Southern Hemisphere Star Maps

I am sitting looking at a star map and wondering what I will see from the top of the mountain. Once we break the tree cover and giving the thinner atmosphere and lack of light pollution it should be pretty amazing. After the star maps in the journal I was sent for the hike there is of course a Swahili phrase chart and a bird checklist.

I have so much to do now and so little time; believe it or not I do not have all of the gear that I need. In fact I am not all that close to having everything; I need some summer and rain gear. I have yet to test my contour camera nor do I have all the tech I need. Amazing! However, I tend to put things off till the last minute. Like the workout I was supposed to start ten minutes ago has conveniently been put off so I could do this blog post.

I think I will bring my binoculars but I am beginning to get conscious of the weight I will be carrying in my pack. While there is a porter for the 30lb bag there are certain things that I want in my day pack. I bet I am the only one that goes through this, I would hazard a guess that everyone else going is 100% prepared by now.

I did receive an email from the Safari group doing the Kilimanjaro Trek and they told me that I needed to stop all of the hard exercise and concentrate on stretching and light aerobic exercise from next Tuesday on – I wonder if they understand that exercise is addictive and it will be hard to just quit. I should note I would hate a stupid exercise related injury before doing the trip and I will not miss the two hour on two hour off workouts. Tuesday I will finish with a full five hour, full pack workout, and from then I suppose I will relax till we ascend the mountain.

The night sky is something I look forward to as well. I just checked out this photo: http://doriantsaiphotography.smugmug.com/Adventure/Kilimanjaro/18321130_BhTD8X/1409710282_5Nv85R9#!i=1409710282&k=5Nv85R9  not bad, not bad at all.  I hope to capture some great photos. We shall see how my skill is and if my 7D is up to the task.  There is a great chart on the web of the evening sky for July on the Royal astronomical Society of New Zealand’s Web Site (http://www.rasnz.org.nz/Stars/EveningSky/Jul12Sky.html ), I will need to print this out and take it with me.

I have hiked up and down many mountains but I have never done this much preparation. I hate preparing for stuff like this, I always feel it is some sort of Jinx, I am more of a just do it person. Well, having said that I suppose I should knock on wood.  Wait, I am not at all superstitious and this delay is over, time to format and post this so I can work out.

Cheers,

Rob

About the chart:

A star map of the south polar projection found for the celestial globe of Su Song (1020-1101), a Chinese scientist and mechanical engineer of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). This diagram of a star chart was first published in the year 1092 in Su’s book known as the Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao (Wade-Giles: Hsin I Hsiang Fa Yao).

Yendo a la Antártida (Spanish Language Edition of Going to Antarctica) Free on June 20th 2012

When I first approached the publishing of this journal I also looked into feasibility and/or demand for translated editions. Six months after the release of the the travel book it appears that demand is still very strong and considering that I have decided to release a Spanish Edition. With the rough translation done the Spanish Edition will be available for free on Amazon tomorrow, June 13th, 2012. I think a public review is always a good way to go with translations.

Going to Antarctica is a book about my cruise to Antarctica in January. Here is the description in Spanish:

Yendo a la Antártida es la historia de un experimentado viajero preparando y realizando el viaje de su vida. Contada desde la perspectiva de un aventurero mundial, Yendo a la Antártida ofrece una deliciosa mezcla, por un aparte, consejos prácticos para el viaje, sugerencias y advertencias; y por otra, por supuesto, anécdotas, coloridas descripciones e historias que hacen del viaje algo memorable. La excursión sigue la ruta del barco a través del Paso de Drake. Luego el equipo desembarca y se encuentra con la flora y fauna del desierto más austral del mundo. Los exploradores tienen algunas experiencias asombrosas a lo largo del camino, incluyendo la acampada en la Antártida. Esta es una historia de lectura obligada para cualquiera que esté pensando en hacer un viaje al desierto de cristal, para los amantes de la vida silvestre, y para cualquier persona fascinada con esta extraña y helada tierra.

