Not All Who Wander Are Lost

New Blog

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:58:10 -0800

I’m changing up the theme and appearance of our blog, which necessitates creating a new blog page. You can now find us at our new main page, by clicking here.

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Thanks for following our adventures.

Farewell to the Spice Island

Thu, 7 May 2009 09:00:30 -0800

We had so much “play time” in Grenada that I almost forgot to mention some of our important animal-assisting endeavors while there. By now, we’re back in Miami and for the month of May will be working on lining up our future plans. Here’s a few of our final trials and tribulations that helped aid the voiceless creatures of the Spice Island.

Hungry Street Hounds

Many of the street dogs in Grenada are homeless, or have “owners” that very loosely care for their animals. Most are not spayed and neutered and females are often pregnant or nursing pups. Many are not fed on a regular basis and are very thin. Homemade diets of rice and table scraps are used instead of commercial dog food, leading to rampant malnutrition. No vaccines, no heartworm prevention, no medical care, and a lot of them are chained or caged. It’s plainly obvious that their skin is itchy, crusty, and spotted with patches of hair loss due to mange, a chronic skin disease caused by a parasitic mite. Put that all together, and it didn’t take long before Eliana was on a tenacious mission to help every dog that crossed her path. All week long, you could find us carrying dog food and ivermectin (medicine for mange) in our backpacks to feed and medicate the less-than-fortunate canine residents of Grenada. One day while I was teaching, Eliana made a trip around the island with a local shelter organization to administer vaccines and de-wormers and check up on dogs in various distressing situations.

Osprey vs. Kite

Eliana and I became an integral part of the rescue of an injured osprey. The bird was entangled in a kite string and had a severe constriction injury to the left wing. It was brought in to the university’s vet hospital

and since no one there is particularly experienced with birds, we were called in as super-vet heroes to save the day. After a thorough examination, x-rays, and diagnostic work-up, we lined up a treatment plan. The swollen limp wing was bandaged and we came in every morning for a week to evaluate the bird and give it care. Unfortunately, even though the wing wasn’t broken, there must have been some extensive nerve and tendon damage because the wing failed to improve over the course of the week. Ospreys are notoriously difficult to rehabilitate in captivity as they often refuse to eat and can fall victim to secondary stress-induced diseases and die. This bird was no exception to that rule and unfortunately, there wasn’t a happy ending to this story.

Fixin’ Felines

Around the faculty residence (the “University Club”) where we lived, a few outdoor cats roamed the grounds. Two of the resident males had previously been neutered and took a liking to the common dining area, which was met by mixed emotions from the work staff. Although they fed them and seemed to like having them around, they complained about the cats bothering patrons in the restaurant. HELLO - what do you expect if you are putting food out right in front of the restaurant? Whenever cats are fed outdoors, it’s sure to attract other hungry felines, and sure enough, a pregnant female found her way here, too. The restaurant manager and staff informed us that when the female gave birth, they would get out “the bucket” and drown the kittens. Okay people, this is a university with a veterinary college, and your staff is threatening to drown kittens in a bucket? We contacted the school’s feral cat student organization to borrow a trap, captured the female ourselves, and brought her to the vet school with the intention of having her sterilized and released. The student on the case decided that rather than taking the cat to spay surgery and aborting the kittens, she would take on personal care of the mother cat and her kittens until they were old enough to be adopted out. An admirable gesture and happy ending!

Bird Smuggling

It is unfortunate that in this day and age, with so many species in danger of extinction, that wildlife smuggling is still rampant. These are baby macaws that were smuggled into Grenada from the forests of Venezuela.

The government officials, including the ministers of agriculture, are often corrupt, have their palms padded with bribes, and allow it to occur despite international treaties that ban the trade in wildlife. These particular babies were likely pulled from nests, maybe the parents were killed or their nesting tree was cut down in order to get the chicks. They were being raised for the local pet trade in Grenada, and were being kept in filthy unsanitary conditions. For every one that survives to market, several others have died in the process.

