Day: November 17, 2015
Flying monkeys
There’s not a whole lot to do here at Shelter Bay. This morning was beautiful and sunny, so we took advantage of it, and spent time on projects and outside activities.
I unscrewed the blinds in our berth, and took them outside to scrub. A little Joy soap in water did splendidly, and they are once again clean and white. I set them out to dry for a bit and have now screwed them back in. I also decided it was a good day to attack Jude and Emma’s toilet. It has a leak, so they haven’t been using it. I undid the bolts around the base and removed the hoses attached. Right where one of the hoses attaches, under the bracket holding it tight, I noticed the it was cracked. I could see from the color of it that water had been leaking from it, so I got the hand saw and cut off the end. I hoped this was going to fix the leak, and put everything back together, but didn’t have the strength to attach the hose I’d cut, so I asked Danny for help. He attached the hose, ran the toilet and saw that it was still leaking from around the macerator, so he put a silicon gasket onto it and is letting it dry for 24 hours. Hopefully that’ll do it.
The creatures did their school work and then all went swimming. This marina has a great pool and hot tub.
While they were doing that, I grabbed my camera and went for a walk into the jungle. The pampas grass was so beautiful. It always reminds me of when Jan and I would break off one of the tall stems and pretend they were swords.
The smells and colors of the rain forest were intense due to the rain. I could smell the rich scent of flowers and decomposing leaves.
I sat and watched leaf cutter ants as they carried their large loads across the road.
I came across a large family of Capuchin monkeys, making their way across the canopy. They jumped one by one from trees on the right side of the road to those on the left, and after jumping they’d stop and look back to make sure the next one was coming, then move on. In the Wizard of Oz movie there are flying monkeys, and I always thought them to be a fictitious species , but today I was proved wrong. I saw flying monkeys and captured in my lens to prove it…
Everywhere I looked I saw beauty – in textures and patterns and color.
As I exited the area, I looked back and took note once more of how miraculous nature is. We live in such an incredibly beautiful world, and I found myself softly humming the song ‘What a wonderful world’.
Back at Tanda Malaika, we received an exciting delivery this afternoon. Our new dinghy. It’s still all wrapped up, but hopefully tomorrow it’ll be sunny for a bit and we’ll open it up.
We are still waiting for the water maker and batteries, then we can set sail once again.
Nature Walk
It rained through the night and into the morning, and when it finally stopped we all went for a walk to see what we could find. Since Shelter Bay was once called Fort Sherman, and was a military base, there are some interesting structures to see. Some of them have once again been occupied.
The jungle here is filled with extremely tall palms, pampas grass, mango trees and so many other varieties. More than two thirds of the worlds plant species are found in tropical rain forests.
High up in the tress we saw beautiful toucans. There are about forty different species, and we saw two of those species.
There is no difference in color between male and female toucans, but the females generally have a shorter bill. The bill appears to be rather heavy, but it is filled with a spongy tissue, making it extremely light in weight. I have always been fascinated by toucans, and was so excited to see them.
We also saw various mammals crossing our path and up in the trees. This little guy is driving me crazy because I still haven’t figured out what he is. I researched for an hour after returning home but came up empty handed.
My guess was that he was some variety of coati, but I’m not certain.
Due to the constant humidity and rain, tree trunks are covered in beautiful lichen and moss, and vines hang like tangled hair. Tiny baby mangoes sit proudly on the end of stems as they absorb ample moisture and nutrients.
At one point we passed a large, what appeared be, hive of some sort. I wondered if it could be wasp or bee, then Danny suggested perhaps ants, and he was right! Notice how hundreds of then climb the branches to reach home.
In case you couldn’t tell, I LOVE the rain forest, and all that is in it! I love learning about animals and plants just as much as I love learning marine biology.
Just as we reached Tanda Malaika, it began drizzling once more, and the dog across the dock from us wagged it’s tail at our return. What a wonderful way to start the day.
Adventures of a Tribe 