Explorer Mikael Strandberg » expedition

Making your Expedition a success, it can be done!

mikael — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 22:15:58 +0000

“Mikael, I had to abandon my expedition! My idea was to cycle through Africa, but I had to give up after just three months. I lost it along the way. What did I do wrong?”

My answer to this email was simple and direct: “You lost motivation and you hadn’t prepared enough!”

His email was similar to hundreds I have received in the last 25 years. After reviewing all of them at length, I realised these failed expeditions often had three things in common: Explorers had lost motivation, and they had failed to understand the need for good sleep, and the benefits of good food.

When the going got too tough, they proved not tough enough to keep on going! Key to any successful expedition is understanding why you go through all these hardships – at the most difficult of moments remember what it is that drives you, and draw on this, it can be your motivation.

Good sleep and good food are the two most important pillars of a successful expedition. If you don’t know how and where to pitch your tent, you will eventually fail due to lack of sleep.

The tent is your fortress and your home, where you spend most of your exploring life. This is where you rest, feed and recuperate. Don’t set off on an expedition until you can sleep very well in your tent. I have spent over 2500 nights in tents – many of them before even setting off.

As important, is being able to cook a great meal. You need energy and rest to be able to make the right decisions. So don’t leave before you know how to cook a gourmet meal on your petrol stove!

That said, you could just get out there! Trust me, this advice is only complementary; you really need to be out on the ground learning the lessons of exploration, if you want to succeed.

How to become an explorer?

mikael — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:21:27 +0000

I got this email a few days ago. One of many readers asking the same question:

Hello, to wherever you might be at this moment

I stumbled recently on your online blog.. and.. well I know you must have heard this question a thousand times already, but I simply have to ask. How does one becomes a professional traveler? I would consider myself honored if you could drop me a few words about this
Blue skies and many more miles,
Gustáv Kyselica Jr. (a would-be-explorer (at least in heart for sure)

How to become an explorer? What does it take?

It is quite easy to answer. It takes passion, more passion than others, hard work, harder than all the others, a vision, bigger visions than all the others and an enormous amount of curiosity!

Every day I read about people, mainly young men, who do more or less spectacular adventures, get a lot of attention for a few years, they live on lectures and book sales, then they are gone from the scene of exploration. they just didn´t have what it took to stay in the business for a long time. Some of them have great jobs within the adventure industry, others, on paper some of them do “Expeditions” for a few months every five years and get the media with them due to earlier recognition, but they definitely doesn´t make any difference in the main reason to explore as I see it. Open horizons to other worlds, building bridges between cultures, creating a bigger understanding of this magnificent world we live in and explore the meaning of life. To survive as an explorer you need to have a personality which differs, have a clear vision reaching until the end of ones life and never stop exploring and always continue to be curious. On top of that, I think, there´s an issue to it which never can be taught or trained, either you have what it takes or not. And that has nothing to do with background, possibilities or environment. It is just there.

Just as an illustration to what I mean. If you walk up to the top of a building, walk out on to the edge when you reach the top looking down, do you want to jump? I have asked all my friends who are in the same line of work as me and we all say….yes.

How to become an explorer? Enough curiosity makes a difference!

These are earlier entries that I have written on this very important subject:

Three tips how to make your Expedition a success

mikael — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:54:15 +0000

Why are so few Expeditions a success? By which I mean reaching the goal one set out for? This is a question from a reader I got yesterday and I remember an article I wrote about the issue in Oman two years back, which is still valid today.

Rain is pouring down in the Sultanate. Chaos everywhere, people are dying in tragic accidents when wadis get flooded and in Al Ghubra, the immigrant area where we live, people keep their kids indoors not to drown….it amazes me, because the downpours as they are called are very moderate. We would even call them drizzles back home….In any case, it has made me think about an issue which once up on a time, made me start an Expedition school (Started 1998, ended 2006), namely:

Why do so many people fail in their hope to reach the goal they´ve set out at accomplishing in their Expeditions?

