In November 2004, I traveled to Costa Rica for a wonderful Fire, Water and Jungle Adventure. The first stop was the Osa Peninsula, located on the Pacific's southwest coast. Five days of diving the waters of Cano Island, was a great introduction to the warm side of the Pacific. This Island area is home to various schools of fish, including white tip reef sharks, barracuda, amberjack, and many tropical species. One of the highlights was seeing a marlin swim by while we made our 15 foot decompression stop. There was so much to see, especially all the "little stuff", colorful invertebrates and smaller marine life.

To top off the wonderful diving, there was also an opportunity to see the Rainforest at night, with all the truly unique spiders, snakes, frogs, and lizards. Next was a hike thru the Corcovado National Park which offered a quiet look at the various birds, monkeys, plants, mushrooms and even bats. At the end of the hike, we were even chased by a couple of peccaries. The end of our trip brought us to the Arenal Volcano area, where we saw the red-hot lava flow down the side of the mountain one night while we were at the pool. What a treat that was. A trip down the Piedras Blancas River where we saw sloths, kingfishers, and the strawberry poison dart frog, made this a most unforgettable trip. It is impossible to see everything in just 11 days, so, a trip back to this wonderful country is certainly in the cards.

In January 2005, I made my yearly trip to Florida to see the Manatees.  It has been especially nice, for the past few years, to share this wonderful experience with some of my "Friends".   They (almost) get as excited as I do.

As a side trip this year,   (actually, I’ve made this trip for the past 15 years or so),  we made a trip to Gainesville, to visit my friends who work with Manatees.   From there we went to the Butterfly ouse at the University.   What an incredible experience.  Lots of butterflies and a very beautiful setting to observe them.  While we were in Gainesville, we were given a special tour of the  Lubee Bat Center.   We were able to see many types of Fruit Bats, and learned quite a bit about them too.  That was great!

Then on to Crystal River to see the Manatees.   There were lots of animals this year.  They just floated by, hovering in the nice warm clear water.  I have been doing this trip since 1985, and I look forward to it every time.  I was able to get a lot of photographs, and I even identified animals (unfortunately by scar patterns), that I have seen in past years.  As usual, I can't wait until January 2006.

Another great trip to see the manatees and friends.   We started out in Gainesville, to visit with our friends and got a personal tour (after breakfast of course) of the fabulous new manatee research lab.  What a wonderful new facility.   We took lots of pictures and thoroughly enjoyed our visit.   Then it was off to Crystal River to see the manatees. And, as usual, we were not disappointed. We had a “new” manatee enthusiast join us this year and it turned out to be just as exciting for her.  

We had many encounters with some very friendly animals, and even saw some animals that have been around for quite some time.   We saw a “tagged” animal (one with a satellite tag to keep track of it’s movements) and met two new operators in the area who are very 'manatee conscientious' and were super nice people.

We saw the usual birds - osprey, herons, pelicans - but the highlight had to be the sighting of a manatee named [unfortunately due to a tail injury] “Dugong” , who I first photographed in 1995.   What a great way to end a trip, knowing that this animal is still around and doing (hopefully) well. As always, can’t wait for next year’s trip.