Posted in Guatemala on May 7th, 2008
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On Volcan Pacaya
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Abandon all hope – A misty hike – Moods of a Volcano – Toasted Marshmallows. (Map this!)
“Lasciate ogni esperanza, voi ch’intrate” (Dante, L’Inferno, Canto 3), I said to Neena, as we left the safety of the ridge and stepped onto the crunchy lava. The newly formed earth was brittle and ceramic in nature and covered an underlying layer of molten rock. In sections we could see the river of lava flowing, like a thick red molasses that formed rock upon contact with air. Working our way towards that river, we stepped over white-hot stones that melted the baskets on my ski poles and partially de-laminated our hiking boots.
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Posted in Guatemala, Photography on May 2nd, 2008
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San Marcos
Shores of Atitlan
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Upside down – Gas Stations with guns – Power Vacuum – Stochastic processes
Just as the book is always better than the movie, pictures can’t do justice to a place. But sometimes the commonly expressed sentiment in the first sentence is turned upside down. In this upside down world the movie is better than the book, and the pictures not only do justice to the place but actually improve it.
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Posted in Guatemala on Apr 30th, 2008
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Searching for the
quetzal
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The quetzal – Headdress of the kings – Our quest – Familiarity breeds contempt. (Map this!)
The Resplendent Quetzal is a beautiful, evasive bird prominent in Mayan art. It belongs to the trogon family, which boasts some very colorful birds. The Quetzal, a turquoise green bird with a brilliant red breast is very hard to see inspite of that. The prominent feature is its tail, upto three feet long, that gives it its distinctive flying profile.
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Posted in Guatemala on Apr 25th, 2008
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Moon Rise, Tikal
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The birth of a bird watcher. On eating Shredded Wheat. Sunrises and loud forest canopies. (Map this!)
For additional pictures of Tikal look at the Slide Shows page.
I have always been interested in wildlife but I was never much of a bird watcher. This changed when Neena came into my life, since she had been interested in birds as a child and had been on numerous bird watching trips. When you meet someone there is always a possibility that what they do or say might change you and when you love someone that possibility is even greater. My cousin Swati gamely tried to eat Shredded Wheat because her boyfriend (now husband) adored it. Love makes us do strange things, beautiful things.
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Posted in Belize on Apr 19th, 2008
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Taxi
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Expectations and choice in our life – Life in Caye Caulker – Attempts at snorkeling. (Map this!)
Every moment of this trip has been defined by expectations and choice. We set out with a set of expectations about the places we are about to visit – moulded by guidebooks, reports from friends, travel programs on TV, memories from childhood. Every day we are also forced to choose which places to visit, which ones to drop, which also leads to the expectation of having made the right choice.
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