random things lingering in my mind . . .
we saw another clan of white faced monkeys at the beautiful ylang ylang resort. they were cavorting about on the sidewalk. i got some great photos of them.
a youngster was climbing the shade umbrella at a table (unoccupied) and running as fast as it could to make the umbrella spin, then it would leap off and grab a branch, jump to ground and start over. they drew a big crowd, but people here are very respectful of wild life. nobody tries to feed them cheetos like over on the mainland!
i have a favorite spot that reminds me of my childhood in trinidad (northern california). i sit for hours and sift through rocks looking for the elusive agate. the beach is called red rock beach. it is fed by a river with a series of boulder rapids. it's all shaded.
yesterday while we were there joe noticed a huge school of sardines in the surf. as we stood there and watched, the pelicans started coming in to feast and then the surface of the water looked like giant piranhas were eating the sardines from underneath. the school of sardines shrank before our eyes. this all attracted the next predator . . . the fisherman. it was literally the first time i'd seen fishermen.
when it rains here the crabs flood the streets, restaurants, and hotels . . . i'm glad we're on the 3rd floor:) the streets have so many crabs it is difficult to walk without stepping on one. they are brown with bright red legs. sometimes they get feisty and rear up on their hind legs. they're not any better at this than they are at crossing roads . . . they always fall over backwards.
i've mentioned the division of people here: rasta/dreadlocks/artists and working class/poker game/older guys. the other day we were walking by the soccer field and saw it was lit up, so of course we climbed up the rock hill to the main entry and watched the game. we couldn't figure out who the teams represented, but we noticed the red team was smaller, faster, and had dreadlocks. the blue team was heavier and older, but better. it was a very heated game with a crowd around the field (and a dog running around the field). later we found out that it was a spontaneous game between the "reggae guys" and the "seniors". score 6/4 . . . seniors won! apparently these games just randomly pop up when the mood strikes.
a mango fell in my lap at a restaurant the other day. we moved out from under the mango tree, and ate the mango a couple of days later. yummy. mangoes are everywhere.
everyday, everywhere we go is a workout! at night my legs literally quiver when we climb the stairs to our place.
i get calf cramps every night. after we played at the upper waterfalls with our zip-line tour, we had to go up stairs carved into the cliff wall. the 4 young men just took off up the hill. i was determined to keep up with them . . . i lasted about halfway up and i stopped and gasped for air with my quads trembling. they kept going. joe, wise man that he is, stayed back with me. i took off again and only stopped 4 more times to pant. you should have seen me going up the stairs to our room that night!
i realized that the howler monkeys that sound more like screaming humans are indeed the children of the family who runs the school. i feel like calling national geographic and sharing this phenomenon. sometimes my friend at work calls her children monkeys. i thought that was cute, but now i see that she may be telling the truth. these little guys can be quite intimidating as they corner joe and attack him with their dragons and dinosaurs.
i'll try to write again before i leave.
we saw another clan of white faced monkeys at the beautiful ylang ylang resort. they were cavorting about on the sidewalk. i got some great photos of them.
a youngster was climbing the shade umbrella at a table (unoccupied) and running as fast as it could to make the umbrella spin, then it would leap off and grab a branch, jump to ground and start over. they drew a big crowd, but people here are very respectful of wild life. nobody tries to feed them cheetos like over on the mainland!
i have a favorite spot that reminds me of my childhood in trinidad (northern california). i sit for hours and sift through rocks looking for the elusive agate. the beach is called red rock beach. it is fed by a river with a series of boulder rapids. it's all shaded.
yesterday while we were there joe noticed a huge school of sardines in the surf. as we stood there and watched, the pelicans started coming in to feast and then the surface of the water looked like giant piranhas were eating the sardines from underneath. the school of sardines shrank before our eyes. this all attracted the next predator . . . the fisherman. it was literally the first time i'd seen fishermen.
when it rains here the crabs flood the streets, restaurants, and hotels . . . i'm glad we're on the 3rd floor:) the streets have so many crabs it is difficult to walk without stepping on one. they are brown with bright red legs. sometimes they get feisty and rear up on their hind legs. they're not any better at this than they are at crossing roads . . . they always fall over backwards.
i've mentioned the division of people here: rasta/dreadlocks/artists and working class/poker game/older guys. the other day we were walking by the soccer field and saw it was lit up, so of course we climbed up the rock hill to the main entry and watched the game. we couldn't figure out who the teams represented, but we noticed the red team was smaller, faster, and had dreadlocks. the blue team was heavier and older, but better. it was a very heated game with a crowd around the field (and a dog running around the field). later we found out that it was a spontaneous game between the "reggae guys" and the "seniors". score 6/4 . . . seniors won! apparently these games just randomly pop up when the mood strikes.
a mango fell in my lap at a restaurant the other day. we moved out from under the mango tree, and ate the mango a couple of days later. yummy. mangoes are everywhere.
everyday, everywhere we go is a workout! at night my legs literally quiver when we climb the stairs to our place.
i get calf cramps every night. after we played at the upper waterfalls with our zip-line tour, we had to go up stairs carved into the cliff wall. the 4 young men just took off up the hill. i was determined to keep up with them . . . i lasted about halfway up and i stopped and gasped for air with my quads trembling. they kept going. joe, wise man that he is, stayed back with me. i took off again and only stopped 4 more times to pant. you should have seen me going up the stairs to our room that night!
i realized that the howler monkeys that sound more like screaming humans are indeed the children of the family who runs the school. i feel like calling national geographic and sharing this phenomenon. sometimes my friend at work calls her children monkeys. i thought that was cute, but now i see that she may be telling the truth. these little guys can be quite intimidating as they corner joe and attack him with their dragons and dinosaurs.
i'll try to write again before i leave.
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