TOPtoTOP expedition reports

Easter Island

Now we are already the second time in Easter Island. The first time when we were sailing from Galapagos to Easter Island end of September 2004, Sabine was also pregnant and today Salina is already joining us by the clean up of Hanga Roa harbor.

We have a warm welcome. We are glad to see our friends again and are very thankful about the hospitality of Erika's family, which runs the very peaceful guest house "chez Erika".

The only shock today is the traffic. In 2004 the horse was the common mean of transport. Today there are already too many cars for the total of 40 km of roads on this small island.

In the school some students performed a local dance for us to say thank you for our TOPtoTOP presentation. All of them participated in the TOPtoTOP drawing contest afterwards!

We climbed also volcanoes. They are not active anymore and you find in these remote craters a lot of endemic species. On one volcano you see how they have cut the Moais out of the rock. Further down you will find them all over the place.

San Martin de los Andes

From Easter Island we went with Andri to do more school visits in Patagonia.
After a nice time with family Heise in Porto Varas close to the vulcano Osorno, we spent quite a while in the area of San Martin de los Andes, where Salina met her new boyfriend Piedro in the hostel Puma and a lot of other friends.

The students of the Escuela del Sol also participated in the TOPtoTOP drawing contest:

In San Martin we found again a very interesting eco project for our school presentation: Thanks to the trampa de peces, the lake has 30% more fish!

!?! What was happeening at Dario's birthday at the 16th of October? Here the storry by Maud & Joost Verboven from the Netherlands cycling around America:

"It´s Tuesday as the stars shine down on three figures, who are slowly moving on this early morning. All our concentration is aimed at placing our ski´s on edge, preventing slipping down on this big icy mountain. We are zig zagging op the mountain, Dario in the front. When my sister, Maud, lost her concentration for one moment, she fell, thereby losing her ski-stick and flash light, I can hear her gliding down over the icy snow, I cant see her, its dark. After this incident we continue our mission, to climp the 3756 methres hight vulcano Lanin, high above us.

We started this expedition, Mondaymorning, with four European persons, Dario, a German guy named Michael, my sister Maud and I, Joost (both Dutch), all 3 new on a mounatin. This first day we climed up to 2300 metres, were we reached the refugio. It´s sunny and clear and the view is fantastic. We could see Vulcano Villarica in Chili, beautiful lakes and snowy mountains. Our German team friend enjoys walking up and is enhousiastic about the views but unfortunately, was not feeling to well.

Preparing a meal is a bit different as we´re used to. First we have to fill plastic bags with snow, afterwards we melt the snow with our msn-burner and Maud prepared some tasty hot oatmail. The diner, Dario´s Swiss sleeping-song and the sound of the wind makes us sleepy ...

The vulcano is quiet, steep, icy and snowy, and the three stips, Dario and brother & sister are slowly making their way up. After two and a half hours of climbing, on approximately 2800 metres as the air got more thin, although determined trying to reach the top, Maud was unable to keep up the tempo and headed downhill. This on a spot where it was no risk for Maud to turn back and we were able to see her all the way skiing down to the shelter. She would join Michael in the refugio and they’d ski down together.

Dario and I continue. The weather is perfect and the views are getting more and more impressive as we climbed higher. We leave our ski´s behind some 500 altitude metres from the top and start walking. Paradoxically with each step we take the summit seems to be further and further away. My body starts protesting every now and then but the mind is determinded and thinking of my mother, who fought cancer, this providing me the strength to reach the top. What a great feeling, it was my first mountain!

Back in our hostel Puma in San Martin de los Andes, Sabine surprised us with a fanstastic mail, celebrating Dario´s birthday. It was an estonishing experience which will be in our minds for a long, long time... "

Thanks to hostel Puma, guide Walter Lucas for the radio and Bernardo Paul from the skishop Austria-Ski-Ranch for the skis!

Andri is born!

We were still travelling yesterday and tonight at 1.14 a.m. Andri was born: 3380 g, 49 cm, very fast and super healthy!
Pictures will come soon. We are so happy!!!
Please contact us untill tomorrow under the phone number 0056 63 246 137 and after tomorrow under 0056 63 212 705.
Your friends,
dario, sabine, salina and andri

1st day pictures!

Here some pictures of Andri's 1st day on earth:

Muchisimas gracias a la Clinica Alemana de Valdivia, Doctor Fernando Herrmann, Doctora Luisa Herrera and Madrona Alejandra Mauzo! Luisa and Fernando we know already from Salina.

... and more:

- Andri, Salina and Dario

- beautiful birthday with blue sky and a lot of sun; view from our room.

- just after the birth: the two need some rest.

- first talk between father and son.

- the proud father with his son.

When Andri is not sleeping than he is the clown:

In den letzten Wochen sind wir uns wie "Maria & Josef" vorgekommen. Auf der suche nach einem Spital sind wir weit gereist. Gluecklicherweise wurden wir ueberall herzlich aufgenommen. Ueber unsere Geburtsodysse erzaehlen wir beim naechsten Mal ... jetzt geht es wieder ans Windeln wechseln. Fuer eure Wickel-Tips auf Telefon 0056 63 212 705 sind wir euch dankbar.