A Year In New Zealand

I started a new blog called Forever Gypsies with my friend Sarah Alexander. Her and I have started our year in New Zealand. Check periodically for updates, we will be including fun weekly facts, words, and sometimes videos!

Forever Gypsies <------click here="" p="">

A Voice For the Voiceless

It's a small piece of land, ground barren with scattered debris of sticks, divided by a wooden bamboo and wired fence. On one side lies a Capuchin monkey, tied by the neck to a chain that extends to a nearby Tamarind tree. On the fence is another Capuchin nibbling on its toes and fingers. A familiar whinnie makes its way to my ears. From my time spent observing troops of spider monkeys in the wild, I knew there was one amongst me. I saw this Long Limbed Beauty gracefully climb the chain to a Tamarind branch then back down to a post in the middle of the fence.

Maika Calpull, Matagalpa

Matagalpa from the top of Cerro Apante

Matagalpa is thus far one of my favorite cities visited in Nicaragua. It has a rich history, rolling hills lined with brightly colored homes, beautiful churches, amazing coffee and easy access to Cerro Apante. Matagalpa means Pueblo Grande (Big Town) that comes from the Matagalpa Indigenous Language, Maika=Head, Calpull=Town. The Matagalpa natives were the first here and still have a presence, more notably with their beautifully hand made "Ceramica Negra."

In the 1840's a German couple rather unintentionally settled in the area. The story goes that they were on their way north by carriage to California for the gold rush but heard from a couple from there that it wasn't a safe place for children (they had a two year old). Not wanting to go home empty handed they asked if there was any gold to be found in Nicaragua. Sure enough they were pointed to Matagalpa where they bought land and began looking for gold. They planted a coffee tree on their land and were surprised to see it thriving three years later. Not striking it rich in gold they began cultivating coffee.

Comida de Nicaragua

Que Rico!

It is a good thing I love Gallo Pinto (beans and rice) because it is the staple of my diet here for every dinner meal. In the picture above are one of my favorites, Tostones, which is a sliced and fried green platano thus squashed and served. It is especially delicious topped with a salty fried cube of cheese. Some of you may be cringing or salivating at the thought of these fried treats. I usually do both at the same time and convince myself it's okay to eat because I eat a bowl of fruit in the morning. :-)

Panama School, Nicaragua

Tati dibujado-Tatiana drawing

Every morning for the last two weeks I took the cramped micro bus to a place called Tempisque, then walked fifteen minutes along the dirt road to the Panama School. This is the poorest area of La Concha, Nicaragua. Fumes from the nearby Masaya Volcano blow its ashes onto this area. As a result it prevents campesinos-famers from growing a variety of crops. I would pass by fincas-farms which can only grow mainly pineapple and pitaya. Another problem is contamination in their drinking water. The volcanoes ashes degrade the metal of their roofs where they collect drinking water when it rains.

I've heard there are almost seven hundred children in this area but less than two hundred attend school. This is because another way of collecting water is by getting it from the river. The children are put to work and spend hours hauling the water supplies. One day I saw a family pass me on the road. Imagine a wooden cart with two wheels in the back, and in the front where there would usually be a horse or cow, is a small child. The young girl must have been around ten years old while her mother, grandmother and sibling walked along side.    

First Week in Nicaragua

One of the many rescued cats that live at La Mariposa

Dreads, A Lifestyle

About six months ago there were days my poofy dreads were insanely out of control and I'd think,"aahhh! Why did I do this to my hair!?" Luckily, those freak outs weren't often and I could care less how funny I looked. 

Bad Hair day? About two months in this photo. Photo Credit: Erica F.

Skagway, Alaska

A native once told me that when she was a little girl she would sing up to the brisk winter night sky to conjure the aurora and make it dance. 

As I reflect back at this moment, I was sitting in the taxi on my way to the Juneau ferry terminal. The native Alaskan driver happily shared stories while the rain hit the windshield. I hoped it wouldn’t rain as much in Skagway.

