Capture The Color

Thanks to Elle for nominating me for the Capture the Color contest. 

I've always had a love for photography, and have no problem hauling my huge Canon 7D with me on my travels.  What is the best souvenir you can possibly take home from your trip but your photos....or a hot guy with an Olympian swimmers body (Okay seriously, I need to stop crushing on these swimmers bodies.  I feel like a Pedophile).  But I digress, you don't need a fancy SLR camera to take great photos, in fact, two of the photos I chose for the contest were taken with a small Canon Point & Shoot.  I won't tell you which two they are either.

>>>>Blue

This photo was taken in the Philippines on an island called Boracay.  I chose this photo mainly because it had several shades of blue, the deeper blue skies, and the almost teal-like colored waters.  What you don't see is my poor aunt next to me fanning me while holding my freshly cut coconut drink, because I was near the verge of dehydration. 

>>>>Green

This photo was taken in the Caribbean island of Dominica during our hike to Trafalgar Falls.  The whole island was filled with Green landscapes, even more so than my favorite country, New Zealand.  

>>>>Yellow

If you have seasonal allergies like I do then this photo is probably your worst nightmare.  I feel like sneezing just looking at it, but I also feel happy, maybe because I was drunk on lots of wine when I took it.  The photo was taken in Sonoma Wine Country in California during the winter.

>>>>White

For me, probably one of the most beautiful spots in the world are the Salt Flats in Bolivia.  There are no paved roads, strip malls, or traffic lights.  The photo was taken at a Salt Hotel (a different one from the one I stayed at).

>>>>Red

I had several photos that I wanted to choose for the Red Category, but the lady from the Himba Tribe in Namibia became an obvious choice.  While modern women are applying moisturizer on their face in the morning, the Himba women are applying otjize (a mixture of butter, fat, and red ochre) that causes the red hue on their skin and hair. 

I now nominate five other bloggers (including some new blogs I have recently discovered) to take part in the Capture The Color contest:

• Jackie from 6 Months To Live
• Ashley from Wanderscapes
• Celine from The Happily Ever After Project
• Fidel from Scene With A Hart
• Megan from Meganotravels

Walk Through A Rainforest In The Rain

While in Dominica I got a chance to go hiking in the rainforest.  It had been sunny the majority of the day, but as we got closer to the rainforest we noticed dark heavy clouds looming above us.   We hiked down the path towards Emerald Pool, and as we started our trek back up to the top we started feeling light sprinkles on our face.

I'm one of those neurotic travelers that always checks the weather and carries either a small poncho or umbrella in my bag for those "What If" situations.  I'm so glad I had because it started pouring rain.  I recorded the video above when the rain had just started, by the time we got to the entrance the rain had increased 10 fold and we were soaking wet (even with my umbrella). 

As I was walking through the forest, I said to myself, "Wow how amazing is this?  Walking in the rain in the rainforest!"  Many other people agreed that was one of our better experiences of the day, despite being drenched and our hair being a tangled hot mess. 

Date Accomplished:  April 6th, 2010

Go Hiking Through The Hills Of Dominica

 Hike to Trafalgar Falls

Dominica is known as the nature island of the Caribbean.  It is most known for its 365 rivers.  Locals say that you can swim in a different river for every day of the year (except for a Leap year).  The island is so green, the people are friendly, and it is definitely an overlooked country in the Caribbean. 

Our first hike was to Trafalgar Falls.  It was a short hike, with an optional hike to go down to the foot of the falls.  I made it near the bottom of the falls, only to turn back around because of the massive slippery boulders, and fear that my clumsy feet would cause me to get hurt.  My cousin said I made the right choice after she saw several people slip, including a woman that fell pretty badly with few people rushing to help her. 

After our little hike, the heat and humidity were starting to take a toll on me.  Our driver handed me a cold local beer that I guzzled down quickly.  The roads in Dominica were the worst I have seen, and I commend anyone that can drive there.  The roads are extremely narrow, and I can only compare the feeling to a car zooming through speed bumps (minus the actual speed bumps).  The alcohol buzz made the roads a tad more tolerable.

We then made a quick stop at Mr Nice's Fruit Stand, ran by you guessed it, Mr Nice.  Mr Nice was an enthusiastic chap who fed us "free" fruits in exchange for voluntary tips and donations.  The fruits were amazing, the bananas in the photo may not look ripe but they were easily the best bananas I have EVER had.  Perfectly sweet.

After our slight re-energizing feast we made our way to Emerald Pool.  Emerald Pool is a waterfall grotto located in the UNESCO site of Morne Trois Piton National Park.  To get to Emerald Pool you must hike through a lush rainforest, and then cross a narrow path filled with tourist to get to the edge of the pool.  On our way back from Emerald Pool we got a chance to walk through the rainforest in the rain.

Dominica is filled with adventurous hikes while being surrounded by amazing flourishing green scenery.

Date Accomplished: April 6th, 2010