The Travel Chick

Face your fears, live your dreams

2010-05-30T22:10:00.000+02:00

Now and then we find out about people that leave everything behind and jump on a great adventure to pursue their dreams. That makes you judge your own life, stop and ask your self if you are doing the right thing. Should you maybe do the same?

Some people would say those "pursuers" are crazy, lonely birds, or maybe just lucky to have the freedom to do it. I recon almost everybody is able to change their life. Most of the time is just a matter of priorities and more than anything else, guts.

I’m sure, even the bravest and most adventurous souls feel scared before their trip. And by trip I mean travel, change of residence, work, lifestyle... Just a few seconds before jumping on board suddenly this fear hits you and you think "Is it worth it?", "Am I doing the foolest thing?", "What was I thinking?"

But this fear is just a sign that you are just about to cross the line of the limit you marked to yourself. But nothing stops you from raising your limit higher up. And then you´ll be moving comfortable in an area where you never imagined you would be. Sounds easy, but it requires a big effort.

In one way or another everybody raises their limits as you grow up. It is part of the process of maturing. Although some steps are bigger that others.

I’m just about to take one of those big steps. When I took the decision I felt scared, doubtful, weak... and again very scared. But if you look around, you find that there are plenty of people that have gone or are going through the same process. That made me feel accompanied in my trip and gave me strength.

One of those people is Kepa Acero. He has just started an amazing trip on his own that will take him to surf the five best waves in five continents. I’m sure he felt the same way as me before jumping on the plane. What he is doing is inspiring for me.

http://www.fivewavessurf.com/

Off to Nigeria!

2010-03-23T22:17:00.000+01:00

I'm sitting in Heathrow, just about to get on the plane lo Lagos. It is ment to be boiling there!! 33 C in the South but up to 45 C in the North! I'm going to melt... I just read on the guide: Do not travel to Nigeria in March or April! Great...

I'll tell you about it in a few weeks. Nigeria. Yeah!!!

Globe Trekker/Guias Pilot on TVE2

2010-03-14T00:50:00.000+01:00

Hello there!

Finally, three years after we shot Globe Trekker Paris, it has been broadcasted in TVE2! Finally, my granma could see my work on tv, yiiha!!!

I hope you enjoyed it. It was my first time as a presenter and English not being my first language didn't help much to make me feel confident, but I had a lot of fun, even though we worked our a... body off around the city. What a crazy shoot it was...

My very very first piece to camera (known a PTC in the bussines) was the one in the backstage of Vivian Westwood catwalk at the Paris Fashion Week. There were about 100 photographers, tv crews, presenters and beautiful and super tall models around me and I was feeling very intimidated. We didn't had much time, because the show was just about to start, so the pressure was quite high. I was so nervous!! It was one of those moments where you think: you can't spoil it, man! But in the end I think I came out quite well, didn't I? A bit stiff, but it's not too bad given the situation.

Anyway, I hope you keep watching the show, because this is only the beginning. The next episode I present is Crete and it will be on TV very soon! For the ones who still don't know when Globe Trekker (Guias Pilot in Spain) is broadcasted, I hope you make a big red cross on your agendas every Friday at 15.30h .

Enjoy it!! And thanks for watching!

Next destination... Nigeria!

2010-02-21T14:15:00.000+01:00

The only thing I know about Nigeria at this moment is that I need 6 different vaccinations + Malaria drugs to go there... This doesn't make it very inviting... or maybe yes. That means it is a pretty unexplored destination, with some risks and where Nature is still pretty uncontrolled. Mmmmhhh... Nigeria, yes!

It is going to be the most hard core destination I've ever been to and I'm very excited about it. I'm off in about a month for my next Globe Trekker program. The producer already advised me there is some fighting now and then between Muslims and Christians in the country. In the Niger Delta, the interests of foreign large oil corporations such as Mobile, Shell, Chevron etc have resulted in immense poverty and environmental destruction. There for, tourists are a usual target for kidnappers in that region.

We will avoid the Niger Delta, but we can’t do much to prevent getting in the middle of a fight between Muslims and Christians, because it can happen anywhere at anytime. We will be guided by locals who know how to move around, so I’m pretty sure they will keep us safe.

Anyway, I think it is an English thing to be so preventive and protective with these kind of issues during a shoot. In Spain, we are a bit more adventurous and self confident. Maybe I should say unconscious? Probably yes. That is why I feel safe going to Nigeria with an English crew. Every risk has been measured and it will be avoided as much as possible.

I will start doing some research about Nigeria. I tried to find a guide book, but even Lonely Planet doesn’t have one because it is not a usual tourist destination at all. I don’t like going to a country without knowing anything about it. It is an opportunity to expand your knowledge and you understand things better if you have some background about the culture and history of it.

