The Highlands // Las Alturas

If you wish to see the valleys, climb to the mountain top. 

If you desire to see the mountain top, rise into the cloud. 

But if you seek to understand the cloud;

close your eyes and think feel. 

Kahlil Gibran

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Si quieres ver los valles, sube a las cimas de las montañas.

Si quieres ver las cima de las montañas, sube a las nubes.

Pero si quieres entender las nubes;

cierra los ojos y piensa siente.

Kahlil Gibran

New England Melange

 A pesar de que el trabajo en Kroka y la puesta en marcha del Ecuador Semester se llevan la gran mayoría del tiempo en estas tierras, nos damos el tiempo de saludar a rios, lagos, senderos, montañas y  amigos de los alrededores. Lugares  y personas que después de tantos años de visitar esta esquina del continente guardan vivencias acumuladas, pero aun esconden mucho terreno por explorar. Esta es una recolección de imagenes que resumen un verano cargado de aventuras diversas.

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Even though the work at Kroka Expeditions and the Ecuador Semester fill up most of our time here, we've also had time to visit and re-connect with lakes, rivers, trails, woods and friends. After almost 14 years of coming back to this corner of the continent, most of these places are -in a way- familiar to us and keep a record of adventures and encounters that we've had in the past, but there is always more to explore and discover. The following images are a re-collection of yet another New England summer.

-- Echinacea with temporary visitor--

-- hummingbirds also keep busy while flowers last --

-- Sandy beaches, bike paths and farmer markets while Bikepacking the Lake Champlain shore for a few days --

-- Koru met with his cousins for a Bread and Puppet's show up in northern Vermont --

-- The founder and director of this unique show --

-- Giant paper mask at the Bread and Puppet museum --

-- Overnight sailing adventure with our friends Misha, Lynne, Mathias and Danya--

-- Hiking and climbing the Adirondack High Peaks with Kroka staff--

-- Spruce --

-- Mt. Colden, Trap Dyke upper slide--

-- Mushrooms; The little guys from the woods --

-- Koru; Another little guy from the woods --

-- Field and Teepee --

-- Joe Graham bringing a new fat-bike to life --

-- ... and customizing Thomas's Salsa Mariachi for a family adventure --

-- Marcea's new Salsa Fargo getting ready to ride the White Rim Trail. 

Thanks to CIKLA for the support --

Fujifilm XT-1 , 18-55mm

Mi compañera, La Olympus XZ-2 tubo que ir al hospital. 

Con el viaje a Peru a cuestas y la oportunidad de que nuestra amiga Liz nos lleve una camara desde USA, una Fujifilm XT-1, con lente 18-55mm vino al reemplazo.

Primeras impresiones...

Que buena experiencia regresar al visor tradicional y acercar la camara al ojo para enfocar y disparar, volver a los controles manuales con perillas y saborear la enorme gama de posibilidades que una camara como esta trae consigo, desde los lentes, al color y la calidad de imagen. 

Obviamente paga piso por ser mas grande y pesada que la Olympus y la Canon G-10, pero hoy por hoy, feliz me llevo el peso extra.

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My faithful companion, the Olympus XZ-2 had to go to the hospital.

With only a few days left before we embark to Peru and with the possibility of having our friend Liz bring a camera from the US, a used Fujifilm XT-1 with 18-55mm lens came our way.

First impressions...

So nice to come back to a traditional viewfinder (and what a nice viewfinder this camera has!), delightful to shoot a camera with such a "traditional" feel and design, I felt like coming back to my old Canon AE-1 or the Pentax K1000. As I get familiar with the XT-1 a wide array of possibilities unfolds with every picture... Of course there are some sacrifices compared to the XZ-2 or the Canon G-10, specially when it comes to size and weight, but as of today, I happily carry the extra grams around.