After a solid week of tropical and subtropical weather, we arrived back on Saturday evening. Chicago does not look the same after our trip, and our tans are rather incongruent with the Chicago weather. We had a remarkable time. We snorkeled, sunbathed, read, beach combed, went on nature excursions, shopped, etc. I am proud to say that I nearly perfected the art of capturing lizards by hand, and I caught two (never mind the five that got away). I also was able to capture hermit crabs and intimately explore seashore fauna on a secluded rocky beach area.
I also had gualty time for thought and reading. I finished two books (The Varieties of Scientific Experience by Carl Sagan and God's Problem by Bart Ehrman) and cherry-picked three chapters out of another (Sacramental Commons by Hart). These books along with my cultural, biological, and geological observations and gatherings made this trip sort of a like a microcosm of the voyage of the Beagle. I look forward to sharing a number of my meditations as soon as I regain control of my school work and the domestic front.
The house and all inhabitants were found in pristine condition upon our arrival home. Again, thank you Philo for offering to house and pet sit last week. I am now trying to attend to sandy laundry while hanging on the lingering scent of sunscreen saturation.
