In honor of father’s day, I thought I’d do this next post on my dad. I made a promise to him that it wouldn’t be sappy or a tear-jerker like the one I wrote for my mom. You know how us women can be! We love to be emotional, don’t we? So, I will try my best to make this post light and fun, ok dad?
Picture of my dad and I on top of the world at the highest point along the Annapurna Trek in Nepal in November 2010.
Picture of my dad and I on top of the world at the highest point along the Annapurna Trek in Nepal in November 2010.
The state of Minnesota may have some severely cold winters, yet one thing that makes up for it is the fact that we do have lakes.Lots of them. Recent estimates have put Minnesota’s lakes in the 11,000-13,000 range, depending on what you count as a body of water. Lakes not only provide us with water but with everlasting, pure beauty and recreation. You can hardly drive anywhere without seeing a lake.
I felt like I needed to spice my blog up a bit. Lately I’ve done an awful lot of posts on Minnesota and even have another one in the queue. When I started this blog it was mostly for sharing my stories and photos from traveling somewhere else. Yet I came to realize that many of my readers have never even been to Minnesota and perhaps don’t realize how incredibly beautiful it really is. Hence my recent focus on places around the land of lakes (we do have over 13,000!).
This morning I wanted to share some photos I’ve reworked from my trip to Iceland back in the summer of 2008. Iceland truly appealed to me. It has all the nature you could ever desire, loads of hikes, and not many people. I found a lot of peace and serenity in such a beautiful, magical place. It is my hope that I can return someday as there is much to see in this gorgeous land.
Here are some photos that will help illustrate what I mean. Hope you enjoy!
Lately I’ve been having fun playing around with new iPhone applications like Snapseed and Instagram. For a novice photographer, these photo processing applications are a ton of fun. You just snap away and can process the picture into amazingly different styles right at your fingertips.
Since early spring, I’ve been using my iPhone a lot to take pictures, mostly of flowers. One reason is that it is so easy and portable. I always have it with me usually in my pocket. Another reason is that my iPhone actually zooms much better than my small, pocket-sized Canon Elph. I must admit that I am no professional photographer. I just love to take pictures during my travels and am actively working on getting better at it.
Besides using Snapseed for photos I’ve taken with my iPhone, I’ve also began using it to revisit older pictures I’ve taken from the past such as these ones I took back in 2003 in Patagonia. These photos were scanned since I didn’t have a digital camera at the time. I took these files and imported them into my iPhone into Snapseed and here is what I came up with. Not bad, huh?
Yesterday was a beautiful spring day here in Virginia. The sun was bright, the birds were singing and everything was returning to life once again. We couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day than to do a two family picnic and hike along the Shenandoah National Park.
It is not possible to wake up at 4:30 am, hike a volcano and not follow up with an immediate visit to most popular natural spa in all of Guatemala. The plan to go immediately to Fuentes Georginas proceeding my volcano climb popped into my head during the knee-aching, slippery descent of Santa Maria. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the remainder of the day, rewarding my tired body and soul, and soaking in one of the four hot pools of Fuentes Georginas located in the mountains nearby.
View from the Top: Xela lies thousands of feet below.
“Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” -Ed Viesturs climber and author of “No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks”
After my surreal experience on top of Santa Maria volcano, witnessing my first live volcanic eruption just a few thousand feet below my perch on a jagged rock, it was time to say goodbye. Heading back is always the anti-climax of a hike, especially a good one in which you reach your peak and for that moment in time you are on top of the world. But as I always say, all good things must come to an end. It was time to head back.
The start of our descent….you can see terraced farmland first, followed by the town of Xela far below.
“No matter how sophisticated you may be, a large granite mountain cannot be denied — it speaks in silence to the very core of your being”. —-Ansel Adams
Around 10:30, five hours after starting our hike up the dark and slippery path of the Santa Maria Volcano we had finally arrived at her pointed peak. The clouds had started to form and blanket the valley of Xela thousands of miles below. Yet fortunately they hadn’t fully conquered the peak. There was still a spectacular view of the surrounding volcanoes and valley beneath.
As we approached our resting spot for an early lunch I was perplexed by a low humming sound. The sound of voices, high and low, big and small, filled up the empty open space around me. As we come closer to the noise I realized with amazement that it was a human chain of chanting. The Mayans were singing their prayers to their gods. The voices of their chants flowed smoothly together making a monotonous tone at times, entrancing me and captivating my soul.
“The Beauty of the Mountain is hidden for all those who try to discover it from the top, supposing that, one way or an other, one can reach this place directly. The Beauty of the Mountain reveals only to those who climbed it…” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery
View of the grand Santa Maria volcano off in the distance as I was leaving Xela via shuttle on my way to Antigua.
