Tag Archives: Nature

Yanacocha Reserve

Yanacocha Reserve

At this time of the day the sun is high in the sky and should have warmed up the landscape – instead the clouds are flowing thick and moist, filtering out most of the light. Altitude 3560 metres.

Yanacocha Reserve

Yanacocha Reserve

A rare glimpse of the Pichincha Volcano (4784 metres high) which is mostly hidden in dense clouds. It was a very cold morning and I was eagerly awaiting the sun to reach the ground and my cold body. In Yanacocha that does not happen until much later in the morning as the steep slopes are [...]

Leaving Napo Wildlife Center

Leaving Napo Wildlife Center

After 3 nights in Yasuni National park this was the very first rain shower! It was perfectly timed, as it started pouring down just as we were switching from the open canoe to the roofed speedboat. There was thunder rumbling, and this was perhaps the beginning of a hefty thunderstorm. Not so. After a few [...]

Napo Wildlife Center

Napo Wildlife Center

There is no sound of engines after you disembark the motorized boat at the welcome center, where the Aanangu creek meets the Napo river. From there all goods and people must be transported by canoes up the creek to the Anangucocha lake. This is a wonderfully silent means of transport, and has an impact on [...]

Napo Wildlife Center

Napo Wildlife Center

A beautiful moonlit night with an almost cloudless sky above the Anangucocha lake. As this is the watery Amazon I should have been pestered by countless mosquitoes and other bloodsuckers, but not here. The Napo Wildlife Center is strangely not a mosquito infested place. I wore shorts and a T-shirt and got no bites during [...]

Napo Wildlife Center

Napo Wildlife Center

A starry night in the Amazon – I never expected a clear night like this! The moon will be full in 2 days – the 10th, which in fact is the date of the lunar eclipse. Not visible from South America, but being in such a strong moolight in this wonderful location with all the [...]

Napo Wildlife Center

Napo Wildlife Center

Anangucocha lake and cumulus clouds reflecting the light of setting sun.

Napo Wildlife Center

Napo Wildlife Center

A setting sun in the west and a rising moon in the east, reflected in the Anangucocha lake. If I only had time, I would have made a time-lapse movie of all the moods of the lake during any given day. As this is on the equator, there are no storm fronts or hurricanes. Only [...]

Pinnacle Rock – Bartolome Island

Pinnacle Rock – Bartolome Island

The iconic and vulcanic formation, with the equally unique Gray matplant (Tiquilia nesiotica) in the foreground – the much larger Santiago Island in the background

Pinnacle Rock – Bartolome Island

Pinnacle Rock – Bartolome Island

Perhaps one of the most peculiar formations on the Galapagos. From afar it looks just like a pinnacle rock, but closing in you’ll see strange formations created by sun, wind and water. This erosion is continous, and sometime in the future the pinnacle will be nothing more than a photographic memory.

Gray matplant (Tiquilia nesiotica)

Gray matplant (Tiquilia nesiotica)

The only plant species growing on these sandy volcanic slopes. When I asked for the name of this species I was very puzzled! I wondered how this plant could be used in the production of the alcoholic drink – but when you see the name in writing you quickly realize it’s nothing to do with [...]

Santiago Island lavaflow

Santiago Island lavaflow

An island in a sea of hardened lavaflow on an island in a sea of water! This is on the south east side of the island, close to the Pinnacle Rock.

Pinnacle Rock – Bartolome Island

Pinnacle Rock – Bartolome Island

The iconic and volcanic formation from a different angle and Santiago Island in the background.

Bartolome Island

Bartolome Island

Despite being a rather new island, with very little vegetation, it has a great diversity in volcanic formations, rock and sand. Some areas looks Martian – like the foreground – red sand and rock. No vegetation at all.

Santiago Island lavaflow

Santiago Island lavaflow

What a sight this must have been, when the lava was flowing here a few years ago, and surrounded this outcrop! This is on the north west side of the island.

Fernandina lavaflow

Fernandina lavaflow

Looks like cow manure or perhaps chocolate mousse?

Palo Santo (Bursera graveolens)

Palo Santo (Bursera graveolens)

Out on sea the temperature is balmy, but on land it’s a different matter. Close to noon, it must have been close to 40 celsius here on the slopes down to the brine water of Darwin’s Lake – scorchingly hot, despite a partly cloudy sky. Without frequent rain, the water will quickly evaporate and thus [...]

