When is a Trail not a Trail?

On August 8, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Photo Challenge, South America3 Comments

The answer… when it is a stream, but you still have to hike through it. When we did our canopy tour in Bolivia, we had to hike through a stream and climb a waterfall just to get to the start of the zip-lining course. As far as we know, there wasn’t anything in the water that we needed to worry about, but then again, no one really talked about it. We didn’t have any other shoes with us and we were going to be trekking in the jungle the next day, so we weren’t particularly happy that our shoes were drenched with water. When we returned to our eco-lodge later that evening, we removed our shoes and our guide came up with a creative solution. There were no laundry facilities at the lodge since we were in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, so our guide took our shoes and placed the by vent of the freezer.

We walked back to our room wearing our socks and when we got to our room, we looked down at our feet to see them covered with ants. Certainly not a pleasant sight and getting them off of our socks was not easy as they clang to them with their sharp legs. The following morning we were relieved to find that our shoes were no longer dripping wet. Considering the heat and humidity of the rainforest, our shoes would not have dried without the heat from that vent.

You can’t head into the jungle without expecting a few interesting stories to come from the adventure. We are hoping to return to the jungle during our trip to Ecuador that starts one month from today. For Cee’s WhichCee’s Which Way Photo Challenge Way Photo Challenge, we have chosen to share these photos of our hike through the stream in the Bolivian jungle.

Time Travel is Possible

On August 1, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Germany, Photo Challenge1 Comment

Every now and then, you are able to go to a tourist location and visit it without any other people around you. On those rare occasions when you aren’t surrounded by a hundred people taking selfies in front of what you’ve come to see, it can be a truly memorable moment. It really gives you the opportunity to let your mind wander and imagine what it must have been like to have been there during some historical period of the past. Because we often travel during the off-season, we have been fortunate enough to have a few of these experiences.

For this week’s Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge, we decided to use photos from one of those experiences. When we went to Schloss Stolzenfels on the outskirts of Koblenz we were able to walk the castle grounds without anyone else around us. Walking through the dense forest as you climbed the path up the side of the hillside to reach the castle, it was as if we had been transported to a different time. One could easily imagine horse-drawn carriages making their way up to the castle to attend some royal event. Or perhaps a band of robbers hiding in the woods waiting for the opportunity to make off with some jewels from passing travelers.

It is no wonder that so many fairy tales came from the forests of the German countryside. Walking the roads and trails at night with the fear of wolves, robbers, and other mystical creatures must have been at the forefront of any travelers mind. For a couple of hours, we walked those woods and imagined what life must have been like back in the 16th century.

Parasailing – Just for the Thrill of It

On July 25, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Caribbean, Mexico, Photo Challenge10 Comments

If you have ever been to a beach resort, you are likely to have seen the boats pulling parasailers around above the ocean waters. Strapping yourself into a harness that is connected to an over-sized parachute and being hauled by a boat while you float higher and higher, probably sounded crazy when it first started in the early 1960’s. We actually went parasailing during one of our trips to Cabo San Lucas and found it to be a lot of fun with great views of the beach and we could even see the large sea turtles swimming in the ocean below. Apparently, there is now a craze to parasail over water with great white sharks swimming below. That is more of a thrill ride than what we would consider doing. Although it is a lot of fun, having done it once is good enough for us and we probably won’t do it again. Generally speaking, parasailing is safe, but accidents do happen and there isn’t anything that keeps the tour companies from taking people up in unsafe conditions. With multiple companies out in the water at the same time, they can sometimes come dangerously close to colliding with other boats or other parasailers. For this week’s Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge we are sharing some photos of parasailers, including ourselves, from some of our trips to the beach. Have you gone parasailing? Would you do it again?