8/14/2013 (vacation)

8/14/2013



Today we said goodbye to a good friend.

They were always there. Rugged, enthusiastic, lighting up every room they entered.
















RIP, point-and-shoot camera.


After all the time spent wallowing through the mud and stuck in plastic bags during torrential downpours.



It was dropped, kicked, forgotten, lost, dirtied, and continued on unscathed.











Apparently a few selfies during a sunny breakfast was the straw that broke the cameras back.



Oh well, C'est la vie.










We still have a fancy phone to snap a few photos, but without a good zoom and macro mode I fear my days of annoying amounts of animal pics are over (for the time being anyway...)















I can't pretend like today would have been stunning, picture wise.


Don't get me wrong. It was a damn perfect day.


I just don't know how enthralling the photos would have been.

















Amazing breakfast, walk to the beach, trashy novels and selfies.

 Amazing lunch, walk to the pool, trashy novels and selfies.

 Sunset...which was pretty ridiculous. California has some pretty nice sunsets, but something was extra special about this view (I'm thinkin' the company)

  Amazing dinner, walk back to the pool....









Whew!








This vacation stuff can really wear you out.

8/13/2013 (vacation)

8/13/2013





It was a little tough to say goodbye to our little home today.



We really fell in love with Montezuma, it was a quiet little hippie village with a yoga studio on every corner and a shoeless vagabond on every road.







I don't think I could ever get tired of that view either.






Cleaning up we did find a few unwanted 'house guests'.

Our friends Joe and Allie had warned us about these. Truth be told I had mostly forgotten. Then my foot was within a few inches of one and I just about jumped up into the rafters.









Scorpion. They get a pretty bad rap. All arachnids do. True, I don't want to be on any sort of familiar terms with one. But they're pretty cool animals. When males and females meet they lock pincers and do a funny sort of mating dance, the male will drop a packet of sperm on the ground during their duet, and continue to samba until the female steps over it and the package is delivered. I'm glad I got to show Kelly they're not all that bad...especially when they're stuck between a glass tumbler and a cutting board!

After packing up and saying our goodbyes we had a long drive ahead of us to get to our next destination...

















jk.











We went from here:

And took a grueling 30 minute taxi ride to here:

Don't judge.






We came here to do nothing but sit on a tropical beach and darnit that's what we're going to do!









This town has much more of a surfer vibe to it. the beaches are less rocky, made of white sand, the waves constantly roll in, and the views stretch on for as far as the eye can see.

What's more, we have them mostly to ourselves!

Hello Santa Teresa. We shall call you home for the next 8 days!

Today we walked around and got a feel for the town. Ate some delicious food. And hunkered down for the long haul. As you can see, this is going to be a rough stretch. The view from the hotel is pretty redonkulous.

I even had another chance to introduce Kelly to some of my reptile friends today.



Ctenosaura similis (Black Ctenosaur) Kelly asked me if 'I wanted to go catch one'. Considering they all started flailing around and the bigger males were head bobbing when we got within five meters...I decided to sit this one out. Beautiful animals, but probably more than willing to give me a nasty cut if I tried messing with one of 'em.

I think the plan tomorrow is to go rent a couple of beach loungers and umbrellas and read trashy novels all day long...





Can do!

8/13/2013 (vacation)

8/13/2013



I have a way of convincing my wife to go on some pretty wild adventures.



I don't think she'd do some of these wild activities if I weren't nagging at her for a day first.












That being said, she convinces me to do some stuff I would probably never do on my own.








Trinket shopping, wine tasting, massage...



And the big one.












Yoga!

I was all smiles in this before shot. I was nothing but sweat and mild tears after the fact.



I remember the first time Kelly got me to go to yoga.

 Before we signed up she asked 'I'm thinking we should do the beginners class'

'Meh' was my response 'it's yoga, how hard can a bunch of stretching be?!'





I learned a valuable lesson that day.










I wasn't as foolish today, but yoga hasn't gotten any easier over the years. I thought the jungle was a sweaty mess.

The faucet was on full force today.

I just feel bad for all the people standing next to me, I'm pretty sure there were drops getting sprayed on all my neighbors...wupps.





After feeling like I wanted to die for a few hours we decided to hop back on the quad and head out to some local waterfalls.


Now it was my turn to get Kelly to try something adventurous and new. The trail was pretty sketchy, but she's a trooper and hung in their with no (/few) complaints.


And it was worth it!

The falls were great, and it felt so good to get in some nice icy water.

One thing to notice, is how gentle the water is flowing in the background. We got done with the hike around 13:00 and the water was a little murky, but flowing slowly.

The sky was mostly cloud-free, maybe a little murky in the distance.

Kelly and I sat in the water enjoying the natural pool for only about 10 or 15 minutes before a friendly Costa Rican started waving to us and pointing for us to get out of the water.




We couldn't really understand what he was saying, but by the time we made it out another couple was leaving a lower pool and said that it was raining hard up stream and that there might be a flash flood coming.







Note to self: always listen to the locals when they say to get out of the water.







