Photo of the Week: Polar Bear and Cub

                                           

Date taken: November 11, 2003
Location: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom
Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ISO  200

Photo of the Week: Raccoon

                                                    

Date taken: April 10, 2004

Location: J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, FL

Camera: Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100 SW @ ISO 200

Photo of the Week: Polar Bears

                                               

Date taken: November 11, 2003

Location: Churchill, Manitoba, Canada

Camera: EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100SW @ISO  200

Photo of the Week: Tricolored Heron

                                                                

Date taken: April 10, 2004

Location: J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, FL

Camera: Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100 SW @ ISO 200

Photo of the Week: Puffin with Krill

                                                  

Date taken: August 8, 2000

Location: Machias Seal Island

Camera: Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100

Photo of the Week: Maine Moose

                                     

Date taken: August 13, 2000

Location: Baxter State Park, Maine

Camera: Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100

Photo of the Week: Snow Monkeys

                               

Subject: Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata)

Date taken: January 5, 2001

Location: Jigokudani Yaen-Koen, Nagano, Japan

Camera: Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100

Photo of the Week: Waterbucks

                                                      

Date taken: July 8, 2005
Location: Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Camera: EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Lioness

                                                                                  

Date taken: July 9, 2005
Location: Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Camera: EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Bat

                                          

Date taken: July 1, 2005
Location: Serengeti National Park, Tanzania 
Camera: EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Thomson's Gazelle

                                               

Date taken: July 3, 2005

Location: Ngorogoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

Camera: EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Lion Eating

                                     

Date taken: July 7, 2005

Location: Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Camera: EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Cape Buffalo & Oxpecker

                        

Date taken: July 9, 2005

Location: Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Camera: Canon EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Lilac-Breasted Roller

                        

Date taken: July 9, 2005

Location: Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

Camera: Canon EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Atlantic Puffin

                   

Date taken: August 8, 2000

Location: Machias Seal Island

Camera: Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100

Photo of the Week: 3 Monkeys

    

Subject: Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata), a.k.a. snow monkey

Date taken: January 5, 2001

Location: Jigokudani Yaen-Koen, Nagano, Japan

Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100

Photo of the Week: Leopard

Date taken: July 6, 2005

Location: Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya

Camera: Canon EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Photo of the Week: Great Blue Heron

Date taken: April 10, 2004

Location: J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, FL

Camera: Canon EOS Elan IIE with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

Film: Ektachrome 100 SW @ ISO 200

Photo of the Week: Juvenile Harris' Hawk

Date taken: June 27, 2010

Location: Phoenix, AZ

Camera: Canon EOS 20D with 100-400mm telephoto zoom

The Hatching of Two Birders

Our intrepid heroines are often asked how they became interested in birds. Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present the tale... 

Date of events depicted: April 7, 2000

He rolls down the window of his beat up beige pickup truck as he pulls up.

“You goin’ in de-ah?” he calls. 

His accent, thick as the humid air of the Louisiana bayou that surrounds our intrepid heroines, is made even more difficult to understand by a marked absence of teeth. It takes a moment to translate what he said into English.

“Yes, we’re going in there.”

“Dere’s beeg alligatahs in dat swamp. Beeg alligatahs. Beeg as mah boat!” He gestures to the flat-bottomed boat he is towing.

“Yes, I know there are big alligators in the swamp. What do you suggest we do if we encounter one?”

“You haul ass in de udder direction!” He cackles and speeds off.

Yumiko, who has quietly been preparing for the hike, turns a distinct shade of green. She’s always been the more cautious of the two, insisting on actually reading the map, taking enough water, assessing the danger before going ahead.

“Miko, the alligators aren’t interested in us. As long as we stay away from their nests, we’ll be fine.”

She doesn’t look totally convinced.

“C’mon,” Eden says, shouldering her photo backpack. “Let’s find this rookery the guidebook raves about.” She is prepared to be unimpressed. Birds have never really interested her. She prefers to focus (you’ll forgive the pun) on what Miko refers to as charismatic megafauna. Anyway, birding is for old people, right?

