Illegal Aliens in Nicaragua!

Today was my dear departed sister's birthday. I though of her. We took the bus two hours north to Los Chilis and boarded a boat to cruise up and down the Rio Frios. My sister's degree was in Natural Science. We saw plenty of Caiman, birds, turtles, White-Faced Monkeys, Howler Monkeys, and the Jesus Christ Lizard which can walk on water. This was The Jungle Cruise come to life. She would have loved it.

The Howler Monkeys made a habit of announcing themselves as we passed. I believe this is because they interpret the sound of the out-board motor as other Howler Monkeys encroaching on their territory. The Howling is the first defense is staking their claim to this area.

The treat was that we spotted an albino Howler. Howlers usually have black fur. This one was red. Her baby was black, which made it much easier to spot as it clung to the mother's chest as she moved from branch to branch. Howlers are not as fast as other monkeys. We were close and had a lot of time to observe her.

At one point, someone said they saw a parakeet (which are indigenous), but I said since it was only one, it was a monokeet. Nothing falls flatter than a bad joke in a jungle.

I had a camera malfunction after I changed the battery. The pictures were not writing to the memory card. I switched to a new card and the malfunction ended. My protocol when this happens (it's happened before) is to use all the other memory I've brought, and only use the first card as a last resort. I only lost two shots of a lizard sitting on a rock in the middle of the river. How it got there, I don't know. How it was going to get back to shore was anyone's guess. Pity about the shots. I've started using a lens with a stabilizer. My hands are shakier than they were, the gyros really help. I think I had two good ones.

Near the end of the cruise, we were at the Nicaraguan boarder. The boat beached so we could get off and walk up to a marker and a barbed wire fence. There was a sign on the other side that said in Spanish, "Welcome to Nicaragua". There was a gap between the official marker and the fence. Many of our group pushed through to have their picture taken with the sign. This Americano was a little too big to get through, so I stood in front of the fence.

Daniel Ortega was nowhere to be seen. I reached through with my foot and illegally invaded the sovereign territory of Nicaragua. It's more likely, that the fence was put up by Costa Rica. It has the same illegal immigration problems with Nicaragua that America has with Mexico. As developing nations go, Costa Rica is wealthy. Nicaraguans come over the boarder and find a piece of land to squat on. The laws are such that it's very difficult to deport all of them, and the illegal has a good chance of getting a free home in a country that's doing much better. Back on the highway, going south, there were many police check points stopping trucks, searching for Nicaraguans.

On the way back, Sammy spotted a Three-Toed Sloth sleeping in a tree. He pulled over so we could have a look. But the pictures reveal just a fur ball in a tree. With Pricilla's telescope, we could see the three toes. One of my fellow travelers wondered how Sammy saw the critter, noting that drivers don't often see what's to the side of the road and up a tree. And it's not like Sammy is swerving all over the road not paying attention. Sammy is such a good driver, I bet he could be a highly-paid chauffeur in New York. I've been on a lot of buses all over the world. We didn't feel speed bumps in Sammy's bus.

My guess is Sammy passes this way every week or two. The Sloth was spotted on an earlier trip, and they don't move around much. So when we got to this piece of the road, he looked to the left and saw it, right where it was supposed to be.

Our last stop was a restaurant where the proprietor puts food out to attract Iguanas. Tourists stop to see Iguanas. Tourists then buy ice cream and such. Great business move. It worked. I got some good shots and ice cream.

The evening was spent in the pool. This night's dinner was not included in the price of the trip. We ordered food at the pool bar, and stayed until after dark.

Happy Birthday, Sue.