ik niet meer als 14km te doen - het kat uit de boom kijken en zie hoe het gaat. Op 5 km was de eerste kontrole post. Ik heb alleen maar een stempel gekregen en is dan verder gegaan. Nergens op kontrole posten gestop en was na 2 1/2u op het einde.
Wegmarkering was héél goed, genoeg en gemakkelijk om te zien.Voor herhaling vatbaar.
Dag nadien was ik enorm stijf

20 November 2011
20km
34km
Nog een wandeling in de onmiddelijke omgeving, deze keer is de start aan de Kaserne in Heverlee.
De wandelgroep van de Paras, hehe! Klinkt gevaarlijk.
27ste Red en Black Dragon Mars! Ahwel, dacht ik, ik doe maar 15km, ik heb niet door de week geoefend. Het was allemaal lussen en een kontrole post om de 5km. De wandeling ging door Heverleebos en rond Vaalbeek. Was dichtbij Q & co voorbij gegaan en heb rap binnen gespringt. Daarna weer vertrokken en er was iemand voor me, die dikwijls stopte en omkeek. Hij was niet zeker van de route en er waren dan ook niet veel mensen op die moment. De wegmarkering was wel overal, maar niet zo goed van ver te zien. Wij hebben dan voor de rest van de weg samen gestapt en heb ik ook 20km gedaan.
Er zijn leuke wegskes achterin. 20km was rapper om als ik dacht.
Helemaal niet stijf.

24 November 2011
Heb me aangsloten bij een wandelklup, In Den Engel. Van de café op de Grote Markt.

26 November 2011
16km
50km
Mijn 3e wandeling al. Ik heb afgesproken met Karin Verhegge om 10u aan het station van Diest, want de start was op 2km vandaar. Het was leuk om haar weer te zien en samen te wandel.
De wandeling was opgesplits in 3 lussen van 10km elk. Natuurlijk kon je ook nog een korter route stap in elke lus. Wij waren begonnen met het lus die door Diest ging. Mooi historische centrum en dan over de militaire verdedigingsgordel.
Na 10km hebben we dan pause gemaakt en iets gegeten. Terwijl wij daar zaten kwam iemand erbij, het bleek iemand van Intersoc te zijn, Fons van in Valmenier. Met hem heb ik ooit van Valmenier naar Valior gestapt en terug.
Geeneen van ons twee had nog veel goesting om te stappen en na 16km wandelden wij voorbij het station. Wij vonden dat wij genoeg gehad hebben en vertrokken naar huis.
Goed genoeg bewegwijzerd.

Abdij van Park 9 Dec 2011 - Pijlstaart

2011-12-09T13:49:00.001-08:00

Yesterday and last night the wind was blowing very hard, it howled through my house and I just knew there will be something special at the abbey today. Often it's my intention to go there after a night like that, but usually I can't sleep and the day after all my good intentions are forgotton. Such a wind is downright scary.

Not today, first thing I saw when I got there was the Northern Pintail Anas acuta. Maybe not that special, but it is not that often seen there, so for me it was a great sighting.

If you go there often you see more or less the same birds depending on the season.

Pijlstaart/Northern pintail Anas acuta

The head seen from the back

Kokmeeuwen/ Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundis

All around the Abbey in the fields and on all 4 the ponds there were hundreds of Black-headed Gulls

Tafeleend/Common Pochard Aythya ferina

The Pochard was washing himself and I coulf clearly see the colouring on top of his beak.

Tafeleend

The footpath next to the 4 ponds.

The Abbey, another one of the hundreds of photos I have of it.

Slobeenden/Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata

Wintertaling/Common Teal Anas crecca

Such pretty ducks!

Just one of the ponds.

The bell tower seen from a footpath

Gone cycling to Meerdaalwoud with Laura

2011-03-28T05:16:00.000-07:00

From now on I will rather call it "Gone walking and cycling". With the weather holding I have spent a lot of time on the bike or walking and neglected posting here formidably.
My granddaughter Laura phoned me on a sunday just after noon to ask me to go cycling with her. Her parents are not cyclists at all and this child loves it. It was not convenient for me to go just then, call it lazy, but the time slot in the day was badly chosen.
By Monday I felt really guilty and decided to go cycling with her on wednesday. School is out by 12 and then we have time enough.
Alex and Eliza were not allowed to go with, because they had to go to the logopedics and we might not be back by then.
Going from my home to them is not that far, it looks far and feels far with a false flat route cycling there, but then I have a false downhill when I come back. Apparently it's only 5km one way, but I can swear it's more though. I see it as a good excersize for my legs, next week I'm back in the mountains and need it after a cold winter which I spent mostly indoors.
Laura is a great cyclist and being only the two of us, we did quite a route in Meerdaalwoud. My son and his family live between two big forests, Heverleebos and Meerdaalwoud, what a choise!
The woods were quite dry, I was looking for anemones but didn't find any.

After winter, spring seems to like starting with a splash of colour, specially a warm colour like yellow.

Gone walking (Abdij van Park)

2011-03-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

A bleak day like you only get these dark, overcast days in Belgium. It didn't rain.
The intention today was to walk to the Abbey and from there to my son Michael's house which he renovates, a good intention.
Today I chose to go through the cemetary as I wanted to look at a grave. With the trees trimmed it looked quite dreary. Today there were not any special birds to be seen either.

What a sad grave.

Then my way goes over a cycle and pedestrian bridge over the railway lines.

Brugstraat or Bridge street, I wonder why?

Entrance to the gardens between two houses, but I wonder who the room above it belongs to. The curtain is closed on exactly the split between the houses.

The way I'm going to the Abbey today I have to cross another pedestrian bridge, all just to walk a bit further.

The Abbey from the bridge. Even though it's such a dark day, it's not cold and just look how green the grass already is. Again I'm wearing too much clothes. Everytime I start I feel a bit cold, but soon after leaving I realise the folley of too much clothing. Before leaving I weighed my backpack and it was not too heavy, about 3 kg with my binoculars and camera. No water or any drinks, I'm not going that far.

Everywhere the signs of spring can be seen, the first wild flowers. Mostly they are the small ones close to the ground. This year I especially enjoy to see spring coming. Never before it was such a great comfort to have a sunny day or see the new flowers or the young green leaves. The first leaves on the trees have such a tender green, making the world look so fresh.
Some type of witch hazel.

Then my battery of my camera died, not very clever of me to leave without loaded batteries.
Birding was good and I saw all the ducks and geese which is normally there, heard some of the birds like chaffinch singing already on the top of their lungs.
When I reached the part where they bred fish years ago and which is overgrown now, I saw a few birds fall into the shrubs. I could not make out which they were. I was sure it's not the birds I normally see around the Abbey. At first my mind went out to Common redpoll Carduelis flammea, but at home according to my book it was the Linnet Carduelis cannabina.
My walk was cut short by this bird, I was too curious to see what it was and returned home. Just before I left the Abbey I heard it singing and then saw the Black redstart Phoenicurus ochruros. That was a first for this season!

