Archive for the ‘North America’ Category
Lions and Tigers at 30M – A Birthday Present for Stasya
Saturday, June 7th, 2008
Woo-Hoo! It’s been a year since my last birthday. Not in Africa yet, but I’m already surrounded by tigers and lions. Who even needs to go any further? Ok, so they are only sand tiger sharks and lion-fish, but I’ve managed to get bitten, nevertheless. So far, during this trip, it’s been Shurik who ended up being nibbled on the ass by a San Bernard or electrocuted by a cattle fence, but this was my day. Desperately fighting the current and stabilizing myself with one finger on a sunken German submarine, I was getting into position to take a picture of a shy lion fish when something jabbed painfully at my head. “Shurik!” I thought to myself. “What am I doing wrong now? Is the strobe not positioned correctly? Are my settings off base? And even if so! Does he have to knock on my head so violently to get my attention? There are other ways!” I waved him off, but he kept at it. Finally, angry and frustrated I abandoned the shot, pushed off the U-boat, and lifted my head. At eye level, a curious triggerfish, his sharp beak slightly parted, was preparing for its next go at my head. It looked like it had no intentions of singing Happy Birthday.
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FL-NY Roadtrip (Surface Interval part #1)
Friday, June 6th, 2008
Who has ever heard about fierce world travelers who come back to see mommy every few month? Feeling guilty for depriving our parents of potential grandchildren and children that stay put instead of gallivanting all over the world, we must. Just as divers can’t stay under forever, even if they have both air and will, and must come up to release excess nitrogen from their blood, so we too must emerge to rid of excess guilt. We will spend this time being on our best behavior, and lending ourselves as faithful slaves fulfilling their every wish and/or desire hoping it will buy us some more time and freedom at our next remote and hazardous destination.
In diving, the longer your surface interval (the time between dives) is, the longer and deeper you can potentially go on your next submersion. By that logic, our next chapter will be faraway and lengthy.
Not that visiting our families isn’t wild, but we still felt like mixing in some wildlife amid our stopover in the US. One side of the family being in Florida and the other in New York we had plenty of time to stretch our legs in the local forests and nature parks on the way from one to the other. A friend, Vova (Vladimir), joined this ride – his travel and zoological experience will be a great asset to our little team both here and in Africa. Our nights of sleep were short though cozy all huddled up in one tent, or even without it under a blanket of stars. In the heat of the day we drove, tearing ourselves from the comforts of an air-conditioned car only for a quick bite, or to save a snapping turtle from a hot a sticky death on the asphalt. Blissfully cool dusks full of nocturnal creatures like curious armadillos, and early mornings abundant with loud birds, were left for us to explore nature undisturbed. We did, of course, had to break a few park rules and ignore a few closed gates, but it was all with the best of intentions.
( Roadtrip. Photos w/commentary )
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Moulting
Friday, February 8th, 2008
And sometimes we catch them changing attire…
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Nightly Snack
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
We sneak through the forest trying not to disturb its residents, but this little guy got so upset with us taking pictures of his cobweb – he ate it.
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Surface Interval
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
“Surface intervals” have become a tradition this trip. First, we were coming back for meaningful reasons like a sixty-fifth birthday or a surgery, but then things got as complicated as first world bureaucracy can make them. Turns out, that my greencard not only has alcohol purchasing limitations, but travel ones as well: if I am out of the country for more then six months, I lose my continuous stay status and may lose return privileges altogether. This was not a problem before, when in far back November 2005 we were planing a one year long trip, but now that the return date is as open as it can be – this can be a problem.
For that reason, this surface interval is dedicated to becoming a US citizen.
Nevertheless, if you are at all familiar with the term “Surface Interval” you’d know that in large it is nothing but killing time until the next dive, and though the pleasures of paperwork did consume our days, we had the nights free to sneak around Florida’s reservations with our new partner in crime – ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
vdinets
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The Morning After
Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
And we are back. Back to San Cristobal, for the third time now. It was easy enough to choose the place to celebrate New Year and the sixth anniversary to our snowy encounter, before wrapping up all 14,000 miles of this Central American GreenGo road-trip. If we ever open a hostel/gallery/internet café in Mexico – we both agreed that it will be in San Cristobal.
We love this town, I’ve said it before, but it reeks of ganja. It’s part of the vibe, just not part of us. Ever since the Jungle Trip (see Ecuador tag) my New Year resolution was to never touch this crap. Maybe I should have added to it: never ( visit a Mexican prison on New Years morning… )
Tags: new year
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Happy New Year!
Monday, December 31st, 2007
May all your wishes come true and life would prove itself a worthy adventure!
Our gift to you: Experiments in Macro
( +2 )
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Find Us If You Can
Sunday, December 30th, 2007
Every time we reach this stage, an end to yet another chapter of the trip, I have mixed feelings. They are so mixed; I don’t know what they are. I don’t want to leave, but it’s time to move on.
On our last day with Byron and Rachel, we took canoes through the Crooked Tree reserve and hunted, cameras in hand, for herons and orange iguanas. It was our last excursion together. Later that afternoon, we dropped them off at a bus stop and drove out of Belize, into Mexico. The usual border formalities headache finally helped me find the answer to my doubts when I had to use my “feminine charms” to avoid potential complications. The mean woman in customs was about to close and we didn’t have copies of all the necessary documents. So I’ve ran to the all-male staff of the immigration office, my shirt strategically unbuttoned, and “Me no know what do! Señor help, por favor,” did the trick. Is it bad I’ve even enjoyed it a little?
Tags: ruins
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Yaxchilan & Bonampak
Friday, October 5th, 2007
To understand why we went to Bonampak, I must first tell you about Luis. He came as a package deal with the Tikal sunrise-tour, which was the only way into the site at that hour. He was a good guide, at least this is what we thought at the time, though a little pretentious repeatedly telling us what page we could find his name on in the Lonely Planet guidebook, and how indispensable he was to the producers of Survivor-Guatemala. However, he seemed to know where to find monkeys, tarantulas, and the best angles for the shot. I even felt bad for the other guide (who in his turn seemed to loathe Luis when his back was turned). “Monkeys Ricardo?” Luis would ask, purposefully in English, with his whole group in tow. “No?” he sighed loudly. “Tarantulas? No?! Eh Ricardo, Ricardo…” and Luis would turn back to us, his group, flawlessly reciting the next chapter of his speech.
As part of the narration, Luis told us about Tikal’s frescoes. Blindingly beautiful, they were no longer open for public view as people kept writing their names on the antique paint or, better yet, scratching in it phrases like “Juan + Maria = Amor”. Understandably enough, I only shook my head in resentment of the vandals, and, when the tour was over, approached Luis who has just finished his “And if you would like to tip thank the guide, I’ll be right here” speech. “May I help you with anything else?” asked Luis as he kept receiving bill after bill and nodding in thanks, his left eye counting the loot, his right fixed now on me. “I only wanted to say thanks. It was great,” and I shook his outstretched hand. “I only wish we could see those frescoes.” I was sincere, and, as I often do, simply verbalized my thought out loud, but to my surprise Luis jumped at the opportunity. “It is possible,” he said in a low voice that was not exactly a whisper. “Come. Let’s talk. Let me see… I will find out.” And he set out for the site’s gates with us four trotting behind, all giddy and excited.
( more… )
Tags: pretrip, ruins
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