What is it about Grottos?

I have to tell you, I love grottos. There’s something about a grotto that is magical. Not so much going inside, your eyes needing time to adjust to the light or the assault on your olfactory system. No, not that, I love being in a grotto and looking out. The mouth of the grotto is a natural frame for the view and from a dark place to see the world basked in beautiful light is wonderful. The light outside the cave welcomes, beckons, to get out and enjoy the life of the living.

In a grotto, the light from the outside world beckons.

The Grotto’s Little Brother

Bruce Peninsula National Park in Ontario, Canada, has their share of caves and grottos. I wrote about the world famous The Grotto in a previous post. The Grotto is great and gigantic and formidable and awesome. But there’s a smaller one nearby that’s pretty cool too. And as a bonus it offers spectacular views of the rising sun…my kind of real estate.

The smaller grotto is located just north of the Indian Cove Head Beach, well actually, it’s one of the rocks that is bounding the small inlet of the beach on the north side. You would walk right by it on the way to The Groto.

Sunrise

The best thing about sunrise pictures is no one else is (usually) there and you get the place to your self. Because really, who in their right mind gets up at 5am to hike out for sunrise pictures when on vacation?

When i got to the spot, I first wanted to take some pictures from on top of the cave.

“Indian Head Cove”
The view of the sunrise from on top of where the grotto lies. Purchase a print of this image in the shop.

As you can see the cloud coverage was perfect this morning.

The View from the Grotto

Descending into the cave means some maneuvering and getting your feet wet, but the view is well worth it. The water levels will vary greatly, but when i was there it gently led to the mouth of the cave but not further. I used my polarizer to cut down the reflection in the water so the rocks below the surface of the water would appear.

“In the Mouth of a Cave”
The view of the sunset from within the Grotto can be breathtaking. The extreme light differences between the inside and outside of the grotto means some bracketing will be needed. Purchase a print of this image in the shop.

Going Deeper

After the sun had risen, the light became to great outside the cave. So I backed up further into the cave and took some pictures.

Light from the rising sun streams inside the cave lighting up the rocks.

Another great thing about this grotto is the hole in the rock at the back of the cave. This allows some natural light into the cave and it also allows the sidekick of yours a view of the proceedings.

The skylight at the back of the grotto, gives some natural light and allows views of the proceedings by curious onlookers and concerned individuals alike.

Grotto with a View

Grottos are pretty cool inside. But it’s the view out that interests me most. And when that view includes a beautiful sunrise the grotto becomes magical.