Gone Walking (Leuven to Wilsele-Putkapel

2011-03-03T07:59:00.000-08:00

I sit too much.
Since my son finished the Dodentocht (Deathmarch) without practising for it, there has been this idea in my head to at least try it and next year when I turn 60 I think it is a perfect age to do it. With two young children and work and just all day life keeping him too busy he never got round to practice and he did it! He had only one minor blister on his foot.
The Dodentocht is 100 km and you have to finish in min. 10 hours and max. 24 hours.
So, I started my first practice walk. It was something between 5 and 8 km. I consulted various internet maps and they all give a different distance! This started out well!
If it was 5km, I did have to retrace my route at some point so in the end it can be 8 km. For a starting walk, I’ll say I did 8km.
Even though it was quite cold, maybe 2°C or less, walking in the sun was very warm and I had to sweat a lot, which is not the right way to go about it. Too much clothes, too much baggage I dragged along for in my backpack I had my camera, cookies, purse, mittens etc.
Then my shoes! I really need shoes specially for walking. This distance was exactly far enough for me to see what I need.
When I finally reached my daughter’s house the first thing I did was taking my shoes off. My feet felt quite battered and that at such a minimal distance.
I left home at 14:39 and reached my daughter at 16:10 and only stopped for about 30 min to make photos. Maybe if I really want to walk I must not take my camera with and concentrate on walking.

This is so a sign of spring coming.

Just imagine how pleasant it must be living here, far from the city noise.

No notes anymore, just take a pic of a name and it is even in sequence with the other photos you make.

Remy, when I see this tower I know it's not far to my daughter, the last curve.

I can't walk by the reeds and not take a pic.

In the distance I saw someone standing :)

Elephant family

2010-03-06T07:11:00.000-08:00

Then this family of elephants stopped by for a short drink.

Elephant

2010-03-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

Many elephants passing through Elephant Plains lodge today, first this one came for a quick drink.

Impala

2010-03-05T14:41:00.000-08:00

Zebras

2010-03-05T14:33:00.000-08:00

Kudu

2010-03-05T14:15:00.000-08:00

Chacma baboons

2010-03-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

Hippo

2010-03-05T13:49:00.000-08:00

The day started off with the nightly visit of Bubbles La Mont at Nkorho pan.

Sound of Helmeted Guineafowl

2010-03-04T12:23:00.001-08:00

Helmeted Guineafowl - Numida meleagris

Sound of Pearlspotted Owlet

2010-03-04T11:54:00.000-08:00

Pearlspotted owlet - Glaucidium perlatum

Nyala

2010-03-04T08:24:00.001-08:00

Bushbuck

2010-03-04T08:14:00.001-08:00

At Elephant Plains

Zebra interaction

2010-03-04T07:46:00.000-08:00

A beautiful interaction between the zebra female and her youngster. So loving.

Sound of Swallowtailed Bee-eater

2010-03-04T05:58:00.000-08:00

Swallowtailed Bee-eater Merops hirundineus

Hippo

2010-03-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

Buffalo

2010-03-02T12:04:00.001-08:00

Zebra

2010-03-02T11:38:00.001-08:00

Today, the actual day of posting here we saw zebras.

Warthogs

2010-03-02T11:07:00.001-08:00

Before the ellie the warthogs came along.

Elephant

2010-03-02T10:56:00.001-08:00

The ellie was on NK cam.

Bushbuck

2010-03-02T10:47:00.001-08:00

Then came the bushbuck pair.

Common duiker

2010-03-02T10:40:00.000-08:00

What I saw on the cams lately.
Monday 1 March we were spoilt when we saw baboons, common duiker and shortly after that a pair of bushbucks. Not long after that an ellie came to drink at EP.
First came the duiker.

Waterbuck youngster

2010-02-16T14:25:00.001-08:00

A few pics of the Waterbuck young, it is growing to be so pretty and fluffy!
Pics taken from the video captured by Gerda.
http://www.africam.com/wildlife/babywaterbuck0

rubbing against mom

Sound of Southern Ground Hornbill

2010-02-11T00:23:00.000-08:00

Southern Ground Hornbill - Bucorvus leadbeateri

Mystery sounds

2010-02-11T00:12:00.000-08:00

Since last year I have been capturing mostly bird sounds from an internet site about wildlife at www.africam.com .
Can you help me find the sounds included?

Nyala

2010-02-10T14:15:00.000-08:00

10 February 2010
Back to the animals. I did not watch the cams for long as I was busy with sorting my sounds files, sounds I captured on the cams. The best on the cams today for me was the nyala.

Tourist view?

How did he manage to hang there like that?

All pics today were taken at Elephant Plains.

Brussels for Sunday

2010-02-07T16:24:00.000-08:00

7 February 2010

No plans for the day and it being Sunday, my intention was to spent the day camming. It was all stopped short when my son suggested we go to Brussels for the afternoon to look at the Horta Museum. Not being such a fan of my son's driving skills I was only persauded to go with him, because I always wanted to visit the museum or his houses. It was one of those plans I always wanted to do and mostly forgot about it.
We got a surprise at the Horta Museum, there was quite a queue in front of the museum and while we watched they let in only very small numbers of persons. We could be ending waiting for an hour or more. I was not really dressed to stand in the cold for that long, neither was David or Raf.
We decided to go for a walk, Brussels has beautiful old houses. I also remembered that now I can make photo's with my cellphone and I can download it to my computer. Normally I would have brought my camera along, but it was such a bleak and dreary day outside that I never thought of carrying the camera along all the time.
The first building we visited was Old England, a "grand bazar" built in 1899 in the art nouveau style designed by the architect Paul Saintenoy.
Spectacular building!

This is what real Brussels waffles look like!

And then there is Manneke Pis of course.

My son David next to a chocolat fountain. How many kilo's of chocolat will you have to melt for this fountain?

Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrikx

On the one corner was the house of Pierre Marcolini ....

red hearts for Valentine

On the next corner is the house of Godiva

who "Let love bloom" with strawberry hearts

around the corner was a shop of Neuhaus and on another corner was the shop of Coto D'or, all chocolats! I feel very sweet.

Hippo, 7 February 2010

2010-02-07T16:17:00.000-08:00

Early morning started with a hippo grazing at EP. Hippos are not often seen in daylight on the cams, so this was a rare sighting and I captured the pics from a video by Sassabuck which can be seen at
http://www.africam.com/wildlife/hippograzingandwadingearlyam

Buffalo, 6 February 2010

2010-02-07T15:58:00.000-08:00

And then there was a buffalo!

Elephants, 6 February 2010

2010-02-07T15:47:00.000-08:00

The cam panned from the Waterbuck newborn to a herd of ellies.

This looks like elephant heaven, walking knee-deep in food.

Waterbuck close-ups, 6 February 2010

2010-02-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

Waterbuck newborn, 6 February 2010

2010-02-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

My time camming was not enough as the zoomies gave us a real go. I can't have all the cams open I'd like to, but the cam at Elephant Plains gave us a real treat with a newborn waterbuck. Mom was licking the baby waterbuck all over and it was a pleasure to watch her attending her new baby with such tenderness.

Africam anno 2009

2010-02-06T01:52:00.000-08:00

What do you see on a webcam? I compiled pictures I've captured on the webcams over the past years in a video. It's more an ode to the zoomies who take the time to zoom the cams and show us what there is to see, from the small butterflies to the large elephants.
Enjoy!

Lion

2010-02-05T14:23:00.000-08:00

Nkorho 5 febr 2010
A male lion passed the waterhole at NK tonight. Barry posted this pic, which is quite exceptional.

Hippo

2010-02-05T14:19:00.001-08:00

Elephant Plains 5 Febr
Hippo Roy has visited EP waterhole quite often lately.

African Pied Wagtail

2010-02-05T13:57:00.001-08:00

Nkorho 5 Febr
We also see birds! This little Pied Wagtail came to sit on the perch. The perch is a log placed in the pan at Nkorho so birds can come and sit on it. Right after it was placed in the pan, Fish Eagles came to sit on it and eventually caught a few of the barbels in the pan.

