Greetings From San Salvador

Greetings All,
We are in San Salvador, the capital of the tiny Central American country of El Salvador. We are half way through our two week trip exploring the highlights of El Salvador. We started at a coffee plantation in the northwest and did a bit of mountain biking and hiking. Coffee is the number one export here and the high elevation variety is just starting to ripen. Our first major hike was a climb up El Salvador's newest volcano, Izalco at 6404 feet. We hiked around the rim encountering many steaming thermal vents.

Our second climb was up Santa Anna, the highest volcano in El Salvador. Along the way were giant Agave plants with flower stalks 12 feet tall.

We had great views of the perfect cone of Izalco.

As we approached the rim at 7812 feet, the wind gusted at us from the North. We were hesitant to get too close to the rim for fear of being blow in. At the bottom of the crater was a beautiful turquoise lake.

Our next objective was El Pital, the highest point in El Salvador at 8957 feet. The summit straddles the border between Honduras and El Salvador so you could be in two countries at the same time.

The next volcano to conquer was El Boqueron. This peak was not much of a challenge as you can drive almost to the top. Boqueron has a very large crater. It is 1640 feet deep and almost a mile in diameter. There is a smaller crater in the bottom.

This volcano last erupted in 1917. It is a sleeping giant looming over the 2 million inhabitants of San Salvador. We hiked around some of the lava flows from the 1917 eruption.

 
Today we took a break from volcano bagging and toured the city of San Salvador. We visited the national cathedral, theater and palace. Many of the old building here have been damaged by earthquakes over the years. An earthquake in 1986 was particularly devastating. Tomorrow we're off to hike another volcano.
We hope all is well back home.
Peggy and Marc

Do Polar Bears Fly?

Greetings All,
We are home (at least for one night) from our Polar Bear Adventure. We were able to squeeze in a tour around Churchill yesterday morning before flying back to Winnipeg. We spotted one more new animal, a Cross Fox, trotting along the shore of Hudson Bay searching for a morsel to eat.

A Cross Fox is a color variant of the more common Red Fox. Our guide got really excited when our bus driver found some wolverine tracks.

A wolverine is a large weasel and is very elusive. They are almost never seen in the wild. Seeing their tracks was a rare treat.

Some have asked "how big is a Polar Bear?". Against a Polar Rover they look quite small but compared to us they are immense. There was a stuffed one in the hotel lobby. I stood next to it so you can get a feel how tall these bears are when they stand up on their hind legs.

I'm not sure if Marc is trying to save me or push me into the bear's jaws.

We had one more surprise in store for us before leaving Churchill.  A Polar Bear was going to be released from the Polar Bear Jail.  Nuisance bears that hang around Churchill are sent to the Polar Bear Jail.  In the past they would be shot. They stay in the jail until the Hudson Bay freezes or until they can get an airlift north. So, yes Polar bears do fly with a little help. A drugged bear was wheeled out of the jail and put on a large net.

He was then air lifted by a helicopter and brought 50 miles north to be released.

This was only the second bear to be air lifted this season and we were lucky to see it. The whole town or at least all the tourists turned out for the event.

We feel so privileged to have seen Polar Bears in the wild. With global warming, their fate is unknown. Tourism has given the bear status in the town of Churchill and it was reassuring to see them protected. The dumps have been closed, people no longer feed the bears and take extraordinary measures to deal with nuisance bears. We hope others will get to visit the Great White Bears of Churchill for generations to come.
Peggy and Marc

Close Encounters of the Polar Bear Kind‏

Greetings All,
Our visit to Churchill to see the Polar bears is coming to an end. We've had some wonderfully close yet safe encounters with polar bears. It's great being in the warm and elevated Polar Rover observing wild polar bears just feet away.

Yesterday, we saw a mother with two yearling cubs cross the road.

Cubs are becoming a rare site in Churchill. I'm not sure if it's because of global warming or if the females are avoiding the Bay because of all the males around. Male polar bears will kill cubs given the chance.

Today we were surrounded by polar bears. There were three groups of males sparring or play fighting.

I'm amazed that they have the energy to play given that they haven't eaten in months. Another bear was taking out his aggressions on a sign.

When we got close enough to read the sign, we could see why he was so upset.

He wanted to get fed! When not sparring, the males would rest or come check us out. The would jump up against the Tundra Buggy and at twelve feet tall nearly reach the windows.

One curious guy came under the back observation deck sniffing at our boots through the metal grate. They have gentle, almost pleading eyes but beneath that docile exterior is one of the world's most ferocious predators.

