El pasado mes de octubre, tuve la suerte de poder participar en el concurso de la División H de Toastmasters (España) en la competición de Discursos Humorísticos en Español. Era la primera vez que competía en este tipo de concurso de discursos preparados a este nivel, y encima, los planetas (y los jueces) se alinearon y gané.

Como en Toastmasters estamos para aprender, no quería dejar pasar la oportunidad de compartir el texto del discurso en cuestión y un par de claves aprendidas sobre su enfoque que pueden resultar útiles a alguien que prepare algo similar en el futuro.

¿Y si no se ríen?

Hacer discursos humorísticos tiene un riesgo muy grande, y es que no se ría nadie cuando tú esperas que se rían, y es el temor que he tenido cada una de las veces que he salido a hacer el mismo discurso… “¿Y si no se ríen?” Lo bueno de esta predisposición al fracaso es que cuando arrancas dos risas (y si son carcajadas, ni te cuentao), te creces y tu seguridad sube enteros. Yo tuve la suerte de que hubo carcajadas múltiples y sonoras en mi primer minuto y las famosas mariposas del orador desaparecieron, pero podría haber estado 7 minutos tratando de arrancar carcajadas sin éxito.

Audiencia

El humor es algo bastante local y particular. Hay mucha gente “de risa fácil”, pero la forma más segura de hacer a la gente reirse es tratar un tema en el que se vean reflejados. Este speech funcionó porque trata sobre Toastmasters, visto desde un grupo mayoritario (en la primera pregunta levantaron la mano cerca del 75% de la audiencia), bien conocido y lleno de tópicos, a los que se acude en busca de risas. Como en todo discurso, hay que tener presente la audiencia a la que va dirigido, para darle el enfoque correcto.

Es gracioso porque es verdad

Nos resultan especialmente graciosas las historias realistas. No hace falta que sean al 100% verdad, pero podemos jugar con las verdades a medias para crear situaciones cómicas. Por ejemplo, en el speech se exagera con la inhabilidad social de los ingenieros y los tópicos respecto a su (falta de) relación con las mujeres para generar situaciones graciosas. No son reales, pero podemos llegar a imaginar que haya alguien que se sitúe en un extremo.

Cuenta con las risas

La forma es que se comunica el mensaje es siempre importante (algunos dicen que el 80%, otros que menos), pero cuando se trata de humor, las formas son mucho más valiosas. Un aspecto que hay que tener bien estudiado, y que yo aprendí leyendo este artículo del maestro John Zimmer, es que en un discurso de humor el público se ríe. De hecho, si el mensaje cala, se ríe mucho. Hay que tener en cuenta cuándo se van a reir, y dejar que las risas cesen para que te vuelvan a escuchar. Especialmente si eres capaz de arrancar varias risas consecutivas, les tienes que pillar con la sonrisa en la boca, pero escuchándote.

Estructura

Aunque las risas, en su mayoría, parten de bromas que generalmente arrancan unos segundos antes, no hay que perder de vista que se está haciendo un discurso. Como tal, hay que recordar que tiene que tener una estructura que ligue las distintas partes del mismo, transmitiendo un mensaje claro a la audiencia, con una buena introducción y una conclusión poderosa.

Y aquí tenéis el discurso con los puntos donde esperaba risas. Como ya he indicado arriba está pensado para una audiencia conocedora de la dinámica Toastmasters, por lo que el lector ajeno es posible que no le parezca ni medio gracioso… Si es tu caso, esto se soluciona rápido: acércate al club de Toastmasters más cercano.

Ingenieros

Aunque a muchos de vosotros os conozco de conferencias anteriores, y anoche seguimos ampliando los contactos, no os tengo a todos completamente clasificados… ¿Cuántos ingenieros estamos hoy aquí?

Espero que no os hayáis equivocado viniendo hoy aquí, así que os lo voy a dejar claro:
Esto es Toastmasters, un club de oratoria.
Esto no es ni el Club de Electrónica,
ni el Club de Ajedrez,

Querido Contest Chair, District Governor, Division Governor, Area Governors
Querido Juez Jefe,
Queridos Jueces (allá donde estéis),
Queridos Amigos de los Jueces (que con vuestra risa podéis influir a los jueces)

Compañeros Toastmasters

¿No os habéis preguntado nunca por qué somos tantos ingenieros que nos metemos en algo tan poco ingenieril, a priori, como es Toastmasters, un club de oratoria?

Hoy vamos a profundizar y conocer todos juntos cuáles son las razones que llevan a los ingenieros a unirse a Toastmasters.

Para ello, usaremos a un personaje ficticio:
Un ingeniero genérico, miembro de Toastmasters, al que, para que nadie se sienta especialmente identificado, le pondremos un nombre aleatorio… Por ejemplo, Ignacio.

Si le preguntáis a Ignacio por qué se ha apuntado a Toastmasters él os dirá alguna de las siguientes razones:
– Porque es importante para mi trabajo
– Porque es divertido
– Porque es una forma de practicar idiomas
– Porque me dan una revista

Todo esto serían magníficas razones… si fueran verdad.

La razón por la que Ignacio (y muchos otros ingenieros) se ha apuntado a Toastmasters es más sencilla que todo eso. Es la razón que mueve al Mundo. Al menos, a la mitad del mundo: Las Chicas.

Muchos me diréis que tampoco hay tantas chicas aquí… Esos sois los que no habéis estudiando en una Escuela de Ingeniería.

Pero no es sólo importante que hay chicas… es que las chicas te hablan!
También le hablan al resto del club, pero Nacho no es celoso.

Peor no sólo eso…
Es que mientras te hablan… ¡Te miran!
Nacho no está acostumbrado a eso.

Los evaluadores dicen que eso es tener buen contacto visual. Para Ignacio, eso son señales de amor.

