I was walking slowly along the hiking trail in Mindo, a small mountain resort in Ecuador at 4000 feet above sea level, following the lead of Julia, my veteran bird guide. Suddenly she stopped and pointed somewhere up into the densely forested hillside - “Look up in the fork of the tree, on the left down branch, you’ll see the Masked Titter?” I asked her “the masked what?” Showing me the picture of the bird in her book “Birds of Ecuador”, she replied “It is the Masked Tityra, one of the flycatcher species that resides in Mindo”. With a considerable effort because of a bad neck, I looked up into canopy trying to spot this masked bird. Now, I am familiar with flycatchers from my days as a birdwatcher when I was a Zoology major at UC Berkeley many years ago. I know that many flycatchers love to perch on the edge of a tree branch or on a telephone wire, hopping off from time to time to grab a flying insect which is the staple of their diet. After 5-10 minutes of searching for this bird (trying to follow Julia’s direction), I finally spotted the medium sized flycatcher in my binoculars. He was a whitish and gray bird with a black mask and reddish facial markings along with a black tail and hindwings. I wanted to watch the handsome masked one for a while, but Julia prodded me to continue up the trail so we could see more birds.

During the 4 hour hike, Julia diligently pointed out to me at least 25 different species of birds including four species of Tanagers, a very colorful group of fruit eating birds - the lemon rumped tanager, the blue gray tanager, the gold tanager and the gray headed tanager - all very common “garden variety birds” in the Mindo area (especially the lemon rumped and the blue gray species). There were several species of euphonias, wrens, nuthatches, some very melodious (and noisy) warblers and at least three species of tropical hummingbirds. In addition to the Masked Tityra, we also sighted three other species of flycatchers - the very common Social Flycatcher, the Black crowned Tityra and the Black Phoebe. I sort of stopped in my tracks after seeing the Black Phoebe, a bird that I used to see on a regular basis in Northern California. I didn’t know that this flycatcher species ranged as far as the tropics. At least seeing him made me feel at home. I also heard a bird song that I was vaguely familiar with - that of a Grosbeak. I studied the nesting behavior of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak during my senior year in college; the tropical Grosbeak’s song was very similar.

In addition, with Julia’s diligence and persistence, I was able to see the very exotic looking Squirrel Cuckoo and the very uniquely named Immaculate Antbird. I guess that this antbird gets his name for not leaving a mess after he devours his meal -which consists mostly of ants - or maybe he is excellent at grooming himself. Who knows? We also sighted two species of woodpeckers, including the medium sized Scarlet-backed woodpecker (a male and female pair) that Julia claimed was the only pair that she had seen in the area, to which I retorted there must be some other individuals of this species in the general vicinity. After hearing my comments, she shook her head at me in disdain. We also heard (but did not see) at least two different species of Toucans calling in the bush - the fiery-billed Aracari and the Chestnut-mandibled Toucan. As we were walking up the trail, we passed by many holes that pockmarked the barren hillside on the left side of the road. Julia explained to me, that these holes were the nests the Blue crowned Motmot and most them had been abandoned some time ago. Julia spotted a Blue crowned Motmot high up in the canopy, but I gave up trying to spot it because of my bad neck.

I must admit that unlike most of Julia’s customers, I was not an avid birdwatcher nor was I trying to add new birds to my life list. With my best birdwatching days behind me, I would call myself as somebody who has an interest in the broad spectrum of natural history. Needless, to say, I was very rusty at spotting birds in the wild with a pair of binoculars. Oh well, despite the language problems - Julia’s English wasn’t the greatest and my Spanish was even worse - I would say I truly enjoyed my birdwatching outing. Maybe I should do it more often….

The following story is true - nothing has been fabricated or adulterated despite
the incredible nature of what transpired.

