To Chile and beyond

We started our South American tour and we are ready to watch the games. We are in Chile for a few days where we can get our Brazilian tourist visas sorted. We booked a bus out to the Andes mountains on Saturday and I hear they make some awesome mints out there as well.

We head to Brazil on Sunday and plan on doing some diving and having a go at finding out if Fogo is the real deal.

Action Packed Weekends

Sand Dunes

Over Easter weekend we got in the car and drove up to Northland. It was my first time going up to the Northern most point of New Zealand. We hit some horrible traffic out of town and it took us 3 hrs to drive 60km. We stayed at the base of 90 Mile Beach on Friday night. We stayed at a local holiday park. We made it just in time as the sky opened up and it poured like you wouldn't believe. The next morning we walked along part of 90 Mile Beach. Then we drove to Cape Reinga and ran the Sand Dunes. You had the option to rent sleds and rocket down the dunes, but running was plenty fast as it was.

Saturday we went to Paihia and got on The Rock, a converted vehicle ferry boat for a sampling of water activities. We met Renee a student teacher from Ohio and Victoria a vet from Germany who we happened to bunk with. Our first activity was to shoot at a duck decoy being pulled behind the boat with a paintball gun. It was girls against guys and who ever hit the duck the most got a free drink or chocolate bar. You would have thought since I played a fair amount that I could have hit the duck. I put all 3 balls (the amount each person got to shoot) within inches of the dancing duck.

The next activity was fishing for snapper. I was unable to snag anything, but others on the trip were pulling mad numbers of fish. Unfortunately none were big enough to keep. So our dinner was BBQ steaks, sausages, and a bunch of salads. Renee and I shot pool while we waited for the food to be cooked. You can't imagine how difficult it is to shoot straight when the boat is rocking at anchor.

After dinner we went out for a night kayak. We were treated to a cloudless sky before the moon rose and were able to see the Southern Cross as well as lot of glowing algae. Afterwards several people jumped into the Bay of Islands for a swim. Renee and I opted to roast marshmallows in the fire. We got to talking about how Kiwis don't know about smores and proceeded to eat 2 packages before being cut off. The marshmallows don't taste like back home. Afterwards we drank tea and talked until we decided it was time to retire to the bunks. Some people had a trouble sleeping on the boat, but not me. It reminded me of being out sailing.

The next morning I was up to see the sunrise. We had a quick breakfast of porridge and cereal before jumping in the water for a quick snorkel. We went under the water to retrieve sea urchins. Afterwards, we made our way to Robinson Island where we hiked to the top and learned more about the tragic history of the island. It was a place of much confusion between the locals and early settlers. It led to a hanging of a 17 year old. On our ride back to Paihia we caught a fish and had some awesome sashimi and uni for those who wanted to try it. If you happen to be in the Bay of Islands, stop by for a trip and the crew will take care of you.

We debated on staying up North, but Beth had homework and we predicted the holiday traffic would have been horrible on Monday, so we headed back to Auckland on Sunday evening. We said by to our roommates and had some Movenpick before hitting the road. That was how we spent part of our Easter vacation.

Just me in the car

The following week the country gave remembrance of ANZAC Day. We saw our first rugby game. We purchased a groupon that got us tickets to the game, a bus ride, a roast meal, and a drink. We saw the Blues beat down the Waratahs, 21-13. Beth was super excited to receive a Blues flag when we walk in to Eden Park. The next morning, I loaded up our car with both my mountain and road bike. I first headed to Taupo to ride with the Thames crew. We road around into Taupo and then back out to the Huka Falls, and Craters of the Moon. It was pretty awesome, but some of the hills were brutal. There was the very aptly name 'Incline' trail and the Grinder.

