Butts up!!

The previous post in the series on the Belize trip is here..

On day 3, our schedule was supposed to be a visit to ATM. However, the Spa manager told us that due to some conflicts we were only confirmed for ATM two days later. My heart sank and I told her that our main reason for coming to Belize was ATM and she has to make sure that we visit on that day. 

They have to get drivers out of the Spa to various locations.. given we were the only family going to ATM from the Spa and there are a limited number of people who go through ATM a day, our Day 5 became the new confirmed date. On Day 3, we were going to do Cave Tubing and Zip lining instead.

We had the same guide who went with us to snorkel and that was a good thing. We started at 8AM and were at the tubing place,  Nohoch Che'en reserve, by 9:30 AM. We had to rent Crocs to wear as the tubing involved carrying a large tube and wading through water on slippery surfaces. We also got a helmet with a light on it and life vests. For the most part the tubing was in shallow water that was 3-4 feet deep. Only in a few places it was 5-6 feet deep. 

There was a 45 minute hike from the parking lot to the starting point on the river where we entered the caves. During this hike our guide gave us a lot of information about the local forests, the type of plants etc. etc. It was interesting and was like listening to a talk on Ayurveda. We saw some smaller caves on the way to the starting point.

One thing that was common to all caves was the bats on the cave roof.. there were lots of bats.. and the caves smelled of the bats!

Walked past a lot of ant hills.. red ants, leaf cutter ants, fire ants.. the entire biting family was there. As long as we kept walking, we were fine.. or so our guide assured us. We learned about the various poisonous plants, snakes and antidotes available from other plants.

After 40 minutes or so we reached the river.

Then our guide tied up all the tubes (there were 8 of us in the group) and tied that to his tube and pretty much pulled us or navigated the group with the flow of the river. 

We got to see a lot of rock formations created by the flowing river and a waterfalls inside the caves. It was a two and a half hour deal and we got our butts kicked by the rocks at places.. 

Every now and then our guide would shout "butts up!" and we would have to pull our butts up within the tube. San and me had front tube seats (or the absence of it) and the kids deliberately went to the last row to avoid the camera. Was not happy with that. Someday they will look at these pictures and appreciate them.. or so I hope!

A video highlights of our tubing experience.

Here are two slideshows from the Cave tubing..

 

We had lunch at the parking lot picnic tables after a quick shower and change of clothes. Then the four of us went to Zipline while the rest of the group was asked to shop around or go for a walk in the trails near the parking. 

The Zipline was only 45 minutes with two steep hikes and 4 zip lines, but two of those went across the entire river we had just tubed across. It was my first Zip line experience. 

There were no phones, go pros, nothing allowed on the Ziiplines as you needed your hands free and your undivided attention on the Zipline. Fortunately our guide took my phone and said "I will walk to the end of the first line and take photos of you guys. So we got some photos! 

On the longest line, San got her glove stuck on the line and that automatically made her brake and she never made it to the other side. She was still a good 10 feet away. I was behind her but the guy who was clearing us could not see the other side of the river. He said I was good to go. I see a bunch of people waving on the other side and the employee asking me to brake. Had to break a good 20 feet from the other end while they threw San a line for her to be pulled up. That line was not going to reach me. 

Was basically hanging out there and the attendant shouted "Sir, can you go flat along the rope and use both hands and pull yourself towards us?".. It was not like I had a choice.. Did everyone proud by pulling myself one hand at a time all the way to the end. That was an interesting experience. Was 200 feet above a river and was doing Tom Cruise style stuff. Was not expecting that. 

After we came back, it was a quiet drive back to the Spa. There was just enough time to get a shower, get ready to join the rest of the groups for dinner. Dinners at the Spa were becoming almost like a family feast. It was the same bunch of folks we were meeting every night. We shared stories of the day from the different groups and showed pictures and videos. Got to make a lot of new friends. It was fun..

The next days plans were still being made.. but we knew what we wanted to do!  The Spa manager had to juggle some logistics to make it happen.. 

Would strongly recommend the Cave tubing even for smaller kids 6+ as long as they can stretch themselves across the tube. We thoroughly enjoyed it. The Zipline, you have to be above 40 inches tall and the last two legs were scary. So it may not be for smaller kids. 

Another day well spent in Belize!

Snorkeling at Caye Caulker - Belize

The previous post on the Belize trip is here..

On our second day, we got a wake up knock on our door (there is no phone in the rooms). The kids also realized that the Wifi works on and off with one bar in the room and gave up on it.  The cell coverage was also on and off. 

