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Ewen Ku

@ewenku

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👩🏻‍🚀 Explorer. 🚁 Drone pilot. 🌵 Personal account about the outdoors and travel. All content is real and not Ai. For video and Ai art @ewenku.studio

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Panama holds a special place in my heart for several reasons. Here I experienced the pristine lifestyles of the Guna people by sailing into the Atlantic 10-20 miles off the mainland. For three days we sailed to several regions in the remote autonomous San blas islands where the Gunas, an indigenous group of people who migrated there centuries before Spanish conquistadors, live in straw huts and fish with wooden boats carved from one piece of bark.

The “Pride” is a 39’ Grande Soleil, skippered and hosted by Captain Fabrizio and his first officer Michele, two Italian beach lifeguards who summer on the Adriatic coast. After Fabrizio would drop anchor, we would snorkel or swim to the island shores for a walk. One night as a special treat, we had dinner on one of the more “developed” islands for fresh fish and plain potatoes. During the trip I saw a nurse shark, several dolphins, trumpet fishes and my favorite, a large pufferfish.

These islands were so small I wasn’t able to make my daily runs as I had planned. My initial hopes were to swim to the islands, and then do laps on the sand circling the shore. However, I did get in cardio from lots of swimming against strong currents and pain from sunburning.

Among these and more reasons why Panama is special to me, it marks a small milestone, my 50th country traveled. #panama #sailing #sanblas #centralamerica #sanblasislands taken in San Blas Islands Panama by @ewenku

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2 years ago

How can a first visit to India not include the spectacular state of Rajasthan? This was my first stop: Jaipur, the Pink City. Highlights of Jaipur include the City Palace, Amber fort, and of course the Hawa Mahal. The name the Pink City was given by explorers but is actually a slight misnomer; the city was built with terracotta clay sourced from the region which isn’t pink exactly but a light sun dried tomato. However the buildings have subsequently been painted this salmon color to live up to its reputation. taken in Jaipur, Rajasthan by @ewenku

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3 years ago

When can I go canoe camping again? In this drone shot I’m showing off the beautiful blanket designed by my friend @edjuandraws for his printing and textiles company Forest and Waves. It kept @aehrwyn and I warm in the tent and on the canoe. .
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#womenwhodrone taken in Pacific Northwest, North America, Planet Earth, Milky Way Galaxy by @ewenku

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7 years ago

When I was in Cape Town my favorite coffee place was a classic car garage called Crankshaft. It was in the city center a couple blocks from my hotel. They worked on a lot of classic Porsche and jaguar convertibles and had Mercedes AMGs in their collection. Did you think my chocolate croissant was big? #CapeTown #CoffeeAndCars #ClassicCars #espressoandengines #GarageCafe taken in Cape Town, South Africa by @ewenku

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7 months ago

Some more shots—stills—from amazing spectacular Death Valley. These are some of the fashion-stylish shots we took, but I will post running shots soon. Getting these shots required us to bring a wardrobe of clothes and sometimes carrying them plus our camera gear as we hiked into the landscape. taken in Death Valley National Park by @ewenku

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a year ago

The scale and textures in Death Valley were mesmerizing, and how big it was meant it was easy to feel lost and alone. One fun activity I did with Chicken was taking fashion shots like these, amid the running, hiking and camping that we also worked in everyday. A fun week for sure. Should I post more stuff like this or more running, outdoorsy shots? taken in Death Valley National Park by @ewenku

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a year ago

From the Cancún area I drove several hours south near the Belize border. This is Laguna Bacalar — a massive freshwater lagoon known as the ‘Lagoon of Seven Colors.’ 💙 It’s not the ocean, and it’s not beachy. The current is strong, the water often opaque, and swimming in it gave me a real workout. But being there has a unique charm, and it was not touristy or crowded — very local. #mexico #lagoon #caribbean #freshwater #lake #yucatan taken in Bacalar, Quintana Roo by @ewenku

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a year ago

Never know who is watching you in the bathroom. This was at my eco hotel in Bacalar, Mexico. Technically not a spider, but an arachnid., the tailless whip scorpion is non venomous, but has prickly arms so you should avoid touching nevertheless. #taillesswhipscorpion #arachnid #ecohotel #arachnophobia taken in Bacalar, Quintana Roo by @ewenku

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a year ago

Next adventure level achieved. Scuba certification has been a big goal in my life but somehow never prioritized completing it, despite a few opportunities including trips to Borneo, Indonesia, Philippines, Greece, Croatia etc etc. Whenever I found myself at a tropical beach it was never an ideal time to stick around for three days to compete the course. But I’ve learned rarely is any timing ideal; it’s about prioritizing.