Y es que los evaluadores no siempre tienen razón… De hecho, Ignacio no se entera de la mitad de las evaluaciones que le hacen, en concreto, de las que le hacen las chicas…

Y es que, cualquiera de vosotras, cuando empieza una evaluación:
“Compañeros Toastmasters, Queridos Invitados… y en especial, Ignacio”

En ese momento, Ignacio desconecta y no oye nada más…
Entre que se ve a sí mismo como un oso amoroso dando saltitos entre nubes…
Y que tiene un disco de Barry White resonando en su cabeza…

Durante los siguientes minutos, Nacho está físicamente aquí pero no se entera de nada de lo que pasa alrededor.

¡Esto sí es amor!

Me diréis que Nacho no puede ser tan tonto. Que no puede creer de verdad que todas las chicas de Toastmasters están enamoradas de él… Y tenéis razón, él se da cuenta de ello… Pero ya sabéis que los ingenieros no somos los más hábiles socialmente del mundo, y tardamos un poco más de la cuenta en darnos cuenta de estas señales… 4 meses, 6 meses… yo llevo 4 años…

Para entonces, cuando el factor “chica” disminuye un poco, nos ha enganchado otras cosas de Toastmasters…

Por ejemplo, nos encanta ser Timekeeper: Por qué? Porque es todo de numeritos. No de hablar y esas cosas que no se nos dan tan bien, sino nuestro fuerte: números… Y además, mientras llevamos el tiempo, podemos estar cacharreando con nuestros móviles a gusto.

Pero no es lo único que nos gusta… También nos gustan los Table Topics.

Porque, a ver, aparte de los ingenieros que han levantado la mano antes, ¿quién de los que está aquí tiene ingenieros alrededor suya en su vida normal?

¿No os habéis dado cuenta que una de las cosas que más nos gusta a los ingenieros es dar nuestra opinión sobre todo? Pues eso es Table Topics: hablar durante dos minutos sobre un tema del que no tenemos ni idea…

Y encima, en lugar de como un tu grupo de amigos, que no te dejan ni hablar… aquí te dejan hablar, te escuchan, y al final, ¡te aplauden!

En fin, aprovechando que hoy están aquí los jerifaltes de Toastmasters en toda España, y que uno de nuestros objetivos como organización es crecer, quiero proponer una campaña:

* Tenemos un fotógrafo genial
* Tenemos un montón de bellas mujeres
* Y tenemos más de 500.000 ingenieros en España (que no están aún en Toastmasters!)

Cojamos una bella mujer, y hagamos un gran cartel con su imagen, el logo de Toastmasters, y el eslogan:
“Toastmasters, el lugar donde hablas, y te escuchan“

We are now close to the beginning of the year, and it is time for some almost-new-year resolutions. One of them is writing again in this blog, that I use as a public diary, and a place to share some of my trips, experiences and pictures with my friends and family. Due to a number of good reasons, I have not been very active for the last 16 months, but I hope with some effort in the next weeks/months, I can make up for the last year.

Exactly, one year ago, some friends and I went to one corner of Spain, to La Garrotxa in Girona. It was a good excuse (a surprise party for the 30th Birthday of a good friend), and we enjoyed the colours of Autumn, a great fideuà, some cava and a great time with old and new friends.

This post should have been published in February 2009, after my trip to China in Christmas 2008… but it has lived happily since ever in my Drafts.

The last stop in the trip to China was Macao. It is, like Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region, as it also used to be a Portuguese colony, and now they are trying to integrate it with Mainland China.

It is pretty close to Hong Kong, and the two former colonies are linked with frequent and convenient ferries, perfect for a one-day trip. But note that you should add some time to your estimations for border crossing (you have to go through HK and Macao inmigration in both ways, which may take some time)… In my case, that day I spent around two hours in immigration lanes.

Macao is not a business center as Hong Kong, and it is not full of skyscrapers. The architecture of the city is very similar to what we can find in the Iberian Peninsula. Nothing really new to me, as you can imagine. So, the biggest interest in this sense was the contrast of being in a Chinese city, full of Chinese people, and with an Iberian look, apart from the funny bilingualism of Chinese and Portuguese.

But Macao is nowadays important in Asia for other reasons. It is the Asian capital for gambling and is perfectly comparable to Las Vegas in business importance. I do not like gambling, but as the city did not offer much to me and had some time left, I went to a casino. I chose The Venetian, because it is the one which appears in Ocean’s Eleven, so I wanted to feel like George Clooney and Brad Pitt, while watching live some human behavior totally new for me.

Visiting friends is one of my favorite excuses to choose travel destinations. It is nice as you get to see people who are normally a bit far away, you have local guides to show you the city, and you can actually see another city.

You can see in the pictures, there is a lot of light, and that is relative uncommon when you go to the north of Europe, and that could be felt in everyone there. People were happy, and channels looked like a busy road in Madrid on a workday, but instead of cars, there were hundreds of boats.

The channels make Amsterdam one of the nicest cities in Europe that I know, and the fact that it is completely flat, and bikes are the most extended mean of transportation for everybody, create a calm atmosphere difficult to beat.

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I knew I would be back to Morocco sooner or later, and that it would not be just a city. As I said when I went to Marrakech a couple of years ago, it should be more nature-related, and that was the main excuse for this trip: the desert. Flying to the same city where I had a couple of “issues” in 2010, Marrakech, but soon taking an organized trip to the East to experience the roads and towns of the rural Morocco.

Leaving Marrakech to the East, our bus has to go through the Atlas (G), near to the Toubkal, the highest mountain in the country, normally covered by snow (yes, Morocco does have snow too). Being lucky enough to get the front seats on the minibus, you get to see a lot of things that call your attention on a daily basis.

