Eldonita: 17.10.2016
Welcome and good morning to Day Number 7!
After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast of waffles, donuts, and cereal, our day started a bit later than usual. The reason for this was that we could only start our tour to Antelope Canyon at 3:30 p.m. today, as we had unfortunately ordered our permits or the guided tour a bit late and could only secure the last two spots for the afternoon tour.
Phew, we lucked out! Because we didn't want to miss this highlight. I would say the pictures explain everything.
So this morning we had plenty of time to plan the next few days of our trip and enjoy 1-2 hours with coffee and free wifi at Mc Donald's.
We could finally take care of everything calmly and even had a relatively good internet connection, because it's not so great in America on the long highways or in small towns.
We quickly made a call home and then we were on our way again. Because before our tour with the Native Americans through the Upper Antelope Canyon, we drove just 10 minutes out of the small tourist town of Page to visit the mega impressive Horseshoe Bend.
From the interstate, it's hardly recognizable. We drove to an inconspicuous parking lot and walked the 15-minute path to the largest bend of the Colorado River around a hundreds of meters high rock. Hence the name, because when viewed from above, it looks like a horseshoe ;)
Once we reached the edge of the cliffs, we couldn't stop marveling, because the view was simply breathtaking and of course called for a long photoshoot, and we still had plenty of time.
There were tourists everywhere, especially groups of Japanese people with masks and complete disguise could be seen at every peak.
So it wasn't easy to find the perfect spot, because if you want to capture the Colorado River in all its glory, you have to go all the way to the front edge of the cliffs and there's only air behind it, naturally. Americans don't really care about safety precautions, but you can take even more beautiful pictures if you dare to go all the way to the front.
We're starting to lose our sense of size and height, because everything in America is just big: the cars, the parking lots, the supermarkets, or even the milk cartons. Nowhere else have we seen milk or orange juice in 4-liter jugs. Not to mention the sizes of the candy section or the selection of peanut butter flavors.
Big, Bigger .......America
After some sweaty photo and filming maneuvers, we slowly made our way to the meeting point for the Antelope Slot Canyon Tour.
Since the area and the town of Page are completely in Native American, or as they say here, Navajo hands, you can only visit the Upper Antelope Canyon with a guided tour.
But before we finally started, we got a Hula Hula dance performance from one of the tour guides, accompanied by wild Indian cries.
After about 10 minutes, we were able to take a seat on the benches of the jeeps and were then driven or rather flung towards the canyon, because the ride was anything but relaxed.
The driver hit every little pothole in the desert, which felt like being thrown into a gorge on the hard backseat.
Nevertheless, we both arrived in one piece and were finally able to explore the canyon.
Specifically, you walk through a narrow gorge here, which is illuminated from above by daylight, which creates these incredibly interesting patterns and colors inside the canyon. We even saw Abraham Lincoln! :)
It was an extremely impressive experience and super interesting at the same time to hear what the locals told us.
It's just a shame that we couldn't get permits for noon, because that's when you have the chance to photograph one of the famous beams of light that shines through. But even so, it was a great highlight for us and we can only recommend everyone to come to Page and see these wonders of nature. Because there will come a time, the Navajo say, when this canyon will no longer exist due to monsoon rains and landslides.
So don't wait, guys!!!!!
In general, America and especially the West Coast have been an incredibly impressive experience for us so far, and we are amazed day by day. We have perfect weather here and the people we meet on our journey, whether it's the cashier at the supermarket, the waiter in a restaurant, or people who are traveling the world just like us, are all super friendly, open, and helpful.
Characteristics that you unfortunately sometimes look for in vain in Germany.
Make your own experiences and come here.
Because America is and will remain the land of unlimited possibilities.
With that said,
Good night and see u tomorrow guys!!!!!