Showing posts with label Jess. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jess. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

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.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Birders are in Puerto Aventuras!

Ian, Jess, Luke and Keenan came 'home' on Thursday, a bit dirty, road weary, hungry and very happy! It was a very successful trip, many birds were found, enjoyed and photographed, they had exciting adventures and were still friends :-)  Memories were made and we enjoyed hearing all the great stories of their adventures. Someday they may post photos and stories on their blogs, links on the right column of this blog, but so far their lovely photos can be found on Facebook or Flickr. They saw some awesome birds!!
Ian finished his scuba certification he had to postpone from his tonsillitis, and today they are on the Island of Cozumel, looking for a few last birds. Departure back to New England, and college is tomorrow, Sunday, for Ian, Luke and Jess. Keenan left yesterday. I'm going to miss their laughter, enthusiasm and energy.

 First thing after they arrived was a swim in the ocean.


Nice spot to hang out.

 Joe's amazing guacamole, 8 avos gone in a flash. Makings for Pina Colada were good, too!

 Yummmm!!

Then out for some pizza.

 More home made food, fun feeding such enthusiastic eaters! Thank goodness they are very tolerant of me constantly taking photos...

 Swim at dark, I enjoyed the challenge of trying to capture it in low light, without a tripod. Luke jumping in.

 Jess jumping out of the water near Ian.

 Jess.


 One can bird anywhere, anytime.


Condo birding :-)