Saturday, October 13, 2007

Will the "real" Jungle Cruise please stand up! Part 1 of 3

Two-toed sloth (Madison tells me it is the two-toed because of it's "plain" face - see other sloth photo) Grey-necked (something - can't remember) - extremely rare! We were priviledged to see it at all (Madison wants to pluck it because it reminds her of a chicken...hmmm...)
Biggest darn crocodile we saw that day - and we saw plenty!
Strawberry Poison Dart Frog (some held it, then washed their hands afterwards - not thinking I want to hold something that secrets a heart-stopping poison thank you very much)
The "alpha" male howler
The three toed sloth (see it's spectacled face - isn't it darn cute?!)
The girls having a blast!

Pink spoon-billed (something - NOT a type of flamingo - they just eat the same diet as a flamingo which causes the coloration of their feathers)
Pelicans in a row (have you seen Finding Nemo?!....*bloop*.....NICE!)
type of heron in flight
A Jesus Christ lizard (yes, that's it's name - it can run across the water for over 50 feet). This is the male lizard, the female is quite unremarkable.

This first blog entry is for the animals we saw during our trip. Part two will look at the plant life, and part three will be completely dedicated to the turle hatching, complete with video! Stay tuned!
The entire time Madison and I were on this trip this weekend, I kept thinking it looked so much like Disneyland. What?! I know - that's what you are thinking. But the reality is, it was SO incredible, I kept thinking it couldn't possibly be real! But there we were - riding in a boat through some of the most incredible scenery I have ever seen (and that's saying a lot - I've been to a LOT of places!). I have so many pictures, but I am going to narrow them down to a select few.

This was a two day trip for Madison and I while Mike was out of country to a leadership conference. We had the privilege of travelling to Tortuguero - where green sea turtles return every year to lay their eggs. There is a huge conservation effort going on to ensure the survival of this incredible species - and it's a huge success!! Our tour guide is a certified egg/hatchling handler, and he gave us the rare opportunity to "escort" newly hatched turtles to the sea. Yes, that means both Madison and I handled newly hatched turtles. Please enjoy the ride with us.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

i can't believe it! you guys are seeing incredible stuff. :) God is truly amazing.
Jess