Tenerife Day 1 and 2

Ross and I just returned from an awesome five days spent on Tenerife. We stayed in a small studio apartment on the north side of the island, just outside of Puerto de la Cruz. This was the perfect location. We rented a car, and we were just off the main highway that runs around the island. This meant we could get anywhere on the island easily, and when we were tired after a day of exploring we didn't have to drive extra switchbacks up to our apartment. We had wonderful views from our balcony, and there was a nice running trail just below the apartment that we did on two mornings when we didn't feel like going further. Click on the images to see them larger.

Upon arrival, Ross is super excited :)

Views from the apartment balcony:

To the east, you can see the trail running downhill

To the West

To the south, towards the mountains

The apartment, all the pictures taken from standing on the bed

Yep, from the bed you look directly at the toilet... and there is no door. Privacy be damned!

Morning crunches in the living room

The first day we headed west, and drove up the switchbacks to the top of the pass. We were headed to the small "town" of Masca. We stopped in Santiago del Teide to pick up food and saw an interesting looking trail of crosses going about 400 m up the hillside. We hiked up and enjoyed the rather cloudy view, before heading up the switchback road to the top. We stopped to take pictures and enjoy the views, but it was incredibly windy.

We made it to Masca, found a parking spot and starting running down the trail. It was a 6km run down, and then 6km back up again in the ravine. Before long, it became obvious that running the whole way would be difficult as the trail was narrow, rocky and often hard to see. We foolishly attempted to keep our feet dry in the beginning, before seeing that the only way to continue was down a small waterfall. After that, it became a bit easier to go, as we just walked through the stream when necessary. I thought this was the most enjoyable hike that we did because of the adventure factor. Scrambling up and down the rocks, wading through the water and losing the trail were all part of the fun. We made it down to the beach and had a quick picnic before heading back up again. It took us just about the same amount of time to go down as up.

View from the top 

Heading down to the beach

In the river, among the cane

This is our trail

And this is also our trail...

We made it to the beach!

Ross hiking back up the ravine.

Day 2

Morning run from the apartment

I woke up this morning barely being able to walk. I could shuffle my way forward, but running downhill was just out of the question. The pain that I felt in my quads when running downhill was just unbearable, I couldn't do it. I could sort-of walk downhill with a funny gait, but that was it. So, in the morning we decided to explore the trail that was just below our apartment. It was a beautiful trail, and crowded with German tourists. I walk/ran most of the way with Ross, but then turned back before him.


The big plan for the day was to drive up to Teide and then hike up to the refuge near the top and spend the night there. The next morning we would wake up early and watch the sunrise from the top. Our plan was foiled, as the road up from the north side of the island was closed due to snow and ice. We emailed the refuge and they said that they would not be open again until Friday, which was too late for us. Also, the top of the volcano was closed, and remained closed due to snow and ice for the rest of our trip as well. Instead, we drove back downhill a little ways, and ran from La Caldera into los Organos, with views into the La Orotava Valley. I still could not at all run downhill this afternoon, but luckily there was a good mix of up and down. After a short bit of down, we had a nice long run uphill. We continued along on a narrow trail through pine trees, and joked about how beautiful the view was, when all we could really see was clouds.

Running uphill

Forest trail, with hanging moss

More out in the open, along the trail, with too many clouds for a view

Awesome plants growing out of the vertical rocks

Trail around the edge of the cliff

Out on the rocky outcrops

4 months?!

Has it really been 4 months since we last posted here? Le sigh, it has.

We're still doing what we do best - eat, sleep, work, orienteer with a few changes in place. Ross started a PhD program in science (yep, science) at Uppsala University. It's probably about a 4 year program, so we will be hanging out in Uppsala for more than a few more years. Here's a photo highlight of... the past 4 months?

October

Some baking victories of yumminess.

Birthday dinner, followed by laser tag, because that's what you do when you turn 31.

November

Linné Gala - 7 Wonders Theme 

December

Who gave Ross a horn for Christmas??

Elisa, Lisa and I at lunch in Stockholm after wedding dress shopping

And warming ourselves at the outdoor market

Thanksgiving! About a month late, and in Norway with Melissa and Cristina in our cute cabin.

