Sepia Saturday #341: July 30, 2016. Boating Happiness

Claustrophobia!! In the prompt photo, the passengers in the boat are apparently claustrophobia free, merrily bobbing along in the cave. An almost-recovered claustrophobic myself, I no longer suffer from this phobia as severely as before, but I don't look forward to caves and I have no pictures of myself or my family members in one.

The boat part of the post is what I've chosen for this week's blog. I've had many happy experiences in ships and boats while traveling. I'm posting a few of my favorites.

As an aside: Boat photos were easy to find in Google Photos. If you're not using it, you might give it a try. I searched all my files for boats; then canoes; then ships. The search engine was excellent at finding the photos I wanted. I also like the "Photo Assistant" part of Google Photos. The Assistant creates albums for you; applies special effects and creates customized photos. You receive an email notice that one of these actions has been taken - you can assess the results and either keep what the Assistant has created - or not. I've kept many of them and even if they're not something you like, they're fun to look at once and reject.

Here are some of my favorite boat photos.

Tierra del Fuego archipelago, Cape Horn.

Botswana. I'm under the hat. 

Sri Lanka

Norway on Costa Constanzia

Poling along Dal lake to our houseboat in Srinigar, Kashmir

Another houseboat - on the backwaters of Kerala, India

Oceania cruise ship pulling out of Lisbon

From our houseboat, Rakesh, our friend, whose profile resembles one of the limestone outcroppings in HaLong Bay, Vietnam, posing for comparison.

The closest photo I have of a cave from a boat - Halong Bay, Vietnam.

Kayaking in Princess Louisa inlet, British Columbia. I'm manning the other set of oars and the camera.

Sightseeing on the Ganges, Varanesi, India

Boating through the Komodo Archipelago from Flores to Angel Island - Eastern Indonesia.

My favorite. One legged paddler: Inle Lake, Myanmar

I saved the best for last - the beautiful experience of silently gliding along Inle Lake in Myanmar. The fishermen use one leg to row so the arms are free to set and reel in nets and lines. It's so blissfully quiet. More pictures of Inle Lake follow - can there be too many?

Quoting myself from another blog entry:

"To reach our destination, the boatman rows through the lily pad beds on narrow channels cut through the vegetation. We glide through the lilies silently as the lake is smooth and still. The quiet is unreal; we keep waiting for a motor roar to come from somewhere, but there's only a watery swoosh as the paddle pushes us forward. I hang my hand over the side so I can feel the movement of the boat - the water is cool and the motion is calming. As we pass through the narrow dense green lily channels, the blossoms on tall stems greet us at eye level in a kind of slow-motion; their sweet odor wafts over us in waves. Our eyes take in one bloom after the other and it ends all too quickly. I almost weep from longing to back and do it all again - why didn't I insist we repeat the short journey? I cannot tell from the passive boat rower's face if he is as moved as I am. If we did it over and over again would the magic disappear? "

The lake at sunset. It's like heaven. View from our hotel balcony.

Sadly leaving Inle, until next time.