从秘鲁回来，我们就开始计划下一趟行程。目标很快就锁定在位于东非的坦桑尼亚和南极上，最终我们选择了南极。去过南极之后，我们就可以自豪地说，“我们到过了地球上所有的大陆”。
南极是这个星球上最高、最冷、最干燥、风最大的地方。它常常被人们称为世界的尽头、最后被征服的大陆。登上南极也成为很多人终生的梦想。这样的行程需要仔细地计划。我们很快就找到一些游记，不但介绍了旅游公司和具体行程，还包括了衣服的准备和照相器材等各种细节。既然我们要旅行这么遥远，在行程中我们也包括了智利和阿根廷的一些著名景点。
在这16天的旅程中，我们从最寒冷的大陆走到布宜诺斯艾利斯的盛夏；我们亲身体验了德雷克海峡、麦哲伦海峡，那些只在地理教材上出现的名字；我们为上万只的企鹅和绝世的美景所倾倒；也又一次为阿蒙森、斯科特伟大的探险经历所激励。希望在下面几篇的游记中，我能够记录和传达我们的兴奋和感动。
2011.9.26Maroon Bells is one of the most photographed places in the world. It is the very reason that we came to Colorado at this time.
It took about half an hour to drive from Aspen to Maroon Lake. It’s 6:30am when I parked the car. There were already 40 to 50 photographers at the lake side. It was a clear day, a day to produce good pictures but hardly extraordinary. There was no cloud at all to make the sky more interesting; and the wind made it very difficult to get a perfect reflection. I probably should have come much earlier, when the sun just reached the tip of the mountain, the color would have been a little warmer. One big challenge to shoot Maroon Bells is how to handle the dark shadow at the left side, which won’t disappear until noon. At the beginning, the shadow covered quite a large area. After 8am, I moved to the left side of the lake so the shadow area in the frame could be minimized.
In the summer, you can only drive your car to Maroon Lake before 9:00am. The same rule applied to weekends after September, but on weekday, there is no such control. I finished shooting on 9:30am, went back to hotel and took my wife to Maroon Bells. It is a place where the real thing is more beautiful than in the pictures.
We had lunch at Hickory House Ribs Restaurant in down. It is a popular place. Its BBQ won many national awards.
We took a different way coming back to Denver. We continued on Hwy. 82 and turned to Interstate Hwy. 70 at Glenwood Springs. The highway cut through the Rocky Mountains and run along the Colorado River. Before reaching the Great Plains, there are several high passed and tunnels, including the famous Eisenhower Tunnel. The construction of Highway 70 in West Colorado is considered to be one of engineering marvels. It was a thrilling driving experience we didn’t expect that an Interstate Highway can offer. Especially at the Glenwood canyon section, the view was breathtaking.
The highway also passes several ski resorts with beautify green valleys and European style hotels. 70 miles west of Denver at Silverthorne, there is an outlet. We had some spare time to do some shopping.
The evening flight took us home. The 3-day trip is only a short excursion to us. We were prepared for the big trip to come.
2011.9.2510-minute drive to the west of Colorado Spring, Garden of the Gods Park is the most popular public park in the region. It is worth spending half a day walking the trails and admire the nature’s magic creation. I had a early morning walk right after sunrise, but for only an hour. There was not enough time to cover the park and capture the dramatic rock formations with my camera.
We had several choices going from Colorado Spring to Aspen. We could take Hwy. 24 to Buena Vista, go north on Hwy. 24 then turn west on Hwy. 82. This is the shortest path that takes only 4 hours. Another option was to take Hwy. 50 to Gunnison, then turn to Hwy. 135 through Crested Butte. It’s one of the most scenic drives in Colorado but will take at least 7 hours to get to Aspen. To keep the option open, we took Hwy. 50 first because we could still go back to Hwy. 24 at Salida.
Two hours later, we sit in a McDonald restaurant at Salida. It’s almost noon time, we decided to take the shorter route. It was a good decision, we stopped countless times for photos on Hwy. 24 and 82. If we had gone to Crested Butte, I am not sure if we could reach Aspen by night.
As we turned north on Hwy 285, the sunshine was very bright, but when we got closer to Hwy. 82, the sky turned cloudy and it’s almost like raining.
Hwy. 82 is narrow and winding but the photo opportunities were abundant.
At 12,095 ft (3,687 m), Independence Pass is the highest place we have been visited, surpassing Cusco in the Andes Mountains. It is also a continental divide. In September, vegetation has all lost its green color.
Driving for another half an hour, we finally reached Aspen. It’s already 5pm. Aspen is named because of the abundance of aspen trees in the area. These trees decorate the surrounding mountains with bright yellow color in the fall and make them dream settings for landscape photographers. Aspen itself is a lovely small town with exquisite shops and upscale restaurants.