Juneau, Alaska

I glanced into the store window to see these cute scrabble words put together. Other windows held alaskan trinkets, you could find anything you wanted labeled with a cute bear, wild flower, fish, or moose. Outside most of the stores are life sized bears that tourists can cuddle and snap a photo with. 

Central America

This was my home in the jungle of Panama from January to April.

El Diablo Rojo, The Red Devil Bus Transportation in Panama City

Estoy en Panama! The trip here was fun, had a layover in Atlanta, Georgia yesterday and one of my best girlfriends Sarah picked me up. We went to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast then spent hours at the Bodies Exhibit. I hopped on the plane that evening and four hours later landed in Panama City. I was greeted by the smiling faces of interns who had also just arrived and Johnny the chef who picked us up. As we drove into the city a cop car had its array of flashing lights on the entire time while it was driving along. Well, you don't see that often in the USA.

Lichens in High Places

What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?

-William Henry Davies

      Often referred to as “nature’s pioneers,” lichens can be found all over the world in places you might have never thought of. While trekking in the mountains have you ever noticed colorful organisms clinging to the rocks? Or while walking through the forest, the branches and twigs scattered throughout the forest floor, covered in green to brown organisms? Most likely, these are lichens. Lichens are a symbiotic association between a fungus and an algae or cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). They play an important role in not only creating beauty in an otherwise dull and lifeless area, they enable other organisms to grow, are a food source, used for nesting material, and can be used to learn about the health of the environment they are in.

The Wonderland Trail

-->

 The Wonderland Trail circumnavigates Mt. Rainier in 93 miles through pristine old growth forests and wind swept alpine areas. This endeavor was another challenge I wanted to fulfill after successfully summiting Mt. Rainier four times, living and working at Sunrise and Paradise and covering miles and miles on the Wonderland Trail. I had only six days to do the trip because I started school in a week. I couldn't find any itinerary for a six day trip so I put the numbers together between camps and tried to realistically consider whether it was possible (as you will discover, I pushed the limit). The Wonderland Trail is most often done clockwise but I did it counter clockwise so I could meet my grandmother at Longmire by a certain day and time. September is a wonderful time on the mountain because there are less people and while the flowers have wilted and died in the lower elevations, all of the flowers are in full bloom up on Mt. Rainier.

Lichens In High Places

A few weeks ago I woke up early and spent three hours typing about my adventures on the Wonderland Trail. I was feeling great, coffee in hand, brain swimming with ideas, and my fingers flying across the keyboard. What happened next, I'm sure you can imagine the pain that swept across me. The computer froze just as I was about to post it. I waited and waited for a miracle, for my page to reappear. Instead I had to re-boot, losing everything I had just written.

The Wonderland Trail

I've been pretty lazy all summer, and now that I have one week left before school, I am bound for an adventure that has been on my mind for a few years now. The Wonderland Trail. It circumnavigates the 14, 410 foot icon of Washington State, Mt. Rainier. With a total of 93 miles, this trail weaves up and down through rugged glacial deposit terrain, ancient fog soaked forests, and the key to every outdoor enthusiasts heart. I've worked two summers on the mountain, first at Sunrise and secondly at Paradise. I have explored several portions of the trail and even summited the mountain four times. I've never had enough time to backpack this trail until now. Whereas the majority of people backpack it in ten to twelve days, I will be backpacking it in six. That means, on average, I will be hiking fifteen miles a day. Also, since I've hiked a lot of this trail, I don't want to take it leisurely. My grandma Jean will be meeting me at the Longmire Lodge half way through. She will be bringing me my food supplies for the rest of the trip.

Johnson's Hairstreak

Consider yourself lucky if you see this butterfly. Endemic to the Pacific Northwest, Johnson's Hairstreak spends most of its life in the canopy of old-growth forests, specifically in pines where the mistletoe parasite also makes its home. Johnson's Hairstreak lays its eggs in the mistletoe where the the larvae then eat the new shoots. Once they are strong enough to venture off, they look for mates and collect their nectar from a variety of plants. Unfortunately their numbers are thought to be declining due to the logging of old-growth forests, development, and other factors.

As I bask in the new rays of the June sunshine I know that these butterflies are also taking in the sun, fluttering their way through the tree tops of whats left of our old-growth forests. And wherever you find your "wings" taking you, I know it is someplace magnificent. May I suggest stopping awhile and watching the life going on around you. Each with their purpose in life, living and dying, unselfishly making room for another life to begin.

And just as the sun begins and ends, on this day my independent contract ends and my summer begins. With my newly gained tree climbing skills I plan to venture into many tree tops. I plan to also partake in some smaller tasks in life I've been meaning to incorporate. Tasks such as knitting, or charcoal drawing, reading a good book, jump roping, backpacking, and making jewelry. Will keep ya posted!

Little Water Bear vs. Dancing Gummy Bear

Close up of a Water Bear

"Strange is this little animal, because of its exceptional and strange morphology and because it closely resembles a bear en miniature. That is the reason why I decided to call it little water bear."

J.A.E. Goeze (Pastor at St. Blasii, Quedlinburg, Germany), 1773

Photo by Eny Yusnizar

"The original dancing bear was taller and thinner than the chubby little bear of today, but became immediately popular among the children of Bonn."

Paul a. Schons, The Millionaire and His Candy 2003

Tree Spirits

As he dangled in the air, a small breeze gently rocked his tree boat against the oak limb beneath him. It too dangled from his saddle as he stared at the rope system in front of him and the webbing used to attach one end of the tree boat to the sturdy oak trunk. I rested and watched as fellow student Hallow put the knowledge we learned into use. Here we were in Oregon City, Oregon to learn advance tree climbing skills with Tim Kovar, New Tribe.

The tree climbing was done on a beautiful farm with green grassy hills and groves of Oak, Cedar, and Douglas-fir trees. Hallow drove down from Canada and I from the Seattle area. The first day I arrived we set up our tree boats and hung out in them. Later on that night we climbed up into our tree boats again and looked up at the bright stars as the frogs below talked amongst themselves. The tree climbs spread out in front of me like thick veins. They pulsed with energy and life all awhile being still and content with the passing moons.

Hanging out with the Licorice Ferns

This weekend a few friends and I went to a trail called Mt. Si in the Cascade mountains. We went about one mile up the trail then went off trail to find a tree to climb. The main canopy is made up of tall Douglas-fir trees with branches that start at least 90 feet in the sky. A more appropriate tree for climbing was a Big Leaf Maple. Once I found a good tree I set the rope up and the required knots for DRT. After giving a demonstration and setting each person up, they got to wiggle their way up to where the Licorice Ferns were dangling off the branches. I'm going to "go out on a limb here" and assume they had a pretty good time.


Tomorrow I will be driving down to Portland to learn more about tree climbing with Tim Kovar through Tree Climbing Northwest. http://www.newtribe.com/tcnt.htm
I will be there for four days and look forward to spending more time in the trees!

  

Marbled Murrelet

       Picture this, a monogamous pair of Marbled Murrelet’s just spent several years out at sea and on this special day they traveled over 70 kilometers of ocean and land to the temperate forests of Washington State. Flying into an old-growth forest that has been there for centuries, is now completely gone. They glance over at the secondary forest nearby but this habitat doesn’t work. The young branches of the Douglas fir tree are not broad or tall enough to hold a variety of epiphytes that could protect their single egg from predators. The couple flies onward, in search of a suitable home to raise their chick. This scenario has potentially happened to several Marbled Murrelet’s. Logging and development are the major causes of this unique species numbers to drop, placing it in the endangered category.

Marbled Murrelet's, Brachyramphus marmoratus, spend most of their lives out at sea but when it's time to nest, the pair heads into the woods in search of that perfect place to lay a single egg.They are small birds, roughly the size of a robin and a challenge to research in the large trees of old-growth forests therefore most research takes place at the ocean. For a sound recording and/or video of this bird visit Cornell's wonderful Lab of Ornithology website at http://macaulaylibrary.org/index.do.


Photo courtesy of: San Fransisco State University