They asked the Spa manager for the Wifi and she said "The wifi works only near the pool area. This is supposed to be detox kids. Enjoy the nature!".. you should have seen the look on their faces! It was priceless. It also gave me a chance to launch into a monologue of "in those days we were born without wifi and we used to blah blah blah..". It was my version of my dads speech "in those days I had to carry 5 kg of wheat on my head for 10 kms to get it ground into flour when I was only 5 years old!" 

After gobbling up the breakfast and having more fresh coconut water, we were ready to go Snorkeling. We drove for about 20 minutes to a small village called Bomba, where apparently close to 80 people live. The Belieze Boutique resort spa is near a village called Maskall where close to a 1000 people live. 

The driver was nodding acknowledgements to everyone on the drive there. Everyone knew everyone on this road and that was something interesting. 

We took a boat from Bomba through the mangrove forests, which are protected by the Belize government. There were lot of birds which we normally don't see on the forests. There were crocodiles in the water that reminded me of Goa and Florida.. the two other places where we have seen similar flora and fauna.

After a long ride, we finally got to the island of Caye Caulker where Hurricane Hattie had split the island into two. Literally you can see the split. Then we stopped for a restroom/changing break and were off to the reef and channel to snorkel. 

This is my second snorkeling attempt. I did not do very well many years ago in Hawaii. This time, it was much better, but I stayed close to the boat. The kids went into open water a good distance with the other folks on our party and our guide. They got to see Baracuda and many different types of ray in the deep water..

Everytime I drifted more than 10 feet from the boat, would head closer, grab the ladder, wait for a few minutes and get out again. The reef was amazing in the channel! 

The sharks came to us! Probably because other tourists were feeding them..

Got to see large ray's, sharks, fishes of different colors.. it was a great experience. Then the boat moved to the shallow water in the reef and we actually got to swim with the sharks! 

Once we were done with the reef, the boat went back to the island and we had close to three hours on the island. We ate a really good vegetarian lunch at the Rainbow restaurant and walked the island's one main road, while drinking more coconut water.

Then we found a spot on the beach to put our towels and rest.

We took turns walking, first the kids, then us and before we realized it was time to head back to the boat. 

The return boat ride was breathtaking as the sun went down.

The birds were going back to their nests and we saw some Roseatte spoonbills and green herons as well as a lot of eagles, turkey vultures and falcons.

Missed my big lens for a few minutes. After the Europe trip, I started leaving the 70-200mm lens at home, as it is heavy and lugging it around makes my shoulder hurt. Just enjoyed taking in the sights instead for the first time and was okay with it.

Here are two slideshows of pictures..

We made it back through Bomba to the Resort by 6PM. At Bomba the families make wood carvings out of Teak and Mahogany and sell it to tourists.. we were more distracted by the puppy that was playing with everyone at the shops.. his name was fluffy. He made me forget the mosquitos that were going for us at the dock.

It was a day well spent.. 

The next day we were going to get another early wake up knock for another adventure!

A trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park

The long weekend that comes after a long long time every year came and went. We HAD to go somewhere on a long drive to relieve all that pent up stress of the routine between January to the end of May. 

We decided to visit Lassen National park after a six year gap with the cousin family. We had a ton of fun over the two day trip. 

The weather was perfect. There was lots of snow in the ground at 7000-8000+ feet altitudes. There was plenty of water gushing down the cascades and waterfalls. It was just perfect!

Ice had started melting and it created caves that had a nice bluish glow with the light reflecting from the other side!

Last time we visited this park, it was mostly snowed out and we could not go on any trails as they were all closed. We drove through the loop and came back. This time though, things were different. 

There were snowball fights, adventurous trekking, the kids all grown up and at an age where watching them interact and play is a joy in itself. Even the driving to and from the park was pleasant compared to the usual because we decided to put the younger kids in one vehicle and the older kids in the other vehicle!

We could clearly see the hot sulfur springs for a change!

and watch the sulfur meet the water which makes for some amazing hues..

We made one mistake, or rather the park authorities did. While trying to get to the Kings Creek falls, there was a trail that was closed. Given all the snow, we were off the trail walking in snow. Two families we crossed in the opposite direction told us "just follow the footsteps on the snow".. turns out we wandered off on a closed trail that was very dangerous. We made it in one piece to the falls and back where a rock slide had recently crossed the trail. It was quite and adventure with the kids. 

What were we thinking!

For some strange reason, I did not haul my tripod on the trip. So fancy falls pictures to show. Did get a few shots by placing camera on a rock tripod I built at the base of the falls.. 