Donkeys widely used to transport people and other goods. Hitchhikers looking for a ride to the next town. Very frequent police controls (although we did not stop in any of them thanks to the early notice that other drivers made to our driver).

People walking in the middle of desertic roads, many kilometres away from any town. People sitting at sunny side of the road. Shepherds asking the drivers to throw them some water. Children always accompanying their mothers. Men always accompanied by other men. Women carrying herbs, wood, or clothes. Women washing their clothes in the river. Poverty. Too many children not going to the school, and working, or begging the tourists for some money.

The desertic roads we used crossed many huge ravines, dry today, but that clearly show that heavy rains take place there with certain frequency. Looking at the (main) roads that cross them without any bridge, and the fields being grown on their beds, the effect of a flood there must be huge.

Going back to the touristic route, we did our first stop at Ait Ben Haddou (B). First Moroccan trick: “the entry to the town costs 25 dirham, you can come with me, or just stay here and wait for the group to come back”. It is less than 3 Euro, and we all agreed to proceed with the visit, but we soon realized the guide (whose time was included in the package) had found an additional source of income. There was not such a thing like a ticket in this UNESCO Heritage Kasr (group of kasbahs/Berber houses), that has survived for many centuries, in spite of being constructed with adobe (great material for dry and hot weather, but not very resistant to the rains). It has been used as a scenario for many movies, like Game of Thrones, Gladiator or Lawrence de Arabia.

On our way to the desert, we stopped at the Gorge of Dades (C), and at the Todhra Valley (D). Both of them being impressive natural scenarios, and great examples of how powerful the water is in that environment.

And we finally made it to the desert. Our choice had been the desert (E) close to Merzouga and the border with Argelia. Not the biggest Erg in Morocco, but big enough and most accessible from civilisation. We rode our dromedaries (not camels) through the desert in a caravan while the sun was setting, and the sand colours were changing every minute. I had done this trip for those minutes, and it was worth it… in spite of the inconvenience of riding a dromedary for that long (I will not go into details, but the guides -with better knowledge than us- walked all the way to the camp instead of riding those monsters).

When we arrived to the camp, we were soon called to dinner, and then shared some Berber music around the fire, and under millions of stars not seen from the city.

Sleeping in the desert is a cold experience. Riding our dromedaries back before sunrise is even colder. If you ever plan to do this, make sure you bring the following items (especially in winter): gloves, hat, thermal clothes, sleeping bag (you do not want to touch the blankets that they provide you), a backpack, a scarf, a lantern…

After the desert, we had a nice track of 10 hours to go back to Marrakech, crossing some more rocky deserts, lucky riverside valleys, and the snowed Atlas. Once in Marrakech, we had a couple of days to wander around the zouqs, and visit some of the great monuments this imperial city offers: the always busy Jemaa Al-Fna square, the Bahia Palace, the Ben Youssef Madrassa, or the Majorelle Gardens.

The time in Marrakesh was much more relaxed than when I was here in 2010, and I managed to find the way through the erratic streets. I even enjoyed some occasional bargaining in the souq, and had the opportunity to recognize once more the importance for the Spanish image of our football: many people wearing clothing of Real Madrid or Barcelona, graffitis with their logos, people in the zouq watching a Real Madrid match on tiny TVs, or a number of people watching Atletico-Barcelona in Café de Paris.

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Salamanca is one of those cities that are a perfect match for a relaxed weekend trip from Madrid. It has a population of roughly 150,000 and 40,000 of them are university students. Its university is the most ancient in Spain (since the 13th Century) and a number of prominent linked to the Literature have lived for some time in this city, like Miguel de Cervantes (Don Quixote), Fernando de Rojas (La Celestina), or Miguel de Unamuno (Niebla). The town centre is easily reachable by walking distance, and hosts one of the biggest concentrations of tapas bars that I have ever seen (vegetarians might have a hard time, though).

If you need to set a place to meet in Salamanca, this will always be “under the clock in Plaza Mayor”. This square, built in the 18th Century, that used to host markets, fairs, and even bullfights, is now widely used as meeting point by locals, tourists, and especially students, who concentrate it in the evenings in small groups sitting on its floor.

Another significant sight in Salamanca is the Universidad Pontificia. A huge building that was under construction for almost 150 years, after the Queen Isabel II decided to create an institution to train the ones that would then go to the New World to spread the Faith. Initially it was intended to be run by the Jesuists, but it could not work as a Catholic University till 1940, as the Society of Jesus was suppressed by Carlos III. Its guided visit is highly recommended, and the climb to its tower gives breathtaking views of the city.

There are many other buildings that also add interest to the visit to the city: the Casa de las Conchas (now a Library, it used to be a Palace of aristocrats), the Monterrey Palace (now belonging to the Casa de Alba), the Roman Bridge, the University Main Entrance (look for a frog -on a skull- and it will give you good luck and results in your studies), the two Cathedrals, the Patio de Escuelas or the Casa de Lis (an Art Deco museum in an Art Nouveau building with amazing views to the Tormes river).

Apart from a beautiful city itself, Salamanca gives you the opportunity to live through its history the history of the country, as it has always been an active culture centre of Spain. Even in the last years, Salamanca was chosen to host the “Archivo de la Memoria Histórica”, part of which was transferred to Catalonia, within the current internal political battle. The street where this archive lies was named Expolio (pillaging) for many years, and now changed to Gibraltar (location not free from dispute, either).

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Sometimes, work makes you stay some days in places where you would not normally go at all. This was the case of my visit to the Perak region in the north-west part of Malaysia.

Malaysia climate in Summer is quite tough: very hot, and very high humidity. In my first visit to Malaysia (months before), I had the impression that Kuala Lumpur was a city in the middle of a rainforest, and that impression became even more true when travelling to a town, where palm trees and dense vegetation are literally across the street.