Cozy

And snowy

But the cabin eventually warmed up enough...

Slicing the turkey 

Happy Thanksgiving!

7 Wonders by candlelight

Ready to hike back to civilization (ok, we weren't that far away)

But our trails were streams.

Not that it stopped us.

 February

Of course, some baking fails as well (it was still tasty!)

We do actually orienteer, but the camera never comes along.

Seasonal update!

About one post per season seems about right :) It's just a day after my birthday and I'm home from work sick with a cold. Staying home today was mostly out of consideration for others, as today is a meeting day. No one wants to be stuck in a small room with someone who sounds like they are coughing up a lung and blowing their nose every 20 minutes. The Swedes probably would have kicked me out after about 30 minutes even if I tried to show up.

Uppsala has continued to amaze with its weather, which is important to people like Ross and I who love to spend all of our time outside. We have had some really warm days, and lots of fun and bright fall colors. As I type this, the sun is shining, the brightly colored leaves are blowing in the breeze and the thermometer reads +3C (37F). Sounds like there were even some snowflakes falling this morning. However, I do not despair. We're not in winter yet, and as long as it stays sunny I can enjoy it.

We've had an up and down orienteering season. Ross ran some really good races (like the middle SM quali), as did I (like 25manna), mixed in with some not so great races. Teaching math this year has me working harder than last year, plus I'm now working 80% instead of 60%. I love it much more than teaching PE, though, so it's worth it.

25manna was by far one of the highlights this season. The awesomeness included:

• sunny and warm weather!
• Linné had 6 25-person teams!
• seeing Cristina! :)
• running second leg, surrounded by other people. As I've said to many people, after about halfway through my course I could have lost my map, and still gone to all the controls, there were that many people. Wouldn't like to have that sort of train all the time, but it was an interesting way to run a race :)
• the cheering squad. Every time a Linné runner came down the chute, we cheered. We may have fallen off a bit more after the first team finished because we were just too excited. But so many of these people aren't used to be cheered in the chute. For one, Swedes don't cheer. For two, (yes, you can say that), most of the runners aren't 'elite.' So we had lots of smiles, waves and fist pumps from the runners are they ran by the cheering section.
• the excitement and anticipation watching the first team. They were amazing this year. Yes, I'm saddened that we were disqualified after the fact (one person went to a wrong control, but the organizers couldn't figure it out during the race since their entire system was down). But the roar that went up every time a first team runner came into the finish was amazing. And the excitement and nervousness waiting for Annika on the last leg was equal to the feeling I get while watching World Champs. The look of surprise of Annika's face when she emerged from the woods in the lead was priceless. We worked hard as a club that day, we cheered, we ran hard, we celebrated. That can't be taken away. We'll just have to do it properly again next year!

I think now I'll just leave off with some of my favorite pictures from the fall so far.

Thierry made some new 7 Wonders boards!

Lisa and Seb look over my taxes. Do I really have to pay?

Lisa R, Ross and I with our medals from Sigtunaloppet.

Ross, Annika, Thierry and I enjoyed dinner during Culture Night.

Fika! In Alingsås, apparently the fika capital of Sweden. 

Wouldn't be able to get through fall without my pumpkin pie spice!

Ross looking natural.

The colors on our street.

The whole street is orange and red.

My bike commute to work.

If you look closely, there is another commuter. Heavy traffic today.

Fall colors!

Gloomy day, but our street is still bright.

Ross getting his hair sprayed red and blue for 25manna.

Henrik rallying the cheering squad.

Beautiful day for 25manna.

Annika and Anne Margrethe Hausken after their final 25manna leg.

Sushi for my birthday. I love it when Ross charms them with his Swedish and good looks and we get the box of mess-up sushi (free!).

First Race Accomplished!

Today was the first of three races for us here at the World Games. It was the sprint distance and it was held in a park and residential area in the southern part of the city. Ross ran a great race, probably the cleanest he's had all season and finished 29th out of 39. I just didn't have the legs today to run a good race. I had one speed from the beginning and it was not fast. Struggled to continuing running, and ran a mostly clean sprint, coming in 26th out of 40. Teammate Ali Crocker was the major superstar today, finishing 5th and only 3 seconds out of third!! Simply amazing!!

