finnish sauna at the northern edge of California

While our America's Best Value Inn room was already really nice - who would expect that - this magnificent spot in California's most northern larger populated area named Crecent City even offered a Spa including a chaccousi and a sauna.
Since it is actually chilly up north here, especially at the rough Pacific coast, we were so going to do some sauning. In the early evening, the whole spa located in between the parking lots was ours. My mum, an experienced saunist, was little concerned about missing but essential features like sufficient towels, towel wracks and the lack of nudity. It is really weird to sit in a sauna wearing a swim suits. But hey, its complementary and it was actually pretty nice ... until THEY came.
They were a typical (I did not say that!) US-American end of forties couple and obviously not so sauna experienced. Wearing full rope, they first climbed into the jaccousi, puffing and blowing. Later on, we had to share the sauna with'em. "It is gonna get a full house in here, ehu", the guy said entering the small room, soaked and dripping all over. Way better even was the entering of her. When she placed her butt on the wooden bench, the sound was like pouring a 10 gallon bucket from the 5 th floor on the street. Seriously, I think not only her pants and underwear was pressed out, but also other parts back there. Ok, so were they sitting there eventually. "Baby, I don't remember when I had a real good swet the last time". That was him, and I had the hardest time not laughing when imagining him doing sweaty activities - or not doing them, as he said. My mum just left after them entering and I followed her, not hearing what he actually said about his last real good swet experience, which he apparently remembered - in presence of his girlfriend/wife.
Oh, the sauna was brought to us buy Finnlandia Sauna. Thank you!

it's getting hot out here

While describing my dune climb in the Mojave Desert, there would be no way doing this in one of the hottest places, Death Valley. We slept in sight of the highest thermometer in the world (yes, they do it biiig), which measures 134 feet. The equivalent temperature (56°C) was measured in 1937 or so. And really, it is insanely hot. When standing inside the Park, in the large valley of death, there is a constant wind, which feels exactly like a huge hair blower directed at you. Still, facing 116°F, I barely ever swet, which is so nice. However, physical excercise is torture. You cant stand any ten minutes outside without a bottle of water in front of your mouth. In the center of the valley, Bad Water is the lowest elevation in the Western Hemisphere (who the heck knows what this exactly is?), - 78 m below see level. Few miles away, mountains as high as 2800 meters arise. Star Wars and many other movies were shot here, which makes perfect sense considering the the moon like rock formations.
After driving and walking through heat and dryness (around 0 % humidity, 6 cm precipitation per year in average) an ice cold beer at Furnace Creek oasis (well chosen name!) feels sooo good.
To further illustrate the present heat, it is interesting to see that "cold" water from the tab is still so warm, that even I take ice in it, which does not last long melting in minutes. Warm tab water is therefore as steamy hot, that you can easily prepare a tea right away, true story.
In the information and visitor centers everywhere around the parks, friendly staffs welcome you, giving true advice about what to see and do. And there is free stuff everywhere, wifi in the middle of nowhere. One lady in a flea market store in tiny Shoshone, which is a really cute place with 47 (?) inhabitants at the entrance to Death Valley, was so excited about our visit, that she felt like giving us one of the self painted travel bags crafted by herself.
Driving and climbing up the sourrunding mountains in Death Valley brings cooler Temperatures. Actually, at around 2200 m hight, it gets already chilly, in the middle of the desert. At the trail head in a remote valley, 7 charcole kilns (Holzkohle Meiler) from 1879 (!) are still standing there like being in use, since they had only produced charcole for 3 years. Such relicts of the times of gold rush can be found all over the place, and its impressive to imagine how people have been living under such severe conditions more than hundrets of years ago.

acknowledgement

Thank you, America (and I mean the USA, sorry all other Americas) for creating the National Parks all over the nation. It seems like one of your best achievements (besides free drinking fountains and beverage refills). Everything is kept really neat, the park roads seem to be in better condition than in the rest of the country. There are abundant and nice rest areas, toilets even at the most remote trail head. It also feels safe, I do not feel terrified of being shot around the next corner (just kidding). I want to conclude with a citation to the US citizens, which is most likely both incomplete and altered without indication. Also I forgot the : "Welcome home. The National Parks are all yours. Come and discover the rich variety of these lands connect with it. It is the land, the connects all of us." (I ll try to find the true statement, since such a statement by unknown author is admittedly little pointless. Its my effort to give my blog more substance. And I know I fail, but I ll keep trying. Hope thats not what they ll write on my grave stone at the end of my days, though.)

the story of the tortoise

I really wanna share the story of a small desert inhabitant with hard crust but soft inside. Theses tortoises live up to 80 years and are capable of surviving without water for more than a year. This is possible due to their uberbladder, which retains liquid and makes it reaccessible for the tortoise's metabolism. Isn't that amazing? However, not everything in their life is as easy as it sounds like. Desert tortoises suffer from a mean enemy, know as man. Such one approaching a tortoise or even touching it, can terrify the latter in such a way, that it urinates, loosing too much liquid to survive until the next rain. Poor thing.

