Plant you Oxygen!

• oxigen
• 6 aprilie 2016

A Chinese proverb says that: „The best moment to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best moment to plant a tree is NOW”. The project for planting trees of Oxigen Association is based on the motivation of finding out some figures:  

• 1 tone of printed paper is the equivalent of 24 mature trees, while 1 tine of newspaper is the equivalent of 12 mature trees.
• the recycled paper covers only 7% of the production, while the rest of 93% is covered by trees.
•  globally, the consumption rate for paper has increased six times during the 20 century and doubled as compared to the 1970s.
• I think I have convinced you too why we need to plant more trees. Our project took place in Sinaia (Izvorul Rece Area), Saturday, on the 26th of March. The tools, the small trees and the instructions were given by the Ocolul Silvic Sinaia, led by George Vasile engineer.  The labor force was offered by 55 volunteers of Oxigen Association that worked together with the people from Jandarmeria Montana Prahova. They have managed to plant 400 trees in a record time. We have surprised a little bit the representatives of the Ocolul Silvic Sinaia due to the efficiency and correctness of our work.
• Partners in this project are Romsilva and Inspectoratul de Jandarmi Prahova. The main sponsor is  WarpSoft Distribution,  due to the kindness of Viorel Micu. The complete list of the sponsors is: Aqua Carpatica și IQ Aqua, the sources of our hydration.  we thank them all for their support!

Invitation: Come at 2391 m –Papusa Peak

• oxigen
• 14 martie 2016

In the Carpathians Mountains there are few places from where you can admire the beauty of such large landscapes as it is Papusa Peak. This mountain, tall as 2391 m, takes the form of a cupola surrounded by peaks of 2500 m. The route is composed of a tiring climbing until Saint Elijah Glade. From there you can see the cupola of the “doll” and the mountains dressed in lace – Fagaras, Piatra Craiului and Bucegi.

In order for this expedition to be complete, besides mountain trails we will visit Rausor Dam, Cetatuia Monastery (inside a natural cave) and Mateias Mausoleum.

Oxigen Association invited you on 16-17 of April in Papusa Mountains at 2391 m. We will leave early morning at 6 am from Horoscop Hotel, near Unirii Square.

The cost of this expedition is of 210 lei and includes: transportation, accommodation and Voina Chalet, breakfast and guidance. 10% of the investment for this expedition will be used for the trees plantation organized by Oxigen Association in this spring.

You can subscribe by paying 50% of the expenses. The payment can be done cash or through online payment: Donation for Papusa for x people. For online payment, please send an email with a copy of the PO at diana@asociatiaoxigen.ro.

For more details, please contact Diana at phone number 0721.566.427.

What do you miss if you don’t join Oxigen in Morocco

• oxigen
• 3 februarie 2016

Enjoying the air from 3.479 m in Sierra Nevada Mountains, meet Sahara Dessert, walk between sand dunes trying to imagine the route of the Alchemist are certainly nice experiences.

On 3-11 of May Oxigen Association organizes an expedition in Spain and Morocco. At this moment there are 20 people coming. The last 6 places are waiting for their comers.

Out of the 8 days that we will spend in this expedition – 4 days will be for exploring the diversity of the landscape from Morocco, their culture, the dessert, the mountains, traditional food and the beautiful sky of the southern emisphere.

We will accommodate for 4 nights at Riad la Rose du Desert – some sort of traditional palace, now transformed into a nice accommodation place. Here we will take also our breakfast every day.

As we come after 4 busy days in Spain, the program of Morocco expedition will be much more relaxing…or at least we are planning so. Let’s see what we have.

The program of the expedition is like it follows:

Day 1 (7 May): Seville – Marrakech

Immediately as we will leave Spain we will have the chance the admire Gibraltar Gorges and the sand dune that can be seen from the plane. We will land in Marrakech (“The red City of Morocco or the Land of God”) at 20.05 and we will get accommodated. The evening will be spent into the famous market Jemma el Fnaa. With more than 1000 years old, the market is full of vendors that invite you to wear a snake around your neck or to take a photo with a monkey. During night time, the market takes another view with food tables, dessert storytellers and local bands which transform all this into a cultural experience.

