A weekend around and across the Sea of Galilee

Sea of Galilee, Israel. January 2011

Every year we paddle around the Sea of Galilee and when the current in the Jordan River allows us, we go upstream. This year, during the night in between the 2 days of the trip, the famous eastern wind came for a visit, and never left. As it was too strong, we have decided to go across the lake rather than complete the way around, and so we did. We took a lift on the wind, all the way across.  

The King's Pride

Masai Mara, November 2001

I can only hope for any one of you, that you ever had the chance to hear a Lion roaring in nature a close distance. And if it happened at night time, you will surely remember it forever. If you are sitting in the right spot, downwind and quite close, you don't just hear the sound but you feel it in every part of your body.

I don't know why, but the average person who knows Lions from nature movies of various productions, will still believe that the MGM Lion is roaring. It is indeed an impressive movement but it is more yawning than roaring. Lion roaring, like the one in this photo, is taking all the air it can in the shortest time and so spends a lot of energy while doing so. All his muscles are there to assist. If he is strong, the advertisement will work every night, quite frequent and the other Lions will be able to hear the sound from a great distance. (Depends on the wind but in good conditions about 6 km')

Lion's roaring is the greatest sound that the savannah can offer you at night. Escorted by Hyenas that will often join, Jackals calling their partners or Zebras barking to each other, it is a perfect symphony.

Sounds travel better at night and so most of these sounds will be heard at night. But a cloudy day or an early morning tour can sometimes surprise you. The pride of the area of which I lived in Mara had 2 big beautiful dominant males. I had followed these Lions 5 years day and night and knew where they were most of the time. 2 years after I got to know their pride, at night, we were watching one male with 3 females when another big male appeared from the darkness. Everyone was excited, but it was a surprising excitement. One would expect the whole pride to chase this stranger away, but they welcomed him like a long lost family member. Maina, a good friend that use to join our tours as the armed policeman, said that when they have started, they were 3 males and that might be the 3^rd one who was always with a bit more nomadic character. The third Lion stayed around and we had to leave. The next morning we found him lying around with 2 females leaning on his back. But the big world called him to leave. He sat proud, roared his goodbye and walked away. I never saw him again.

Crossings

September 2000. Masai Mara

It's like a flowing river and you never know when it starts or when it ends.

When living in Masai Mara, my camp was less than half an hour drive from one of the most used spots for crossing the Mara river by the big migration. During the "crossing season" I would spend most of my time by the river, waiting. It could happen when I expected it the least or after hours of anticipation, but it is always one of the most exciting phenomenon. A river of Wildbeasts and Zebras rushing down to the water. Clouds of dust, water spray from the river, and them calling each other. You can see and hear a crossing happening from a distance, and you can feel the excitement hanged above it.

This photo was taken in one of the most memorable crossing seasons, for me. During the 'big migration' , 2000. And that specific crossing was one of the bests I had ever seen and lasted for a long time.

Easterm winds. Flat Sea

Sdot Yam, Israel. December 2010

When I left Masai Mara after years of driving around the biggest Savana plains of Africa, I missed exactly that. The feeling of being in an open place where you can drive hours without meeting anyone, the feeling that the sky and the land below them are endless. One almost wishes to go and look for the end of the world.

Israel has its deserts and as small as they might be, they can give you this feeling, but I found that the sea replaces much of that need in my life and that Kayaking is almost like taking the jeep for a drive in the sea of grass. Israel does have a problem to stand in line with Masai Mara when it comes to wildlife, but it has its spots and its moments. Again, much of it I found in the sea.

Yesterday morning, I went with my Kayaking club mates for a safari. On the rocks, just where we entered the sea there were the most Cormorants I had ever seen together. Using the skills I learned from the Leopard in Serengeti  J (4 posts ago), we stalked these birds. We gently came eastern to their rock and the wind did the rest. Within no time a huge cloud of birds was up in the air.

How did that woman say it? Happiness is when you are being nostalgic about the present…watching that cloud of birds was pure joy and a great moment of happiness. I am not sure that the fish farmers growing fish in pools along the coast felt the same about that massive cloud as it approached their pools...

A hot dry December in Israel

Sdot Yam, Israel. December 2010

So... We did have the mother of storms just this month, and I had my first attempt of editing anything. And now I am playing again. That major storm was an empty promise. While Europe is in the Ice age, we have a strangely hot and dry winter. Flat sea with eastern winds every morning, and almost no waves for play.

Perfection

Ayder, Turkey. September 2008

I got to Ayder with a lovely group, 6 guys that were celebrating their 40^th birthday. The tour, like most of our tours, spent 2 nights at the village. On the afternoon of the full day we had there, I 'deposit' my whole group for a treat at the hot springs of the village and went to meet with a friend. Ayder is a Swiss looking village on the slopes of Kachkar Mountains, facing north to the black sea. It has 300 rainy days a year and most of the summer it still keeps cool which makes it a very touristic place. In fact, during the years more and more people keep hotels and pensions rather than their own place. I met Ayder the first time at the end of the summer of 1993. It had a muddy path crossing the place and it was not very developed. All had changed there but the atmosphere stayed the same. It is a place to visit withut a spesific plan. Endless possibilities going up the mountains and any kind of accommodation one could ask for.  

That was my second season guiding in Kachkar and I knew the routes we were using during our tours, but I felt like I know too little. Mehmet my friend promised to take me to a special place and he kept his promise very well. We went up to a Avuzor Yayla (a temporary village used only during the summer time) that I had never been to before. It was a beautiful afternoon and after guiding nonstop for several weeks I finally had some time alone. Climbing up the steep road there was this one single moment that I cherish. We stopped in a good view point looking at the thick forest and for one split of a second, the sun went out of the clouds sending one of its last rays for the day, touching the trees with soft light. Then it was gone. Collecting itself to light the other side of the world and I felt that I miss the moment a little before it was gone. Someone once told me that happiness is being nostalgic about the present. I was a happy person that afternoon, surrounded by all the beauty of the world.

The next morning I took the group up that road. Mehmet was suppose to join us but he said yesterday was just too perfect. The air was as clean as only high mountains air can be, visibility was amazing and we took great photographs. But it was just as he said it, yesterday was just too perfect.

Rising Before the Sun

Sahara, Morocco. October 2010

Early morning we got up to walk in the Sahara dunes. I normally tell the clients that I get up half an hour before the sun does and if they want they join me for a morning walk to see the sunrise and photograph the sand dunes. After the sun is up there is a very limited time in which the contrast of the dunes and the shade is great, then when the angle of the sun no longer gives that contrast there is nothing to look for with a camera. Sometimes the opening for great photography is over an hour; sometimes much less, all depends on how clear is the air.

That time it was going to be great but before the sun came up I had all the girls of the group walking on the face of the dune. The sand was cold and we were too early so we were walking and moving to try and get warmer. It reminded me of the days I would look for an angle to have a Giraffe standing between me and the sun to create a good silhouette, or a Lion for that matter. One of those typical photos that was always hard to get. Try and explain the Giraffe to stand still exactly when you need it to…

Well, the girls did very well. Already the morning hunt for a good photograph was successful.