Hiking the Mystical Maya Mountain Jungle

This is pretty much what you see while traipsing through the mountain jungle if you're not really paying close attention. As beautiful as that is, to see the real beauty and mystery, you need to look a little off the beaten path. Today, my friend and I are searching for orchids and unusual plants to bring back to enhance her garden. We not only found several but also encountered a lot of mystery stuff along the way.

Like this thing to the right. It looks like a home for insects and is as big as a football but it seems to have a stem at the top. So maybe it's a plant, or maybe the insects built the nest around some kind of plant life. I donno! I guess that's why it's called mysterious.

Then there's this pretty fungus thing on the left which isn't really mysterious or unusual but I liked it, so there it is. Count the rings and see how old it is, or how many rainfalls it's been through, or full moons if you want. I haven't a clue but I still like it.

Next we came to a fairy pool. There were no fairies, but we did spot tadpoles, and turtles that would not cooperate for pictures. No, that's not a fairy, it's my friend searching for signs of life or maybe looking at reflections or making a wish.









After the pool, we set off into uncharted territory. We came across this termite nest which was pretty boring and not at all mysterious. Here it is after a major transformation. There were no termites harmed in this process but we did give them some extra work to do. They will be kept busy for days covering this over, but the image will remain. I'll try to get back and take another picture, but I may never find it again.

This is another termite nest with a bromeliad growing on top of it. It kinda makes me wonder if this is how the ancient Mayans got their ideas for head gear.




Here we are sitting precariously at the top of a very high cliff. It was very scary. The ground sloped downwards and there wasn't much to hold on to. But the view was breath taking. The trees were blooming with yellow flowers which is a sure sign that spring is starting. Time to go and plant the new orchids.