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Photo Friday – Tilt-Shift Machu Picchu

20 Apr

We absolutely loved Machu Picchu and were lucky to be there on a day with beautiful weather despite that it was technically the rainy season.  If you’ve been there, you probably have this same classic shot.   We decided to put a little twist on it with a technique we recently discovered called ’tilt-shift’.  By blurring out the top and bottom of a photo, you can make it appear to be a highly detailed miniature version of itself.  These kinds of photos work best when you have a wide shot with a lot of details.  There are plenty of tutorials online about how to achieve these results, and even some websites that help alter photos you have already taken, which is what we did here.

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Blown Away in Patagonia

4 Apr

The title pretty much says it all.  We had heard that we should expect some ferocious winds during our time trekking Torres del Paine in Chile and in the Parque National Los Glaciers  in Argentina.  We sort of thought people were exaggerating when they said you might literally be knocked down sometimes, but that’s exactly what happened to me on more than one occasion.  The winds can supposedly reach speeds, in bursts, of 180 kilometers per hour!  We didn’t feel anything that strong, but there were times when it was strong enough that we had to just give up for a bit, sit down, and wait it out.

So far, hiking in Patagonia has been one of the highlights of our trip.  We love the feel of the small mountain towns, and just when you think the scenery can’t get more spectacular, it does.  We’ve got lots to say about each of these parks, but for now we’ll leave you with a video of some of our windiest moments.

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The Power of Water

9 Feb

We learned of Futaleufu, Chile from a fellow traveler we met in Mendoza.  It didn’t take very long for us to be convinced that this was a place we wanted to visit.  The name alone is reason enough, especially if you say it with a thick French accent.  Go ahead and try it (Foo – TAh – lay –foo), I dare you not to laugh.

We arrived to the minuscule village, just 1700 residents, in the midst of a summer storm that soaked us with freezing rain, and left the surrounding mountain tops dusted in snow. In just under 36 hours the tide had turned and we could see that we had chosen wisely.  Futaleufu is situated in a valley that is truly jaw-dropping.

Valley outside Futaleufu, Chile

Valley outside Futaleufu, Chile

Huge, lush mountains give way to the most spectacularly turquoise blue, crystal clear river I have ever seen.

It’s the river that draws people from around the world to this little dot on a map.  The Rio Futaleufu boasts some of the best rafting and river kayaking in the world, ranking in the top-5 by most accounts.

Rio Futaleufu, Chile

Much of the town’s industry is built around river trips, and it’s an easy task to find a company ready to take you on the ride of your life.  We promptly signed up for a full-day excursion.

We’ve been rafting before, though only minimally on supposed class III and IV rapids, but we were assured that if we were fit and could swim that we would be just fine on the prominent class IV and V runs.

The day we set out on our adventure was bright and warm, a perfect day to get soaked.  We ended up with seven people in our raft – Justin and I, a man from our hospedaje, and 4 other girls (two of which had never been rafting).  We were outfitted with wetsuits, lifejackets, and helmets and given the whole safety spiel.  After a bit of paddle practice at the put-in, we were off!

Justin is ready to go rafting.

The storm had delivered a healthy amount of water to the area making the river swollen and quite high for the season.  The first set of rapids was fast and furious, and we made it through them clumsily, but successfully.

As we approached the next stretch of white-water, a set of three class V+ rapids, appropriately named The Terminator, our guide made it clear that this section was difficult and that we needed to give it everything we had and follow his directions exactly and immediately.  It was essential that we hit our line or we would be in serious trouble.  This section of the river is riddled with ‘holes’, which are basically whirlpools of a sort that can suck you in and just keep you spinning underwater.  These holes can be up to 80 feet deep, and are very dangerous places to get stuck in.

The apprehension was palpable and a few moments later we came around a bend and were all of a sudden right in the thick of it.  It was as if we had no control over the raft.  Sometimes the waves rocked the boat so high that as we went down to paddle there was nothing but air beneath us.  It quickly became clear that we had not made our line and we could see that we were about to hit a huge obstacle in the middle of the river.

My side of the raft got pushed up vertically on a rock as the opposite side got sucked into the hole just in front of the boulder.  I felt myself falling, and had about a hot second to think “Oh shit!” before I hit the river.

