The Magical Land of Baja California Sur!

Sunday, March, 30th, 2014 - Bahía Magdalena, Baja California Sur

So, we reached Cabo San Lucas yesterday, finally arriving in a new climate!  It is so refreshing not to sweat constantly throughout the day.  While docked in Cabo, I encountered some of the wildlife...

...a pelican...

...and a snowy egret.

Since I had time, I re-visited some locales from my 2010 visit with the parents.

Unfortunately, we only had one day there, while obtaining supplies, but before we departed, we had a little swim out at El Arco...

...the change in water temperature is ridiculously refreshing as well!

From Cabo, we set out, sailing along the Pacific side of the Baja Peninsula.  On our way, we celebrated Garland's 40th birthday...

...and yes, that IS his real face.

We sailed through the night, eventually reaching our current location: Bahía Magdalena.  We had some time off in the afternoon today, so we made the "long" trek over to Sandy Dollar Beach...

...where I decided to try my hand at macro photography, with one of the many sand dollars laying along the beach as my model.

Tomorrow night, we load another round of guests on board in Puerto San Carlos, and then we make our way into the Sea of Cortez/ Gulf of California for a two-week photography expedition.  So look forward to some exciting material coming soon!

Wrapping up in Panama and Costa Rica!!

Saturday, March 22nd, 2014 - Herradura, Costa Rica

So, this week, I have seen much, some of which I did not even need to disembark to see.

First, as we were leaving Isla Boná, we encountered a pod of false killer whales, who decided to have some fun and ride on our bow.

Apparently, this is a phenomenon with many other marine mammals, but I have yet to hear the reason behind it, if there even is one.  Who knows?  Perhaps they simply are having some fun!

We then made our triumphant, last return to Isla Iguana.  Here, we reacquainted ourselves with the hermits, maaaan...

...who were in the midst of foraging, as they always are...

The nesting grounds for the magnificent frigate birds are also on the island (see "It's all about the hermits, maaaaaan" post), and we were lucky enough to observe some mating behavior, where the male inflates his neck pouch to "attract the ladies."

Talk about a smooth operator!

During our nature walk, I managed to capture a photo of one of the holes left from the bomb testing by the United States military.  Have at it, you history buffs!

I also joined some of the guests on the Pargo trail of Parque Nacional Corcovado, where we encountered various species of lizards...

...pursued the white-nosed coati...

...tiptoed around a butterfly or two...

...and caught quick glimpses of the elusive (and ridiculously fast) spider monkey!

Now, we are in "re-positioning," which means that we will not have any guests on the ship for the next week as we make our way up to Baja...PARTY TIME!

The Smiling Capuchin

Wednesday, March 12th, 2014 - Granito de Oro, Coiba Nat'l Park, Panama

I made it off the boat this week!!  On Sunday, I had a day off, of which I decided to take full advantage!

I disembarked at Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio, which is the smallest national park in Costa Rica.  Despite its small "stature," it is on Forbes' list of "the 12 most beautiful national parks."

I joined a group of the Sea Lion's guests on a hike up to Punta Catedral ("Cathedral Point"), which is only reached via a 1.5 mile hike up a steep hill.  Walking along the path, we first came upon this little fella...

...a white-headed capuchin monkey.

Some of the guests began to smile at the "cute lil' monkey," and he soon copied the facial expression.

However, it turns out that he was NOT smiling for the cameras; apparently, showing teeth is an indication that you wish to fight...keep that in mind the next time you smirk at a primate. 

Soon, levity (and hunger) lightened the monkey's mood, and he proceeded to stuff his face...

Having lived in Southern California, palm trees are nothing new to me.  What ARE new to me are porcupine palm trees, which sport these non-threatening spines...

As we approached the end of our hike, we discovered these two characters lounging about the fallen wood on the beach...

...black spiny-tailed iguanas, or ctenosaurs.

Also, hanging high above in the branches, there was a brown-throated, three-toed sloth.  If you can zoom in, you can see his signature smirk...

Making our way back, we walked near the beach and witnessed a familiar sight: a raccoon was making off with beach-goers' chips and cookies...