Waterbuck

2010-02-05T13:44:00.001-08:00

EP 5 Febr
Many people often wonder what's so fascinating to watch webcams. It's all about the thrill to see the animals, hear the sounds, we capture pictures of them, record the sounds. It's a way of life.
Here are some of the animals I saw today.
The first one was a waterbuck.

Meetjesland Krekengebied 30 January 2010

2010-02-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

30 January 2010
Back home on Thursday and off on a field trip with the birding club on Saturday. Till the moment I left I was not sure whether I should go or not. It was dreadful weather, everything was covered with a layer of snow and the roads were difficult to travel on and yet I went. Some people did not make it to the bus and there were some seats open and pleasant for us to sit.
It’s always pleasant to meet some old friends again and catch up on the news.
We went to an area called Meetjesland in East and Zeeuws Flanders where there are many creeks due to flooding of the Western Schelde and the digging up of peat, which makes it a lovely area to watch birds.
We arrived at our first stop at about ten-ish.

Sint-Jan de Doper church in St. Jan in Eremo.

Boerekreek, our first stop and it was very, very cold! Last week I did not see anything but mountains around me and this time I see the flat open spaces of Flanders.

A slight dusting of snow on everything, not many birds to be seen yet, though enough ducks and geese pass overhead.

This picture and the one above it taken 5 min from each other. I think most of us wondered why we came out birding today.

Huddled together on the dike we braced the cold wind.

After the shower of snow the day got warmer and the sightings became better. At this place called Kruiskreek I had the best sighting of Merlin ever, although it is my only sighting so far.

My friend Godelieve, she found a pair of Peregrines sunning on a sandbank, we could see them very well.

A wide open country ..... space! Can you smell it?

Most of our group of birders were inside this hide. We had good sightings from here, like a Snowgoose (blue phase) and Brent Goose which are great favourites of mine. One of the ladies had a quiet moment while she enjoyed the sun.

Then the day was over. In spite of the cold we had a lovely day with great sightings. The full list you can see here

http://www.vogelwerkgroep-oost-brabant.be/gifs/waarnemingen/WN%202010/Uitstappen/WN%2020100130%20-%20Meetjesland%20Krekengebied.html

A few of the more interesting birds we saw,
Tundra Swan
White-fronted goose
Barnacle goose
Common Shelduck
Eurasian Wigeon
Gadwall
Northern Pintail
Smew
Goosander
the rest you can find on the list.

Trail to Mottec or Pralong

2010-01-28T08:39:00.000-08:00

26 January 2010

At the hotel there is a screen that shows all kinds of news items that has to do with the area and hotel, like the program of the day or that day's menu. There is also a ticker stream at the bottom with international news items.
The day after our "walk" to either Pralong or Mottec, there was a news item telling us that trail was closed down.
We knew it, we experienced it! We were really stupid not turning around.

Schlittelpiste

2010-01-28T08:28:00.000-08:00

When we sat down on the bench sunken into the snow to eat our sandwiches, two "older" men walked by us, dragging those wooden children sleds behind them. I did wonder, but having grandchildren of my own, I just accepted the idea that it will have something to do with children.

Up at the Cabanne Illhorn we saw this post and not long after we actually saw grown men going down the slopes on a wooden children's sled!

Cabanne Illhorn

2010-01-27T04:33:00.000-08:00

26 January 2010
Another day off!
The day before we leave was my last day off and I needed to have a good walk in the mountains.
I decided to walk up from Chandolin to the Cabanne Illhorn as I've heard from others that's an easy walk.
Marleen, the girl I work with and Staf the nightwatchman were free too, so they joined me. None of them have been to Chandolin before.
We were driving into the mist and Chandolin seemed to be wrapped up in the it. Not really the wide, open, sunny mountain view I anticipated. At the lookout point we decided to go up to the Cabanne Illhorn in spite of the mist, you could not see the valley, but you could see around you. We all needed the walk.

The church at Chandolin which I have never been able to see on the inside, it has been locked every time I came there.
Up the trail to Cabanne Illhorn we picknicked. In most of the little "cabannes" you are not allowed to have a picknick so when we saw this bench in the snow we decided to just stop here and eat. It was very cold and we did not hang around for very long.
At some point we had two signs showing us the way, the one said 10 minutes and the other 45 min to the Cabanne. Of course we took the 10 min walk ...... bad idea! It went over a ski-piste and almost straight up. Not only that, the mist became quite dense and we could not see that far. There was someone at the ski lifts and he told us that the cabanne is only 50 or 100 meters away. It was kind of eerie with the ski lift going and nobody in sight, the dense fog and this lonely ski slopes.

We did find the Cabanne not long after. We also found the reason why nobody were skiing, they were all in the Cabanne eating! My god, what was that little restaurant packed! Not room for the proverbial mouse. We squeezed in between all the others and feeling a bit quilty about making people move just for me to have a cup of tea, I ordered goulash soup and a piece of myrtille pie, which the area is famous for.

People came and went, you didn't sit around when you have finished, because there will be someone waiting. The food looked most delicious and I was sorry I sat down in the snow and ate sandwiches, oh well, next time ......!

Pralong or Mottec

2010-01-26T11:25:00.000-08:00

Monday afternoon 25 January 2010
Miek, Dorien, Marleen and I were going for a hike which Miek suggested. We were going to go to either Pralong or Mottec.
The hike to Pralong is two hours and to Mottec about 40 min.
The first part of the trip was the same trail and we would decide when we got to the split. But, we did not know what a mountain goat Miek is and she talked us into going to Pralong, because it would be so much better to make the longer walk.

Miek pointing out the trail.

When the going got tough, she asked us to cross at least this bridge as it will be much easier once over it.

Over the bridge and round the corner and we realised it was too dangerous, Marleen did not want to go on.

Miek and Marleen crawling back to the bridge to go back.

Dorien was already on her way back, Miek on the bridge and Marleen still hanging on to the chains to get to the bridge.

When we were back in the fields and off the mountain trail we decided to make "angels" in the snow. Dorien showing Marleen she must wave her arms in the snow and not in the air!

Like this!

And down she went!

Grimentz

2010-01-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

On friday afternoon, Maria, Gaston and I visited Grimentz. It is the first time Gaston visited this area and we took him to see how lovely the old village of Grimentz is.
Gaston only took a hot chocolat drink and Maria and I were bolder and took hot red wine (glûhwein)

Berries

2010-01-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

Which "berries" are these?

Friends

2010-01-26T10:30:00.000-08:00

Agnes was not happy going down a steep slope .....

she rather peels onions!

When most of my friends left after two weeks, I felt rather down. I was supposed to go home myself, but they asked me here at the hotel if I could stay longer for another week, because they were a person short. I didn't mind and stayed.
Agnes's room was just across the alley from me and it was a little like what I think boarding school must be. We could open our doors and talk to each other from our rooms.
The day they all left I also slipped and fell and hurt my knee. Not only did I feel down, I also had a very painful knee. I felt really rotten!
The next day all the rooms had to be cleaned and the next lot of kids arrived a day later. It actually did my knee very well to walk on it that much and by the evening most pain was over.
New friends arrived and what a week it became, they are such a jolly lot and most evenings are spent laughing with the clowns in the group.
Not only are they a jolly bunch, they are also helpful which is not the always true. When your own work is done, you help out the others who are still busy, such a unusual trait in these times.

St Luc

2010-01-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

Intersoc hotel in St Luc

The washing ladies referring to the communal washing that was done in olden days.

Chandolin

2010-01-25T14:06:00.000-08:00

Living against a very steep mountain

Where you stand above the church tower.

How deep is the valley.

