Today is a sad, quiet day. Yesterday we took Sheryn and Larissa to the airport. Holiday time is over for them (we live in a perpetual state of holiday!). I'm sad and the house feels empty. But it was a great visit. Sometimes I have moments when I question our move so far from family and friends. But then I have to remind myself that retirement has given us the time to spend with the people that really matter in our lives. This wouldn't have happened if we still lived in Fort Nelson. And we've been so lucky to have so many visitors over the last year. Believe me, that would certainly not have happened in Fort Nelson!! And absolutely not in February! So, I try to push off the sadness and be grateful for all that we have.
I was looking through and editing pics from the last couple of weeks and thought I would add some that I didn't mention previously.
While in Placencia we booked a day tour to a small village called Monkey River. It's about a 40 minute boat ride and is home to about 200 people. Monkey River's old claim to fame was fishing and bananas but these days it's more well known for all the wildlife, particularly birds, along the river. Aside from a visit to a zoo, I saw more different species of birds than I have even seen in one day. I'd love to say that I can remember the names but suffice it to say that our guide was very knowledgable and he knew what they were (and if he didn't we wouldn't have known the difference!).
While in Placencia we booked a day tour to a small village called Monkey River. It's about a 40 minute boat ride and is home to about 200 people. Monkey River's old claim to fame was fishing and bananas but these days it's more well known for all the wildlife, particularly birds, along the river. Aside from a visit to a zoo, I saw more different species of birds than I have even seen in one day. I'd love to say that I can remember the names but suffice it to say that our guide was very knowledgable and he knew what they were (and if he didn't we wouldn't have known the difference!).
We took a short hike in the jungle and our guide pointed out many of the different plants and trees. I have to say that I'm getting fairly proud of myself and my ability to recognize some of the plants. When we first moved here, everything was just jungle. Now I'm starting to see the trees for the jungle! Just Larissa and I did the hike. Sheryn's ankle was bothering her so she and Adam waited at the boat. Probably, a good move. We paid for our adventurous spirit with a lot of mosquito bites!
On the trip back we spotted a couple of crocs. One little guy and this one. He (she?) was about five feet long. The largest I've seen in the wild. Neat!
We also spotted a mother manatee and her cub. Very, very cool! You want to see a bunch of people in a small boat get very excited. I wish that I had pictures to post but they are pretty shy. All we got were a couple of shots of their noses out of the water to get a breath of air. These very large and gentle Antillean manatees are highly endangered so seeing them is a real treat.
On the trip back we spotted a couple of crocs. One little guy and this one. He (she?) was about five feet long. The largest I've seen in the wild. Neat!
We also spotted a mother manatee and her cub. Very, very cool! You want to see a bunch of people in a small boat get very excited. I wish that I had pictures to post but they are pretty shy. All we got were a couple of shots of their noses out of the water to get a breath of air. These very large and gentle Antillean manatees are highly endangered so seeing them is a real treat.