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To hotel or B&B, that is the question?

Camping in Wadi Rum, the sun begins to settle. Jordan

As a less experienced traveller, I always used to favour hotels. I felt they were somehow a more reliable ‘bet’, safer and ‘supportive’ of travellers. However, I am delighted to say I have had my eyes truly opened by our ravel experiences and, give the choice, would opt for a B&B or locally owned and run accommodation most times now. Here’s my top 5 B&Bs which have been responsible for this mind shift.

1. Mao Er Hutong, Beijing, China.
A gem of a B&B in old Beijing. The Mao Er Hutong B&B is an amazing place. Staying here on the first leg of our holiday served to set a standard for the entire china trip. In all we stayed 5 nights out of a month’s trip and this was one of the highlights. The B&B is so quiet and serene, the breakfasts are amazing, the beds extremely comfortable and the suite made us feel right at home in Beijing.

The accommodation is traditional Chinese, and focused around a peaceful and pretty courtyard. You’re asked to observe custom and remove shoes upon entry, opting instead for their Chinese slippers.

The rooms are immaculately presented and are dressed in traditionally styled Chinese furniture and materials, including silk embroidered throws and drapes, dark wooden day beds and we also had a very large four poster bed which was extremely comfortable. The windows are dressed with wooden blinds and the bathroom is western style.

Location wise you could not ask for more. The location next to a renovated Hutong is perfect. On your doorstep are some of the most comfortable bars and restaurants (try ‘Reef’ for great cheap martinis and the Korean restaurant for the most amazing hotpot and fried beef). HooHai Lake is right on your doorstep too – which makes for a great night / day out.

We took a trip to the Jinshanling section of the wall via the hotel (their uncle drove us there) and it was the most amazing part of the holiday. (Please see separate blog post about our experience of walking the Great Wall of China).

Each morning the hosts offer a traditional Chinese breakfast with green tea (although coffee and western style tea is available if you’d prefer). The sweet dumpling and seaseme coated marinated carrots were scrumptious, I could not get enough of them!. Most days the hosts offer new breakfast delights which are eaten alongside other guests at a tiny table in the homely kitchen of the B&B. It’s a lovely way to get to know your fellow guests, pick up some hints and tips abut places to visit, and a great way to interact with your hosts.

Our hosts were also very generous in acting as recipients for our train tickets (purchased in advance and sent to their address in advance of our arrival). They also provided us with internet access to allow us to reconfirm flights and accommodation, and provided us with a lift to beijing train station late at night.

The first night we arrived we had stayed in the Holiday Inn, which was lovely, but nothing compared to the delights of Mao Er. I would whole heatedly recommend this B&B for anyone who wants more China from their trip and less westernisation 🙂

Take our word for it – this place is amazing! We booked through BB-China.com and paid about £60 a night for a suite

2. The Orchard House, Rothbury, England
A must do! My husband booked it as surprise weekend away for me. It is one of the best – if not the best – places I have stayed in. The attention to detail and little extras that the owners throw in make it a million miles away from any hotel experience. It’s a beautiful place but very relaxed and informal. You feel at ease to come and go but also know that you can call upon Graham should you need him.

Upon arrival, we were met by Graham, and immediately offered a refreshment and refreshing towel in his drawing room before being shown to our room. The rooms are delightfully appointed, with sherry and baklava as welcome gifts. The bathroom has all modcons and comes equipped with a bath menu which offers a choice of bat salts, bath pillows, rubber ducks, lotions and potions for the ultimate night in. There are dvd players, flat screen tvs and an honesty bar and dvd library for your perusal. In a quiet little place like Rothbury the owners have rightfully cottoned on to the fact that a lot of couples might use this location as a peaceful weekend hideaway. Therefore, to complement the bath menu, they offer a ‘night in package’ featuring complementary popcorn and icecream and choice of movies! After fish and chips on the village green (from the nearby chipshop) we sampled many treats from the bath menu and settled in with a movie and icecream. Bliss!

Each night, when you return to your room, the owners place a new teddy bear on your bed – if the room is occupied, the bear will ‘ wait’ outside with sweet treats ready for you the next day. If you are as much a bear lover as I, this was such a nice addition to the stay.

You can choose what time you wish to have breakfast in the morning, and the owners run a personal wake up service, where they will bring tea and coffee to your room (to the end of your bed!) to gently aid your wake up and ‘spoil you’ whist your breakfast is prepared downstairs in the lovely light breakfast room.