Day off, 16 January, visit to Chandolin and St Luc

2010-01-25T14:04:00.000-08:00

16 jan
On my day off I went to Chandolin and St Luc with Agnes. It is very easy to get around with the ski-busses and they are free, but you have to be careful where you are between 1 and 4pm, because they don’t run then.
In the morning it was sunny and as both of those villages lies quite high against the sunny side of the mountains, we had a bright and warm morning.
Chandolin lies at an altitude of 2130m and is the second highest village in the Alps with habitants all year round. With such an altitude they can be sure of snow for quite a long time. It is a village I have visited before and on each occasion I have seen nutcrackers, but not today. It get the feeling that winter is very mild up in the mountains so far.
We did not spent too much time in Chandolin and left to visit friends in St Luc. After so many visits to these villages it actually gets kind of boring and let’s face it, its bloody hard work walking in the mountains. This time we chose for an easy trip and took the ski-busses where ever it was possible. It’s amazing to think that people live here, these mountains are steep. Nowadays it is easy to get around, but if you think how difficult it must have been for the swiss centuries ago when they had only mountain trails. There are many new houses built in most of the villages, but they keep the style which is ok, but the valley does become crowded.

How to use a garbage bag

2010-01-16T13:50:00.000-08:00

15 January
The reason why I never have time to update my blog!

Again!!!

Alpine accentor / Alpenheggemus

2010-01-16T10:23:00.000-08:00

Together with the Snowfinch I saw this little fella, looking for a scrap of bread too.

Then I got them both in one pic, but just barely.

Snowfinch / Sneeuwvink

2010-01-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

Snowfinch on the Sorebois

2010-01-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

15 January 2010

Finally I got them and I have a pic to prove it!
Thursday in the late afternoon I met Julien on his way to his room after skiing and he told me he saw snowfinches on the Sorebios. Apparently they were all over the sun terrace at the restaurant.
The top of the Sorebois is above the treeline and all the ski slopes are there. You have to go there by cable car and in summer you can walk up there, but it is a steep walk as it is the black piste in winter. The summer trail is more winding than the black piste.
Thursday evening we had our weekly raclette, which consits of having an aperitif and then eating molten swiss cheese. It’s so nice! Friday morning I got up early to help wash the dishes of the raclette and then those of breakfast and then I went up the Sorebois, I could not wait any longer.
When I got out of the cable car the first thing I saw was a Snowfinch, up close even!
It was searching for pieces of bread that was most probably thrown out for the birds. Snowfinch and Alpine accentors were the birds present.
It seems that they are more Snowfinches around this year or maybe I have never been here this time of the year, but I since I talked a lot about the Snowfinches, I got more reports about people seeing them when they go out walking. Mostly it is when they go up above the tree line. Before I go home I well visit the skiing slopes more often.
The Snowfinch I saw at the Sorebois must not be a healthy bird, because it was alone and it never flew far. I did approach it once too close and it flew off and then it was alright, but it is a bird you always see in swarms. I saw more than 20 fly away from the stream, Julien saw about 10 and Lillian saw 6 birds.
Anyway, the bird gave me the opportunity to photograph it up close.
Enjoy the pics!

Friday is for Snowfinches

2010-01-09T11:04:00.000-08:00

My day off. Unfortunately I got carried away by listening to the weathermen, which told us that it will be the worst day of the week. No sun and rain or snow all day long. It turned out to be a nice and warm day for a walk.
Together with Jan who also had a day off we set out for a walk in the valley. Coming to Zinal for several years we both have seen almost everything the area has to offer. There are trails that’s really strenuous and difficult and you can come back and boast about doing them, but that’s not really my style!
Just my luck! We were a little way up the trail where there is a little stream. I know the stream is there, I have seen it often enough. Now I could not see it because of the snow. Jan and I were walking and talking when a group of birds flew up from this little stream ………………. Snowfinches!!!!
I have been searching for them every time I came here and have seen them only once and then I was in a cable car coming down the mountain. So today I have seen them again and it is quite a large group, 20 +. As they were spooked they flew off and into the trees and I could not see them well. Next week I will be sure to visit that little stream more often. Then I do a different job and have different hours to work.
In the afternoon I went back to the trees where I saw them flying in, but the school kids were all over the place, so there was a lot of noise and not too many birds.

My birding list for Zinal, 4 - 20 January 2010

2010-01-09T10:54:00.000-08:00

Gaai / Jay – Garrulus glandarius
Koolmees / Great tit – Parus major
Pimpelmees / Blue Tit - Parus caeruleus
Zwarte Mees / Coal Tit – Parus ater
Kuifmees / Crested tit - Parus cristatus
Boomklever / Nuthatch - Sitta europaea
Boomkruiper / Short-toed Treecreeper - Certhia brachydactyla
Merel / Blackbird - Turdus merula
Sijs / Redpoll - Carduelis flammea
Raaf / Raven - Corvus corax
Waterspreeuw / Dipper - Cinclus cinclus
Sneeuwvink / Snow Finch - Montifringilla nivalis
Vink / Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs
Matkop / Willow tit - Parus montanus
Alpenheggemus / Alpine Accentor - Prunella collaris
Huismus / House Sparrow - Passer domesticus
Staartmees / Longtailed tit - Aegithalos caudatus
Alpenkauw / Alpine chough - Pyrrhocorax graculus
Groenling / Greenfinch - Carduelis chloris
Notenkraker / Nutcracker - Nucifraga caryocatactes
Turkse tortel / Collared dove - Streptopelia decaocto
Kramsvogel / Fieldfare - Turdus pilaris

The one with the brave heart

2010-01-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

Then this chamois was not scared of me, he checked me out for a while and then commenced eating.

The scary chamois

2010-01-08T13:24:00.000-08:00

First I saw this one, it was scared of me and tried to ......

hide from me!

Meeting the chamoix

2010-01-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

7 January 2010

A watery sun was around today, so an afternoon walk was the intention. A couple told me about a trail they did which they really enjoyed doing when they had their day off. When I got there I realised it will be too far for the time I have off, before I have to start working again.
The next option was to cross the little mountain stream at the bottom of this valley and to go on a trail I’ve done before. Every time I do this trail I have not gone far, because of some or other distraction.
Once my journey was cut short through my own stupidity. On this track there is a very small playground and there must be a little stream. Last year it was very cold and the water froze which produced a wonderful sight, one of those sights you must photograph. Through the heavy snowfall illusions can be created which can be very dangerous. Going there I stepped off the track to cut out a corner and the next moment I sat up to my hips in the snow…… fortunately only up to my hips. Scrambling out of such a hole is extremely difficult, you could almost call it you have to swim out of it, there us nothing to hold on to.
Since I know the dangers the track is great to walk on, there are many trees and you see all sorts of wildlife.
Today I just passed the playground when I stopped in my tracks. Just a little bit in front of me was a chamois! I know they are not skittish at all, but was still surprised to see it this close. It looked at me and dashed up the bank a little and then the most surprising thing happened, it stood with it’s head behind a tree with it’s bum sticking out. It remained in the position for the entire time of my sighting!
Then my eye caught the chamois on the other side of the track. It was looking at me!
I froze in my steps and stood there, making a few photos! Of course, I can’t see this and have no image of it.
Not long and it got bored of watching me, so it turned and started eating. I just stayed and watched it until it went lower down and knowing what I know about stepping off the track, I did not follow.

Dipper

2010-01-08T11:19:00.000-08:00

The mountain stream at the bottom of the valley where I see the Dippers.

Cold

2010-01-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

I don't always have internet connection, so the date on my posts won't always be synchronised with the real date.