The reason I set this Expedition School up, was that I realized of those over 100 Expeditions that people asked me for advice, all of them first timers, 90% failed to reach their goal, half of them didn´t make it over three months. The main reason, which is the essential ingredient for the success of an Expedition, were these:

1. How to put up a camp and live in a tent. The two most important things on an Expedition, is to sleep and eat well. Therefore, before leaving on an Expedition/adventure/travel where you live outdoors, you need to spend a lot of time living outdoors in a tent, until the day you sleep well, feel secure and now where to pitch the tent. This is your home, your life, your tent is where you recuperate. Make it comfortable, your fortress against worries and the place of peace. Choose good equipment. I am much more for weight, than slimming it all down to discomfort. But, before leaving, lots of sleeping outdoors.

The knowledge how to cook and good food is vital for success!

2. Learn how to cook good food! You need energy and rest to be able to make the right decisions. So get a good stove, preferable petrol since that works everywhere and than practice doing the same meals that you do back home. There´s not much of a difference! You need variety, if possible, good nutritious meals, full of carbs and fat and tasty one!

3. Motivation and understanding why you want to this expedition! If you handle these two firsts you will make it far, because it is a simple life. You work hard, eat and sleep. It is the greatest and most peaceful of life’s. It is real freedom. But, a the end of the day, when going gets tough, you really need to know why you are doing it.

However, just go…..

Three tips how to get that adventure started!

mikael — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 22:59:03 +0000

I think, throughout the years, I have probably teamed up with at least 25 people who wanted to come with me on an adventure or an Expedition, but who, somewhere along the line, dropped off and decided not go. Not nowadays, but it happened frequently when I first started 25 years ago. When it came to the day of leaving, they decided this was just not their choice of life. They just didn´t have the vision to brake free of what they thought society wanted from them. They didn´t have the guts. They were not ready to sacrifice their comfort level at that precise moment. They didn´t dare to take the step into the unknown…

I am talking the well-to-do-world here, not the developing world, where bare funds and pure survival is an issue every day. But I am still strongly convinced, no matter how complicated your circumstances are, if you want something very much, you go for it and you will eventually get it. But, the reason I highlight this topic, is due to the fact that amongst the thousands of emails I have received since that initial moment of leaving, many simply ask, what does it take to fulfill their dream to do this or that? And, when I think profoundly about the subject, one of most common things said to me after a lecture, when people come up to me for a small chat or posing a question, they say (all men, by the way, older, over 50):

“I would have done exactly the same, if this and that wouldn´t have happened.”

Well, I have spent a lot of time thinking about this. Either you have the urge or not, but if you are right on the border, when it comes to go for it or not, whether it is a big Expedition or a weeks hike through the local mountains or forest, maybe these three tips can help you go for the adventurous choice. Because, there´s no doubt, every little adventure will raise your level of understanding and enjoyment of life.

Planning is half of the fun, daydreaming a way to relax and once you leave, you will realize that reality is more fantastic than the dream.....

1. Half the fun of any Expedition or adventure, is planning it. Go to the library and get all those books, maps, travel guides, reference bibles and encyclopaedia’s. Start researching and read. And once you have made a picture of what you want to accomplish in front of you, once you have started to realize the dream, I am sure things will get in the way, obstacles such as well meaning family members or the pressures of culture, well, this is the time to leave the books and contact real people. Phone, email or in any good way, get into contact with people who´s been there, who can assist you with realizing your dream and I think there´s very few explorers or adventurers or specialists who wouldn´t help you. If they don´t, I feel genuinely sorry for them. Without these people I wouldn´t have chosen this life for myself. I remember such a decisive moment very clearly up until this day.

Just before leaving on my first big Expedition, the one on a push bike from Chile to Alaska 1986-1088, I went to the local library in Dala-Järna to return the last of the books I had read regarding my trip and met a very good friend there, Gösta Tysk (unfortunately he passed away last year), in those days a globally well known nature photographer, with Alaska as a specialty and we had spent hours together talking about this amazing place. This time, he was together with his wife. She said immediately after I had said that I am ready to roll:

“Do you think you can do it? I think it is impossible.”

Hearing those words where a shock to me! In a few seconds a lost all confidence and stuttering I tried to find my words, red faced of embarrassment….a fell silent. My good friend moved in and saved me with this words:

“Of course he can do it!”

That was all I needed. A bit of confidence. 2 years later I reached my goal. Thank God I didn´t listen to Göstas wife!

