nine: south west for free

i was a bit upset that i couldn't go out in south beach saturday night. but the good news was that i got to fly to phoenix the next day to join a tour that is going throught the southwest where i will be guiding next week. i'm on the bus with todd (who you know, piet and dave, tell me all about him). i think it's awesome.

i feel so happy right now. i haven't felt this happy in a long long time. i get to see the splendors of the southwest for free. i realised today how lucky i am to get this opportunity. i mean, i don't pay for transport, accomodation, extra's, even food. i get it all for free. i love it. i absolutely love it.

i arrived in phoenix yesterday but the hotel was in scottsdale which has a lot of shops and restos in a 'downtown' centre that looks remotely like it's old. but it's nice with souvenirshops and stuff. you don't really feel like being in the wild west, but it has more charm than other shopping areas. today we left scottsdale to go to sedona first. i had heard about the new age centre but it wasn't really on my map of places to visit before i die. result: i absolutely loved the place. the scenery is awesome. the rocks in oak green canyon are incredibly. the city itself is very touristy but fun. hilde, jij zou sedona de max vinden. it's really worth a visit. for those who have travelled with me know that i love to climb on stuff or go down in valleys and not stay on the path. well, guess what i was thinking every other minute.

but that's nothing compared to the splendor of the grand canyon wich i visited this afternoon. that is so breath taking. adembenemend is een veel cooler woord. you really have to see this at least once in your life. it was my second time and i was still in awe. i walked along the south rim and just felt incredibly happy being there. i was thinking about how cool it would be to be there with you stevao and just sit and watch the eagles and the squirls etc. i thought about going on a rafting trip on the colorado river with you koen. i took a picture of two old people just watching into the canyon and imagined my parents to be there. pa en ma, ik weet wel dat jullie daar niet aan denken maar als ik de kans zou hebben om jullie te laten overvliegen voor zo'n tour dan zou ik dat meteen doen. hilde, dit is echt JOUW streek. jij zou het hier zo de max vinden.

i went to see the imax presentation about the grand canyon and that's something to recommend too. i could write so much more but the thing is that internet is so incredibly expensive here. i don't understand that at all. and you hardly ever find an internet place. i'm off to monument valley and if all goes well i get to fly from kayentat to page by plane. you'll hear about that later on.