There are alligators. Big alligators. But, like Eden and Miko, they only have eyes for the thousands of egrets and herons that adorn the trees in the middle of the swamp. So dense are the birds that it takes a moment to realize that the trees are bare, completely without leaves. The birds form an exotic, noisy foliage.

     

Miko and Eden gape. And something in their souls takes flight.

© Eden Feuer

Related links: Cypress Island Preserve

A Leap of Faith

Date of events depicted: 4 July – 5 July 2010

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 2 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Japan III...

“5…”

Are you insane?!

“4…”

Look down! It’s 42 meters from up here to the Tone River below.

“3…”

This is you. You who can’t even do a basic “trust fall” into a friend’s arms!

“2…”

But you’re about to launch yourself headfirst off a bridge, trusting that an oversized rubber band is going to prevent you from crashing to your death?

“1…”

You’re the first jumper of the day. What if those guys made a mistake with the ropes, huh?

“Bungy!” the onlookers roar.

And despite the vociferous protests of her survival instincts (which sound suspiciously like her mother-in-law), Eden dives off the Great Bridge of Suwa.

And then she is falling plummeting hurtling down and the adrenaline is surging through her veins and she hears nothing but the wind rushing in her ears and sees nothing but the rocks rapidly approaching and she is terrified and panicked and helpless and just as she is thinking maybe she is going to die she feels a jolt.

The bungy cord pulls her up in a giant bounce and she is flying, soaring, and actually having fun now and she flexes for the camera and gives a war whoop of pure joy.

She is grinning wildly when she is no longer dangling by her ankles. Standing upright on the riverbank, she waves triumphantly at Cathy before bounding up the stairs to Miko, who greets her with a huge smile, gives her a high five, and says, “The photographers were laughing at your antics.”

Honor, however, was not laughing when Eden initially expressed an interest in bungy jumping. Her response at the time was, “No! Absolutely not!”

Bungy jumping hadn’t even been on the agenda when Eden and Miko suggested to Cathy and Honor that they head to Minakami following the interment.  Traditionally an onsen (hot spring) resort town, Minakami has evolved in recent years into a 4-season outdoor adventure destination offering skiing, snowboarding, canyoning, hiking… and some of Japan’s best whitewater rafting.

Honor voiced no objections to that particular activity, so the previous day, Cathy, Yumiko, and Eden donned wetsuits, lifejackets, and helmets and piled into a raft with a playful Kiwi guide named Damon. Our intrepid heroines ran rapids, started splash fights with the two other boats, and foiled Damon’s attempts to knock them overboard.

Until Eden had uncovered it during her pre-trip research, she and Miko had no idea that this kind of excitement could be found a mere 70 minutes from Tokyo. 

And as they head back to the capital, Eden, still pumped from her jump, recalls her last visit to Japan and thinks, Bungy jumping dangerous? Try the Tokyo subway!

© Eden Feuer

Ashes to Ashes

Date of events depicted: 30 June – 1 July 2010

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present episode 1 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Japan III...

“Don’t forget Dad,” Eden says as the train pulls into Omiya Station. She places the box holding Hisato Ishida’s ashes* on the seat beside Cathy and Honor. “See you at the inn.”

Eden and Yumiko grab their luggage, wave goodbye to Yumiko’s sister and mother, and step out into the muggy Tokyo afternoon. Weaving through throngs of people, they make their way to another platform and board the Shinkansen.

The bullet train speeds northwest toward Niigata Prefecture. Our intrepid heroines disembark at Echigo-Yuzawa and catch a bus to Kiyotsu-kyo, a small mountain town along the Kiyotsu River.

Not long after they check into the ryokan (traditional Japanese inn), Cathy, Honor, and Kensei (Cathy and Yumiko’s first cousin once removed) pull in. They have made the journey from Tokyo by car.

The five of them have come to this part of Japan to inter the remains of Yumiko and Cathy’s father. Famous for its rice and sake, this area is also known for the copious quantity of snow that falls annually. For months following Hisato’s death, that snow buried the cemetery where his ancestors lie, making it impossible to access the family vault.

