Birders Were Here...

One last blog of Ian here in Puerto Aventuras, with Luke and Jess... They went shopping for trinkets for people back home, watched the dolphins swim with the tourists, ate pizza, went snorkeling, ate guacamole, laughed a lot and now they are back in the States.  Ian's second semester junior year classes at UMass started today, Cornell's spring semester started for Luke yesterday and Jess's job is still going strong (they keep upping the date for closing her facility). 

Ian has posted some of his gorgeous bird photos from Mexico on his flickr site here.

Also a blog of his trip is here.

Luke composed a very funny list of their 18 day adventure in Mexico...

"I am currently sitting in the Cancun airport, having fallen madly in love with yet another Latin American country. I'm not so sure about returning to the cold and snow of Ithaca, New York. Here are some stats from the three-week road trip:

Total kilometers driven: 4,893 (2,935.2 miles)

Total Species of Birds: 467

Total Money Spent: <$1000

Total number of topes we went over: >40,000,000,000 

Total number of topes we bottomed out on: remarkably few (nicely done Jess)... Jess did all the driving.

Number of times our engine failed while on a small boat: 1

Number of times the car brakes failed on a steep winding mountain road: 1

Number of times it actually rained: 1

Number of military checkpoints we went through: ~75

Number of military checkpoints where they actually searched us: 2

Number of migraines: 0 (!!!)

Number of instances of food poisoning: 1 (x4 people)

Number of dead baby dolls in the middle of a random dirt road: 1

Number of penises I accidentally saw on a nude beach: ~30

Number of times "Thrift Shop" was played in the car: ~75

Number of times "I Knew You Were Trouble" was played in the car: ~100

Number of times I changed my mind about whether Rosita's or Orange-breasted Bunting is better: ~70

Number of times I shat in the woods: 0

Number of times I shat in a bathroom that was far worse than the woods could ever be: several

Number of times a herd of cows completely blocked the road: 1

Number of times I called a bird a "little slut" for not cooperating for photos: ~550

It has been fun. In the wise words of Bruce Springsteen: we'll be see in' ya!"

Amigos going snorkeling, they find and swim with a sea turtle!!

Jess.

 A waterproof camera shot.

Ian. 

One of my last shots with my new supposedly waterproof Olympus Tough TG-320 before it stopped working. No fix in sight, Olympus said to send it in, which is not possible from here in Mexico. I was really enjoying playing with it too :-(

Going out before we get pizza, nice bar at the Omni Hotel on the water. Closed on Saturday night, but we hang out anyway...

 Luke.

 Enjoying shopping for gifts...

Finding just the right scarf.