The London Grey Squirrels

Last weekend  I was very fortunate to attend Wildphotos, a major wildlife photography conference that hosts the world most incredible professional wildlife photographers. The two day event consisted of a jam packed day of top professionals in the industry educating us on key aspects of photography.
After being so motivated with a sudden hit of realisation of the standards I picked up my camera and went out on a sunrise shoot.
I headed to Greenwich Park in south London to photograph Squirrels, as Red Squirrels will be my main topic I will be focusing on for the whole of this year. This is one of my first shoots so I will eventually improve my photography in terms of capturing behaviour and interactions.
Click to enlarge:

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Contact:
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The Final Stretch

One of my days in Majorca I took an excursion south to Porto Cristo. Porto Cristo translates Port of Christ, from the Christian Invasion of Majorca. A long story goes back that a fishing boat washed up in the harbour that contained a crucifix. Porto Cristo isn't like any other place in Majorca, because its income does not entirely depend on tourism. It still remains as a fishing village and welcomes many boats into its naturally built harbour. Just before arriving to this town I took a detour to the Coves Del Drach (Cavern of the Dragon). These caves are one of Majorcas main tourist attractions. The caves extend 2.4km with an internal height of 25m but the reason why this cave allures so many visitors is because its lake. Lake Martel, is one of the largest subterranean lakes in the world (177m long and 30m wide). So I walked through the perfectly lit formation planned by Dr. Buigas, and then reached the Lake. I wasn't really sure what to expect but everyone was seated and they played a spectacular performance, they played classical music, pieces by Caballero, Chopin and Offenbach etc. whilst they did a lighting show through a series of rowing boats. It was very surreal but incredible. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take any photos inside of the caves, I tried but they were hot on it so I got shouted at a lot.
Anyway I'll stop babbling and show you some photos. These shots are taken along the coasts of Porto Cristo.

Watch Tower

Turquoise waters 

After my trip to Porto Cristo I went back to Port of Pollenca, where I was staying and then the next day I travelled down Palma, the capital of Majorca and then to Arenal. I stayed in Arenal for one night and one night only. This place didn't seem Spanish at all but instead German. Greeted in German, the Germans special dishes, German bars etc. It was very disturbing to be so used to be surrounded by the Spanish Culture, which was then switched to a dominant German culture.  So every place I visited in Spain I would recommend apart from Arenal, unless you like Germans.
So.. the Odyssey is over, a great trip and an amazing experience. Where to go next?

My Journey

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Balearic Islands

After sleeping under the stars as I cross the Mediterranean sea on the ferry, I reach my final destination of Majorca. Majorca is the largest of all the Balearic Islands.  Majorca derives from the latin word meaning 'the larger one' and Menorca originating from the latin word of 'the smaller one', the easiest way to tell them apart I guess.
Anyway, I took the overnight ferry from Barcelona and arrived in Alcudia, at 6.30am. Waking up late to a woman over the tannoy saying that it was the 'last call for passengers to get off at Alcudia', wasn't the best way to start the day. After all the struggle and panic I finally set foot in Alcudia port, and made my way towards the town, where I could then catch the bus to Pollença. However, because it was so early I had to wait couple hours before I could get the next bus, so this gave time to see the place a take advantage  the sunrise glow and photograph the stunning views.

Sunrise after getting off the ferry

Light piercing through the Palm Trees

I arrived at my hostel in Pollenca just 100m or so from the beach, checked in, ate breakfast, and then I was straight to the beach front. The weather was amazing and had been during my whole time in Spain, until one day in Pollença, where I witnessed, what felt like a tropical storm for the day. Although it was torrential rain, I quite liked that I saw what it what it was like. I have never seen rain like it. It was just this one day that there was bad weather, which isn't bad for two weeks away. I took a trip to Alcudia one day to look in the old, historic town and went kayaking along the bay and in Pollença I went sup paddle boarding and various other things.

Day after the storm

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Barcelona and the Montserrat Mountains

The next destination, one of the places I was looking forward to the most. I proceed 182miles north-east to Barcelona! Barcelona is the largest and capital city of Catalonia, the second largest city in Spain.  It was the shortest amount of time I spent here but it gave me more reasons to pack it out. When I arrived I took a guided bus tour of the city as this was the best way to see it and learn about their culture. Observing the fascinating architecture and seeing the college Pablo Picasso once studied in was incredible.
Enough of that, here are some photos of Barcelona.

Stadium built for the 1992 Olympics

The Marina

Plaza de Catalunya

From the densely populated city of Barcelona, I venture out an hour North-West outside of the city, towards Manresa and stop at the Montserrat Mountains. Montserrat translates 'Serrated Mountain' in Catalan, which can easily be illustrated, even from Manresa. The mountains are roughly 1200m high and the path I took managed to take me to 1.070m high, a place called Santa Magdalena. This was an incredible view from the top, overlooking a vast and contoured landscape below. An array of wildlife nests on these mountains, a variety of birds. The Peregrine Falcon, the fastest animal in the world, The Raven, largest bird of the Crow family and the Bonellis Eagle, a classic Mediterranean bird of prey. Other wildlife consists of Geckos, Squirrels and Bats.

View from the bottom

Take the Cable Car up to the
first level of the mountain

View from Plaza de Santa Anna (895m)

To see my previous posts on the other places I went to click on the 'Older Post' link on the bottom right.


Contact:
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Valencian Half Time

Coming up to half way through my journey across the Spanish country, from the Capital and largest city of Madrid to the quite town of Calpe and the popular party resort of Benidorm, I make my way to the 3rd largest city in Spain,Valencia. I stayed next to the Ancient Turia river which is now beautiful gardens and from my cravings since the start of the Journey I consume my first fresh, Valencian Orange Juice. It was glorious 

A few photos:

Other side of the city, on the beachside

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Contact:
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Next Stop: Calpe, Costa Blanca

After leaving Madrid, taking a 7hr bus journey to Costa Blanca in the south east of Spain. We eventually arrived in Calpe at 6am so it was a very surreal feeling. With no access to anything we took a short walk down to the local beach, Playa Levante and watched the sunrise over Peñon de Ifach, Calpe Rock This is a symbol of the whole of the Costa Blanca. After watching sunrise we slept under one of the straw parasols until we were woken by the intense heat.

Taking a walk to the beach

Sunrise over Calpe Rock

Contact:
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