I'm walking in nearly complete darkness, only able to navigate thanks to my head lamp. As I come around a bend in the road, there's a gap in line of trees along the right hand side, their black silhouettes dropping away to reveal the view. This is what I had been hoping to find when I ventured out of camp, so stop and turn off the light. In front of me lies the valley, almost not recognizable compared with its daytime self. The night sky, almost but not completely black, is studded with stars. The dark outline of a low hill in the middle distance; spots of light scattered sparsely across it, each little cluster signifying a farmhouse. Behind it, the orange glow of a town. At this distance you can't make out any shapes - it's barely visible in the daylight- but the light radiating skywards marks its location like a beacon. There are thousands of pinpricks of brightness within that diffuse radiance; each one denoting a single streetlight, a single lighted window, or the headlights of car. I don't know if it's an illusion, but from where I'm standing, they seem to be twinkling like distant fireflies. It's funny when you come to think of it, you come out here to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, but once you're up here, looking down at the city lights from the stillness of the mountain, it's actually quite beautiful.
This beach is unusually steep. I’m standing at the bottom of the hill, right where the coarse black sand meets the ocean; if I turn my head I can barely see over the crest. In the distance to my right, a cliff rises abruptly out of the sand, and off to my left the beach narrows to a point where the dark green hills come crawling down to the water. The slow swell of the Pacific gets bunched up against the steeply rising ground, and as it does a turquoise grey wall of water rises up in front of me. … Read the rest
Just a few meters out from the beach the sand gives way to an entirely different landscape; forests of bony coral fingers covered in green algae; meter wide shelves of brown coral in uneven stacks, so thin and brittle they look like they would break at the slightest touch; clusters of sea urchins with spikes 20 centimeters long. I must stay mindful of how I move, lest I should hurt myself or damage the coral. Hundreds or even thousands of fishes swim back and fourth through this landscape; tiny blue ones flitting out of sight in a moment, flat black and white ones with long filaments at the ends of their fins, gliding majestically along, big silver ones nibbling on the coral, and ones that lie still on the ocean floor, their mottled skin acting as near perfect camouflage. A few meters further out the seabed drops precipitously away beneath my feet and the water turns a deeper shade of blue. I suddenly find myself floating in the middle of a school of neon yellow, tiger striped fish. They whirl around me, nervously at first, but as I slow my movement to a minimum they come in closer, curious about this new presence. As soon as I move a hand towards one, it swims away with a flash. Moments later another comes inching closer again. It's like a curious dance we're doing, the school of fishes and I. It lasts a few minutes until I take off in a different direction, continuing to explore.
The massive Mercury four-stroke is churning up a huge swell as it pushes us forward, shooting a plume of foam into the air behind us. The drone of the engine is competing with the noise of the wind to drown out the sound of conversation. Despite the relatively calm sea, we are bouncing on the waves with a rhythmic thud, thud thud; riding up the crests then crashing down into the troughs, spray soaring into the air with each beat. We are quickly passing little islands - lush green hills poking out from the turquoise sea - as the mainland recedes into the distance behind us.
9:12am: The water is gushing down on me, trying to push me off the rock I’m standing on. A thought rushes through my head, should I give up, take the easy route? I shrug it off, find a new handhold, fight back against the force. It’s go time! With the water spraying into my face I push off with my legs and heave myself up. I’m through! What a rush! Soaking wet, I pump my fists in the air.
9:19am: I’m trudging through knee deep rapids, feel the force against my legs. I clamber over a boulder and as I … Read the rest
We go tramping through the forest like giants, mostly unconcerned with where we step. It’s not until you kneel down to pick some berries or mushrooms that your perspective changes and you notice it: The forest floor is like a landscape within a landscape. There are groves of blueberry bushes with fields of grass in between. There are deep gullies winding their way between moss covered hills. There are anthills the size of cities and paths that no human has ever walked. There are irregular patches of lichen scrubland. There are bright red, yellow, and purple mushrooms shooting up from … Read the rest
We come around the bend and the view opens up in front of us; distant peaks obscured by the haze, the mountain side dressed in pale greens and yellows – bamboo waving in the breeze like reeds – the mist comes rolling down the slope like water, spilling out as it hits the boxy structure of a man made tunnel – concrete and dark green moss – billowing into the air like smoke then swirling into the blue void. No time to take a photo, just a few moments until the road leads us into the gaping maw of the … Read the rest
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