dripping with passion

{i took this photo this morning from the village of jomsom, just as the first light of day hit the himalaya peaks} namaste . the greeting literally means “i see the divine light within you.” it’s a phrase the boy and i have exchanged with hundreds of beautiful nepali people over the last twelve days that we’ve spent in this magical country. and we’ve offered the greeting in true genuine honesty – we have certainly, certainly seen the divine light in these shining women, men and children. last saturday, we were trekking along a path carved into the side of a brown mountain, surrounded by snowcapped peaks. as we began to cross a suspension bridge across the river we’d been following through five days of hiking along the annapurna circuit route among the himalayas, the boy noticed some landslides – dust and rocks plummeting down the opposite mountainside. we paused, and after the falling stopped, we continued walking. a few minutes later, we stopped to take a break at a mud-shack teah...

we spent the night in a bunk room at the milford sound lodge, and awoke early to get back on the water on kayaks! we were worried that the weather forecast said lots of rain, but we quickly learned that rain on the sound is not a bad thing. the mist hanging over the cliffs and the waterfalls gushing all around made for spectacular sights and an incredible experience. we coordinated our kayak adventure with rosco’s milford kayaks , and everything about it was awesome. after we got outfitted in gear that kept us perfectly warm and quite dry while paddling, rosco himself met us at the dock to speed us out to the end of the sound in a boat. he and our guide, jack, were so very kind and helpful and full of energy, information, and love for the sound and its wonders. we can’t recommend rosco’s highly enough! i strapped our gopro to my head and took some photos and videos while we were paddling. i didn’t think about wiping off the lens cover from time to time and got a lot of pictures of ...

we were originally going to only visit the north island of new zealand on this trip, but once we saw photographs of fiordland national park and milford sound, we both decided we simply had to go to the south island as well. even if we had to come back right after the flight down there, it would have been worth it! most spectacular views i’ve ever had on a commercial flight – these pictures don’t do it justice at all.     we landed in queenstown and were immediately so glad we headed south. we were amazed at the scenery from the very beginning. we hopped right in our rental car and headed for milford sound.   ^^ loved seeing autumn leaves in march! we passed through lots of charming little towns ^^ ^^ soooooo many sheep ^^ ^^ more beautiful autumn foliage! ^^ the drive kept changing and we kept being amazed. soon we were seeing lots of waterfalls and some glaciers. we went through a looooong tunnel that spit us out on a windy road down towards fiordland.   when...