There are things you’ll experience in Guatemala that will stay with you forever: the smell of a freshly grilled tortilla; the assault-on-all-senses of a jungle trek; the people you bump into on the road and become lifelong friends…..In the west, a volcano looms on almost every horizon, almost begging to be climbed. (Opening lines in the introduction to Guatemala, Lonely Planet 2010).
It was with these words, “almost begging to be climbed” that I joyously opted to skip my already-paid for Spanish class on Wednesday and wake up at the break of dawn to climb Guatemala’s fourth highest volcano, Santa Maria (elevation 3772 m/12,375 feet). It didn’t matter that I was utterly exhausted nor that I didn’t have the right gear. All that mattered was there was an enormously, inviting volcano begging to be climbed. There was no way I wasn’t going to climb it.
Just a short note to let you all know that I had the most spectacular day today in Guatemala! I rose at 4:45 am and set off in complete darkness to climb the fourth highest volcano in Guatemala, Santa Maria at 12,375 feet/3772m. It was so intensely beautiful that it made me melt. When we got to the top of the volcano a few hours later, I saw my first ever live volcano eruption right across the way at Santiaguito Volcano. Here it is….
There are two other options for climbing The Santa Maria Volcano. One is you start at 11 pm and do a moonlight hike and watch the sun rise over the neighboring volcanoes (there are tons!) but it is very very cold. The other is a 2 or 3 am start and you arrive just as the sun rises over the volcanoes. Apparently if you do the night hike you can see the brilliant red lava gleaming from a neighboring volcano!!!! If I was here a little longer than a week, I would have definitely done it. I can’t imagine how amazing it would be to see burning live lava in the darkness of the night!
Stay tuned…This is just a quick “postcard” summary of my trip. I took over 150 pictures today of the amazing volcano, countryside and farmland. Of course I need to edit and write it all up as a post! That will be when I return!
With an unexpected, unplanned day ahead of us due to bad weather at the Tongariro Crossing (see earlier post), we discussed our options with our B&B hosts Peter and Grace who enthusiastically informed us of nearby Waimangu Volcanic Valley located near Rotorua.
Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley is the hydrothermal system created on 10 June 1886 by the volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera, on the North Island of New Zealand. It encompasses Lake Rotomahana, the former site of the Pink and White Terraces. It was the location of the Waimangu Geyser, which was active from 1901 to 1904. The valley contains Frying Pan Lake, which is the largest hot spring in the world. – Wikipedia
The world’s youngest geothermal system and the “must-do” tourist attraction in the area, Waimangu Volcanic Rift Valley is definitely a thrill to see. There are tons of tour agents offering daily visits to the area but of course Paul and I wanted to do it on our own and chose the best way to see the area: A hike.
We drove first to the town of Rotorua, whose abundant thermal activity makes the entire place smell like rotten eggs!(Perhaps you get used to it when you live there!). The town was way too touristy for my liking yet it was indeed fascinating. Our stay was short, however, as we wanted to get a hike in and knew that most of the tourists would not be following us.
We followed the trailhead for a short hour and a half hike up and back. There was not a soul around, the way I like to hike and the views were impressive.
Start of the hike.
Hot steamy water. Wouldn’t want t take a swim in there!
Interesting greenery given the location!
View at the top of the Waimangu Volcanic Valley.
The park proved to be a great day hike. It was my first visit to a geothermal valley and I was amazed by the lava lakes, hot volcanic streams and the unique curiosities the place.
As the afternoon skies began to clear we wished we had one more day in the area to do the Tongariro Crossing. That night we saw it, finally, while we were eating dinner at a restaurant in Taupo. We took a sip of our cold beer and thought…next time.
Here it is, the Tongariro Crossing in the background.
Stay tuned…one last post perhaps on New Zealand. Then I’m off on a new subject if time permits before heading off to Guatemala on March 3rd. This time I will remember to take loads of pictures! 🙂
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing in Tongariro National Park is one of New Zealand‘s most spectacular tramping tracks, and is considered the most popular one-day tramp in New Zealand. The Tongariro National Park is a World Heritage site which has the distinction of dual status, as it has been acknowledged for both its natural and cultural significance.
The crossing passes over the volcanic terrain of the multi-cratered active volcano Mt Tongariro, passing the eastern base of Mt Ngauruhoe which can optionally be climbed as a side trip. The 19.4 km (12.0 mi) walk is renowned for its barren yet beautiful “moon like” volcanic landscape, unusual geological features, visible volcanic activity and views of the surrounding countryside below.
-Description per Wikipedia
Photo of the Tongariro Crossing accredited to Wikipedia Commons.
