Final pictures of 2018

The year 2018 is almost done, and a lot has happened again. Below are a few last pictures. Merry Christmas, and best wishes for 2019!

Mary and Beau went 3 times to the Veluwe this year, for outdoor rides in the woods

Piet is helping out with Beau, and in full control!

Dinner in De Librije, on of the best restaurants in The Netherlands; #food=art

At the speedskating World Cup in Heerenveen

 Paula and friends during a long-distance  rowing event in Amsterdam

Survival in Doorn

Just before the summer Dorien started as the new chairwoman of the board of outdoor survival club Slopend, where she and Lars belonged to the incrowd for some time. Although this is not a full-time position it requires proper time planning, something that we can confidently leave to Dorien. Next to organising the running of the club, events, committees, budgets and other things there is still time to study, train and participate with events.

A large survival run was organised in Doorn, close to Utrecht, and Piet went along to support and take some pictures. This is a gruelling sport, combing offroad running with a large number of challenging obstacles, that require strength and technique. There were hundreds of participants, who were starting in groups of some 10 runners. The fastest athletes completed the 8 km course just below an hour, Dorien and Lars finished with the best in their respective categories, and were very satisfied. An impression is shown below.

The ladies from Slopend

Obstacles everywhere!

The Dutch way: wooden shoes

It's tough....

Military style

Dorien and Lars on the home stretch

Happy at the finish

Serious business

The board of Slopend

Autumn break in France

Piet and Mary went on their traditional October break to the house in France, to enjoy the last days of nice weather and get the house and garden ready for winter. Also a tradition by now is to join Piet's friend Frits on his yearly wine pelgrimage in southern France. After two beautiful sunny days at the house we descended to Bandol on the Mediterranean coast to meet up with him. There the weather turned, and rain started, and lasted until we left the next day. This didn't matter as we planned to visit a number of wineries to stock up on red wine in the afternoon. It is always enjoyable to talk to the proud winemakers, and it makes drinking afterwards a lot more fun!

The next day we did a hike along the coast on Chemin du Littoral. Unfortunately most of the path ran along the Port d'Alon private housing estate, that was closed off from the coastal trail. With signs it was made very clear that normal hikers were not welcome at all! Quite depressing, but probably not the only place along the Mediterranean coast were rich people are hiding behind a fence. The scenery was great, and we will try the other direction next time.
The rest of the week was spend in a relaxed manner reading books, working in the garden, on the bike, and enjoying a hike around one of the nicest villages in the region: Besse en Oisans. As usual the week flew past, and on Sunday we drove back to The Hague, and our third child Beau, who has been suffering from dental problems. More later...

A deer in our garden at dawn

Making plans for a wine tasting afternoon

Frits and Piet are tasting at Chateau Salettes

A case of wine

 At the oenotheque in Bandol

Hiking along the Mediterranean, in the rain

The ruines at Mornas, a stop on the way back to Bassey

Besse en Oisans, one of the most beautiful villages in our region

Hiking near Besse

View towards Plateau des Emparis

 The chapel at Bonnefin

Cape Town - revisited

In 2016 the project in South Africa Piet was responsible for was stopped for various reasons. But like happened many times before another opportunity was matured and a new project landed in Piet's lap. A meeting was arranged in Cape Town with the new partners to start the new cooperation. The first day was a geological field trip around the Cape peninsula, with an opportunity to take some pictures of known territory. This time it was all placed in geological context. The last stop was at the famous penguin colony at Boulders, in Simons Town.

After a meeting on the second day Piet returned home, ending a month with three business trips. Next is a break in France, taking a break from the busy life in The Hague.

Poor weather in Cape Town

Chapman's Peak, a beautiful stretch of road along the Atlantic Ocean

Cape of Good Hope, with Cape Point in the distance

Penguins at Boulders

Young penguin chicks

Returning from a swim

 There are many, many penguins....

Walvis Bay

Piet has been working on the Namibia project since 2013, and the team has been struggling to make progress the last few years, for various reasons. In 2018 there has been a positive change, and since April Piet has been planning a large offshore seismic survey with a dedicated team of specialists. Over the summer this resulted in the award of the contract to seismic acquisition contractor Polarcus, and an increase in activity to get ready for operations. This culminated in a mobilisation in Walvis Bay, a small harbour in Namibia, where the fleet, consisting of three vessels, gathered before leaving to the prospect area, some 300 km off the southern coast of Namibia.

