The Guatemalan city of Antigua is surrounded by volcanoes and earthquake prone. The Spanish thought this was a fantastic spot to establish their first capital of Guatemala. Eventually, the ground shook and the city was all but abandoned. This photo is of the remains of the Colonial Spanish Cathedral.
I found an old unprocessed photo from New York!!
Having a few days off, with nothing to do, has resulted in me getting the photos I have to process organized. A lot of the photos I’ve released from my last trip to the Victoria Falls were taken under tricky conditions. I was surrounded by swirling mist which soaked both me and my equipment and obscured my view of the falls, making everything blurry and flat. I got clear shots the first time I was there, but there wasn’t much water about.
This picture, is actually of the first view of the falls you see when you enter from the Zambian side, but it was the last picture I took that day. Apparently, I’d figured out how to deal with the mist by this point. I think I’d gotten more patient, waiting for the mist to clear before clicking the shutter. Looking at the shots I took just before this one, I think I’ve got some more clear images to come.
So, I had my appendix out on Saturday night. Doing pretty well and glad it didn’t happen while I was off traveling somewhere. An old school teacher of mine once told a story of having to carry someone down off a mountain with a burst appendix. That scenario has stayed in the back of my mind. I’m actually glad I can head off into the wilderness without risk of appendicitis now.
Here’s another shot of one of the temples in Tikal.
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.
My new Polish friend, Pawel, and I stepped off our boat in Lake Atitlan and began wondering what to do with the hour we had to explore the town we’d just arrived in. As usual, we were swarmed by people offering to take us on tours of the town. One tuk-tuk driver said simply, “Do you want to go see Maximon.”
Suddenly, I remembered reading about the Mayan evil saint called Maximon. After a quick look at his guide book, my accomplice was on board and we hopped aboard a tuk-tuk. If you want to visit Maximon, you have to go with a local who knows where this idol is. The statue is moved from house to house each year.
After a short drive our newly hired tuk-tuk driver said we’re here. It just looked like a normal street, lined with shops. Surely, there were no houses here. Then, he took off down a narrow alley. When I say narrow, this thing was about a meter wide, and had sharp 90 degree turns. It’d be an excellent site for a mugging.
As we approached the first corner, me following behind the guide first, I adjusted my tripod to a position where I could use it to throw a quick punch. Our guide saw me do this and offered to carry it for me. He was either a really nice guy, or trying to disarm me. I said I’d hold onto it. Taking each corner wide and poking my head out to see what was lurking round the bend, we weaved our way back to a residential area.
When we reached our destination it was obvious. An open door with a dark interior venting smoke from the inside was in front of us. Our guide said we were lucky because they were in the middle of a ceremony. Then, he walked inside. Pawel and I exchanged a look of trepidation before we were beckoned to follow.
As I stepped into the room I was immediately hit in the eyes by thick, hanging incense smoke. My eyes watered as my nose took up the rich bouquet and I had to resist the urge to sneeze. As I got my sight back and my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I discovered we were in a very strange place. A wooden idol, Maximon, sat in the middle of the room. In front of him, colored candles that had burnt down to pools of wax littered the floor, still flaming. To my right, about a dozen Mayan women sat in silence, holding tall candles.
A man stood face to face with Maximon, speaking to him angrily. It sounded like they were in the middle of a pretty serious argument. At this point, our guide moved deeper into the room, to the far corner. We picked our way past the pools of fire, women and angry men. He then told us about what was going on in the room, but it was so overwhelming it was difficult to take it in.
We returned outside and were told that if we wanted to take any pictures, it cost ten quetzales for three photos. I only had large notes so was stuck with a bit of a problem. Fortunately, my companion had a solitary 10 quetzales note, and was good enough to let me go in and take the photos for the both of us. It’s a good thing I had three chances. The first photo was framed strangely in the dark, in the second a man walked in front of me, and the third… can be seen below.
Here’s another shot from Tikal. This is actually the first temple we saw while touring the ancient city. It was pretty impressive, and they only got bigger from here.
I decided I felt like uploading a photo from Bermuda tonight. So, I went digging through my old unprocessed photos and found a few. I took this one last summer, out on Spanish Point as the sun set.