After riding for about 4 hrs, we parted ways and I drove to Tauranga and crashed at Martin's. The game plan for Sunday was to ride the Sundee Hundee. This is a weekly ride leaving from Red Bikes in Mount Maunganui that exceeds a 100 km. We started off with a group of 14, but ended with 3. My legs went bust about 2/3rds of the way through the ride. It wasn't unexpected as I haven't been doing large rides. I ended up taking a short cut at the end of Welcome Bay Road as a few riders went the little bit further around the blokart track. The ride was capped off with a date pinwheel from Cafe Blend and it was oh so tasty.

This weekend we have Rotorua Marathon. Beth and I are battling injuries. She took a hard spill running and twisted her ankle. I'm having the lower back issue again. I've got a chiropractor appointment tomorrow to make an adjustment that will hopefully set it straight. She is thinking of dropping down to the half. I will probably be boneheaded and do the whole thing. I haven't made up my mind.

Then the following weekend we are going up North again. We are going with Performance Diver up to Tutukaka for a diving adventure. We'll be doing 2 dives. From the various photos I've found of the dive sites, we'll be in for quite the experience. Beth and I are talking about getting additional certifications so we can go deeper and do different things.

Then next month we head to Brazil!

Quick update

We are moving to a different place on the North Shore. It will be quieter and smoke-free. It's about the same distance to work but the ocean is just down the street and we have a view of Rangitoto. Will post photos later as well as what we have been up to.

Just kidding. Evidently being vetted by property management company and having the 'ok' from the owner that we would be acceptable candidates. We paid the bond as requested prior to signing the lease. When we went to sign the lease, the owner said he wanted to think it over. He also mentioned something about looks during this conversation. Damn me for not being whiter.

Latest adventures

Our group

After two weeks in Malaysia, Beth and I took off to Waitomo for another glow worm experience. We had hit up Lake Karapiro with my dad to see them on kayaks. This time we hit up a guided event with Cave World because of a grabone.co.nz deal. Beth booked the trip but they set us up on a guided night walk of the cave instead of the black water rafting that we purchased. So we ended up doing the rafting the next day.

The guided night experience was very good. We got to see the cave they excavated and all the bones that they uncovered. We were able to see the glow worms up close and learned a lot. I would recommend this for any one that doesn't want to get cold and in the water. Of course I was excited to get in the water and go rafting and by rafting I mean sitting in a tube. It was like being in a dark lazy river that was lit by the chemical reaction of a larvae.

We came back the next morning and got put into a group with a bunch of University of Waikato students. We were handed wet suits, booties, and a helmet and we jumped into a van for a short ride to the cave property. Then it was a short walk across a paddock, which was hot in the wet suit, but we were soon going to be cooling off as we descended into the darkness. Prior to entering the dark cave we were handed a black inner tube that would be our raft for the laid back meander down the stream. We opted to go through a small tunnel  where we had to crawl through to see the hidden water fall (the picture above).
There were a couple places were we were able to jump down into a lower level of the cave and they even brought in a slide.

We grabbed each others feet to form a train of tubes and stared at the cave ceiling

After the trip to Waitomo, I've been busy with getting certified to go scuba diving. It was 2 weekends in the water, both pool and lake, and 2 long nights in the class. It was a lot of fun and I'm thinking it will be something I could really get into. With the cost of the certification, the entire class gets a free hire so we are planning to go out as a group to  Goat Island. If we are lucky we'll catch some cray fish and do a beach BBQ. What is the next adventure?  I don't know, but the past 2 years have flown by.

Off to KL again

KLIA Concorde

Work sent me to Kuala Lumpur again for, but this time it was for 2 weeks. I got a 1 and half days off to get into the city proper. I got to wander around instead of just hanging within a 10 km radius of the airport. Otherwise it was 10-14 hours spent inside the control room at the under construction KLIA2 terminal.

Not a great day, but not the worst.

KL is experiencing a major drought and while I was there a forest and peat soil fueled fire that basically destroyed the air quality. Most days it was just a thick haze and we questioned if they could land a plane. I'm pretty sure visibility was less than 500 meters at some points. There was a couple downpours while we were there and it allowed me to have a nice Saturday in the city.