Long Live the Leatherback

Within Grenada lies one of the most important nesting beaches for the leatherback sea turtle in all of the Caribbean. The leatherback is one of the largest reptiles in existence, and Eliana can attest to their magnificence in person. One night, from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m., she volunteered with a research/conservation group, Ocean Spirits, to monitor nesting female turtles coming ashore on Levera Beach under the night sky to lay their eggs. Because of the turtles’ sensitivity to light, she wasn’t allowed to take any photographs. But she claims it was one of the coolest experiences she’s ever had. She had her hand under the tail of the HUGE thousand-pound sea turtles as they dropped their slimy, wet eggs. Eli had the task of counting eggs, sorting out fertile from yolkless eggs, and even relocating certain nests to better protected locations. Seventeen turtles nested that one night. Amazing! I couldn’t make it with my class schedule, bummer! -- maybe next time. Here are some shots we took at Levera Beach the following day...

Animals continue to make up a significant part of our lives. We enjoy their company as pets, take great pleasure in seeing those that are wild, and make our livings from the betterment of animal health and welfare. You can be sure that they will be the subject matter of many future blogs.

Rollin’ With The Vet Students

Fri, 1 May 2009 04:45:17 -0800

One of the coolest aspects of teaching in Grenada is being able to meet and hang out with the SGU vet students. This bunch of twenty-somethings is a great group and of course, we have animals and veterinary medicine as a common bond. Eliana and I made a few entertaining excursions around the island with our new friends!

Herping in Grand Etang

This pic above is a group shot taken with the VSHS (Veterinary Student Herpetological Society) in the Grand Etang Reserve. Fourteen of us set out on an evening hike through the forest to seek out indigenous herps. Tromping through the muddy trails, it wasn’t until sunset that the island’s tree frogs emerged in full force. There must have been thousands upon thousands of the little amphibians singing their mating song. We captured, observed, and released several dozen of the slimy anurans. Super cool! There is a native tree boa on the island that we kept our eyes out for, but didn’t spot any.

Earth Day Trash Clean-up at BBC Beach

A bunch of students from EWS (Exotic & Wildlife Society) invited us out one Saturday morning to help clean up litter on a local beach. Good timing as Earth Day was right around the corner. We started out at Grand Anse Beach, which was already pretty clean and didn’t need much work. So we all relocated to BBC Beach which was also surprisingly low on trash, but we still filled several trash bags with assorted junk. Levera Beach (Grenada’s primary sea turtle nesting beach) is in desperate need of a clean-up in case any of you Grenada dudes want another earth-friendly task in the future...

Hike to the Seven Sisters Falls

After class on a Tuesday, a few of the second-term students accompanied us to the Seven Sisters Falls, possibly the most beautiful series of waterfalls on the island (though we haven’t seen them all yet, so can’t confirm). It was a short hike down to the two lower cascades that are nestled amongst profuse emerald green vegetation. The water was an appetizingly cool blue and we all went for a dip. Life is good!

We love jumping “air” shots...

Super scenic!

Water was a bit nippy but very refreshing.

Okay this was cute ... Kristin trying to climb up on a log, and getting swimming lessons from Annjolyn and Eliana...

I love this “thumbs-up” shot of Meghan, who was the only one of us hardcore enough to swim directly underneath the falls!

A HUGE thanks to all of the SGU students for making us feel really welcome here.

Gadding About Grenada: Part III

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:30:20 -0800

The Mt. Hartman estate in the southwest corner of Grenada is a protected dry scrub ecosystem, formerly used for grazing livestock and growing agricultural products. The secondary forest that has sprouted up here amongst the ruins of a former plantation has turned out to be one our favorite places for exploration on this island. It’s most well known as the last remaining habitat for the endangered Grenada Dove. For us, it’s a journey into a little sanctuary not far from our home base, where we can get away from the crowds and into a small slice of the natural world.

