weekly photo challenge: serenity
To show serenity, we automatically think of the countless sunrises and sunsets that have left us feeling serene.
And this one would be the clear winner.
We climbed strenuously uphill for a couple of hours. All the pain, all the hurt and all the weariness were zapped from us when we saw this sunrise over the French Pyrenees on the Camino de Santiago. This was only Day 1 of what was going to be the most amazing thing we ever did.
Happy Weekend everyone!
Welcome your thoughts as always!
wise monkeys abroad 
January 19, 2015 at 9:31 pm
Perfectly captures the theme! I absolutely love sunrises and sunsets and always try to watch as many as I can on my travels.
January 21, 2015 at 10:11 am
Thanks so much! Oooh yeh, sunrises and sunsets are so magical to watch. We were always more fans of sunsets than sunrises but on this walk… our entire perspective changed and we became such mad fanatics to witness and photograph the sunrise 🙂
January 19, 2015 at 4:04 pm
One of those moments of being fully in the moment! The image says it all.
January 21, 2015 at 10:12 am
Thanks Kat! You are sooooo right in saying that it was “being fully in the moment” – we certainly have learnt that is so important in living a fulfilling life 🙂 Hope you are having an amazing week.
January 19, 2015 at 1:22 pm
Wow, how inspiring! Not just the photo but your words…
January 19, 2015 at 4:00 pm
Thank you so much 🙂 Your kind words are what we need to hear on a Monday!
January 19, 2015 at 12:36 pm
Happy new year and best wishes to you and yours for health, happiness, peace & prosperity in 2015!
January 19, 2015 at 4:00 pm
Thank you! And to you, we wish you a Happy New Year!!
January 19, 2015 at 4:02 am
Thank you for sharing your photo. I begin my Walking my Camino in about 100 days, I hope I am graced with good weather so that i can take the Napolean Route and get spectacular views like that.
January 19, 2015 at 6:12 am
🙂 Every day, we went to bed saying the weather will be good tomorrow and sure enough 40 out of 42 times, we got it right, so stay positive and enjoy the experience. We cannot wait to read all about it. It was the changes we needed in our lives! Buen Camino….
January 18, 2015 at 10:33 am
What lovely colors! The Camino de Santiago sounds like an incredible adventure.
January 18, 2015 at 9:30 pm
The Camino is one of the BEST (if not, the BEST) things we have done. 42 days of soul searching and walking and meeting people and just experiencing the beautiful countryside. We would do it again in a heart beat. One who returns from the Camino is never the same….
January 18, 2015 at 9:46 am
That is a really beautiful picture. I love the layers of colours and silhouettes.
January 18, 2015 at 9:29 pm
Thanks so much for your generous comment. It was just so majestic standing there and seeing this scene with our own eyes 🙂 We will never forget it!
January 18, 2015 at 7:56 am
It was worth walking uphill for two hours to be rewarded with this glorious sight at the top. How lovely.
January 18, 2015 at 9:29 pm
Totally worth walking uphill for 🙂 We had tossed up to go the alternative route the night before but that morning when we woke up, heading the way we did felt like the right thing to do and we were right 🙂
January 18, 2015 at 6:30 am
Wow, that is some view. I bet it was breathtaking
January 18, 2015 at 9:28 pm
It was the one of the most magical moments on the walk. Time literally stood still as we watched the sun make its way into the sky….
January 18, 2015 at 2:37 am
Beautiful shot!
January 18, 2015 at 9:27 pm
Thank you so much for saying so!
January 18, 2015 at 1:28 am
Wise choice for this challenge, Monkeys! 😉
January 18, 2015 at 9:27 pm
😉 Witty comments always make us smile – thank you!
January 18, 2015 at 12:09 am
Beautiful image, hope you make it to Santiago del Compostela…
January 18, 2015 at 9:26 pm
Hi Jim! Thank you! We did make it to Santiago… after 42 days of walking back in October 🙂 It was the most amazing thing we ever did. Still dream of the experience to this day.
January 18, 2015 at 10:48 pm
I plan to do the Camino…but starting in Portugal… whether this will happen or not….I don’t know….I wanted to do it last year…
January 19, 2015 at 6:10 am
It was an amazing experience that we want to do all over again. But next time, we would like to do the Portuguese way. Depending on when you go, we might see you along the way 🙂 Buen Camino!
January 17, 2015 at 11:13 pm
wonderful capture! 🙂
January 18, 2015 at 9:27 pm
Thank you so much 🙂
January 17, 2015 at 9:22 pm
wow! Looks like something from a beautiful dream!!!!!
