Nat's Place
  Central and South America
 
Definitely my favourite hobby is traveling and trekking. The best trip I have done so far is an almost entirely overland back-packing trip in Central and South America.
I started in February 1993 in Mexico and ended up seven months later in Argentina, having trekked through: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and a very very small part of Brazil.
Two years later I returned to the south of Argentina and Chile, to Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

  Over the first pass, the "Abra de Huarmihuanusca" (Dead Woman's Pass), of the Inca Trail. Height 4,050 metres (13,284 ft).

Besides trekking and climbing, I am very interested in ethnography (study of human cultures). I spent much time in small villages listening to local legends and beliefs. Traveling alone and being perfectly fluent in Spanish were, of course, invaluable for this type of journey.

It is very hard to say what the highlights of the trip were.
How can
  • climbing the Cotopaxi (6,050 metres - 19,844 ft), Ecuador
  • the inca trail and Macchu Picchu, Peru
  • the Perito Moreno glacier, Argentina
  • listening to old legends
    even be compared?
    •  
    Jordan
     
    Before the signing of the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan (Oct. 26, '94), I wanted to visit the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan. (Israelis were not allowed in at the time but a foreign passport came in handy).
    I most especially wanted to visit the lost city of Petra ("the Red Rock"), built by the Nabateans some 3,000 years ago.

     
     

    Nepal
     
    In 1998 I spent 5 weeks in Nepal as part of the American Everest Expedition. Two of these weeks were spent at Everest Base Camp - see research page for details.
    The trek from Lukla to base camp was beautiful. The trek back was no less impressive since, after 2 weeks of pre-monsoon rain, the terrain looked greener and acclimatization to the altitude was no longer an issue.
    I'm used to traveling "solo" and not as part of a whole expedition and entourage, but this was an incredible experience. I'll one day return to trek Nepal in my usual style...

     
      Mount Everest 8,848 metres (29,028 ft) - the Mother of all Mountains
    To the Nepalese: Sagarmatha ("sky head")
    To the Tibetans: Chomolungma ("the mother goddess of the earth")
    To the rest of the world: the most renowned mountain of all
     

    Future Journeys
     
    My next major journey will probably be a jeep trip through the Namibian desert.
    It has long been postponed . . .

    One day I will also climb the Aconcagua ( 6,962 m - 22,841 ft) in Argentina. The Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere and the highest mountain anywhere in the world outside the Himalayas.