Subject: neotropic cormorant
Date taken: May 14, 2012
Location: Cocha Salvador, Manu National Park, Peru
Camera: Canon 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Peru Featured Photo: Wire-crested Thorntail
Subject: wire-crested thorntail (hummingbird)
Date taken: May 12, 2012
Location: San Pedro Lodge, Peru
Camera: Canon 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Otterly Amazing
Date of events depicted: 14-15 May 2012
Move
on they must, however, and so the next morning the hardy travelers vacate their
little palm-thatched huts, board the boat, and once again take to the Manu
River. On a stop to hike to Cocha Otorongo, they spot dusky titi monkeys,
disturb hundreds of bats roosting under an observation deck, and climb the
stairs to a platform 20 meters high from which they take in the view of the
pristine rainforest.
What
ensues is a torrential downpour unlike anything our fearless females have ever
experienced. The adventurers
huddle under tarps in a futile attempt to stay somewhat dry as the wind-driven
rain comes down so hard that the Madre de Dios River looks like it is being
pushed back.
Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild
PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to
present episode 5 of The Adventures of
Yumiko and Eden in Peru…
Eden
is doing a happy dance on the deck of the catamaran. After one last spin and a celebratory fist pump, she
high-fives a grinning Yumiko.
Though
not quite sure why seeing a pair of scarlet macaws flying overhead generates
this reaction, Miko and Eden’s traveling companions – with the exception of the
guide, non-birders all – are clearly amused by her antics.
Having
no desire to fall into the caiman-infested waters, Eden sits down carefully
before explaining that scarlet macaw had been a “target bird,” one that our
intrepid heroines had tried – unsuccessfully – to get last year in Costa Rica.
The
last of the sun’s rays fall on a small troop of spider monkeys high in the
trees as the boat heads to the dock, ending the adventurers’ third and final
excursion on Cocha Salvador. And though the sandflies are once again out in
force, Miko and Eden are sorry to be leaving this remarkable lake where, just
this morning at dawn, they had watched the resident family of endangered giant
river otters frolic, fish, and feed and saddleback and emperor tamarins leap
through the branches.
Move
on they must, however, and so the next morning the hardy travelers vacate their
little palm-thatched huts, board the boat, and once again take to the Manu
River. On a stop to hike to Cocha Otorongo, they spot dusky titi monkeys,
disturb hundreds of bats roosting under an observation deck, and climb the
stairs to a platform 20 meters high from which they take in the view of the
pristine rainforest.
Once
back on the river, all eyes avidly scan the banks in hopes of seeing a jaguar.
This is the last real chance of seeing the elusive cat. But as the hours wear on and the
temperature rises, their hopes wane.
By
the time they reach Boca Manu, everyone is hot and tired. The gluten-tolerant
among them take enormous pleasure in sipping ice-cold beer purchased from the
tiny village’s store – until the sky darkens ominously and the humid air
becomes heavier and cooler.
What
ensues is a torrential downpour unlike anything our fearless females have ever
experienced. The adventurers
huddle under tarps in a futile attempt to stay somewhat dry as the wind-driven
rain comes down so hard that the Madre de Dios River looks like it is being
pushed back.
It’s
rather exciting – for the first 15 minutes or so.
The
deluge lasts for more than an hour, easing up briefly when the boat disgorges
its damp, cold, bedraggled passengers at Tambo Blanquillo.
José
eyes the sky doubtfully. “Let’s hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow morning.
Otherwise the macaws will not come to the clay lick.”
It’s
too depressing a possibility to contemplate.
©
Eden Feuer
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Creature Comforts
Date of events depicted: 13 May 2012
It has been a good day, our fearless females agree as they
enter their hut and tiredly crawl under the mosquito netting. As the boat had
navigated the Manu River, they had been lucky enough to spot a capybara and had
passed a clay lick where dozens of blue-headed parrots and several
chestnut-fronted macaws had congregated noisily. On Cocha Salvador, they had
caught glimpses of giant river otters, added “punk chicken” (hoatzin) to their
rapidly expanding bird list, and, after sunset, used their flashlights to
illuminate the eyes of black caimans floating silently on the lake while José
told “jungle ghost stories,” tales of researchers and tourists who mysteriously
disappeared in Manu, their remains either never located or found in the jaws of
a jaguar or caiman. And, though Camp Sachavaca is even more rustic than Yine
Lodge, Miko and Eden have not seen a single cockroach.
Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWild
PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to
present episode 4 of The Adventures of
Yumiko and Eden in Peru…
“Spikes!” José shines his flashlight on a species of palm
that looks like it has mated with an angry porcupine.
“Spikes!” Eden repeats the guide’s warning for the benefit
of the hiker behind her, who in turn passes it on to those behind him.
The adventurers on this night hike through the rainforest
are careful to point out to one another the myriad potential hazards on the
trail: fire ants, mud, army ants, low hanging branches and vines, spider webs
with and without spiders, thorns, cobra ants…
But the jungle at night is more than a place of danger; it
is a place of discovery. José’s light reveals tiny frogs, delicate mushrooms,
strange insects, and tarantulas.
