Walking down the beaches of the Galapagos you go from beautiful white sand to black lava rock formations. In this case, I sat and watched a crab as the waves crashed over her/him.
A few more. Canon 5D Mark III with 28-300mm lens.
Hang in there.
We did not see these monkeys often. In the primary rainforest it is very hard to spot the wildlife as it is so fast with a HUGE canopy above you. It felt like the trees were 100m high is some places (I cannot find the data).
Thank goodness for my Canon 28-300mm.
Hiking in the Borneo rainforest is not for the faint of heart. Leeches, mud and slippery – slippery paths with lots of elevation change. The guide said he had never had someone have a heart attack while hiking but a few came “close”.
There are huge bugs in Borneo. Touch this insect and you get the following result.
It really isn’t the type of place that you go to if you are don’t like insects. There are a LOT of them.
I am sad to say that there is one place I FAILED as a photographer, and that is the leeches. We went during leech season and it was nasty. There is no other way to describe it than nasty. They are everywhere, they are heat seekers and they are aggressive. I did not get a single clean shot, even with a lens that could go to 300mm because I was too worried about stopping and having 10 other leeches drop down on me. Enjoy this fuzz shot.
Why is it stretching? Because it is seeking a host. It is crazy – you put your hand a few inches away and it will wriggle around in a frenzy. They are everywhere – under every branch, on the path, in the canopy above waiting to drop down on you. Everywhere.
This fellow eats insects. I almost put my hand where he/she was sitting on the log as I climbed up the trail.
Did I mentioned the leaches? EVERYWHERE.
An ancient burial site in the primary forests of Borneo.
Yes, those are skulls.
The path to the site.
Tricky and slippery.
From a few different vantage points.
We travelled to Borneo with one primary goal, orangutans. We saw them every day, in different spots. Every time we came upon them I was always left wondering – who is watching who?
This baby was tough to shoot. He was 10m up in the air and I seemed to always be shooting into the sun no matter where I moved. Very difficult. The only advantage was my Canon 28-300mm which allowed me to get close.
He dropped that lime on us.
I am not sure what an Orangutan laugh sounds like but ….
A perspective on how far away he was. The mother and son kept their distance/height.
Shooting into the sun again. A shot of mom.
At the sanctuary it was much easier to see and shoot the Orangutans.
Wonderful experience.
Interesting to see a rock with flowers. The definition of making the best of it.
It is difficult to get a feel for just how magnificent a primary jungle is (Primary: meaning that it has never been logged). These are very old trees. These two provide perspective.
This first shot, I am shooting downward from high up in the tree on the walkway. There is still a very long way “down”.
The second provides a “human” reference point.
This probably should have been my first post on Borneo. On our trip there we stayed at the Borneo Rainforest Lodge – deep in the primary rainforest – which is a rainforest that has not been logged.
It was a remarkable and remote place, with trees that are only rivaled in size by the redwoods of California.
It had a very Jurassic feel to it, with the swirling mists, wild animal calls and abundance of wildlife. Definitely not the kind of place that you want to get lost in, vast and unyielding to the untrained Canadian.
A few shots.
Magnificent. One hopes that tourism can sustain and protect it.
The marine iguana of the Galapagos Islands. This iguana was quite comfortable posing for me.
They are big.
Note the evolved nostrils. These creatures feed off of the algae on the rocks in the ocean, able to hold their breathe for up to 30 minutes. But while they eat the ingest sea water and salt. The nostrils are specially developed to expel salt.
It is a life and death type environment, as they are cold blooded as they swim – the ocean saps the heat from their bodies weakening them. To survive, they spend hours basking in the sun, building up the warmth to go swimming again.
Charles Darwin took a step down in my mind when our guide told us that he tied one of these magnificent creatures to a rock under water to see how long it could survive. He came back an hour later and it was still alive. A reflection of the callous approach and values with regard to the world in those days.
Beautiful creature. I highly recommend watching BBC Galapagos. Great insight into the islands.
A tree frog, sitting on a rock near a waterfall in the old part of the Borneo rainforest. He took the time to pose for me, before jumping off.
I just love the colors.
An amazing hike.
Mind the gap.
An excellent perspective on the elevation changes – as the wall winds up and down the hills/mountains.
A rather “overly steep” part of the wall that we did not climb.
And one that we did.
A truly impressive remnant of days long past.
Resting at the top of a tower after the arduous climb up the mountain/hill left time for reflection and two predominant thoughts.
First, we simply hiked the 800m up to get to the top. Imagining the quantity of human labor needed to move rocks/bricks to the top and build the walls seemed very “pyramid-like” in effort.