Now, however, it is summer, and the countryside is lush and verdant, redolent of damp earth.

It is surprisingly warm the next day when the five travelers squeeze into Kensei’s Toyota and drive to the small cemetery in Tsunan. They are joined by Kensei’s brother Hiroshi and Hiroshi’s wife, who organically farm 12 hectares nearby.

The family has elected to perform the interment in an informal manner. There is no priest or monk present and there is no ritual or ceremony. Hiroshi and Kensei slide open the vault while Cathy removes the jar of ashes from the box and opens it. As the rest of the family looks on, she pours the bone fragments into the vault so that they mingle with those who have died before.

Kensei and Hiroshi slide the stone lid back into position. Honor, Cathy, and Yumiko place sticks of lit incense before the family grave markers and bow respectfully as the smoke rises in lazy, aromatic circles before dissipating in the mountain air.

© Eden Feuer

*In Japan, the bone fragments that remain after cremation are not pulverized into “ashes” as they typically are in most other parts of the world.

R & R (Rats & Relaxation)

Original airdate: June 2, 2009

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present the sixth and final episode of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden: Return to Belize...

“You can’t be serious! You want to… to… to,” Eden sputters, “to spend the day relaxing?!”

Yumiko nods.

Eden is aghast, but she swallows her protests. After all, this trip is for Yumiko, about Yumiko. So Eden will suck it up and do… nothing. Even if it kills her. Which it very well might.

Under the watchful eye of three friendly island cats, our intrepid heroines make themselves comfortable in hammocks.

Miko reads.

Eden watches the people go by.

Miko continues to read.

Eden solves a crossword puzzle.

Miko reads some more.

Eden writes in her journal.

Miko turns a page.

Eden fires up the computer, logs into her email account, and IMs with her mother.

Miko keeps reading.

Eden logs off. She pets a cat. She studies her toes.

Miko turns another page.

Eden hypothesizes aloud that coconut rum reduces the stress of relaxing.

Miko looks up from her book. She thinks that the idea has validity and further postulates that coconut rum heightens the state of relaxation.

In the name of scientific inquiry, they decide to test this theory.

The evidence suggests that moderate coconut rum consumption does in fact induce a pleasant languor. In Eden’s case, however, said languor dissipates relatively quickly and it’s not long before she is once again wondering how she is going to make it through the afternoon.

Miko takes pity on her. The two stroll along Caye Caulker’s sandy streets, marveling at the changes nine years have wrought. They watch frigatebirds and pelicans fight for scraps as a fisherman cleans his catch. They wander over to the Lazy Lizard Bar to observe the people and take in the sunset. They chat with colorful island character Ras Creek, a seminal figure in the development of Hol Chan Marine Reserve. They eat dinner at a local restaurant before finally wandering back to their hotel room to pack.

Man, Eden thinks as she drifts off to sleep, this relaxing thing is exhausting.

Our fearless females catch the 6:30 water taxi to Belize City in order to spend their final morning of vacation exploring Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary. With the assistance of renowned birder Lascelle Tillet, they identify 46 species of birds, including vermilion flycatcher, jabiru stork, and acorn woodpecker.

A quick stop for lunch yields an opportunity to try gibnut, a nocturnal rodent and prized game animal of the Neotropics that can grow 2 feet long and weigh up to 22 pounds.

Eden can just hear her mother saying, “You know that’s not kosher.”

Eden and Miko deem “The Queen’s Rat” (so named because it was served to Queen Elizabeth on her visit) edible but unexciting.  Though definitely better than camel (blech!), it's nowhere near as tasty as kangaroo. Perhaps next time they will order iguana.

Thus fortified for the journey home, they head for the airport and say goodbye to their beloved Belize.

“Welcome back,” Eden’s mother greets our intrepid heroines upon their return. “Never mind about the earthquake. What’s this I hear about your eating a rat?!”

