Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Butterflies of Trinidad

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:33:59 -0400

Although a bit behind in blogging about our adventures in Trinidad, here’s a quick look at some of the colorful butterflies of the area. If anyone knows the common or scientific names, feel free to leave a comment. For more of our animal photos, check out the full critter photo album here.
This is one of my favorite butterflies seen in Trinidad ... which end is heads and which is tails? The wonders of evolution have allowed this creature’s wing to develop appendages on its back end that mimic those of its head. A predator would be easily confused, and attacking the wrong end would be non-lethal and allow the butterfly to make a break for it!

We call this one the “89” butterfly. It wears its jersey numbers on its wings!

The malachite... a pretty green specimen

The blue clear-wing.. part of its wings are translucent!

Some sort of well-camoed and heavily spotted Lepidopteran...

This one appears similar to our Gulf Frittilary, and was perched on the hardened tar of the Pitch Lake, which made for a nice contrast of color.

A few other butterflies and moths. I think the one in the upper left is an owl butterfly.

Tales from Trinidad II

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:08:12 -0400

A devastatingly beautiful location in a cradle of jungle-smothered peaks, Maracas Beach sounded like the perfect location to kick off our Trinidad adventure. In a private taxi driven by a Trini named Parrish, we ascended the spiraling North Coast road with its 900-foot cliff drops for a dramatic drive through the rainforest. The road, smooth and wide unlike many of the other rough narrow roads here, was built by the Americans during WW II as compensation for the US occupation of northwestern Trinidad during that time.

Our gold-toothed Indian driver, a bit on the strange side, made a few stops along the way to let us appreciate the many scenic views. First, there was the Maravel valley, where we spotted a few white hawks soaring upwards on the thermal air currents. Next, there was the ocean below, way below ... dotted with rocky islets, rugged coastline, and diving pelicans. A food kiosk selling a variety of colorful Trinidadian treats made for a vibrant photo. Just not sure I wanna eat this stuff... sour cherries, pickled mango, and other fruits that resembled juicy eyeballs.

We soon arrived at Maracas Beach, but not before passing over the “magnetic road”, where our vehicle rolled up an incline in sheer defiance of gravity. It couldn’t be rationally explained ... we put the car in neutral and experienced the car rolling uphill. Bizarre!
Trinidad’s most popular stretch of beach, Maracas is a ravishing wide bay with a scattering of palms and a stunning mountainous backdrop. We breathed a sigh of contentment and began to loosen up, unwind, and dig the beach vibe. It wasn’t even crowded for being the country’s most frequented beach -- very few people were in sight. Trinidad is not much of a tourist destination -- which makes it even more appealing in some ways. It’s relatively inexpensive compared to the rest of the Caribbean, and not overrun by tourists and resorts.
Fresh out of the taxi, we were immediately befriended by the local pack of dogs (probably had something to do with Eliana, as you can imagine) and they happily followed us down the beach. You could just hear them thinking “adopt me & feed me!” We strolled barefooted down the white sand with our canine companions at our sides and scoped out the sunbathers, skinny-stemmed palm trees swaying in the breeze, and a multitude of snack bars selling “bake and shark”.

What’s bake ‘n’ shark you ask? The signature food item of this beach, it’s a slab of deep-fried fish sandwiched between two halves of deliciously fried dough, topped with shredded veggies and bathed in tamarind sauce. Now those calories were worth it. They say the fish is shark, but I’m not convinced that’s what it really is. Eliana opted for the bake ‘n cheese, which was equally scrumptious. Here is the delicacy, before adding the fixin’s.

Sprawled out on our beach blanket, we relaxed, sipped on local apple-flavored sodas, and enjoyed the ocean breezes. I took a swim in the surf, diving head first through the crashing waves to avoid getting sucked into the undercurrent. The water was warm and clear, ahhhhh.

Did I mention I nabbed my first geocache in Trinidad here? Nice.
There was some sort of religious ceremony going down on the beach, and a dude dressed in a green and yellow gown walked out into the water carrying a bible or something. See photo album for more info.