The roar of the water was deafening, and the only thing I could see all around me was bubbles. It felt like ages before I broke the surface and was able to take a small breath.  I tried to look for the raft, but there was only water and before I knew it I was going under again.  Have you ever been inside a washing machine on the ‘super’ cycle?  Me neither, but I bet being in that river was similar to what it might feel like.  I was tossed around, sucked along, turned upside down and smashed into rocks.  Despite being more terrified than I have ever been, I made a valiant effort at keeping my feet in front of me and trying to get to the surface but it seemed like I had very little control over my movement.  When I realized I was out of air I did my best not to panic, and just plugged my nose and covered my mouth to try and keep the water from forcing its way in.

Eventually I came to a slightly calmer spot and I was able to see the safety kayaker motioning me to swim over to the side.  I made it to a little pool area and was momentarily relieved thinking that the raft or the kayak must be coming over to fetch me.

I watched uncomfortably as the raft passed me on the opposite side of the river, and my panic increased ten-fold when I realized I was being sucked back towards the middle and into the second part of the Terminator rapid series.  I clawed desperately at the closest rock in a last-ditch effort to stay in calmer waters, but I only accomplished ripping off two of my fingernails.

I remember very little from that second set of rapids, only that I kept thinking “Justin must be freaking out right now” and “keep your mouth shut or you will drown”.

I was in the water for less than ten minutes, but it felt like ages and was so thoroughly exhausting that by the time the raft found me I couldn’t even lift my arms to try and grab onto the safety rope.  The man from our hostel, Celestino, hauled me into the raft by my life vest and I had about 30 seconds to recover before I was handed a new paddle as we entered another set of rapids.

I was still shaking from the adrenaline nearly a half hour later as we went up to shore for a lunch break.  I was nervous and on edge for the rest of the trip, and I was happy to be back on solid ground at the end of the day.

Being in that river was easily the most terrifying moment of my life, and another clear example of the tremendous force that water holds.

Despite the scare, Futaleufu has earned a spot as one of our favorite destinations from this first three months of travel, and if you’re into rafting and gorgeous scenery, we’re sure you’ll love it just as much as we did.

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Nature is Speaking To Us.

8 Jan

Mother Nature seems to be telling us to go away.

Our first clue was that Torres Del Paine, the national park in Chilean Patagonia that inspired this trip, was set ablaze just before Christmas and the whole park was closed. It is starting to open back up, so we have hope that we’ll get down there as planned for our treks, but hearing about it just 4 hours after we bought plane tickets to the area was wildly irritating.

Last week we arrived in Bariloche, Argentina to find a town shrouded in volcanic ash.  The volcano is actually located over the border in Chile, but the wind is blowing all the ash right into Argentina.  What is normally a spectacular view from our hostel window…well…it was a 50/50 chance that we  were staring out into pea soup.

Bariloche, Argentina on an ashy day

Bariloche, Argentina on a clear day. Same spot as above.

More ash.

Clear! Same spot as above.

We took a short hike one day and ended up ankle-deep in ash on some parts of the trail.   Partway up, the view was looking clear and we took the picture below.

The standard view of Bariloche's lake area on our way up the mountain.

By the time we got all the way to the top (which was just 30 minutes later) well, the view was totally obscured by ash.  The next picture is taken in the exact same spot an hour after the first.

Same hike, same spot, one hour later.

Dust clouds with every step.

There is ash everywhere.  It piles in the gutters on the streets.  It creates a haze on all the windows.  It settles in your hair.  Hiking on ash covered trails proved to be a dusty endeavor as every step produced a huge ‘pouf’ and we were thoroughly filthy by the time it was all over. Washing our clothes out in the hostel sink that night was quite a chore and it took us each nearly 30 minutes to get the water to run clear through our clothes.

Finally, we left Bariloche in search of clear skies, and we heard the place to be was El Bolson.  We arrived to a town shrouded in haze from yet ANOTHER FIRE.  For real.  El Bolson is located in another gorgeous valley, surrounded by rocky mountain peaks.  If the wind is quick, you get a chance to see the mountains.

Clear evening in El Bolson, Argentina

If the wind is taking a nap, you can barely make out the peaks through the haze.

Smoke in El Bolson, Argentina

We can’t seem to escape Nature’s heat!

We’re heading back into Chile today, and as we went to buy bus tickets this morning we were told the road was closed last night because the fire is encroaching.  As of right this minute it seems to be open again, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it stays that way.  If all goes well our next post will hopefully be about what an amazing time we hope to have rafting in Futaleufu, Chile!

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Merry Christmas!

25 Dec

On the path to the San Francisco glacier

We spent Christmas Eve hiking up in the Cajon Del Maipo (more about that in a future post) and grilling up another delicious steak.