Literally only 20 minutes since getting there, the rocks we sat on had disappeared, and the path we used to cross the river was now a ragging torrent, and everyone who was relaxing by the waters edge was fleeing up the mountain.




The once calm waterfall had gotten pretty scary...it was time to go.

The rest of the day we decided to compromise and go someplace we could both agree on.



It was time to just relax on a beach and do nothing.

After a morning and afternoon consisting of one of us leading the other. We relaxed on a beach and went to, hands down one of the best meals we've ever eaten.

Right on the water, lobster ceviche, scallops, and octopus...vacation mode is treating us well.

8/10/2013 - 8/11/2013 (vacation)

8/10/2013 - 8/11/2013



What a couple of days it's been.



I was actually pretty nervous picking Kelly up from the airport. It's only been 8 weeks since we've seen each other, but I wondered if the distance had changed us, or being alone had changed her, or worse, if the jungle had changed me.










Yeck, I can be soooo dramatic some times.









Cha' right George. Same ol' same ol' in 30 seconds flat! Of course everything was back to normal.



Aside from the fact that I couldn't hear anything due to a double ear-infection (you guessed it, I was that kid growing up), it couldn't have gotten much better.









But it did.









We wasted no time, headed to the domestic terminal and after a 30 minute flight we were on our way to our house rental in Montezuma that was to be our home/reunion spot for the next three days.












This place....is....awesome.






It's kind of a weird transition going back to the real (sorta) world...or at least going back to civilization.

There is hot water in the shower. A bed I can stretch my legs out on. A breeze from the ocean.

People wear sandals without fear of snake bites.

Wear swim trunks all day long.

And the smell of patchouli oil is everywhere (we have landed in hippie-mecca).










All strangeness aside.




I can get used to this...

Yesterday we didn't get out much. It's hard to go out an explore when you have such an amazing house to stay in.






Eventually we made it out and with a little prodding I convinced Kelly to saddle up and ride with me.

We took it a lot easier on the quad than my old desert days, but it was still a blast to cruise up and down the coast with no reservations, plans, or any real responsibilities.






We found some awesome tide pools. Hiked around. Ate when we pleased. Stopped at any beach we wanted. And generally enjoyed each others company (it feels like it's been forever).





I even introduced Kelly to some of my jungle friends.






Most of whom she got along with.





Angry Crabs.

Nasua narica (Coati) She was a little startled at first by this friendly member of the raccoon family. But I was proud of her for feigning interest in an example of one of the cool critters I've befriended the last few months.

Even awesome insects...










Although I think giant praying mantids in the bathroom are going to take some time for her to get used to...

I have to admit,











Between fresh fruit smoothies whenever we want.

And a short ride to the beach. (btw get used to a lot more selfies from here on out!)

Yeah.






I can get used to this.

8/9/2013

8/9/2013


I don't know if it was from the waterfall of what.

But I have had a pretty good fever and ear ache all day. Ugh, I hate ear-infections.

Not much adventures today. I've been riding solo in San Jose for the day as I wait for Kelly to get here tomorrow.





Mostly just rest and some housekeeping.













Seeing as I haven't been doing much 'grooming' this summer...which is pretty self-evident. I decided it might be time to throw in the towel.

Sometimes you need to know when to say 'enough is enough' and bow out gracefully.


















Sorry grizzly adams, wife is on the way... you gots to go!

Tomorrow I meet Kelly at 6:00 and we immediately fly off to the coast.



Beach house and twelve days of relaxation, here we come!

8/8/2013

8/8/2013


It was weird to say good bye today.


It feel like it flew by. At the same time it feels like we've been out here in the jungle forever.








Before we left, we had one last glorious adventure to go on





Deep into the jungle we heard rumor there was a place we had to visit before we left.












They weren't kidding.





Half way there I was exhausted, covered in sweet, and really wondering if it was worth the trip.









I'm glad we pushed on.

This place truly was a jewel of the jungle. I think this has been one of my favorite places in the jungle.

The waterfall pressure was pretty intense, but we needed to wash 8 weeks of jungle-funk off somehow.

It was just nice to relax, have a final day with the group, and enjoy our amazing locale.


I'm going to miss this place, and miss the group.

8/7/2013

8/7/2013

As of 12:00 my paper is turned in, my presentation is done, and I am through!



The rest of the day was spent cleaning up, taking a nice walk, and after dinner, heading back at out to the swamp.


A lot of the other REUs are headed out to the dingy little bar in town tonight. but there is no way I'm not going out to the jungle on my last night.





I'm a little bit sad, a little bit happy, a lot exhausted with the whole summer.


It is going to feel goooood, to relax on a beach with my wife in a few days.


It's only natural that I saw some cool animals before my time here is done.










My favorite bird

An animal to haunt my dreams

A weird insect

And even weirder moth

Some beautiful frogs

And even a new species!



