Relish the Gift from and of Small things

"It seems possible that the driving force of planetary life is actually very small and that its intricacies are lost on most of us." -- Alan Huffman

Dear fellow wanderer

May a piece of the peace be with you today.

Last week I was in a very exciting and relaxing journey – a 3-day 2 night trek with a 24 year old guide and my hubby in Luang Prabang, Laos.

An internal antennae to see small things

In this trek, I took a number of photographs of small things, mostly insects. I have been

captivated by small things since the last 8 or 10 years or so. 

Traveling I suppose, for many of us, is about the big things. We are often excited to be in a new place to see what it is known for, and usually, these are famous structures (the pyramids, the Eiffel tower, historic buildings, ruins, a giant Buddha, more than 100 meter high stupa and the like) or the big animals (lion, tiger, giraffe, elephants, orangutan, and others). The bigger, the better, and the more exhilarating  – the highest mountain, the largest waterfall, the longest crocodile or snake (if you don't cringe when you see one!), and so on and so forth.

On our second day in Luang Prabang, we visited the famous Kuang Si waterfalls. In all its splendor, how could one not fall in love with the lovely turquoise blue waters in the pools that nature crafted? Yet, for whatever reason, my attention was not focused so much on the “big” things. My eyes were constantly being drawn to the small things around – a greenish mantis, a dragon fly with a bright blue butt, spiders, a flower with a unique shape. 

It seems I have grown antennae that helps me detect small things. Or is it just that my spirit thirsts for inspiration from small things? I find joy in finding these small awesome and sublime living creatures. I am awed at how nature could put together the body parts and limbs and the stunning medley of colors and shapes in one being. Hey, don’t scoff at me for calling small creatures ‘beings'. I know that it is not settled yet whether insects are sentient beings, that is, whether they have consciousness. But for me, in the bigger scheme of things, regardless of size or arguments about their consciousness, these small creatures are precious.

Varied modes of transport on a 3-day journey

First, let me give you an orientation of our journey. The three maps below show where we started, where we slept on the first night and second night and where our last touristic visit was.

Overview map of trekking and kayaking

Trek started and ended at Ban Hay Lo Village

Kayaking started at Ban Som Sa Nouk village, ending at the Elephant Camp

One reason why I really enjoyed this trek (aside from seeing beautiful small creatures, of course!) is that our mode of traveling changed from day to day. 

On the first day, we walked upwards, even with the scorching sun, towards the Hmong and Khmu villages in the mountains around Luang Prabang, reaching to a maximum elevation of more than 700 meters above sea level. This elevation is much lower than the treks we did in Nepal (Annapurna and Helambu ranges), in Mt Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, and in Mt Kanlaon, in Negros Occidental, Philippines. 

Our guide resting under very sparse forest cover.

Without the bamboo bushes, these cows will also suffer from the intense heat.

Prior to our ascent, we did not read up about the area and so we were somehow prepared to be surprised. However, I was still expecting to see more vegetation and trees along the unpaved roads and pathways. The area was almost like a sparsely vegetated biome - there were very few trees along the pathways and there was a lot of burning to make way for planting crops. So it was really hot by mid-day. The intensity of the sun's rays is debilitating. One has to rest quite frequently and drink lots of water. We even saw cows taking refuge under bamboo bushes. But this did not deter us from moving forward. 

Please do not follow my example - protect yourself.
Our guide and my hubby has sunscreen and adequate cover for their body.
I am just not a fan of such things. 

Thank god for the bamboo bush on one side of the road.
Below the land was cleared through burning to prepare this for planting crops.

Then on the second day we walked down towards the relocation site of those affected by the on-going dam construction. From there a van picked us up and brought us to the Ou river. From the Ou river, we kayaked downstream until we reached it’s mouth that kissed the waters of the Mekong river. Our final destination on day 2 was the elephant camp.

On day 3, we of course had fun riding, bathing, learning how to direct the elephants in the camp. And on our way back to the city center, we rode on the typical long and skinny riverboat that made me wonder – why oh why are these boats so slim? Yet, I felt safe and life jackets were available onboard as the boat moved gently along the Mekong river. No rush, which, until the end of our journey made me feel so relaxed and at ease.

I have never been to a short tour before with such a diverse means of transportation…

(Note: I am also sharing here some photos of interesting living things I found in the environs of Kuang Si waterfalls.)

A splash of colors and variety of shapes in small creatures

So with my fully functioning internal antennae, I was able to spot interesting insects that I have not seen before. Or if I have, I did not even take notice of them. 

