IINTERESTING RIDES

                                                 A Camel Ride

In the Australian outback the camel handler gave us some advice on what it would feel like when the camel got up and down. We decided to ride together in the double saddle.

A camel gets up on his hind legs first, which tends to propel one a bit forward, then up goes his front legs. There wasn’t too much of a jolt as the camel got up, but going down Jan let out a whoop! When lying down   the camel puts his front legs down first! Then the hind legs go down with a plop. We both were propelled forward, but we managed to stay in the saddle.

The ride is different than riding a horse. You don’t bounce like on a horse. I wouldn’t want to ride a camel very far, but it was fun and an interesting experience.

Australia is the largest producer of camels in the world, and exports them all over the globe.

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A Slow Slippery Ride

Due to recent rains in Belize it was questionable whether we would be able to make it to the ancient Mayan ruins Caracol. The rainy season started early that year and the archaeologists left the area two weeks early. The final decision would not be made until  morning. Since this was the main purpose of my staying over in Belize,  I whispered a silent prayer.

            At breakfast we learned the trip was a thumbs up! The road, and I use the term very loosely, through the jungle was like clay and very slippery. We did our share of slipping and sliding but stayed on the ‘road’ as there was nowhere else to go. No gutters to fall into!

            Our young driver told us, “Unlike the US, most of our young people do not drive.” This young man was good and he kept us from getting stuck, although at times we had pause to wonder.

            As we inched along, I tried to visualize what it must have been like to cut a path through the jungle during wartime. The jungle does not stay at bay long and grows back quickly--like overnight!.

            We heard several toucans while riding but never did see one. These beautiful birds were too high up in the tree canopy.     After almost three hours, in which we had traveled 18-20 miles, we sighted a ruin and then we were suddenly in a large clearing—the entrance to Caracol! 

THE GREEN MACAW

     Beautiful Birds

           

The owner of our hotel in Sarapiqui, Costa Rica belonged to a volunteer organization trying to save the green macaw.

She told us, “Because of deforestation and rapid colonization, the habitat of the Great Green Macaw has been reduced from 12,460 hectares to 529 hectares. Five years ago there were only 25 mating pairs, now they have increased to 100 pairs.

           “The Great Green Macaw is still endangered. On the black market one sells for $3000.  That is a great deal of money to someone making $300 a month.”                

The bird mates for life. They live exclusively in the almond tree in the tall canopy of the forest. The almond tree grows 30-50 meters tall. As the leaves fall from the tree, it creates a natural cavity for the bird. The nut is very hard, but the macaw has a very strong beak and can crack the nut.

She continued, “Almond wood is very hard and a desirable building material. People cut the trees on their property to sell the wood. Our organization has started paying property owners an annual sum      to take care of and nurture their almond trees and not  cut them down. It seems to be working.”

            A macaw reproduces at five years of age and has one to three chicks a year. They can live to be 60 years old. Owls and the African bee are the predators of the macaw chicks.

She concluded, “It is recommended that 1000 trees per hectare is ideal. Seven years ago this ten acres was pasture land. We have planted every plant on the grounds. We also planted many almond trees, and it is our hope that someday macaws will be all over this area.”

We saw many green macaws during our visit.  Our Chachagua hotel had a resident green macaw. Her mate had died and she was a cantankerous little bird. Well, she wasn’t very little. She would perch on the dining room rail during meal times. She was cranky enough to make visitors aware to keep their distance. She was lovely to look at though and you couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.