Day 2 (7 May): Discovering the Red City of Morocco – Marrakech

We will spend the day by walking into the city and visiting Badia & Bahia Palace, Dar Si Said Museum and Kputubia Mosque. The old palaces of Badia and Bahia, although they amaze everybody through their grandeur, nowadays are only ruins. Bahia is better kept and it transposes easily into the shoes of a Morocco noble from XVIII-XIX century.  As compared to this, Badia was destroyed and its ruins are the proves of the history.  At Dar Si Sad Museum we will admire the history of the country from the beginning until now. Koutubia Mosuqe is the biggest from Morocco and it’s quite impressive. It has 70 m heights and 800 years old. In the evening, if we are tired, we will come into the Central Market – Djema El Fna, where every evening are nice new events so that you can never get bored.

Day 3, 4 (9 -10 of May) – trip proposal: Zagora by camels, discovering Sahara Dessert.

We will take breakfast around 7 and at 8 we will start the trip by car. We will cross first Tizi n’Tichka Point (2260 m) from Atlas Mountains. We will cross through many villages and we will have the chance to have small oasis on the few rivers and hills where are some kasbahs as Telouet and Ait Ben Hadou. We will continue our way towards Ouarzazat, Draa – Zagora Valley. Here we will meet the camels and change our locomotion mean. In the evening we will have dinner into the camping and then get ready for sleep.  Here the nights are cold, so please take into account to have with you warm clothes.

In the morning of 10 May, we are definitely not missing the sunrise from beside the sand dunes – one those moments hard to be explained in words.  You just see it and feel it – like the night show from Jamaa el Fna. We will have breakfast and then we will head back, on camels, towards Zagora, visit the places and then by nightfall we will reach Marrakech.

Day 5 (11 of May) – our plane will leave at 13.45. We will have some free time for souvenir shopping until 11 when we will meet to check out and then head towards Menara Airport.

We will leave this fantastic place in order to go back to Spain and from there back home. We know for sure that we will come back to Morocco for other expeditions, for high mountains over 4000 m.

The cost of the optional trip in Sahara and the entrance fee for the highlighted touristic objectives are not included in the price of the expedition.

More details about the program of the expedition from Spain and Morocco and also how to subscribe we can find here. If you think that your friends could be interested in such a trip, give them a Share/Like and ask them to join you into this expedition.

I’d love to go to South Polar Circle and you can help me.

• oxigen
• 28 ianuarie 2016

Everyone has a dream, a passion, an engine that makes him/her gives all one’s got and constantly challenges one’s limits.

Hi, I am Cati, volunteer at Asociaţia Oxigen (Oxygen Association). I am a happy and cheerful person, always carrying  a smile on my face and wanderlust in my soul. And if you ask me what I love to do the most, I will respond in one gulp: to travel. And share the experience with those around me through photos and stories  on my personal blog – (Travelling Guitar).

I’m in love with mountains and ridges. We felt each other around for some time, until we completely and utterly fell in love. And since then I hike constantly, anytime I can, to  recharge my batteries. The mountains are – without doubt – my home :). An international home that always welcomed me with arms wide open, no matter what ridges I’ve climbed – in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece or Italy.

This doesn’t mean I’ve done only mountain! In my  breaks I’ve choosen to explore cities, beaches, seas and any place that can enrich my life experience. This is how I arrived in Austria, Croatia, Greece, Italy or Bulgaria. In May 2016 I’ll travel to Spain and Maroc, with the Oxygen Association. And in winter … well, who knows :)))?

You may wonder why I have told you so many things about me and my passions. Here’s why: I need help to continue my explorations and adventures.

