Elephant Seal of California Coast 加州海岸的海象

Revisited Año Nuevo , the largest elephant seal colony of United State mainland.  Every year from December to March of next year, they form rookery along California coast, from Point Rye to Baja California. Plenty of information on the web:
Bay Area access: Año Nuevo State Reserve (reservation needed)
Southern California access: San Simeon (Live Cam day time in this period)
PBS short (but good) video: Into The Deep With Elephant Seals


百年前沒有電燈時，用脂肪來做燈油，海象因為脂肪層很厚，被大量獵殺。1922年美國和墨西哥立法禁獵時，只剩下一百頭海象。要一直等到1950年以後，小海象才在加州的Año Nuevo出生。經過多年的保育，現在的海象數目算是不錯了。

巴拿馬運河

巴拿馬市 Panama City from Amador Causeway

巴拿馬運河實在是一個不知道該不該去的地方。雖然是整個巴拿馬最窄的地方，但運河本身連通太平洋和大西洋，大到只能在地圖上看。去看閘門嗎？我看過五大湖的閘門 Soo Lock，閘門就是閘門，道理都一樣。除了給自己多一個（不怎麼有趣的）故事題材，好像沒有其他理由。美國公視有一支紀錄片說明運河的建造歷史，倒是很好的片子。 這是歷史比實景有趣。後來又看到巴國可以賞鳥, 加上天氣暖，醫療體系不錯，現在已是美國人退休的熱點。但這些也還推不動我想去的念頭。

2012年底，我參加一個小旅遊團，去中美洲四國。起始點是現在很紅的生態旅遊目的地哥斯大黎加，但是集合那天是美國全年飛行最忙的感恩節，之前的機票很難搞。我搜尋了幾天，決定先飛到巴拿馬玩幾天，從那裡再飛去哥國首都聖荷西就簡單多了。

Surviving Yellowstone Winter 嚴冬下的黃石公園

I have wanted to go to Yellowstone in winter for years, but always worried about the coldness, the winter storm and blizzard that would stopped me from even reaching the park. Finally I realized worrying about blizzard may (or may not) happen months away lead me to no where, and I am not getting younger.  If not now, when?  After finding this snowmobile tour, I paid the money, bought plane tickets, and rented a SUV within two short days, made it the deal I can't back out.  If by any chance I couldn't make it to the tour, I just have to give another try. That's the way it is.

想在冬天去黃石公園很多年了，但是怕冷，又擔心碰到大風雪，我這住在加州的人不知道怎麼處理，可能連從機場到公園都有問題。就這樣一年過一年。去年底終於領悟，擔心幾個月以外的天氣實在無濟於事，就只是乾等年華老去罷了。此時不去，難道要等到走不動了才後悔嗎？找到了一個很好的雪車遊園計劃，短短兩天裡就付了錢，買好機票，租了車，不給自己反悔的馀地。如果天氣不好，沒能成行，就再試一次，天也不會塌下來。

Wildlife Refuges for Migrating Birds in Bay Area

Don't remember how I got the information about the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge, but in 2009 we decided to pay a visit. After paying the entrance fee at the visitor center, suddenly I heard some noise that's not familiar in daily life, a noise of many many birds, while there was not a single bird in sight around the center.

The magic unfolded in the 6 miles auto tour around the Refuge.  Forgive me for not be able to describe the scene of thousands of birds gathering in one place.  (Watch the video at the end of this page and feel it.)  I kept on saying "Holy *&^%" that day, which just reflected how I felt.  All the birds simply moving from one pond to another in big number while talking to each other, somehow the process alone pleased me to no end.

My Central America Wildlife Experience

Had wildlife tour in Panama and Costa Rica. The snorkeling in Roatan Island of Honduras was exceptional, if only I can have an underwater camera to catch the images!

Sloth

The first thing said to our tour guide on the Panama Canal wildlife tour was, We want to see sloth! The easiest way to find a sloth is to find the tree grows sloth's favorite leaf (as showing in the second picture), then looking for dark round shape thing. That proved to be quite effective.  But one has to be extremely lucky to see a sloth that moves, because they sleep long hour each day.  Also depends on which kind of sloth. Two-toe sloth actives only in the night (after sunset), while three-toe sloth could be active day and night. Sloths have low metabolism, so they move slowly, and it takes one week for their body to produce waste. They would move down from the tree to poop and urine, cover it, and move back to the tree top slowly.

