Balsa Trees

As I walked through the lush Panamanian rainforest steering up at the massive canopy above, I could see thousands of different trees and palms, but the one that caught my interest most was the gigantic balsa tree.  With its broad leaves and humongous sprawled canopy, it really was the king of the forest.
The reason I was so interested in the balsa tree was because it has the lightest wood in the world.  The tree itself is a fast growing giant, reaching full height in ten to twenty years, then abruptly falling over.
It's main uses are model aeroplanes and gliders, but it has also been used for surfboards.

Sailing Our Open Bic Dinghy at Night

The florescence sizzled past the hull, seeming to glow with an internal light, transforming the disturbed water into a magic scene.
A choppy wave sluiced over the transom, then subsided, leaving sparks of florescence clinging to my leg.
Logan and I were sitting in the new sailing dinghy at night, as the florescence whizzed past the hull.

Las Perlas Islands

"Pelicans incoming, arrowhead formation," I yelled as the wedge - like triangle plunged into the disorganised mass of frigate birds.  Underneath the ball were nests and dead trees and birds with red puffy wattles on their black, stream lined, almost elegant features.
Down below, the beach seemed alive with hermit crabs of all different shapes, sizes and colors.
The sea was dazzling blue, as bright as the sunniest summer's day, with only the gentle song of the waves against the shore to break the serenity.

Building a Hermit Crab Home

Horse Riding In The Andes

"RRR riba!"  Roberto yelled, and all four horses galloped forward, reaching full speed in seconds.  Dad bounced and jolted in the saddle.  His legs flailing out to either side, barely managing to stay on as the horses galloped forward.
We were horse riding in the Cloud Forest of Ecuador.  Our guide Roberto rode behind us, signaling the horses to speed up or slow down when we wanted to.
We came out of the gallop as we neared a patch of Cloud Forest.  As we entered the patch I leaned down to pick up some mint.  I righted myself again, sniffed it and thew it over my shoulder, hearing Logan's alarmed cry as it hit him.  I smiled to myself.  This was turning out to be fun I thought.

1-2-19 About Me

My name is Baxter.  I am ten years old and am from New Zealand. Some of my favorite things are archery, gardening, kitesurfing, surfing, karate, woodworking, biking and swimming.

We have a big piece of regenerating land that we have planted over 5000 trees on.  It requires lots of manternance.  Some of the fruit trees we grow include avocados, apples, peaches, cherrys, apricots, plumbs.

We are currently sailing our boat from the Caribbean to New Zealand and I'm going to put some of my stories on this blog.

This is some massive corn in South America

10-2-19 Rafting the Jatunyaku

"forward together" the guide yelled as the raft began to creep up the face of the wave. Rainforest sped by under the extra thrust of the 6 oars. The wave broke over the bow and we were drenched with freezing river water. We were rafting down the Jatunyacu, one of the smaller rivers joining the amazon from the highlands of Ecuador. Our guide, Victor was at the steering oar calling instructions and Poncho was in a kayak, meters away, ready to pick up anyone who might fall out, but for the moment content to sit back and splash us. In the next hours we went under several suspension bridges, all in bad nick, with planks missing or moss growing on the cables, and once when we stopped to have a break, we even saw a baby snake slithering under the rocks. Finally as we pulled the raft up the beach, I thought what a great day it had been.