Our Water World in 30 Travel Photographs

“You’re going the wrong way” An endangered green turtle rises to the surface for air, while a SCUBA diver descends upon entry into the water

The calendar has turned to October, and if the crisp air in New York is any indication, autumn has kicked summer to the curb. I want to say thanks for a very busy September here at The Gentleman Backpacker, where you visited us more than ever before. It’s a nice feeling to see people viewing what we put out. I’d like to encourage you to please leave us comments and ask plenty of questions. I want to help make traveling as enjoyable for you as it is for me. I’ve been busy the past few weeks as some big changes are coming in my life (stay tuned), but I’ve also been swamped with selecting entries for some photography contests. “Water” was the topic of one of these contests, and as broad as that one word is, there are so many meanings. If we take the frozen kind, for example, the Inuit People of the Arctic are famously known to have 50 words for snow. So I took to thinking about water from different perspectives as I sorted through some 30,000 photographs to weed out perhaps 5,000 water photographs, before culling my list down to 30. For the contest, I finally submitted just a handful from that penultimate list of 30, but I thought I would share these with you in the form of a post. I was surprised at just how many different places these photos came from, and they made for a very interesting look at our world. I’ve included a few lines about each photo to describe to you the place and time, and what I felt as I captured the scene. If you had to enter a contest and submit only five photos, which ones would you pick? Please let me know in the comments section below! Please note I worked really hard and traveled to many places at great personal expense to capture these photos. If you want to use one, please contact me at gentlemanbackpacker@gmail.com and we can discuss the matter. Please don’t just download them for your own commercial use. They are copyrighted and all rights are reserved.

“The Landing”: The Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Delta, BC, Canada is one of the most important urban sanctuaries in the world, protecting migratory birds from 22 countries (3 continents). August 2014

“Hungarian Pool Party”: Budapest is known for its gorgeous pool facilities, where it’s a big family activity for all to share. June 2008

“Spiny creatures”: I was shooting this old, broken bridge in the Florida Keys when this iguana crawled up the embankment. His spines perfectly matched the “spines” left on the bridge. Memorial Day Weekend, May 2012.

“Follow the light” : A diver swims into a school of jackfish, seeking to get a photo. Sipadan, Malaysia. July 2013. A few years back, a group of tourists was kidnapped by armed Philippine rebels, prompting the Malaysian Government to close all the resorts on the island itself.

“The Pipe”: Surfers welcome the start of the winter swell at Banzai Pipeline, North Shore of Oahu, October 2012.

“The Angel’s Hair” Iguazu Falls, Argentina, May 2008.

“School’s canceled!”: A major snow day in February 2013 in New York brings out the kids and their sleds. Central Park, NY

“Portuguese Colours”: Net floats are hung in festive fashion for Portugal Day at the Tower of Belem, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its importance in Portuguese (and global) maritime history. June, 2008

“Jimbaran Tradition”:Tourists sit down to dine at one of the many restaurants that line Jimbaran Bay in Bali, Indonesia. Locals play around in the water and hawk their wares, such as fruit, live music, and balloons. June, 2011.

“Longing for Louise”: I felt transported to another era, at the Cheateau Lake Louise, August 2009.

“Dramatic Entrance” Iguazu Falls, May 2008.

“Blue Lagoons and White Sands”: Lencois Maranhenses, Brazil. Rivers deposit fine sand at the Atlantic, while ocean winds whip the sands into moving dunes, meaning this particular view will never exist again. June, 2010.

“The Land of Hanalei”: People enjoy the sunset in this land made famous by “Puff the Magic Dragon,” on their boats, on the pier, in the water, and on the sand. Kauai, April 2013.

“No place to hide”: An endangered green turtle swims in a school of yellow-tailed fusiliers, Sipadan, Malaysia. Conservationists and divers weigh the balances of tourism vs. preservation by using a daily quota of dive permits. July 2013.

“Columns of Water” : Columns from the cloisters of St. Guilhem de Desert, near Montpellier, France were carved in the late 1200s to resemble water. The Hudson River flows by in the background at the Cloisters Museum, NY, September 2014.

“Paradise Lost”: A desperately poor shantytown sits in an idyllic setting on Mabul Island, Malaysia. July, 2013.

“That feeling you’re being watched”: A giant school of jackfish at Barracuda Point, Pulau Sipadan, Malaysia, July 2013.