Palm trees plantations are a very profitable business, and there are plantations along the roads, with a big sign indicating the company exploting each of them, being Sime Darby the main one. Palm trees yield fruit twice a year, which is used for oils, soaps, and other derivate products, sold with a very high margin.

Malaysia has a particular mix of ethnic groups and religions cohabiting, with a surprising very low degree of overall social conflict. Half of the population are Malay, a quarter of them are Chinese, and the Indians are also broadly present. In terms of religion, muslims, buddhists, christians and hindus have a significant percentage of the population.

During this business trip, I had one day off and the only interesting option I was offered was to go to “Pangkor Island”, a paradise island with frequent ferries from a port near my hotel. I “decided” to go, and once there asked a taxi driver to take me around, resting afterwards in one of those “movie” islands, and almost empty. I regret of having asked to drive around the island, because I saw a dumping site next to the sea and, although it was in the opposite side of the island, I did not enjoy swimming in the hot, as much I might have done so.

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While thinking in the next sailing trip, I am going through the pictures of the previous ones refreshing some great memories, and realizing I had not published any post about it.

After Ibiza and Menorca, we completed the Balearic Island group by sailing around Mallorca for a week. Due to its size, we had to stay only in the Southern part of the island.

The route we followed was:

Day 1: Palma de Mallorca – Es Trenc (1)

Day 2: Es Trenc (1) – Es Caragol (A) – Cala D’Or (2)

Day 3: Cala D’Or (2) – Cala Barques (B) – Ses Roquetes (3)

Day 4: Ses Roquetes (3) – Sant Elm (4)

Day 5: Sant Elm (4) – Cala Basset (C) – Andratx (5)

Day 6: Andratx (5) – Cala Portal Vells (D) – Palma de Mallorca

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Fin de semana tranquilo, a bordo del Faluca II. Justo entre dos puentes en Madrid, y con poco tráfico hacia Levante. El mar, apto para todo tipo de sensibilidades y estómagos. Fuimos con mar de popa casi toda la travesía, y el viento tampoco nos dejó exprimir al máximo el velamen. El objetivo de este fin de semana (ir un poco más allá en probar nuestras capacidades marineras estando “al mando”) se cumplió sobradamente: fondeos (y desfondeos) exitosos a la primera, noche fondeados en cala, embarcación auxiliar con motor, atraco en boya, e incluso baño en alta mar (si no sopla viento de navegar, es que hace tiempo de bañarse).

Siguiendo los consejos de un gran conocedor de la zona, salimos de Denia, y paramos a comer en Granadella (1), una cala espectacular y que yo sólo conocía por Instagram (y sin haberlo preparado, me ha salido un pareado), para seguir la travesía hacia el Sur y fondear en El Portet (2) en Moraira. Al día siguiente, vuelta hacia el norte, baño a un par de millas de tierra (el mar era una piscina de agua salada), y rumbo a Jávea a practicar atraque en boyas (3) y comer. Por la tarde, tras cruzar el cabo de San Antonio, por fin subió el viento (en el puerto esto no parecía tan buena idea), e hicimos un par de virajes por aquello de ponerle un poco de salsa, a puerto y de vuelta a casa,

Julio. Córdoba. Dos palabras que dentro del ámbito de las decisiones racionales nunca deberían ir unidas, pero que por gajes del destino y muy buenas razones (una boda de amigos muy queridos) el año pasado sí lo estuvieron.

Fue una visita un poco exprés porque la boda no era en la capital, pero nos dio tiempo a hacer un poco de turismo y comer con algún amigo perdido por allí. Una visita a Córdoba no se puede considerar tal si no incluye una visita a la Mezquita de Córdoba, que aunque ya no ejerce como tal, conserva todo el arte musulmán previo a la reconquista intacto (menos en aquella zona donde se ha instalado una iglesia cristiana, claro está).

La visita a la mezquita debe ser seguida por un paseo por la judería con o sin destino. Cuando voy por esos barrios de casas blancas y calles estrechas, me recuerda al barrio de Santa Cruz en Sevilla, con muchas tardes de domingo perdidas por allí, y acabar observando el puente romano que cruza el Guadalquivir.

En este caso, la ruta acabó con una comida basada en salmorejo-fusión (alguno de los salmorejos no tenía ni tomate!) en el Mercado de la Victoria, un mercado reconvertido en lugar de tapas, al estilo del Mercado de San Miguel o de San Antón en Madrid.

A la vuelta de Córdoba y de la boda, antes de llegar a Madrid, nada mejor que parar en las Tablas de Daimiel. Un lugar cientos de veces visto anunciado en la A-3 y en la A-4 y nunca visitado. Probablemente no fuimos en la mejor época (julio) ni por cantidad de agua, ni por cantidad y variedad de aves. Los humedales, formados por el agua del Guadiana, ofrecen cobijo a una gran variedad de fauna a lo largo del año. La visita está cómodamente organizada con diversas rutas que discurren entre los humedales y permiten la observación de las diversas aves que lo habitan.

No hay mejor manera de despedir el verano que a bordo de un velero. Esta vez el afortunado de tenernos a bordo fue el Malta Blue, un Dufour 40, con base en Alicante, con el que recorrimos media provincia durante 4 días bajo unas condiciones idóneas para la práctica de la vela… sobre todo si vas en un barco tan “regatero” como éste. Debido a lo movido de la previsión, decidimos dormir todas las noches en puerto, sin destacar ningún percance en ninguno de los atraques y desatraques.

Salimos del puerto de Alicante (1) directos al pequeño paraíso que es la Isla de Tabarca (2) donde fondeamos y nos tomamos un arroz de manual. La digestión la hicimos en dirección al puerto de El Campello (3), donde llegamos poco antes que anocheciera.