Spilotes pullatus (Tiger Ratsnake) I'll be the first to admit that I tend to err on the side of caution. These snakes have a pretty nasty reputation and I totally wussed out when it came to grabbing this one. First of all, it was close to 2m long and the head/mouth was pretty darn intimidating. It totally held its ground, hissed at me and looked pretty 'bitey'. But like I said, I totally wussed out. At least I got the chance to see one, they're known for being highly aggressive and this one proved its point.

At lunch we saw a basilisk that looked really familiar. I'd sworn I'd seen it before...

I was going to grab him to have a closer look...











And then I remembered where I'd seen this male before!

Oh no you don't!

I found this same male, in the same spot once before. And I remember too well how that turned out.



Not this time my friend. Lesson learned. I'll be just fine with a picture thank you very much.



"Fool me once...uhh, umm, you can't fool me again"








It's weird to think i won't be walking across this bridge anymore to go to breakfast...

Part of me feels like I've been here forever.







We took one of our last opportunities to take a group shot.








Here's what we looked like 8 weeks ago:

8 weeks in the jungle can be hard on an appearance...

Maybe a better idea of how we feel is more like this:

Mentally and physically exhausted, dirty, stinky, and constantly sweaty... All told, I think we had a pretty good summer.









I had a real interesting first at the swamp tonight...


I thought I would get away clean on this trip...




I was wrong....







Two!











Not one, but  two bullet ant stings! 




Little bastard was under my shirt and managed to get me twice before I could rip my shirt off and run around screaming.



Holy cow does that hurt! It's not as intense as I thought it would be, but it doesn't dull. It's been two hours since it happened and every minute or so it feels like I'm still being stung.





Not my ideal last night...










But it was all worth it. There was no way I wasn't going out to the swamp on my last night.



One more chance to soak it all up.












It started out with another caiman!

And then we found a turtle and caiman! Not sure what species of turtle. I'll just call it a BAT. Big-ass turtle!

After letting the turtle we caught another baby caiman, too precious! This one actually got it's teeth on me and even that was cute, it couldn't really break the skin. It felt like when a puppy tries to nibble on your finger. Yeah big guy, you all tough and ready to rumble?

As if the night couldn't get any cuter...


Baby turtle! The shell was still soooo soft. Not sure how old it was, but it couldn't be older than a few weeks. Too much!

You know what that meant...







Track the caimans down (we couldn't find the turtle again)...



















Group shot!

I've said it before and I'll say it again... if I make my kids take half as many photos they're going to hate me.







Aside from the multiple bullet-ant stings... 



Although, let's be real, I feel pretty badass to be able to say I was stung twice by a bullet ant as I caught a caiman!






A great way to end my experience here. 



The first time I went out at night I was scared sh*tless. Then it starts to grow on you.



Eventually it's gotten to the point where I feel partially at home in that swamp at night.




It's hard to say goodbye, but at the same time...



Two more days until I see my wife again! I can barely contain my excitement.




We don't leave until 14:00 tomorrow so I still have one last jungle hike left in me... 


Until then.
 

8/6/2013

8/6/2013



It's weird to think that in less than 24 hours this will all be over.

I had a pretty good idea of how this summer would turn out.








I had










no













idea!






I've learned more in the last 8 weeks than I thought could possible for the summer.





It hasn't been all easy.




It's not easy having my two year wedding anniversary today... and not seeing my wife until Saturday    :  (







But I came here to learn.

 Mission accomplished.





I couldn't have asked for a better classroom.




And the jungle is always a willing teacher.




I took a walk today just to enjoy the forest and soak it all up before it's gone.





Ara ambigua (Great Green Macaw) I am sooo glad I finally got a good look at two of these beauties today. I'll admit, I was too enthralled and they flew by too quickly to get a good snap (I had to steal a photo from the interweb). As per usual, they looked amazing and sounded terrible. By the year 2000 there were only 210 known to be left in the wild. They're on the rebound (slowly) and I hope they'll be around to show my children one day. They are just beautiful animals!












Everywhere you look in the jungle, there is going to be something beautiful and amazing. Although, I am pretty darn lucky to be going home to a place as gorgeous as San Luis Obispo.



That doesn't mean I won't miss walking out on a rainy day and seeing













Amazing flowers

Angry rapids

Silly little mammals

Some of the most awe inspiring snakes on the planet

Little frogs

Big frogs

And even stinky peccaries!

I'll walk away with a greater appreciation for odd insects

Quiet spots to eat a snack

And more than anything.




 I've learned what is waiting out there in my future if I stick with this.


I can often times be a man filled with doubts.


 This has given me a drive . Not only to succeed, but to go out there and explore, and learn, and discover, just for the sake of it.












I can never thank the jungle enough for all it's lessons.


From the embarrassing (be wary of who may be watching in the jungle) 

To the unbelievable (monkeys can and will  cover you with their crap if given the opportunity)

The unfortunate (the most amazing animals may be in serious trouble)

To the incredible (nothing, I mean nothing, is more adorable than a sloth)

The frightening (baby caimans will call for mama if harassed)

 To the obvious (heat + excessive sweat = misery)



It has been a wild ride. And I have learned and seen things that can't be undone.



I never could have imagined how this would have turned out. And I couldn't be happier for that...