As this area was historically farmed, much of it is still open pasture that is slowly being colonized by thorny acacia and other secondary plants. A few old-time farmers still bring their horses and cattle into the fringes of the preserve to graze. Can you tell by Eliana’s HUGE smiles that she enjoyed her interactions with the horses? She wanted to set some of the tied ones free, but I convinced her otherwise. Instead, we offered them some Trader Joe’s dried mango, and they savored the taste of fair-trade eco-friendly organically-grown snacks.

A group of escaped farm pigs were running loose here on the trails. Old MacDonald needs to keep better tabs on his swine.

We love the laid-back attitude in Grenada. The evenings are a good time to socialize with new friends, faculty and students on the island. Here we are at the Prickly Bay Marina for some pizza. Let the good times roll!

Gadding About Grenada: Part II

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:50:04 -0800

Trekking into the island’s mountainous interior, Eliana and I along with enthusiastic vet students Carla, Devin, and Miraida, geared up for an arduous hike to the top of Mt. Qua Qua. Situated in the heart of the Grand Etang Reserve, it’s Grenada’s second highest peak (2,480’) and one of the most scenic hikes on the island. This would be our second time ascending to Qua Qua’s lush green summit (check out last year’s climb, here).

The hike begins with a moderate incline through fern-draped landscapes dotted with bright red Heliconia flowers. The path is a bit muddy and slick, especially on the sloped sections, and we all took turns slipping and falling. The dogs had the benefit of walking on all fours and forged on effortlessly. Devin knocked her head on an overhanging log; we all heard her skull make a resonating “thunk!”

Listening to the calls of mona monkeys in the distance, we looked down and eyed a spectacular view of Grand Etang Lake. Lesser Antillean tanagers and Antillean crested hummingbirds buzzed about the vegetation while broad-winged hawks soared above on the thermal air currents. Good day to bring the binocs.

The trail twisted and ascended, and we fortuitously quested on. The ladies had their rocket shoes on and always kept a pace a few steps ahead of me...

Made it to the top! Reaching the pinnacle was a worthy accomplishment. The reward was an awesome view of the island below us, misty breezes, and bragging rights.

We had initially planned on hiking a few more hours from the summit to nearby Concord Falls, but the trail leading west wasn’t being maintained and the vegetation had badly overgrown it. After some bushwhacking and acquiring our fair share of “paper cuts” from razor grass, we made the decision to descend back to our starting point. Encouraged by eco-keen Eliana, everyone collected trash on the way down, and we had a full bag of garbage by the time we made it back. Whew!

Time for some rehydration ... Carla introduced us to “Ting”, the island’s citrusy grapefruit soda. It’s super refreshing and has been kind of addicting! It’s bottled in Grenada, but I think it originates from either Trinidad or Jamaica.

Instead of hiking it there, we took the “long cut” and drove around to Concord Falls. There were some half-naked Japanese dudes in the natural pool when we arrived, so we waited until they finished frolicking in their tightie-whities before taking the plunge. After that, we capitalized on the opportunity to revitalize in the cool spring waters. Apparently, the best part of Concord Falls involves a mile-and-a- half hike up from the pool we visited, but we had enough tromping on the trails for one day. It was cool-down time.

Another super day worthy of blog-dom.

Gadding About Grenada: Part I

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:00:56 -0800

What do you say about the word “gad”? Not gab ... “gad”.

Eliana and I have done our fair share of gadding about Grenada, and have had a killer time exploring the treasures of the nutmeg nation. Our friends on the island, the Pasquinis, lent us one of their “junk cars” this year, so we’ve had a lot more freedom to get out and wander without depending on the crazy “reggae bus” system.