Since I am not an entomologist or an expert who studies insects, then I would not be providing you the common or scientific names yet for all of these lovely small creatures. (This blog will be amended as soon as I have information on the names of these insects.)

·     Finding a vulnerable insect, turned upside down

I found this insect (see photo on the right) while I was on my way to my room in the elephant camp, just a meter away from the door of the men’s toilet. It was lying upside down exposing its bright yellow underside. I was so excited upon seeing this yellow seemingly helpless creature that I rushed and yelled at our tour guide instructing him to bring the camera to me (he had the camera since we were preparing for our elephant ride). 

Then we noticed that two ants were already starting to attack this insect. We somehow rescued it from harm as it was very much vulnerable already in an upside-down position. It did not resist when we held it gently on its butt. Then we moved it to a plant nearby.

Isn't it beautiful?  

·     Whether they really pray or not, I do not know

In grade school this insect was introduced to us as the praying mantis. Why were they given

this name? National Geographic says, "The praying mantis is named for its prominent

front legs, which are bent and held together at an angle that suggests the position of
prayer." (Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/p/praying

mantis/)

Hmmm, now I know.  

You will find them when you least expect them.

For example, on our first night in the elephant camp, I was about to wash my hand in the toilet when I saw one mantis on the wall near the mirror. (See photo above.)

When we wanted to put the yellow-bellied insect (that was being attacked by big ants) on a plant, we saw this mantis (see below). That was a surprise. Of course we would normally expect to see a mantis on a plant, but we did not expect at that moment to see the mantis where we also wanted to place the yellow-bellied insect.

We also found this friendly, curious, brownish mantis at the table with lots of bananas, which were food for the elephants. I was about to feed the elephant when I saw this beautiful brown mantis. I just placed my hand on the table near the mantis, and voila ! - it just walked up my hands. We have always had this nice interaction with the praying mantis since were kids, right? And it feels good to have the same experience again as an adult. 

The day after we arrived in Luang Prabang (we were not on this trek yet), while many tourists were enjoying the view of the majestic Kuang Si waterfalls, an insect that looked like a mantis with a very faint green color caught my eye. It seemed like a young mantis, but how would I know? Please help in identifying this insect.... (see photo above) 

·     Do they really spew fire? 

Not really, I suppose. Dragonflies do not spew fire - we all know this. But why are they called dragonflies? The “useless info junkie” (https://theuijunkie.com/dragonfly-name-origin/) – provides this information – “in Romanian folklore the dragonfly was Saint George’s horse. According to the myth, after St. George wounded the dragon, his horse was cursed by the devil and became a giant flying insect. That’s why in the Romanian language the word dragonfly translates into Devil’s Horse. In Romanian ‘drac’ means both devil and dragon while in English, is translated to dragonfly.” 

Whatever legend or folklore says, the dragonfly is one creature which has a very unique design that humans have attempted to copy in the design of helicopters. 

                                                                

From day 1 of this trek, I already saw a number of dragonflies on our upward trek to the Hmong and Khmu villages.

There were small streams and each time we passed by these streams, there were insects that fascinated me. Lucky me, on the very first stream we passed by there were four different kinds of dragonflies – the reddish, ash, red and black, black only -colored dragonflies – all in one spot. Amazing!

Eternity is bliss they say and just being there taking photographs of these insects made me forget seconds, minutes and hours. These insects makes time stand still as I was glued to some spots taking photos of these dragonflies. Nature has a way of teaching us what eternity feels like. 

Each stream is a blessing, both for humans and nature. Our guide would wash his hat on the stream then put it on to cool his head. In the sweltering heat, everyone needed a splash of water. No exception in nature, I suppose.

In the next stream, we saw another type of dragonfly – but maybe we would have found more, had we lingered longer. 

Then as we were resting on this small shade, I found another one with a greenish head, perched on the dry branch. My rest was interrupted – but never mind – my fascination for these creatures takes over my entire being once I see them. I am somehow resurrected, even when I am totally exhausted! Nature makes me feel well or healed and rejuvenated.

Onward to the next stream, we found again another reddish dragonfly.

When we arrived in one of the Hmong villages, the community had a communal water pump where they fetch water, take a bath and wash clothes. Just beside this washing area, there were lots of dragonflies. One was a red and black one which may be the same as the one that we already saw in one stream we passed by earlier. But there were two dragonflies that I have never seen before – one had a white body and a light brown head while the other has a whitish body and the rest were black.