El segundo día, con 20-25 nudos de viento real del NE según el anemómetro del barco, nos dirigimos al Islote de Benidorm (4) donde esperábamos poder encontrar un poco de refugio en las boyas, pero las únicas que había estaban bastante expuestas. Aún así, conseguimos amarrarnos a una de ellas y disfrutar de una movida comida, para partir hacia el Puerto de Altea(5) en lo que sería el tramo más animado del viaje: el viento ya estaba formando olas de cierto tamaño que nos entraban de través en el barco.

Al día siguiente, fondeamos en el Mascarat (6), cerca de Calpe, para emprender el camino hacia el Sur de vuelta por la tarde. Este tramos hasta el Puerto de Villajoyosa (7) fue el más rápido de los 4 días gracias a que tanto el viento como las olas venían de popa y la velocidad media según GPS fue de más de 7 nudos. Llegamos tan pronto que hicimos unos cuantos virajes delante de Villajoyosa para no llegar demasiado pronto al puerto.

El último día, domingo, fue el más calmado, fondeo en la Playa de San Juan (8) para comer, bañarnos, y saludar a la familia desde la distancia, y tranquila vuelta al Puerto de Alicante por la tarde con tiempo para repostar, atracar, terminar de recoger y darnos una ducha en el Puerto. El colofón lo puso la horchata en la Explanada antes de volver a Madrid.

After more than 10 times in their airport, it was time to stop for one day in Dubai, and see what the most famous city in the Persian Gulf was all about.

I landed very early on a Friday morning, and started having the first issues. Friday is the rest day in the Muslim countries, and, while hearing to the morning pray in the airport, I discovered that Friday morning people are not expected to take the subway, not even from the airport. So I took a taxi, when it was still dark.

I started going to the Creek (A), where the port is located, and I found a big group from India doing yoga while the air is filled with the praying calls from the Mosques from all over the city, in what it seemed a competition to be heard more than nearby one. After seeing there was not much else to see for the moment there, my next stop was to go to Jumeirah (B) in the Southern part of Dubai, where the famous Burj Al Arab building sits, and I found that the Dubai marathon was taking place that day. This complicated slightly the logistics for the rest of the day, but I managed to walk around Jumeirah to see the mansions and cars in that (good) area of the city. It is interesting to know that Dubai has some beaches, although not all them are open to the public. Some hotels have their private beaches, and there are some others that although they are open to the public, people have to pay to use them. After some hours, the metro was finally opened, and I discovered something I had seen previously in Japan: an only-women car; and something new: a Gold passengers car, this latter with physical separation from the rest. The next stop was the Creek again to see a different picture. Instead of silence and people doing yoga, it was now crowded of people walking around. The Creek was full with abras, small boats that are continuously crossing to the other side of the Creek, full of people, and total lack of safety, but the distances are short… and I can swim. The old part of the city seems to be a fake, because it has gone through a complete renovation, and I found it not very interesting. On the other hand, it was more interesting to visit the Gold Market. Here you can buy gold per grams, or see the tailors working on the surroundings of the bazaar, where most of the business is developed by Persian merchants, who established here first in the end of the 19th century. The evening was the perfect time to go to Burj Khalifa (C), the highest building is the world which was made for the sake of it: there is no need to build such a skyscraper in the middle of the desert, unless you want to show off, which is the case. I was told in a flight many years ago, that the building was going to be named something else, but a couple of weeks before the official opening, the sheikh that had financed the construction asked to change the name to his, in spite of having the whole ad campaign and merchandising products with the previous naming, but who cares… This building is an impressive construction by Adrian Smith, which is seen from the whole city. During the night it is a very narrow set of lights (probably to avoid one of the many Emirates’ Airbus A380 to crash), and during the foggy mornings just a soft shadow.

When you are close to it, it is a breathtaking view. It is also recommended to go up and see the sunset (fog permitting), and look down to see how small things are seen from the top of the highest building in the world.

Burj Khalifa is not only the highest skyscraper, but also one of the biggest malls in the World. A huge Aquarium, an ice rink and thousands of shops is worth a visit.

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Cuenca es el río Júcar, y sus acantilados; es las Casas Colgadas (que no Colgantes!); es su Catedral del siglo XIII; es su Ciudad Encantada; y es su historia marcada por estar justo entre Valencia y Madrid, a tiro perfecto para una excursión de día desde ambas ciudades, y perfecta para un finde relajado.

El río Júcar es inevitable no percibirlo ya que es el que causa toda la orografía del terreno, gracias al efecto de su agua y del viento sobre la roca calcárea, que causa ese tajo tan característico. Tajo sobre el cual cuelgan las Casas Colgadas que tanta fama dan a la ciudad, y que parece que se vayan a caer de un momento a otro. Su catedral del siglo XIII gobierna la plaza central de Cuenca y su PORTAL es impresionante; y la Ciudad Encantada es una clase de geología en vivo y en directo. Por supuesto, Cuenca es también comer bien, y protegiéndonos del frío con algo ligero: no dejéis de probar el morteruelo, una pasta hecha con carne de caza que te hará recuperarte de todos los males.

Por último, su ubicación, tan valiosa hoy en día, también lo fue durante la Guerra Civil, por lo que siempre fue objetivo y formó parte de la retaguardia de ambos bandos. Una visita bastante recomendable por lo espectacular de la construcción es el refugio antiaéreo que se construyó para defender a la población de los diarios ataques aéreos alemanes e italianos. Aunque he visitado bastantes refugios antiaéreos, el de Cuenca es, quizás, uno de los más espectaculares ya que fue hecho a base de mazas, barrenas y dinamita, cuyas marcas aún se pueden ver y su ubicación debajo de un monte le da algo especial…. Tan especial que, después de la guerra, y antes de hacerlo visitable, se utilizó para criar champiñones.