After a few hours of sun, surf, and bake ‘n shark, we said goodbye to the doggies of Maracas and made our way back toward home. Polishing off the day’s adventure, we made a late afternoon stop at the Caroni Bird Sanctuary, and took a two-hour boat ride through the mangroves to view the magnificently-colored scarlet ibis and other local fauna. An incredible ride through the swamp! Other noteworthy sightings: caiman, red-capped cardinal, four-eyed fish, Cook’s tree boa, and bicolored conebill.
Awesome, just awesome. Here are the photos from the day.

Tales from Trinidad

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 12:00:03 -0400

Almost a year’s worth of networking, e-mailing, and planning .... and finally we have arrived in the island nation of Trinidad and its sister island, Tobago. At the southern extreme of the Caribbean chain and only seven miles from the northeastern coast of Venezuela lies the place where we will spend the month of November.
At the beginning of this year, I began searching for new opportunities to expand my international teachings in exotic pet medicine outside of Grenada. Following a little legwork, I discovered that The University of the West Indies (UWI) in Trinidad also has a veterinary college. What better way to visit a new place than to do it by merging our travel cravings with a bit of employment? It certainly helps subsidize the trip. Don’t get the wrong idea though, it’s not just a free ride to a new country -- there is a lot of teaching preparation that goes into these trips. Ten hours or more goes into writing every one-hour lecture presentation, which consumes quite a bit of my free time before any such trip ensues. Hence, why I couldn’t get out much the last few months, between working and well, ...working.

Trinidad also happens to be a birder’s paradise, with an incredible biodiversity of our winged friends. The country boasts over 450 species of birds, 250 species which breed there... all concentrated in an area the size of West Virginia. This could be a match made in heaven.
A quick three hour plane hop from Miami, and we touched down in tropical Trinidad. We were met at the airport by one of the University profs, Dr. Borde, who whisked us away on the congested Trini road system to our home base for the month. We are staying at Norma’s Bed and Breakfast, a local-owned B&B not far from the University, in the city of Valsayn.
We quickly settled in and got our bearings in our new home away from home. The local currency is the TT dollar (6 TT to 1 US dollar), the official language is English (with a thick West Indian accent), and the population is about 45% East Indian, 45% Black, and a small percentage of Hispanic, Asian, and White. It’s a unique fusion of many different cultures. The street food follows suit and is a wonderful mix of Indian, Caribbean, Creole, and Latin flavors. We studied our travel guide, chatted with the locals, and solicited advice from some of our Trinidadian friends in Miami -- thanks Erica and Curt! A weekend plan was born and we prepared to explore Maracas Beach, Caroni Bird Sanctuary, and a tour through the capital city, Port-of-Spain.

Let The Cat Out of The Bag

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:46:09 -0400

The wandering duo in the news from the City of Sunny Isles ...
http://www.sibfl.net/news_archive/news_090914/cat_out_the_bag.asp

Painful Prank

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:49:59 -0400

Always something exciting in my neck of the woods. This week’s news is a bit of a shocker ... I was the victim of a drive-by shooting. Only in Miami!
WSVN Channel 7 tells the story.
Not sure that “terrified” is the right word to describe my emotions. PISSED OFF is more accurate. Anyway, they did a good job on the video coverage. Check it out by clicking the picture below, then find the video link:

Seasonal Cravings

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:15:53 -0400

When various holidays roll around, most people have a craving for a seasonally-oriented food. Around Christmas time, it might be egg nog. For Easter, marshmallow peeps. My friend Kristin recently divulged her addiction to McDonald’s green “shamrock shakes” on St. Patrick’s Day. For me, October marks the month where I can get my fix on a seasonally-available breakfast cereal that I’ve been gaga about since before I can remember. Call me freakish, but I’m a die-hard BooBerry junkie.
I have no idea why I crave the blue ghost cereal, but I actually LIKE this stuff. Seriously. I have often theorized that it must contain some sort of micronutrient that my body needs, and my craving for it is simply an adaptive response to seeking out the proper nutrition that is physiologically necessary for my survival. What is in the blue puffy ghosts and its companion blue marshmallows? General Mills, please reveal your secret.
In the past, I have experienced quite an unusual phenomenon when eating large quantities of this product. Let’s just say that the blue dye in this cereal is not well metabolized. “Nuff said on that.
Not to underrate its counterpart cereals, Frankenberry and Count Chocula, but BooBerry takes the cake on the monster cereal showdown.
Target and Walmart are among the stores that have been known to carry these scarce cereals, in time for Halloween. For only $1.99 a pop at Target, I’m ready to stock up on 50 boxes to tide me over until next October. Though, to avoid over-indulging and getting completely sick of it, I’m starting with 3 boxes.
I think maybe eating this stuff is like taking a trip back to childhood years. Maybe that’s part of the appeal. Anyway, dig in and Happy Halloween!

Wanderful

Sun, 4 Oct 2009 07:35:50 -0400

With about three months elapsed since our last blog update, we have a lot of catching up to do. I hope there are some of you still out there, following our adventures and awaiting the next update. Life has gotten tremendously busy as compared to the pace we experienced living on the road out of a Volkswagen Bus. Those days seem to have passed by so quickly and we miss it. Now we’re back in the rat race, busy earning a living and settling back into a place we can call home. Even though we’re not permanent vagabonds anymore, there’s no chance our wandering spirits will stay put for too long. In the past three months, here’s what has transpired, and what travels we have in store.

In July, we wrapped up our fascinating sea otter pathology work in Alaska with a week-long excursion through Kenai and the south-central coastal town of Homer. It was an incredible week of tent-camping on the beach, remote cabins in the backwoods, ocean kayaking, and exploration under the midnight sun.

Returning home to South Florida, after not having a place to call home for 16 months, we finally put down some roots in a rented home in Miami. Unloading our boxes from storage, unpacking, and furnishing the house was a major challenge that is still in process. In between making progress on the house and dealing with our own pet issues, I’ve been working many hours doing various veterinary jobs. It’s been a mix of avian and exotic emergency duty along with high volume spay and neuter work with The Cat Network, The Humane Society, and Animal Services. Eliana and I work together twice weekly on the “Meow Mobile” -- a veterinary clinic on wheels -- where we have sterilized almost 700 cats in the past two months!

In August, we made a short trip to the homeland of Long Island, New York. The Kramers held the annual Awixa summer picnic, which is always a good time. Eliana and I made a journey to Shelter Island, a small island in between the north and south fork. The Nature Conservancy has protected one-third of the island as the Mashomack Preserve, which made for an awesome day of hiking and nature appreciation.

In September, I received an invitation on short notice to teach a brief reptile medicine course in Grenada. How could we say no to yet another adventure in the West Indies? Much of September was spent on lecture preparation and finally we departed for the Spice Isle about a week ago. En route from Miami to our connecting flight in Puerto Rico, our plane had to turn back to Miami because of a passenger with a medical emergency. Back in Miami, we sat on the runway for quite some time while the paramedics whisked away the critical passenger and the mechanical crew found an oil leak in one of the engines. Despite the delay, we were assured we would make our connecting flight in San Juan to Grenada. Arrival in San Juan, rushed to the gate for our departing flight, and wouldn’t ya know it -- plane already left! Next plane to Grenada is not for another 2 days? No! Wait -- we could work this to our benefit -- a mini-excursion in Puerto Rico for 2 days, courtesy of American Airlines. Saweet.

Two fun days were spent exploring Old San Juan, moonlight kayaking in the bioluminescent bay of Laguna Grande, and exploring the foods and sights of Puerto Rico. Our plane eventually departed to Grenada, and we visited the Spice Isle for the third time. Teaching the reptiles course went great, and in between we enjoyed the pool, the ocean, the waterfalls, and mingling with the vet students. Always a great time here!

What’s in store next? I just lined up a new teaching gig in Trinidad. Unbelievable! I love being self-employed and having the flexibility to travel whenever I want for work opportunities or just for fun. Stay tuned for adventures in Trinidad! Check out more of this week’s Puerto Rico & Grenada pictures here.