Piet, and three other Shell staff, went to Walvis Bay to carry out final inspections of these vessels, discuss project details with staff going offshore, and to host a large kick-off meeting. At the end of four days the fleet was accepted, and the project could begin. It will take some 3 months to complete, followed by another 6 months to process the data, before a detailed subsurface evaluation can start.
Walvis Bay is a small town, and except the hotel and the harbour Piet didn't see much. Luckily the hotel was on the edge of a shallow bay, where a lot of flamingo's and pelicans are living. Early in the morning it was possible to walk around, and take some pictures. It was generally calm weather, with the wind picking up during the morning, and a howling storm every afternoon. With 15 degrees it was not very pleasant in Africa!

Early morning in Walvis Bay

Flamingo's at dawn

Selling tourist souvenirs, with few takers

Showing seismic equipment

Piet and the Shell Namibia team in the control room

 The Shell team in front of the seismic vessel

 A flight of flamingo's

Summer Holidays (III) - more photos

Below are some more pictures of the hikes we made with Marion. Although we have been to these places several times before we always enjoy returning, and enjoying the stunning scenery of the Alps.

The small lakes above Alpe d'Huez

Mary and Marion enjoying an easy hike

On the way to Lac Lauvitel

At the shore of Lac Lauvitel

Lac Lauvitel is one of the most beautiful spots in our region

Hiking near La Berarde

Marion found a friend

Summer holidays (III)

The last part of the holidays started when Dorien and Lars left, and Paula returned with Tim, a friend from her study. They had been planning a true high mountain alpine trip, with glaciers and a summit. After a two day hike and a day of organising gear we drove to Vallouise and Aillefroide, on the eastern side of the Parc des Ecrins. From a beautiful valley we hiked up a busy trail to Refuge du Glacier Blanc, where the hikers separated from the real alpinists, and we continued upwards. We ended up at the Glacier Blanc, an enormous glacier filling the whole valley. We needed to cross part of this glacier to reach our destination, the Refuge des Ecrins. This allowed us to test all the gear, (crampons, pickle) and practice a glacier crossing, as a four person roped party. Lastly there was a very steep climb to the Refuge. It was extremely busy, as the following day promised excellent climbing conditions, and the hut was run with military discipline.

The next morning we were woken at 04:15, and after breakfast descended back to the glacier. We put on all gear and continued further up the valley, slowly upwards. Near the end we split from the route to Barre des Ecrins, the highest summit in this part of France, and turned north towards Roche Faurio, our goal. The glacier steepened significantly, and with increased confidence we reached a steep rocky slope at 3600 m. Here Piet dropped out, found a flat rock in the sun, and let the others continue to the top. They crossed the rocks, another snowfield and ended up at a difficult final rocky wall, where they needed real rock climbing to reach the summit at 3730 m, in perfect sunny weather. After a smooth descent we reached the Refuge in the early afternoon, and enjoyed a lazy remainder of the day. The next morning we had another early rise, and descended back to the glacier, and further down the valley. The weather had turned, and it started raining once we got off the glacier. In poor weather we descended to Refuge du Glacier Blanc, were we stopped to dry and warm up. From then onwards the descent was easy on good trails, and we arrived safely back in Aillefroide. The next day Paula and Tim went back home, and Mary picked up her horse riding friend Marion.
Marion visited for the first time, and she had alternate days of hiking and horse riding. She rode Beau,  with Mary on the bike, as we still hadn't received a saddle for Curly. We did some easy hikes near Alpe d'Huez, Lac Lauvitel and La Berarde, and enjoyed leisurely afternoons in the garden. The last few days were spend on the bike, in the garden, and organising our return with Beau. After a loud farewell from Curly Beau was loaded in the trailer, and we had a smooth drive home, back to our normal lives!

Hiking towards Refuge du Glacier Blanc

The first view of Glacier Blanc


Paula and Tim enjoying the view


On the way to Refuge des Ecrins

Mary's first steps on Glacier Blanc

 Mary and Piet on the glacier, in an area with crevasses


Piet settles on a rock at 3600 m, Barre des Ecrins in the background


Tim, Paula and Mary on the top of Roche Faurio, at 3730 m

Paula enjoying the descent towards the Refuge

The roped party

Tim and Paula descending past the crevasses

Bad weather above the Glacier Blanc: rain gear on!