2011.9.24We didn’t plan to go to Rocky Mountain National Park because we knew we wouldn’t have time to reach the west side of the park with more majestic views, but after spending the morning at Denver, we found that we still had several hours left for the day. Boulder is only 30 miles north to Denver. Except its main street, which is a typical suburban shopping area, there was not much to see, so we didn’t make any stop. After another 50 miles, we were at Estes Park, a small town next to the park.
Estes Park is crowded place because a lot of people stay there for the night while visiting the park. Entering the national park, we stopped at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. It’s almost 3pm. The ranger told us we’d have enough time to see the park’s east side and walk several trails. We first took Bear Lake Rd. to its end. It’s very cloudy at the time. The sky was featureless. We turned back almost right away and only took a couple of pictures along the way.
The road was winding up after we tuned to Fall River Road. We stopped at one place that overlooks Moraine Park mountain range. There was a very professional-looking photographer who had taken the best spot and was patiently waiting for the sunset. We didn’t have that luxury so I took several shots and kept on driving.
We left the loop and turned to the Old Fall River Road. After about 1 mile, a short walk on Alluvial Fan trail led us to a waterfall. The waterfall was not very impressive, but on the trail, we saw several tiny chipmunks standing on tree twigs and eating fruits from the tree. They were the cutest animals we’ve ever seen.
We returned to the loop but soon found the road was jammed. The park had an event at that night called “Elk bugling”. We felt that we had seen enough Elks in Banff, so we turned back and left the park through the way we came.
Just after we passed Estes Park, when the sun dropped below the horizon, the sky suddenly turned clear and the color became very sublet. I believe that photographer could make some good pictures. It’s something we as tourists cannot afford, waiting on the best location for the best moment. We booked the hotel at Colorado Spring, which was still 3 hours away.
2011.9.24We arrived at Denver in a late flight the day earlier. The next morning, our trip started with a city tour of Denver downtown. 16th street mall was still quiet at 10am in the morning. We went to see the State Capitol first.
