Jungle adventure

Posted on June 13, 2015

The creatures and I went on adventure into the jungle, and felt like we had jumped right into Disney’s Jungle Book movie. Shelter Bay Marina used to be a US Military base, called Fort Sherman. Construction began in1912 and was the primary defensive base for the Caribbean sector of the Canal, and the center for US jungle warfare training. The base was turned over to Panama in 1999. There are many abandoned buildings scattered throughout, and it was there structures, covered in vines, that made us feel like we were about to run into Disney’s King Louie, singing “I wanna be a man, man cub, and stroll right into town, and be just like those other men, I’m tired of monkeying around..”

We saw so many Capuchin Monkeys. They have the cutest little white faces and swing from tree to tree then sit and stare curiously for a second before swinging off again. They were fast, really high up in the trees and difficult to photograph.

   

The other thing that fascinated us were the Leafcutter ants.

  

   

These little guys are so amazing. The ants actively cultivate fungus, feeding it with freshly cut plant material and keeping it free from pests and molds. We saw thousands of them walking along side the road, as well as down tree trunks. We had to be careful to not walk on them as they crossed back and forth across our path several times.

   

    

The rainforest was filled with many shades of green, and flowers, leaves and berries of all textures and shapes.  I simply couldn’t get enough of it! The air is rich with the smell of abundant life and sounds of birds and monkeys.

 

Shelf fungus cling to trees like giant upside down noses, and mangoes hang proudly.

At one point I turned to see Emma seated and just taking it all in. I know these memories are now sunken deep within her, and she will one day sit with a grandchild on her knee, and describe to them was she saw and felt today.  Better yet, she’ll bring them here and show them.

This baby iguana was also laying around enjoying his surroundings. He was perched lazily on a thick blade of pampas grass.

  

I love textures in photographs, and these subjects caught my eye.

A tiny web the size of a dime hung stretched between some leaves.  It’s intricate detail reminded me of a snow flake.

Bright blue crabs cautiously scuttled back and forth in the undergrowth between their holes in the sand.

At the end of our adventure we brought home two coconuts, which Jonathan husked with great skill.  He and Hunter became pro’s at this in Hawaii.

What an amazing day. We live in a fascinating world and I am so grateful to be able to take a slow walk with my babies and not just see, but experience it all. Beauty can be found everywhere!