Rainy Season! Everything is permanently damp. Clothes and sheets are damp and things don’t dry well because the air is so humid. I thank the patron saint of laundry, Saint Maytag, every day that there is a washer and dryer on site or we would all be growing mildew by now.
The night before last we went out into the swamp (in the…wait for it…………pouring rain) to look for frogs and were happy to get some good shots. We are fortunate to have a boardwalk on which to stand otherwise we’d have to slog into it with hipwaders, something I’m absolutely not prepared to do. The picture to the right will attest to my reason (shudder). The night after we were there (last night) a giant tree fell on the boardwalk and shattered it to splinters – nobody hurt.
Today we walked under a troop of spider monkeys all the while trying to avoid the missiles made up of various chunks of flora they felt compelled to pelt us with (thankfully no poo, Brian). One of the females had a baby clinging tightly to her back. On the way home I spied a sloth hanging around in a languid manner, also with a baby clinging to her belly.
We were just now interrupted by grampa who has just returned from a solitary jaunt where he spied a yellow eyelash pit viper. This of course, requires that we quickly dress-up in jungle gear and race out (890 meters from the beginning of the trail) to see if we can get some shots for ourselves………………OK, back. Guess what? It’s pounding with rain again but we got some great shots. Beautiful little snake. News travels fast so on the way back in we had to avoid a stampede of naturalists on their way out to catch a glimpse for themselves. There is now a hotdog stand on the trail and people are selling tickets :o)
Last night we had a glass of wine with Deedra (Station Director) at her cabin and got to see a possum that had been trapped (and subsequently released). The boys were delighted, especially because every time they moved he hissed/growled/groaned at them (funny noise).
Tomorrow is Monday so I will go and set up some arrangements to spend some time in the clinic in town. I understand from the people here that it’s quite an adventure. I’ll write more about that when I have some info. Hopefully this will allow me to gather the data I’m looking for with regard to infectious disease incidence.
Talk to you soon.
Michelle
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1 comment:
The yellow viper fella would have had me up the tree with the Howlers! I'm thinking those hipwaders don't sound so bad considering what you might come up against - literally - 'course I don't know how you are gonna walk 'cause they probably will come up to your neck! :-)
Great pictures. Aside from the rain, rain, rain (which you should be accustomed to being from the NW), seems like the family is having a grand experience.
I imagine in that hot, humid weather you may find quite a bit of data on infectious disease incidences. Looking forward to hearing about your trip to the clinic.
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