03 March 2024

Atlantis


An ancient legend, of a lost kingdom and a beautiful princess suffering for an impossible love, gives us a mystical explanation, lost in time, to the formation of one of the most beautiful places in our planet.

Walking along the margins of the Lagoon of the Seven Cities, deep inside the crater with the same name, surrounded by an enchanted and luxurious sub-tropical forest, it's so easy to let our minds drift far away from the mundane scientific geological theories accepted universally for the formation of the world and, instead, dream awake with kings and queens, lonesome princesses and magical powers.

Could this be the lost Kingdom of Atlantis, right under our feet?

Picture taken with Nikon D610 and Nikkor 200mm f4 AI-s lens. Manfrotto tripod and ballhead.


25 April 2022

Azorean journey, part two


The circular hike along the shoreline of the crater lake of Furnas must be one of the most charming in Azores. The flat trail circumvents the whole volcanic crater, amidst a bucolic landscape of neo-gothic chapels, expensive residences of rich aristocratic landlords, conifers, wet meadows, hot springs and gentle mountain streams, in a lenght of about eight kilometers.

On the trail, besides the occasional tourist, you'll find plenty of locals, whole families or solo individuals, walking the route. Sometimes starting the walk on the town of Furnas, distant a couple of kilometers, on the valley below, and returning by the same way, on a usual afternoon stroll.

Picture taken with Nikon D610 and Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AI. Surui T005 travel tripod.

25 March 2022

Azorean journey, part one


Something intangible attracts seafarers to lighthouses. Granted, these are, normally, conspicuous points on the landscapes. So they are usual sightseeing spots. Normally a stopping point on everyone's periplus, most of the times just for the sake of a good vista over the ocean below.
To me, however, the feeling is deeper. It always has a calming effect, made complete with the rotating optics switching-on in the evening twilights.
In those moments my mind returns to my former self, in one of those many stormy nights at sea, surrounded by pitch black sky and ocean. And, suddenly, the entire hull of the vessel being touched by that warm beam of light. Making us instantly feel that we are not alone in the world. That on the distant shoreline someone is on watch for us. To keep us safe.
For us, at sea, a lighthouse is not just a building. It's a living thing. Each one with a personality of its own.
On the photo above:
Ponta do Arnel Lighthouse, in São Miguel island, Açores, facing calm seas, on a January evening.

05 December 2021

Enchanted wilderness

 

The Peneda-Gerês National Park, on the Northwest of mainland Portugal, is the only national park we have in the whole portuguese nation, being the remaining ones with a status of nature reserves or natural parks. Home of human settlements thousands of years before Portugal was even a nation, this remote corner of Portugal has an identity of its own, forged on its isolation, altitude and harsh weather. Spring, however, is another story, as this picture, taken on the high meadows near the millenary town of Castro Laboreiro, shows.

16 January 2021

First snows of the year in Madeira

Three days ago, on the highest peak of Madeira, this was the landscape...

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Pictures taken with Huawei P20Lite.

21 December 2020

Pico Ruívo trig point lit by the waxing crescent moon

Pico Ruívo trig point (1862 meters above sea level), lit by the waxing crescent Moon, and Milky Way, yesterday around 1930 LT.
Picture taken, as usual, with Nikon D610 and Vivitar 24mm f/2.8. Manfrotto tripod and ballhead.

16 December 2020

Milky Way above Pico Ruívo Hut

 

The Milky Way and meteor traces, photographed, a couple of nights ago, on the Pico Ruívo mountain hut.