Tag Archives: vacation

September 7, 2016 · 5:35 am

Masaya Volcano and a Whiff of Brimstone

Heaven and Hell

Our group of intrepid explorers left behind Lake Nicaragua and headed west, past the city of Masaya and into Parque Nacional Volcan Masaya (Masaya Volcano National Park). Our tour bus made the uphill trek to the active Santiago Crater of the Masaya Volcano. The highest point here is 2,083 feet/635 meters, and that is marked with a large cross which may to reached via a staired walkway..

Masaya Volcano

Arising from Santiago Crater are enormous clouds of sulfur dioxide, which our guide warned us to avoid breathing as much as feasible.

Sulfur dioxide gas

That proved no easy task, as the winds were variable and seemed to follow you around as you dodged the cloud both left and right. But, all in all, the gases weren’t nearly as bad as you might think. You could detect a slight sulfur smell, but it wasn’t overwhelming. Nevertheless, if you have asthma or other breathing condition it’s recommended that you keep your distance.

Standing at the rim

Santiago Crater has been continually emitting sulfur dioxide for hundreds of years, and the volcano last erupted in January of this year.

Approaching the Masaya Volcano crater

Some more images of Santiago Crater at Masaya Volcano:

Masaya Volcano and sulfur dioxide

Gas cloud

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation

Tagged as Masaya Volcano, Nicaragua, photography, R. Doug Wicker, Santiago Crater, travel, vacation

August 17, 2016 · 5:35 am

One Last Glimpse of Alaska and Her Glaciers

Today I present my longest (10:45) and most ambitious video to date. In order you’ll see:

0:20 Mark — Margerie Glacier in Glacier Bay, includes:
- An impressive ice calving event at the 1:50 mark and another at 2:02
2:15 Mark — Images of the Norwegian Sun transiting Glacier Bay with additional glaciers
3:42 Mark — Norwegian Sun’s sunset transit past the majestic mountains of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park with stunning images of snow-capped mountains bathed in the reddish glow of a setting sun
4:22 Mark — Hubbard Glacier, includes:
- A column of ice probably close to 200 feet/60 meters tall breaking off from the glacier and crashing into Disenchantment Bay at 6:18
8:20 Mark — Portage Glacier

Beginning next week I’ll return to our Chile-to-Los Angeles cruise. You’ll recall we got sidetracked with Alaska following my presentation of the Costa Rican jungle. We’ll take up with our next stop on that voyage — Nicaragua.

As for this week’s remaining blog post, it’s a Fun Firearm Friday with a look at another historic firearm.

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Filed under R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation, Video

Tagged as Alaska, Alaska cruise, Glacier bay, Hubbard Glacier, Margerie Glacier, Norwegian Sun, photography, Portage Glacier, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation, video

August 15, 2016 · 5:35 am

Departing Glacier Bay Aboard the Norwegian Sun

Wrangell–St. Elias

The Norwegian Sun sailed back out through the John Hopkins Inlet. Once again we passed by both the John Hopkins and Lamplugh glaciers.

John Hopkins Glacier

Glacier Bay

Lamplugh Glacier

One fun photo subject are the mini icebergs dotting the bay. Many seem to magically take on the shape of animals.

Mini Iceberg

Our next stop was Hubbard Glacier, which will star in my next blog post. Until then, I’m going to leave you with some images taken after we left Hubbard Glacier and cruised past the incredibly tall peaks contained within the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, which encompasses both the Saint Elias and Wrangell mountain ranges.