© Eden Feuer

Raggamuffin Children

Original airdate: May 31, 2009

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present Episode 5 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden: Return to Belize...

“Ya, mon!” the dreadlocked captain calls out cheerily as the sail catches the Caribbean breeze, propelling the Ragga King easily through the shallow emerald sea off Caye Caulker. In an otherwise blue sky, a smattering of clouds hints at the coming rainy season and frigatebirds soar overhead.

Passengers in various states of undress lie on the deck, basking like iguanas in the hot tropical sun. The smell of suntan lotion and salt is strong in the air. Heads bob to the beat of the reggae music blasting from below deck.

    

“Here we are, my friends,” the captain announces as the sailboat anchors at Belize’s barrier reef. “Our first stop: Coral Gardens.”

   

Our intrepid heroines and their companions swiftly don mask and flippers, then slide into the warm water.

   

“Manatees!”

   

Two of the gentle giants are clearly visible in the blue depths.

It is exhilarating and humbling to swim alongside something so large – the average adult West Indian manatee is about 9.8 feet long and weighs between 800-1,200 pounds – and thus it is a very happy group of snorkelers that reboards the sailboat.

“Look! Sharks!”

The second stop, Shark-Ray Alley, lives up to its moniker. Eden is the first to dive into waters teeming with nurse sharks, southern stingrays, blue tangs, yellow-tailed snappers, and sergeant majors. More than a dozen other equally entranced gawkers soon join her, watching in fascination as the area’s remarkably docile denizens glide gracefully within touching distance.

“Everybody back on board!”

It is with great reluctance that Miko and Eden return to the Ragga King, but the third stop, The Cut at Hol Chan Marine Reserve, with its bright corals and abundant sea life, is just as spectacular as Shark-Ray Alley – and offers our fearless females an opportunity to get up close and personal with a sea turtle. It is the perfect way to end the day’s snorkeling.

Still dripping, they let the lengthening rays of the sun dry them as the sails unfurl and the 40-foot wooden ship begins the hour and a half return trip. Conversation with their fellow adventurers – an interesting mix of people from around the world – is easy and light, facilitated as much by shared experience as by the rum punch that is flowing freely. The captain, first mate, and several bikini-clad women dance on the deck.

The Ragga King docks more than a bit late, disgorging its sunburned, less than sober passengers onto the laid back little island. With a deep sense of satisfaction, Eden and Miko gather their gear and make their way slowly home along the sandy street. 

Be sure to tune in for episode 6, when Eden faces her greatest challenge yet.

© Eden Feuer

Related link: Raggamuffin Tours

Rollin' on the River

Original airdate: May 30, 2009

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present Episode 4 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden: Return to Belize...

“Butts up!” Luis, the cave tubing guide, is a short, rotund man wearing a black mesh tank top and electric blue Crocs.

It’s the end of the dry season and the Sibun River is running low. Low enough in places to endanger the gluteal areas of our intrepid heroines, who are floating in inner tubes through the inky darkness of a long cave. Their headlamps, the sole source of light, illuminate roosting bats and spectacular limestone formations.

“Remember, feet first through the rapids, then paddle backwards to the left!”

The three cavers blink owlishly when they finally emerge into the sunlight. Refreshingly cool waters the color of jade carry them leisurely through pristine jungle, but Eden and Miko are feeling the effects of sun exposure by the time they exit the river and make their way to the waiting van.

They check into their Belize City B&B late that afternoon.  Too tired even for a cocktail – perhaps the result of having risen especially early to catch their flight from Placencia – they promptly collapse in an undignified heap onto the bed.

The following day finds our fearless females on a river once again. Sightings of coati, kingfishers, and snail kites make the 26-mile journey as interesting as the destination: Lamanai.

The once mighty Mayan city lies in magnificent ruin. Over the centuries, the jungle has reclaimed much of the site, concealing its vastness. High in the trees, indolent howler monkeys sleep while our dynamic duo gazes in awe upon the Mask Temple and the Temple of the Jaguar.