The breakfast is to die for! I have honestly never eaten so much at breakfast – it was amazing. choices of: muesli, traditional porridge, fruit, cooked breakfasts, breads and toasts, preserves – most of it home made from scratch or sourced locally.

Suffice to say you will not be disappointed!

3. Cafe Cultura, Quito, Ecuador
We stayed at Cafe Cultura for 5 nights in 2006 inbetween trips to the Galapagos, Cloud Forests and the Amazon and we loved it!

It’s so different from the anonymous mainstream hotels – every room is different and I’d recommend you try as many different rooms as you can whilst you are there. It offers a fantastic escape from the bustling world you that left at home and the city outside your widow. Places like this are the reason people go on holiday!

Room 10 we stayed in twice. it’s located on the ground floor of the building off what feels llike a traditional village alleyway. It has a lovely small conservatory which is sheltered from the sun and is a cool and refreshing place to sit and enjoy a drink in the evening. The bathroom is small and narrow, but adorned with extremely high ceilings and has a and fabulous bath and steam / power shower which is just what you need on those early morning wake ups! We also had a lovely cast iron fireplace in the bedroom which the staff will light for you whilst you are having dinner / out and about. It’s essential for the colder nights, and provides a nice romantic atmosphere to boot! Fresh flowers, fruit and drinking water are refreshed / provided daily.

Room 1 – the honeymoon suite, was a large romantic space painted in dark moody purples and maroons. The bathroom was simply stunning – it was larger than our entire ship cabin in the Galapagos(!) and featured painted walls, a four poster bed, fresh flowers and a huge conservatory bathroom with views out to the city and across to the volcanic mountain peeks of Ecuador. A centrepiece of the bathroom is the huge opaque stained glass window which reflects across the lobby of the hotel as the sunrises and sets.

Room 2 was also lovley. It does not have a fireplace, but remained one of our favourite rooms due to the fact that it had a large bedroom and bathroom, and a separate living room – a lovely calm space with hand painted hummingbirds flying across the walls. Elevated on the first floor, the rooms spreads across the breadth of the building and is said to be the most haunted of all rooms- though we had no troubles at all!

I’d recommend you look at their website to view all the rooms before you book – it’ll be a difficult decision which one to choose so book early to get the one you want.

The reservation desk are helpful – they helped us out prior to our arrival with a range of restaurant bookings, transfers and gave good advice for what to see and do locally and further afield.

The night staff were also very helpful and responsive when my husband wasn’t too well, which was great support.

The library is the real star of the hotel. Situated to the left of reception, it is a lovely retreat where you can melt into the leather sofas with a bottle of wine and watch the flames of the fires flicker in front of you whilst reading up on other travellers trips in ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ book which has become somewhat of an institution for travellers visiting Cafe Culture – we found it immensely helpful.

If you do stay there be sure to check out the gifts on sale at reception. We picked up some stunning recycled blue/ green glass wine goblets and a lovely hand painted plate for a very reasonable price, alongside a very high quality photobook depicting key scenes from Ecuador.

I only wish every city in the world had a Café Cultura!

4. Lodge on the Loch, Onich, Scotland
Technically, I could be ‘cheating’ on this one as it describes itself as a hotel – however I doth protest. To me its a grander B&B and has personalised service standards which I have come to expect only from B&Bs.

Our weekend at Lodge of the Loch was a surprise booked by my husband for our first wedding anniversary. We stayed in the Nova Scotia room and had plenty opportunity to enjoy its panoramic views over the loch from our bay widow and the whirlpool bath. It was an incredibly restful and scenic location, one where we lost ourselves for the weekend and happily so. One of the highlights of our stay was the food and service. We felt comfortable dressing for dinner in cocktail dress and kilt, and were welcomed for pre-dinner drinks in the grand reception space.

Dinner was a perfect balance of formality and comfort. Sitting in the bay window we were treated to views of a pinking sky over the loch whilst we dined on an incredible 4 course menu and fine wine. Breakfast was an equally sumptuous affair with heart warming traditional scots porridge, cooked breakfast to order and the option of a wee glass of bubbly to set you on your way for the day.

It is worth highlighting we stayed at the lodge back in 2003, and have not returned since the ownership has changed.

5. Wadi Rum, Jordan
Whilst spending a week in Jordan we had the privilege of over-nighting in Wadi Rum in a Bedouin tent with local guides / locals. It was an incredible experience.