After plans to the Galápagos Islands fell through,
I found myself spontaneously flying to Quintana Roo, Mexico, and I stuck around! I rented a beachfront apartment in a quiet, fisherman village called Puerto Morelos, halfway between glitzy Cancun and bustling Playa del Carmen. For three mornings I would walk to a local dive center @scuba_kraken and with amazing Ursula and Alan I completed my training that included four gorgeous dives at the Puerto Morelos reefs.

Now I can adventure to new and revisit many beach places of my past to experience the alien world under the sea. If you haven’t dived I can’t explain the extraterrestrial experience you get from being tens of meters below.

The timing and location was actually as ideal as it gets. And thank you, my friend, @jen_papaya . She’s a scuba instructor who warned me about getting certified in the Galapagos: even the currents off of the placid Mexican shore were strong for a beginner at times and I can see how the intense Galapagos current would make completing the training difficult. In one of the photos you can see I’m completing a buoyancy test as part of my exam: I must levitate in a lotus position, using my breathwork to hold position steady, not floating up or down and not allow my fins to touch the environment.

These shots from Puerto Morelos included a few taken by Ursula on her GoPro. This trip was my first time back in Quintana Roo in 18 years. Where do you stay when you go?
#ssi #scubadivinggirl #quintanaroomexico #yucatan #newhobbies taken in Puerto Morelos by @ewenku

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a year ago

Running with friends is more fun 💜🧡 Here’s what it sounded like running 282 ft below sea level in the Badwater Basin salt flats - crunchy! and windy. 🧂🌬️

Throughout the run, i had this irrational fear - i kept imagining that i was running on a thin crust of salt, and at any moment i could break through and fall into a deep ocean of salt water. What do you think?! 👀🌊

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#naturesounds #deathvalleynationalpark #runningvlog #trailrunning #runners #hoka #gearforgood taken in Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park by @ewenku

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a year ago

In 2017 I stepped into the mystical land of Myanmar, and saw thousands of pagodas in Bagan. I thought it was unreal. I was immediately addicted to this dreamscape and returned two years later. Now, to see it again is a dream that one day I hope will come true. #dreamscape #drone #myanmar #asia

Drone footage: @ewenku
Edited by Ewen Ku and @cool_justi taken in Myanmar by @ewenku

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2 years ago

As we head into fall and winter I recall how my summer started, achieving the Presidential Traverse in White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire. This was part of a huge bucket list for me because I’ve always wanted to tackle the highest mountain in the east coast, Mount Washington. But rather than summiting one mountain, we did the entire 7 presidents plus bonus Ben Franklin, along the famous Presidential range, from north to south.

Each mountain required you to veer off the main trail and climb up usually several hundred feet to the summit marker. From the north, the summit presidents were:
1 James Madison
2 John Adams
3 Thomas Jefferson
4 George Washington
5 James Monroe
*Bonus Ben Franklin*
6 Dwight Eisenhower
7 Franklin Pierce

We camped one night in between and because we descended into the tree line for camping and had to reascend to the main trail, our total elevation gain was over 10,000 feet (10,600) and the trek was 20 miles.

This was a very rough and rugged terrain and required a lot of boulder hopping. You must be sure footed. If you are prone to injuring your ankles I’m sorry but this trek is probably not for you, at least with a heavy pack. My pack which was 30 pounds was 25% of my weight, making it a little challenging to hike on jagged uneven boulders, especially when taking steep steps down from one slanted rock to land on another slanted rock. Luckily we are both experienced in hiking with heavy packs on difficult terrain. But this trip was like two days of one legged lunge workouts.

Once past the tree line, when you’re in the alpine zone you can see miles and miles the rolling hills of northern Appalachian mountains! These views were very scenic and each summit offered the vast landscape. It was a treat each time we got a 360° view whenever we submitted. taken in White Mountains New Hampshire by @ewenku

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2 years ago