A two-week vacation to Costa Rica...

Normal packing list includes: sunscreen, bathing suit, flip-flops, sunglasses, shorts, book/magazines, and digital camera.

Packing list for a jungle-obsessed Americano loco: insect repellent, raincoat, steel-toed knee-high rubber boots, foot tape, bandages, sweater, field guides, and both digital and motion-sensing night cameras.

The equipment was for my recent two-week volunteer vacation at the Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge in Heredia, Costa Rica. Cerro Dantas is an ecological living compound, close to 8,000 feet above sea level, that’s located in the cloud-blanketed mountains bordering Braulio Carrillo National Park. The Refuge was built as an educational, volunteer, and biological research facility, with a focus on conservation of the unique cloud rain forest habitat it encompasses. Literally dripping in vegetation of mosses, vines, and prehistoric-looking ferns, the often rainy and cool cloud forest is home to many endemic and endangered species including the jaguar, puma, quetzal, and the danta (or tapir in English), for which the refuge is named.

My stay was accompanied by Cerro Dantas founder/director Señor Warren Calvo, his local staff, visiting biologists from the university in Heredia, and the occasional tourist group. I spent my days hiking the jungle trails spanning rocky ravines and waterfalls (with a Hunter PR umbrella in hand), snapping photos, monitoring camera traps, clearing new trails with machetes, repairing walkways and bridges, and identifying local wildlife. Nights were spent venturing into the forest with headlamps in search of mottled owls, bizarre insects, and choirs of frogs.

This “volun-tourism” vacation was the adventure of a lifetime, providing inspiration for years' worth of personal artwork, as well as a new logo for Cerro Dantas that I am excited to start designing as a contribution to the refuge. Highlights of the trip included encounters with tree frogs and vipers, as well as sightings of the “holy grail” for Neo-tropical birdwatchers, the resplendent quetzal.

For more information on visiting or contributing to the Cerro Dantas Wildlife Refuge, visit www.cerrodantas.com

For more photos of Cerro Dantas and its cloud forest wildlife, visit my page on Flikr.

As a child, my favorite Christmas tradition featured a single VHS tape of Christmas specials recorded from television. It was a time capsule of the late 80's, complete (now vintage-looking) commercials for Teddy Ruxpin, Holiday M&M’s, and something called Kodak film. To commemorate this forgotten family treasure, which was a casualty of the great Losh family outdated technology purge of 2000, here's a flashback to my three favorite recordings from the tape:

 A Claymation Christmas Celebration - 1987

By one of the original claymators, Will Vinton, this rarity was hosted by a bantering pair of odd couple dinosaurs named Rex and Herb. It was a collection of music videos including "Carol of the Bells" and a soulful version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by the California Raisins—easily the most famous dried fruits of that year.

A Muppet Family Christmas - 1987

In what starts as a quiet visit from Fozzy Bear to his Ma's house for the holidays, this special turns into the mother of all Muppet crossovers, uniting the Muppet Show cast, Sesame Street gang, and Fraggle Rockers in joyous song. Newcomers to Ma's include a jive talking Christmas turkey, a stand-up comedian snowman, and one hilariously-slippery icy patch.

Pee-Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special - 1988

This masterpiece is a star-studded spectacle with appearances by Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Charo, K.D. Lang, Little Richard, Zha Zha Gabor, and Magic Johnson. During the festivities, Pee Wee gets too many fruitcakes, discovers that his claymation dinosaurs are Jewish, and gets help from Cher reading the secret word (shhh! Don't say it or we'll all scream!).

For my long-lost VHS tape and on behalf of the Raisins, Muppets, and Mr. Herman, I wish everyone a safe and warm holiday season and a very happy new—year! (AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!)

 Eric