Here is the link to the Spanish Edition: Yendo a la Antártida (Going to Antarctica)

I hope you enjoy it!

Cheers,

Rob

 

Follow-up: hit number five in first week amazon.es kindle ebooks travel

A Taste of Italy in Bolton Landing

After two hours swimming in Lake George this morning I headed for a quick lunch in town, Bolton Landing, NY.  There are many choices for food in Bolton but I had a yearning for some pizza and when in Bolton and wanting Pizza you have to put Cates Italian Garden on the top of your list. It is so good and the pie is suitable for a king. This restaurant always reminds me of the story of the creation of the first modern pizza.  As the story goes, pizza was created due to a series of events, including the discovery of the new world and a city of the people versus great wealth, Naples. Naples cannot claim that it invented pizza, per se. In honesty flat breads have been around forever but Naples is remembered for doing something special to that flatbread; sauce.

The story goes as follows- the Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, was touring the unified Italy. She would be making a stop in Naples and the city was searching for an idea for a gift to present the Queen. In honor of Italy and the Queen, the chefs prepared something special, a flatbread dish with something new, from the new world, tomato sauce. With the addition of mozzarella cheese, another Naples staple, and Basil leaves, they created a dish with the colors of the Italian flag, the queen loved it and Pizza was born. This changed the world forever. So in Naples it is common to get a white pizza, flatbread and mozzarella or go with the Italian flag, Pizza Margherita.

So, when I sit on the Patio of Cates and sip a glass of Chianti while enjoying their amazing white pizza, I am always transported back to Italy. If you are on holiday and find yourself on Lake George and within reach of Bolton Landing you should do yourself a favor and find your way to Cates, grab some food and the Italian in me would recommend getting the white pizza. Be sure that you order the 12-cut white pizza. It is made with mouthwatering olive oil, fresh garlic, basil, and mozzarella cheese. Cates will welcome you in every way and trust me you will not go away hungry.  You can get a reservation, I never do, but I eat at odd hours!

Check out their website: http://www.catesitaliangarden.com/

Cheers,

Rob Yonaitis

Great Weekend of Nothing!

When I awoke the house was frigid. I got up and walked to the laundry room. The rain was coming down softly, but the puddles were large enough so that I could see huge drops falling in rapid succession. I had scheduled this week off to do a full week of hiking as a test run for Kilimanjaro, but I did not have the desire to hike all weekend in the rain. Granted when I head to Tanzania I may have to hike in the rain, but then again that is Africa. So why risk anything on Mt. Washington.

So, instead I decided to do Faux hikes this weekend. I used my Gold’s Gym treadmill on the highest incline and decided to do in place hikes in my home gym. Now this would at first seem easy and senseless but in the end it is a good test of endurance. For example, use your treadmill, set it to an incline of 9.0 and set the speed between 2.5 and 3.0. At this setting both run and walk. Take your first break after three hours (lunch) and then finish after six hours. I promise you it will be a workout. However, this will not help you work on balance at all, nothing replaces actual hiking. On Saturday, using this method, I did a little over six hours – matching what I expect on day one of Kilimanjaro. Today, Sunday, I did about five hours and twenty minutes – this is about one hour more than would be required on day two of the trek. So this is working out fine for me.

Tomorrow, I will do another four to five hours with eight hours of actual hiking in the White Mountains or in the gym on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday will be four-hour days. I am so excited that my test hike will be over by then (six total days.) But I will get to hike up Black Mountain on the weekend and this real hike will be great fun. With six weeks left I am feeling confident as to my being in the “hiking” shape that I planned for myself.  I go to the Travel Clinic tomorrow to get a review of my shot record, any required updates, and of course my scripts for Malaria and whatever else might be required. If it is not raining I may go to Vermont for a short hike after my visit to the clinic. So this weekend I did nothing, and it was both good and helpful.

 

Cheers,

Rob