There was a steep learning curve to overcome in operating a vehicle here. Grenadians not only drive like maniacs, but they also drive on the wrong (left) side of the road, and the steering wheel on their cars is also on the wrong (right) side of the car. That took some getting used to, and I initially had the tendency to drift into the ditches on the side of the road. Not only that, but many of the roads are quite narrow and pothole-ridden. After a few days, I finally got the hang of it, and by the end of our trip, it actually felt pretty comfortable where I didn’t have to make a concerted effort to mentally verify we were riding in the correct lane.

One of our Grenada bucket list items for this year was to finally spot the elusive Grenada Dove. It’s one of the most highly endangered birds in the world, with a population of +/- 200 individuals remaining. The species is endemic to Grenada, and within Grenada its range is restricted to two small parcels of dry scrubland: the Mt. Hartman estate and the region of Perseverance. Twenty-five percent of the Mt. Hartman habitat was recently sold off to the Four Seasons to construct a resort and golf course, which will likely have some impact on the survival of the dove. Anyway, last year we had heard several male doves calling in Mt. Hartman, but were unable to actually spot any. They are quite secretive and shy and rarely make themselves visible to humans.

This year we hired a Grenadian bird guide, Anthony “Jerry” Jeremiah, to help us scope out some birding hot spots. Two vet students, Judy and Stephanie, accompanied us and we got a 6 a.m. start to maximize our birding productivity. Wandering into Mt. Hartman’s secondary forest, it wasn’t long before our first Grenada Dove was spotted skulking around the forest floor. NICE! They are especially recognizable by their white shoulders and their call is unmistakable -- they sound off every 8 seconds like clockwork. We also explored the area of La Sagesse which has a small trail system, beach, mangroves, and a large brackish water pond that attracts birds not seen many other places on the island. Last stop was the Rex Hotel, where there is a healthy population of breeding yellow-crowned night herons and other wading birds. The green herons there developed an absolutely amazing behavior that really surprised us. They actually use bread as bait to catch fish! I was astonished by the intelligence of these birds and their ability to implement a creative and effecting fishing strategy. Check out this video of them doing it, here!

Loving Life in the Lesser Antilles

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:34:12 -0800

Eliana and I are having a great time here on the Lesser Antillean island of Grenada. I’m here teaching for the second time at St. George’s University, where I lecture to 4th term veterinary students on topics in exotic companion mammal and reptile medicine. When I’m not teaching, there are gobs of amazing places to be explored, exciting activities to undertake, and fun students to hang out with.

The island’s interior is very mountainous, green, and lush which makes for some great hiking. Several small rivers with beautiful waterfalls flow into the ocean from these mountains. The climate is tropical; hot and humid with some cooling by the ocean’s breezes. Up in the mountains, the temperature cools down and it can get misty and foggy, almost like being up in the clouds. The highest peak on the island is Mt. St. Catherine at about 2,800’. Here’s a shot we took from the second highest peak, Mt. Qua Qua, at about 2,400’. You can see Grand Etang Lake in the distance.

For the geographically challenged, here’s where you can find us on a map of the West Indies. We’re northwest of Trinidad, northeast of Venezuela, and southwest of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

We make our home base at the University Club, a comfortable living establishment for “V.P.’s”, or visiting professors, as I am so nobly called here. With a bit of good fortune on our side, somehow we landed the sweetest living space in the entire facility. Our third floor corner apartment has the best ocean view ever. We look out to beautiful Prickly Bay from two sides of our balcony, and looking down we can watch the green iguanas basking in the sun.

My schedule typically involves anywhere from 1 to 3 hours of teaching per day. The rest of the day is left for teaching prep, lounging, exploring, napping, and eating. Speaking of eating, we’ve both gained significant weight here. They stuff us with appetizers, entrees, and desserts, three times a day. Who can resist all the amazing food?! Breakfast is my favorite meal, I love sipping my coffee and eating scrambled eggs, yellow plantains, and English muffins with cream cheese and strawberry jelly.

