World Heritage Site – Page 2 – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Valparaiso Departure II

View of Aconcagua Mountain at Sunset

January 29, 2022December 19, 2021 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

After the Ocean Princess sailed off toward its destiny in my last posting, “Valparaiso Departure I,” Pam and I left the deck for dinner to return two hours later for the Regatta’s departure in the magic sunset hour.

This first photograph is 22 minutes before sunset as the ship swung into a course along the northern shore of Valparaiso Bay. The city grew along the bay shore, starting from the city center in the southern cup and into the north. We are looking southeast across a lighthouse named “Club de Yates”, identified from the red fiberglass tower, a triangular daymark, toward the north end of Valparaiso.

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Here we see a different city altogether, the fourth largest of Chile and also within the Valparaiso Region and the Greater Valparaiso Area, named Vina Del Mar (Vineyard of the Sea). The view is almost due east and, from here, it is difficult to discern why it is also called “La Ciudad Jardin” (Garden City), it is do densely populated. North Valparaiso ends with a ridge with Vina Del Mar the next valley. Look carefully along the shore to find the Punta Gruesa lighthouse with a red band on a white metal tower daymark. By way of scale the tower is 56 feet high. Follow Punta Gruesa to the right for the ridge separating Vina Del Mar (the taller apartment buildings, from Valparaiso.

The distant mountain is huge, visible from 95 miles away. More about it later.

The previous photographs were using a tripod mounted Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III with the Canon 70 – 300 mm f4-5.6 L IS USM lens set to 108 mm focal length, taken 15 seconds apart. I then swapped the EF 24 mm f 1.4 L USM lens for the following photograph of the pilot boat heading to a rendezvous with the Regatta, having dropped off “our” harbor pilot. It will wait beyond the harbor to bring the pilot back home. The photograph is 7 minutes after the previous. Punta Gruesa and the lighthouse and the Vina Del Mar apartment towers are just visible, having lost the sun.

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On the northern tip of Valparaiso Bay Punta Concon, the City of Concon and tall sand dunes also called Concon reflect the sun’s light 10 minutes before sunset. The city is the fastest growing in Chile, 106% between 1992 and 2010 (28,157 to 50,000). The Regatta is now well underway and I returned to the “long” lens here set to the 3oo mm focal length maximum.

On the other side of Punta Concon (Concon Point) the Aconcagua River flows into the Pacific. Although the river has the same name as Aconcagua Mountain, the head waters are in Chile, 12 miles from the slopes of the mountain in Argentina.

A swivel of the camera brings Aconcagua Mountain into view. This former volcano, dead now for 8 – 10 million years is the highest mountain in North and South America. The next highest peak is in the Hindu Kush, 10,000 miles to the northeast. That said, Aconcagua is less challenging than Denali of Alaska and so many people attempt it each year human excrement is a major pollutant there. We are looking here over the Vina Del Mar Valley 95 miles to Aconcagua Mountain in Argentina.

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Copyright 2022 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Valparaiso Departure I

Thoughts on Departures

January 28, 2022December 19, 2021 MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

Late afternoon of our departure from the Chilean port city Valparaiso, Pam and I enjoyed entertainments on the Regatta. This painting of a ship under sail brings to mind the history of Valparaiso, as a place only reachable by ship, clinging to a narrow ledge on the Andes, barely existing for centuries, repeatedly destroyed by earthquakes until the 19th century brought sailing vessels such as this, growth and prosperity. Major earthquakes hit the years 1730, 1822, 1839, 1873, 1906, 1907. After 1907, the city was rebuilt anew in the modern form. The inhabitants must enjoy spot, naming it “Vale of Paradise.”

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While, in the 21st century the city enjoys a refreshment of an influx of artists and visitors such as the Regatta, the danger of the next massive quake is ever present and unpredictable.

As we enjoyed the artwork….

….a pianist entertained us.

As usual, I was carting photography equipment to capture the moments as the afternoon moved towards…

….the scheduled departure among still life painting in the style of the Dutch masters.

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That day I chose the upper decks as the best vantage point. From there, Pam and I viewed the departure of a similar ship to the Regatta, the “Ocean Princess.” It must have been the last voyage of the Princess under that name as, the same year, it was acquired by the Oceania line, refurbished, relaunched as the “Sirena”.

The Chilean navy base and Naval Academy is there. The Ocean Princess navigated around this docked destroyer…..

