Posts

Showing posts from April 8, 2012

Always a lot going on..

Image
I have had a serious of "near zero days" (reference hiking jargon), but I think they mostly just seem like zero days. I am getting stuff done, just not at 100% efficiency. Not sure anyone can move with 100% efficiency... Anyhow, I am planning on starting my next journey on May 1st. -- more details as they unfold. I know what I like and dislike. I know what turns me on and off. It's time for that knowledge to be guidance. We booked a trip to Wyoming/Yellowstone park in a few weeks. It will tackle at least three items that have been on my list 1.) Visit Yellowstone (in winter). 2.) A longish snowmobile trip. 3.) A visit to Wyoming. That will be my 50th state. That will make it all US states, 100 countries and all continents. I will likly be getting involved with MTP (Most Traveled People) https://mtp.travel/ where they break countries into regions. I decided I like this music. DiDuLa - "On the way home"
Image
It is good to be back home in Brazil after spending time in Paraguay. The traffic jam was bad over the border bridge. I decided to hike. Worked like a charm. I made better time and got some exercise. On top of all that it was cheaper.
Image
It is Saturday. I am in Foz de Iquazu on the Brazil/Paraguay/Argentina border. I took a hard hat tour of one of the largest hydro plants in the world. There are a few left for me to visit worldwide. There are of course some interesting aspects of this power plant. There are 20 turbines, half are 60 Hz (Brazilian) the other half are 50 Hz (Paraguayan). Since Brazil buys most of the juice they have to convert the 50Hz to 60Hz in a converter 8 km away from the power plant. I wonder how efficient that is. Even if it is 98 percent that is a significant cost at those wholesale levels. Also, the area surrounding the dam is called Itaipu Binational area. The treaty area was specifically created for the powerplant. Now the area is becoming an area of intercountry cooperation for Latin America and they are building a university in the binational area. Clearly, beside the technology and engineering there is considerable political acheivement to be considered here just as at the Moses plant in Nia...