...some things never change.

We also were fortunate enough to watch a troop of Central American squirrel monkeys moving across the branches...

Unfortunately, the only species of monkey that I was not fortunate enough to witness was the Howler monkey.  I saw them at Barro Colorado Island, but only glimpses.  Perhaps on another day...

Extra! Extra! Read all about...this 100-year-old technological achievement!!

Thursday, March 6th, 2014 - Corcovado Nat'l Park, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

So, I have not disembarked from the ship much this past week.  However, I wanted to share with you all a common occurrence on this ship: passing through the locks of the Panama Canal, which is celebrating its 100th "birthday" this year!

First off, I would like to start with this picture...

No, this freighter is not stuck; it is simply making its way (slowly and carefully, of course) through the Gatún Locks, which consists of three sets of locks.  We follow suit, leaving behind Gatún Lake, one of the artifical lakes created during the Canal's construction.

We snuggle in behind the freighter, guided by four mulas (left side of the photo below), into the first lock.

Mulas means "mules" in Spanish, which are traditionally the animals used to cross the isthmus of Panama.

Once we are in position, the gates close in front and behind us, and we are gradually lowered...

...while another gigantic ship shimmies into position behind the gate.

Once we reach the proper depth, the front gate opens, our "little freighter that could" proceeds forward and we move into the next set...

...followed by our trusty mules...

...where the process repeats itself two more times, until we have been lowered 85 feet to match sea level. *cue giant steel gate of doom*...

All in a day's work at the Gatún Locks!

Welcome to the Jungle!!

Friday, February 28th - Gatún Lake, Panama

So, we have made it back down to Gatún Lake, which is the man-made lake that was created during the construction of the Panama Canal.  We shall arrive in Colón by tonight and pick up a new group of guests tomorrow, making our way back to Costa Rica...talk about déjà vu!

Anyway, today was a day off for me!  I disembarked from the ship to Barro Colorado Island, where the Smithsonian Tropic Research Institute is located.  The island was once a mountain looming above a valley, but once the construction of the Panama Canal began, the waters rose and the mountain became an island and, in turn, a micro-ecosystem.  There are various species of animal families on this little island.  We were led by a guide along the trail, and the first sight we came upon was this giant cicada, and I used Miguel to truly depict its size...

We also managed to snag glimpses of these little fellas: lizards and a poison dart frog...

 As well as this red-billed toucan, who was trying to avoid our gaze...

Bashful little bugger...

Continuing up the path, we heard a LOUD, ominous howl from above in the trees.  Turns out that we weren't actually in Jurassic Park (as I had initially concluded) but simply hearing the usual howl from a howler monkey.  Apparently, this howler monkey was letting everyone know it was going down for a nap, and I attempted to play paparazzi and get a shot of it in its "compromising" position....

I also tried to photograph the little "monklets" at play...

We also encountered plenty of flora on the island, like the barrigon ("beer belly") tree, which provides the flower seen below...

...and this palm that receives signals from the leaves, telling it to grow out its roots on the sunny side...

There was also some warning regarding bot flies and "kissing bugs."  Bot flies bite you, or they bite a mosquito or other carrier who bites you, and deposit eggs under your skin.  The larvae grow and use the deposit hole as an air hole...sounds like fun, eh?

Look up images on Google and try not to have nightmares, haha.

The only ways to kill them include putting gel over the hole to suffocate the larvae or placing something like raw meat over the hole, which draws the larvae out to get air, ultimately placing them outside of your skin.  You're welcome.

The "kissing bugs" are similar, in action, to the bot flies.  As the story goes, they approach you when you are sleeping, bite you (usually around the mouth area) and then defecate into the bite, leaving a parasite.  As I am told, this typically leads to Chagas Disease, which is treatable but not curable.  I don't know how to really avoid them...be careful when you are in tropical areas, I guess.

For now, that is all.  I need to get to bed...finishing up the second trip tomorrow.  ONWARD!!

(By the way, my posts are going to become a weekly occurrence, due to the fact that I need to ration out my internet time.  Sorry! Y'all will just need to let the suspense build.)