Incidentally, I discovered where Santiago has been hiding its Christmas Spirit.  It was alive and well all along at an enormous mall in Las Condes.   I made a mad dash there late on the 23rd in an attempt to replace the fleece that I lost in Valpariaso, and the instant I entered the doors I was awash in the sparkling lights, heaps of cotton snow, and holiday consumerism that is typical of home.

I managed to get my fleece and get out without being sucked in by the appropriately extravagant window displays, which seemed to scream “Ashley! You totally need a new summer dress!!!”.  I did, however, stick around long enough to see Santa in his rightful place – a giant throne, surrounded by lovely elves in very short skirts.

On the walk back to the subway I cranked up the Christmas mix on my iPod, and the irony of listening to “Baby It’s Cold Outside” while wondering if I had applied enough sunscreen to prevent yet another sunburn, did not escape me.

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Bamboo!

14 Oct

Just outside of Hangzhou is one of the many bamboo forests where they filmed part of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.  Now, we’ve seen bamboo all over China, but this place is something else entirely.  It’s a whole forest with the biggest bamboo I’ve ever seen, and virtually no other trees or plants.

We hiked up to the top of one of the peaks (shocker, more stairs) and had an amazing view of the area including a small town in one of the valleys.

Village nestled in the bamboo

Part of the way up there’s a zip-line of sorts that you can take across from one peak to the other, but we got there just as they shut it down and we weren’t able to take it, which was a HUGE bummer.

The whole place looked as if it were glowing green – perhaps like if you were trapped inside of an emerald. It was roasting (as per the rest of China) but ranks among the more incredible of the natural scenery we’ve visited here.

Feeling hot hot hot...no, really, it was super hot.

 

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How To Spend a Week in Acadia National Park

10 Oct

Acadia National Park, located on Mount Desert Island in northern coastal Maine, boasts a beautiful combination of natural features.  It has mountains, lakes, forests, rocky and sandy ocean coastline all intermingling in its 47,000+ acres.

If you’re heading to the area for the first time, check out the following websites for park info http://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm

and general information about the area: http://www.acadiamagic.com/activities.html

Carriage Road in Acadia National Park

There are many ways to enjoy the scenery of the park, the most straightforward of which is to get yourself a great map, and start walking the many carriage roads and hiking trails.  There are more than 50 miles of gravel carriage roads and stone bridges that are great for walking or biking.  Hiking trails can be accessed from many of the carriage roads if you are looking for some variety in your terrain.  The ‘Around The Mountain’ carriage road is a worthwhile 12-ish mile loop that takes you through the forest, past Jordan Pond, and up around a variety of the smaller mountains including Penobscot, Sargent, and Parkman.

As for hiking trails, the mountains are small, most being less than 1,500 feet but many trails are steep and offer a worthy, if short, hike.  It is easily possible to climb multiple peaks in one day.

View from the Peak of Cadillac Mountain - towards Bar Harbor

Cadillac Mountain, at 1,532 feet, is the tallest point on the Northern Atlantic seaboard.  The summit can be reached by car off the Park Loop Drive or accessed by a number of different trails.  We opted for the Cadillac West Face Trail, which is the shortest, but steepest (and full of rock scrambling)  route to the top.  After about a mile the trail connects with the Cadillac South Ridge Trail for an easy half-mile finish to the summit.

Cautionary sign at head of the Beehive

For the adventurous types, the Beehive and Precipice Trails offer heart-pounding non-technical rock climbs up nearly vertical cliffs.  The Beehive is a great warm-up at only about a half-mile to the top and will give you a good idea as to whether or not you are up for the more challenging Precipice trail, which finishes at the summit of Champlain Mountain (1,058 ft).

If climbing iron rungs isn’t your thing, you can also take a number of other trails to reach the top, including the short and sweet Champlain North Ridge Trail, which is an easy mile (one way) hike.

If you want something very mellow, but incredibly scenic, the Jordan Pond loop is an excellent 3 mile loop around, you guessed it, Jordan Pond. Afterwards, stop at the Jordan Pond House for some delicious hot (or cold, depending on the season) chai tea and fresh popovers.

Stop for popovers and tea while you look across Jordan Pond

Another flat and mellow, if probably crowded during high season, walk is the Ocean Path.  You can park just off the park loop drive in the Otter Point parking lot, and then walk north along the coast.  It’s 1.4 miles to Thunder Hole, then another .7 miles to Sandy Beach.  There are ample places to stop for a photo op, or just to wander out onto the cliffs and enjoy the scenery.  You can easily catch one of the free park loop buses along the way to get back to your car.

