Offtrack between Salento and Toche, near the Cocora Valley – Colombia

The tracks is around 3200m high and lead through giant wax palm forest, deep valley. Many “Finca” (farm) and cattle.

We were driving here with our T5 4motion, for recording sounds and ambiance of the wax palms forest.

More information about this project : www.phonography.world

music by : “The Cheatcode” full album free to download here : www.dataglitch.org

The “explosive” surprise of the trip : Guatemala. First country on the list of Central America, this country had instant immersive power, without transition. And to set the tone, it is on the Mayan site of Uaxactún that we spend our first night. Isolated by an unpaved road and eclipsed by its great rival : Tikal, only a few kilometers below, the site is deserted by tourists. Yet, the place is of mystical beauty, lost in a devouring jungle and in an ocean of sounds

Here is a recording, which we made, leaving a “sound trap” all night,  near  to our camp:

But beyond the magic of the site, we have woven links with 4 girls from the village, a particular and unexpected moment that stretched over 2 days. We opened our truck and cooked together, had lunch, sung, listened to the sounds and talked about the spirit of the forest. Then, at an improvised ceremony, they surrounded us by lianas and remarried forever. At the time of the goodbyes, our truck was dotted with floral arrangements, each small creation made with method and taste. We left the heart heavy, with the feeling that Guatemala will offer us something big.

The suite was exponential, in color, tradition and warmth. Adventures that we had the chance to share with family.

Here are some small audio snippets of Guatemalan markets:

This vibrant experience ended with an experience we will not forget, sleeping close to the Fuego, a very active volcano. We were going to miss out in our crazy race, we can never thank enough Gwendoline and Jérémy, met on the roads of Guatemala, to have put the idea in our heads.

The day before, we choose all four to spend the evening at the home of our guide, Catalino, in his family. Instant pub for Asoava, two times cheaper than the agencies in Antigua. To see the phenomenon, you have to walk on the dusty slopes of the nearby volcano, the Acatanango, to the base camp at 3500 m. Tents, duvets and meals will be worn by our guides, but the 4 liters of water per person, multiple layers for the night close to zero and the sound gear was for us. According to Catalino, the volcano is very active in this moment, so we will take all the recording equipment : recorder, Double M/S, Ambeo ambisonic microphone, telinga parabola, 3 microphone stand, battery for 2 days of recording.

I could describe the ascent, but I only have the memory of being attracted like a magnet to the top, guided by the sounds : stronger and stronger. End despite the steep and stony slope, altitude and dust, the march was only a detail compare to the Fuego.

Arrived at the end of the afternoon, it is at sunset that we observe it. Every 10 minutes, a thick smoke explosion occurs. Then 8 seconds later, the sound reaches our ears and makes them vibrate.

Here is a recording of the explosion of the Fuego :

Once night falls, the smoke gives way to a glowing lava, in intense explosions. Beyond the beauty of the show, breathtaking, the sound is unique. Sometimes deep roar come from the bowels of the earth or dry detonation, the expulsion of the volcano produces an intense vibration into the body, a low frequency harsh frequency. Adrenaline at its peak, it was a sleepless night at the top.

The climb of the last 500m started at night to reach the summit of Acatanango before dawn. Under the stars, with the moon and the still glowing volcano of its night, the fantastic power of the moment exceeds us but still resonates in our bodies.

After our immersion in the the northern Alaska via the Dalton highway, we naturally turned to the Pacific coast and especially the Kenai peninsula, known for its famous glaciers.

Alaska has more than 600 glaciers, mostly inaccessible. But since nothing resists to human, this precious and fragile treasure is fuels polluted and is becoming noisy with it luxuary tourism, for anyone in a hurry: cruise, boat, helicopter tour, everything is planned to see a max in a minimum time. Our luxury is to have time and hiking shoes to reach accessible glaciers at a modest price and some effort.

GLACIER PORTAGE
A short hike from Whittier makes it easy to see the front, which remains very distant, as it is declining from year to year.

An extra walk along the lake, an icy knee-high river crossing and a bit of climbing offered us a tense head-to-head with the high glacier.
Unstructured, broken, compressed forms build cathedrals with translucent and vibrant walls

Below, it’s a whole network of caverns, invisible, but audible: it creaks, drips, breaks, and falls.

We advance towards the front of the glacier, overlooking it. The blocks are detached from time to time and drift along the lake.
We spend the day here, alone, listening and recording this living glacier.

EXIT GLACIER
It is accessible from Seward, a small fishing town, for which we had a crush (blue sky, heat and northern lights as a bonus)

This glacier is also declining, but continuously, since 2006, winter and summer. The approach walk to observe the front is more and more longer and retraces 195 years of decline. The trail has experienced several extensions, but there will be no other, the glacial tongue being surrounded by a terrain considered too abrupt now. We opted for the harding field trail, an all-round hike of 12 km, to admire the ice field on the heights of the Exit glacier. After crossing a forest of dense poplars, grasslands with marmots, we finaly arrive in front of the immensity of the ice field. It can be said that this was a highlight of the trip, which is self-explanatory.

During this long contemplation, where we made a few recordings, out of nowhere, we see a runner in the distance, shirtless in shorts … We total hallucinate!

SALMON GLACIER

This glacier is located in Hyder, ghost town of former miner, end of the world border with the British Colombia. On the way, we discover Fish Creek, a salmon river and observation platform for Bears.

The road to the glacier is really bad, but it’s worth it. The icy tongue glacier was a perfect spectacle, admirable until the extinction of our fire.

BYRON GLACIER

It is located 50km from Anchorage, near the portage lake. We lingered on its ice cavities, to capture this particular sound and make a 360 phonography: