A MESSY MUD BATH

After an hour and a half hike through a Costa Rican dry forest we arrived at the mud baths and steam vents. During the hike we were surprised to see palm trees, and it was explained to us that during the dry season palm trees grow when the bigger trees in the forest lose their leaves giving the palm and smaller plants more light.

We entered a steam room built over a natural steam vent. The steam escaped through the spaces between the floor boards making it mighty hot inside. However, our guide entertained us by telling us  stories. When I thought I couldn’t stand the heat any longer we left the steam room and gathered around huge  pots filled with gooey warm mud. Young fellows covered us from head to toe with the warm mud. As we air dried you could feel your skin pulling tight. Standing spread eagled, I’m sure we were a hilarious sight.

Surprisingly, it was quite difficult to wash  the mud off under the showers. It had dried so well it wanted to stick! We helped each other especially on the backs.

Once again clean , we climbed into one of three small thermal pools. We discussed and laughed about this unusual experience not only while soaking in the tubs but for days afterward.

A RARE ZOO SIGHTING

Because Jan is a zoo docent at the L A zoo, we have visited many zoos on our travels, so it wasn’t a surprise to find ourselves on a city bus headed for the Edinburgh zoo. We no more than walked through the gate when the daily penguin parade started. It was amazing to see the penguins out of their enclosure and parading and strutting around a paved course.

Afterward, scanning the zoo flyer and map, Jan spotted a Painted Hunting Dog exhibit and said, “I’ve never seen such an animal, let’s see if we can find it.”

We were heading for the new exhibit, but somehow the map was not quite getting us to our destination. We approached a man with some papers and a torch (flashlight) in his hand, who we thought was a zoo employee. We asked his help in finding our desired exhibit. He was most helpful as he sprinted up and down paths trying to find the dogs.

After asking how long he’d worked at the zoo, he said, “I’m the zoo’s insurance person, and this happens to be the day to inspect the zoo.”

As we followed him around, he seemed as excited about the painted hunting dogs as we were when we finally found them! He didn’t seem to mind that we had interrupted his work day.
We thanked him for his time and kindness as he went back to work.

All five dogs were lean and good size. Their multi-colored coats reminded me of camouflage. Endangered they are almost extinct. Their huge ears stood up antenna straight. Obviously, their sense of hearing is excellent. The dogs were not very active but were not sleeping either. It was neat to see them.