One of the many views from along the Coast Path

Outside of the park itself, there are a plethora of activities to suit all tastes.  Bar Harbor is the biggest of the towns in the area.  There are many shops and restaurants, all easily within walking distance of just about anywhere in town.  One notable free activity is the walk to Bar Island, which is located just north of the town.  Bar Island Trail (starts at the end of Bridge Street) is only passable at low tide when the gravel and shell path appears and leads to the small island.  There is a little walking trail that leads to the top of the island and has great views of Bar Harbor during good weather.  You can begin walking across about two hours before low tide, and just make sure to return before the next high tide or you’ll be stuck on the island!

A lovely walk to Bar Island, even in misty weather.

Southwest Harbor, on the other side of the island, offers a quieter scene for those looking to relax without the crowds.  Red Sky is probably the best restaurant in town, with incredible meals and an ample wine selection.

There are also many companies offering kayaking, whale watches, lobstering trips, sailing, glider tours, and much more.

Although we were thoroughly blissed out during our trip to Ogunquit earlier in the month, we completely fell in love with this more rugged part of Maine.  If we could have stayed for another month, we would have.

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The Dragon’s Backbone

30 Sep

The Longji rice terraces, more popularly known as the ‘Dragon’s Backbone’ because of the way the terraces resemble dragon scales, are a few hour’s drive from Guilin.  Since our flight back to Shanghai wasn’t scheduled to depart until 9:45 pm, we decided to squeeze in a trip to see them before we left.

We hired a driver for the day, and for the first time all trip it turned out to be a woman.  I have to say, she was the craziest lady we’ve encountered out here – perhaps with the exception of the two grandmother-age women we witnessed literally having a fistfight in front of Mao’s tomb…but that’s a story for another time.   She giggled at nothing, honked at everything on the road, and kept pointing out the houses (perhaps the only English word she knew how to say?) I’ll give her this though, she got us to the bottom of that mountain in less than 3 hours, and it was supposed to be a 4 hour drive.

Another day that was hot as hell and we were at the bottom of this huge mountain.  We originally thought you could drive all the way to the top, but apparently you can’t.

We bravely donned our rice paddy hats, specially bought for the occasion (don’t laugh, those things are a LIFESAVER.  There is a reason the locals wear them in the fields and it’s because they create a massive amount of shade when the sun is beating down upon you) and started to climb.  Remember how I said there were stairs everywhere…yeah, someone should count how many there are to the top of this mountain because it might be in the millions.  We were nearly as sweaty as when we were biking through the hills.  It was so completely worth it though, the views are nothing less than stunning.  There was a little village along the way where the Yao people live and you can stop for a cold drink and a little rest. The Yao women are pretty interesting, they have this super long hair that they don’t cut because of their spiritual beliefs, and they manage to bundle it all up into the huge masses atop their heads.

There weren’t very many people up top so we were able to relax and just enjoy the fact that we finally made it to the top of the mountain. The whole mountain has been covered in terraces so as to produce as much rice as possible.  It’s a brilliant shade of green at this time of the year because the rice is about 6 inches tall and if there’s a breeze it looks like oceans of grass. We bought some books with pictures of it in all seasons, it’s one of the places I’ll definitely come back to if I can.

We made it to the top! Hurrah!

Unfortunatly we only had a few hours and it was time to head back to Guilin for our flight, but next time I’ll plan ahead and stay overnight in the village so I can explore the area a little more.

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Biking and Rafting through Yangshuo

23 Sep

Original Post:  August 11, 2007

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it, but it is really hot here.  100 degrees or more hot plus humidity.  Just keep that in mind.

This is exactly why we got the guide. We would never have figured out where to go!

On the third day in Yangshuo we decided that the best was to see the area was to rent some bikes and cruise around the countryside.  We hired a guide for the day because the roads aren’t marked and you can get lost really easily.  We started off early in the morning to beat some of the heat, which was a good idea and we were able to ride for a few hours without getting too roasted.

Part of the plan was to take a break after a bit and cruise down the river on bamboo rafts. Touristy?  Yes.  Did we care?  No.  The guide arranged for our bikes to be picked up and we hopped on the shaky rafts that had two seats and a big umbrella. The river was super mellow and we just basically cruised along looking at the scenery and hanging out.

You don't need to pay for photos when you have friends on adjacent rafts.

