What is an Inuksuk?

An Inuksuk is a pile of rocks in the shape of a person. Inuk means 'person' and suk means ‘substitute’ in the Inuit language. The inuksuk was used by the Inuit in Canada to show people the way, to warn people of danger ahead, as a memorial sign or as a helpful tool at the caribou hunt. The Inuksuk stands for Inuit power, leadership and motivation.

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Through our travels and expeditions, we are more than ever convinced that nature is a perfect teacher. When travelling through pristine wilderness, over high mountains or on rough seas, you immediately feel humble, a state of mind we tend to loose in this 21first high-tech century where we think we can conquer anything !

Being outdoors, you appreciate your shelter, food and water, and you appreciate more than ever true friendship. One learns when to travel and when to stay put and listen to the teachings of the weather elements. One doesn't ‘conquer’ a mountain; the mountain lets one walk on it.

Through our INUKSUK website we want to share with you our adventures and respect for mother Earth. We invite you to use your 5 senses and start to witness what nature can provide you: a never ending teaching book. Happy trails, Bert & Kiki

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Atacama Crossing Chile 2010
atacama para tomé
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Atacama para Tomé
735-0164669-48 
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A VERY HUMBLE "MUCHAS GRACIAS" TO ALL OF YOU PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 31 March 2010 07:35
My "Atacama Crossing 2010" has come to an end now.

thanksIt proved to be fun, frustrating, enriching, difficult, wonderfull, challenging, extreme and very emotional.

I tried to inspire the kids of the zeepreventorium, but I was inspired least as much by them!

I want to say 'thank you' to the many many people who helped me for all those months, looking all together in one and only one, direction: The Atacama Crossing 2010 finnish line ! There have been moments, before and during the race, where that finish line seemed further away than ever.

Finally, I crossed the line, but we made it all together!

And one more thing, Atacama desert, muchas gracias por esta experiencia, you inspired me and you are the foundation of next adventures and challenges.
 
THE DANGERS OF CROSSING A DESERT PDF Print E-mail
Monday, 22 March 2010 10:29
danger1During the 6 day long crossing of the driest desert on earth, competitors kept asking me “how do you feel?”. It sounded like a rather strange question to me. I couldn’t really answer it. I hadn’t crossed the driest desert before so I didn’t know how I should feel really.

“What’s gonna be your strategy the following days?” was another frequently asked question. All I could possibly answer was: “Should I really have a strategy other than just ‘keep going’?

Of course I was tired, hot, sleep deprived, thirsty, and most of all, always questioning what would be around the corner. But I felt alive and maybe even more alive than ever.

As I said before, injuries had turned my preparation for this into a nightmare. But guess what? The constant hacking of my feet and blisters on that 250K was so dominant that not once did I ever feel any pain whatsoever in my actual knee injuries. I even believe that the long and intense, but well paced crossing had been a healing process in itself.

Every single person who had to drop out of the race was like a knife going straight into my heart. I could perfectly imagine how hard they had been training and preparing for this challenge over the last six months. It reminded me that we were all exposed to extreme factors which could stop us in the blink of an eye.

danger2On the trail, any form of living presence was an oasis of energy in the midst of a hostile environment. A dog running by, the 4 deserts cameraman, a photographer, the medical staff, or the many volunteers at the check points. They were all able to boost your morale within seconds. Thanks to all of them.

Is taking part in a Crossing dangerous? It sure is! There is the danger of getting infected by a "virus" that will never ever leave your body again.

Feeling small and vulnerable, feeling thankful for your drinking bottles to be refilled again, feeling thankful to find a chair at the campsite, feeling happy with that one more raisin in your expedition food pack.

Those are feelings you probably will be chasing over and over again.

hasta la proxima !
Bert

 
CHARITY PDF Print E-mail
Monday, 22 March 2010 10:21
The last couple of months we have been raising money for the ZEEPREVENTORIUM. But "Atacama Crossing 2010" was much much more than just another fundraising project.

zeepreventoriumI trained together with some patients and we had contact on a regular bases. They inspired me a lot and I hope I did the same for them. I want to say thank you to so many people, but in the first place to all who made a donation to the ZEEPREVENTORIUM.

THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY RAISED IS 3833,15 € !!

After the terrible earthquake in Chile on February the 27th, Zeepreventorium and I decided to start from that moment on, raising money for the vicitims of this disaster. Also the Chilean community in Leuven started a "Tsunami of Solidarity". 

Please make a small donation to "ATACAMA PARA TOMé" (see above)

Muchas gracias de verdad!
Bert

 
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