At the ball court it is not difficult to imagine the game’s victor kneeling on the round stone slab to claim his reward, a “get out of hell free” card with a catch – it must be redeemed immediately. Death by beheading was apparently a small price to pay for such a prize.

The towering High Temple is especially impressive and Eden is ecstatic to hear that she is permitted to climb the 112-foot high architectural marvel. Miko, ever the more grounded of the two, is not inclined to make the steep ascent, so she merely watches as Eden, sweating profusely in the relentless midday sun, leads the charge up. The payoff: a spectacular panoramic view – and a dangerous descent that Eden makes with unusual care.

Our intrepid heroines return to Belize City, their awareness of its seediness heightened by having viewed such majestic evidence of the area’s former glory. They look forward anxiously to tomorrow's departure from its environs.

© Eden Feuer

Monkey (River) Business

Original airdate: May 28, 2009

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present Episode 3 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden: Return to Belize...

The damage done by the earthquake is most obvious in the nearby village of Monkey River, half an hour by boat from Placencia.  The town dock is several feet underwater, houses are tilted or sunken, and concrete sidewalks are cracked. There is mud everywhere, the result of ground liquefaction.

Our intrepid heroines and their guide for the day, a muscular, wifebeater-wearing Belizean named Alrin, have just stepped onto shore when a small aftershock strikes. Most of the village’s 200 inhabitants are out and about, talking about the temblor and surveying the wreckage, and this latest tremor causes much consternation.

Our fearless females and Alrin reboard the boat and head upriver. Immature little blue herons fish in the shallows. Social flycatchers flit from tree to tree. A troop of howler monkeys loudly lays claim to its territory.

Alrin pulls the boat up to the bank.  “We had rains a few days ago. You have insect repellent?”

The moment Miko and Eden step onto the trail they are assaulted by mosquitoes in numbers that they have never before encountered in all of their travels. The buzzing bitches are everywhere, and Eden swats at them madly, her hands covered in blood – no doubt her own – but they are relentless.  Ears, neck, arms, the palms of her hands – all sustain bites.

Despite her long-sleeved shirt and a plant-frond flyswatter, Yumiko, always a bug-magnet, is not faring any better.

Alrin points out native flora and explains their medicinal uses, but Miko and Eden are beyond caring. Even the monkeys they encounter fail to interest them.

They are thrilled to return to the boat some 20 minutes later, where Eden and Miko proceed to doctor the dozens of bites they have suffered. Eden notes with alarm that Miko’s right eye is swollen nearly shut while Miko observes that Eden’s arms have turned purple around the elbows.

“Let’s hope that malaria medication we’re taking is effective,” Eden mutters grumpily.

The trio slowly motors its way downriver and out into the lagoon. In the shallow green water where the sea grass grows, they spot manatees. Mosquito bites forgotten, our intrepid heroines watch in amazement as three of the endangered creatures surface within 5 feet of the boat.

Eden’s desire to jump in and swim with them is strong, but she manages to restrain herself.  Someday, she thinks wistfully. Someday. 

© Eden Feuer

Shaking Things Up

Original airdate: May 28, 2009

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present Episode 2 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden: Return to Belize...

The massive earthquake hits at 2:24 a.m., jolting Yumiko and Eden awake.

The building shakes and lurches wildly. There is an ominous creak and the power goes out with an audible hiss. Frantic voices call out in the darkness.

As abruptly as it began, the shaking stops. Our intrepid heroines grab a flashlight and stumble out onto the Sidewalk, where Placencia’s rattled residents and visitors are congregating, desperate for information.

“Anyone hurt?”

“Can you see if there’s any damage?”

“I’ve lived here my entire life and never felt anything like that!”

“I just used my cell phone to call a friend in the States, who says the quake’s magnitude was 7.1. The epicenter was off the coast of Honduras, 140 miles from here.”

There is nervous talk of aftershocks and tsunamis, but there is little anyone can do. Aftershocks can occur at any time and, given Placencia’s remote location, mass evacuation in the event of a tsunami would be impossible.