“Beauty Overlooked”:The cherubs at the base of the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park are overlooked because of the more famous angel above them. August, 2014.

“The Blue Yonder”: A lone turtle swims in the deep blue sea off Sipadan Sea Mount, Malaysia, July 2013. The daily limit for divers is 120, which seems like a lot, but isn’t when they are spread among more than a dozen beautiful diving spots.

“Purity”: White sand and still waters. Lencois Maranhenses, Brazil, June, 2010.

“In Search of Sipadan”: At dusk, dive boats sit in the bay at Pulau Mabul, gateway to Sipadan, the holy grail of SCUBA diving off the coast of Borneo, Malaysia, while the sun, already below the horizon lights up the clouds.

“Barracuda!”: Ironically, not at Barracuda Point, Sipadan, Malaysia.

“To be or not to be”: Spotted Lake, BC. The First Nations Group that owns the land battled with the question of turning this unusual alkaline deposit into a spa facility to attract tourist dollars. August, 2014.

“Creation of Life”: A storm rolls in over the sand dunes of Lencois Maranhenses, Brazil. The rainy season creates temporary fresh water lagoons and locals farm fish in them in order to survive.

“Two Worlds Collide”: Colorful boats at sunset float between a destitute shanty town and an ultra-luxurious floating villa resort on Pulau Mabul, Malaysia. Villagers live on $1 a day, while tourists spend as much as $400 a night.

“Peering into the abyss”: What does the future hold for sea turtles and other endangered species in our oceans? The sea wall at Sipadan falls 6,000 feet to the ocean floor below.

“Mosi Oa Tunya (The Smoke that Thunders): Ghostly figures emerge from the mist from Victoria Falls, Zambia. They are revealed to be children, using the bridge as a water slide on which to play. Zambia, May 2010.

“Abiquiu Waters”: A summer thunder and lightning storm rolls in over Abiquiu Lake, a manmade reservoir in New Mexico. July, 2014.

“The vortex”: A giant school of jackfish at Barracuda Point, Sipadan. Divers look on, just before a white-tip reef shark emerges from beyond the school. Sipadan, Malaysia.

“A Day at Bloubergstrand”: Windsurfers and kite surfers enjoy the choppy seas at Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa, which is rebranding itself as a world-renowned sport-tourism destination in the post-Apartheid era, capped by the World Cup hosted in 2010. April, 2010.

Beating the Easter Blues: Bluesfest Byron Bay

Easter has mostly been one of those holidays for which I rarely had firm plans. As it happened this year, I found myself in Byron Bay, in northern New South Wales, Australia. Its natural setting makes it one of the most beautiful places in Australia, and its people make it one of the happiest, “hippiest” places on Earth (more on that in another post).

As it turns out, Easter is a huge weekend in Byron with everyone on holidays visiting, and the Byron and East Coast Blues and Roots Festival on. “Bluesfest,” as it is known, is a massive music festival, and one of the very best I have ever attended. This year happened to be the 25th anniversary of the 5-day event, and featured headliners such as Jack Johnson, Dave Matthews Band, Erykah Badu, Jeff Beck, the Doobie Brothers, Gregg and Devon Allman, Buddy Guy, Gary Clark Jr., Ian Butler Trio, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Joss Stone, and so on, as well as dozens of smaller acts. In the past they have had a who’s who of names (King, Simon, Plant, etc.) Since I was there, I had to get a ticket!

Survival Guide: Carnival, Salvador, Brazil

Salvador: Brazil’s “Real” Carnival

 

When you hear the words, “Carnival in Brazil,” what images come to mind? Many of you would likely conjure mental pictures of giant floats and voluptuous women in flamboyant, glittering, butterfly costumes parading past enormous grandstands in the streets of Rio–and you wouldn’t be wrong. In fact, the festivities were likely broadcast on your TV just last week. But there is another side to “Carnaval.” The “real” side, where Brazilians dream of going.; and it is an ordeal to survive, and a wonder in which to partake.

My story begins on Valentine’s Day a couple of years ago, right here in New York City. One of my best friends came to visit from across the Pacific, and we went out for a party at a well-known club here in the City. It was a so-called “French Tuesday” to boot, thus one of the big clubbing nights of the month. We met up with some other friends, nabbed a table, and stayed out until near closing time. I got home not in the best of shape, but having trained myself over the years to function in this less-than-ideal state, I packed my bags for the trip, showered, and went to work. Bets were placed in the office on whether or not I would come back alive.