Darwin Lake

Darwin Lake

What a wonderful sight – a large body of fresh water. Not! It’s brine – much saltier than the ocean due to continuous evaporation. Imagine the disappointment for the first humans that found it.

Genovesa sunset

Genovesa sunset

The sheer cliffs of Genovesa are insurmountable to all except humans – here bathed in the the last rays of the sun as I walk down the Prince Philip’s Steps. Everything about Genovesa is simply amazing – be it in the light of a setting sun, at night or any time of the year. This [...]

Antisana Volcano

Antisana Volcano

@06:59 @07:43 @08:28

Halo

Halo

Altitude 3083 metres. See Atmospheric Optics for more on halo and how it forms.

Total lunar eclipse of June 2011

Total lunar eclipse of June 2011

At this time of the year the nights are hardly noticable, as the sun is below the horizon for just a few hours – during which the sky never darkens enough for the stars to come out. During this eclipse the rising moon was below the horizon during much of the totality, and I don’t [...]

Angel Falls mushroom

Angel Falls mushroom

One of several species of fungus growing in the moist and dark forest surrounding the Auyantepui – the source of Angel Falls. These are growing on and outcrop by the path up to the lookoutpoint to the falls.

Double rainbow and Roraima

Double rainbow and Roraima

Walking down from Roraima once out of the forest was very hot. I had a hard time managing my body temperature, and was longing for a rainshower that never seemed to come. The shower did come eventually, but alas, I was walking away from it. I sat down to rest on a rock in the [...]

Roraima thunderstorms

Roraima thunderstorms

The view from the camp site, or “hotel”, atop Roraima was awesome. I was well protected from the elements in the cave, and could watch nature in all it’s ways and never get wet or cold. The “entertainment” was spectacular this evening. Several cumulunimbus clouds produced lightning for what seemed forever. The altitude made the [...]

Crepuscular ray between Kukenan and Roraima

Crepuscular ray between Kukenan and Roraima

About one our before sunset. Most prefer to be in constant movement to forget about the unanswered questions of existence and keep the mind fully occupied. Instead they could simply sit still and watch nature’s countless variations and manifestations. For just one moment the light of the sun was let through as if a giant’s [...]

Roraima rainbow

Roraima rainbow

There are countless waterfalls on and off Roraima, large and small. If the sun is out and the angle is right, a rainbow will flash as in this photo. One can walk to such a place, or sit by one and wait until the sun and angle makes it happen all on it’s own.

Roraima crevice

Roraima crevice

This crevice is huge in depth and length, and in one location a rumbling sound – like a remote jet plane – is heard. It’s the sound of a large waterfall far below – covered by layers of rock. Some time in the future this crevice may have grown to a divide that separate parts [...]

Daybreak atop Roraima

Daybreak atop Roraima

What a stunning place to wake up! Just outside my tent this is what I saw – the great wall of the neighbouring Kukenan tepui. Every minute the light, shadows and clouds changed – no human sounds – not even the sound of a plane. Silence…. Watching the sun rising and the shadows shrinking. This [...]

Kukenan in the clouds

Kukenan in the clouds

Finally arrived at the “hotel”, after a very wet hike up. Now the high clouds are dissolving, and the lower clouds manifest in the heat of the emerging sun. Both Roraima and Kukenan are cloudmakers, and if they are in the clear – just sit and wait, and the updrafts will soon manifest misty rivers [...]

Almost on top of Roraima

Almost on top of Roraima

This was the third day of the Roraima trek. The morning started with a light shower. Unfortunately it lasted for many hours, and we just had to make our way to the top of Roraima. It was a weeeeet walk! Strangely enough I preferred the wet, as that made it easier to climb and not [...]

Roraima fireflies

Roraima fireflies

Base camp turned out be quite a spectacle after dark, as the fireflies here were abundant and glowed – yellow! On the savanna the light was blue, and the fireflies mostly on the ground or in between the grass. Here they were quite busy on the ground, as well as in the air. Some only [...]

The towering wall of Roraima

The towering wall of Roraima

Closing in on base camp, Roraima seemed lik an insurmountable wall going on forever as it disappeared into the clouds. How to climb this monster?

A closer look at Kukenan

A closer look at Kukenan

On the way to base camp, the walls of Roraima and Kukenan slowly came closer, and the sheer scale of them became more apparent. During the day they were both covered in clouds, but that made it even more exiting, as it was never certain what would be revealed next. This was shot at 13:11, [...]