Well, Eden thinks, if we are going to die, at least our last day on Earth was a really good one.

Indeed, Yumiko’s 40th birthday had been spent snorkeling amongst Laughing Bird Caye National Park’s fantastic formations of fan, fire, brain, and elkhorn coral as colorful reef fish darted by, lobsters peeked out, and conches and sea cucumbers made their way slowly along the sandy seafloor.

Upon their return to the village, our dynamic duo had moved their backpacks into an air conditioned room and headed to the Barefoot Beach Bar for drinks. Well into the evening, they sat by the ocean, watching the coconut palms sway in the breeze and chatting happily with new friends over panty rippers, Monkey River mudslides, and mango daiquiris.

The situation is what it is. So Eden and Miko do the only practical thing – they go back to bed.

© Eden Feuer

Call of the Caribbean

Original airdate: May 26, 2009

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present Episode 1 of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden: Return to Belize...

The tiny plane is flying low above the aquamarine waters of the Caribbean as the sinking sun casts a golden glow over the Belizean jungle. Our intrepid heroines gaze down, drinking in the view with the eager thirst of those who have longed for nine years to see it again.

The pilot expertly lands the aircraft on a small, pitted runway and our dynamic duo steps out into the sticky air and oppressive heat of Placencia, a small town of wooden houses on stilts situated on the tip of a peninsula. A short, dusty, bumpy cab ride later, they arrive at the Serenade Guest House, where they drop their gear on the deck with sighs of satisfaction.

It has been an easy journey and Eden is congratulating herself on her precise planning and expert execution when the hotel’s proprietor, Miss Anita, apologetically informs her that the air-conditioning in their room is broken.

Already sweaty after only a few minutes of being outside, Eden and Miko are not happy about this unexpected turn of events, but, seasoned travelers that they are, they accept their fate with sighs of resignation and a prayer to the weather gods petitioning for a cool night.

By unspoken agreement, they unceremoniously dump their stuff in their room, douse themselves in insect repellent, and make their way along the Placencia Sidewalk – according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the narrowest main street in the world – to the Pickled Parrot, where they proceed to get thoroughly pickled on rum cocktails with evocative names such as “panty ripper” and “parrot’s piss.”

Be sure to tune in for the exciting and earth-shattering second episode of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden: Return to Belize to find out how our intrepid heroines spend Miko's big birthday.

© Eden Feuer

Adventure Tours for the Suicidal

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present Adventure Tours for the Suicidal, the prequel to The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden: Return to Belize.

In May of 2000, long before season one of the wildly popular The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden, our intrepid heroines set forth on a valiant voyage to the then relatively unknown and little visited Central American country of Belize. The following, written just after that eye-opening odyssey, is an excerpt from Adventures star Eden Feuer's journal: 

“DON’T chicken out on me!” Doyle, our guide, orders, looking each of us in the eye. “DON’T!”

This is what marine boot camp must be like, I think wryly.

Dripping wet and covered in mosquito bites and bruises, we are standing in the middle of a jungle river in Belize’s Cockscomb Basin.

I thought this was going to be like Slide Rock. NOT!  I don’t remember being in danger of sliding right over the edge of a waterfall and dropping ten feet.

“An 85 year-old woman did this slide,” Doyle challenges.

Yeah, probably because she was trying to go out in style. I keep my sarcastic remarks to myself because I know that Yumiko is already afraid. And with good reason. She has more sense than any of us. Minutes earlier, she had watched in horror when I had lost my footing during a climb and slid a bone-jarring fifteen feet.

I am quite certain that my quiet, reserved, unfailingly logical friend would have preferred a more relaxing final day in Belize.

I almost mumble, “Our final day in Belize could be our final day period.”

Instead, I make a mental checklist of everything that we have done so far in this small Central American country – everything I hope to tell my parents should we survive this last little “Adventure for the Active Traveler”:

√ Snorkeled with nurse sharks, eagle rays, and stunning tropical fish in warm, clear Caribbean waters.