Arriving at the camp after an afternoon exploring the sand dunes and vistas of Wadi Rum, my husband and I immediately left the ‘security’ of the camp. Informing the guides we were ‘off to explore’, we enjoyed the last few hours daylight as we explored the rocks, hills and desert surrounding our camp. Sitting alone on a wee mound of sand, there was nothing but us, the setting sun and the skeletons of sun scorched trees for miles and miles. A lone beetle trotted by, and in the fading light we made sand drawings and took pictures of the desert turning pink in the sun’s wake.

As the sun dropped below the horizon and darkness quickly descended, we navigated our way back to camp by the light of our mobile phone screen. We arrived back just in time for dinner and drinks. Warm, sweet Jordan tea was handed out in clay mugs and a warming casserole was plated up fro the cauldron over the roaring fire. We sat and ate in the light of the fire and stars, and listened to the local Arabic tales and songs of the Bedouin as their voices drifted over the night key.

Finding it hard to keep my eyes open past 10pm, and chilled by the cold of the evening desert, we retired to our ‘accommodation’ – a foam mat, a silken blanket, a three sided Bedouin tent and the desert floor, and fell instantly asleep to the sounds of muffled voices and flames crackling.

We woke shortly after dawn and the sun began to heat the ground and air and felt instantly refreshed after a fantastic night’s sleep. Shaking the sand out of my socks and hair, I donned my hat, cast off my layers and headed out into the warm morning to be greeted by hot sweet tea and bread. We had breakfast watching the sun peak over the surrounding sandstone hills. Mug of tea in one hand and bread clasped tightly in another, it was a simple existence and we loved it. We headed off, smiles widening, to ride camels through the desert to get back to our car to continue our journey through this amazing land.

A Costa Rican Itinerary

Rainforest is reflected on the silent waters of one of Tortugeuro's many water channels.

I expected little but fell head over heels in love with the Costa Rica. So much so, that I had some ‘re-integration’ issues returning back to ‘normal life’ after immersion in such a naturally beautiful and bewildering country.

The guide books do a very good job of managing down your expectations about the wildlife you’ll encounter and the extreme beauty of the country. This serves only to ensure that you are totally blown away when you start exploring the paths  that few tourists travel in such a diverse and welcoming country.

We had less than two weeks in Costa Rica – we weren’t supposed to be there. We flew in from Florida after NASA rescheduled the launch of Atlantis, STS-135. It was a last minute decision, and one that meant we had very little time to plan and research the country as thoroughly as usual. We had one Saturday afternoon to cancel all Florida plans and then schedule and book our trip to Costa Rica. As usual, we turned to trip advisor for advice and inspiration, grabbed our atlas and decided on the following itinerary:

  • Three nights in Monteverde Cloud Forest
  • Three nights at Arenal
  • Three nights in Tortuguero
  • Two nights in Santa Clara in the jungle
  • One night in a suburb of San Jose before our flight home.

Each part of our trip will be chronicled in subsequent blogs.

We booked it all independently and hired a 4×4 to travel around. Our aim was to explore the country independently, seeing a diverse range of ecosystems and wildlife in the cheapest way possible. Due to last minute planning, we ended up travelling in the rainy season which I was initially very concerned about, but needn’t have been (a separate blog on this will follow) . I wouldn’t change a thing about the itinerary, the accommodation we stayed in or the places we visited. I was extremely glad that we took enough time to enjoy each place we stayed in, opposed to feeling like we had to rush from place to place. This gave us the luxury to stop when we wanted, wander off the beaten track when the compulsion took us, and take time to explore the less obvious tourist spots and really ‘get under the skin’ of the country.

There were many, many highlights of the trip, here’s a few of my favourites:

  • Zip wiring at 40mph, 300feet above the Arenal rainforest with a tremendous view of Arenal Volcano.
  • Being brave enough to hike around, and stay around, the Arenal Volcano (I am PETRIFIED of volcanos and this one was very active until recently)
  • Watching a green sea turtle lay her eggs in the dead of night on Tortuguero’s beaches ( I cried like a baby!)
  • Kayaking the waterways of Tortuguero on our own, getting terrorised by a huge bee, finding birds, lizards and monkeys in the trees and revelling in both the sounds and silence of the rainforest
  • Exploring the Monteverde cloud forest seemingly on our own -there is nothing quite like having a forest almost to yourself
  • Staying in a treehouse in the jungle – we hiked to some waterpools and swam under the sheltered canopy of the forest, watched an exotic bird display to attract a mate, and spent a day picnicking in the treetops watching the sloths and birds with a cold beer in hand
  • Driving the 4×4 around the gravel tracks of Arenal volcano, drifting corners and winding round tight bends, swerving to avoid snakes
  • Watching the Milky Way emerge overhead of Arenal Volcano at midnight, celebrating 9 years of marriage with a whisky in hand and my fantastic hubby by my side.
It really is an awe inspiring country which is very accessible and very enjoyable to travel in. Go, explore! I defy you not to love it.

