Kea

If you want to see the only alpine parrot in the world, you have to head to the South Island of New Zealand. What you probably will realize when you meet one, is that the Kea in the end is very irritating. The Kea is extremely curious and hacks it beak into anything on the ground. That include backpacks, boots and cars. It can fly, but prefers to be on the ground. That is the reason why every trekker has to hang up their stinky boots. If not, the boots are probably ruined the next morning. You wouldn't think so, but the Kea is also very intelligent. It can solve logical puzzles, especially if food is the reward.

The Kea is considered threatened after it used to be hunted for by New Zealand's big sheep farming community, but the population has been on the rise in the last decades since it received full protection in 1986. If you meet one you would probably understand why the Kea is nicknamed "Mountain Monkey" or "Mountain Clown"!

A Kea showing off on the Mackinnon pass on the Milford Track

Philippine Tarsier

When I visited the Philippine island of Bohol, I decided one day to rent a scooter, mainly to see the famous Chocolate Hills. But one worthy detour brought me (after a lot misguided directional advices) to the Tarsier Sanctuary in Corella, where the near threatened Philippine Tarsier lives in a naturally habitat. The Philippine Tarsier Foundation runs this sanctuary, and has the Tarsier in focus. That is quite different from the Loboc Tarsier Conservation (and other places along the Loboc river), which are unethical for-profit Tarsier viewing area that subjects Tarsiers to conditions very harmful to their health. Do not support those places!

The Philippine Tarsier is about 8-16 centimeters short and the only entirely carnivorous primate left (they eat mostly insects). The disproportionately large eyes are fixed in the skull, so the Tarsier can instead turn their head 180 degrees. As you may understand the Tarsier is nocturnal and have very good eyesight. And they are cute as hell..

100 Rupee Monk

In 2005, I trekked around and into the Annapurna Mountain Range in Nepal for some weeks. It still stands as the best trek ever. On the way to the Thorung La pass most people stay one day or two extra in Manang to get acclimatized. One of those days I went up to a Tsam Kang, which is a small hut/grass hut/cave intended for a single practitioner of meditation. In this Tsam Kang lived a lama which has been nicknamed the "100 Rupee Monk" by trekkers. You got to visit him for a donation of 100 Rupee while he waved his arms and murmured his blessings for you not get sick on your way over the 5416 meters high pass. He ends the ceremony with giving you a colorful thread necklace.

On the day I visited, his wife (?) was around and found the whole thing quite amusing (as you can see in the picture). As far as I know the monk is still around, but I doubt he still does the ceremonies because of declining health and age (some says he is almost 100 years old). And did the ceremony and necklace help? Well, I don't know, but I have never been more fit and acclimatized on any other pass..

In contrast to many other people I didn't donate any "selfie" to the monk

The Many Faces of Kids II: Usambara Mountain Range (Tanzania)

After doing the standard things like hiking up Kilimanjaro and Safari in Serengeti/Ngorongoro, I decided to do something a little bit more unusual in Tanzania. I went to what once was known as Wilhelmstal during the (bloody) German colonial period (1890 - 1918). To escape the heat in Dar es Salaam they longed for the cooling air of the Usambara Mountain Range. The town is now known as Lushoto, and it was there I hired a guide to take me around the rural countryside for a couple of days.

Apart from staying overnight in Rangwi Mission, what I really remember from this trip are all those happy kids running to get a glimpse of the "mzungu" (white person in Swahili). I could hear the chant of mzungu from a long distance away with barefoot running accompanying the vocal output. Some of them even tried using their English skills, but something says me that they usually had female teachers. "Good morning, madam" was usually the way they greeted me. I also remember a young girl taking care of her baby sister. The baby sister started to cry when she saw me. I consider myself neither very frightening nor feminine.



The visual highlight though was the small town of Mtae perched on the mountain cliff stretching out like an arm with the lowlands a long way below on three sides. It was there I shot what I personally consider one of my better pictures:

"The Gang of Mtae"

Diarios de Motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries)

2 years after I first visited South America, Diarios de Motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries) popped up on cinema everywhere to near universal acclaim, and some controversy. The movie is based on Ernesto Guevara' travelogue of same title. In 1952, the 23 years old medical student Ernesto "Fuser" Guevara and his friend Albert Granada decides to leave Buenos Aires behind, and go on a trip around South America on a motorcycle. Wonderful directed by Walter Salles and well acted by especially Gael García Bernal, the movie tells a story about friendship and hardship in a beautiful scenery. It also shows situations that would form Guevara for rest of his life. As some may understand this young medical student would end up as the world most famous revolutionary, but the movie tries not to focus on that at all.

