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Nocturnal Hummingbird?

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

So I am sitting on my veranda this beautiful evening in Puerto Escondido processing my Oaxacan photos (which I will try to post this week) and I head some squeaking.  I thought it was just one of the many geckos that I have become accustomed so I didn’t bother to look up until something buzzed my head.  I thought it was one of the giant moths which I have seen the geckos attack in teams, but it turned out to be a hummingbird.  It’s nighttime and the hummingbird is using my light to pick off bugs.  It had the geckos scurrying every time it passed by.  This has been going on for an hour and we are now bug-free.  The geckos need a new gig.  I pulled out the video camera and stood up on the bench and the hummingbird flew within a few inches of my hands and head.  Some of you have probably heard of my other close encounters with hummingbirds in my garden including one taking a shower under my hose nozzle and then sitting on the nozzle while it was in my hand.  I thought tonight’s visitor was going to land on the camera.  The video probably isn’t very good because he was too close and fast, but I will get a good laugh out of it when I process it someday.  I will never tire of hummingbirds.

Retired Surfer!

Monday, November 27th, 2006

I took three surfing lessons last week.  One was a land lesson and the other two were in the water.  Land lesson – good.  The first water lesson went OK.  I had some problems getting some balance on the board while paddling.  The first time we went out, I was exhausted by time we got out there to the point where I wondered if I wanted to go back in knowing that I would have to paddle out again.  But experience with kayaking told me that exhaustion was due to bad technique rather than it really being that difficult and better technique would come around with some practice.  Sure enough, by the end of the first water lesson, I could tell that balance and paddle technique were improving.  I was not able to stand on the board, but catching the wave like a boogie boarder was very exciting.  By the end of that lesson, I was starting to feel sore in my lower rib cage and I was wondering if I had pulled a muscle or bruised my ribs.  I hadn’t been hit by the board so I was confused about why the pain was occurring.  When I talked to some surfers I was happy to hear that everyone experiences that pain in the ribs from being on the hard surface and it will eventually go away as you get tougher.

I could barely sleep that night because anytime I moved the pain was excruciating.  I was sure that I was not going out again.  But a day later the pain was down enough that I gave it another shot and the instructor, Hydro, provided me with a softer board.  I was in pain from the start of that lesson, but my technique had improved a lot and I was able to feel how to catch the waves so I stuck with it.  Unfortunately, before the two hours was up, I was really hurting and we called it a day.  That was Friday morning.  I have been pumping Advil ever since and I am still in a lot of pain Sunday night.  I haven’t injured my ribs before, but everything you hear about making every movement painful is very true.  I am a lot better now and will probably be normal by Wednesday, but I am still incapable of doing most physical activities.  I was going to go rock climbing again yesterday and I had to laugh at that thought as I was trying to figure out how to sit up from bed without screaming.  Laughing, sneezing, coughing… ouch!

If I was living in a nice surfing place (Sonoma County has great surfing if you don’t mind 10 degrees celsius temperatures, nasty currents and great whites), I would definitely want to persevere through the pain that supposedly goes away.  But since I don’t, I am retiring from this sport.  I had a lot of respect for the difficulty of surfing before I tried it.  That respect has multiplied greatly now that I have made my attempt.

Schedule…

Monday, November 27th, 2006
I have decided to push off to Mexico City next Saturday rather than the previously scheduled flight the following Monday.  This will allow me to get to the bullfights on Sunday - another event loved by PETA.  I'm not sure ... [Continue reading this entry]

Oaxaca Village Trip

Monday, November 27th, 2006
It looks like I made the right decision to go to Oaxaca last weekend and miss the surfing competition here because things have gotten more out of hand this weekend in that lovely colonial city.  From what I just read, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thursday, November 23rd, 2006
Just want to extend the greeting to my American friends and relatives.  This is the first time I have been out of the country over my favorite holiday.  Tomorrow will be a fairly normal day here in paradise with Spanish ... [Continue reading this entry]

Teargas Hurts!

Tuesday, November 21st, 2006
I was going to tell you about my Oaxaca adventures on Sunday in this post, but I have decided to tell you about today (Monday) instead.  Right now I am in my nice room and I ... [Continue reading this entry]

Tagger Central

Tuesday, November 21st, 2006
Saturday turned out to be a much better day than Friday with its very ugly ride.  I walked a few blocks to the old part of town seeing all of the graffiti that the protesters have ... [Continue reading this entry]

I’d Call This Highway to Hell if the Destination Was Not So Nice

Tuesday, November 21st, 2006
So I woke up Friday morning around 6:00 AM near sunrise like just about every other morning in Puerto.  My head hurt from all of the Spanish stuffed in there and I did not feel 100% ... [Continue reading this entry]

Hurricane and Earthquake

Thursday, November 16th, 2006
I am specifically attempting to avoid hurricanes, cyclones and snowstorms on this trip.  Unfortunately, the latest recorded Eastern Pacific Hurricane has formed off the Southwestern Mexico coast.  I knew something was up two days ago when I woke up to ... [Continue reading this entry]

Puerto Escondido – Week I

Monday, November 13th, 2006
First, my bag was found and delivered to my apartment the day after it went missing - a huge relief.  I will rethink my carry-on packing to come up with a better plan.  At least I can take toiletries onboard ... [Continue reading this entry]