Reviewing Los Pinos, Monteverde

Cabin no. 12 at Los Pinos, Moneteverde, Costa Rica

I am so glad we chose to stay here, especially after seeing some of the other hotel accommodations in Moneteverde. Not that there is anything wrong with the other accommodations – quite the opposite! There is a fabulous array of boutique hotels and spas, friendly hostels and B&Bs run by locals, but to me, some of the larger hotels  look a little grandiose for a hilltop village surrounded by a cloud forest. In contrast, I found our cabin (no.12 / standard cabin) at Los Pinos to be a perfect blend of rustic comfort in an absolutely beautiful and secluded location.

Cabin 12 was located at the bottom of a dirt track which was just about big enough for our 4×4 to fit through. We were the last in a row of 4 cabins, and as such enjoyed complete seclusion and tranquillity. Adjacent to our cabin was the start of one of the few hiking trails at Los Pinos, so we were situated right on the fringe of the rainforest and benefited from varied and unexpected wildlife sightings right from our bedroom and kitchen window – including a family of raccoons! During our entire 4 day stay, no humans wandered by our cabin, and we saw just 5 of the other guests from Los Pinos when wandering around the beautiful grounds and plantation.

The wildlife in the ground of Los Pinos was fantastic. During out stay we saw:

  • Raccoons
  • Hummingbirds
  • Keel-Billed Motmots
  • Beetles
  • Butterflies
  • Agoutis
  • Vultures
  • Hawk
  • and at night, our cabin was surrounded with hundreads of fireflies – like tealights in the forest they danced around us and light out path through the grounds to the village.
Photos of Los Pinos and Moneteverde are available in our Costa Rica photo gallery.

We benefited from the most amazing decking area adjacent to our cabin, which was elevated above ground level, protruding into the trees. It was a great spot for hummingbirds which were attracted to the beautiful orchids and other flowering plants beside our cabin – it was a great opportunity to take pictures of them in the wild opposed to baiting them with nectar feeders. We often found ourselves enticed to come back t the cabin after a strenuous morning hiking, revelling in the chance to relax on the patio furniture and cook a meal from all the fresh (free!) ingredients gathered from the on-site fruit, herb and vegetable plantation.

Each cabin has its own garden area – some are filled with beautiful tropical flowers, others benefit from covered decking and porch areas, meaning you can sit outside and enjoy uninterrupted views of the wild afternoon storms with a hot cup of Costa Rican Coffee in hand. Each cabin looked as inviting as the next.

For the very reasonable price we paid (and despite very favourable reviews) I expected much less from the cabins. People warned of their rustic nature – but I found them utterly charming and more than fit for purpose. You get a lot of bang for your buck here. The cabins are extremely comfortable (though don’t throw yourselves down on the sofas as they are a little threadbare and you might end up getting prodded by a spring or two 🙂 ) The beds were extremely comfortable – I slept like a log and woke early every morning, refreshed and excited to face the day. The bedrooms also had a programmable safe, satellite TV and open wardrobes.

The cabin was surrounded with picture windows on two sides, offering you amazingly private views of the forest whilst you’re having your breakfast / supper. We had a private driveway (more on this later), and the most fabulous warm and clean powerful showers which were a godsend for the early morning and just the thing for easing aching muscles after a day’s hiking (don’t take these showers for granted – many places in Costa Rica suffer from water pressure).

The kitchen was wonderfully appointed – there were so many gadgets and gizmos that I had no idea what some of them were for. Crucially there was a coffee maker, which meant you could enjoy your own fresh Costa Rican coffee whenever you wanted. There was also a microwave and a two burner stove. There was also a fridge and a small freezer compartment – we often bought supplies from the supermarket in Santa Elena and then stocked up our fridge for packed lunches, breakfasts and dinners (and cold beers!). They also provided kitchen towels, washing up liquid, wine glasses, plates, bowls etc and a toaster oven.

