Activities – Quest for More :: Radek Okienczuk

Gran Canaria, a continent in a miniature

Gran Canaria is the third largest of the Canary Islands. Looking at its shape it is the most round one. As a tourist desitnation it is often thought of as a popular place to get away from winter. Especially among people living in the north of Europe. How can you visit such place without becoming…

Ultrarunning around Kuala Lumpur

We take a direct flight from Banda Aceh in Sumatra to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The timing is right. We have a few days to explore the city before Semenyih 100 Ultratrail Marathon series. The local trail running competition has two races of 25km and 50km to choose from. Kuala Lumpur, actually just like most…

Hiking with Orangutans

Our driver makes a stop to look at the rear wheel axle of the minibus. He moves it lightly and kicks a couple of times. It helps, but only for a few hundred meters. Something is making strange noise during the ride, yet the sound fades during acceleration. The vibrations are getting more intense. It…

Island inside the island and volcanoes

We are about to take a sixteen hour ride on a “new bus“. It is worth adding a several extra thousands of rupees (equivalent of a few dollars) because the “old bus” is said to be breaking down more often. The route is bumpy, wild and unforgettable, most of which we cover at nighttime with…

Ironman Triathlon – tips for beginners

The term “Triathlon” takes on a slightly different meaning when accompanied by a catchy keyword “Ironman”. It certainly sounds interesting and mysterious. First time I came across the term was just a few years ago. Then I instantly got into it. I thought that since there are no impossible things, it might be quite an…

Carpathian Ultramarathon 208km in 4 days

208km, 8954m of vertical gain and 4 days of excellent race adventure KUM is a four-stage mountain race leading from Szczawnica to Wisła in southern Poland. It is easy to guess that new trail running events are often underrated and don’t get all the attention they deserve. It is especially true for the first edition of…

Exploring levadas in Madeira

This time it’s a family trip. More precisely a surprise trip for my mother’s 60th birthday. She’s always been a fan of Portuguese culture and heritage, hence the idea to go to Madeira. What do you associate Madeira with? For my mother and sister Luisa, this is the “island of everlasting spring” and the cradle…

Snowboarding in Gudauri, Georgia

We arrived to the Caucasus in quest for fresh powder. Is not just another snowboarding trip, above all it is the opportunity to get to know a new country and an interesting way to spend two weeks with good friends. I’ve already had the pleasure to experience snowboarding on the northern slopes of Caucasus (the…

Bungee jumping, climbing, canyoning and other attractions in Slovenia

Slovenia is located between the Alps and the Balkans. The visitors can enjoy rock climbing, bungee jumping, rafting, canyoning, ice cold rivers, green forest, mountain scenery and plenty of space. It is more than that. I call it the paradise for activity enthusiasts and the hidden pearl that should be permanently placed on European adventure…

Traversée: 61km / 4100m of Swiss adventure

Summer is the best time to pack your own hand-made recreational vehicle with all sorts of sports equipment and set off on an adventure journey through Europe. On one side I do love traveling with no specific plans nor itineraries, however, it is quite useful to have some sort of culmination point, an objective that…

Nature hikes in Luxembourg

If you look at the map of Europe, Luxembourg is hardly noticeable. Roughly forty percent of this half a million nation are immigrants. It seems that Luxembourg is commonly associated with tax evasion, countless financial institutions and so-called headquarters of global corporations. In this tiny country there are registered nearly 150 different banks that hold…

Among Chilean volcanoes

We are in Cunco, a small village in the region of Araucanía in Chile. As the name rightly suggests, this terrain is populated with araucaria trees. We stock up and head towards Lake Colico. The first car we encounter pulls over to offer us a ride. It’s a giant, heavily overloaded Dodge RAM 2500. Its hood is…

Serbia, Danube and bicycles

Let’s move south. Eurovelo 6 is a bike trail going from the Atlantic coast of France, following for some time Danube river, all the way to the Black Sea. Our goal is to cycle along the Serbian section of the this route, commonly known as EV6. We start from Baja, a Hungarian town nearby the…

The Great Rift Valley

Headmaster and his desktop The newly built paved road stretches up and down and up and down and all over again for another 40 kilometers from town of Narok. At some point we turn into a narrow unpaved track. We stock up with roasted corn, mangoes and bananas at one of local markets. Up and…

Biking at the source of the Nile in Uganda

Biking at the source of the Nile in Uganda Cycling in Mabira Forest Reserve The outbound road from Kampala seems to be fairly enjoyable. The initial 65 km stretch takes to Mabira Forest Reserve. Sometime on the way I remember to buy antimalarial pills. In no particular village a pharmacist offers me 20 small green…