Every once in a while we would pass floating stands that had beer, water and some meat on a stick for sale.  We also passed a couple of places where they had rigged up computers/printers on rafts and they would take your picture and print you out a copy right there.  These were always right near the places where there was a drop in the river (not sure what it was, like a little dam or something that we had to go over) so the pictures looked like you were coming off a little waterfall. We declined to get one, but I was impressed they had managed to hook that up in the middle of a river.

At the end of the raft trip we were met by the guide and our bikes and we continued on our way.  It was a two-hour ride back to the town and at this point the temperature was easily over 100.  We were on little bitty dirt roads that had no shade but it was amazing – rice fields and mountains all over the place. There were also locals that wanted you to stop and give them a few RMB to take a picture with their water buffalo, which we finally gave into just because they were under the only tree we’d seen in over an hour.

Feeling hot hot hot...

Amazing landscape

At one point we stopped in a tiny town to get some water and rest for a bit.  Naturally this was a huge spectacle and within a few minutes half the town and their kids were milling about this tiny little store staring and giggling and attempting to say hello.  It was pretty funny, the kids spoke a few words of English and one little girl took me around the back to show me all the snails she caught earlier that day in the river.

When we finally made it back to the hotel (did I mention, Morning Sun Hotel, pretty decent, great location) I thought I was going to pass out. I have never been so sweaty in my entire life.  It looked like had been rained on.  I basically got in the shower, clothes and all, turned on the cold water and let the water bring me back to my normal temperature.  After resting a bit Justin and I went for dinner at the Twin Peaks Cafe (West Street) and had the best Chinese meal I’ve had since I ‘ve been here.  Good portion size, no bones (this is huge, we had bone fragments in nearly every meat dish we encountered) and loads of veggies.

Since it was our last night in Yangshuo we decided to hit up this river/light show that people had been ranting and raving about.  I was expecting some dinky little place with a few chairs a la the Kung Fu debacle in Beijing.  In reality it was an enormous amphitheatre with real assigned seating!  Someone said it packs in 3000 people per night, but I wouldn’t quote me on that.  It’s on a wide part of the river and most of the show takes place on floating docks or on the bamboo rafts.  Lots of the local farmers and fisherman participate in the show – there are a few points when the whole river is lit up with torches on boats.  It was a really good show, if for nothing else than to see the lights on the water.  Afterwards, it was back to the hotel to pack up because the next day  we were going to head up to the Longji rice terraces…

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Hiking Mt. Ascutney – The Weathersfield Trail

21 Aug

One of our goals for our time in Vermont was to hike at least 3 times per week to prepare ourselves at least a little for the massive amount of hiking we’ll be doing in South America.  Mt. Ascutney is a great mountain for our purposes because it has 4 different trails to the summit, all within a half hour drive from our house.

Not more than a few days after our arrival in Vermont we jumped right into the fray and our first hike was on the Weathersfield Trail, which was listed as “moderate” according to the Chamber of Commerce.  I hiked a fair amount growing up in Colorado, and even some here in Vermont over the years, but I was not prepared for the Weathersfield.  The trail starts out as a lovely pine-needle covered path, and while it’s certainly uphill, you get a beautiful view and a small waterfall at about a mile in.  After this point though, the trail gets more serious.

The trail

There is a significant amount of scrambling over rocks, it is consistently steep, and there are huge chunks of the trail where you have to pay close attention to the markings since there is quite literally no real path.   Justin and I were not happy hikers, but we managed to reach the summit and were rewarded with the great view.

Finally we made it above the mist!

Why was this trail so difficult for us?  Maybe it was because it was one of the hottest days of the summer.  Perhaps it was because it was the first hike we’d done in over a year.  It could have had something to do with how much beer we’d had the night before.  In any case, we were wiped out, sore, and felt defeated by what should have been a fairly straightforward 6 mile hike.

I’ve been avoiding this particular hike for the last few weeks due to the bad memory, but this week a friend was visiting and was up for a good hike, so we decided to try to tackle it again.  We started out early and were the first car in the lot.  We kept a steady pace, and while it was just as steep and scrambley as I remember, it somehow wasn’t as hard.  By the time we reached the summit we had shaved at least 30 minutes off my first ascent time.

Much happier camper the second time around!

There are a plethora of reasons this was easier than the first – it wasn’t as hot, we had gotten plenty of sleep, and I’ve been hiking and/or running an average of 18-25 miles per week, which I suspect made all the difference.

Nothing beats some Moxie after a long morning on the mountain!

At this point I’ll still call it a heft half-day trek, which is just under 6 miles with about a 2000 ft ascent.   It’s got some great views though with at least 3 excellent overlook spots and a fantastic panoramic view from the observation tower at the summit.

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