Tropical RAIN forest

We got back from Costa Rica Friday. Riley went for meetings then I joined him a week later for a field trip to the jungle. I learned some things while I was there:

1) The key word in Tropical Rain Forest is RAIN. It rains and rains and rains. It is amazingly green and lush because of the rain. You carry an umbrella because of the rain. You wear knee-high irrigation boots in the jungle because of the snakes but they help when it rains. Sort of. Mine filled with water one day. I have a video of me dumping the water out.
2) Monkeys, monkeys, monkeys! Your neck gets sore from looking so high to see the monkeys. They sit, they stroll, they swing, they yell, they climb. It is so fun to watch them, especially the babies. They venture out from their mommas a bit, then scurry back to safety. I could sit and watch the monkeys all day!
3) Seeing things in the wild is better than a store or zoo. In addition to the monkeys, there were orchids, Bird of Paradise, impatiens, toucans, deer, wild guinea pigs (Agouti), Coatis and so many tropical birds - big, colorful and loud.
4) You are never dry. Not even after a shower.
5) It still gets cold. I had to sleep with a blanket (as opposed to just a sheet) two of the nights we were at the field station. The rain cooled things off at night. It was lovely.
6) You don't need sunscreen. The canopy shades you so much you don't need it. It's quite dark in the middle of the day in some parts of the jungle. And even when you are out in the open, there is cloud cover.
7) People there eat rice and beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I usually just ate them for dinner but I would have eaten them for other meals if there hadn't been other choices.
8) There are good people in the world saving the rain forest, like Dan Janzen, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Janzen. He is a biologist who has worked for more than 30 years to save massive areas of jungle. Thanks Dan.
9) It's fun being married to a biologist. When I'm with Riley I see things I normally wouldn't see, like the thumbnail-sized frogs or the leaf-cutter ants marching with their leaf pieces to create a huge mound of a home. And he captures things on film so we can enjoy them when we get home. I appreciate life more when I'm with Riley. Thanks Riley.

There is so much to see and experience in this world. It's amazing all the things Heavenly Father created for us to enjoy and it's so fun to go out in the world to find them. I think about the creation and how much time it must have taken to create each plant, bug, rock and animal, large and small. He must have had such fun with the monkeys - that must be where laughter started - he created a monkey and laughed at the results.