Massive park just outside of KL Sentral

I took the express train into the city, which took about 30 minutes and cost $35 for a one-way trip. The train gave you some cool views of the surrounding area moving from farm to city. Off in the distance were large hills. Before you knew it you were at the main station. KL didn't seem the most friendly city to walk in. It took me a while to find my way out from KL Sentral. I ended up walking like a local down the side of the street past a cabbie who pulled over for a bathroom break on the side of the road. Glad I was wearing my shoes as I was walking in the "water" in the street. Who knows what else lurks on the street. Most of my afternoon was spent wandering the parks, museums, and area around KL Sentral.

Planetarium recreations

A short walk away you'll find Lake Gardens, KL Bird Park, The National Planetarium, and National Museum of Malaysia. There is also a bike trail going through the park. The park had a sign for my arch-nemesis, the monkey. There was also a section of a zoo where you could see roosters and deer. Well those were the ones that I could see on my brief walk through the section. I also wandered through several museums and learned a lot about the area and the people.


Saturday night, my coworkers and I went into KL for dinner. We went to a section of town that reminded me of New Orleans. It was nothing but bars offering happy hours and people trying to get you in to drink. Once we sat down at one of the bars, the waitress tried to keep pushing the drinks on us. The street was lined by tourists looking to get loaded and watch either soccer or rugby. We ventured across the street to the Black Forest, where we had an very good meal. On our way back to the car, a woman whose affections were available for purchase wouldn't let one of the older gentlemen out of her site. She was like a dog with a bone, but he wasn't having any of it. We made it back to our car and our night just got a lot longer.

Tasted like Squirt

I don't recommend getting into a fender bender in a foreign country. We were hit on the highway by a young lady who tried to merge onto the highway and then cross 2 lanes. She smacked our front passenger tire and then we pulled over. Waited on the side of the road until her brother dropped another young lady off before driving to the police station to report the accident. We had to type our own incident report on the computer. Then we were given guff for not having an international license nor our passport on us. We had to go back to show the passport and then had another meeting scheduled to take photos of the damage. The photo meeting was canceled and the girl was found at fault.

Sunday, I went back into KL and wandered even more. I was in search of finding street food. I got off at KL Sentral again and made my way to the big pointy things in the sky. I found a market and ate with a bunch of locals. It was tasty fried chicken, coconut milk and artichoke hearts over rice, and hard boiled eggs and egg plant covered in chili pepper paste. After lunch, I was checking out more of the sites and I was approached by a guy who didn't speak english, but gave the international sign of take a photo. I assumed he wanted me to take a photo of him. Nope, he wanted to pose for a picture with me. I took off my sunglasses and he gave me a big hug as he snapped the photo. Afterward he gave me a big 2-tooth grin. I continued on my way and made it to the Petronas Towers, which I was shocked to find a large mall in the bottom several floors. I then happened upon a ramen shop a little way from there. Would a 95 degree day with tons of humidity stop me from indulging in a hot, spicy bowl? Nope.

Race Recap

Ironman New Zealand 30th Anniversary.

Laughing at my dad who was using the action mode on his camera.

So I've been nursing a foot injury for several weeks, but I wasn't going to let it stop me from doing the race. I started packing all my gear on Tuesday after our Takapuna swim session. Knowing it was going to be a long day, I wanted to make sure I was comfortable so I packed a different set of clothes for each event. I wasn't expecting blazing fast transition times as I was doing a full change for each event so I could be comfortable. Early Thursday morning we set out from Auckland to Taupo for the race on Saturday. We stopped by the airport shortly after 6 am to pick up my father. We have a new rule. Don't bring us anything from the States unless specifically asked or cash. All those with any sickness will be deported immediately. (Beth and I both got sick and someone else is alternating between coughing and snoring all night long). We made good time, but weren't allowed to check-in to the room until much later. We grabbed a bite to eat and then it was off to do race things. I had to dip my wetsuit in a cleaning solution, get my race packet, and get weighed. At the athlete's dinner and race meeting we, my co-worker Sebastian and I, found out that there were 52 different countries represented and close to 570 1st time racers. Of which we were 2. The dinner was a massive table of good eats followed by an entertaining segment of former winners and race legends talking about their experiences at Taupo over the past 30 years. We were greeted with a haka and other traditional song and dances as well. It would be an early night.