My second thought was what would it be like living up here as a soldier? Kilometers of empty wall to patrol as you watched for the hordes from the north. Looking out across the mountain from our tower you can see the wall snake it’s way along a ridge. In this area, a strategic pass between the mountains, the Chinese had built walls along different ridges.
A 300mm shot. You can see the wall making it’s way up some very steep terrain. According to our guide, that area of the wall is like mountain climbing and quite treacherous, for some deadly.
Imagine sitting on that tower 700 years ago, watching for an invasion in January.
Along the Great Wall of China. It was a beautiful sky. Config: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 28-300mm f/2.8 USM.
It also gives you an idea of the elevation changes as the wall snakes up and down the mountains.
At the top of the hill and the starting point of our hike on the Great Wall of China. The un-trod path.
There are two ways to do the great wall. Hitting the tourist areas which are cleared out, easy access and involves a cable ride up and taking a ride down to the bottom via a toboggan OR hitting an abandoned area with a guide.
We chose the abandoned hike route.
The hike was 7-8km long and not the easiest. A fit family, but when it is 35C (+humidity), not a cloud in the sky and the first 1.5km involves an elevation change of 800 meters, your fitness is tested (Actually, the other 3 did fine, the only one tested was me). Fortunately, our guide provided the right amount of instruction on quantity of water and ensured that we brought enough food.
I will say that about half way up with a backpack full of bottled water, my Canon 5D Mark III, the 28-300mm f/2.8 lens and a 50mm lens stored in my pack (Why a 50mm? No idea), I was wondering if I should have packed a bit lighter.
Our starting point was at what use to be a resort hotel of some type – no longer.
The chicken coop at the start of the hike.
The trail up is a mix of steps (In a few of the steepest places) and rough hiking trails – at a 45 degree or steeper angle. The math makes sense, 1.5km, 800m elevation. Clearly not over-used. In our 7-8 hour hike, we saw 2 other people who were on a hike with their dogs.
As we stopped, we took the time to look back over the valley. Beautiful views and a clear day. A stark contrast to the polluted Beijing sky.
It is a long way up but very satisfying when we came around a corner and the wall came into sight.
Our destination where we will break out lunch.
A good start.
Another shot from the hiking along an abandoned section of the Great Wall of China this summer.
We did not go this way.
We went this way.
An abandoned section of the Great Wall. Amazing that these bricks are 900 years old and were hand carried up a 800m incline centuries ago.
Last year due to a late cold snap the traditional plum and sakura seasons were shorter and a little different on their timing. We happened to miss the best flowering as we were away on holiday. Hopefully the same will not happen this year.
The weather in Tokyo remains cold, but the trees have begun to flower – in this case the plum blossoms. Config: Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 28-300mm f/3.5 USM.
On Saturday I walked through Arisugawa park, a hidden treasure of Tokyo. The green was starting to peak through. The families were out, enjoying the sun.
I will not miss the blooms this year!
The fall is arriving in Japan, the trees are turning. A good day for a wander around the town that sits at the base of Mt. Mitake, Tama-Gawa.
A few mixed shot of the hike. Config Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 28-70mm f/2.8.
The view of the “rapids”. You can take a whitewater ride down the river, although they didn’t seem all that “rapid”. Config: Canon 5D Mark III with 28-70mm f/2.8.
The region is also known for kayaking. There were a lot of groups along the banks of the river.
Gnomes along the trail.
Local farmers (or what I would call gardeners) were selling their wares along the trail.
Beautiful time of year.
We used Sam’s Tours to get out to the Rock Islands, home to Jellyfish Lake and The Milky Way. They are based in a cove, beside the fishermen.
As we left the cove I asked about the anchored ships and the sunk ship; they are illegal fishing ships often from Indonesia, out to fish the waters and many out shark fining in the first shark reserve in the world. If you do not know about the terrible, cruel mass butchery of sharks that is feeding the Asian appetite for shark fin soup, you should watch Sharkwater. After watching it we went straight to the Sea Sheppard website and made a donation as it seems like they are one of the few who are taking on illegal whaling and the shark travesty.
At least we were lucky during the day. The weather shifted significantly; crazy rain, then sun, then rain, then ….
One of the attractions of Palau is a place called the Milky Way. Tourist flood to this cove where they collect a white mud for cosmetics. The tour involves diving down, bringing up the white mud, spreading it all over and then jumping in.
The cove is beautiful.
I will spare the photos of the process, which was unique and fun.
A few random shots from our travels around the island.