√ Endured a two-day boat trip (one that ended with most of the passengers turning green and tossing their cookies) just so I could photograph the rare white morph of the red-footed booby.

√ Tracked endangered black howler monkeys (they tried to pee on us!).

√ Pursued rare birds such as the agami heron in one of the world’s premiere birding areas.

√ Hiked through a steamy jungle in a downpour to learn about the native flora and fauna (“Mom, I saw a peccary and dyed my palms red!”).

√ Tubed down a murky, shallow jungle river (watch out for those “butt rocks”)…

“I really don’t want to do this,” Yumiko whispers.

“Yeah, well, you really don’t have any choice,” I point out, noting that it is physically impossible to turn back and that the banks of the river are so overgrown as to make exit unfeasible.

Doyle fearlessly leads the way, sliding down the slick, worn rocks and catching himself quite spectacularly before he goes over the edge.

“Come on! I’ll catch you and stop you from going over!”

“Ever miss?”

One of the group scoots forward, positions herself at the top of the natural slide, and launches herself.

Doyle, true to his word, catches her – much like a baseball catcher stifling an errant pitch that was thrown too low.

One by one, we make the slide – even Yumiko, who would have turned back if she could have.

“All right!”

Mosquitoes. Heat. Humidity.  A little danger. Sound like paradise? Yeah, I think so, too.

© Eden Feuer

Japan II: The Slideshow

Papa-paparazzi*

Intended airdate: April 7, 2010

Two Crazy Chicks Productions, in association with WorldWildPhotoGraphics and What Am I Going to Tell Your Mother? Productions, is proud to present the second and final episode of The Adventures of Yumiko and Eden in Japan II...

“One’s coming!”

The members of the “Paparazzi Club,” a small group of photographers who have spontaneously joined forces, scramble into position and check their camera settings one last time.

The geisha scurries along the dark, narrow side street toward the theater Flashes fire furiously as she approaches, illuminating her green silk kimono and perfectly made-up white face.

You’ll only get one chance at her, Eden reminds herself, feeling rather like a stalker. So don’t shoot until she steps under the streetlight.

By some estimates, only 200 geisha still inhabit Gion, Kyoto’s best-known geisha quarter. That can make getting a decent photo of one very difficult.

“I spent several days wandering around this area and saw only one,” a fellow paparazzo confides. “And she was already surrounded by a horde of people.”

Our fearless females are fortunate. Not only does their foray into Gion happen to coincide with Miyako Odori (an annual dance gala staged by Gion’s geisha), Eden and Miko somehow manage to stumble upon the theater where it is being held. So instead of having to go in search of these “children of the arts,” our intrepid heroines have only to lie in wait.

Indeed luck has been with Eden and Miko for the entire Kyoto portion of this trip to the land of the rising sun. The forecasted rain has not yet made an appearance and the cherry trees for which the former imperial capital is famous are at the peak of their bloom.

They have trod along the so-called nightingale floors (designed to squeak to warn of possible intruders) of Nijo Castle, strolled along the cherry tree-lined Philosopher’s Walk, marveled at the magnificent Golden Pavilion, admired the weeping cherry trees of Heian Shrine’s Shinen Garden, viewed the city from Kiyomizu-dera’s veranda, contemplated Ryoan-ji’s famous Zen rock garden, and gazed upon Sanjusangen-do Temple’s 1,001 statues of Kannon (goddess of mercy).

Perhaps it is the eleven-headed, thousand-armed goddess’ intervention that finally allows Eden – after two hours and multiple attempts – to get her geisha photo.

With a sigh of relief, she and the ever-patient Miko part ways with the Paparazzi Club and make their way along Kyoto’s crowded streets toward their ryokan (traditional Japanese inn). Tomorrow they will make a quick stop at the Imperial Palace before boarding a Tokyo-bound Shinkansen (bullet train) and beginning the long journey home.

© Eden Feuer

*For those readers who are not familiar with current American pop music, the title of this episode is a direct reference to Lady GaGa’s hit song Paparazzi.