2. Don´t listen to the voices of negativity! I am amazed how many people who actually spend so much time of their possibility to live and enjoy life, to try to ruin the life of others who wants to go beyond the limits of their beaks. It is beyond my concept of understanding! And they´re everywhere. Family, friends, acquaintances, pals at work and school, media…well, everywhere, even amongst other travelers, adventurers and explorers…it is especially hard in the beginning until everybody realizes that you are a lost cause and let you get on with life. After that moment of discovery, it is only opponents, media and people you have made unhappy along the way who will try to ruin your dreams…;-) As quick as you hear something negative, just turn of f your hearing and smile and say, yes, I will give that a good thought.

3. Buy the ticket! Once you have explained for those you love, why you have to do it, just buy that ticket and get on with it! And remember to enjoy every minute of it, whether it is a few days or many years, because next time around, it all starts from the beginning!

Bone marrow and fried reindeer brain; A bit about me and my choice of life

admin — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 22:46:00 +0000

The day I arrived to the small Siberian settlement of Kolymskaya was the happiest moment of my exploring life. It was the end of the most demanding part of my Expedition along the Kolyma River, one of the coldest inhabited places on earth. I had, together with my assistant Johan, spent most of the past 5 months hauling 660 pounds of necessities, mainly in utter darkness, experiencing a terrifying cold with average temperatures around -50°F, day and night. A reality which made sleep almost impossible, giving us plenty of frostbites on both fingers and cheeks and it ruined most metal parts in our equipment. Like our ski bindings, and therefore, we arrived walking, not skiing, to the village. It seemed like every inhabitant were there to greet us with customary warmth, joy and most of them were dressed in their colourful traditional dress. We saw Chukchis, Even, Yakuts, Yugahirs and Russians. After the traditional welcoming offerings to the spirits, we were brought into the local museum, where more cheerful and hugging villagers awaited us, around a table full of local delicacies. After having survived mainly on moose meat and raw, frozen fish during most of the winter, we nearly cried when we came across big plates of fried reindeer brain and cooked bone marrow. At that stage, I suddenly realized, after spending 20 years of exploring extreme parts of our world and trying to understand the meaning of life, from now on, I’ll stop thinking about the big worrisome issues and simply concentrate on the uncomplicated ones. Like the thought of some more cooked bone marrow.

I was brought up in a working class environment, where the basic values of life was hard physical work, loyalty to your employer, never forget where one came from and stick to your own kind. For this reason, we only had two books at home, The Sea Wolf and White Fang by Jack London. My father had them on loan indefinitely from the local library, for the simple reason to show our neighbours that our family had ambitions beyond the village limit. I wouldn’t have touched those books if I hadn’t caught the measles as a bored ten year old and with plenty of time to kill, I started reading them. I just couldn’t stop. Once finished, I knew I had discovered an unknown, very exiting and important world. That discovery, in combination with a mother who loved me above all, gave me a self-confidence and a sense of uniqueness, to know that my future lay beyond the limits of the village.

Consequently, as quick as I turned 16, after spending most of my time avoiding the utterly boring knowledge taught in school, I set off for India, prepared to spend a year studying Mahayana Buddhism. Those studies only gave me diarrhoea and gut pains. Instead, I ended up hiking, reading and travelling around. When my money eventually ran out, I returned home with a wish to build bridges of understanding between people by writing, lecturing, filming and through photography. I met a total lack of interest. At that moment I realized, that I had to do something that nobody else had done before. So over the next 7.5 years I cycled from Chile to Alaska, from Norway to South Africa and from New Zealand to Cairo. I pedalled a total distance of 90000 kilometres passing through difficult terrain as the Sahara Desert and the Darien Gap. Since then, I’ve been privileged to live a dream.

The true explorer is unselfish, curious and ready to sacrifice his life in the quest of discovering unknown areas and human limits. An explorers life is a mission to make this earth of ours a better one to live in. For everybody.

Mission; To paddle across South-America

mikael — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:59:48 +0000

I met Christian Bodegren the first time early in 2009. I remember I thought he was a bit of a woof, obviously not the most outgoing human on earth. That time he wanted to cross the Sahara by a camel. Before we met Arita Baaijens, the great Dutch explorer, wrote me the he never thanked her for her help and she was upset. When you put in work, you want people to at least say thank you, she said and I agreed. This guy had a lot to learn. A lot. And 2½ years later, he has. Christian has developed tremendously in every way and become more a social human being, than a self occupied loner. He wrote this great story for me half a year ago about Mohammed Bouazizi. And Christian did a great job trying to cross the Sahara and now he has set off on a new Expedition, by kayak. And he wrote to me about his thoughts before he set off! He is really developing as a human! Travel and exploration makes people better!