This bridge was bombed by the Americans during WWII. The remnants reminded me of a Tori gate. I am sure there is some form of irony there.
An old concrete machine gun bunker.
The old Japanese communications building. You are not allowed in, as the back collapsed during a hurricane in 2012.
The memorial to the US 81st Infantry. It was a cemetery but years ago Congress went around the world and brought their war dead back to the US.
The old runway that was so precious to McArthur. If you watch The Pacific (HBO) they show how this area was an open field with all vegetation bombed and burned to the ground. Nature has reclaimed the airfield.
A plaque on a memorial from the Japanese people.
I would agree and let us all hope and pray for those around the world who are suffering through war today.
I read about Jellyfish Lake years and years ago. It has always been in the back of my mind as a place where our family needs to go. It is a fascinating story of the natural evolution of a species; the golden jellyfish which inhabit the lake have few predators and have almost completely lost their ability to sting.
The lake is wide and different to many lakes as the 15m threshold leads to no oxygen, high levels of toxic hydrogen sulfide and lots of ammonia. Our guide stated that decades ago a group went down to 30m and in minutes the water started to eat away their wetsuits (hence, no divers allowed). You can read about the lakes ecological make-up here.
We arrived after a windy and rainy ride, ahead of the majority of tours. It is the peak time for Japanese tourism which means groups of 50, moving in tight packs with life jackets on. We had our snorkel gear with us and decided to skip the life jackets so that we could dive.
With very little trepidation, we headed past the tight, lifejacket wearing packs to the deeper middle part of the lake where the sun was shining and the golden jellyfish were floating near the top, in the thousands.
It was mesmerizing. Configuration: Canon G12 with Canon WP-DC34 underwater casing.
Due to the make up of the lake, the water has this green tinge too it and visibility is limited to around 2m.
The jellyfish were more “solid” than I expected. Almost rubbery to the touch and no sting.
I found myself gently moving them around .. bouncing the jellyfish up and down, while watching their pulsing .. rhythmic movement. We were also very careful with our fins .. kick to hard and you would cut one in half.
And of course, we had to dive through them .. floating up through hundreds of jellyfish is a unique experience.
This shot provides a perspective on the numbers. If you go .. swim to the middle .. toward the sun, away from others.
It is like nothing I have ever done before. Fortunate to have the opportunity.
Our last stop on the Normandy trip was Juno beach – the Canadian beach. Unlike the other beaches, no monument to the Canadian effort existed until June, 2003, when the Juno Beach Center was inaugurated:
The Centre was conceived in the 1990s by a group of Canadian veterans who felt that the contributions and sacrifices of Canadian soldiers during the liberation of Europe were not properly commemorated and represented in the Normandy region. The project, spearheaded by veteran Garth Webb and his companion Lise Cooper, began initially as a grassroots fundraising campaign that eventually gained the financial support of many institutions and businesses and the Canadian and French governments at many levels. The Centre was inaugurated on 6 June, 2003. Over one thousand Canadian veterans attended the inauguration in 2003, as well as the 2004 ceremony for the 60th anniversary of D-Day.
The center is very well done. Outside are plaques from towns across Canada, we found the City of Barrie:
The center covers the entire war, with one interactive display kicking it off. You stand/sit in a room that is built like a landing craft and watch the famous video Juno beach video. Very moving.
As we wandered through the center, you remember how a small nation contributed broadly to the war effort with many battles almost forgotten. For instance, I never knew that Canada served with the British in Hong Kong:
The beach itself looks flat and open, but history tells us that it was not a nice place to be landing:
Juno was the second most heavily defended of the five landing sites chosen.[3] General Wilhelm Richter was in charge of the 716th Division guarding the beach, with 11 heavy batteries of 155 mm guns and 9 medium batteries of 75 mm guns at his disposal. Additionally, pillboxes and other fortifications were present all along the beach, most heavily concentrated in the Courseulles-sur-Mer region. The seawall was twice the height of Omaha Beach’s, and the sea was heavily mined.[4]
But the remnants are still there.
After travelling up and down the beach, we headed into the town and stopped at a little river side café to enjoy mussels and seafood. Nothing beats a seaside café on a sunny day. As I looked over at the fishing boats, I was fooled by this optical illusion and commented to the boys:
‘Hey look, they must have taken that boat apart to fix it. That is quite a load to keep in place while fixing. I wonder why they are doing it in the water?’ (LOL … it is 2 boats).
And with that, we made our final stop at the grave of Ross Ellsmere and then headed home. A historic place well worth visiting and remembering.
Michael Weening: a few pictures 