We've seen a few other creatures while looking for polar bears. Yesterday we spotted a red fox trotting across the tundra. They appear larger than our foxes and this one had a dark tail.

Today we saw two Snowy Owls. The first was far away and looked like a white blob on the tundra. The second flew up as we approached and landed in the top of a white spruce not far away.

There were reports of Snowy Owls in Vermont last winter. If they come to vermont again this winter, I'll be sure to check them out. They are one of the largest owls in the world.

As we were driving back to Churchill this evening we came across a polar bear attacking a snowmobile.

He chewed on the seat, pushed against the machine and at one point tried to climb on it. We were amused but I'm sure the owner won't be too happy when he discovers his damaged snowmobile.  A woman in a few buses closer to the action was able to take a video.  She posted it on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niT6Wg8Q08c

Tomorrow we head back to Winnipeg for the night before flying back to Montreal then driving home on Wednesday.

Marc and Peggy

Face to Face with a Wild Polar Bear‏

Greetings All,
We were picked up at 7:25 AM and we drove in darkness to the Polar Rover docking station. We drove right up to the Rover and entered through the back. They are old school buses on 5 foot monster tires. Everyone sat in the back so Marc and I grabbed the front seats with plenty of leg room and a great view out the front windshield.

We traveled on established routes and did not follow the other rovers but headed out on our own. Brad our guide spotted the first bears curled up on some rocks. One got up and moved around to the other bear

but for the most part they chose to sleep and not approach our vehicle. We saw a couple of other bears in the distance. One bear headed for us but the bear cam vehicle pulled up and she chose to visit that vehicle. One guy leaned out the window and lost his hat. The bear snatched it up and chewed on it before tossing it into the air.

Two more Tundra Buggies pulled up and the bear went to visit them. The other Tundra Buggies didn't stick around long. Finally, the curious bear visited us. She walked under the back observation deck and peered up thought the grated floor. This is about how close you'd want to get to a wild polar bear! She entertained us by rolling in the snow

and pouncing on make believe seals and pulling out grass instead. We finally left her and went to have lunch by the Tundra Lodge.

We pulled up past the lodge next to some willows to have lunch. There were two males play fighting and two more lying around.

They were inactive while we ate lunch but their curiosity got the better of them and they approached the rover. One jumped up against the rover and I could have touched him if I had a death wish.

He went under the observation deck and peered through the floor with his beady eyes.

At one time there were 6 bears around us, play fighting and posturing with one another. Churchill is one of the few places in the world polar bears congregate. They are waiting for Hudson Bay to freeze so they can go out on the ice to hunt seals. They haven't eaten for months so are eagerly waiting for freeze up. We were seeing so much bear activity that the day flew by. It was already time to return to the Polar Rover docking station. We saw some snow buntings on the way. We drove back to Churchill to watch the sun set.

Time for bed. We hope for another exciting day but, today will be hard to beat!

We hope all is well back home.

Peggy and Marc

Greetings from Churchill, Polar Bear Capital of the World‏

Hi All,
We made it to Churchill, Manitoba today after a two hour flight from Winnipeg. We stepped off the plane into a balmy 9 degrees Fahrenheit.

Churchill is on the shore of Hudson Bay and is Canada's only Arctic Seaport. We took a quick tour around town and were surprised to find White Spruce growing here. At 58 degrees North we are near tree line.

We were hoping to see Polar Bears as they have recently been spotted around town but the only animals were saw were sled dogs.

The Bay is beginning to freeze and the last ship is getting ready to leave the port.

Grain is shipped from here to the US. Time to get some sleep. We're off to the tundra tomorrow in search of polar bears.

We hope all is well back home.

Peggy and Marc

Urban Wildlife: September 28, 2012

We are in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida visiting my brother Jim.  You wouldn't expect much wildlife in Southern Florida, but we have spent the last three days exploring the natural areas around Jim's home.  On our first evening we took a walk to Frenchman's Forest Natural Area.  A cement walkway leads trough Oak, Palm and Pine forest.  One bush had brilliant purple berries which we later found out is called American Beauty Bush.

 

We walked out to a boardwalk through a Cypress Swamp but had to make a hasty retreat back to the parking area as the mosquitoes descended upon us.  Back at the parking area we saw a Black Racer snake slither off into the undergrowth.

 

The next day we drove up to Jonathan Dickinson State Park about 30 minutes north.  We had our choice of activities, kayaking, canoeing, hiking or biking.  We chose to kayak down the Loxahatchee River.  We were hoping to see Alligators but we didn't get far.  We heard thunder in the distance and decided to return to the River Store.  We drove to the parking area for the Observation tower.  Along the way was a gopher Tortoise grazing along the road.  We stopped to take a photo.