First race in a wetsuit

I woke up at 4:30 to start my long day. I had a big breakfast at the hotel while chatting with another racer and the waitress. She had come in early to make the food for us which was much appreciated. We were treated to another Maori ceremony prior to entering the water and those guys looked a little chilly. I think it was roughly 40-50 degrees and they weren't covered up much. Waiting for the swim to start we had the starting cannon roll past us. We were in for a treat as they shot it 3 times instead of the planned 2 times. The swim was up close and personal with my closet 1500 friends. We swam on and over each other for the better part of an hour. I was happy to have the layer of protection that my wetsuit provided or I would probably have some wicked bruises and scrapes. I tried to get distance, but people kept swarming around me. I was pretty relaxed during it all and just tried to find my rhythm. I'm glad my swim fitness hasn't totally left me as I haven't swam much since living in Thames. Beth and I have done a few races in a local swim series. It is in Takapuna and the swim consists of a 1500m ocean swim followed by our special event. Ice cream at Movenpick.

After exiting the water at 1:06, we had to run about 400m to the transition up a hill. My toe was killing me, but I kept running for fear of being trampled by other racers. I ended up seeing a lot of friends on the short hill up to transition. There was a small crew from Tauranga and a larger crew from Thames. From there it was off to my 1st personal assistant. I got my wetsuit stripped off and all my gear dropped on the ground. I did a quick change and the guy helped by handing me what I asked for and then put the remaining stuff back in my back and I was off to get my bike. I walked through the transition opposed to running as my foot was throbbing. I started off easy through town and waved at Beth as I rode past our hotel.  I heard more than a few comments about my litespeed. I cruised out of town trying to keep my heart rate low as it was a bit of a hill. Then it was time for the fun. A downhill and a tailwind out to the turn around point. I felt like I wasn't even riding that hard, but I was flying. On the way back it was fighting up against the wind and up the hill. I also played a bit of leap frog with Paulie from the Thames crew on the bike leg as someone didn't have a bike computer. I on the other hand tried to keep my heart rate down all day long and I watched the speed on the computer.

There were numerous flats and a few crashes on the bike course, but I wasn't not among them. I did see a lot of illegal behavior which is hard to police with so few course officials. There was drafting here and there, but the rule most often broke was the biker only passing one in a group of legally spaced riders forcing the passed rider to either ride in the draft area or slow down. I lost count of how many times it happened to me. Its not to say people weren't caught doing wrong as the penalty box always seemed to have someone in it. I'm just glad that I had my flats during my training rides leaving my ride unblemished.

I changed up my nutrition since the Port of Tauranga. I started to consume baby food (apple and banana oatmeal porridge) and a mix of coconut water and cranberry juice. I also suffered a bee sting to the palm while drinking out of my bottle. I yelled at Beth that I was stung by a bee when I passed her at the beginning of my 2nd lap. With 50km to go my foot started to kill me with all the vibrations. I knew that I wouldn't be running any portion of the marathon. With 2 bathroom breaks I finished the bike in 6:03, not too shabby as I've only been doing 60 miles for my long rides.