I’d struggled to take a lot of photographs in Flores. It was an interesting little island town but not exactly photogenic. As I pulled into Antigua, I knew it was not going to be difficult to take photos in this old, Spanish colonial town. My room wasn’t ready so I set out to orientate myself around the central square. When I got there I discovered this beautiful park shrouded in shady trees and loaded with amazing fountains. I probably could have spent days photographing this square alone.
**** This is the second part of the story started yesterday, click here to start there****
So, I decided to go into the cave. Even in the first chamber, the light from the door fell off before you could see through to the back of it. I tried to take a photo in here, but even after exposing for a full minute and trying to light paint with the inadequate flashlight I’d rented all I got was a black rectangle. It was clear that I would not be taking photos in this cave. So, I pushed forward.
It was pretty slippery and I was glad I was wearing hiking boots rather than flip-flops. As I entered the second chamber it was clear that, if the flashlight went out, I’d be in absolute darkness. There were signs pointing me deeper into the cave and towards the exit. There were also signs naming the formations in the cave, in Spanish I rarely understood. Light fixtures void of light bulbs were spread about. I’m guessing saving money on electricity and renting crappy flashlights is more lucrative.
As I began to walk through the cavern, I was startled by a snake two feet in front of me. Then, I realized it was just an old cable for the lights. Already, my mind was playing tricks on me. Then, I started thinking, “There could probably be snakes in this cave, sheltering from the heat.”
After recovering from that shot of adrenaline, I started looking around. There were black spots on the ceiling that could only be bats. After shining the flashlight up there and letting my eyes focus I realized they were just black dots. By the time I’d entered the third chamber, my mind was already running wild.
I started to think that if I encountered another person in the darkness I’d most likely scream. Then, there they were, a pair of legs, eerily stationary in the corner of the cave. I didn’t scream, but I did stop breathing. I focused the dim circle of light on them and followed them up. They were actually the legs of a formation eerily reminiscent of an Egyptian mummy.
In the fourth chamber I didn’t find much to look at, but it dawned on me that this would be a great way to rob tourists. All they have to do is wait until some idiot with a bunch of camera gear wanders in, with a faulty flashlight, then call their buddies to relieve you of your goods.
I pushed into the fifth chamber. This one was large and my flashlight wouldn’t light the far end. Maybe they’re waiting for me in here, I thought. Then, I shined my light towards the ceiling. More black dots, and by now I’d convinced myself I could see things flying out of the corners of my eyes, but of course, the view out the corners of my eyes were complete darkness. At this point, I decided pushing on any further would be really, really stupid. I searched nervously for a “salida” sign and carefully made my way back to the entrance. The whole way, I was on edge and just hoping I wouldn’t encounter another person until I reached the light.
Fortunately, when I did find people it was as I approached the exit – two pairs of legs stood exactly where I had as I contemplated whether or not to enter. I called out to try not to startle them as I appeared. They were an Australian couple, also holding a dodgy rented flashlight. I told them what I’d found and we decided to head into the cave, feeling comfort from the fact we had two dodgy flashlights. In the second chamber we discovered their flashlight was worse then mine as it flicked on and off occasionally. They were in flip flops so moved a bit more cautiously than me through to the third chamber. Here, I paused to look at the ceilings. This time, one of the black dots moved. I got excited as I’d finally confirmed there were bats in this cave. I shone the light upwards at them until the one I’d awoken took flight. This startled me and I dropped my flashlight and a metal lens cap from my camera. An expletive echoed through the cave followed by a nervous, Australian, female voice yelling,”What happened?”
I explained I’d just been startled by a bat. We continued to push on into the cave. By the time we reached the fourth chamber, the Australians were suitably freaked out as their flashlight misbehaved more and more. We made for the exit.
I didn’t want to leave this place without a single photo from inside Actun Kan, so when we neared the entrance I paused to take today’s picture. My new accomplices were kind enough to wait with me as I took long exposure after long exposure for what must have been 15 minutes. They even held my water bottle and other bits and pieces for me.
Just as I snapped the last shot a handful of bats flew past us and out the cave. I asked what time it was. Then, confirmed it was getting close to sunset. Realizing that as the sun goes down, bats leave their caves, we made a hasty exit.
After returning our flashlights we began the walk back into town, but found a taxi a short way up the road.