Also provided was a much needed (!) dehumidifier.  This we could not have done without -it was working to maximum capacity most of the time. We found ourselves having to empty it after a few hours of it running – the humidity was incredible. I have never experienced anything like it. You step outdoors and instantly you are drenched in your own sweat – and that’s the way you stay until you retire indoors once more. That said, the cabin was never uncomfortable, and it cooled down tremendously in the evening, allowing for an excellent night’s sleep.

The drive to cabin 12 was a challenge in itself! It was incredibly steep (and aimed straight at the cabin’s front door!). It tested driver skill, the car’s brakes and driver willpower. However, getting the 4×4 down the driveway was nothing compared to getting it out again! There was no room to turn our intermediate sized 4×4 round next to the cabin, nor beyond it, so the driver was required to reverse up an incredibly steep slope, and then continue reversing along the very windy and narrow dirt track all the way to reception. The first time we did so, we arrived at reception somewhat camouflaged having brought most of the surrounding foliage with us. But we got better at it over time 🙂

I’d recommend taking time to wander around the grounds during your stay – they are beautifully planted and full of orchids, palm trees and even pineapple plants.

As touched on before, Los Pinos has its own plantation and, as guests, you are allowed to wander freely through the poly tunnels to pick your own produce. We gathered handfuls of fresh basil and rosemary to cook up a pasta supper. Also on offer was tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, chives, mint, sage, parsley, coriander etc. It was fantastic fresh produce from the heart of the forest.

Los Pinos perfectly located for all local attractions. Within walking distance you have an ATM, bakery, tourist office (where you can book sky tram etc), a butterfly farm, Johnny’s Pizzeria (nice) and the incredible and romantic Chimera restaurant (latin infused tapas) – where we had one of the most incredible meals ever (think seabass in mango and papaya sauce, amazingly composed soups and slow cooked pork with white beans and caramelised onions). A little further afield (5 mins drive) is the the reptile and orchid centre, the centre of Santa Elena with its supermarket and treetop bar and Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. About 15 mins drive away is the Selvatura Park.

We thought Los Pinos was a perfect place to relax, we wholly enjoyed our stay there and would not hesitate in returning – it is a gem! Visit the LosPinos website for further information.

New photo gallery now available: Costa Rica

A small white-faced capuchin tears through the trees in Tortuguero

We’ve done it! It’s taken a wee while, but we’ve finally sorted and processed our photography from our trip to Costa Rica in June 2011.

We took literally thousands of pictures, so it’s taken some time to sort and order them – especially because my macro challenge distracted me from the task at hand for a month. Never-the-less, we hunkered down and focussed today and it’s now all done! They are now available to view online. and I hope you like them! To us, they’re a fantastic reminder of an amazing holiday but I hope that they are also enjoyable to view if you’ve not had a chance to visit this incredible destination. I would like them to provide you with a tiny glimpse into the diversity and beauty of Costa Rica.

For me, Costa Rica was a place that re/introduced me to new styles of photography;

a) I fell back in love with landscape photography – especially in the rainforests and on the canals of Tortuguero. Our new Canon wide angle 10-22mm lens helped rekindle my passion somewhat.

b) I discovered macro photography 🙂 Need I say more!!

c) I had the opportunity to watch and learn as Ali took some absolutely incredible night shots of the milky way (these will follow at a later date…. the best things come to those who wait)  😉

A selection of our best shots are now available online, and I welcome your thoughts and feedback. I’ll keep you posted as additional photos are uploaded.

Enjoy!

Tianamen Square

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It’s not a beautiful square, per say. But rare in the fact that it’s avoided the temptation of other great city squares to capitalise its space. There’s no rows of cafes on its edges and very few hawkers selling their wares. Nor is it surrounded by 5* hotels and stores. Instead, it’s a solemn and silent place, patrolled by rows of policemen who are overlooked by the giant portrait of Chairmen Mao on the walls of the Forbidden City.

It’s a hard place to linger. It’s full of ghosts of previous events, and you have an overwhelming feeling of being watched. It’s not as vast or welcoming as I imagined, more compact and incredibly sterile. We stayed long enough to pay respects and take some photographs, and then retreated back to the welcome of the Forbidden City and the hustle and bustle of its entrance gates.

