Steamy!

And sulpher-y too.

This is the crater of the Poas Volcano in Costa Rica.

I got very, very lucky that the winds were in my favor, revealing the gorgeous turquoise blue water below.

Evidently the volcanic soil nearby makes for delicious coffee. I’ll let you know, a bag managed to find its way into my suitcase.

Perhaps next week I’ll write about the epic backroads voyage I went on to get to the volcano. If I didn’t live it, I’d think I made it up.







Image originally published to Instagram May 17. Photo taken with an iPhone4s and the Camera+ and imported into Instagram.



Defies words

I had a day today that defies all possible words.

Started out with a road trip down south of Kona to the very end southernmost of the Big Island of Hawaii.

My destination was Punalu’u Black Sand Beach.

I had stumbled across this gem online while looking for actual beaches. Kona is the newest of the islands and as such, doesn’t have fabulous sand beaches. It has stunning lava coastline, but no happy sandy beach to lay about and catch some sun…or even walk on and put your toes in the water.

So not only is Punalu’u an actual sandy beach complete with watery toes….it comes with sea turtles!

Yes, actual sea turtles!

I was lucky enough to see five today on the small stretch of sand that comprises this amazing, glorious, gorgeous beach.

Then, after I’d spent several hours with the turtles, full of a turtle induced I, I decided to move on to the Volcanos National Park.

Both Kilauea and Mauna Loa were visible and AMAZING.

I took about three hundred photos today, and I’m sorting them out. The volcanos put a muted light haze on the day which my photographer friends will know is KILLER light for taking photos.

So here’s a few to start, more to come:

All photos by Karen Fayeth