The long way down south in a kayak

Christian Bodegren

I have quit my work to do a trip, adventure, expedition, journey, or which ever name you glitzhammers prefer to use.

Maybe I’m selfish by doing this for myself, but hopefully I can inspiring somebody else to take a bit in this big tasteful cookie we prefer call earth. If I can inspire one person to do and learn more I have a succeeded. I have never been into thinking about to do things first or on record time which seems to occupied many people out there. In my mind I’m always going to be the first to seeing and feel and getting inspired in my one personal way. And therefore, I have planned to start this journey at the very top off Venezuela where the mighty Orinoco delta reaches the ocean.

In a kayak this time, against the current. I plan to paddle along the river systems for ten months, heading south. the mission is to see how the people live and how the nature survive along the river systems, in this big and interesting continent. I still have plenty off things to do in Venezuela when I arrive before I can put the kayak in the water. And it always take some time before you get into the routines and start to relax on a journey like this.

Like for example, getting use to the new sounds in the jungle during the night, which keep you awake or getting used to the new climate which makes your body react in different ways. And I cannot plan for everything, but I am just trying to reduce the bigger mistakes, which could be a danger for your health and life. In some way, that is the way I like my outdoor life. Because we humans always try to bring order and control over everything in our life and our surroundings. The nature has always a different agenda about this subject . An agenda whiteout perfect corners and straight lines which in our minds it’s not what a controlled surrounding should be. But from the smallest thing to the biggest, it’s a fascinated system, like a puzzle which its perfectly links together, the ecosystem. And everything have purpose in this chain, which we are constantly trying, and succeeds, to break.

I hope we are finding our way back to the reality and stop fighting against the nature and start to living with it. That is what I’m going to try to do it for the next ten months in a kayak cross the South America.

Please follow my trip and stay updated in www.christianbodegren.com

Expedition Logistics in a Changing World

mikael — Thu, 19 May 2011 23:00:04 +0000

Have you always nurtured a dream doing an Expedition that will change your life for the better? An Expedition that will create global attention? An Expedition to places which is considered off limits to most human beings?

Or are you an experienced explorer, who need help with the logistics? Like permits?

Or a film maker who need help finding a local crew or permits to film?

If you have had those thoughts, but don´t know how to get the Expedition on its feet, I can make your dream come true.

What do I offer?

I can set everything up for you from the first contacts with the area you want to explore to the permits and contacts needed.
I can help you find the right people, maps and help you plan the best route for your Expedition.
I will help you set up a executive summary for sponsors and put you in touch with the right media to get attention for your adventure.
We can also offer as part of the Expedition package, the setup of a blog, Twitter and Facebook pages, custom web development and a digital strategy that not only includes these channels of communication but the tools and means to track and grow users talking about your expedition. Todays sponsors expect nothing less.
If you want your adventure to become a documentary or a movie, I can put you in the direction, from the film maker to the right broad caster.
I will assist you in picking the right equipment necessary for your Expedition.
An important and thorough risk assessment and security back up is included.
I can help, or even do, the needed media work for you.
I will even go there, if needed.
And book your tickets, hotels and camp grounds!

Why choose me?

I have spent the last 25 years exploring most parts of our globe. Either as an explorer or as a tour guide. Both jobs require a lot of planning, the right contacts and an ability to get things done. My best ability is always finding the right people to help out in an emergency.

1. My CV

2. Tour guide

3. Photo Gallery from my trips to give you an idea of the width of my travels.

Costs

I will, of course, find the best for the right price. But, I see the logistics in 3 parts:

1. The Expedition in itself.

2. The media work.

3. The production of a documentary.

Please contact me here! AND, to get a perspective, read this first and than see the lecture below.

Please visit my sponsors Termo who are making it possible for me to write 2 blog reports per week. Just click the logo to find the best underwear on earth!

