Barro Colorado Island Nature Monument

obnoxious alarm at 6:30am on a saturday...why am i doing this? my body aches but i scramble to dress and pack lunch and race as fast as the rusty bike will roll to the dock. a sleepy boat ride, watching the flirtatious giggling interactions of a preteen school group loaded with fancy cameras. coffee surreptitiously slipped from the cafeteria helps and the humid heat hits hard. dim and misty under the tall canopy, the harsh barks of howler monkeys muted. scaly armadillo scuttles ahead and tamarin monkeys drop delicious red fruit at our feet. bright colors spring from a background of rich thick Green and musky browns. fig bats squeak gently to one another, hanging upside-down from tiny wing hooks on the bark of Big Tree. a brook chatters to me, burbling over mossy rocks and under a fallen log. root stairs, flying rectangle, disappearing trails. heavy spider silk catches my face and is strong enough to stop forward movement. jungle treasure surrounds, waiting to be found. cicadas scream, louder than expected when next to an unsuspecting ear. a nap in the sun above the world, indecisive raindrops cool, impromptu picnic. red faced, chigger-bitten ankles, mosquito covered, tick sanctuary, bliss.