…with the assistance of the tugboat Alcatraz, a name derived from the Spanish word for pelican as in “La Isla de los Alcatraces” (Island of the Pelicans) where the former Alcatraz prison was built in San Francisco Harbor. Spanish speakers think of birds when viewing the tub boat. Americans think of prisoners (escaping) and San Francisco. Unlike San Francisco Harbor, Valparaiso Bay is a semi-circle open to the ocean, the harbor is on the southern, north facing (away from the ocean) shore, protected by a long (3,000 foot) breakwater along which the Chilean war ships dock. We are viewing the Alcatraz after most of the work for the Ocean Princess departure was done.

The north end of the bay is residential, behind the towers are homes arrayed on the hillside, the only land available.

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Much of the harbor and city business district, in the foreground (below), on the south side is on land reclaimed from the sea.

All around the Regatta was a working port. Here rolls of cable (wire?) are prepared for hoisting onto a cargo ship. Note the hawsers, taught under the strain, between the workmen and the ship hull.

Passengers board the Regatta from the last tours. I expect this is the trip to Santiago. Most of the dockings the Regatta was surrounded by the port, the only way to access the city was on a tour bus as the port activity made walking too dangerous.

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I can only guess the role the Alcatraz is playing here…..

…. probably it is positioned to give the Ocean Princess a nudge if the harbor pilot misjudges the turn around the breakwater and warships. In a harbor, a ship’s crew passes control to a harbor pilot who knows the navigation challenges much better than is possible for them.

Today, as 99.9% of all days, the pilot makes the turn safely. Here is a better view of the warship.

Looking back toward the harbor, the crane is hoisting those rolls, the tug boat “Lauca” framed by the superstructure of (I think) the crane.

The Ocean Princess is will under way, as shown by the long wake. As luck will have it, When the Regatta follows the sun will be much lower, the light better for photography. At the stern of the warship, the masted vessel is a training ship for the Chilean Naval Academy.

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Skellig Peek

A Trinity of Skellig Images

May 7, 2021May 2, 2021 MichaelStephenWills25 Comments

Now’s time to share a trinity of images from a morning spent about the Skellig Islands May 2014.

Pam and I have many stories from that day, a favorite is from the parking lot of Portmagee where we met the fast boat to the island. I prepared for the day by making a reservation for our ride. We traveled from Killarney, where an early morning breakfast feast spread by The Killarney Royal Hotel fortified us for the adventure. Throughout our tour, experiencing Ireland was like taking blinders off, this first experience on The Ring of Kerry was no exception, driving on a tight timeline to reach Portmagee with minutes to spare, every turn of the road presented a new delight.

Grateful to have made it to Portmagee, we quickly pulled our kit together. As I closed the bonnet, Pam exclaimed “our umbrellas.” At this point of the story we laugh together. Umbrellas indeed. I had a dim clue of what lay in store for us and insisted the umbrellas be left behind, a counter-intuitive decision for a rainy Irish day the Wild Atlantic Way. Regardless of the time, we needed a bathroom break as there will be no facilities on the fast boat or the World Heritage Site where there is no space for human waste products.

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Skelligs from Valentia Island — I was here perched on a cliff of Valentia Island across from Portmagee looking southwest across Valentia Sound.

The humor is in our welcome aboard the fast boat, like a fishing boat with a small cabin and small deck dominated by the engine hatch. We crowded on, handed a full set of fisherman slickers. This is a heavy coat with hood and pants, all waterproof. Our close timing guaranteed the worse seat, away from the cabin in the open. It was a new experience for us and we felt a sense of dread as the craft left the protection of Valentia Sound into the open Atlantic Ocean.

We faced a west wind, driving 12+ foot waves, as the boat breached each wave the crest went over the cabin in a waterfall of salt water. Up and down, up and down. Thankfully neither of us lost breakfast as some did. I do not have photographs of the trip out or the approach to the island, my equipment was safely packed away.

In the above photograph you see the entire course of our approach to the island, a bit more than 10 (land) miles from Portmagee. We toured Valentia Island that afternoon.

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Skellig Steps — Climbing the side of Skellig Michael, approach to the peak and monastery.

There is a fair climb to the top to view the former monastery buildings. The steps are uneven and, when wet as it was that day, slippery. I wore a waterproof North Face shell with hood for the low threatening clouds. There was no rain as such, a constant fog on the top kept all exposed surfaces wet.

From the point on, until the top, was the most exposed and uncomfortable (frightening, chilling…you get the idea). Spare yourself the experience if you are afraid of open spaces and heights. Here was a stiff wind blowing from the right, on the left the cliff falls away to the ocean. Ahead, the path narrows to about 10 inches with a cliff wall on one side, the precipice on the other. Then come the monastery entrance and rock wall safety.

