Absolutely Stunning! Your photos have blown me away... It makes me want to be there right this minute. Another great blog. I can't believe you've both been on the road for 10 weeks, I'm a little envious :)
Absolutely Stunning! Always had the Atacama Desert at the top of my wish list Alan, and when you consider photos only give a taste...wow. wish I was still there now! Glad I have maybe planted a seed. Now you are blogging Peru...maybe Bolivia and Chile can tempt you back to South America. Enjoy!
41? Now you are showing off Jo Estancia El Salistral does not come up on google nor is there an estancia name in my photo of the one with the picket fence driveway leading up to a rocky peak shortly before your chosen pic (not in my blog). It is of the unnamed road that turns south off Ruta 41 that we took from Paso Raballes to Lago Posadas...one of our favourite roads! Pure wilderness. I thought you were heading off in October. Where are you now?
On train rides I like trains but I am not a railfan. That is, I don't plan my trips around trains but if there are trains, railway bridges, railway stations etc worth seeing I happily take my time seeing it.
I have to mention two train rides, out of the many I have taken, that really stick out.
I once took a train from Kalka to Shimla in India. It is a narrow gauge railway in a spectacular mountain setting.
I once took a train from Peshawar into the Khyber Pass up to the Afghani border. The montains there were so steep that the train in several places had to first go forward, then stop and reverse for a while, then stop and again go forward. I.e. the train equivalent to hairpin turns.
Ake
On train rides Those train trips sound insane Ake. A train trip in India sounds like a must and you must have wondered if your train would make it up the Khyber Pass at that rate!
Panoramic dancing The first photo is so important and this one grabbed our attention. Were you talking about yourself when you spoke of train nuts waxing lyrical? ha ha Freaking that you ran into a school friend and he remembered you. Excellent. That must have been fun. Eager to see what the dancing ones do next.
Panoramic dancing So many interesting people in Katoomba MJ...so many photo ops...had to share. I went to school by train then the first 9 years of my working life...then not another train until the Sydney Olympics. When we discovered recently that it is sometimes faster to get into the city by train due to parking restraints got me to thinking...some of these slick new trains are pretty cool. Not being a train nut I still prefer to drive though!
Steam Trains Well clearly yo haven't changed much Dave! I remember hearing once, "It's a small world but I wouldn't want to paint it"! Always interesting when you run into old school chums. It's funny I just finished watching a movie called the Station Agent all about one guy's love of trains then being willed an old train depot which he moved to. Then recently on a two day trip we saw more trains than we have ever seen before which got the whole family talking about how cool trains are. They are such a part of our history/civilization. Enjoyed the blog immensely!
Steam Trains Sounds like you know what I'm talking about Sal. Thanks for commenting. There are lots of different trains for different purposes and I found them rather photogenic. It wasn't until I photographed those two times that I realised there are bound to be heaps more. The train nuts are so into them their stories gotta make you smile! Our most memorable was probably one in icy Inner Mongolia.
Nostalgia creeps in! Right on, Dave. The old chu chu...especially I love when the engine makes a rhythmic sound when running at full speed....like a melody in my ear. My romance with the trains is my favourite pass time - I wrote that in my first blog 'A paradise name Sapa - Vietnam". I remember, once I hitch-hiked a goods train in India long time ago, spent the whole night in an open wagon, watching the dense forest go by in a moonlit night....they all scroll like a slide show in front of my eyes. Your story makes me walk down the memory lane, Dave. You are very fortunate to save you leg, though!
Nostalgia creeps in! There is something about the choo choo indeed Tab. I can relate to the mesmerising melody too. I can only imagine the thrill of the open goods train in India for you ...sounds like one of life's unforgettable journeys.
Heaven on Earth Lynda. To hear you are dancing in the west is sweet music to our ears. We did have that dance we always said we would, when I was last in Perth. What a journey you have been on. We will remember your beautiful spirit always. Thanks for commenting.
more silent than silent I'm missing that kind of silence right now sitting on my office desk. What a great way to end a fun journey. I love the rock formations in the desert. I've always wanted to come close to one but I only just see them from afar while driving on a highway.
more silent than silent Hi Harold. I think the rock formations are the remains of rocks spewed from volcanoes or bits of volcanic walls or plugs. Then there are some areas covered with small flat stones, others with sand. Maybe once ocean or lake floors uplifted over the eons. Helps one take it in with the colours, light and silence of altitude. Hope you can make it there one day. You'd love it.
Welcome home!!! It's a good thing that Denise posted on Facebook, or I would have thought you decided to stay in Chile! It really is an amazing country; barren like Australia, but as you say, different colors.
Welcome home!!! Thanks Bob. The blogs of that fabulous trip now done. Our time staying in your mountain kingdom also etched in stone! Hope you re-live it also.
Silence up here is more silent than silent "Silence up here is more silent than silent". What a beautiful expression, Dave! 'Sound of silence' is one of my favourites from Paul Simon! This is another expression of yours I'll cherish. "Snow flakes caressing our faces"....reminds me of my days when I first experienced snow flakes coming down from heaven in Newfoundland...I absorbed them to my soul that day. So many years passed since then and I embraced this winter wonderland Canada as my home, I can really appreciate your ecstasy at the "comforting sound of snow crunching under our boots". You commented on my blog 924610, remember! Dave, some day, you got to experience the winter North of 60, when walking down a snowy path in a crisp wintry evening you hear the crunching sound of every breath you exhale that is freezing instantly in the ambient below 50C...I think you would like it, at least for a couple of days. At the end, it's still the home is where your heart belongs. We all love our home!!! How true!
Silence up here is more silent than silent Beautifully written comment Tab. I always knew you get it. The experience is fulfilling the dream. The blog and the pics means I will always remember and be able to re-live it. A longer explore of Canada is definitely on our radar.
Chasing the views Absolutely stunning part of the world, Dangerous One. A magnificent closing curtain to our Peru, Bolivia, Chile sojourn. All the blogs from that trip now done. Think we need another holiday!!!
Contested notions I thought Bolivia was heaven on earth - but the Atacama Desert contested that notion, in particular the Alpine areas. ...and that Marko... :)
Contested notions Travelling down the Blues Highway, Heaven is in the backseat of a cadillac but in Bolivia and Chile...wow...hard to pick between! And that Marko...it's not just fathers who fear for their daughters!
My wife Denise & I like to travel "on paths less travelled" that capture our imagination, inspire my photography & where we mix with locals & remain safe.
Visited Countries Map
... full info
Readingfcboi
Alan Atkinson
Absolutely Stunning!
Your photos have blown me away... It makes me want to be there right this minute. Another great blog. I can't believe you've both been on the road for 10 weeks, I'm a little envious :)