What is it all about? It’s very simple – I’ve entered a competition which gives me the opportunity to participate in a one month expedition at the South Arctic Circle. An expedition where I can set foot in Antactica, float among seals and killer whales,  run into penguins and  admire glaciers up close.

And that’s why I need you. If you like the photos and the stories on my blog, if you ever listened to me singing and I pleased your soul or you simply believe in my dream, please enter on the link below and grant me a vote. You would help me be one step closer to my dream and to an unique journey, from where I’ll return with even more stories, 10 cards full of photos and many, many memories that I will share with you through my blog.

This is the link: https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/contest/show/43501

You can vote for me until the end of February 2016. And I will find if I will pack my luggage for this wonderful adventure by mid March.

Thank you so much for your support 🙂

It is good or not to have mark trails

• oxigen
• 11 noiembrie 2015

There are lots of contradictory opinions on whether it’s better to mark trails or to let them be wild and explored just by experts.

The foundation of tourist signaling started at the same time with the first mountain associations around 1800. Since than, the trails have been marked and re-marked rising to a total of 1000 km of marked trails – a great distance in comparison to mountains from other countries.

We believe that signaling marks have a definite function on the mountain trails and that a well-functioning tourism is based on adequate marked trails. The important thing for those who have initiatives for marking/re-marking mountain trails is to observe certain legal norms (Source: Mountain Rescue Services – Salvamont Prahova). We like marked trails and for this reason, next year, we initiate a re-marking project in the Romanian Carpathians.

Legal norms to be observed by the signaling marks:

1. a) they will be framed by an imaginary quadrangle with sides of 16 – 20 cm;
2. b) colour stripes will have 6 cm width and the white ones, 5 cm width (5 + 6 + 5 = 16 cm);
3. c) the triangle with coloured center will have 10 cm sides and the white stripe will have 3 cm width (3 + 10 + 3 = 16 cm);
4. d) the colour dot/point will have 10 cm diameter and the white stripe will have 3 cm width (3 + 10 + 3 = 16 cm);
5. e) the colour cross will have 3 cm length perpendicular stripes and the white stripe will have 5 cm width (5 + 6 + 5 = 16 cm);
6. f) the signaling marks must be applied on both ways of traffic, at distances so that they are visible from one sign to another, perpendicular on the walking direction and at a 1.5 – 2 m height from the ground.
7. g) in the alpine areas and large openings, the signaling marks will be on metal poles. The poles will be first painted with protection primer, than with black and white paint in alternative stripes having 30 cm width. At the bottom, the poles will have a fixation system for the cement base in the ground. At the top, the poles will have a metal rectangle for the signaling marks;
8. h) for trees protection, the signaling marks will be directly painted on the trees, as nailing fixation of marks is forbidden;
9. i) on rocky areas, with difficult access, signaling marks will be on short metal rectangles or on flat stone slabs integrated in a cemented pile of rocks having 0,4 – 0,6 m height;
10. j) in the areas where the mountain trail is well signaled and it has no parting, there is no need of extra marks, but the forest entrances (from roads, alpine openings, valleys) must be specially marked by one ore more visible signal marks.
11. k) in a point common to several trails, marked with different signs, there will be displayed all the signaling marks, grouped and not alternatively at great distances of one another. In the rocky areas, the signaling marks will be horizontally grouped.
12. l) the points of directional change of the trail are marked with two-colored arrows of 40-50 cm length, 8-10 cm width and directional angle of 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, 90°, 105° and 120°;
13. m) in busy areas and exposed to fog formation, the sign that indicates the nearest alpine shelter or hut will be accompanied by an acoustic and visual notification system which is electrically or mechanically operated. In huts’ case, the well-functioning of this system is the hut keeper’s responsibility.
14. n) at the signaling marks production, you must use reflecting pollution and weatherproof paints;
15. m) to be avoided marking public or forest roads otherwise than by signposts at each end. In case that a mountain trail crosses a public road, the trail should me marked so that the entrance and the exit of the public road is obvious.