singing dunes

The desert - my associations went from dry, hot and sandy to completely dead. But what is a desert actually like? dry is right, as learned in school as the most important characteristic of a desert. Everything else is not really correct.
Mojave Desert Reserve is a huge stretch of land, we drove over 300 miles in and around it, not even having seen all the highlights. Landscapes change widely, from dry lake bassins to granite mountains and volcanic cinder cones. There are also the only singing dunes, which sometimes make a deep brumming sound as sand avalanches roll down the slopes setting sand particles in vibration. Hiking up a dune is hard, but it is beautiful (but dont forget, its also hard). Equipped with a thick layer of sunscreen, a shirt hat, sunglasses and WATER (2 liters per hour) we headed to the base of the dunes. Since my dear mum chose to enjoy the view from the bottom, I continued on my own, let alone with only the sun and the sand. It was steep, and sandy, thats what probably describes a dune best. As soon as reaching the edge, which forms a perfectly sharp line, there is great view over a huge, plaine bassin, surrounded by dark mountains in the far distance.

from Rivas, Nicaragua to Panama City in 36 hours

4:00 am: We get up in our hostel at playa Santa Domingo on Las Islas de Ometepe - doesnt feel that bad, actually.
5:00 am: The journey begins: The ATV cab picks us up to bring us to the ferry terminal on the other side of the island. On the road, which is mostly unpaved, really unpaved, we pass chickens, two and more people on one bike and women carrying their goods on their heads on their way to work, abandoned horses, but no other cars.
6:00 am: Ferry ride to San Carlos del Sol, not as exciting as the one to the Island two days ago, when we were barely able to climb back down from the third deck via a tiny ladder in pretty heavy weather.
7:15 am: Cab ride to the bus pick-up in Rivas. Yes, we succeed in negotiating the price and get one dollar discount, probably still paying too much.
8:00 am: The first Tica Bus passes by, which we did not take since it seemed a too tight schedule. Therefore breakfast at a local gas station.
9:00 am: We climb on Tica Bus excecutive class destination San Jose, Costa Rica.
11:00 am: Arrival at Costa Rican boarder.
12:30 pm: It did not feel fast to stand in line twice at the boarder control offices as well as at the baggage check, but we eventually make it back into Costa Rica.
6:30 pm: Arrival in San Jose, Costa Rica. The impression we get of the small area of city, in which we look for an internet cafe, is really positive, and maybe I have to reevaluate my Costa Rica opinion.
9:30 pm: We leave the internet place, which officially closes at 6 pm on sundays. Long live the Costa Rican pura vida! However, both of us feel slightly sick and we are afraid the diarrhea on a bus ride night mare might come true. Some US fast food chain food helps a little.
10:30 pm: Boarding bus number two with destination Panama City. We find a small pillow and a blanket and the cup holders and tilting tables are actually there - excecutive class.
4:30 am: Panamanian boarder. Not too bad, we already made quite some way and slept in the bus. But wait, why is there nobody in the migration office?
6:15 am: Panamanian boarder. Despite having taken some breakfast in a shabby boarder restaurant, nothing has happened at all. We are waiting.
7:00 am: Yes, we proceeded to the Panamanian side of the boarder. Only one more line at their migration office, and we can continue our ride.
7:45 am: Finally at the counter, we are told that we need to show a valid return ticket from Panama, otherwise no entrance permit. We buy a ticket from our bus driver. Do Tica Bus and the boarder control collaborate secretly?
8:15 am: Everybody takes their luggage out of the bus belly and carries them into a circular room, where two gentlemen from the boarder control manually check every bag. One of them is really excited of the first aid kit in my back back and wants to know what pills are for which purpose. He is particularly interested in the emergency light stick in the box, which he really seems to want to unwrap and incent. He does not.
9:15 am: Ok, nobody said, that passing two boarders in Central America in one day would be easy, but more than 4.5 hours for one boarder crossing is ridiculeous. Whatever, we are back on the road, moving.
11:00 am: Police control number two in the middle of nowhere. May passport has never been grabbed as many times before.
5:00 pm: With only two hours delay we arrive eventually in Panama City, yippiee yeah yippie yippie yeah. The next days will show, if this journey was worth it, but I am already pretty confinced. Panama City has the vibes.

on the back of a horse

Who would have imagined, that I would end up on the back of a horse - not me. Starting with a slow trek on a rather skinny horse in the highlands of Costa Rica, I quickly became more comfortable on the horse back, though still not quite as much as on my wire donkeys (Drahtesel). The cross-country-mobility of these animals is fabulous. After reaching the highest spot of our guide´s family´s finca, we played some soccer: Finland, Costa Rica and Germany vs. the francophones from France and Belgium. Sure thing that we wone.

Despite some gymnastics and two small running parts, the ride was comfortably slow. However, the real thrill is running with the horse. Loosen the reins and put spores on your horse (it is not quite as violent as it sounds) and the ride gets faster. Fortunately, there is a lot of empty space on the beaches of the biggest Islands in the Lago de Nicaragua, las Islas dee Ometepe. You really need this space during your run, and you might still sometimes come close to tree branches above you, from which you need to crouch down biting into your horse's mane.

Yes,  galloping is really fast and a lot of fun. Bruises, skin irritations and the "cowboy walk" the next day might be results of your riding. Still, you should try, it is surely worth it.