From Tropics to Winter

I returned from my Costa Rica trip late Monday night. My body enjoyed the hotter, humid climate more than I'd expected. It also enjoyed the air conditioning in the classroom and bedroom. I didn't see a lot of wildlife (didn't choose to arise for a before-class, 3-hour tour starting at 5:30 a.m.) but heard monkeys (howling right around the tour time) and an unknown, I'm assuming, bird, that sounded like chimes. I christened my new swim suit in the hot springs (with swim-up bar in which I didn't indulge) and confirmed that indeed I do not remember how to swim or even float.

Here's the view from my room, smoking volcano in the background.

The view was clear like this in the early morning with clouds obscuring the peak by breakfast and torrential rains in the afternoon.

Back in Juneau, the last couple of days have been down to freezing. There's snow on the mountains. Today we went for a walk at Sandy Beach. The tide was very high so we had to wade a couple of creeks and clamber over large drift logs. We came back on the trail where frozen, frost edged leaves coated the ground.