At long last the excursion I've been waiting for finally arrived: SLOTHS!
I've been a huge fan of these little mammals for a long time. And watching sloth television shows on Animal Planet and sloth videos on YouTube has only made me like them more. As if all that weren't enough, baby sloths are about the cutest things you'll ever see.
The Sloth Sanctuary is located about a half-hour's drive out of the ship's port of call in Limon. They take in baby sloths who have been abandoned and adult sloths who have been injured. They also have a nature walk and canoe float to see even more wildlife species of the rainforest.
30 DAYS DRAWING CHALLENGE: Draw Your Favorite Fairytale...
Most fairytales in their original, non-Disneyfied versions are totally messed up. Far from being perky stories to brighten your day, these children's tales by the likes of The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen are filled with death and depression. For a classic example, get your hands on the original The Little Mermaid sometime and see how twisted a story for kids can get. The Little Match Girl is no less fucked up than other fairytales, but it's got a base element that rings true, and so it's kind of stuck with me over the years...
A little girl is out in the cold trying to sell matches on New Years Eve. She's close to freezing, but she can't go home because her father will beat her if she doesn't sell the matches. With nowhere to go because she hasn't sold anything, she seeks refuge in a nook and lights a match to keep herself warm. A shooting star appears and she remembers how her kindly grandmother told her before she died that this was a person going to heaven. With the next match she lights, the girl has a vision of her grandmother... the only person to ever love her... in the flame. She continues to light the matches one-by-one so she can keep the vision of her grandmother alive. But, sadly, eventually she runs out of matches and freezes to death. Her grandmother then shows up as a spirit and takes the little match girl to heaven.
So, basically, life sucks and then you die. Such a great lesson for kids.
I love comments! However, all comments are moderated, and won't appear until approved. Are you an abusive troll with nothing to contribute? Don't bother. Selling something? Don't bother. Spam linking? Don't bother.
PLEASE NOTE: My comment-spam protection requires JavaScript... if you have it turned off or are using a mobile device without JavaScript, commenting won't work. Sorry.
Atom Entries Feed Comments Feed
I hope you got to cuddle a sloth. I remember a pic from your Australia trip of you cuddling a koala, so I expect nothing less from sloths. Though those nails look a bit scary.
I usually reject anything trending, but I’m a sucker for this recent sloth phenomenon. They’re so unbelievably adorable. I don’t believe in god, but, if I did, I’d suspect that he outsourced these guys to Jim Henson. They’re so Muppety. Cool pics.
Hello, Dave.
I meant she, not he. God doesn’t exist but she’s definitely a woman.
Can’t. Stand. The. Cuteness!!
Little Match Girl sounds wonderful to me!
Sloths! Squeee!!!!
And fairytales? Grew up on Brothers Grimm and Andersen. For some reason around age four or so I completely fell in love with Andersen’s tales and still have a book around of his stories. I have a soft spot for “The Snow Queen.” Took a class on children’s literature in college. I am still scarred by “Aschenputtel” — the Brothers Grimm version of the Cinderella story.
How can something that cute be a deadly sin?? Adult sloths remind me of content little old people, smiling away as we young ones speed past them, wise in their collected knowledge that some day we will be just like them, slowing down to enjoy life!
I enjoyed seeing sloths and monkeys in Costa Rica, too!
oh please bring me a sloth home! we can snuggle on my couch together. and i’ll build him a tree type structure in my living room. one here at work, too! i promise i’ll take good care of him.
#aslothismyspiritanimal
The first thing I said when I read this post was “Dammit Dave!” I’ve always wanted to visit the sloth sanctuary.
I love your pictures of the sloths! So cute!
The sloths are so cute
I love how they always look like they’re smiling.
Sloths always look happy, perhaps because they take things slow. They are just the sweetest things ever.