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This single image gives a succinct impression of the monastery setting. The bee hive shaped stone monk cell requires a stooped crawl to enter. Inside, the space is small and, thankfully, dry. The structure keeps out the rain and wind, a marvel of stone construction. This cell is off to the side, on a cliff balcony, over the wall an ocean precipice.

My closing advice is to plan your time wisely. The ship boards in less than an hour, in that time you climb the 700 steps and explore. There are people all over the place, in waves. To capture the structures without humans, you need to wait until the cohort become bored and leaves. There will be a space before the next wave of tourists breaks. Leave enough time to descend the steps safely. People have suffered fatal falls on the steps and cliffs, it is easy to do. Make your personal safety a priority.

Click for another Ireland Posting, “On the River Cong.”

Around the Kiva

a fascinating lecture

April 17, 2021July 7, 2021 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

This diverse group of fifty three individuals are gathered around a kiva of the Mesa Verde Cliff palace on a July afternoon.

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Botanic Garden of Belfast

In closing

August 6, 2020July 25, 2020 MichaelStephenWills8 Comments

The Ulster Museum is set among the Botanic Gardens. It was in the gardens on this rainy Saturday Pam and I wandered for twenty minutes to sweep away the cobwebs of our rainy drive from Coleraine.

I do not have an identification for the following photograph. If you know, please comment. Thank You.

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“Tropical” palm trees and bromeliad are found throughout Ireland. Thank You Gulf Stream.

Another unidentified plant…..

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Paper Thin and Wet

Poppies!!! Petals like paper

August 5, 2020July 25, 2020 MichaelStephenWills6 Comments

The Ulster Museum is set among the Botanic Gardens. It was in the gardens on this rainy Saturday, after the Foxglove flowers of yesterday’s post, flourishing, bright red poppy flowers caught my eye.

Here is a take on poppy flower buds on long stems among leaves.

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Poppy is a storied plant, most species do not produce the narcotic alkaloids associated with sleep and death, pain control. Papaveroideae, the sub-family of these plants, is derived from the Latin for paper, papyrus. You can see the association in the following photographs, petals drenched in water, crumpling like wet paper.

….and more.

..to be continued…..

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Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Foxglove

Approach to the Museum

August 4, 2020July 25, 2020 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

The Ulster Museum is set among the Botanic Gardens. It was in the gardens on this rainy Saturday we needed the umbrellas several times during our twenty minute digression before the museum engulfed us.

The rain brought out this snail, house on its back.

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We found flowers flourishing throughout the island. These foxglove were huge. The common name is after Leonhard Fuchs, who first described it. “Fuchs” is German for fox.

..to be continued…..

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Entrance

Approach to the Museum

August 3, 2020July 25, 2020 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

The Ulster Museum is set among the Botanic Gardens. It was in the gardens on this rainy Saturday. We needed the umbrellas several times during our twenty minute digression before the museum engulfed us.

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A solid fence, more dignified than a “Keep Off The Grass” sign.

I regret not recording the names of the trees and plants

This large, 28 acre, city owned park is free, opened to the public. It is treated with suitable respect by the residents.

The Row Houses on Colenso Parade (street) running parallel to the avenue of flowers we enjoyed.

..to be continued…..

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Gardens

Approach to the Museum

August 2, 2020August 3, 2020 MichaelStephenWills9 Comments

The Ulster Museum is set among the Botanic Gardens. Armed with umbrellas, Pam and I parked on this interesting street, Colenso Parade, on one side these row houses, on the other the gardens.

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Interesting, “no parking at any time” indicated by a double yellow line along the curb. We parked with everyone else, across the street on the Botanical Gardens side.

We parked and walked in, free as you please, taking in some of the beauty on our way to “Treasures from the Girona”, a permanent Ulster Museum exhibit.

I compliment the photography skills of our waitress

Our time strolling the walks was all too brief, 20 minutes, not enough to savor the treasures of knowledge suggested by the words “Botanic Garden.”

..to be continued…..

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Coffee

After the Ulster Museum and Garden

August 1, 2020July 25, 2020 MichaelStephenWills6 Comments

After our tour of the Ulster Museum and the Botanic Gardens of Belfast we stopped in for refreshment across the street at Maggie May’s Belfast Cafe. I am wearing a Cortland Line Company fishing vest adapted for photography. I purchased the vest at the company store, Cortland, New York just north of our Ithaca home.

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Our latte’s were perfection. The header photo looks forward to our visit to the gardens.

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