6 January
It looked like the same sunny, warm day like yesterday, until you were outside and cooled off. Then the cold actually bites you in the ass.
Yesterday evening René (I know him from Zinal, Maloja and Zinal ) told me he saw one of those waterbirds at the bridge. Of course today I went for a look and it was there, diving into the freezing cold water, hopping from the water onto the rocks, shake themselves and then dive back into the stream under water. Fascinating to see them busy, to see them fly really just above the rocks and water to find another stone scarcly above water and then the ritual of diving, hopping and shaking starts again. I am talking of a Dipper ……. What else! 
After watching the Dipper for a very short while, I had to rush back to the hotel, feeling very miserable because of the cold. Chapeau to the people who lives where cold is not an option, but a annual reality.
Later in the evening we had our weekly treat of raclette, the swiss way of melting cheese under a grill. It has a lovely flavour, but can be rather heavy on the stomach. It is done only at 21:30, so the teachers can join in when all the kids are asleep.
I wonder if it is the mixture of raclette, cheap wine and the beer afterwards that makes me feel a bit yukky today?

Hotel and village

2010-01-08T10:58:00.001-08:00

A pretty house used as a restaurant

The village with the church behind the hotels, Hotel Il Besso on the right.

Our hotel, Les Diablons.

Another view from my room, this time a sunny view, with the mountain top Besso in the background. It has it's name from the two pointy tops which resembles the horns of a devil.

The valley

2010-01-06T07:25:00.001-08:00

The road through the village to the valley.

The valley

Road behind the hotel

2010-01-06T07:11:00.000-08:00

Tracks in the snow, last year when it was seriously cold I saw deer between the trees.

This is my birding route.

Tuesday, 5 January 2010

2010-01-06T07:08:00.000-08:00

What a marvellous day we had, sunny and reasonably warm, the max temperature was about -2°C. This afternoon I went for a walk behind the hotel where there are still some trees. It is one of the first places I go for a walk when I come here. There are not too many houses and last year when it was really very cold I saw deer there. Today I only saw the usual birds.
The walk was not long or far as I had other things to do. I needed to go to the shop with Agnes. I also needed some money, so you can imagine where my walk went to.

Zinal, Switzerland 4 January 2010

2010-01-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

View from my room, therefor a room with a view.

Swissss!!!!!
After the usual scramble to get all the kids, their teachers, the ski monitors and us on the train, I found myself without a seat! If one seat is filled there must be another empty somewhere, so I went to sit with another group. Apparently the guy who has to plan this “grand movement” took a couple for two single persons.
It was good sleeping as it was sleeping couches and we could all lie down. Not the practises of years ago where you had an almost sleepless night, got here and had to start working. Maybe we all got softer over the years.
My room! That’s always a nightmare till I get here. I always dread not having a room with a view, because it can also be on the other side of the building and look out on the rest of the hotel, but this time I have a room with a view. Oh happy me, what a view! It’s a corner room and it looks out on the mountains.
Most of the work I still have to do today is to keep the phone with me and if there is a problem in one of the rooms I must go and try and solve it.
Looking out I saw a bird in a tree, but could not make out what it was, so I grabbed my binoculars, but got this horribly distorted image. At first I thought it was my binocs got broken in my bag, but the windows here are all double glazing and by that I mean double glazing. Two window panes are fixed into the frame with about two centimeters open spece between them. It’s rather cold to keep the window open and I could only ID one bird so far.

Ne Gaai!

A Jay!

Day temp. -5°C

Weather - foggy

Geert's barrack 17 April 2009

2009-04-23T01:10:00.000-07:00

It is very early in the morning on the day we leave, I woke up too early and when I look out the window I see the snowplovers already busy. Last night the Maloja pass was made inaccessible by a car without snow tires, but that lasted for about half an hour.
With morning breaking I can see all the mountain tops are covered with snow again, like the day we came here.
It is time to pack.
Usually the last day is a very busy day, but not this time. The hotel is going over into the hands of another proprietor. It’s good for me, because enough snow has fallen to cover everything with a white cloth and makes it all very fairy tale like. Time for some snapshots!
I could finally get the hotel front façade with the sun on it, the sunterrace with the sun on it, my favourite tree at the lake covered in snow.
In the afternoon I thought of going to sit on René’s bench, which is in the sun and you can see all the mountain tops from there. Mariette was lying on a bench in the sun, but decided to walk with me.
Everywhere on the trails you find benches, which were donated by people for various reasons. Most are there in memory of a loved one and the one we were going to was in memory of a certain René, so we just call it René’s bench.
We were not even sitting down for 5 minutes when Germaine walked past us, she was going skiing. We decided to keep her company. She’s only a beginner and have to stick to the small pistes and today all the kids have packed and she had it all for herself. Not all of Geert’s barrack is broken down and we could sit there. We enjoyed the sun, the view, had a good chat, but no beer this time.
Geert worked with Intersoc and decided to stay in the village. He has a small farm and come winter he opens a little barrack near the ski pistes, where you can drink something. It’s like a half-way between a good mountain walk and the hotel. In the afternoon you almost always find some people from the hotel there.
Winterseason's over and so Geert's place must be vacated too.
The holiday is over ...... till next time!

A snowy day - 16 April 2009

2009-04-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

My teabags are finished, it’s time for me to go home. Not being a great coffee drinker and that being about the only brew you get free most places, I always pack some Rooibos teabags. That part of the afrikaner has never died in me.
I always have enough with, but this time I did stay away longer than usual.
Back to my reliable internet connection!
The snow is mushy and very hard to walk on. Now it’s waiting till it all has melted and then summer season can start.
The shops are closing down and winterseason is over.
“Winterseason” the very ideal Count de Renesse strived to achieve. Now it is not a fantasy anymore, it’s real.
On our last day it snowed heavily and everything is covered with a layer of fresh snow. The kids could not ski very well on their last day, because of the snowfall and they were back early. On their last night they had a big party, a “going nuts” party. Well, sometimes parties must be given names!

Sils-Maria - 15 April 2009

2009-04-21T07:53:00.000-07:00

Already Wednesday! The kids where gone up the mountain to test all the skills they know by now, to do some real skiing.
When my job was done, René and I hiked to Sils-Maria. We heard that the Fextal has great hiking trails and as our holiday is almost over we need to get our last hikes in. The weather reports for the next few days are not so good.
Sils-Maria is another typical Swiss village with houses built in the style of most houses of the Engadin. What is worth mentioning is the way they like to paint their houses in soft pastel colours and then draw special frames round the windows or they love to paint scenes depicting certain aspects of every day life. Like a bakkery will have scenes of the process of how a bread come to be. The ibex is a figure they love to paint somewhere on their houses and birds, all different birds I’ve see

I still have to see my first ibex.
Sils-maria has one famous house, Friedrich Nietzsche lived here for a while or rahter spent his summers

The house of Friedrich Nietzsche

Wooden sculptures of Beatrice Guyer

Where the horse carts leave, there is a nice walking route up the mountain. It’s quite a steep route up the mountain!

A road into nowhere

Finally we were up a plateau where a few houses stand, they seem to be lived in. Many houses I have seen in these villages look like holiday homes with shutters closed and with snow heaped up around it, but here the snow was cleared and you can reach the houses. The valley is extremely scenic, not only in winter with the snow on it, but it must be just the same in summer.

Hotel Sonne

The little church next to Hotel Sonne

We walked up a hill to a hotel, Hotel Sonne! On top of a hill like that it must be getting sun all day long. We both had to be back on time so we decided to turn round at the hotel. Walking down the snowclad trails we slipped and slided all the way down. It was funny.