After a night of carousing on a festive holiday weekend in honor of the town’s patron saint, Papa Mono was returning to his hotel on his last night in Mindo, a small mountain resort in Ecuador popular with birdwatchers and young adventure enthusiasts. On the way, he stopped to chat to one of the vendors located on the town square. In a happy go lucky mood, Papa Mono bought a small handmade coin purse - his only souvenir from his trip to Ecuador. As he scrutinized his new trinket, he noticed a mottled brown and white moth fluttering in the lights. The moth landed on his new coin purse, apparently attracted to either the fabric or the bright colors.

Navigating his way back to his hotel over 1/4 mile away, Papa Mono passed by throngs of late night revelers who were gathered around the town square. Amazingly throughout this journey ,“the little hitchhiker” remained firmly attached to the new coin purse. Arriving safely at his hotel room, Papa Mono insisted on taking a picture of the little creature in exchange for providing a free ride. After all nothing is free in life! Turning on the light, he placed the coin purse with the clinging little hitchhiker on one of the wooden beams and rushed to get his camera and tripod. Just as he was setting things up for the picture, the little hitchhiker flew away into the rafters. Damn ingrate creature…

After waking up early in the morning, Papa Mono noticed that the little moth had planted itself on the wall in the entryway to the room. After carefully placing the coin purse next to the moth, he grabbed his camera and viola, he was able to get these dramatic pictures of “the little hitchhiker”.

There is currently an online poll to determine the seven wonders of nature; in other words, what are the seven places with the most outstanding natural beauty on our planet?

I know this is somewhat of a popularity contest as some places have well established reputations. Furthermore, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and is a very subjective matter. Among some of the likely candidates for this prestigious honor are Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), the Grand Canyon (USA), Ha Long Bay (Vietnam) and the Great Barrier Reef (Australia).

I have seen so many places of outstanding natural beauty in my lifetime - the Grand Canyon, the Pitons of St. Lucia, the seascapes at Cabo San Lucas as well the surreal boulder strewn beach at Bathsheba in Barbados to name just a few - that I would really be hard pressed to come up with a top seven.

For the fun of it, let’s say we did a poll on the three most beautiful nature spots in Thailand, a destination that I am very familiar with - I would put forth my nominations in no particular order as follows:

#1 The Sunflower Fields of Mae Hong Son Province
During the months of November and December, the golden yellow blossoms of the wild sunflower blanket the mountain slopes near the small rural village of Doi Mae U-Kor in northwestern Thailand. What a heavenly vista - I could stay here for hours gazing at the sea of yellow with the green forest clad mountains of Myanmar looming in the background.

#2 Chiang Dao Mountain
About 75 minutes north of Chiang Mai is the small market town of Chiang Dao. Rising above the town and the surrounding countryside is the majestic Chiang Dao Mountain. Located partway up the mountain is a very important Buddhist temple and shrine, which has been carved out of the mountain.

#3 Chiang Saen Lake
Located not too far from the small town known as the Golden Triangle is Chiang Saen Lake, a popular stopover for migratory waterfowl during the winter months. Located in the rural countryside of Northern Thailand, the setting here is so peaceful and serene.

What’s your opinion? What do you think are Thailand’s three most beautiful nature spots?

It was a balmy, tropical Saturday evening. The town square was very busy this night - concessions lined the perimeter with merchants selling a potpourri of toys, CDs and DVDs, T-shirts, snacks and ice cream while children frolicked in this festive atmosphere, many of them gravitating towards the portable playground with giant slide and a small trampoline. Surveying the whole scene, I noticed a young lady showing slides and addressing a group of over 25 young children in Spanish. Inching closer to get a better idea what was happening, I realized that the young children were viewing a special presentation on the ecology of sea turtles. The teacher was instilling in these small children an environmental ethos and a love of nature. Furthermore, most of the children would probably become advocates of not only protecting the sea turtles but of safeguarding fragile ecosystems - mangroves, coastal estuaries and fisheries of the area - from greedy developers and urban development. Oh, I forget to mention - this story took place in La Manzanilla, a small but growing beach town cum tourist resort located on the southern edge of the Bay of Tenacatita on Mexico’s popular Costa Alegre.