The good thing about not knowing much at this moment is that I don’t have many expectations nor an opinion about the Nigerians and their homeland. I hope my reading doesn’t change that. There is nothing worst than thinking you know everything about the place you’re going to.

Any advises?

Home

2010-01-30T17:46:00.000+01:00

Has everybody seen this movie? You should!

It is pure beauty, a treasure. It is hope. It is about time we think in what we are doing. What are our preferences? Compfort and money have been the most important things for too many years.

This is the official website:
http://www.home-2009.com/us/index.html

Watch the movie and spread the message:
http://www.youtube.com/homeproject

What do you think about it?

Live Web Chat TODAY!!!

2010-01-20T23:33:00.000+01:00

Hello everybody!

Today, at 5PM - GMT (9AM - PST) we are having a LIVE WEB CHAT session at the Pilot Guide web site. I'll be answering your questions, curiosities and telling lots of great stories from my travels around the world.

You can start posting your messages now at:
http://www.pilotguides.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1819

Remember to check the website at the right time and we will be having a live converstaion on the net. Join the session!!!

I hope to see you there,
Adela

The Rebel Quintet - Part II

2010-01-18T18:30:00.002+01:00

We were staying in a beautiful mountain lodge at the entrance of the Sierra Maestra National Park. The old geezers had come from the nearby town of Bartolomé Masó, as they usually do to perform for other visitors. As the light was fading away, when they finished their music, we went to the bar area to share some Cristal beers and some mojitos. A pig was being roasted in the backyard and we were very happy with how the shoot was going so far after two especially good days. Food, drinks and a great story: What else could we ask for?

As one of them was telling me I translated to Ian, Mike and Martin:

They were born and raised in those mountains. His father, Rafael Medina, had a nearly isolated coffee farm up in the mountains. An uncle of them used to play the guitar and they learned from him very basic cords. It was 1956 and they were teenagers.

At that time, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, joined by 80 fellows, had landed of a nearly drowning leisure yacht in the nearby coast, following their plans of joining Frank País in his uprising against the Batista illegitimate government. Two days later, they were discovered by the soldiers that shot them forcing their way into the sugar cane fields and later into the mountains. Only 12 of them survived, including Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara. In the chaos they separated in 3 groups, thinking all the others had died. After days of wondering through the jungle with no food and injured, they finally found help in the peasants of the Sierra Maestra Mountains. With their collaboration the 12 survivors reunited two weeks later.

Fidel Castro, Sierra Maestra, 1960 ca. (Picture by Raul Corrales)

Fidel Castro needed a hidden refuge to think about their next moves and the thick jungle was the perfect environment. The Medina’s house was the closest inhabited field. And so, the life of some coffee farmers was about to be part of the Cuban history.

The Medina’s house was a forced passage from the rebels’ base camp to the road leading to the village, where they found food and materials to build their huts. They used to stop there for a coffee and a quick chat, while the teenagers amuse the conversations with some music.

Further up in the mountains the rebels’ camp was growing quickly. They built a little nursing and they founded a newspaper and a radio station: "Radio Rebelde". When they came up with the idea of finding a band, the solution was not very far away.

The old headquarters in Sierra Maestra. 1962 (Picture by Alberto Korda)

Fidel Castro hired the Medina brothers to play on the radio to encourage the rebels and tease the enemy. As their knowledge in music was so poor, they parody popular songs with very simple revolutionary lyrics. When the battle was taken in the jungle the rebels hid loudspeakers on the trees to demoralise the Batista soldiers. The songs, with gibing critics against the government and based on guajiro (countryman) music style, were very accessible to the peasants and soon the Rebel Quintet was well known in the area.

http://www.box.net/shared/9pgxqh5f0l
Here you can make a secure and free download of "Soy Fidelista", a song from the Revel Quintet album.

The Medina brothers were happy with their success, but firing arms and killing soldiers seemed much more exciting and heroic than playing old guitars and maracas. They encouraged Castro to let them fight, but Fidel answered them their arm was much more powerful: ideology.

From the right: Cuban Guide, Mike Lerner, Martin Herring, Ian Wright and Adela Ucar at the high point where "Radio Revelde" was set up in Sierra Maestra.

Analphabetic and ignorant as they were, they thought Fidel was going to give them a special super killer weapon with some massive firing device called “Ideology”. They waited for it, but it never arrived. Only after the Revolution succeeded and the Medina brothers were sent to a school founded by the new government, they learnt what ideology was.

We were stocked as the story was coming out of their mouths. Obviously, we had done our research and we knew who we were going to meet. But having in front of you some 70 year old soldiers that shacked Fidel and Che Guevara’s hands in those early days of the Revolution and speak about their part in history with so much passion, gives the information a different dimension.

That was one of our best nights in Cuba.