Soglio - 4 April 2009

2009-04-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

Another day off and three of us decided to go to Soglio and walk back to Stampa. Everybody said it’s such a beautiful village. It is!

We think this is a little walkway for a cat to get inside.

We set out and tried hitchhiking, but three is a crowd in lifting. We were still trying when the bus stopped and we all jumped on it. From Maloja to Promontogno and from there with a smaller bus to Soglio. It was rather expensive in swiss franks.
Soglio is high up in the mountains and a normal bus won’t be able to get there. It’s another one of those mountain villages, where you must have been born in to live there. The streets are narrow and the houses high with very thick walls. History is all over the village. I did notice in many of these small villages how many new houses were built recently. You have the old heart of the village and the new houses rising up like mushrooms around it.

In most of the shops around here you can buy all kinds of ointments and health products made from herbs from Soglio. I never found out who makes it.
There is a little shop on the town square where there is no shop assistant. You go in and when you buy something, you write the product on a list and put your money in a box. It works very well. Maybe because of the novelty value, nobody ever cheats.

In all of the older villages you have a town square with mostly a restaurant with tables and chairs outside. The villagers sit there in their spare time and talk to everyone who passes by. Everybody knows everybody.

Here too the shops were closed from noon till 2:30pm, but there were few shops. It was not for me, but Ria wanted to go to one specific shop,but it was already closed for the season.
We passed a very old house where a lady was brushing the floor in the entrance to a building. René walked into the house, thinking it was a museum or something, but it was a private house! I can understand René’s mistake, it’s a four-story beautiful old house, built a few centuries ago. A house that was built to last.

At the breakfast table this morning someone told us, if we go from Stampa to Soglio not to do the roman steps, it’s very hard. One of our group, René has been to Soglio before, but from another village and he said not to do that route either, because it was very hard. We decided to start in Soglio then it’s downhill most of the time.
After we drank our beer, coffee and water and went to the loo we set out on our journey down the mountain to Stampa. At a very scenic spot we stopped to have lunch and we could look out at Soglio from there. It was warm and sunny, what a breathtaking lunch.

When you walk so high up in the mountains and you look down at the tiny villages, you have such a different feeling. It’s like looking at a toy village with toy houses and cars, you want to reach out and touch it.
We were not far on our walk when the steps began. Made from large and small stones worked into the mountain to form steps. It went on and on and on ……..

It is not such a long walk, on the signpost it said 1h 15min., we did stop several times for me to make photo’s and for René to drink from the mountain streams. We crossed many of them.

The church at Stampa

The castle at Stampa

Someone selling artwork in wood

In Stampa we decided to split up this time when lifting. Ria and I will stand at one spot and René is going further up the road. We did not wait long when a friendly schoolteacher picked us up and when we saw René, she picked him up too.
She lives higher up in the mountains and when I made a remark about the friendliness of the people living in this area, she told me they are with only 1500 inhabitants in the Bergell and that everybody knows everybody.
She dropped us off in Cassacia where she lives and we had to hike from there again. Again we split up and soon an Italian from Lugano picked us up. Oh boy! I sat in front and what a treat his car was. It’s some kind of very posh Mercedes and when we went through the corners of the Maloja pass, the seat moves in the direction of the corner. My initial thought was that the seat was not fixed to the car, but soon I realised, this car is alive! It was great fun to go through corners in this car.

While we waited for a lift I took this photo of crocusses with the dam in the background.

That was another day with Intersoc in Maloja.

Sunday, 13 April 2009

2009-04-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Today was a bit of a hump day and nothing went my way, so I made sandwiches for lunch and left at noon to go on a good intense hike all by myself. Sometimes I need my “own” time and I needed a good walk too.
There is a lake closeby, Lägh da Cavloc, but the way there is uphill all the time and with the snow beginning to melt it is hard walking, it’s like walking in thick sand, except sometimes you step up to your knees in the snow. On such a mountain path it is scary when you step in a hole like that.

Maloja seen from the path up the mountain

Zoomed in closer and you can see Geert's barrack in front.

Actually the biggest scare for me was the people doing cross-country skiing down that mountain path. When one of them on speed comes round a corner! They must be very experienced cross-country skiiers. At least some of them shout how many are still coming then you can wait till all of them has gone by.

The mountain path.

In the shade the snow is still hard, but it soon became warm enough to walk in a T-shirt. The sun was shining and the uphill walking must have contributed to the heat. This winter I had more sun in Switzerland in the 5 weeks I have been there, than all winter in BE.
In one and a half hour I was up at the lake. There is a small restaurant which is only open in summer, but most people take a picnic there. No loos of course!

Lägh da Cavloc

I sat there quite a while watching the birds and just enjoying my good luck to be able to do this. Many people throw bread for them and they come to feed about two meters away.

The way down was a easy walk. Somewhere down the path a few italian guys (cross-country devils) stopped and called me, “Signora! …. “ and some things I didn’t understand, but they were telling me to look on the other side of the valley, there were 13 chamois. Nice guys.
When I was down the mountain path I met up with René, someone I have met at another Intersoc hotel before. He was walking with snow rackets. It is funny to see people walk with them and he insisted I try it. After going up to lake Cavloc my legs were a bit jittery and it was rather heavy walking with the rackets.
We ended up at Geert’s barack again. For Intersoccers all roads lead to Geert’s barack. We had our usual large beers and Geert gave us a liquer glass with a very tastefull greenish brew. An older lady who lives somewhere in the mountains picks daisies from very high up in the mountains, above 2000m and put them in vodka.

The daisy brew and the one in the dark cap is Geert.

All in all my day ended very pleasantly.

Saturday 12 April 2009

2009-04-12T04:13:00.000-07:00

Today was a very hard day. It is the day the kids go home and the next group arrives.
We didn’t start early, only at 9:30 and I wanted to photograph the front of the hotel, because that side gets the morning sun. It was foggy and overcast!
I finally got a picture of the front façade coloured slightly by a watery sun. Apparently it is the second longest front façade of a building in Switzerland, the Parliament being the longest.
When the groups change it is always hard work for everybody. Everything has to be cleaned better than in the week when they are here. The kids don’t take much time to tidy their rooms and I wonder how many pieces of clothes are packed wrongly when I see the mess during the week.There are rooms with up to 9 persons, but there are rooms for 2 persons or 4 or 6. I asked a few of them how they enjoyed the week and none of them wanted to go home yet.
This morning I walked through the restaurant and the tables were laid pretty with chocolat easter eggs and bunnies. It was for the kids leaving.
Maria is going home too, she has been such a good partner to work with. Being single I never know who I work with and sometimes we work very well together and sometimes not at all. Mostly they are total strangers to me. Tonight I saw her arrive, in a bermuda in this weather ……..
We finished the rooms at about 7 pm and the kids arrived at 10 pm. They have been on the train all day. They were served spaghetti and will be off to their beds in no time.
Martina, Fien and I went to watch them arrive. Busloads full of them. Martina was sorry she didn’t have her camera with to make photo’s of the last busloads of kids arriving at Maloja Palace. It’s the end of 52 years of kids visiting Maloja. The last group arrived tonight.

Swift news:
Beijing, 1 was seen on 9th april
Amsterdam, 3 were seen on 11th april

A quiet day in

2009-04-10T05:41:00.000-07:00

Today I stay inside, it's overcast and yesterday my face got burned! The picture is of yesterday when I went to Geert's place after my walk to the damwall. I will tell more about him later. It's such a character. On the picture you can see Micheline, me and Lutgard.

I also stayed in to finish the last pages of my book, the first one of the Millenium series by Sieg Larsson. What a great writer, now I will have to read the other two books as well.