While surveying the nearby mangroves on the northern edge of town, home of a very substantial population of American Alligators, I noticed a very interesting poster obviously designed by a young child from the community. My heart was warmed see that the children of La Manzanilla were becoming Environmental Advocates at such a tender age. There still is hope for our planet…..

While I was touring the Royal Villa (aka Swiss chalet) at Doi Tung in Northern Thailand, I came across a substantial planting along the walkway of Perennial Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens), an attractive ornamental plant with small white flowers. Like so much of the flora in this mountainous region of temperate Northern Thailand, this low growing evergreen shrub is not indigenous to Tropical Asia. In the case of the Candytuft, it is native to Western Europe. The altitude at Mae Fah Luang Botanical Garden and the Royal Villa at Doi Tung is approximately 4500 feet above sea level - mornings and evenings can be quite cool here.

I found this beautiful orange flower growing on a medium sized shrub, just outside of Agalico Café in Bangkok. Resembling species of wild roses, this plant is actually a primitive cactus with leaves. The leaves are dark green in color and the plant has a long spiny stem. Indigenous to tropical America, Rose Cactus Pereskia Corrugata is a very popular ornamental plant in Thailand

Nov. 24 - After a hard grueling day of travel journalism work on my laptop in my bungalow and at Mocchaccino, my favorite Internet café in Koh Chang , I decided to retire for the rest of the day. As it was about 4:00PM, I decided to take the rest of the day off and act like your typical tourist - go the beach and relax, put on some suntan lotion and get a tan and read a trashy novel to be followed by a relaxing massage by my favorite masseuse at 5:00PM.

Everything was going according to plan - as 5:00PM rolled by, my masseuse motioned for me to lie on my belly as she applied her soothing hands to my torso. Just five minutes into the massage, one of her masseuse associates was very distressed as I saw an insect, which looked a bee alight on her head. Then the poor girl cried out in pain, as the bee seemed to sting her. Shortly thereafter, I learned it was not just a bee sting - the culprit was a wasp. Looking into the tree overhanging a nearby bungalow, I recognized the giant wasp house - it seems that the inhabitants were quite agitated and started flying in our direction. The four masseuses and their three customers (including yours truly) quickly vacated the area leaving their belongings and valuables behind. Yours truly, Hanumann, left his camera and his cloth handbag containing his cell phone, some monies, his safe deposit key and room key as well host of other accessories lying on the grass.

While the young masseuse was being attended to, I waited about 20 minutes before heading back to the grassy area to pick up my valuables. Inching carefully towards my stuff, while carefully keeping one eye on the agitated wasps swarming overhead near the nest, I was just about to pick up my belongings, when I saw two wasps fly towards me. Forgetting about my valuables, I bolted in the opposite direction while one of the wasps made a beeline towards ‘the great Hanumann.” Feeling a stinging sensation on the back of my neck, I quickly swiped the attacker away while toppling over into the sand. The small crowd of Farangs and Thaïs in the area apparently thought this was great entertainment as they all laughed at ‘my little accident”.

Shortly after one of the ladies applied some white vinegar and tiger balm to my wound, I decided to get bold and enter into the fray again. Keeping a close eye on the wasp nest, I quickly picked up all my belongings (sans flip flop sandals) and ran back to the outdoor restaurant like a monkey possessed. Being the ‘noble ling” that I am, I went back into the battlefield and retrieved the valuables of three masseuses. The only thing that I left behind of mine was the pair of flip-flop sandals which were perilously close to the nest overhead. The hotel personal was somewhat indifferent to the attack of ‘Ling Yai”. They put two little signs around the area, warning other people to stay out of the danger zone but did not inform them as to ‘what type of danger”. It’s a good thing that I had ‘the cajones” to collect my valuables (as well as the three masseuse’s), as they would have been as good as gone. Just another day in paradise, oh yeah….

Factoid: Cajones is a spanish word which literally means testicles. It is used in English vernacular to denote a man who ‘has balls or testicular fortitude” . Translation: A man who has tremendous courage.

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