Once again I had an assistant to help with getting changed into my running stuff. After changing, I got sprayed with some sunscreen and was out on the course at a quick walking pace. People were egging me on to run through the pain. I quickly tired of trying to explain that I came to the race injured, but I was aiming to finish regardless. My friends told me to enjoy the day and make the most of it. I was in a sour mood the first lap as I really wanted to run, but even the walking got to be painful as the laps progressed. Beth got a couple phone calls from the race organizers as my timing chip evidently wasn't being picked up at the outbound mat. They asked if I was still on the course. She replied of course he is. She got a little worried and ran against the flow of the race and spotted me walking along the waterfront. I must have gone over the mat so slow that it didn't register.

I had a lot of friendly volunteers that walked beside me and chatted for a bit not mention all the food stops where I gabbed with the volunteers. Much like food challenges, Greg ended his 1st race heavier than when he started. I took this as a challenge. I ate cookies, chips, pretzels, moro bars, lollies, oranges, bananas, and some baby food while drinking water, coke, and an electrolyte mix.  I also used the bathroom at every stop by the end of the day. There were times that I saw guys from the Thames crew on the course and I wished them well. I ran into a friend of a friend from Tauranga who I climbed and mountain biked with while I lived down there on my last lap. I stopped and talked to him for a few minutes. Both Beth and my pops walked next to me during the final leg. It was great to have such encouragement for my family but the strangers were good too as it gets lonely on the course as the day progresses. There were some awesome supporters out there blaring all sorts of music throughout the day and even a guy who left his bbq open and I grabbed a sausage as I "blitzed" past. During the marathon, I told Beth I wouldn't be happy only doing one Ironman as I didn't really race it. I just finished it. She had already said something to that effect to my dad back at the hotel. I guess I'm a little predictable in that capacity. I walked down the finishers chute roughly 14:43 hrs after I started to a bunch of cheering supporters. Hands started popping out for high-fives and I just walked down the chute trying to slap them all. It was cool feeling. Beth said I should do a little dance as I crossed the finish line as I walked past her. After crossing the line I was escorted into the med/recovery tent where I was given my finishers metal, t-shirt, and towel. I had my timing chip removed and my weight taken. I had only lost 2 kgs during the day's event.

Following the race, I realized that I had 2 popped blisters on the back of my heels, my left foot was swollen, my bee sting swelling went down, I chafed my thighs, and I was starving. I ate some food and took a hot shower. I tried to sleep but I was boiling up then I was freezing. It was hard to sleep on the bed so I ended up on the floor with my legs up in the air against the wall. I was back to riding to work on Tuesday so any soreness didn't last very long.

How do you say in Portugese...

It started in 2005 with a Christmas gift I never expected. Beth got us tickets to see a 2006 World Cup game. Not just any game, but the 3rd place match. It ended up being Germany vs Portugal  with the host nation dominating the flow of the game. It was such an amazing experience that we decided we would make it our thing and attend the tournament every 4 years.

2009, I entered the FIFA lottery not exactly sure what was going to happen. Multiple rounds went by and no email or other notification of a successful bid was received. We had gotten an email saying we would be notified by such a date and as that date passed we made other plans. We booked a flight to Argentina to visit some friends who were temporarily living down there from Minneapolis. On Saturday, I received an email saying our bid was successful! We purchased tickets on Monday for South Africa. We had tickets for US vs England, Japan vs Cameroon, and US vs Algeria. With our vacation spent on Argentina, we were able to stay for 2 of the 3 games. Unfortunately, we missed the US vs Algeria game, but we able to watch it back in the States.

Just imagine getting through security wearing that!

This year is no different. We have been paying attention to the qualifiers as best we can. We have put in to the lottery. No official email has come, but after logging on to the site and getting a notification from our credit card. We have been successfully charged for our sets of tickets!  We will be seeing Uruguay vs Costa Rica, US vs Ghana, and Japan vs Greece. We have already purchased our tickets for Brazil as well. These were not cheap and our itinerary back home is surely going to be long. As I took new employment recently, my vacation situation is different than while at TCDC, so unfortunately I wont be able to make it back to the States this year. Unless I get sent there for work, which is a good possibility.