Jan 302014
 

Today’s shot is of one of Lake Atitlan’s many volcanoes. This was taken while a tuk-tuk driver offered tours, eventually leading to my visit to the evil saint Maximon. It is one of the weirdest experiences I’ve had. If you haven’t seen the picture and read the story, I’d recommend you click here now.

canoes on the shore of lake atitlan Guatemala with a volcano and blue sky in the background

Jul 202013
 

Tikal was hot, really really really hot. The room I stayed in didn’t have any air-conditioning, all I had was two little fans. So, I’d have a few beers and read a bit of George Orwell’s 1984 to get me to sleep. This worked to get me to sleep; nothing could keep me asleep. As the sun began to peak up over the jungle, the heat started to climb and I rose out of bed. One morning, with nothing else to do, I set out with my camera gear and got today’s photo of a small boat dock with canoes available for rent tied up to it.

Two canoes tied to a dock on a golden morning in tikal, guatemala

Jun 282013
 

While cruising the river in search of wildlife, on our shaded, covered motor boat, we came across these fishermen working hard in the heat of the sun. It’s no wonder they’ve stripped off. They were quite a distance away so I couldn’t really tell what they were doing until I got my big telephoto lens on.

I definitely would not want to be standing waist deep in that water. It wasn’t very far from here that we came across a crocodile with a freshly killed impala in its jaws.

They’re very careful about taking care of nature in Botswana. Looking across the river to Namibia, you could see a stark difference in the way that each country had decided to use the land. Botswana has set up nature reserves, making their income from taking tourists on safaris. Just across the river, Namibia has transformed the other bank into large swaths of farmland.

Fishermen in canoes tending their nets on the river bank in Botswana

Dec 302011
 

If you stay at the Paradis Malihide in Rwanda you’ll get to watch these fishermen leaving at about 6pm each day in these huge rowboats to fish lake Kivu for sambassa and tilapia. They stay out all night, returning at about 7am the next day. The canoes are made of three hulls, attached by beams. The paddling happens in the two outriggers and it takes the a long time to get up to speed.

On our first day there we heard them singing on their way out and ran, in the rain to the docks to watch. Looking out at this departure is incredible as at least a dozen of these giant canoes slowly make their way to deeper water. The spindly bits sticking out each end of the canoes are for stretching their nets out.

Lake Kivu, Rwanda fishermen leaving in canoes which are made of three hulls attached by beams and a spindly bit to hold the nets.