After a long winter of mostly gray skies, we are enjoying seeing sunshine once again. Whether walking the streets of a city or hiking the trails in the mountains, it is very common to take photos looking skyward. Sometimes it is because it is the only way to capture a building in the narrow streets of major metropolises because you don’t have the opportunity to step back and take in the whole scene without turning your camera skyward. Other times, it is just the natural inclination to look up through the tops of the tree branches and see the bright blue sky beyond the green foliage. We are a little late for last week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Sky, but here are our photos for the challenge.
The Dom in FlorencePalm Tree in BoliviaCologne CathedralColorado MountainsWe Head Back to Vegas in Two WeeksMichelangelo Piazza in FlorenceLooking Up in the Amazon Jungle
We are not necessarily risk takers, but we have found ourselves in some situations that have tested us. Whether white water rafting, trekking into the jungle, or hiking to the top of a mountain, we take all necessary precautions to hopefully avert disaster. We have had a couple of close calls, but fortunately are here to tell the tales. This week’s Daily Post Photo Challenge is Danger! and we immediately thought back to our trip down Death Road in Bolivia. We should have known that our trip was going to be an eventful one when we came across a skull on a stick as we started making our way down the narrow road. After driving for a short while, we saw a bird in a tree that we wanted to take a few photos of, so the driver stopped our van. As we took a few pictures, there was suddenly some loud noises on the slope behind us. We turned to see a few large boulders sliding down the hillside towards the road. We have seen the results of landslides on other roads in Bolivia, so the threat of us and our vehicle being swept over the side of the cliff was a real possibility. We quickly scrambled back into the van and continued winding our way down the extremely narrow road. The main reason that Death Road is so dangerous is that there isn’t enough room for two vehicles to pass one another, but today traffic mostly just goes down as there is a new, modern highway that most vehicles use instead of taking the treacherous route. At one point, we did come across a truck that was broken down on one of the hairpin turns where a waterfall flowed across the road. As we started to pass the truck, the back wheels of our van started to slide toward the edge of the cliff, being swept by the water running across the road. Our driver pressed hard on the gas pedal and the engine revved as we slid our way back up onto the road. We were all a little shaken, including our driver who clearly knew what a close call it really was. If a vehicle or bicyclist goes over the edge of the cliff there is no rescue attempt, it is simply too steep and dense, so it is truly a death sentence. As they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger or, in this case, gives you a great story to tell later. We talked all about our trip down Death Road in a previous post, al Camino de la Muerte, so feel free to see more photos from our adventure.
Skull WarningSign at the Start of Death RoadWaterfall over Road
Since this is a photo challenge, here are few other danger signs that we have encountered. We hike in bear country quite often, but you have to be careful, especially in Autumn when the bears are preparing to hibernate or in Spring when they have cubs.
Bear CountryBe AlertDefinitely Will Make You Think Twice
In the past few weeks, we have met several friends who were about to head to Iceland or had just returned. This is a wonderful time of year to visit since it is before the majority of the crowds arrive, the ground is starting to thaw, and there is still a good opportunity to see the Northern Lights. We went during February of 2016 and it was definitely cold, so much so that the famous Gullfoss Waterfall was still mostly frozen and yet strangely beautiful. It is one of the major attractions on the Golden Circle, a route that takes you to many of the natural wonders the island nation has to offer. Although we weren’t fortunate enough to see the Northern Lights, we did enjoy every minute of our brief trip to Iceland. For this week’s Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge, Winter – Water, we couldn’t help but think of standing before the falls, ice-cold water spray freezing on our faces, and looking in awe at the beauty of nature. We are sure it is spectacular during the summer months as well, but we will always treasure seeing it in the harshest of seasons, winter.
Making a Path Through the IceGrand ViewFreezing as it FallsImpressive WaterfallDon’t Fall InFascinating to WatchWe Were Frozen Too