Thermal underwear, wool or high tech yarns?

mikael — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 01:48:58 +0000

Question: “I noticed you are sponsored by Termo. My question is, what is best according to you, wool or high tech yarns?”

After using different types of thermal underwear for the last 25 years of a life in the outdoors, my conclusion is that the choice is a very personal one. Either you like wool. Or high tech yarns. A few observations though:

I have noticed that thermal underwear which are marketed by brands who primarily focus on extreme sports, like competitive skiing, are not made for users who are outdoors a long time. This type of underwear are far too cold and should only be used for short time competition. Definitely not for Expedition. These brands tend to dominate the market today. So, look out!
Good quality thermal underwear has to do with they machinery they´re produced by. Some outdoor brands are produced in a way that needed changes and developments are hard to do. An important question is, do they have there own factory and machinery to produce their own brand? Important!
So, regarding my personal opinion, wool or high tech yarns? I think wool does itch on and off.

Thermal underwear are for me with the most important items of gear. This layer is the most important aspect of your choice of how to dress on your Expedition or adventure. Or day out in the woods. This applies whether we are talking Arctic or tropical adventures. For example, at this precise moment, together with Termo, I am trying to figure out the best thermal underwear to use on desert travel. Thermal underwear is at least as important on such an Expedition as in the Arctic. And as regards to which thermal underwear to use, the following has to be taken into account:

It has to be thermal underwear with unique channels of construction to both insulate and help regulate body temperature
Light weight
Highest quality yarns
Anti-bacterial treatment that is not wash away
Active fit
Flat-lock seams to minimize chaffing
Fast wicking

Please do come with your own personal opinions in this interesting subject!

Please visit my sponsors Termo who are making it possible for me to write 2 blog reports per week. Just click the logo to find the best underwear on earth!

A bunch of notes; A new Expedition coming up, finally……

mikael — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 03:25:11 +0000

I have just returned from an excruciating training session. 25 kg:s on my back, pushing Eva in front of me in a stroller,through a terribly windy Malmö and I just feel totally void of any motivation. It is far too heavy for me! And I wonder:

“How in earth am I going to make this?!

It is one of those days I ask myself, why have I chosen this life? Well, partly because it is the only one a know and it is the only thing I know how to do well, full of passion and life!

Anyhow, I have started the preparations for a short Expedition involving heat, sand, hunger, thirst and extremely long days by foot, carrying far too heavy a pack. At least 35 kg:s for at least 3 weeks. So, just to give some of you readers who never have done an Expedition, I thought I´d publish these notes a put together on a train ride last week. They´re uncut, raw. They´re notes what has to be done! 26 of them (including humor):

Who can help us out with Eva during this time? My great inlaws?
Sponsors, who can chuck in 10 000 euro in this little journey? Maybe Jamal Mubarak?
Permits? Is a special film permit needed for the documentary?
What kind of kit is needed?
My compass, is it calibrated for the northern or southern hemisphere?
Maps? I need at least 1:250 000 in scale to be on the safe side. Or maybe sandpaper will do this time?
My well used Scarpa boots, will they do this time as well?
Any new tech on the market since I last did an Expedition back in 2004-05? Like Camelbak maybe?
Do I dare to bring a silent gas stove instead of my noisy XGK II?
Which tent to bring…..the VE 25 is too heavy! Need to find a lighter one….
How do I treat dirty water, which filter? the MSR or Katadyn? And how do I transport 30 liters of it?
Do i have enough time to study the camels? And train them?
Can I get away with not using a local guide which i need according to the authorities?
Sunglasses? Julbo seems to be the best on the market right now.
Termo underwear? Which hea cover? Tuareg style?
What if I get tooth ache again, I have to visit the dentist before setting off.
Which medicine do I bring? Do I need to bring snake serum?
Big or small still camera? Or both?
Which video camera? Will a add on to the still one do?
Am i really fit enough to do this? is training every other day enough?
Is my Arabic good enough? Alhamdulillahi it will be.
Check every item of the equipment before I set off, CAREFULLY. We don´t want to do all the mistakes I did in Siberia!
Will Johan join me? I hope so!
By the way, who is the president of Chad?
Talk to Al Arabiya. They´re just growing.
How in earth am going to be able to stay away from Eva for more than a day? Maybe I can fit into one of the side pockets of the rucksack….that means another 9 kg:s…plus diapers, baby food and her personal gear plus hear teddy bear and icelandic puffin bird.