The Doors and Knockers of Antigua 舊瓜城的門與門環

Doors in Antigua, Guatemala can be enormous for the horse carriage (now for the car) to pass, the small door obviously is for people only. I was fascinated by the shape and design of the door knockers, always took picture while walked around town. Years ago when I visited the Louvre Museum, I thought of taking each and every chair in the exhibition room, kind of like cataloging them. That remains a distant thought. This time I did have extra time, and here they are, the world of door knockers and door decor of Antigua.

有些舊瓜城的古門很大，是以前給馬車通行的，現在當然改成給汽車通過，充當車庫門。若是只有人的話，開小門就行了。多年前我曾奇想把羅浮宮展廳裡的各型椅子都照下來，因為是奇想，當然沒實現。這次在舊瓜城留的比較久，有時間多照些有趣的門和門環。雖然看了多日，還是覺得古意無限，很有味道。

Northern Vietnam Minorities 越北少數民族

2005. After visiting Ho Chi Ming City and Hanoi in Vietnam, I continue on to the Chinese border area of Sapa in northern Vietnam, wish to see the ethnic minorities. The plan is to join a small tour group, take night train in and out of Sapa, leave me two days to explore with one night stay in town.

The Village 山村
With the free time after arrival, I hired a local guide to take me to one of the local markets. First, he takes me for a short walk of village life in the hills.  For all I can see, everything comes from earth, not factories.  Even the fabrics is made locally, from hemp and vegetable dye.  Pigs, chickens, and ducks running freely. My guide leads me into a house, only a boy is around, preparing cassava, a rooted vegetable. The house has only one room, with very limited and primitive handmade furniture. A huge wok on the stove is the most noticeable item, and that is not even for human consumption, but for cooking cassava for the pigs. Young children playing outside, no adult to be seen, likely all working in the field.

To see how people lives is one of the purposes of travel, especially to see people with different lifestyle from us. But seeing this family barely has anything in the house make me wonder, who am I to see their poor condition? And how would that enhance my experience?  I find my curiosity toward seeing people's living quarter diminish after this.

遊過了胡志明市和河內，我繼續到越北和中國邊境的 Sapa 去看少數民族。因為偏遠，從河內只有夜車來回。我參加了一個小旅遊團，要去山區徒步。

到了之後還有時間，我就雇了一名地陪，帶我去看有名的市集。地陪帶我經過田間一些小村，感覺上真是徹底的田園生活。家畜四處亂走，放眼看去，所有的東西都是地上長出來的。連穿的麻衣都是自染的。陶淵明說的避禍桃花源，大概類似這種情形吧，完全自給自足，和外界交通中斷了也沒關係的。看到路邊一個人家，地陪就走了進去，木屋裡的家具都很簡單而粗陋，最顯眼的是一只大鑊，居然是用來煮豬食的。一個小男孩在抽木薯，就是豬的晚餐。幾個更小的小孩在屋外玩，大人們大概在田裡工作，一個也沒見。

我的馬路英雄

在去大理的車上

鄰座是一個老法，我們一路上聊了起來。他計劃在中國旅行三個月，兩周前從廣州開始，坐火車到昆明，乘公交去了連我都嫌難去的石林，(偷懶，遊客小販太多，令我興趣缺缺）現在要去大理。他拿出法文的旅遊指南來給我看，前兩頁的中國全圖，打星的是作者建議去的地方，他希望都能去看看。我想，書是法文的，他說的是英文，路上看到的都是中文，這語文轉換也夠煩雜的了，此人的志向真是遠大。他說著說著，一面翻書，突然指一個地方給我看，說：這個名字常常出現。我看了有一點想笑，Renminlu 是人民路，跟他解釋中國叫中華人民共和國，Renmin 就是其中的 People。 仔細想想，我看英文也不過看個名字的長相，有看沒懂，什麼時候問了意思了。New Orleans, New Jersey 都是當名字唸而已，那裡知道 Orleans 和 Jersey 原來在法國，在英國，更不知道美國地名、街名其命名背後的歷史意義。那。。。我迷失了多少東西？