Arctic Valley, Alaska

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 14:43:28 -0400

It took us almost a week for our sore muscles to recover from the trek up Harp Mountain here in Alaska. Sucks to be out of shape! However, another week of otter necropsies and we were good and ready to get back out on the trails. This past weekend, we planned out a stimulating one-way hike, beginning in Arctic Valley, and returning us to the South Fork trailhead in Eagle River, not far from where we are staying at Verena’s house. We mapped out our route using Google Earth, where we planned to follow the mountain ridge line and have towering views on either side. Ahhh, it always looks so much easier on a map than it does when you are actually face-to-face looking up the mountain! There were also several challenging geocaches along the planned route, which made it even more alluring (well, at least for me).

We drove our borrowed Subaru up a long winding gravel road to the start of the Rendezvous Peak trail. Upon arrival, there were some other hikers there in shorts. Although the sun was shining, we knew it would be chilly at the higher elevations so we came prepared in pants, long sleeves, and windbreaker jackets. The trail began at the Arctic Valley ski area -- no skiing right now, though!

The trail began as a gentle climb through a lush green valley. There were plenty of wildflowers and golden-crowned sparrows in the fields. Ravens appeared high up in the sky, sailing on wind thermals. The air was cool and crisp, just breathing it in feels like biting into a Peppermint Patty!

After an hour or so of ascending a mild incline, we deviated off the path and blazed our own trail up a steeper slope to grab our first geocache of the day. Definitely started to work those calf and quad muscles! Nice views of Arctic Valley pass, but we weren’t at the top of Rendezvous Peak just yet.

We descended a bit into a wide open pass before the grueling ascent of Mt. Rendezvous. To the east were some extensive views of Eagle River valley below and the community of homes down there. We looked up the mountain (to Eliana’s right, below) and prepared for the steepest climb of the day!

We just love these wide-open spaces...

After some huffing and puffing, we were at the top of Rendezvous Peak at about 4,000’! You could see all the way to Anchorage from up there. We grabbed a few more geocaches, and had a more leisurely stroll along the ridge line after that.

Since we were already so high up, there wasn’t much more climbing that could be done. We stayed at one elevation for a while, which is always nice. There was a little bit of snow remaining in patches, and the ground squirrels were barking at our presence. We spotted a Northern Goshawk hunting for ground squirrels, and some horned larks were feeding on bugs. It was much cooler and windier up here, and Eliana’s bad fingers started hurting as they usually do when it gets cold. She put her gloves on, and we each added on a top layer to stay warm.

Extreme terrain calls for some extreme navigation skills...!

By mid-afternoon, we were famished and took a little lunch break. Sitting on the tundra is so comfortable, it’s like having a soft cushion under you, perfect for napping.

The descent into Hunter’s Pass was punishing! Rather than take the more mainstream path, on my request, we bushwhacked down the side of a mountain to grab a geocache placed in a rather unorthodox location. See Eliana working her way down? (below).

Who puts a micro on the side of a mountain? Eliana was none too pleased about that part of the journey, but I touted the fact that it was good “backcountry practice”. The views were pretty incredible, though.
From Hunter’s Pass, it began to rain, so we high-tailed it down to the South Fork parking lot and then had to climb another mile to walk back to the house. Eliana’s injured knee was sore, and while we were both in awe of the amazing hike, we were both sufficiently exhausted too. Looks like at least a few days’ rest to recover from this one! Click here to see the rest of the pics!