Maria must pack today, she's going home tomorrow. She's such a great person to work with, I know her from previous visits to swiss, but I have never worked with her. I'll be sorry to miss a good buddy.

I don't post my blog entries every day, but I write them every day, so sometimes I will post a few on one day.

This morning it was so funny. Skiing is not the easiest sport and some of the children do get hurt. There is a doctor and nurse to tend to their wounds. Today there were a group of them sitting together playing cards. They were listening to loud music with mostly basses and when you looked at them, they all had a thick, white layer of flamazine on their faces, except their eyes and mouths. Their faces were sunburnt too!

Today more than a 100 swifts were seen in Montpellier in Southern France and 1 in Paris!

Small tortoiseshells

2009-04-10T05:30:00.000-07:00

Where the snow melts the crocusses appear, even all over town. The town is not more than a main street going to Italy and a few hotels and holiday homes and the very few who has a shop or work in the hotels. After Easter most will close and only open in June for the summer season.
With the sun setting I can hear the children still play outside. They had a wonderful week, sunny days all the time. Good friendships must come out of this week. On Saturday they will go home and the next load will arrive, for us it will be an extremely busy day, because the new kids arrive in the morning and the old group leaves in the evening.

Today I walked to the damwall. It is just a tiny damwall to stop flooding. It was such good weather to stay inside and I had a new bird to add to my list, the northern wheatear and I saw great display of the common redstart.

On my walks today I went into Maloja’s information office to buy a map of the hiking trails. I talked to a guy there about which birds I might see here. Before on several walking trails I’ve seen places where someone is feeding the birds. He told me then that him and his wife are feeding the birds from November till almost into May. So far this year they have distributed about 400kg of bird food over these feeding spots.
These last few days I have seen many darkish butterflies flying through. Today the mistery was solved and I finally I could see which butterfly it was. It is the small tortoiseshell/kleine vos. At first I thought it was a migrating butterfly, because it is a pass here and I saw so many of them. After googling I saw it is the first butterflies that appear when it heats up. I must have seen about 15 of them!

Speaking of migrations, I see on the swifts-martins and swallows mailing list that the Common swift is already seen in various places. On the 6 april one was seen in Bordeaux and 3 in Saint Quentin. On the 8th one was seen at Breskens in Holland and also in the province of Brabant in Holland.
I’m scared they will be home before me.
On the 8th april the first one was seen in Western Swizerland.
Now the fever is rising!

Chiavenna in Italy

2009-04-08T05:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we heard we had the day off today. It might sound that we often have days off, but we only have one day off in a week.
This morning we decided to go to Chiavenna, which is in Italy. It’s one of the first villages you find when you go down the Maloja pass.
Maria and I thought it best to start early and try our luck by hitching a ride. If we didn’t get a lift we could always take the bus. The third car passing us took us all the way into the city centre of Chiavenna. In Switzerland in the mountains it’s so easy to find a ride.

Our chauffeur was a very pleasant person who lives in St Moritz and was on his way to Lugano. He was full of knowledge and told me that it’s not likely that I’ll see the golden eagles very easy. He also told me they’ve set out Lammergeiers, but I don’t know where exactly. This winter they even had a bear that came over the mountains from Italy, but it was shot because of safety reasons. There are no lynxes either. Talk of man being invasive!

Chiavenna is a quaint old village with narrow streets and high buildings, about 2 or 3 stories not counting ground floor, but no more than that. A colourfull village built long before there were cars. It’s surrounded by mountains and the temperature is much higher than up in the mountains, but in spite of that the italians were wearing coats – even when they sat in the sun, while we carried ours.

Every piazza were taken in by tables and chairs of little bars or gelateria, giving it all such a pleasant and relaxed sphere. We sat down to enjoy the sun and watch the people on the Piazza Rodolfo Pestalozzi which had a fountain in the middle. The water must be drinking water, because I saw a grandmother letting her grandchild drink from the fountain. I was told that it becomes very hot here in summer and then a fountain must be refreshing.

Maria can’t walk too much because of her bad knee, so we rest often when we find benches. It is so pleasant in the mountains and in this village in Italy, they have clean benches all over. It gives me time to look for birds and I can add new ones to my list. I especially enjoyed seeing barn swallows flying in the narrow little streets. You would expect them to fly in the country. I did see one swallow which I couldn’t identify. I will have to google seriously to try and find it.
All shops close from 12 till half past two! Only eating places stay open.
We had our lunch near the market square amidst hugh old trees. We are such frugal people and always take sandwiches with. haha!

It’s remarkable to see how many old and tall trees are there in this village.

Spring has really made it’s entrance below the pass. We were enanamoured by the camelias we saw blooming in the gardens on our way into town. Along the river Mera which cuts the town in half we saw many blossoming trees. Also when you look up the mountain there are many trees covered in white blossoms which we thought might be cherry trees. We wondered if they got there because of birds?

We were not that lucky in finding a lift back to Maloja and we took the bus. Spring has sprung on the mountain slopes too. It was covered with tiny alpine crocusses. From the bus I could see them only in white and the occasional purple one.
Ag, another shitty day in the mountains!

The Belvédère

2009-04-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Today the kids arrived, 350 of them and we are between 50 and 60 personal. Now the serious work starts, but we also have set times to work and to be off.
This afternoon we walked to the Belvédère. From my room I can see it and I was told that this was supposed to become the residence of the Count Camille de Renesse, but it was not finished. It is situated on a hilltop and overlooks the Maloja pass and on the other side it looks out at the majestic hotel he started building in 1882. It was to become a health centre for the rich. It was opened in 1884, but he was also declared bancrupt in 1884. That’s one of the reasons why the castle never came to be. I have to find proper information about the Belvédère, because what I know is what I find on the internet and I'm not always sure about those facts.

Here are the mountains as seen from the Belvédère

I especially wanted to go that route, because there are more trees and I might see more birds. I was not disappointed and saw a few nutcrackers and they were not that far-off. I was also told that there is a pair of golden eagles in this valley and I might see them best from the Belvédère. Fingers crossed!

Birding list for Maloja 2009

2009-04-05T02:34:00.000-07:00

My birding list for Maloja 2009

Alpen Kauwen/ Alpine Chough - Pyrrhocorax graculus
Rotszwaluwen/ Crag Martins – Ptyonoprogne rupestris
Grote Bonte Specht / Great Spotted Woodpecker- Dendrocopos major
Kruisbekken/Common Crossbill - Loxia curvirostra
Zwarte Mees/Coal Tit – Parus ater
Kraai/ Carrion Crow – Corvus corone
Gaai/Jay – Garrulus glandarius
Notenkraker/Nutcracker - Nucifraga caryocatactes
Witte Kwikstaart/White wagtail – Motacilla alba
Vink/Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs
Kramsvogel/ Fieldfare - Turdus pilaris
Koolmees/Great tit – Parus major
Krooneend/Red-crested pochard - Netta rufina
Wilde Eend/Mallard – Anas platyrhynchos
Zwarte Roodstaart/Black Redstart - Phoenicurus ochruros
Merel/ Blackbird - Turdus merula
Goudvink/ Bullfinch -Pyrrhula pyrrhula
Kuifmees/ Crested tit - Parus cristatus
Tapuit/ Northern wheatear - Oenanthe oenanthe
Boomklever/Nuthatch - Sitta europaea
Matkop/Willow tit - Parus montanus
Beflijster/Ring ouzel - Turdus torquatus