At the University Club, we’ve got access to an enticing swimming pool and several kayaks to launch from the white sandy beach. The beach here wasn’t nearly as sandy and barefoot-friendly last year -- it was mostly rocks and washed-up seaweed. They imported white sand from Guyana, and dumped it here to create the new beach. Apparently, every grain of sand had to be filtered through a sift as there was a scare concerning the unintentional introduction of non-native venomous snake eggs in the imported sand.

Eliana and I are both big-time tropical fruit junkies, and we’ve been indulging in the assortment of sweet mangoes, papaya, soursop (guanabana), coconut, and strange fruits such as golden apple and wax apple.

A number of F-15’s have been flying over the island, usually in pairs and they seem to pass overhead at least 3-4 times per day. They are loud as hell especially when near the ground and a few times I thought a bomb or rocket was about to hit. They are cool to watch bank and turn and we got a close look at several jets from a high vantage point near the Grenada airport. Obama was attending the Conference of the Americas for a few days last week in nearby Trinidad, so the U.S. was maintaining a strong presence here during the meeting of international leaders.

More adventures to come...!

Not Quite Settled Down

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 12:19:19 -0800

Not quite settled yet in a single place, Eliana and I took the month of March to gradually wean ourselves from our travel addiction. Over the course of our second month back from the roads of America, we sprinkled our schedule with a pinch of travel, a serving of South Florida recreation, and a dollop of employment. Here’s the lowdown on the latest happenings -- our stepping stones to whatever is supposed to come next in life.

Valentina Volkswagen had been feeling pretty restless, having only made a few local trips around Miami since returning home. The first week of March, Eliana and I took a weekend to spend some bonding time with our special companion-on-wheels. Escaping the urban chaos of Miami, we headed south to that chain of 1700 islands in the southeast corner of the continental U.S. You know, the place where life is easy-going, the weather is balmy, and the ocean breezes waft across the land from one shoreline to the other . You can fish, dive, or sip a cocktail to the tune of Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville” under a tiki hut and forget about reality for a while. It’s gotta be the Florida Keys!

While working our way through the Upper and Middle Keys for a few days, we made the most of exploring the archipelago’s animal rescue facilities and attractions, namely the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center, the Sea Turtle Hospital, and Theater of the Sea. We made numerous stops along U.S. 1 at local monuments, little known state and county parks, and several natural areas that we thoroughly enjoyed. Glad that we finally made the time to stop and explore this place, and spent a night camping inside Valentina.

We continued our feral cat spay and neuter efforts with The Cat Network, and by the time mid-March had rolled around, Eliana and I had successfully sterilized over 200 cats on the Meow Mobile. I finally surpassed 1000 geocaches found, and hit my all-time record number of cache finds in a single day (49) while on a hardcore solo hike (& bike) in Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Eliana became immersed in an exercise “boot camp” in Coconut Grove, working on firming up and getting in better shape. She’s gotten a serious exercise rush from it, despite a few nights where she came home crying and limping from intense knee pain. After six weeks of Miami living, we decided to move on from our temporary living situation at Krissie and Henry’s house, and tackle some new adventures...

Eliana and fellow travel junkie, Anastasia, globe-trotted to Spain and Portugal for a week of Old World castles, churches, and cobblestones. It was Eliana’s first trip to Europe, and she was pretty excited to broaden her worldly experience and add two new countries to her life list.

Unfortunately, she broke out with a nasty flu the day after arriving in Europe, and had a miserable time most of the week. Congestion, aches, pains, mucus, coughing, fever, and generalized suffering. Ugh - what a bummer.

