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.

Postcard from the Road #7: Steveston, Canada

Dear Friend,

This postcard may be slow to reach you. I forgot to mail it until near the end of my trip. I was looking south across from Steveston at the mouth of the Lower Arm of the mighty Fraser River. This scene struck me, with the driftwood, the boats passing by, and the purple wildflowers growing by the water’s edge. In the distance, some islands, including Vancouver Island provide a nice silhouette. It was just a beautiful scene that stuck with me.

My friend Melinda Green Harvey was in BC around the same time, and took a magnificent photo of driftwood, if this sort of thing interests you. I promise to continue with posting about Iguazu Falls later this week.

 

A magical Pacific Northwest summer sunset

All the best,

The Gentleman Backpacker

 

Postcard from the Road #6: Spotted Lake, BC

Dear Friend,

A little to the northwest of Osoyoos, BC, the city that claims the title of hottest place in Canada and one of the border towns with the US, is this alkaline water formation known as “Spotted Lake.” This view from the side of the Crowsnest Highway (Number 3) is the closest one can legally get to the lake these days, as it is private land belonging to a native band. According to Wikipedia the natives bought the land partly to prevent the development of a spa. Interestingly, the mineral-rich area was used to source material for ammunition during the First World War.

It isn’t worth going out of your way to visit since you can’t walk down onto its banks, but if you are passing through the area, it’s worth a stop to have a look from the side of the road. You can read a bit more about Spotted Lake here.

 

The unusual sight of Spotted Lake

Best,

The Gentleman Backpacker

Postcard from the Road #5: Chuchuwayha Community Hall and Arriving Home before the Mail

Dear Friend,

I encountered this old building on my drive from Keremeos to Hope, BC. The low clouds and fog made for an eerie scene, and with the last little bit of daylight left, I took this photo. A cursory Google search of Chuchuwayha reveals a small Reserve of the Upper Similkameen Band, population 76. I did not see a soul during my few minutes here. I would have loved to see the dollar (loonie) auction or stayed for bingo night, though. I am not sure what to think about that smiley face, except it looks somehow creepy to me.

My inspiration for this photo comes in part from the blog of my friend Melinda Green Harvey, whom I had the tremendous fortune of meeting at a photography workshop in Santa Fe taught by the tireless and incomparable Brett Erickson. Her blog is based on the concept of posting one photo every single day without fail, and she has managed to stick to this exhausting theme for four years! You’ll find many photos of old buildings there, like this one, for example. On top of all that, she has a tremendous eye for photography.

I’m back in New York now, so will get to posting more actual travel stories and tips. Iguazu and Peru are next.

Remember when you’d be traveling somewhere and send a postcard home to family, and the mail delivery service was so slow you’d end up beating it back home before it arrived? In that manner, I can continue with this series if you like, or I can stop. Let me know what you, the reader, want.

Chuchuwayha

 

Best,

The Gentleman Backpacker

 

 

 

Postcard from the Road #4: Spectacular Similkameen Valley, Canada

Beam of light pierces through cloud next to a cornfield. Similkameen Valley, Canada.

Dear Friend,

When chewing up tarmac in a Porsche GT3, it’s easy to overlook the beauty of the setting as you focus on your next heel-toe downshift, and what lies beyond the next curve. Not so when you’re in the Similkameen Valley, which is a narrow, 100km long pastoral paradise that extends northwest from the city of Osoyoos, at the US border, through the fruit-growing community of Keremeos, to the town of Princeton. I snapped this photo at the side of a cornfield as a beam of sunlight burst through the heavy cloud-cover late in the afternoon before the sun disappeared over the mountains. I love the contrast of precision performance machine in a timeless, rural setting.

After getting through the valley, the highway takes you up Allison Pass. Here I encountered such dense fog that night, I had to slow down to about half the posted speed limit in order to see where I was going. Visibility in places was no more than ten meters. At one point, the fog cleared just enough to reveal the Skagit River next to me, bathed in a mysterious, fog-filtered twilight. Out of the fog emerged a magnificent bald eagle. I slowed down even further and drove alongside the great bird for about a minute. Sadly, there was no way to photograph that moment to share with you, but it will be forever etched in my mind.

Despite the fog and treacherous driving conditions all the way to the town of Hope beyond Allison Pass, for my money, the road through the Similkameen Valley is the most beautiful, fun road I’ve ever driven. Next time, I may slow it down even further and take my road bike instead.

This is a link that explains a bit more about this magical place.

A good spot to stop and “see the light.” Similkameen Valley, Canada

 

Regards,

The Gentleman Backpacker

Postcard from the Road #3 : Summerland, Okanagan Valley, Canada

Dear Friend,

The Okanagan Valley is Canada’s fruit and wine country; naturally, my friends’ wedding ceremony was set in a vineyard, this one on a small plot on a stunning, sloping cliff along the western shore of Okanagan Lake near a town called Summerland. A surprise was to come in the form of a sunset party boat from there back to the city of Kelowna on the eastern shore for the reception. Many thanks to Tim, Lindsay, and their families for a wonderful time.

Wedding guests walk among the vines before the ceremony, with Lake Okanagan beyond.

 

Best regards,

 

The Gentleman Backpacker

Postcard from the Road #2: Somewhere near Chilliwack, Canada

Dear Friend,

I’m in Summerland, BC at the moment. Friends’ wedding in Kelowna was a great time. Rather than fly from Vancouver, I opted to drive one early morning. The light and the mist were glorious. Thanks to a dear friend, the mode of transport wasn’t too bad as well.

 

The road isn’t too shabby this time around.

Postcard from the Road #1: Vancouver, Canada

Dear Friend,
I’m in Beautiful British Columbia this week. Working on a few new posts for you soon featuring more of South America, including Iguazu Falls, Machu Picchu, etc., but as I am on the road and have a wedding to attend, etc., it will take me a couple of days to publish. To thank you for your patience, here is a photo I took a couple of days ago at Garry Point Park in Steveston, a suburb of Vancouver, Canada. I used to walk my dog here back many years ago when I used to live in this corner of the world. This is a photo of sunset, with the grasses of the marshlands lit up a golden hue, and the famous North Shore mountains in the distance. Hope you like it.

August 3rd, 2014: Sunset in Vancouver, Canada

Sincerely,

The Gentleman Backpacker