Rolex to start a day in Uganda

We pack ourselves at 6:30. It is yet before dawn, which in Uganda takes place at 7.00. I hear voices coming from street snacks vendors through dense twilight mist. The air is filled with smell of baked chapati, corn flour pancakes. One of the stands has a chalk inscription drew on a wooden plate “ROLEX…

Somewhere in Corsica

Colors of Porto Kitesurfing and cycling. An unplanned trip to the GR20 wearing SPD shoes and sneakers. Wild pigs, while imposing havoc on the roads, their meat has gained notable recognition throughout the island and far beyond it. Nearly twenty kilometers uphill bicycle ride takes us from the sea level up to a thousand meters…

The quest for snow and reindeer

A walk along the coast Having spent the winter in South America I began to dream again about winter, a real one. By early March the snow in the Alps has already been gone. There was an alternative idea. Together with my friend Mati we loaded the yellow bus will all sorts of winter sports…

The magic of Huayna Potosi (6088m)

Dreams come true Observing vast waters of Lake Titicaca, on that day the air seemed to be much clearer. I walked to the hotel terrace on the Isla del Sol, where I spent the last night and I looked ahead. Far away, almost on the horizon I saw the snow-capped peaks of Cordillera Real. Initially,…

The Death Road

World’s most dangerous road Camino de la Muerte ("The Death Road") is a notorious transportation route in the of Yungas region, going from La Paz (Bolivia’s capital) to the town of Coroico. This 61-kilometer long stretch initially rises up to La Cumbre pass at a height of about 4650 meters above sea level, then it…

Backpacking through southern Peru

Laguna de Huacachina An altimeter goes crazy just as a seismograph would register an earthquake. Once again something blows my eardrums and a half-empty bottle of water in my backpack contracts itself. An overnight trip brings me back from a height of more than three thousand meters directly to the sea level. Backpacking through southern…

Amazonas in Peru

A resident of Tingo village The crowds go wild, there are fireworks (but more modest than in other parts of the world) and the loud music is coming from several different sources. The countdown begins: diez, nueve, ocho, … tres, dos, uno! New Year has just reached a Peruvian town of Mancora. We take off…

Surfing in Ecuador

Montańita I see vast desolated areas and complete desert. This is a coast of Ecuador. I get to know a few fishermen and observe how an everyday life looks like in a fishing town Manta. I spend the afternoon in a bar trying to understand a bunch of drunk Ecuadorians and it is not easy.…

Back from the far north

Kavringtinden (1289m), Lyngsalpene This is another adventure with the yellow bus. The bus has already reached the tip of Portugal, it survived the Norwegian winter at -40°C and this time it reached a few hundred kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. I spend a few days with friends in Tromsø and enjoying the charms of…

Sinai on a bike

Secretive bay, Sinai Tamar, a girl we met in a desert oasis in Israel has influenced our plans. “Jordan is just like Israel twenty years ago, go to Sinai and see something entirely magical". I remember the gleam in her eyes and lips telling of the truth. A few days have passed until we managed…

Israel on two wheels

Some places you get an idea that half of Israel is one huge firing area Instead of the promised sun and heat, it is heavy rain to greet us upon arrival. An immigration officer asks a few detailed questions, he stamps our passports and lets us in Israel. Our friend Ohn Debby picks us up…

Winter season in covered with snow Austria

Waiting in clouds to see the next thing life brings The idea to spend a whole winter season in Austria has always been on my mind. One day I found a way to make it happen. I got a job in Bad Hofgastein, an alpine village located nearby Saltzburg. Snowboarding, skiing, high mountains, an idyllic…

A break on Ko Samet island

A new day comes to Ko Samet Tired of Bangkok I decide to take a short break on the island of Ko Samet. It is the last chance to grasp a bit of summer before returning to Europe. Soon I realize that I am at a certain front line. This is the island on which…

Absolute freedom in Vang Vieng

In the Tubing, Vang Vieng, Laos The New Zealand Herald wrote, "If teenagers ruled the world, it might resemble Vang Vieng". I cannot think of a more accurate phrase to put it short. Vang Vieng used to be a calm, picturesque Lao village situated on the Nam Song river. Some distant limestone peaks fade away…

Southern Cambodia

A curious but still timid girl, southern Cambodia Cambodian four hours equals roughly seven regular hours and it is the amount of time to reach Kampot by bus. We discover another pleasant city, whose once slow life bustles on when you visit a marketplace. The local market is divided into sections making some sort of…