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