Snowshoeing and hot springs

Today we went on a third snowshoeing adventure. It has been snowing since yesterday evening and there's a beautiful blanket of snow making everything appear sparkling and soft. We took a round about trek through the mountains and Meadows and even a bit uphill on the downhill ski slopes.

It's always amazing how Serene everything is in the snow covered forest. Nothing but the crunch of snow underfoot.

After this snow trek, we left the mountain resort and descended to the downtown area of Glenwood Springs which is only at 5700ft elevation. Still high but felt better already. I remembered that my Samsung phone can measure oxygen saturation so I've been compulsively checking on my treks to make sure I take a break when I'm below 80% which happene quite a bit while hiking.

Our next destination was the hot springs of Glenwood Springs. Supposedly, it's the largest outdoor hot springs pool. The larger of the pools contains over 1 million gallons of water. It's so amazing to soak in the pools at 104F  while it snows and surrounded by snow covered mountains. Amazing

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

We're spending New Year's weekend in Glenwood Springs (adjacent to Aspen). It's my first time in Colorado. The people are super nice here. The airport is tiny.

The mountain views are majestic. There's a good layer of snow on everything and it really makes the red mountainscapes pop.

We went snow shoeing and every tree looks like a perfect Christmas tree.

The elevation is a bit tough though - 8000-9000 ft. But it's nothing a little hydration and ibuprofen can't take care of.

Pictures from Kinabatangan River

The family of long tailed macaques.

We saw really beautiful butterflies.

Crocs

Grey leaf monkey

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Proboscis Monkeys

 Broad-billed ...

 Egret

Macaques eat palm fruits

 Family of pygmy elephants

 Hornbill in flight

 Sunrise on the river

 Proboscis Monkeys around Abai Jungle Lodge

Pictures from Danum Valley

Staying at Borneo Rainforest Lodge was my favorite part of the trip. I can't get over the feeling of awe when looking up at the primary Jurassic jungle from the dining area / view from my room. 

Alpha Male Orangatan

 

Mother and daughter

Red Leaf Monkey

Pacific Sutera Hotel

I really enjoyed staying here in a sea view club room. It was great having breakfast and cocktails in the members only club overlooking the harbor. It was also great to just walk to the marina and take the boat to our dive shop.

We finally visited the swimming pools on our last day and decided to swim at the one at the Sutera Marina club where they cool the water so it's super refreshing and there's water slides and an infinity pool. The club also has a golf course, bowling alley, movie theater and pool hall.

We also got massages at the spa in our hotel. They called it Balinese deep tissue massage. It was different from other massages that I've gotten. Perhaps a mix of Thai, Kilmer, and pressure point techniques. It was very relaxing.

Alas, heading home

This was definitely the best vacation yet. I did a bit of everything: trekking with a little hiking, seeing animals and birds that I have never seen before, staying in some of the oldest and best preserved rainforest in the world, getting great shots with the Canon 100-400mm lens, riding along the Kinabatangan River and seeing animals day and night, scuba diving in the South Pacific, and getting pampered in the Pacific Club at the Pacific Sutera Hotel.

I've learned what it's like to trek in 100% humidity. Fortunately there aren't so many mosquitos in the primary forest because they have many predators - insects and bats. I've learned to start spotting animals in the wild on our walks around Abai Jungle Lodge and MY nature resort where we took self let tours on the boardwalk there. I've learned how amazing it is to swim under a cool waterfall at the end of a hike. I've learned to spot nudibranches amongst the Borneo colorful corals.

Where to next?

Dive day 3

Our third done day started out pretty clear but then the storm clouds rolled in and stirred up the air and the water. We were still able to do all 3 dives but the visibility was poor during the second 2. In fact it was so dark that I had my flashlight on and it started to feel like a night dive. That may be why we saw so many cuttlefish since they were probably thinking the same thing. I also saw a sleeping burrfish, a founder and a baby Moray eel.  Dive 1 at Coral gardens, dive 2 at landslide and dive 3 at Padang point.

Mangosteen is in season!

2.2 kilos for $15!

Diving day 2

We woke up to a storm this morning with the island covered in clouds and heavy rain. We thought our dive day would be cancelled. However, the rain slowed over the morning hours and we were able to do all 3 dives.

I rented an underwater camera for the day - canon G15 - and took some great shots.

Dive 1 - Gaya Gardens - I was getting used to the camera and took a lot of background/coral shots as well as random fish pictures. Not sure if I missed any cool fish sightings.

Dive 2 - Pyramids - we started off by seeing a black tipped shark! and then a huge lobster, cuttlefish, stingray, and a burrfish, and a school of barracudas

Dive 3 - Ron's Reef - best dive yet! We saw cuttlefish, a stingray, lots of lionfish (in their proper habitat!), burrfish, batfish, black spotted pufferfish, porcupine fish, and a seahorse!! I'm so happy.