mp3 | Earthoria

I made this podcast around Easter on a 1500KM road trip from Barcelona to the Basque Country (País Vasco), then on to the beautiful Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees. The trip takes in various locations including San Sebastian, Bilbao, Mundaka, Biarritz (in France), Torla, the Cola de Caballo trek and Cañón de Añisclo.

Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park (in Spanish Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido) has been included since 1997 by UNESCO in the Biosphere Reserve of Ordesa-Viñamala. It is also part of the cross-border Pyrénées – Mont Perdu World Heritage Site.

Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park

16 photos

Location Map

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Links

Photos of the Basque Country, Spain.
Video showing MONSTER surf in Mundaka, Spain
Wikipedia article on Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park.
The Basque Country
Cañón de Añisclo (in Spanish)
San Sebastian
Bilbao
Eduardo Chillida

Photos of the Basque Country, Spain

The Basque Country, Spain

25 photos

English teaching podcast on front of iTunes Spain!

February 8, 2010 by Thomas

This is just a quick update as we’re gearing up for the launch of our first IVOZI podcast workbook series here in Barcelona, and are working flat out. We’ve recorded & edited 9 out of 10 podcasts and will be releasing a pack of 10 accompanying workbooks in the next week or so.

We had some rather pleasant news yesterday, that iTunes in Spain are featuring our podcast on the front page of iTunes in a “New and noteworthy” category (see the little red square below). Must be the woman we put on the cover 😉

Podcast: Eco Yoga Park, Argentina

September 7, 2019June 8, 2009 by Thomas

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This podcast has been recorded whilst I’m volunteering at an Eco Yoga Park near General Rodriguez, 60km west of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Eco Yoga Park, Argentina

56 photos

Run by Hare Krishna devotees, and known by its other name Nueva Vrindavan, the Eco Yoga Park proved to be a wonderful break after nearly 8 months on the road. At only US $12 a day for food accommodation and yoga and meditation classes, it was also great value.

Show notes

As it’s a longer podcast than normal, I thought I’d include a summary of contents with approximate timings:

0-7 mins – Introduction, temple sounds, why I came to the Eco Yoga Park
7-9 mins – Temple Service sounds
9-19 mins – Interview with Svayam, a Hare Krishna Monk/Devotee
19-21 – Hatha Yoga session
21-29 – Tour of the Eco Yoga Park grounds
29-39 – Interview with Jameson & Laura, two volunteers
39-44 – Sounds, music….

Links

Photos of The Eco Yoga Park, Argentina
Video of the Eco Yoga Park
Laura & Jameson’s blog
Eco Yoga Park website
Eco Yoga Park alternative website (in Spanish)
Volunteer in an Eco Yoga Ashram in South America
International Society for Krishna Consciousness

Podcast: Bolivia

September 7, 2019May 6, 2009 by Thomas

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In this Podcast from Bolivia I head from Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca (birthplace of the Incas) to La Paz, the capital (and highest capital city in the world), where I go on a mountain biking trip down the most dangerous road in the world – the Death road. Finally, I head to Potosi (highest city in the world), then onto the Salar de Uyuni salt flats in the south of Bolivia

Photos of the Salar de Uyuni salt flats

Salar de Uyuni tour, Bolivia

92 photos

Links

Video of Salar de Uyuni salt flats
Photos of Potosi
Photos of the Death Road trip

Podcast: South Peru – Colcan Canyon, Lake Titicaca, Cusco & Machu Picchu

September 7, 2019April 16, 2009 by Thomas

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This podcast is second in a series of two podcasts I’ve made in Southern Peru. (Listen to part one here)

It begins in Colca Canyon, where I go Condor spotting before heading up to Puno (3,800m) on Lake Titicaca – the highest navigable lake in the world. At Lake Titicaca I visit the floating islands and Taquile island. Following this I get the bus to Cusco, ancient capital of the Inca empire, where I visit some of the Inca ruins around Cusco and within the Sacred Valley of the Incas – including Pisac and Ollantaytambo. I finish the podcast at Machu Picchu, perched precariously on top of Huayna Picchu and feeling highly emotional whilst looking down on the most famous of all ancient Incan ruins.

Colca Canyon, Peru

27 photos

Links

Podcast: South Peru – Lima, Nazca & Arequipa
Photos of Colca Canyon
Video of Colca Canyon and Condors
Photos of Lake Titicaca
Photos of Cusco
Photos of Ollantaytambo Inca Ruins
Photos of Machu Picchu

Podcast: North Peru

September 7, 2019March 25, 2009 by Thomas

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This podcast covers Northern Peru, starting at Chiclayo I head out on a tour to the 1500 year old Moche ruins at Sipan. Following this, I head three hours down the coast to the town of Trujillo, where I visit the Chimu city of Chan Chan, the largest Adobe (mud) city in the World and around 1300AD home to 60,000 people.

Just outside Trujillo, and near to Chan Chan are the Huacas (sacred places) of the sun and moon – Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol. These structures are also Moche adobe pyramids from about 800AD, and Huaca del Sol is the largest single pre-Colombian structure in Peru – built from an estimated 140 million adobe bricks.

I finish the podcast in Huanchaco, 12km north of Trujillo. Huanchaco is a fishing town of about 12,000 inhabitants, that has now become well known thanks to three things – its reed fishing boats, its lovely beach and its fabulous surfing.

Links

Photos of SipÃ¡n and its treasure
Photos of the adobe city of Chan Chan
Photos of Huanchaco beach
(More photos coming soon)

Podcast: Studying Spanish in Cuenca, Ecuador

September 7, 2019March 10, 2009 by Thomas

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Cuenca is a UNESCO World Heritage city, founded in 1557 by the Spanish, about 10 hours south of Quito in Ecuador. I chose to study here following my Spanish studies in Guatemala as Guatemala and Ecuador are the cheapest places to study, and with the ‘cleanest’ spoken Spanish in Latin America.

This time around I opted for two weeks of 4 hours a day one-on-one Spanish lessons.

In this podcast I discuss why I chose to study in Cuenca, getting to Cuenca from Quito, the bag slash that occurred to me on the way from Quito to Cuenca, how I chose the Spanish school, the costs of living and studying here, and how I rate the Spanish classes at the Abraham Lincoln Cultural Centre where I chose to study. I finish the podcast with an interview with Richard, the founder of the Abraham Lincoln Center in which we discuss the school, activities in and around Cuenca, and why it is better to study in Cuenca than Quito!

If you have comments or questions about studying Spanish in Ecuador or Guatemala, please feel free to post them below.

Links

My photos of Cuenca, Ecuador
Abraham Lincoln Center website