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Otro viaje a un destino poco frecuente: Taiwan. Apenas dos días sin tiempo más que para captar someramente el sabor del cuarto país en la región fuera de Europa que más he visitado en toda mi vida.

Taiwan está ubicado en la isla de Formosa (nombre puesto por los portugueses que estuvieron por allí), en ese mar que en cada lado del mismo se llama de una manera distinta. Una isla de unos 500 km de largo y unos 200 km de ancho, que tiene una cordillera que la atraviesa longitudinalmente con alturas de más de 3000 metros. Políticamente hablando, Taiwan es un lugar bastante particular debido a su relación con China. Ambos territorios consideran que son la auténtica China y que “los otros” no están siguiendo el camino correcto. No es una independencia al uso en el que se busca la separación, sino que ésta surgió en su momento fruto de una guerra civil que, en cierto modo, sigue abierta; y una unidad territorial que ambos aspiran a tener. Sobre todo, en el lado de China continental, hay mucha gente, además del gobierno, que aspira a que la isla de Formosa vuelva a ser China y que estaría más que dispuesta a alistarse para tal fin (sic).

Hasta hace unos pocos años no había vuelos directos entre China y Taiwan (de hecho, puedo confirmar que no todo el mundo en China sabe que ya existen dichos vuelos), y hoy en día están muy limitados tanto en cantidad como en compañías autorizadas para ello. Hablando de vuelos, imaginaos mi sorpresa cuando tras despertarme de maldormir en el vuelo de ida (desde Estambul), veo que estamos sobrevolando Vietnam (mucho más al Sur que cualquier ruta medio óptima que se os pueda ocurrir) para luego retomar dirección Noreste hacia Taiwan: parecía que estábamos evitando entrar en espacio aéreo chino… y así es: China no permite que sobrevuelen su territorio vuelos con destino Taiwan.

En cuanto a la única ciudad que he visto, Taipei, si te dejaran de repente allí, y no vieras los carteles en chino, podrías perfectamente pensar que estás en una gran ciudad japonesa o coreana. Es una ciudad moderna, pero que no pierde el encanto de las pequeñas calles (como Seúl o Tokio), y con gente prácticamente a todas horas por la calle. Quizás lo que más recuerda a China en sus calles es la alta cantidad de pequeñas motos que pueblan las calles y avenidas. Incluso en el habla, aunque es chino (o eso parece), de vez en cuando se oyen expresiones japonesas, como “Sumimasen” para decir “disculpe” que resulta un tanto chocante al oído no entrenado.

Turísticamente hablando, no tengo mucho que contar. En 2 noches que estuve en la ciudad no me dio tiempo más que a probar el sistema de bicis públicas (fácil y cómodo porque fui por una zona llana y por calles pequeñas sin nada de circulación, disfrutando una de las cosas que más me gustan de Asia: las calles tranquilas sin dejar de ser seguras) para ver el Taipei 101, otrora el edificio más alto del mundo y ahora relegado a un digno segundo lugar tras el Burj Khalifa de Dubai. El segundo día, tras una copiosa cena, me acerqué al Shilin Night Market, que tampoco me aportó mucho: un mercado callejero con mucha comida (que no probé), y muchas tiendecitas variadas. Y sobre todo, mucha gente.

En cambio, sí que pude observar algunas otras cosas curiosas en los trayectos entre el hotel y el lugar donde tenía las reuniones.

Todos los taxis (y por lo que me dijeron muchos coches privados también) tienen una cámara de vídeo cerca del retrovisor que además de registrar velocidades, graba el comportamiento del vehículo en un momento dado. Por lo que me contaron, esto es tanto para controlar el comportamiento de los conductores de servicios públicos, como para aclarar posibles discrepancias en caso de accidente, ya que las cámaras sirven para dilucidar el responsable del mismo. Esto no descarto verlo en Europa dentro de unos años promovido por las compañías aseguradoras.

La segunda curiosidad, también relacionada con la circulación es su sistema de autopistas. En una isla relativamente tan pequeña y con la comentada orografía, tampoco caben muchas y grandes autopistas, por lo que las dos que tienen son usadas masivamente y van por donde pueden ir, no hay mucha alternativa. Así, hace unos años, la autopista 1, que va de norte a sur uniendo las principales ciudades era un atasco permanente. La idea que se les ocurrió, fue hacer una carretera paralela elevada de unos 100 km para aliviar un poco el tráfico en esa zona. Esto que se dice fácil, les ha tenido que costar una millonada tal que riete tú de los túneles de la M-30.

Belgium was not in my list of next destinations, but as I had to go there for a Toastmasters meeting, I decided to extend my stay for a week and discover it. Belgium is a country, which is not known for their touristic interest (especially for a one-week long trip), but that would allow me to be more relaxed during that time, which is also nice. After checking with friends with some local expertise, I decided to establish my base in Brussels after the 3-day meeting in Leuven, and do day-trips from there, and then go to the Netherlands in the weekend.

Belgium is a quite complex country in spite of its small size. Nowadays, we see a clear language difference: the Northern people speak Flemish (Dutch), while the Southern ones speak French. The only officially bilingual city in the country is Brussels. This is the outcome of a very convulse history with many countries invading this area for centuries (for instance, French language in Belgium is the result of an invasion back in the 5th Century). Belgium has been under Spanish, Austrian, French and Dutch rule, before its final independence in 1830.