Meanwhile, while Eliana was sick in Lisbon, I spent three weeks in Indianapolis, working as a relief vet at an avian & exotic animal veterinary clinic. Had to get licensed in Indiana --not an easy task so I discovered -- and fortunately passed their state board exam! My friend and veterinary colleague, Angela Lennox, owns a top notch veterinary facility there and needed someone to run the show while she was away teaching at a conference in England. It was a great way for me to get back into the swing of clinical exotic medicine, learn a few new tips and tricks, and earn some income again. I drove Angela’s stick-shift Mini-Cooper while there -- a fun and peppy ride -- and lived at their rural farm home in nearby Lebanon. It was my job to care for the critters at the home base too -- four horses, an emu, peahen, rooster, cat, rat, cockatiel, and rabbit. I felt like a farmer, heading out to the barn every morning and evening to feed out hay and grain and shovel crap. Have you ever seen emu dung? It’s enormous!

Eliana and I reconvened in Miami in early April, having not seen each other for about three weeks. The longest period of time we’ve ever been apart ... awwww. I had a mere 24 hours to unpack and repack for our second journey to the Lesser Antilles (we were there the same time last year), where we’ll relish the next three weeks. I’ve got a fantastic teaching gig on the island of Grenada as a visiting professor, teaching exotic pet medicine to 4th term vet students at St. George’s University. Life in the tropics. It’s all good, mon.

Wandering Wind Down

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 07:22:24 -0800

On February 2, Eliana and I hopped out of the VW and set foot on home turf for the first time in eight months. It was strange not having to figure out where on the big USA road map we were headed, what National Park was next to be explored, or where we were going to sleep that night. Since embarking on the journey of a lifetime last June, we’ve grown physically, mentally, and spiritually. Refreshed with a new zest for life. Here’s what we’ve been doing since returning to the harsh realities of what is colloquially known as the “real world.”

Homeless in South Florida, our friends Krissie and Henry took us in and let us crash at their place in West Little Havana for six weeks. Living in that part of Miami feels something like living in Cuba. The area is a mecca for Cuban immigrants, though there are also many Colombians, Dominicans, and Brazilians. Needless to say, I was definitely in the minority as a Jewish white boy in the midst of a 90% Latino community. Oddly enough, at one time this was mostly a Jewish neighborhood before the influx of Cuban exiles following Fidel Castro’s rise to power.

We settled in a little, and were quick to get back to work with The Cat Network, a Miami non-for-profit organization dedicated to humanely reducing the cat overpopulation problem. There are an estimated 400,000 homeless cats roaming the streets of Miami, and the organization helps by educating the public on the importance of sterilizing their pets and strays and by offering low-cost spay and neuter services.

Eliana and I team up as a formidable technician & veterinarian duo on the “Miami Meow Mobile”, the non-profit’s mobile veterinary clinic. Inside the domain of the surgical R.V., we conduct an flawlessly smooth operation where we can safely and effectively sterilize dozens of cats in a day without compromising sterile technique or good pain control. It’s quite rewarding! With the help of Cat Network’s leading ladies Sylvia, Charlene, and Krissie, we organized and successfully completed several productive “spay days” on both strays and pets alike.

In early February, we celebrated our passion for Volkswagens at the annual Volksblast festival in Miami. After a thorough inside-and-out wash-down, Valentina looked dazzling for the weekend’s VW “Conga Cruise” through the streets of Miami.

We caravanned with a hundred vintage air-cooled VW’s, cruising the streets of Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Miami Beach, and all the area hot spots. Police escorts facilitated our route through the city. It truly was a Volks-blast! That night there was a party for all the VW’ers at a bar on Sunset Drive.

The following day, Sunday, we entered the VW show and judged competition in the streets of South Miami, featuring over 200 VW’s, 10,000 spectators, vendors, live music, and a rockin’ good time. A snazzy posterboard display of our road trip GPS tracks accompanied Valentina at the show.

People seemed to dig it. Click it below to blow it up to full size.

Eliana and I took turns all day long chatting with people about our adventure and giving tours inside the Bus. We didn’t win any show trophies, but still had a great time. Somehow we got grouped in the wrong class of VW’s and I think that might have screwed up the voting. It didn’t matter, we still know Valentina is the best!

Thanks to everyone that came out and said hello at the show.

Stay tuned for the next blog update from the rest of the past month...