Day 8 – Thursday, May 3rd

Today was probably the easiest day we’ve had since we arrived here. We started our day up with the sunrise, filming scarlet macaws flying all over camp.

We are definitely getting better at capturing them in flight. I got some decent shots with my DJI Osmo, and both Art avd Silas got some great shots with the Cannon C300. We finally figured out that shooting them in slow motion produces better results, avd will give us more options in post production.

I cooked some scrambled eggs and we ate those with peanut butter and jelly tortillas for breakfast.

We had hoped to go on a raid with the Honduran Forestry Service and local police, to confiscate some scarlet macaw chicks that had been poached, but that plan fell through.

So, I did what any good journalist would do, and I took a nap instead!

Our hosts fed us beans and rice, home made tortillas, spaghetti, fish and fried plantains for lunch. Plus a thick soupy drink made from mashed plantains that tasted a lot like sweet potatoes. I did not eat the fish because it had bones in it and I just can’t do that. And the head was on the plate – yeah, nope.

Overall, though, it was quite tasty. And I think I’ve gotten so used to this natural, non-processed food that my stomach might protest when I get back home. That and the fact that I’ve eaten almost all carbs since I’ve been here.

After lunch, I worked on writing out a rough script to get an idea of how we might put this documentary story together.

The crew took a trip out to the far edge of the village, where the pine forest meets the savannah and the savannah meets the rain forest. They said the savannah looked almost like you would picture the savannah in Africa, minus the giraffes avd elephants.

I went down to the little creek nearby with a couple of the locals to watch them fetch our drinking water. They normally have to walk 15 minutes carrying these heavy jugs full of water, but we have them a ride. The benefits of having guests with a car!

You’ve heard the saying, don’t drink the water. Well, we know this water is surely full of things that could make us sick. But to make the water safer to drink, they put bleach in it. And then we filter it again with our camping straws and purifiers. So far so good!

At sunset, we spent a little more time filming birds, and then came in for dinner. Yep, beans and rice, tortillas, and scrambled eggs.

Tomorrow we are going out on another nest check and patrol, and hope to interview Juan Carlos, our contact with the Honduran Forestry Service. He is coming here from Puerto Lempira to meet us.

And now as I’m waiting to go to sleep, I’m listening to the locals play their car stereo super loudly. At least they have good taste in music – Bon Jovi, Chicago, Bryan Adams, Air Supply, Tracy Lawrence, Dolly Parton, Clint Black, and Vince Gill to name a few. They seem to really like the 80’s – my kind of people.