The top 5 best places in the world to watch sunset (in my opinion)

Sunset over the Arctic
1. In the middle of a polar ocean on a clear evening. Antarctic or Arctic, it does not matter. Just seek any place where;
a) you have a calm sea to reflect the cacophony of colours
b) you can see for miles
c) you can glimpse the curvature of the horizon
d) you have clouds banding across the sky
e) you have a 360 uninterrupted view…and you are in for a treat. Just sit back, relax and enjoy. What’s more, the endless polar nights means that sunset can last for hours and hours!2.  With a sundowner on safari in Africa.
A good guide will pick the spot well – one where you can frame the setting sun against the landscape and / or enjoy the local wildlife becoming more and more animated as the weather cools and the opportunity of nighttime hunting is ever more present. We’ve enjoyed memorable sunsets with parades of elephants and with the most curious, skittish lion cubs.It’s quite the experience – you’ll be memorised by what’s unfurling, and into your hot sweaty palm you’ll be passed your favourite beverage to enjoy whilst watching the onset of an African night.Our most memorable sundowner was on honeymoon in South Africa in a cheetah rehabilitation reserve. We’d arrived at a waterhole at the onset of sunset and our guide ‘broke all safari rules’ by telling us to get our of the vehicle ( a big no no on safari)! Scaredy cat that I was, I resisted, until everyone else jumped down. Stepping gingerly off the vehicle and into the undergrowth, I saw the guide drag a cool box out from under the jeep. This astonished me – I was not yet familiar with the idea of African sundownders and was not expecting this treat. We were handed a cold and refreshing beer and we all swiftly cracked open our beer cans and slumped against the wheels of the jeep to watch and wait to see what happened next.

It’s not what I saw next that worried me – it’s what I heard…a deep reoccurring rumbling, seemingly behind me, growing in intensity with each passing minute. Minutes turned into seconds, and my heartbeat started to match the pace of time passing by. My eyes darted left, right, left, right and I dropped my beer can, petrified to my very core. The sun danced pink rays off the waterhole and impala danced in herds at the wateredge. I struggled to focus on them, focusing only on this lion-like rumble from behind the vehicle. I stood slowly, so slowly it was as if I’d crumble into a million pieces with fright. I felt my way to the door handle, and with light speed leapt into the safety of the jeep.

Giggling to himself, the guide approached my trembling frame as asked what was wrong. ‘The noise, the noise’ I explained, to which he giggled an answer ‘It’s just an elephant’. I giggled a response and immediately felt so foolish. My hear rate slowed, and I asked for another beer (to help the ‘shock’). I cracked it open, sighing loudly, but remaining firmly in the apparent safety of the jeep watching the sun set through the branches of the trees, ever watchful of the elephant / lion …’just in case’.

That’s why I LOVE African sunsets, no only are they stunning to watch, you never know what else will happen.

3. Atop the Arc de Triopmhe in Paris France.
This was hard work but well worth it. We’d decided to dine nearby to enable us to amble up the Arc in time for the setting sun. However dinner had been longer than expected and we’d raced up the Champs Eleysees with minutes to spare. We had to run as fast as our legs would take us, up and round and round and round the Arc’s internal spiral staircase, shouting apologies to locals and tourists alike as we brushed past them to reach the summit.

We made it, breathless and dizzy, and emerged into a world where the whole of Paris was splayed out for us, bathed in the pink setting sun. The sunset bounced and reflected off the glass buildings near and afar.  The Eiffel Tower perched elegantly above the horizon was bathed in a warm glow making her look even more stunning than usual. At dusk and beyond, each hour, on the hour, she’d be lit by the hundreds of bulbs adorning her frame, and she’d twinkle in the night sky, as if thousands of fireflies were kissing her iron frame.

4. Bellavista Cloud Forest, Ecuador
There’s nothing quite like witnessing a sunset from above the clouds and within the canopy of a cloud forest. Rising mist kisses the tree canopy and the sun bathes the top of the clouds in a warm peach colour. The base of the clouds become redder and redder as you watch, setting the landscape beneath the clouds seemingly on fire. Volcanoes glow and hummingbirds hover by the silhouette of trumpet flowers. Birds and wildlife rustle in the trees, and you’ll find yourself closing your jacket as darkness descends and with it, the colder air.
You’ll experience an odd type of silence – no discernible noise but not 100% silent. You get the feeling things are sleeping and waking in equal measure, the noise of them somehow cancelling each other out.

Clouds float across the horizon as the sun becomes more intense. Here is a moment where you struggle to identify whether it’s very dark or blindingly bright as the contrast between black trees and shaded canopy contrast starkly with the bright red of the setting sun. This brief moment of intensity ends as quickly as it started, as the sun is stolen from your glance by the blanket of cloud which has now sealed off the landscape below leaving you with nothing but a blanket of shadows in a fading grey light.