Independence did not bring them peace, though. Belgium was also invaded in both World Wars. It was after the World War II, in 1948 that together with France, Germany, and the other countries in the Benelux, the first seeds of the European Union were planted. The goal was to avoid more wars in Europe, and the vehicle to do so was an agreement on one of the most important resources in Europe: the coal and the steel in Central Europe. It all began with a cooperation agreement on the coal and steel, led by Robert Schuman (French Foreign Affairs Minister), in 1950. Their idea was that, being the coal and the steel strategic assets, if they agreed on it, it would be impossible to enter again in a war. This first intention evolved into more aspects, like an economic union or the citizenship, as well as growing the number of countries, and the main institutions of the European Union were established in Brussels: the Parlament (although its official headquarter is Strasbourg), and the Commission, apart from several agencies.

Apart of Europe HQ, Belgium is worldwide known for one more thing: beer. They have hundreds of them, with a specific glass for every single beer to boost the characteristics of the beer. Everything has a beginning and beer history in Belgium is quite interesting. In the Middle Ages, water quality was not that good, and Saint Arnold (who happens to be the patron saint of the brewers) promoted that people drank beer instead of water, so that some diseases could be avoided. Beer was at that time brewed mainly in the Monasteries, and this production started to happen as well outside the religious circles. In the 19th century, the monasteries brewed again as a way to get funds, due to a bad financial situation provoked by the religious crisis. Nowadays, beer production, even if originally made by monks, has been outsourced, except six of them, the Trappist, which are still brewed in active abbeys: Chimay, Orval, Westmalle, Rocheforst, Achel, and Westvleteren.

Una foto publicada por Nacho (@ign_arenas) el 11 de Sep de 2015 a la(s) 11:54 PDT

Travelling in this area has several common items. One of them are the Béguinages/Beginjhofs, enclosed urban villages, which used to host beguines, single women, who although not making any formal religious vows, formed monastic-like communities where they could live as long as they remain unmarried, which normally meant the whole life. The Belfries are towers that seem to be part of churches, but they are not, as they were built to celebrate civic liberties and wealth in the Middle Ages. Food-wise, I discovered their love for the mussels, which are served with fries (they claim to have invented them too) in almost any place, and of course, waffles and chocolate are also known worldwide. Going back to the actual trip, I started it in Leuven (A), a small town East of Brussels, for a Toastmasters weekend. It is home of the first university in Belgium, and its Town Hall tried to compete with the Brussels’ one in size, although it would be better off in other categories, like its ornate Gothic facade. Its Béguinage belongs nowadays to the University, and is used to accomodate teachers and students.

After Leuven, I moved to Brussels, which seemed to me an interesting city to spend some months or even years as an expat, but probably not the best place to settle down. From what I heard, you should keep your eyes open and safety is not one of their strengths (although I did not experience anything wrong myself). Brussels top sight is of course the Grande Place. It is an extremely nice spot, with the different guild houses competing one to each other in beauty, and a huge town hall.

In the city centre, the Galeries St.Hubert are also worth a visit, the mandatory Manekken Pis (really small one), and the nice atmosphere at the Place Sainte Catherine. The EU-Area is interesting from the point of view that most of the citizens in Brussels work in something related to the institutions, and it also hosts the Parlamentarium, a museum about the European Union which can make you spend a complete morning reading and watching all the info they have. Last but not least, a visit to the Atomium to see this original construction built in 1958 for the Expo is worth the long tram ride.

From Brussels, I did two day trips. The first one was to Brugge and Gent, which are the cities that attract most tourists, and there is a very good reason for that. Both of them keep a medieval atmosphere that makes its visit very entertaining, although most of them were destroyed after the wars, and were reconstructed thinking on the tourism. Brugge (1) was part of the Hanseatic League back in the 14th Century, as its harbour was one of the major ones in the North of Europe. The merchants at that time used to meet at the Inn of the Van der Buerse family to trade, and from those meetings comes the name “Bourse”, which is stock market in French. During the 15th century the Zwin, a big channel that arrived to Brugges, silted up and Brugge had no access to the sea, going through a deep economic crisis till the 20th Century brought the tourism back to the city. Brugge has a number of interesting buildings, and sights, but I would highlight the Gotische Zaal in the Stadhuis.

On the other hand, Gent (2) looks a bit more “normal”, with a nice combination of old reconstructed buildings with newer and more functional ones. Its importance in history is out of question, as it even was the third largest medieval city, only after Paris and Constatinople. Gent also went through some centuries of recession, till the Industrial Revolution brought a number of flax and cotton mills to the city. If you like fortresses, its Belfort is a really nice piece to visit; and the same applies with the Dulle Griet bar in the Vrijdagsmarkt if you like beer. The second day trip covered the East part: Liège and Namur. These are not extremely touristic and not a must in Belgium, I must admit. Liège (3) is today a modern city with a river, and I found it a probably nice place to live, but not to visit. Historically-wise, it was a historic religious center, governed by the Prince-Bishops until the end of the 18th Century, and it has always been a key place for industry: arms and gunpowder till the 17th Century, and home of steel and glass factories since the 19th Century. What I really liked was the way that the train took from Namur to Liege close to the river Mense and with really nice views, before arriving to Santiago Calatrava’s main train station. Namur (4) is a small town with just one interesting item: a fortress occupies a big rock in the middle of the city, which can be visited on your own, offering you nice views of the rest of the city, but nothing impressive either. After a week in Belgium, I still managed to pay a quick visit to the Netherlands. We established the base of operations in Leiden (C), a relaxed town, with an important university and full of nice channels. Our first visit was the Afsluitdijk (5), the Closure Dike, in the north of Amsterdam. Driving through it is quite spectacular, as it is a 32 km-long dike in the middle of two seas: North Sea and the Ijsselmeer. It is one of the main constructions that allowed a big portion of the current Netherlands to emerge. Being in a windy day, with waves at both sides of the dike, it is hard to imagine how they could built it in just 5 years, and almost a century ago… between 1927 and 1932. Saturday afternoon was the right moment for The Hague (6). The city is alive, and hosts the International Court. From a tourist point of view, its Begijnhof is worth a visit, but what really surprised me was the beach area. It has a number of restaurants and many other attractions for the spare time, while the sun sets behind the oil platforms in the North Sea.