Miko and Eden usually don’t mind tarantulas. Unless, as had
happened the previous evening at Yine Lodge, one suddenly appears in the folds
of the shower curtain in a dimly lit stall just as Miko finishes her shower and
the lodge’s generator powers down, leaving the bathroom building in darkness.
Our intrepid heroines and company are returning to Camp
Sachavaca from Cocha Salvador, an oxbow lake upon which they had spent several
hours observing wildlife from the relative comfort of the “catamaran,” a
somewhat dubious-looking pair of weathered wooden dugout canoes connected by an
equally dubious-looking weathered wooden platform.
Emerging briefly from beneath the forest canopy at the Manu
River’s edge, the group is treated to a breathtaking view of the Milky Way.
Before continuing on their way, Miko and Eden pick out the Southern Cross amid
a host of constellations unfamiliar to those who dwell north of the equator.
Dinner is followed by cold showers by candlelight that
temporarily alleviate the itch of the sandfly and mosquito bites our fearless
females have sustained. Miko’s bruised
and scraped arm, they are relieved to note, is healing well.
It has been a good day, our fearless females agree as they
enter their hut and tiredly crawl under the mosquito netting. As the boat had
navigated the Manu River, they had been lucky enough to spot a capybara and had
passed a clay lick where dozens of blue-headed parrots and several
chestnut-fronted macaws had congregated noisily. On Cocha Salvador, they had
caught glimpses of giant river otters, added “punk chicken” (hoatzin) to their
rapidly expanding bird list, and, after sunset, used their flashlights to
illuminate the eyes of black caimans floating silently on the lake while José
told “jungle ghost stories,” tales of researchers and tourists who mysteriously
disappeared in Manu, their remains either never located or found in the jaws of
a jaguar or caiman. And, though Camp Sachavaca is even more rustic than Yine
Lodge, Miko and Eden have not seen a single cockroach.
© Eden Feuer
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Creature Discomforts
Date of events depicted: 12 May 2012
Eden does as she is told. And Miko makes good on her
promise, locating Eden’s wayward eyewear – in the pocket of Eden’s rain jacket
(where Eden had placed them the night before for safekeeping and which she had
been wearing most of the morning).
Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in
association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your
Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 3 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Peru…
“Get
your camera, go out there, and photograph the rainbow,” Miko orders.
“But…”
It has not been a good morning thus far. Our intrepid
heroines, fellow adventurer John, and their guide had woken especially early
and hiked in the dark in order to witness the elaborate courtship display for
which Peru’s national bird is famous. But as soon as they arrived at the lek,
it began to rain, dashing their hopes of seeing vibrantly-plumaged male Andean
cocks-of-the-rock (the name makes Eden snigger) bowing, jumping, and
wing-flapping in an attempt to attract the drab females.
As the four trudged back to the lodge, it occurred to
Eden that she had not seen her sunglasses since last night and had no clue
where she put them. Freaking out, she spared only a passing glance at the
magnificent double rainbow that appeared with the dawn before she started
searching the room frantically.
“Go! I’ll find your sunglasses.”
Eden does as she is told. And Miko makes good on her
promise, locating Eden’s wayward eyewear – in the pocket of Eden’s rain jacket
(where Eden had placed them the night before for safekeeping and which she had
been wearing most of the morning).
So Eden is feeling like a bit of a birdbrain as they climb
into the SUV for the bumpy ride down the narrow, winding, rutted mountain road
to Atalaya.
It is late morning by the time they arrive at the small
village on the banks of the Alto Madre de Dios River and board the motorized
canoe that will carry them into a place of stunning biodiversity so remote, so
difficult to access, that fewer than 3,000 tourists visit per year: Manu
National Park.
On the long journey to the mouth of the Manu River, the
travelers get a taste of that biodiversity. White caimans bask in the sun. Snowy
egrets fish in the shallows. White-throated toucans call from the trees.
Neotropic cormorants hold their wings out to dry. King and black vultures
circle overhead. Roadside hawks and bat falcons scan for prey from their high
perches.
The light is fading fast as the boat pulls up to the
riverbank. Its passengers disembark, grab their gear, and make their way from
the beach to Yine Lodge.
The sweep of a flashlight beam sends cockroaches
skittering from the small thatched-roof bungalow that is our intrepid heroines’
room for the night.
Swallowing hard against her revulsion, Eden sets down
the backpacks while Miko lights the single candle the lodge has provided for
illumination.
It hadn’t occurred to them that Manu’s great biological
diversity would include roaches – though on reflection it really doesn’t come
as a surprise. That doesn’t make the idea of sharing quarters with the nasty
creatures any less disgusting.
Our fearless females square their shoulders. In Panama, it was ticks. In Costa Rica, it was bees. So here, it is roaches. Miko and Eden know that a few loathsome insects are a small price to pay for adventure.
© Eden Feuer
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Legends of the Fall
Date of events depicted: 11 May 2012
With
that not-especially-comforting thought, our fearless females crawl under the
mosquito netting and attempt to sleep.