5. Any skyscraper of high vantage point with a view in a major city
Take your pick – this is the easy option;
Top of the Hub, Boston
John Hancock Tower, Chicago
Rainbow Rooms, New York
The 13th floor of the Bellagio, Las Vegas
The Peak, Hong Kong
Mövenpick, Petra, Jordan

The math behind the macro challenge

A young metal dog yelps out as he spots his father floating above in the metal miasma. Discovered in crumpled tin foil, a long exposure macro lit through blue glass in darkness.

Here goes:

  • One month
  • At least one publishable (5*) shot to be taken every day for 31 consecutive days
  • A minimum of 2.5 hours spent on photography, post production / photo promotion and blogging each evening (Mon to Fri inclusive) – much longer at the weekends
  • Total average hours spent on the challenge in the last month 77.5
  • Minimum shots taken in a session 31
  • Maximum shots taken in one session 1,700 (!)
  • Average memory cards filled when shooting insects: 1.5
  • Number of blogs: 33
  • No. of facebook likes for TarajiBlue 30 (we need your help here!)
  • Images uploaded to the TarajiBlue macro gallery: 106
  • Images uploaded to Flickr; 102
  • Number of images uploaded to 500 px, 11
  • Total days off from photography 2 (one because we had guests to stay and another through exhaustion!)
  • Number of PC drives filled to the brim with shots taken: 2
  • Number of times I try to claim my husband’s 7D as my own: at least once daily 🙂
  • Number of guest contributions to the macro gallery: 3 (Thanks Ali!)
  • Approximate number of times Bibble5 has crashed on me when processing the photos: 20
  • Number of hits to the Tarajiblue website in July 14,000 – more than 4 times the usual!
  • No of visitors to the Tarajiblue website was 1,999 (eeek – one more and we’d have made the magic 2,000!)
  • Number of memorable and crazy feats attempted: 3 (climbing on our roof, creating a dark room in my toilet and fearing arrest on a building site).
  • Social networks deployed daily to share the images taken: 4 (facebook, twitter, flickr and google+)

Number of days needed to recover..??!!

 

And so it’s time for me to face the final curtain…

An extreme close up of a tiny greenfly reveals a wrinkled and ancient looking face

Day 31 of the macro challenge and the end is here! What a fabulous month it has been. I feel almost weepy to see the end of it, I’ve loved the motivation and energy it’s provided me with – and I’ve loved having such great friends to support me daily and follow my progress. Thanks everyone – I could not have kept up the energy and focus if it wasn’t for you.

So – should I carry on???!!! …..

Well, I need at least an evening or two off because I am EXHAUSTED! But I am tempted, because this time tomorrow night I will not have a clue what to do with my time from now on 😉 What will I dream about and occupy all my spare thoughts with once there is no macro photography? I’ve enjoyed it so much it’s actually prevented me from taking time out to book our next holiday – now that’s saying something!

What I have especially loved about the macro challenge is that it has really opened my eyes to new styles of photography – I’ll be posting a blog in the coming days about the lessons I have learnt and why I have benefited from the experience so much, but suffice to say I have loved the fact that it has opened my eyes to another miniature, more detailed and extremely interesting world that we often overlook in our daily lives. Put it this way – I no longer just class myself as an amateur wildlife photographer!

So – the time has come for the final reveal……can I top last night’s photography? Well, I almost took drastic measures tonight – I felt ‘Pets at Home’ calling me to buy some crickets to photograph, but then I pictured my husband’s face as he arrived home to find the living room covered in crickets and thought otherwise 🙂

I did, however, decide to stick with the insect theme having been so successful with it previously – so off on the ‘hunt’ I went. I decided not to make life too easy for myself tonight, so I chose to focus on green flies. They are so tiny, intricate and beautiful and their true detail is often very difficult to capture with human eyes alone.  I must confess that I had tried to take photos of them a few weeks back but I was very unsuccessful, I hoped I’d have better luck tonight.

One of my favourite shots from tonight is provided above – it’s not as grand as last night’s bluebottle fly shots  but I am happy with it non-the-less. It’s a glimpse into a tiny world and highlights detail that the eye alone would never capture. In the macro online gallery I have also uploaded another version of this shot in black and white  just to experiment a little on my last night 😉

And here’s another image from tonight’s session (below) – just to whet your taste buds for one last look at my online macro gallery where other shots from tonight are stored 🙂

That’s all from me folks…over and out (sob!).