 

 

A park employee stopped and asked if we were seeing anything good.  I replied "a Gopher Tortoise".  He commented that "they are all over the place".  I said "what do you mean, they are an endangered species and we certainly don't see them in Vermont!"  We climbed to the top of an observation tower on Hobe Mountain.  At 86 feet, Hobe Mountain is the highest point south of Lake Okeechobee!  We had a nice view of the surrounding sand pine scrub.

 

Today we stayed closer to Jim's home and visited John D. MacArthur Beach State Park.  As we approached the Visitor's Center we came upon a White Ibis family probing in the leaf litter. 

 

 

Again we chose to kayak.  This time instead of a river we were kayaking in a brackish estuary.  We couldn't venture too far as the tide was going out and we didn't want to get stranded.  We saw many birds including an Osprey perched in the mangroves.

 

 

We got too close to a Little Blue Heron and he flew off squawking loudly, not before I snapped this photo of him.

 

 

There were many herons hiding in the Red Mangroves.  Many flew off before I could photograph them.  This immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron was an exception.  He allowed us to get quite close and take a photo.   No doubt we disturbed his daytime slumber as these birds are nocturnal.

 

 

We're getting this kayak thing down.  We don't zigzag nearly as much and manage to avoid most obstacles.  Although, we did bang into a cement piling of the pedestrian bridge.  Fortunately, we sustained a small scratch (on the boat) only.  Marc is looking like a real kayaking pro.

 



I was able to get a few more photos of birds.  The first is a Brown Pelican in the mangroves and the second is another White Ibis.

 

 

We did see other birds such as Tricolor Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Roseate Spoonbill and Anhinga that I was not able to photograph.  As the tide was going out we kept on getting stranded on sandy shoals in the lagoon. We headed back to the Visitor's center to return our kayak.  On the porch were many Golden Silk Spiders in their nests.

 

 

Although harmless, they look quite frightening.  Nature never ceases to amaze me.  In a place as crowded and developed as South Florida, animals and birds manage to thrive given a little protected space.   

 



September 20, 2012: Our 26th Wedding Anniversay

I surprised Marc with a stay at Elk Lake Lodge in the Adirondacks for our 26th wedding anniversary.  We drove over on Thursday arriving at noon.  We checked into Big Tom cabin with a view of Elk Lake from our front porch.

 Elk Lake Lodge is on the shore of Elk Lake, nestled in the heart of the Adirondacks.  We hiked up Sunrise Mountain with a view of the surrounding 12,000 acre Elk Lake-Clear Pond Preserve. Elk Lake is dotted with many tiny islands and surrounded by the Adirondack high peaks.  As far as the eye can see there are no roads, houses or any sign of humans.  You get the feeling of complete isolation, a rarity in the crowed northeast.

We returned to the Lodge for a quick shower and dinner with a beautiful view of Elk Lake.  Back in our cozy cabin we enjoyed a roaring fire and a glass of wine.

The next morning we decided to go canoeing on Elk Lake.  It took us a while to get the hang of it as we zigzagged across the Lake.

We did see Common Loons, their haunting cries could be heard across the Lake.  One male allowed us to get within 20 feet before diving under water and resurfacing a distance away.

As we paddled along, we heard a splash.  At first we thought an otter had dove into the Lake but, a beaver emerged slapping his tail in the water to warn us off.  I tried to take a photo of him but he would not cooperate.  This is the best I could do.

There were other birds on the Lake, Belted Kingfishers, Great Blue Heron and a flock of 5 female Common Mergansers.  They were on a rock but hopped into the water as we approached.  I snapped a quick photo as they swam away.

We stopped at Wagon Wheel landing and decided to hike 2.6 miles to Fairy Ladder Falls.  The trail was wet in spots due to the recent rain.  We could see moose tracks along the trail, the first we've ever seen in the Adirondacks.  Moose are making a comeback in the region after being wiped out in the mid-1800's.  We hiked through a mixed forest of soft and hard woods.  The forest floor was covered with moss, ferns and mushrooms.  We crossed a few log bridges then entered Upper Camp Clearing, an old logging camp.  We reached West Brook and got to within 0.2 mile of the Falls but could go no further.  The recent rains had washed away the trail and the Brook was too deep to continue up.  We turned back and had lunch at the Landing.   

We paddled back across the Lake encountering two more male Loons.  Back at the Lodge we enjoyed a cup of coffee in the rustic lounge before heading home.