I love this picture of them. We gave them the release form to sign. They got together in a corner and all of them listened carefully as the older one read the form. When he finished, he asked “Do we agree?”. Everybody said yes and they signed. This form of consensus made me smile.

2010-01-16T12:26:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone!

The second part of the Revel Quintet Story will be here soon, but for now, if you are interested, I'm having a LIVE WEB CHAT SESSION on the Pilot Productions website this Thursday 21st of Januar at 9am PST - 5PM GMT.

You can post your messages or questions on the website.
http://www.pilotguides.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1819

I'll be answering all your questions and telling stories of my travels. I hope to see you there!

Adela

The Revel Quintet - Part I

2009-12-28T22:20:00.003+01:00

Last November I spent nearly two months in Cuba. I was working in a production called “Ian Wright – Out of Bounds”, his new gig for Travel Channel. Cool stuff. Since Ian has already travelled the world and back, in this new series he steps out of the beaten track, going to the most unusual places, like Syria, Sri Lanka, Venezuela… and, of course, Cuba. Luckily the unbeaten track in Cuba is huge, since most visitors stay in Havana, Varadero or the Capes, beside some day trips to a few other locations.

During the shoot we crossed the country inland from Havana to the eastern coast village of Baracoa, also filming in Camaguey, Trinidad, Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo. We found one of the most fascinating stories in Sierra Maestra, a pretty inaccessible thick tropical forest National Park in the oriental part of the island, a symbol of the warfare started by Castro and his fellows against the Batista Regime during the late 50’s.

“The Revel Quintet”. This is the name given by Fidel Castro to these old geezers when they were only 15 years old, poor and analphabetic. We met them in Villa de Santo Domingo, a charming mountain lodge at the entrance of the National Park. They were dressed with the traditional army uniform of the Cuban Revels, the same Castro and Che Guevara wore while they were fighting Batista during the early years of the Revolution.

It was sunset and the light was about to vanish; the scenery along the way up to the mountains had been so beautiful we couldn’t help our selves from stopping probably too many times to film it. They were expecting us and when we arrived, they were already prepared with their instruments and as soon as we placed the camera they started the music.

http://www.box.net/shared/cmasoq9q3j
Here you can make a free a secure download of "Respect to Che Guevara", one of the "Revel Quintet" Album

It was typical Cuban guajiro music (guajiro means countryman). The lyrics and rhymes were so simple that could have been written by an 8 year old pupil. Most of them where in their 70’s and in their army uniforms they looked like beaten soldiers that fought for too long. But their voices were passionate and their feelings genuine. You could tell theirs was a great story.

(the rest of the story coming soon)

Surf at the Bilbao River

2009-12-24T12:18:00.001+01:00

This is the way we promote an exhibition in the Basque Country. We are tough people...

Yesterday two friends of mine did this performance. The water was very cold and very dirty. But it looks niiiice....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OihR5AoVZOw

2009-12-02T19:30:00.000+01:00

I'm in London sitting in a cold hotel room. I came up for a day to record the voice over of my last Globe Trekker show in Turkey. I just had a look at an upcomig documentary trailer that some good friends of mine are producing. Not a happy story.

Check it out:
www.battleforheartsandminds.com

We've seen those images a million times on films. We've cried and shacked with so many films that tell a similar story. But this time it is different. Thit is real live.

www.danfungdennis.com - This guy has big balls.

2009-12-01T12:21:00.002+01:00

Hello there!!

It is 10.15 AM. I woke up at 5.30 AM this morning with a heavy jet lag. I actually love jet lag. I usually wake up really early, when the rest of the town is still sleeping and everything is so quiet. I feel fresh, active and creative.

I've been watching the pictures I did in California and taking some notes in the guidebook about the places I liked or not. Am I too organized? I was feeling very hungry and I've had a poor attempt of delighting myself with a last great American breakfast before going back to my usual toasts. I've remembered I had some pancake mix. The pancake got sticked on the pan and I tried again with a new one. Only when the pancake was finished and looking delicious I found the mix was expired since January 09. Live is cruel sometimes...

I couldn't eat my pancakes, but I started a blog!

This is not a place where to find out the hotels or sights that are nice or not. I've created this blog to share my travel experiences, my opinions and interesting facts about the countries I visit. Everybody is welcome to share his/her opinions and knowledge about the different matters exposed here.

Together I hope we have fun, we learn and we become conscious about stories, people, problems and great adventures we maybe didn't know. We might fix up the whole world!!

See you around!

P.D.: EL idioma habitual de este blog es el inglés porque quiero que sea accesible a personas de todo el mundo. En España andamos bastante retrasados con el uso del inglés, así que ¡a ponerse las pilas! Si hubiera gente que no sepa inglés y esté interesada en leer este blog, por favor, que se manifieste y haré lo que pueda. Thanks!