A greenfly looks down from the security of the flower petals as if to questions its predicament

My Ecuadorian Friend

A grasshopper hides in a twisted leaf in the dark undergrowth beneath the primary rainforest canopy in the Ecuadorian Amazon

I realised tonight that I’ve never actually IDd this little guy, but have always thought of him as a grasshopper. This was taken in May 2006 in Ecuador, and is one of my first DSLR shots – we bought the 30D and a Sigma 70-300mm for this trip, and suffice to say that my scathing view of the 70-300 nowadays shows how fresh to digital photography we were back then.

We were in the Ecuadorian Amazon, sailing aboard the wonderful Manatee Explorer with our guide Ernesto, and on this afternoon were exploring some primary rainforest. I lagged behind a bit and looked around, lugging a monopod but still struggling with the dim light, and then spotted a stalk with a curled leaf atop it. I thought at the time, ‘if I was predated on in the Amazon, I bet I’d hide in there’, and so took a look. I was nervous and maybe a little naïve, as I thought as I peered inside that a flying spider might scream out and be the end of me. As it turns out, an equally terrified little insect was holed up in there, and looked a little surprised to see Japanese technology invade his realm.

I almost never use flash for any photography, and rarely did back then, but on this occasion I didn’t have much choice – I had a monopod but it was angled at around 50 degrees to see into the leaf so wasn’t adding a great deal of stability. Turns out this was shot with flash at 1/60 second and ISO 800 at f/5.6. The little flash dazzles give the image some intrigue, but I’m not sure I’d do it again. I also was only shooting in JPEG at the time! Nevertheless, as an inexperienced DSLR user – and fairly inexperienced photographer – I was delighted with the result and this is one of those images that spurred me on to do more, much more, at a decision point when had I not found this guy, felt the fear, and made the image, then I might have put the camera back on the shelf and gone on to do something else. So, thanks – I hope you’ve recovered.

(errata: I know this shot has been published before here, but I’m not sure the backstory has been present)

Oops, well you’ve screwed yourself there haven’t you?!

Examining a common housefly up close

Well, it’s day 30 and my macro obsession reached new (delightful) heights today when I captured some shots I am extremely proud of BUT, I will never be able to top these for my last day and grand finale tomorrow on day 31. I have considered leaving these shots until tomorrow and presenting them then as a final ‘wow’, but I then figured that would be cheating – afterall, why not set myself an insurmountable challenge for my last day of the macro challenge?!

I’ll let you into a secret – the fly is deceased, gone. It is a fly no more.  Please do not judge me when I say I found it on its back whilst taking the bins out and got so excited I had to carry it inside for a bit of a macro ‘sesh’.

I would like to reiterate that I do not do (or believe in) bait and capture, but I figured I can make an exception when I am prepared to pick up dead insects and welcome them onto my coffee table to honour them in death. I just could not resist the chance to photograph a non twitching insect and it’s the first time I have had such satisfaction from a man made shoot since my sheepskin rug photography session.

The fly was placed on the same blue glass block used last weekend and luck would have it that I have not yet thrown away my dying daisy flower so it’s still dropping seeds (again, please do not judge – I have kept the decaying flower ‘just in case’ ).

Despite the fact that the fly was dead, it was still a tricky shot to master in the fading natural light. I tried illuminating it several different ways with artifical lighting, but found that this either over exposed the shot beyond repair or highlighted far too many imperfections and details on the glass block which detracted from the fly as the main subject. I consistently altered the position of the subject, the lighting and glass block to ensure that I could get a crystal clear reflection. I also wanted to try and work with a much lower ISO tonight to take advantage of this rare opportunity and ensure the shot was not too noisy. In the end, the shot above was captured with a flash and ISO 1000 which is higher than I wanted but otherwise I could not get the shutter speed needed to negate blur in the reflection and in the finer detail around the fly. I used f/9, exposure bias -2/3 EV and a shutter speed of 1/13 sec. What I am especially happy about is that I have done very little post processing on these images. I challenged myself to produce as much of a perfect shot as I could straight out of the camera.. given that I had it easy because my subject was dead 🙂

The shot below was deliberately shot to be a little intimidating. It was taken using the camera’s inbuilt flash at 1/25 sec, ISO 1000, exposure bias -2/3 EV  and at f/14.

Additional images from tonight’s photography session are available in my online macro photography gallery.