Haarlem (7) was the perfect closing for the week on Sunday: channels, the Great Church, mills and a well-preserved Beginjhof, before returning to the Charleroi airport.

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Tabarca es una isla que está a unas 10 millas al sur de Alicante, con apenas unas pocas casas y restaurantes y unos cientos de metros de playa, pero a pesar de ello es uno de los puntos más visitados de la Costa Blanca. No lo es tanto en el mes de diciembre, pero fue el destino de mi primera salida náutica familiar. El 26 de diciembre hacia un muy buen día para las fechas que eran, pero casi no había viento con el que practicar bien la navegación a vela para mayor disfrute para la tripulación (y capitán!). En cualquier caso, aprovechamos para rodear toda la isla, amén de fondear para comer a bordo, y disfrutar de una de las últimas puestas de sol de 2015 a bordo (foto by mi hermano). En cuanto al área de patrón, fue mi primera salida como único patrón a bordo, y el atraque (maniobra siempre complicada) fue el más limpio que he hecho nunca; por lo que estoy satisfecho, y voy “pasándome pantallas”.

Not being long enough in Ireland is a safe way to make a wrong decision. If you decide to explore the Northern part of the island, you will miss the South. If you go to the South, you will leave aside the fantastic North.Our wrong decision this time was to explore the North during Easter holidays (in 2014… some posts take longer than expected!).

Ireland is an island which is divided in two different countries. The Southern part is the Republic of Ireland, which is a country in the Euro zone, using the metric system (i.e., kilometres) and mostly catholic. Northern Island is part of the United Kingdom, using British pounds, the imperial system (i.e., miles) and with a strong division of protestants and catholics in their population.

This is the outcome of a number of historical happenings. All was initiated with Henry VIII, who wanted the divorce and founded a religion that accepted it. In the 17th century, England sent a Scottish King to the Ulster region, who also “imported” protestant Scottish peasants to the nowadays Northern Ireland. Ireland joined England in 1800, and all their representatives in the Parliament had to be protestants (or say so, at least). In 1916, the Easter Rising ends up with a Free State that led to today’s Republic of Ireland. The population that remained in the North are a mix between the original catholics from several centuries ago, and the protestants that populated the area around 200 years ago. They do not get along very well, and have been fighting ever since.

We had three bases in Ireland during this trip: Dublin, Londonderry and Belfast. The first one is obvious and recommended in any trip in this area, as it is a living city with lots of entertainment opportunities… although you should pay attention if you go in Easter with some closing days; the second one was very convenient to explore the Northernmost coast, and we though Belfast would be similar to Dublin… but it is not.

Newgrange (A) was my first excursion in Ireland. It is a set of constructions, from the Neolithic that were discovered by chance in 1699 when they were removing stones to build a road. There are 37 satellite tombs (with more than 100 people) around the main one, which hosts remains of five people. This construction took three generations to be built (note the life expentancy by then was less than 35 years) and it is quite surprising that the material used (white quartz) was brought from a distance of at least more than 80 kilometers. The main tunnel, which has several curves, channels the sunlight to a specific point in the centre of the tomb only during the solstices. If you are not impressed yet, let me remind you that Neolithic was 10,000 BC.

Dublin (1) is a must in Europe for a relaxed weekend trip. A very intense city thanks to its university, with its fantastic Trinity College, hosting one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, and some of the oldest books in History. Their pubs are also worth a visit… or that is what I heard because they are all closed in Easter Thursday (yes, that was our “Dublin day”).

LondonDerry (2) (or Derry, depends on what are the speaker’s political views) does not have a lot to see. Some murals remembering the Bloody Sunday and the Troubles, and a fortress, but it was a good place to start our journey through the Northern coast of the island. In this coast, we visited Portstewart, the Dunlace Castle (great location) (B), and the Giant’s Causeway (C), a geologic formation formed by basalt columns that were formed after a volcanic eruption got in contact with the water.

Belfast (3) was for me the biggest deception of the trip. We thought it would be nice to sleep in a big city, as it would have more life than other places, but we did not see any life there. Maybe the day (Sunday in Easter) was not the best one too. From the visitor point of view, Belfast is known for hosting the shipyard where the Titanic was built, and for the sadness of having the conflict between catholics and protestants still alive. The two neighbourhoods are still separated by a wall, which have several gates, that are closed during nights and on special days (Easter Sunday, for instance) to avoid more problems.

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More than one year ago, I went to the famous La Rioja in a long weekend trip. This region is famous for its red wine, and it attracts a lot of tourism interested in wine. As you may expect, gastronomy was a key aspect of this trip too, although we tried to incorporate some culture into the picture.

While entering in La Rioja from Madrid, our first stop was Santo Domingo de la Calzada (A), which is part of the Camino de Santiago route, which was hosting some local festivities.

We also visited Calahorra (B), mainly because we stayed there, and we especially enjoyed Logroño (C), and its famous Laurel street. A street plenty of bars, where you can try as many different wines as you can imagine, while enjoying the tasty local food.

We could not leave the wine region without visiting one of the many wineries there, and we chose the most famous one due to its renovated architecture: Marqués de Riscal, by Frank Geary, Guggenheim’s architect, in Laguardia (D). In this visit, we went once again through the wine making process, which is always very interesting, and I always get some new insights. This time, I got to know a couple of tips for controlling the wine quality.

They control the variety of grape, the field where it is grown, and its age; and they also make sure the number of grapes per area is limited too. This winery produces 5 million Rioja bottles a year (4 of them are Reserva), and 60% of them are for the international market (that still leaves an impressive amount of 2 million bottles only in Spain!).

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