The Arabian Expedition? Still on hold. Half the funds are there, but not the time to be away from Eva….

Please visit my sponsors Termo who are making it possible for me to write 2 blog reports per week. Just click the logo to find the best underwear on earth

Exploration: an outdoor activity or what?

mikael — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 21:22:51 +0000

I basically begged my favorite female explorer Arita Baaijens to write an article about her thoughts of exploration. And she delivered another great piece of work, her second as a guest writer. Her first, about female leadership, is the most read guest blog.

Exploration: an outdoor activity or what?

Arita Baajiens

Last year I attended Explore 2009, the annual expedition and fieldwork planning weekend at the Royal Geographical Society. A truly unique event for old hands & newcomers in the field of exploration. Had a wonderful time, made lots of contacts, but went home rather confused.

Maybe I was getting old.

Tell me if I am wrong!

For me the core of exploration is curiosity, facing the unknown, discovery and if need be: walk the thin line between life & death. I was therefore surprised to notice that so many speakers at Explore 2009 talked about exploration as a kind of outdoor activity. Risks were to be avoided at all cost. Media attention on the other hand not. To appear on television seemed as important, if not more, than the mission itself. How odd, I thought. After all, this was not a social club. We were at the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society.

Most explorers are not suicidal and they will avoid disasters if they can. But true exploration is not a picnic. If you are not prepared to take risks which might cost you your life then you’d better stay home. Yeah, I can hear you. As I said: Maybe I am getting old and maybe my ideas are outdated. They certainly go back a long time, all the way back to the romantic era of exploration. Don’t want to offend anyone, but what to think of the four guys in the audience who shared their plans at the desert panel meeting. Cross the desert on motor bike, call home every day via a sat phone. If home didn’t receive the expected call they were to take action. You want A-D-V-E-N-T-U-R-E, you brag about your upcoming expedition or journey, but when something goes wrong you call mammy and daddy to save you.

Sounds pretty ridiculous to me.

‘We have a wife and children,’ came the angry response from the bikers.

‘Stay home,’ was my advice

Next topic: Media coverage. Based on what I heard, most researchers and adventurers define the success of their expedition in terms of media coverage. If the expedition hits the news: Hurray! Mission accomplished. If not, sad faces, mission failed.

Media coverage is important. We want recognition for what we do. Also, most expeditions are expensive and to attract sponsors you need a media plan. So, nothing wrong with media per se. But having said that: does an expedition serve as a ticket to fame or to satisfy curiosity?

What to think of the Dutch woman who travelled from Egypt to South Africa on a mini-tractor and – according to hearsay – was unhappy because she didn’t receive the attention she had hoped for. Please god, save us from self centred adventurers (SSA) who don’t give a damn about people, culture, environment. SSA claim their expeditions serve a purpose (the woman on the mini-tractor focused on positive news from Africa….), but in reality the journey is a one (wo)man show: Look at me, see how special I am.

What about scientific expeditions? Students and researchers need media coverage to reach a wider audience and to satisfy sponsors. Fine. And what if there’s no media coverage to speak of? I would say: no problem. What matters is the outcome of the expedition. If the results are good, publication in academic journals will follow and that is what counts..

There’s another category I forgot to mention: adventurers who cannot resist the call of the Sirens. If you’ve heard that call you know how strong the pull is. Nothing can stop you. Parents, wife, kids, reason, lack of money, disinterest from the media, without wax in your ears you have no choice but to obey the sirens. You have to follow your inner voice, no matter the consequences, and that story is as old as human kind. It’s the stuff of legends and myths. What these stories have in common is the lone hero, a woman or man who goes out into the unknown to fight dragons and demons or to fulfil impossible tasks. If she/he fails, the hero(in) dies. If she/he succeeds, glory awaits upon return. To me, that is what exploration is about: venture into the unknown, no matter the costs, and return to share your findings with the world you left behind.

Happy ending. Explore 2010. Four women speakers on the main stage. No fuss about risk management. Instead the four women explorers shared insights and expertise with the audience. Their motto? Guess what: You Can Do It Too!

Arita Baajiens is a seasoned explorer who´s homepage is at http://www.aritabaaijens.nl