Kukenan tepui free from morning clouds

Kukenan tepui free from morning clouds

Just 6 minutes ago Kukenan was covered in clouds, and the light was soft and warm. Now the strong sunlight is coming through and and the harder light of day rules.

Kukenan tepui in morning clouds

Kukenan tepui in morning clouds

The light and clouds change continously, and I could take photos all day long. Here the tepui is almost covered in clouds, while the base is beautifully lit up by the rising sun. Although it’s 07:37 – more than an hour since sunrise, the light is still softened and dispersed by the mist and clouds.

Roraima in the morning

Roraima in the morning

The sun is rising to the right of the photo and Roraima is standing tall and dark against the brightening of the sky and clouds. To the left an early rain shower is moving into the picture.

Dawn on the sabana – Tok river camp

Dawn on the sabana – Tok river camp

Facing away from the awesome Kukenan an Roraima tepuis, the morning light is no less soft and warm, but the landscape is dramatically different and what dominates the plateau – grass and bush. Hardly any trees – the few that exist grow around rivers and streams. This is due to natural fires caused by lightning, [...]

Dawn on the Kukenan tepui

Dawn on the Kukenan tepui

This is the second day on the Roraima trek. It’s just 06:09 in the morning and the light is wonderfully soft, as the very first sunrays fall on the grassland on the base of the Kukenan tepui – Roraimas awesome neighbouring tepui. The waterfall is just a trickle compared to last evening when we had [...]

Gran Sabana tepui

Gran Sabana tepui

The previous night was extraordinarily wet – it was almost impossible to look through the windshield. Driving was very slow, and fallen trees in the road didn’t make the journey any better. Richardo the driver did not seem worried, and pushed on Venezuela higway 10 towards the Kamoiran lodge on the plateau that is the [...]

My life as a dog on Anaa

My life as a dog on Anaa

My host had two dogs, and such harmonoius dogs! Being a total stranger I would suspect a greeting of loud barks and jumping to and fro. Not these dogs! Approaching them and simply giving attention and petting them was well received, with pure joy and friendliness in return. Most of the time they were just [...]

Anaa shell desert

Anaa shell desert

Some areas the shelldunes stretched far and wide, and it resembled a desert more than an atoll. The enormity of shells deposited is is a grand display of how rich the ocean is here. The strangest of all things here was the absence of human waste! There was nothing! Not even a tiny bit of [...]

Anaa shell dunes

Anaa shell dunes

In the lagoon there are huge deposits of shells in formations similar to what you see in the snowy and windswept mountains in winter. The different ages of shells are like the snow, where the fresh snow is the whitest on top, and here the newest shells are the whitest all the way down to [...]

Anaa ocean channel

Anaa ocean channel

This is one of many openings in the chain of dry land and during storm surges the ocean will flood through here and rearrange shores and islets and deposit shells, coral and other dead material in the lagoon. In 1983 Anaa was hit by a hurricane which destroyed the bridge over this channel. Only the [...]

Anaa coral reef

Anaa coral reef

Anaa is incredibly diverse, and here the coral dominates the landscape. The outrcops are fossilized coral or limestone. When the outcrops eventually erode away, the remains will flatten to a beach seen here. This in turn is battered by endless waves grinding coral pebbels over the surface until it’s as smooth as seen here. I [...]

In for landing on the Anaa atoll

In for landing on the Anaa atoll

Anaa is 1 hour 20 minutes flight from Tahiti, and is one of the closest of the atolls in the Tuamotu archipelago and the location for the viewing of the 2010 total solar eclipse. The captain was kind enough to take a couple of sweeps over the atoll before landing, so we could take photos [...]

Lookout point to Tahiti from Moorea

Lookout point to Tahiti from Moorea

Overlooking the coral reef and lagoon in the foreground and the deep ocean between Moorea and Tahiti in the distance. Tahiti has mountains more then 2000 meters high, and this creates an almost permanent cloud cover and rain in the interior. Moorea highest mountains are “only” about 1200 meters, and this too generates clouds and [...]

Moorea caldera

Moorea caldera

Moorea has dramatic and sharp peaks, and is as breathtking when viewed like here from inside the caldera as it is from the ocean. There are several hiking trails and some go all the way up to the peaks. I was unforytunately not able to take a hike to the peak with the hole (Mouaputa), [...]

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Copyright © 2012 Morten Ross.