Syndicate Nature Trail

Ok, so this is the same trip, same day, and the same deal applies.  If the belated nature of the post offends you - STOP READING RIGHT NOW!!!!  (That just reminded me of one of my favorite books growing up - "The Monster at the End of this Book."  Did you ever read it?  It's sooooo good.  Partly because it features Grover, who is always a favorite.  Partly because it's just plain good.  There was much childish giggling that accompanied every reading of it.  You should find a copy and read it.  The end of my ginorm parenthetical insert - a personal specialty).

After seeing the super cool waterfall that we couldn't get close to because it apparently is a direct water source (lame, right?  I just want to go swimming.  Who cares about clean water?), we went to the Syndicate Nature Trail that has some informational displays and stuff at the trail head.  This one was definitely my favorite:

We also got to see some super tall trees with awesome Tarzan vines hanging down from them:

And, of course, Wonderman had to test the viability of said vines:

I was not quite so bold:

Still, we both enjoyed seeing all kinds of nature-y things on said nature trail:

It was a super fun and informative day.  All the adventuring wore Wonderman right out.

Conclusion:  Exploring nature feeds the soul.

Syndicate Falls

Um, can we still be friends if I post now (which is, like, seventy million years after the fact) about stuff that happened during Christmas Break?  If your answer is "No," please stop reading and pretend this never happened.  I'm sort of trying to catch up a little and face my own apparent aversion to writing (who would've ever thought this possible?).

So, Wonderman and I went on a school-sponsored trip to Syndicate Falls.  It was really cool.  He helped small children cross rivers:

We saw some awesome jungle and a big waterfall:

I also made a new friend.  I told Wonderman that night that she was probably going to be my new best friend.  The black fingernail polish, love of mountains, and dreams of Alaska seemed to guarantee it.

We also got to hike through a valley that wasn't just jungle.  There were more shades of green in one place than I think I even knew existed:

Plus, we ended the hike with one of our guides cutting some fresh sugar cane for us.  Can you tell what a sweet tooth Wonderman has?  He looks thrilled with it, doesn't he?  It was kind of strange, but definitely sweet.  It was like chewing straw that had been soaked in sugar water.  Yummy, right?

Conclusion:  Wonderful and beautiful things are even more wonderful and beautiful when I'm with wonderful and beautiful people.

Discreet

Without further ado, or any inappropriate yet blurry photos of my baby's junk, the latest news on the home front is this: Baby Bean is a girl!  Now the adventures in naming begin. 

Adventure of The Year Award goes to . . . .

Wonderman and I are starting down a whole new road.  Things will really change when Baby Bean arrives sometime in mid-October.

And, as I've been trying to be as secretive as possible, it has taken my normal (inexplicable) reluctance to blog to a whole new level.  You know, if you can't say anything about being pregnant, don't say anything at all.  That's what Mom always said, right?  I'll see if I can rectify that situation.

Toucari and Douglas Bays

I went snorkeling the other day.  

That's a short statement, which may lead you to believe that it was a simple endeavor.  It was not.  You may or may not know that, despite my usual attitude of bravado and pomposity, I am a bit of a Nervous Nelly, especially when it comes to putting my face in water (maybe it's connected to all those times I almost drowned).  I signed up to go on a trip with people I didn't know, planning to try something I was pretty scared to do.  That is what I am going to blame my grumpiness that morning on (now see, this preposition at the end of the sentence feels really awkward, but I feel incapable of finding any other way to say it).

When we got to Toucari Bay, it was really pretty (is it bad that I already feel like I'm running out of ways to describe the exquisite views here?  I took some pictures, because I don't know the thousand words to convey my awe.).

Then I apprehensively put on my snorkel mask and practiced breathing through a tube.  Easy, breezy.  Then I put my face in the water to test the seal of my mask.  Let's be honest, I didn't breathe, but didn't think about it.  However, I could see all kinds of incredible things.  The water was clear enough that I had had some serious doubts about the benefit of putting my face six inches under water so I could see things better.  I could see JUST FINE from up above.  Except that I couldn't.  It was wildly better underneath.  So I dove forward and started swimming.

What happened next happened every time I started swimming in the water with my eyes open.  I started to hyperventilate a little because my brain told me I was going to drown.  With the awesome amplification that water provides, I could hear my labored breathing quite clearly and was glad I was on my own so I didn't have to be doubly mortified at my own ridiculousness.  I was able to calm my breathing down to a slow, steady rhythm just by mentally telling myself that it needed to happen.  Turns out I learned some important skills from dealing with my claustrophobia and all those MRIs and radiation.  Who would've ever thought it would help me snorkel?  Well, help me it did.

My new friend, Gabe (also new to snorkeling), put it succinctly:  "Wow.  These are fish I've only ever seen before in aquariums!"  That was exactly it.  Pretty incredible.  I'm going to have to go again.  And again.  And then probably again.  And someday buy an underwater camera so I can take pictures of all the cool stuff Dominica has to offer.  Looking under the sea offers twice the fun.

Douglas Bay was also incredibly beautiful and similarly fun to snorkel in.

 

These are the mountains/hills whose other side I look at every day.  It's all about perspective.

 

New friends from my snorkeling adventure. 

Gratuitous shot of the butterfly/moth who seemed to think my flip-flop was a flower.

I'm going to need to sail around this island before I leave.  Doesn't this look fun?

Conclusion:  Sometimes it's worth a little grumpiness if that is what it takes to get me to try new things.

Quote

I read this today in Louise Erdrich's The Plague of Doves, and it seems oddly applicable:

"What men call adventure usually consists of the stoical endurance of appalling daily misery."

There's no direct correlation, but still. . . .