Day 50 - Pisco, Peru

-

Today's tour is less about culture and more about nature as we ventured into Paracas National Reserve. Like so many of our South American ports, Serenade shares the port with cargo vessels and buses shuttle passengers between ship and customs. Obviously this is for safety concerns, but they probably anticipated my getting lost in the maze of stacked cargo containers. 

Once on the tour bus, we exited the port and expected to see a busy metropolis. We saw nothing but sand and sky. We were in the desert headed for Paracas National Reserve. 

We chose this tour based on the reserve's unique seashore. I had never experienced an interaction between desert and ocean and figured it would be a lesson in extremes. There are many challenges.

This is 'Tour Photography' which is much like 'Street Photography' in that the photographer has no control over light, subject or time of day. Today the main subjects are desert and ocean. Both receive harsh mid day sun. Both are vast expanses with limited color palettes. Creating perspective with foreground interest is challenging. Today is about the opportunity and I accepted the challenge. Much like life, 'Tour Photography' gives you one chance to get it right. Take your best shot. Learn from your mistakes. Never give up and keep moving forward.
Location: Pisco, Peru

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 65 - Sea Day - Culture

-
Image
One of my personal goals for our Ultimate World Cruise is to experience, learn and hopefully understand some of the many cultures encountered around the world. With the Americas portion complete, now is a perfect time to reflect on lessons learned so far.  For those following closely you may have noticed a bit of confusion and slight shift in opinion. That should not be a surprise as opinions are generally based on experiences and experiences have been bountiful this trip. To better understand this shift let's examine the importance of culture and it's relationship with society. First, what is culture? Is it found exclusively in cultural centers boasting exhibits of arts, crafts and other physical products of society? Perhaps a more representative source are those including the performing arts like song, dance and theater? Is another potential means of experiencing culture found on tours featuring local foods, history and architecture? If the above is true, culture has ...
Read more

Day 64 - Los Angeles, California

-
Image
Eight o'clock we were cleared to leave the ship. Fifteen minutes later we were "just sittin' on the dock of the bay. Wastin' time". Unbelievable!  Past experiences indicated departure would take about ninety minutes. We had to leave the room on deck seven, catch an elevator to deck two, scan the sea pass card leaving the ship, navigate the terminal to customs, clear customs, turn in our passports to Royal Caribbean and locate a place to be picked up. Each step typically has waiting lines. Today no lines, we simply fast tracked everything. Friends Juan and Carlos were picking us up. No Royal Caribbean excursion for us today, Juan had something special planned. The Sunday morning air was cool but pleasant and LA traffic was non-existent. In no time we reached our destination north east of the city, Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. Founded in 1771, the complex is home to California's fourth historic mission. We spent hours enjoying the church, gardens and ...
Read more

Day 58 - Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

-
Image
Along with the two remaining ports in Mexico, Puerto Quetzal is among our last excursions in Latin America. Having never visited Guatemala, we weren't sure what to expect, but figured it would be similar to our other ports in South America. Although most seemed to have similar backgrounds and social issues, all were exciting experiences with unique cultural differences. Today's excursion was long, so we were up early, well rested, full of energy and ready to go.  Both Joan and I are chronologically enhanced and not in the best of shape. For this reason we avoid strenuous excursions like Machu Picchu, Iguazu Falls and opt for choices better matching our capabilities. This is not an easy decision, but given our situation, it is the best and definitely wise choice.  The day began with a ninety minute bus ride to Antigua Guatemala and transfer to a smaller bus. The second bus took us deeper into the city for a drop-off. About five hours later, a different bus would pick us, ...
Read more