First proper day of the expedition - Trip Day 4

7 am start with cornflakes and powdered milk and mammal transect lines, looking for tracks. Our team leader for this activity was Natalia from Ecuador. She was a genius because she was finding tracks everywhere when I couldn't find a thing. She pointed to indents in the leaves where an animal had trod and the faint footprint underneath, another indent where a red rocket deer had been laying and on our way back we saw a group of about 6 or 7 peccaries. One even came towards us until Natalia shooed it off.

At 11.30 we learnt some jungle skills with John the Australian. It lasted 2 hours with a detailed discussion on how to survive if your plane crashed in the middle of a jungle and some knot tying.

Lunch today was chicken soup with rice and mango juice. Definitely much better than I was expecting. Since it's a conservation trip. we were here to learn as well as help in the projects. We had a lecture about the Calakmul area that we were in. At 3.30 I was in the bird group with Tiffany the Canadian and Enrique the Mexican who knows what any bird is just from hearing its call. Unfortunately we had no birds in the mist net this afternoon. They were probably put off by the thunder going on around us.  We'll have to come back.

I had a shower in daylight today which was much easier than the dark. The shower was in a little cubicle. And dinner was those beans and mashed potato with hibiscus water. I am starting to sense a theme with those beans and also I now know I like to drink flower juice!

Toodles for now.

Top 10 USA places I want to visit

             I created a World Travel Bucket List with the top 11 destinations I want to travel to in my life time. I did choose Hawai'i as my top one but even though it is my favoured destination, it isn't the only place in the United States of America that I want to go to. So without further ado, I am sharing with you my top 10 destinations in the USA alone that I want to visit.

So here goes, my USA Travel Bucket List:

·         Hawaii - Number 1 on my list of course. Hawai'i is by far the place I want to go most in the USA. Beaches, beaches, a little mountain hike and more beaches. Sounds perfect! I keep seeing the image of black sand beaches in Hawai'i which I would love to see but also a little someone known as Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett might have something to do with my love of Hawai'i too.  ;)

·         Route 66 - It is not in just one state, it's in quite a few actually, but it is something in the states I do like the sound of. Maybe not the entire route since it may take some time getting through so just like the Great Wall of China, a small section of it will do fine.

·         Chicago - To most people what I want to see just looks like a chrome baked bean but the iconic Cloud Gate is a must when in Chicago. Maybe a hot dog too, I heard they don't like you putting ketchup on it. Hmm strange.

·         New York City - NYC is one of the places in the world most people have to visit. So far my experience is seeing the Manhattan skyline from inside the JFK airport while waiting for a connecting flight but that isn't close enough. Christmas time is the time I want to go. Visit the Rockefeller Centre with the giant xmas tree and go ice skating in Central Park. Time square with a meal at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. It sounds like a Hallmark Christmas movie to me.

·         Seattle - I am one of the few but growing number of NFL fans in England. I support the Seattle Seahawks and of course I would love to go to an actual Seahawks game at their home field, CenturyLink. But other than the NFL and Seattle I do love a bit of Grey's Anatomy and if you watch it too you'll know that it is set in Seattle. In nearly every episode you see the Space Needle and now of course I just have to go there.

·         Washington D.C. - D.C is probably one of the most iconic places in America with the White House, the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. For me Washington D.C. is a must see.

·         North Dakota - I kind of have a little interest in the US Presidents and so Mount Rushmore has always been one of those things I need to see. I'll get there one day.

·         Orlando - I have been to Orlando twice before in my life and I am probably going to go again next year but I can never get enough. There are so many things to do and see that you have to go more than once, or twice, or 3 times in my case.

·         Wilmington, NC - It's not the biggest, most popular destination to go to but back in my teenage years I was obsessed with a little show called One Tree Hill. You may have heard of it. It was a big part of my life, going through the awkward stage and as a true diehard fan I just need to visit the place where it was created. The place where Leyton's love story grew. Yes Leyton fan here, Brucas people go away. No jokes, don't go! The reason I started watching Chicago PD was because of B. Davis.

·         Niagara Falls - Some may disagree with me and say that Niagara Falls is in Canada but please it is on the border so I am going to class it as half USA so worthy of my list!

My USA list has got mostly the usual places when it comes to what tourists want to see but also a couple different. I hope you like my list. Someday I will get to some, maybe even all of these places. Stick around on this blog page you are currently on and maybe one day, sooner than you may think, I will be visiting some of these incredible places!

Toodles for now.