Surprise ‘Net Find

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:47:14 -0400

Eliana was doing some web surfing on the subject of Middleton Island, Alaska, and found this website I had no idea existed... check out the crew from 1993. Funny how you find surprises on the internet!
http://www.absc.usgs.gov/research/Middleton/middleton_crew.htm

Solitude on Harp Mountain

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:19:37 -0400

It’s been four days since our hike up Alaska’s Harp Mountain, and my quads and calfs are STILL burning. Eliana and I have only climbed two mountain peaks in the past six months (Mt. Qua Qua, Grenada and Guadalupe Peak, Texas). Growing accustomed to the flat terrain of Florida has caused us to fall out of shape.
Harp Mountain is not just your average incline. From the base of the trail, the slope ascends 2,600 vertical feet in a mere 2 miles, making for a fairly steep climb. The peak tops out at about 5000’. We were going to need our mountain goat legs for this one.
It was the summer solstice in Alaska, the longest day of the year. Sunrise occurs around 4 a.m. and sunset around 12 a.m. Between those night hours, it never really gets dark, it’s more like twilight. No wonder they call it the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Prior to embarking on Harp Mt., we had originally planned on climbing the popular Flat Top Mountain in Anchorage. On the summer solstice, there’s a big camp-out and celebration up there. It sounded fun, but we were looking for some solitude, and Harp Mountain was our “road less traveled” and bound to be a better choice. We chose wisely. The entire mountain was ours alone.

Starting up the trail, the air was crisp and cool, and the sharp incline made it challenging from the get-go. We were flanked on both sides by patches of incredible tundra wildflowers. There were chocolate lilies, coastal paintbrush, Jacob’s ladder, and dozens of others. As you can see, Eliana is keen on flower photos...

Along with the plants, there was a small assortment of birds at the lower elevations. Mostly white-crowned sparrows, which were steadily calling, but we were also treated to a new “lifer” bird for us, the golden-crowned sparrow, whose call is a sad-pitched “Oh dear me”. There were a few violet-green swallows catching insects in flight, and an orange-crowned warbler came to inspect all the commotion when I broke out my Audubon bird call to simulate alarm clicks and chirps. I’ve loved using iBird software in the field, one of my favorite iPhone apps. It’s a field guide to North American birds on the iPhone, complete with not only images, range maps, and species descriptions, but also sound recordings of all our bird species! Sound playbacks work great for attracting songbirds.

The journey uphill continued, we left sparrow country, and finally emerged above the tree line. Once above the trees, the terrain became quite rocky and the sparse plant life really hugged the ground. Mid-way up, we were treated to amazing views of Eagle River Valley and Hanging Valley.

Further up, the slopes became steeper still, and really tested our stamina. Walking along the ridge, the clouds began to set in and the winds picked up as we were no longer in the shelter of the valley. We put on our jackets, took in the breathtaking views, and shrugged off the cold.

At the higher elevations, there wasn’t much bird diversity but American pipits were abundant. They must have been feeling amorous because we kept seeing them making their courtship flights. The males ascend about 200’ high in the air, then soar downward singing their mating song, legs straight out and tail held upright.
Even in the summer, there is snow on these peaks!

Feeling a bit weary after climbing about 2000’, it was time for a little lunch break and a rest. Nibbling on our sandwiches, we watched a pika (a small chinchilla-like animal related to rabbits) scurrying amongst the rocks. I wish they were closer to photograph because they were carrying bunches of wildflowers in their mouths and it would have been a perfect picture. We did get one shot later on, but from far away so it looks pretty pixelated zoomed in.

With fuel in our bellies, we made the final ascent to the peak. Eliana’s bad knee was acting up as usual, and the last 600’ was grueling. We scrambled up the rocky terrain, the trail faded in sections, and misty clouds blew around us in the rough winds. We were definitely cold at this point, the wind thrashed our faces, and it began to snow! Following the GPS compass, we struggled to the top, and finally .... we MADE it! There was a geocache up there which added to the glory of conquering Harp Mountain! Check out these shots from the summit.

On the return home, we began to follow the ridge line back to Verena’s house, but without a trail and an endless sea of difficult-to-walk-on loose glacial rock, we opted to just follow our original footsteps back down the way we came. It was slow-going with Eliana’s sore knee, and my own legs and joints were making me feel like an old man. The weather became increasingly cold and nasty on the way down, so we put away the camera and concentrated on the return to Eagle River. It was a tough walk and we’ve both been sore the last four days, but this coming weekend, we’ll find another mountain to climb and do it all over again! Click here to see the rest of the pictures.