Chiavenna
Boerenzwaluw/ Barn swallow - Hirundo domestica
Gekraagde Roodstaart/ Common redstart - Phoenicurus phoenicurus
Waterspreeuw/Dipper - Cinclus cinclus
Bonte Kraai/ Hooded crow - Corvus cornix
Grote Gele Kwikstaart/ Grey wagtail - Motacilla cinerea

Past days

2009-04-05T02:22:00.000-07:00

By now I have quite a red face of all the sun. It's almost always sunny and you must wear sunglasses against the glare. Seeing that much sun is wonderful! I heard it's just as good in BE.
It does make it difficult to walk in the snow, it is all mushy and you sink into it sometimes or you slip easily.
The chaffinches were singing there little hearts out this morning. Being birds with their own song in each country, they have a slightly other sound here in swiss. It’s like the people living in this area. Most of the men working on the renovations of the hotel are Italian. In the village they speak a lot of german and also this swiss dialect. In the Post Office on the other hand, the guy speaks french!
The best news about Africam is the refresh cam of EP streaming. Now all those people who left, because they couldn't watch the streaming can come back. I do miss watching the cams. Last night I saw a herd of ellies at Nkorho, but it was buffering very badly for me. My connection is not what it is back home. At the moment I can still sit in one of the rooms which will be used as a classroom for the kids. Tomorrow I will have to go and sit on the windowsill to get a connection.
So, watching cams will be for when I'm back home.
The bar has opened and I don't have much time in the evening to write my memoirs. Last night I was too tired and had a early night.
The kids and all the volunteers arrived this morning. The hotel will come alive now.

A foggy day

2009-04-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

The day started sunny, but by the time we were free in the afternoon a heavy cloud of fog crawled into the valley from between the mountains.
We went for a short walk to the lake and almost didn’t find the damwall because of the amount of snow. In winter you can walk over the lake to one of the villages nearby when the lake is frozen over. It’s a popular passtime to go to Isola, drink something and then walk back again. You can still do it, but it is getting more risky. Although with the swiss being the swiss, if it is too risky they won’t let you on the ice anymore.

With the fog getting heavier we shortened our walk and went to the village post. One of the ladies had a fall and sprained her ankle on her way to Maloja and she wanted to send postcards to her family at home and we offered to do it. The picture is of one of the churches in the village.

At the moment we are with a small group and by now we get to know each other better. It is more fun and with most of the work finished, the stress is off. The renovations on the hotel is working against us and constantly cause a fine layer of dust on everything. Even so, we are ahead of schedule.
Now I’m sorry I didn’t come to work here when all of it was of Intersoc, it’s such a grand place.

St Moritz

2009-04-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

I’m not a traveller, unintentionally I happen to go places and today I visited Sankt Moritz. When I was a child the name meant Hollywood stars to me. Now? If I had the chance, I still wanted to see it.
We suddenly had the day off and Maria suggested this morning we go there, she was in this area before. Yesterday it was not my plan to go to Sankt Moritz today and now while the evening fall, I have been there.
You see what I mean with unintentionally?

From the station there are escalators like in the London metro, which take you uphill and right into VIP street(Via Serlas) with all the shops for the very rich. Guzzi, Vuitton, ?, ?, ? ….. I have already forgotten the names! Maybe it was not that important to me, it’s only shops with ridiculous prizes.

A picture from the Palace hotel in VIP street, but seen from the other side.
It was a little drizzly and chillish, but much warmer than Maloja. Even so some ladies must have been very cold or they just wanted to show off their fur coats. Fortunately Alpine Choughs(Alpenkauw) diverted my attention to the sky. I have seen it several times in the Alps that they form a bubble and fly around for a while like that. Then my eye caught yet another little bird…… crag martins! My first for this season. They do like villages and I have seen them in Aussios for the first time, then in Zinal and now in St Moritz. I wonder about their migration patterns. How far and where do they migrate to? Also the question rises about the supply of insects in the air. Were the Alpine Choughs flying in a bubble like that because there were so many insects in the air?
Maybe it was the moths from all those fur coats?
We had a coffee in the Conditorei Hanselmann from where you can look out over the lake. It looks like it could be an old establishment. We had our sandwiches with, but thought the better of it to eat it in this establishment, we don't really want to be asked to leave. So we went to a cheaper place where we could be warm and eat the sandwichses.

The sun was shining by then and it was quite warm. For a while we just sat in the sun and enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the day.

We decided to walk around the lake to the other side, because Intersoc has a home there in the summer holidays. It's a lovely walk and you can see it by the amount of dogs being led out and people walking just because it was a lovely day. Just before we got to the bridge I saw my first butterfly for the season. Unfortunately I could not see which it was, only that it was dark. Still so much snow and a little sun and the butterfly started flying. With St Moritz situated at the bottom of the mountains and the sun shining on it like that it has it's own climate.

A picture from the other side looking back at St Moritz.
There must have been a frenzy of building blocks of flats at some stage, because on the other side of the lake there were many similar blocks. To make good the dullness of the buildings they have painted them in different colours.

We sat on the lakeside opposite St Moritz and from there we could see the slopes as if covered with ants, people were skiing. There were cable cars going up and down the mountain and mountain trains and people skiing down the mountain. Everything was happening above the town, maybe that’s why I didn’t see any stars!

Maloja

2009-03-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

It was a long trip to Maloja in Switzerland. It was not a hard trip with many changes to different trains, in fact we sat in the same train from Brussels to Chur from 7:33 till 18:00 hours. It's hard! We slept a little, we talked a little, we slept a little, we ate a little, we slept a little and we played lots of sudoku. Around us the other passengers came and went...... and we played more sudoku.

Today we woke up to a very grey morning in Swiss, maybe even more snow will fall. On this height every thing is covered in snow and for me who is not used to it, it’s pure magic!
Winter’s own wonderland.
The hotel is huge, but we occupy only a very small part of it. The unrenovated part!
It was taken over by a italian concern and everything they’ve renovated is off-limits to us. The hotel is returning to it’s old splendure, I only hope the “high” will visit it often enough so it can stay alive, keeping it’s history and it’s feeling of grandeur.
There are still work being done on parts of the hotel, so we will have to remove that fine coat of dust that covered the already cleaned rooms and halls.
I don’t have a room with a view this time, but if I sit near the window, I have internet. Now I must see that the battery of my laptop is loaded while I’m away from the room or I have to find an electrical cord long enough to allow me to sit next to the window. My room is large and my only electrical plug is next to the door, on the other side of the window.

Maria and I went to the village in the afternoon. I post a picture of Maria walking between walls of snShe showed me around town as she has been here many times in the past. The town is built on even grounds and it is not difficult walking here. There are many cross country trails starting in town and crossing through the fields.

We went to a look-out point to look down in the Maloja pass.

This photo is of part of the pass we could see and you can see how it "snakes" through the mountains.

The afternoon was warm and pleasant in the sun. It didn't take long to find a terrace in the sun, where we could sit and drink apple wine which tastes like a cider, enjoying the sun and our time off. This week we work from 8 till 12 and from 4 to 6pm.

On our way back we saw the hotel from behind. It's such a colossal structure in such a fairly small town. But, it has it's charms.

Something tells me I'm going to like it here. The people are pleasant, the hotel has it's own special touch of class.

Through a dirty window I took a pic of the town and the night falling.

A start

2009-03-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

Everyday is some kind of a journey. For some time I feel the need to write down all those wonderful and the less wonderful things that happen on my journey.
It's spring and the time when I often feel the need to start with some or other project, so this blog might just be the start of this year's project.
You almost feel lucky when you can still see a field of cornflowers. I took this picture of the cornflowers in my header on a birding trip to La Brenne in France in 2008.