WHEW, WHAT A WEEK

With the premiere of the series, this week has simply been surreal. This series has been in the works for 4 years and to think it remained it was basically total anonymity for most of that still blows me away. That being said, now that Endurance Traveler has been introduced to the world. I couldn't be happier with the response. The press has been amazing and so have all the comments. Thank you everyone that showed up at the premier party and everyone that tuned in to Ironman South Africa. If you missed the first episode, re-airs are still happening in many regions around the country so check out http://endurancetraveler.tv/schedule_b.aspx to see when we air in your house. I especially want to say thanks to Caroline, Oscar, Paul, Maneet, Laz, David, Sandra, and Christian who really driving forces to help bring you Endurance Traveler.

The boys at the Premiere

3 weeks of travel and 2 European Ironman Episodes (Phase 1)

It’s been a long hard journey over the past 3 weeks, but totally worth it! First, lets just touch on what we did to try and get the best programming set up for the show.

Austria was first on the list, but in order to get there, the Endurance Traveler path went through Munich. Toby Wadinger is a friend of mine from there and happens to be life-long friend and manager for Faris Al-Sultan. After spending a day wandering the streets of Munich, Faris sat down with me for a great interview that we’ll be posting here on Endurance Traveler in the coming days.

Faris and Me in our interview

Next, we were off to Klagenfurt, Austria for the first of two Ironman events we would be racing and filming at.

My friend and fellow triathlete Meinhard Vintler was gracious enough to have me as a guest at his parents home in St. Michelle about 15 minutes outside the city and at the base of the 10 kilometer climb to the famed Magdalensberg. If, your planning a trip to Klagenfurt, the views cannot be seen any better than this vantage point. It’s also one of the best places to try Kantner Noodle a regional dish.

Me with Meinhards parents

Our first location was the Wörthersee, the lake is this majestic teal, reminiscent of the healing waters of the Havasu in southwestern grand canyon. The Wörthersee ferry system offers visitors a tremendous way to visit all areas of the lake without a vehicle, take in the castles and view all the different architectural influences that have touched the region.

Denis Dal Bianchi (Camera) Eva Windich (Guide) and Me

Second stop was back in the kitchen. As those of you already following production know, we try to hit at least one restaurant per episode. Maria Loretto, is a seafood restaurant serving both saltwater seafood and fish pulled from the Wörthersee itself. Cooking there was great and the meal was delectable. Whats even cooler, was that the restaurant actually sits right on the swim course and is the marker we all swam towards as we headed into the river

Cooking at Maria Loretto

Our next shoot landed us at Burg Hochosterwitz. The castle that is rumored to be Walt Disney’s inspiration for the Cinderellas Castle now famous the world over. Whats even more amazing is the familial history of the Khevenhüller family, owners of the mystical place. They once owned 16 different castles in the modern state of Karinthia, including Castle Feldon, now a Casino hotel located on the Wörthersee’s western banks.

Burg Hochosterwitz Count Kevin Khevenhüller

During our race, we were able to cover two athletes from California, Joe Traba (on my right) and Bill Moore (on my left). Both of these guys are great athletes. For Bill, it was his first attempt at the Ironman distance, while Joe was making his 8th attempt and looking to go sub 11 hours. We’ll follow their day during the show.

Following the race, Monday was our last day of filming and a great one. We went to Hirter Brauerei (Brewery), founded by monks in 1270. As we find with most edible products that have outlasted all the others, one of the key ingredients that makes Hirter unique is the water they use. They one of only a few brewers that use natural un-distilled water to make their 12 different styles of beer. Between the water, no pasteurization and the dual fermentation process are all part of making Hirter beer truly dignified.

Brew master Raimund Linzer and me discussing the fermenters

Brasil First Day of Filming: "Surf & Turf"

Today was pretty dam cool. I drove over the mountain range from Centro to Lagoa da Conceição and met up with my 2 camera operators Weslei Vianna and Sydney Pihiero. Wes is actually staying at the the Surf house we filmed at. My host for the day was Luiz Stadler and his wife Lucy. They were absolutely awesome and we had a blast!! After showing me around the surf house, a whole group of us went to a secret surf spot, where the waves were crappy but the comradery was killer. I discovered that my Skins short sleeve top not only "improves power and endurance", but also acts as an amazing rash gaurd while surfing...double bonus!

Between my broken Spanish and the Brazilians broken English, we had no trouble communicating all day. It was probably much like a cycling peleton, where an Italian rider and an American rider are having a conversation in Spanish.

After surfing we headed back to Lagoa da Conceição to grab a bite to eat. Luis insisted we all go to this place called "O Barba Negra". This is a MUST EAT restaurant. We had all kinds of amazing seafood that you'll have to wait for the show to see. But, I'll say they served us this dish called Camarón en Moranga, which is served in a pumpkin and is going to make Thanksgiving a whole new experience. Tomorrow is an off day from filming and I need to put my bike together so I be blogging to you!

Caio!

ROOKIE MANEUVER

No matter how seasoned a traveler you may think you are, it doesn’t mean you won’t make mistakes. I’d like to think I’m a veteran of international travel, but that doesn’t automatically make you impervious to blunders.

It never dawned on me to check if I needed a Visa for Brasil!!! A classic rookie maneuver. I made a huge mistake writing off the entirety of Latin America as this dynamic and free flowing appendage to domestic travel. I mean after all, I make my home in Miami, a place loaded with Brazilians, Argentinians, Colombians, Chileans….flying in and out all day, every day. Well, I found out otherwise, when I wasn’t allowed to board the plane headed for Sao Paulo a few days ago. Then, when I showed up at the Consulate to get a visa, I was informed it’s a 2 business day wait!!! I was very fortunate, and the Consulate was very nice when they made an exception to let my sorry butt through. But still, it was an easily avoidable blunder had I simply checked out the situation online.

What’s funny about the whole situation is when I spoke to several people about it, they told me they never said anything because they assumed I knew. They made that assumption based on my frequent international travels. The simple lesson to learn here, which applies to endurance sports as well, is stick to your basic checklist! I remember almost exactly a year ago, reading Johan Bruyneel’s book and he said exactly that. He said the main thing he does with his riders is keep them doing the very basic things we forget about (like eating and drinking). Endurance sports, travel, business, learning…this lesson is applicable everywhere you turn. Needless to say, I am in Florianopolis a day late and a little wiser.

O, and one more thing...everyone down here was quick to tell my why U.S. citizens pay $130 for our visa and wait 2 days. It's because the Brasil's government is treating U.S. citizens the same way we treat Brasilians. It's hard to argue with the logic, even if it only hurts tourism in the end.

The video was shot along the beach of Baia Norte in the Centro district of Florianopolis.