The horseshoe bend.. Arizona

After the jaw dropping few hours at the Grand Canyon, we were headed back and then towards the Horseshoe bend. There was another tour that had Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe bend, but since I was keen on the Grand Canyon i chose this one..  We were a handful of us in the bus and it was quite exciting... Located near the town of Page, Arizona, the horse shoe bend got its name based on the shape formation of the mountain. From up here, you can see the Colorado river flow down below, all the way down the canyon... This is a continuation of the Grand Canyon... 

I had read and seen pictures of the place, but did not know of anyone personally who had visited here. Anyways, it was all part of the travel experience right?  The van pulled into the parking lot and we were told we had an hour to get back to the van. If any of us found it difficult to hike up, we could always come sit in the van and wait for the others.

Now, even though the hike to the edge of the horse shoe bend is less than a mile, the first few yards is uphill and quite steep. Beyond that it was all sand with ups and downs.. The path is not difficult, I spotted many wearing flip flops and sandals, walking by. It took me about 15mins and as I neared the ledge, it got a bit scary. I kept thinking "please God, let me not slip and slide down the edge". There are no fences or walls, or even ropes for us to hold on to.. You go as far as you can, stand for as long as you want or sit or walk around, or jump on nearby rocks, click pictures but it is all upto you how safe you remain!! 

It was a good thing I carried my water bottle, even though it was cool and windy, I was thirsty and I hear that in summers it gets quite hot.. There are no shaded areas, so make sure to carry a cap along. met a couple who have been coming here every month on their anniversary date and all they do is drive down here with their dog, sit for a few minutes and go back.. I also spotted quite a few others with their dogs :-) 

I am not scared of heights, but I guess I was afraid of slipping and falling [esp since it has happened before to me] Hands were shaking as I was trying to click pictures and so I stepped back a bit before clicking them~ Oh well, fear conquered and I survived the trip.. Yipee...

Solo travel.. my take!

As most people know, I love travelling on my own and it so happens that most of my travels have been solo travel. I had done an earlier post about how fun it is doing trips on your own. I do know it is not everyone’s cup of tea and that is perfectly fine! There are a few who keep talking about travelling on their own, but just don’t do it, cos they are unable to get themselves to do it. They need to accept it and let it be, instead of harping on it.

Another thing that most people assume is that just cos I travel on my own, it means I don’t have friends or am a loner. I am not, trust me! I plan these trips on my own cos I love it and I enjoy my space & freedom when I am off exploring a new town. I don’t get scared, or even if there are moments of uncertainty, I just take a moment, breath and figure out a solution. Nothing is rocket science or life threatening. If it does get to that point, am sure I will find someone to rescue me…

So, is there a flip side to travelling solo? Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it flip side, but yes there are a few sticky points in this. Actually I have so far faced only two issues.

      1. Photographs –

Well, when you are exploring a new town, you go about enjoying the scenes, sights, and devour the local treats.  There are bound to be a few landmark buildings that you click pictures of. But then when you want a picture in front of the place, it becomes a “what do I do now” kinda moment. There have been so many trips where I have not a single picture of myself at the location. But over the years, I have started asking other travellers or a local to click my picture. This time during my USA trip, I asked someone or the other at literally every spot to click a picture of mine. I did click a few selfies, but then am not comfortable with that and invariably the picture looks weird.  And then there is the whole “is anyone watching me shamelessly click a picture of myself”… lol

       2. Looking out for your things while you go do an activity –

I was in Goa, at Calangute beach and spotted a few parasailers and others on the jet skis. I so badly wanted to give both a shot but then I had my backpack with me which contained everything from cash, to room keys to my ID, cards etc. What do I do? There were no locker facilities or a safe place to put these. And so, I spent nearly an hour walking up and down the place, all the while my eyes and mind was keen on doing these activities. It did notice a family that was staying at the same place as I was, and smiled at them. In a few minutes, we were yapping away about how hot it was and so on. I don’t know if it was telepathy or the man had been watching me stare longingly at the para sailers/jet ski, but he suggested I go give them a shot. When I hesitated, he immediately said don’t worry, you can leave your bag with us. It will get wet and you wouldn’t wanna get your things wet/lost in the process. His wife chimed in and reassured me. I decided to throw caution to the wind and do just that.  Phew, it was such a relief to come back to the shore and see them holding onto my bag.. God bless them! The kids were so curious to know how the activities were and we yapped a while before going our separate ways!!  Not sure if I will trust people so willingly everywhere….

What are the other issues you have faced when travelling alone? Any scary/terrifying/awkward instances ? Do share…

  

Skywatch Friday... Garden & art..

Walking along The Mall in Washington D.C, after spending about 7 hours exploring the museums and food trucks, I was ready to head back to the train station at Smithsonian. Along the way, spotted the garden alongside a vintage building and took a stroll through it... 

Here are a few pictures captured from there... 

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday

Skywatch Friday... Skyscrapers galore..

More from the city that I entered with quite a bit of apprehension but loved just as much as the others... Since I did not have too many days and other plans cropped up, I decided to do a hop on hop off bus tour.. Sitting atop cos I thought that would add to the experience, little did i expect it to be as windy and cold as it was... I was nearly freezing but the sights kept me glued to the seat... Here are more shots from that morning...

For more beautiful skies, visit Skywatch Friday