January 17, 2015 at 10:33 pm
Thanks Diana! It felt like a dream but the wonderful thing was that it wasn’t 🙂 Hope you have been well.
January 17, 2015 at 4:33 pm
Stunning sky. So golden and rich in yellow tones, and it looks like the sky is made of gold! What a special way to start your trip. And yes, it’s certainly serene. How can you not stop to have a look at a sky like that 😀
January 17, 2015 at 10:31 pm
Mabel, it was a moment in time where the world seemed to just stop! For a split second it did 🙂
January 17, 2015 at 1:59 pm
It could go in a dictionary 🙂
January 17, 2015 at 10:30 pm
Thank you 🙂
January 17, 2015 at 10:50 am
Amazing that you experienced this on day 1 🙂
January 17, 2015 at 11:18 am
Mani – we experienced the most incredible sunrises there, but this was probably one of all-time favourites! 🙂 Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
January 17, 2015 at 10:09 am
Thanks for the beautiful, and serene, scene. –Curt
January 17, 2015 at 11:20 am
It was our pleasure to be able to share one of our favourite sunrises! It really was a moment when we heard nothing, the sense of serenity!
January 17, 2015 at 10:09 am
The epitome of serenity
January 17, 2015 at 11:18 am
Thank you Leya! At the time, it certainly felt like the world had stopped. Even looking back at this photo, it takes us right back to the point where we stopped and gasped in wonder 🙂
January 17, 2015 at 8:48 am
awesome 😎
January 17, 2015 at 11:17 am
Thank you 🙂
January 17, 2015 at 8:41 am
Such a wonderful picture…. Even though there is a mist, I can clearly make out all the hills and curves and gradients…. This must have been one really amazing moment!
January 17, 2015 at 11:17 am
Oh, thank you ever so much for your comment. The moment was one of many amazing moments for us 🙂 This photo is probably ranked as one of our personal favourites that we snapped on the Camino! Wishing you a wonderful weekend ahead.
January 17, 2015 at 8:06 am
That looks absolutely serene!
January 17, 2015 at 11:15 am
And Shikha – serene it was 🙂 Despite our huffing and puffing, the world seemed to have come to a complete stop. Nothing else mattered except the rising of the sun at that very moment.
January 17, 2015 at 8:03 am
That’s a fab capture!
Incredible hues and spectacular location too 🙂
It sure makes you feel serene and I’d add “wow” to it!
Well done!
January 17, 2015 at 11:14 am
We are so touched and grateful for your comment! We couldn’t believe how our photo turned out but we really couldn’t go wrong when the scenery is that spectacular 🙂 Have a lovely weekend ahead.
January 20, 2015 at 6:52 am
The best photos are the ones that are spontaneous and you definitely were at the right place at the right time to witness Mother Nature’s unique present! High 5 😉
January 21, 2015 at 10:09 am
High 5 right back at you 🙂 Thanks for your sincerely lovely comment!
January 17, 2015 at 7:58 am
Wow! 🙂 Worth the effort!
January 17, 2015 at 11:13 am
Hey there Linda, It was definitely worth every step and every bead of sweat and muscle ache we endured 🙂 Hope you are well!
January 17, 2015 at 9:21 pm
Great, thanks! 🙂
January 17, 2015 at 7:43 am
Oh Monkeys: you have really encapsulated the word serenity with this photograph. It makes me feel calm looking at it. Fabulous. And what a way to start the Camino
January 17, 2015 at 11:12 am
We so pleased to hear that it makes you feel calm looking at it. We weren’t sure if it was just us remembering the silence of standing up there and witnessing daybreak in the most magical of surroundings – that made it feel serene. Thank you so much for your sincere comment 🙂
January 17, 2015 at 12:01 pm
Were you camping out?
January 17, 2015 at 10:30 pm
No, we didn’t camp out on the walk. But we were up well before sunrise every day 🙂
January 17, 2015 at 7:18 am
Serene indeed! What a beautiful view!
January 17, 2015 at 11:11 am
Thanking you 🙂 It was a view to remember!
January 17, 2015 at 1:41 pm
I am sure it is 🙂
January 17, 2015 at 7:13 am
Lovely! So glad to see you celebrate the accomplishment of your monumental adventure/journey. I imagine you will always discover serenity in your memories of those days spent on the Camino de Santiago. ❤
~Jane
January 17, 2015 at 11:11 am
Thanks Jane! And indeed we do – we are constantly thinking back to how peaceful the experience was. Often we wish we were still out there walking 🙂