The 16th Street Mall is an 1.5-mile long shopping area opened in 1982. Besides all kinds of restaurants and shops, the tree-lined street also hosts various live performance and exquisite squares.
After walking 2 hours, it’s nice to take the free MallRide bus back to where we started. We then went to Larimer Square. This short street is a historical downtown district. While the 16th Street Mall has mostly chain stores and restaurants, Larimer Square offers some authenticity of city’s past.
Before Thanksgiving, we had a short excursion to L.A. We stopped at Bakersfield for the night and came back by 101 the next day. Driving in fog at night was no fun. Luckily, we only got some fog around Bakersfield this time.
2011.7.10我们起了个早乘船返回Puerto Maldonado。今天我们要经库斯科飞往Juliaca。下了船，Inotawa的车已经在码头等我们了。离开Puerto Maldonado前，我们必须去城里取一些现金，因为在利马的时候是周末，无法到银行汇款，这次行程我们还没有付给旅行社钱。时间有一点儿紧，但是就是这么巧，离开码头不久，我们的车就在爬坡的时候熄火了。幸好导游很快就找到另一个旅行团的车也要进城，于是我们搭上车，开了半个多小时到达离市中心不远的地方。导游叫了一辆电动三轮车，有点儿象国内原来的蹦蹦车，这是Puerto Maldonado最主要的交通工具，坐上一次也算是一项旅游经历，不过我们当时都很着急，没有顾上想这些。ATM就在中心广场的一侧。当天好像是一个军事节日，穿着各式制服的军人们在广场集合列队走过。可惜的是，我没有什么心情拍照。
其实到达机场的时候飞机还有30分钟才起飞。经过半个小时飞行，飞机准时到达库斯科机场。我们在登机口等待去往Juliaca的飞机。可是在起飞时间快到的时候，我们却发现这个飞机是飞往利马的。询问的LAN的工作人员我们才得知，Juliaca当地发生了罢工，一部分机场设施被破坏，所有的飞机只有在早晨才允许在Juliaca机场降落和起飞。我们的飞机提前3个小时就出发了。问题是在这以前，从来没有人告诉我们这一变化。在Puerto Maldonado的时候，LAN的柜台一定已经知道我们转乘的飞机根本就不存在，但是他们还是为我们确认了飞机和座位。我们想过乘汽车去Juliaca和Puno，因为我们实在不想错过第二天在的的喀喀湖（Lake Titicaca）的项目。不过我们从Juliaca飞回Lima的Tara Air航空公司说不清楚他们的飞机能不能飞。想到有可能被困在Juliaca无法回家，我们还是决定在库斯科住下，第二天直接返回利马。
我们又在El Dorado San Augustin Hotel住下。出发前选的一个餐馆正在关门装修。为确保不再象上次一样选错地方，我们还是回到Chicha吃晚餐。
吃过晚饭，我在库斯科的中心广场周围照了一些夜景。因为库斯科的海拔，太阳落山后，气温下降很快。七月是秘鲁的冬季，库斯科夜间的最低气温在零度左右。
去亚马逊之前，我们在库斯科只呆了多半天的时间。错过的的喀喀湖的行程让我们有更充分的时间游览库斯科。第二天一早，我们首先来到San Cristobal教堂。这座教堂位于库斯科到萨克萨瓦曼之间的半山腰上。它的设计非常简单，但是从教堂前的广场可以俯瞰库斯科城的全貌。沿着石板铺路的狭窄小巷，一路从城里走来，小巷两侧的民宅颜色丰富鲜明，很有情趣。
Regocijo广场紧挨着中心广场。周围的旅店、餐馆和咖啡店和库斯科其它的地方相比多了一些现代气息。我们先是在一个咖啡店喝了一些饮料，又在Inka Grill吃了最后一顿午餐。
我们当天下午离开库斯科，在利马机场等了7个小时转机回旧金山。巧的是我们在机场碰到在亚马逊一同游览Tres Chimbadas湖的两个美国人。他们早几天去了的的喀喀湖，因为飞机都在早上，根本不知道罢工的事。他们安慰我们说，的的喀喀湖感觉太商业化，是他们一行中最不喜欢的一站。
因为纳斯卡线和秘鲁北部的名胜离我们的路线太远，并不在我们的计划之内。不过我们的秘鲁之行已经足够的丰富多彩，令人回味。也许有一天，我们会重返这个神秘的国度。
2011.7.9鹦鹉舔食粘土的景观只能在西亚马逊平原才能看到。原来以为鹦鹉舔食粘土的原因是因为需要摄取其中的矿物质来中和食物中的有毒成分；但是最近的研究说，鹦鹉更喜欢含钠比较多的粘土，而西亚马逊平原距离海洋很远，钠在环境中的含量很低，所以鹦鹉才需要舔食粘土来摄入这种生命必需的元素。
早晨4:30起床，露水落下来敲打在树叶上仿佛是沙沙的雨声。这是我们最大的担心 – 如果下雨鹦鹉就不会出来了。吃过早饭，我们5点钟从营地出发，乘船5分钟，我们就到达观看的地点。河水在这里转了一个弯，水位很低，河水中间露出的陆地形成了一个小岛。周围的河岸呈180度的弧形包围着小岛。这里有足够的地方供鹦鹉进食。
大约五点半，小鹦鹉开始成群结队地飞来，很快就聚集了几百只。它们在空中盘旋了一阵儿，然后落到河岸上的树枝上。大概不到15分钟时间，几只小鹦鹉就飞到河岸上，随后所有的鹦鹉几乎同时飞了下来。导游有一个小册子上介绍Tambopata自然保护区各种鹦鹉的样子和名称。我们看到鹦鹉大部分的头都是蓝色的，它们应该是蓝头鹦哥。其它的鹦鹉全身都是绿色，看不出来它们是哪一种。
渐渐地有金刚鹦鹉飞来。金刚鹦鹉的活动是以家庭为单位，一般是两只，有的时候还带着一只小的。和那些性急的小鹦鹉相比，金刚鹦鹉更加注重自己的身份。它们只是站在枝头，不屑地看着比它们小一号的同类。大约过了10分钟，河岸上的小鹦鹉忽地一下都飞了起来。就象它们飞来的时候一样，不到5分钟就消失的无影无踪了。
金刚鹦鹉的体形大（从头到尾可达90cm）、色彩鲜艳，也更加小心谨慎，任何的风吹草动都会让它们警觉。我们本想靠河边近些，好看得更清楚，但是另外一组游客的导游说我们的衣服颜色太亮，所以我们只好退到岛中央的灌木丛中。这开始了我们和金刚鹦鹉长达三个小时的对峙。更多的金刚鹦鹉飞到岸边。我们看到了当地三种主要的金刚鹦鹉， 五彩金刚、红绿金刚和蓝喉金刚，每一种至少都有20只。它们各自占领一棵树，不予其它的鹦鹉混淆。有时它们可能觉得安全了一些，会开始一级一级地向较低的树枝上转移，但是也许听到什么声音或看到什么可疑的活动，又突然飞回到树顶。有时它们甚至还会一对一对转移到几百米外的另一棵树上去。
另外一组游客已经等不及离开了。我们回到船上稍事休息后决定让船先回到营地收拾行装，我们继续在原地等。在接下来的一个小时中，我们坐在灌木丛下，顶着大叶子遮阳。不知什么原因，蓝喉金刚鹦鹉一家子一家子地飞走了。剩下五彩金刚和红绿金刚继续和我们比赛耐心。
直到9:40，终于有一只鹦鹉飞到河岸的崖壁上。几分钟内，其它的鹦鹉也跟了下来。最多的时候，同时至少有20只鹦鹉在崖壁上进食。大约过了10分钟，马达声打破了河滩的宁静，我们的船从营地回来了。鹦鹉们受到惊吓飞回到树上。向导说这下恐怕又要再等一个小时了。临行前看到的介绍上说，七月初不是看鹦鹉舔的最佳时间。不过我们这一行的结果算是不错。最大的遗憾就是临行前鬼使神差地把2x的增距镜落在家里，实践证明打鸟200mm的镜头差得太远。
顺流而下的回程只用了3个小时。走入丛林木屋的时候，一群美国来的中学生正在前厅开Party。他们是木屋的新客人。
下午是这次亚马逊之行的最后一项活动 – 去Tres Chimbadas湖钓食人鱼。Tres Chimbadas湖在木屋的下游，乘船大约只有20分钟。下船后要穿过丛林，因为走得很慢，3里路走了快一个小时。我们和另外两个美国游客和他们的导游一起，一边划船一边无所事事地在湖上飘荡，看看湖边的水禽或是远处隐约出没的鳄鱼。湖水并不与Tambopata河相连，湖水很静，颜色黝深。到太阳快落山，导游把船停到一处树荫下，发了鱼竿和诱饵，开始钓鱼。这里的食人鱼是金色的，其实不会吃人，但是抢起鱼食来还是快得很，只有同行的游客钓到一条。我算是钓到半只，鱼已经被我拉出水面，但还是脱钩跑了。
当我们走出树林，登船返航的时候天已经黑了。导游用探照灯左右扫描河面，寻找鳄鱼。如果看到两个红色反光点，那就是鳄鱼的眼睛。我们的运气不是太好，直到最后才看到一只小鳄鱼。
2011.7.8早晨起得早，我在木屋周围的小路走了走。青蛙和鹦鹉在周围不知什么地方叫个不停，我沉浸在大自然的音乐中。
我们今天的计划是乘船逆流而上大约四个小时到Chuncho，在那里露营一晚，第二天早起看鹦鹉舔食粘土的奇观。大多数来木屋的游客都是参加三天两夜的团，只是在木屋附近的河边看看野生动物。因为这个行程，我们的时间要多一天，价钱也贵了很多。
在埃及的白色沙漠我们也曾经露营一宿。那次我们一行只有我们两个，一个向导加一个司机；而这一次和我们一起出发的有五个人 – 我们的向导，一个船长负责开船，一个船长的大副，一个厨师，另加木屋主人的儿媳妇。我想大概很少有游客去这么远，所以她也想去看看鹦鹉舔吧。
船开了一个小时，我们到达Tambopata自然保护区内的第一个检查站。我们在检查站的厚厚的签名簿上签了名，检查站给我们每个人的护照上盖了一个美洲豹图案的大戳。
我们和导游做在船的前面，船长在最后面开船，帮我们留意着两岸。一旦发现什么特别的动植物，他就把船慢下来，带我们慢慢靠近。
现在是亚马逊平原的旱季。很多地方河水很浅，流速缓慢。我们的大副经常要用竹竿帮忙来推一下。导游说，如果船搁浅了，大家都要下到水里去推船。
有少数地方河水很急，不但水面上有漂浮的浮木，水下还有暗礁。这时候大副和导游都要帮忙注意水流和障碍物。我听到大副在和导游讲述一次行船的经历，虽然我不懂西班牙语，但是从他们的手势可以猜到是船撞到了暗礁，船头直飞起来，把一船人都掀翻到河里。
过了两个多小时，我们到达保护区的第二个检查站。Malinowski河在这里汇入Tambopata河。可以明显看出Tambopata河的上游水很清；而Malinowski河的河水很浑浊。
继续沿Tambopata河上行。这一段的河水清澈而平静。
我们花了好久才找到合适停船地点。导游说他上次来是几年前了，水面和河岸看起来已经完全不同。亚马逊平原上的河流改道非常频繁，一个有经验的船长非常重要。
其他人在搭建营地，导游带我们在岛上走了一段。这是一片次生林，动植物的变化都不多。
我们并没有走太远。回来的时候四顶帐篷已经搭好。船长和大副晚上会在船上睡。吃晚饭前我们在岛上自由活动，其他人游泳捕鱼准备晚餐。天气很暖和，好像蚊子也没有很多。比我们想象的要舒服得多。
