Cappuccino and Monkeys

This guy was part of a troop of Capuchin monkeys swinging down the mountain toward the beach. They used my roof and the trees around my house as part of their afternoon path. Apparently, this guy needed a little cappuccino pick me up. The long trip down the mountain had him yawning.

I do love how the monkeys come nearly every day. Since I have been here I have seen three different types including these guys, the tiny titi monkeys, and beefy looking howler monkeys. It's one of those things where every time they appear in the trees, I run for my camera. I suppose one day I might get used to wild, rainforest animals. I guess it is inevitable that I will not have my heart jump when I see a two toed sloth carrying a baby, or a 5 foot long iguana racing across the lawn (one did today). But until that day, I am certain I will continue to run for my camera, unable to imagine that that day could ever come.

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Trees in the Middle of the Road

Trees in the road. I mean right in the middle of the road. Really big trees. Its one of the most peculiar things I have seen here along Mexico's Riviera Maya coast. At first I thought it was just a particular type of tree. The people here revere the ceiba. Its rumored to be the home of a goddess. Don't knock on the trunk or she will come out and steal young men's souls. Well that seems like a very good reason never to cut down a ceiba tree. But I think the real answer is much simpler than that. The people here respect the age and beauty of great things. Old people, old cities, and of course, old trees. I asked a local, "Why do they build roads right around trees?" And he looked at me as if the answer was obvious, "Why would you ever cut down an old tree when you can preserve it?" Simple enough for me. I love trees.

Dancing with the Masai

I think I walked into a National Geographic magazine. You know, like when you open a book and the pictures come so alive that you get sucked into a different world. This Masai woman lived in a tiny village complete with dung and ash huts and flocks of goats protected from lions by an extremely tall fence made from young acacia trees. She was a little suspicious of me until I joined in the dance, bouncing and clacking the beaded rings she gave me to wear around my neck. Oh joy, great joy! Dancing with the Masai on the African plain!

Why I Am Here: The Beauty in the Poor Places

I don't write about myself very often, but this time I just want to share a little bit. I want to tell you why I am here. I have been in Central America for five years now. I came on vacation and never went home. Something happened to me that is hard to explain. I walked streets I wasn't sure were safe. I went places I wasn't sure I would come back from. I got really far out of my comfort zone. And in the most unlikely places, I found life. Now I understand why Jesus ate with the prostitutes and drunkards. Why he went to the lost and the broken. They are actually cool people! You cannot imagine how amazing it was to hear their stories, to feel their pain and share their joy, to meet their families and get to know their names. I wish I could explain to you the beauty I see. I wish I could take the feeling that swells inside me and put it in your heart. I am without words, and so I try to convey in pictures the depth I see in their eyes the joy in the e...

Where Wonder Meets Wander

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