© Eden Feuer
Related link: video diary of the day compiled by fellow traveler John Millspaugh
Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in
association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell
Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 2 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Peru…
“It could have been a lot
worse,” Eden says as she dabs Neosporin on Miko’s badly scraped and bruised
right arm. “You could have broken a bone. Or landed on your face – like you did
in Maui.”
Miko winces, both from the
contact and from the memory. That fall had occurred two miles into a hike in
Haleakala National Park. Fortunately, she had not sustained an injury that
immobilized her or required immediate medical attention. Unfortunately, her injuries had been serious enough to ruin the rest of that vacation.
Eden carefully tapes down a
gauze bandage procured from the first aid kit. “If you had been seriously hurt
tonight…” She trails off, recalling the way Miko had gone tumbling into the mud
when the slippery path had crumbled beneath her feet.
Our intrepid heroines are in a
primitive lodge in the cloud forest on the eastern side of the Andes. Getting to
this point, only part of the way to Manu National Park, had required spending
the day crammed into a Mitsubishi SUV packed with the food,
supplies, and personnel (guide, cook, and driver) necessary for a multiday
excursion into a remote portion of the Peruvian Amazon.
Neither of them wants to
contemplate how far they are from decent medical care – and how close they came
to not being able to continue on to Manu.
Though satisfied that Miko’s
wounds have been tended to adequately for the moment, Miko and Eden know that
tomorrow they will be headed to the lowland rainforest, where, in combination
with the humidity, the higher temperatures and even more rustic conditions
increase the risk of infection.
© Eden Feuer
Related link: video diary of the day compiled by fellow traveler John Millspaugh
Thursday, June 7, 2012
The Lost City of the Incas
Date of events depicted: 10 May 2012
Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in
association with WorldWild PhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell
Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 1 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Peru…
By late morning, the mist that
had risen from the Urubamba River far below has burned away and the ruins are
teeming with thousands of people. Miko and Eden sweep their admiring gazes over
the exquisite stonework of the temples, plazas, and houses one last time before
returning to Aguas Calientes to await their train to Cusco.
Still,
they know that there will be little rest for them. Though it is late, they must
re-pack their gear in preparation for their upcoming adventure: a 7-day
excursion into the Peruvian Amazon that will begin the next morning – well
before dawn.
In the predawn darkness, Miko,
Eden, and 500 other hardy, sleep-deprived souls determined to see the sunrise
at Machu Picchu board the buses that ferry tourists from the town of Aguas
Calientes up a steep, winding dirt road to the Lost City of the Incas.
Our intrepid heroines,
bleary-eyed and breathing heavily in the thin air, pass through the entrance
gate and hike to the Caretaker’s Hut. They watch, entranced, as the first rays
of the sun touch the surrounding mountains and caress the polished stone walls
and neatly groomed terraces of the citadel. It is a spectacular, almost surreal
sight, though the landscape crew – three llamas – seems unimpressed, just as
jaded as they were the previous evening when our dynamic duo took in the sunset
from the same vantage point.
By late morning, the mist that
had risen from the Urubamba River far below has burned away and the ruins are
teeming with thousands of people. Miko and Eden sweep their admiring gazes over
the exquisite stonework of the temples, plazas, and houses one last time before
returning to Aguas Calientes to await their train to Cusco.
Though only 80 kilometers (50
miles) separate Machu Picchu from the bustling city of Cusco, the rail journey
takes more than three and a half hours. It’s an awfully long time for two
exhausted adventurers to be trapped with a group of happily hammered Dutch day
trippers, so it is with a great deal of relief that they disembark, catch a cab
to Plaza de Armas, and make the walk to their hotel.
© Eden Feuer
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Photo of the Week: Portrait of an Elephant Seal
Subject: Female elephant seal
Date taken: April 9, 2012
Location: northwest of San Simeon, California (35°38'49.20" N, 121°12'42.29"W)
Camera: Canon 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Behind the Scenes: Close Encounter with an Elephant Seal
Photos courtesy of Q. Makeeta
Date taken: April 9, 2012
Location: northwest of San Simeon, California (35°38'49.20" N, 121°12'42.29"W)
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Photo of the Week: Elephant Seal
Subject: Female elephant seal
Date taken: April 9, 2012
Location: northwest of San Simeon, California (35°38'49.20" N, 121°12'42.29"W)
Camera: Canon 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Photo of the Week: Owl
Subject: Owl
Date taken: August 2001
Location: Seward, Alaska
Camera: Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Photo of the Week: Caribou
Subject: Caribou
Date taken: August 2, 2001
Location: Denali National Park, Alaska
Camera: Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Photo of the Week: Snow Monkey
Subject: Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata)
Date taken: January 3, 2001
Location: Jigokudani Yaen-Koen, Nagano, Japan
Camera: Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom
Film: Ektachrome 100
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Photo of the Week: The Twelve Apostles
Date taken: April 11, 2003
Location: Port Campbell National Park, Australia
Location: Port Campbell National Park, Australia
Canon EOS Elan IIE with 28-135mm telephoto zoom
Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ ISO 200
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Photo of the Week: Polar Bear
Date taken: November 12, 2003Location: Churchill, Canada
Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom
Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ ISO 200
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