Here are the only decent shots of the different falls I managed to get.. Did get a lot of pictures of the kids in action.. but they go on other Social Media!

That last shot almost cost me the camera! 

On day two we visited all the "vista points" and let the kids play in the snow some more. We also went on a beautiful trail around Manzanita lake and around the Lily pond. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Here are some pictures from those two hikes.

That we learned is Lichens.. not moss! It gave the giant trees a flourescent hue that was fantastic.

Lake Helen, although frozen provided other entertainment .. like me doing Triangle pose on snow/ice in front of the family! 

The beautiful Manzanita lake..

There were a lot of ripples.. but given my tripodlessness, opted to take the shot at a very high shutter speed to avoid the ripples.. this was taken with a 1/4000 or 1/8000 speed with ISO at 400. While driving back I realized that to get the entire reflection, a better idea would have been to use the full ND filter instead of the graduated ND filter and go a good 1/2 a second or 1 second at f22 with ISO 100. That experiment will be for the next trip or next reflection shot that comes our way!

The famous standing boulder at Bumpass hell..

Now for some pictures with the kids in action to add more beauty to the scenery..

and last but not least, the ghost cat.. 

and one of our best outdoor family portaits in recent memory (thanks to BB for the click)!

Strongly recommend Lassen as a weekend trip from the bay area, if.. IF it is not snowed out and you can get accomodation last minute at Red Bluff, which is 45 minutes away from park entrance. This is a lot less crowded than Yosemite and a lot more fun in our opinion!

Call me obsessive..

It has been a hectic week at work but the good news is the cold is gone in spite of skipping Yoga the entire week. Finally managed to go back to Yoga today after an entire week of long distance driving, 18 hour work days and beating a cold.

The kids have recovered completely as well and that is good. 

In the middle of all this, dedicated 90 minutes every night to parallel process work and Photoshop to get 70+ HDR images of the Joshua Tree National Park trip. That was 210+ images condensed into 70 images. Most of the images are a composite of 3 images (a normal, over exposed and underexposed image) to grab component details in bright areas from underexposed image and details in the dark areas from the overexposed image!

Are you with me so far? No?

See the picture below the way PHotoshop does it. I give it three images with -2, 0 and +2 eV and it does the initial superposition. Then I get to work with the slider bars to create the right image, i.e., the way I thought my eye saw it at that time!

Do you see how the sky details are clear in the darker picture, the tree details are clearer in the brighter picture and they have to be ported over into the picture in the middle? 

That way you can see it the way your eye sees it!

Finally the photos are done and have been uploaded into two Galleries. One is the HDR Gallery and the other one is the people photos. 

Have not found a way to get comments into the individual photos yet. Will work on that tomorrow!

The little one who sits on my lap during the editing process encourages me to go overboard on the synthetic HDR look. That is why the previous post had an artificial look for the trees. Guess she wants every thing to look like Dr. Seuss land in Universal studios.. psychedelic colors, too much vibrance, over saturation, less detail.. etc.

Daddy is more into photorealistic HDR. So most of the snaps fall into that category!

Hope all of you enjoy the Photos.

In and around the house.

Two photos to share from today..

Both show the need for perfection and ideas for improvement..

The first one with the Photography

The second with the subject.. should have been able to hold this pose without moving. Was having Jr. click the shutter button once (had set it to continuous shooting mode with a self timer). The 2 second timer delay kept throwing me off. One thing we don't do in Yoga is open our mouth and talk. That is forbidden in the Yoga room. So it was odd for me to get into the pose and let Jr. know to hit the shutter release. My fingers practically look like they are coming out of the screen simply because we are able to see the detail in the shadow. There was not much editing in this one.. simply merged three images taken in succession!

Both will be improved, starting tomrrow!

My parents really like the way the HDR images are created and sit with me and watch my photoshopping experiments. They have started being vocal critics as well, which is good and bad! 

My mother had the same request as my MIL.. Both were private requests but so identical in choice of words, it is too hilarious not to share.

"You are really amazing at this photo editing thing! Can you not do something to make me look thinner? Your photographs make me look too big. Know that it will only show what is there.. still a guy with your ability has to be able to do something, no?!"

If I quit my day job, trust me, the first thing on my "to do list" is to develop a "Thin Plugin" for Photoshop which selectively takes any shape and converts it to the closest 36-24-36 (if those are still numbers today's women are shooting for!).. May be way off as yours truly is still living in the past...

Here to having grandparents around! It is very precious..

Happy weekend everyone!