We've been doing some siteseeing and spectating at other events as well, so I'll just add some pictures below before I head off to bed for an early rise tomorrow. The one great thing about jetlag is that waking up at 6.15 am is not a problem :)

Afternoon fika. Trying to select from the delicious array of pastries.

Fika with friends. 5 pastries and 2 coffees for 7000 pesos, which is about $3. Great food and great coffee! Sugar rush for the afternoon.

Cultural fair going on in the park. Locals share their craft from their region of Colombia.

Our hotel. Tallest building in Cali, third tallest in Colombia. The room on the 17th floor has the most fantastic view of the city.

Rugby Sevens final match between South Africa and Argentina. Never having watched much rugby before, it was really fun. And each half was only 10 minutes long, so it's over quickly! South Africa won!

Tomorrow we race in the morning again, with start times between 9.45 and noon. You can follow us here.

World Games!

Wednesday morning we woke up in the 3rd tallest building in Colombia, and headed downstairs to a breakfast of fresh pineapple, scrambled eggs, and a colorful rice and meat dish. Sam and I are in Cali, Colombia to race in the 2013 World Games, where orienteering is one of the included events as a "Trend Sport." This puts us in the same category as Sport Climbing, Ultimate Frisbee, Fin Swimming, and Life Saving among others. The World Games is an event put on by the International Olympic Committee, and it is organized like an Olympic Games except all the sports are ones that for various reasons do not fit into the regular Olympics.

This picture of Cali comes from a 3D map of Colombia that we found in a park.

Our journey to get here started in the fall of 2012, when we learned that the US would be getting positions for the orienteering at the World Games. This is the first time that the US was awarded a spot and it is a reflection on the increasing strength of our national squad. Sam and I were selected along with teammates Eric Bone and Alison Crocker to represent the US. However, less figuratively, our journey to get here started on Monday morning when Sam and I headed to the airport from our home in Uppsala, Sweden where we started the 38 hour journey to Cali, via London, Boston, and Miami.

We only recognized one orienteer on our flight from Miami to Cali, but there were some squash players and two coaches from the bowling team that were there as well. And once we got off the plane in Cali, there was a whole separate line for World Games athletes to get through customs and a several buses full of athletes going to get their accreditation and then to check into their hotels. As soon as we navigated successfully through that whole process we were definitely ready for bed.
As I mentioned above, our Wednesday started with breakfast where we caught up with Eric Bone who arrived after we had already gone to bed. By lunchtime we had met up with Alison Crocker too, and the team was complete. We asked some of the other teams which had already been out to explore the best place to go running from the hotel, and so after lunch we set out along the river for a short run to stretch our legs. There is a lot of traffic and the streets are crowded with buses, taxis, cars, mopeds, people pulling carts, and of course people selling Angry Birds themed twister games. We were safely up on sidewalk, and very glad that we didn’t need to drive a rental car at all during this trip.

The area along the river had a lot of narrow but beautifully arranged parks and there were lots of bridges that crossed back and forth across the thin trickle of water at the bottom of the river bed. The highlights of the scenery were probably the sculpture garden full of painted ceramic cats and the Colombian cultural fair that we stumbled upon. Some pictures from the run are shown below.

Sam is shorter than the bamboo. Also, this is not the bamboo that we have been warned about that has long sharp thorns.

Crossing the river on one of the many bridges.

Brightly painted cats.

Ali and Sam make a short loop through an open shady park while Eric and I stop to take pictures.

No day at the World Games would be complete without some sports, and our evening activity captured this spirit of the games perfectly. After our dinner in the canteen tent, we headed to a nearby arena to watch Korfball. We saw the last half of a game between the Netherlands and Portugal, and even after all that time we hadn’t really figured out the rules yet. Teams are made up of 4 men and 4 women and the team scores when the ball goes through a hoop that hangs up in the air, much like a basketball hoop without a backboard.

It was getting late after the game was over, and instead of watching the next match we got a taxi home and headed to bed, mindful of getting enough rest before our model event on Thursday. All of the races will be held on sprint standard ISSOM maps and so we’re excited to see what that will look like.