Some bash the movie because they in the end realize they have been cheated into watching a movie about "the evil" Che Guevara. This is just as stupid as all those people walking around with a t-shirt with the iconic Che Guevara picture without knowing anything more about his ideas, beliefs and reasons. In my opinion, this movie is mostly about two young people discovering the world around them for the first time. As a traveler 60 years on you still experience the same things like impoverished indigenous peasants, and huge difference between social classes.

Gustavo Santaolalla playing short snippets on his charango gives a very Latin feeling to the movie, but it was the main song of the movie "Al Otro Lado del Rio" (On the other side of the river) by Jorge Drexler (from Uruguay) which was nominated to an Oscar for best original song. It won that category, but because Jorge Drexler (then) was not very well known, the producers would not let him play his own song on the show. They decided Antonio Banderas should sing instead, and let Carlos Santana play the guitar. One can only guess the (stupid) reason behind that decision. Anyway, Jorge Drexler accepted the award by singing some lines a cappella, and then said goodbye.

Just as Jorge Drexler, this movie deserves a much better fate, and I would recommend anyone to give it a shot.

Airbnb

You probably can't do much better than Henrietta's apartment in Madrid

My first encounter with Airbnb was in 2012 when I looked for a place to stay in Paris. More precisely I wanted to stay in Marais this time around, and found the price of the hotels rather expensive compared to what you got. Somehow, I stumbled upon Airbnb which (then) was pretty much unknown in Norway and found a chic and big apartment smack in the middle of Marais, and the price was very favorable compared to a hotel.

After that success I decided to give this modern concept of B&B some more shots on the next "round the world" trip. Homestays was booked in Singapore, Sydney, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Madrid and London. Overall, I got excellent value for the money everywhere, and the most interesting places were where I rented a room in someone's house/flat. That way I got to know so much more about the place, and met some genuinely interesting and open-minded people.

If you look around internet I'm sure you can find some bad stories about Airbnb (just as every other hotel/hostel), but if you use common sense I'm sure you usually will be pleasantly surprised. What I'm looking for when I'm booking is this:

1. (Many) Good reviews
2. Newly listed places may be very good value. If it is put some effort into tidying up the flat, and some/many (high quality) nice-looking pictures, you are probably safe. For example, I was the first visitor both in Sydney and in San Francisco, and both places were awesome (as they say in Australia).
3. Avoid someone who rents out a multitude of places. I had no option but doing that in South Beach, Miami. The location was excellent. The apartment so-so, but no way bad.

Lisa & Joe's place in Venice Beach, L.A. left a much better impression than the rest of the city.

When I got back home, I decided to even put up my house for rent if someone (for some unknown reason) wanted to visit my hometown. I haven't exactly been run down by customers, but more than 2500 dollars in less than half a year isn't too bad in my opinion. Of course Airbnb has to earn money some way, and takes some % both from the renter and the host, but I think it is only fair for creating this excellent new opportunity for travelling.

So, if Airbnb sounds interesting for any future trip I would really recommend giving it a shot. If you make an account through this link, you will get 25 dollars towards your first booking (I get 25 as well)

Christal's apartment in Sydney had exceptional views to the opera and the rest of Sydney.

Muchachito Bombo Infierno

I would rather not count on how much money I've "wasted" on CDs. On the other hand, I have at least supported most of the artists I'm listening to. So, why not write a little bit about some of them?

Going to Spain I could probably written a lot about the voice of Marcos Cao in the pop/rock group of "La Sonrisa de Julia" (Julia's Smile), but the most infectious band I have fallen in love with must be "Muchachito Bombo Infierno". This big group of musicians (including a groovy brass line-up) are from Barcelona, and is fronted by Muchachito (aka Jairo Perera). I have no way of describing the musical style of this band, but maybe funky rumbarock'n'roll could be it? I really don't know. However, I wish I could have attended one of their concerts sometime before they are retiring. During the concerts they are joined by a painter who is making a different painting each time.

They are now three albums into their career, and as any other band they are starting to push the limit of the style they are playing, But so far it has been a joyride. Below you can listen to the song "Será Mejor" taken from a live DVD they released on their website some years ago