Humans and the dragonflies co-exist peacefully in the human invented watering holes. Thanks to those who labored to provide water to the mountain dwellers – nowadays, villagers do not have to travel far to fetch water and the insects can have their feast too.

·     What is this creature – bluish black body with orange legs?

In nature, surprises come in all shapes and colors. Had my antennae not been functioning, I would have missed this – OMG, what a beautiful – creature!!!

I was not particularly looking for something. When I am trekking, I am just immersing myself in the splendor of it all – even if the temperature was almost 40 degrees Celsius and it sometimes felt like 43. And then, some color or shape pops up among the dry bushes or greenery. We have to open our eyes and hearts to these moments. ‘Aha’s’ are only possible when one has a welcoming heart.

·     Sometimes they do come in pairs.

While resting, or while walking, or while just taking a quick pause to breath – there are things one notices. For example, we were just about to leave the shaded roadside, when I noticed these two crickets. 

At the elephant camp, two butterflies were flying together and it seemed to me they were playing or dancing. They say that the Chinese believes that two butterflies flying together symbolize love. Maybe it is true (with a wink!) – since my hubby and I were celebrating our 15th year anniversary in the month of April 2019.

Sometimes, two dragonflies were on the same plant or branch.

There were two beetles on a flower. Were they making love? Entomologists – I need help! What were these two beetles doing?

Or two of these “ant-looking” creatures which had wings were on the same flower. One was blackish while the other (which looked like a wasp actually) had a golden-brownish body and wing color.

·     So what other eye-catching insects did I spot?

On the trek we also saw a number of these white creatures on a tree. Our guide got some for us and we noticed these were very friendly creatures. 

In the photo below you will see this insect (only photo I have, which is not a great shot) with yellow gold and black stripes on the body and what struck me the most is the design on its wings. I found this in the shower room – so I had to rush and take my camera before starting my ritual. In places that are teeming with life, with an ultra-rich biodiversity – one can expect to see anything, anywhere.

In the photo below, is another insect which I cannot name and I saw it in the elephant camp – but definitely I super-duper love the design of his body parts and the color combination. Lovely! And look at those long hind legs...

This next one took me my surprise. I was trying to take a photo of the flower but then this insect suddenly flew to sip nectar from the flower. Ooops – quick, quick Carmela – take the shot. Whew, that was stressful! I had to switch gears immediately – take a photo and a video of this feeding animal. 

My, my – another beautiful insect. When you want to take pleasure in nature – just go to a spot that offers this – and you will be filled to your heart’s delight. Look! The brilliant, glittering wings could astound anyone. Is this a bee?

This pink “banana blossom” look-alike at the elephant camp offers nectar to a number of insects as well. I have often seen this plant in the Philippines but with an orange (not pink) banana heart. 

There were also bees, butterflies and a pupa. These creatures are dear to my heart. I have also collected a number of photos of bees and butterflies in previous trips in other places. I would love to know if bees or butterflies found in different places would belong to the same family or species. Humans would claim - I have a relative who lives in the USA or Africa. Do animals living across different continents also belong to the same species? 

There were a lot of these pupae in one small lemon (or is this lime) tree. Take note of the sharp needle (thorn) just beside the pupa, which I suppose protects it from hungry predators. We may find the pupal stage passive, but a lot of transformation happens within. According to encyclopedia.com - "The pupa is a resting stage in which the insect is transformed into an adult. It does not feed or increase in size, and typically it is outwardly inactive and covered by a hard integument. Internally, however, a great deal of metabolic activity occurs. Some larval organs are destroyed and some adult organs are initiated during this stage. Other adult organs develop from structures already present in the larva. At the end of the pupa stage, the integument is shed and the imago, or adult form, emerges." (Source: https://www.encyclopedia.com/plants-and-animals/animals/zoology-invertebrates/pupa)

I found this insect (see photo below) by the Luang Prabang Kuang Si waterfalls – and I could not tell what it is - maybe a wasp? I was just about to sit on the bench, when I saw it perched on the edge of the backrest of the bench. The black and yellow stripes, its shape, wings – are perfectly blended together. Wonderful!

Our guide was wondering why I was not afraid of the insects. Well, I am afraid of some, but in general I like to interact with them. Below is a photo of one of the bugs that stayed with me for awhile.

Birds, geckos and plants in the area

There were also birds although I did not manage to get good photos of them. But here are  photos of four birds (although not all shots are fantastic) – just to showcase the diversity in the area.

When we arrived at the first Hmong village, there were children who held a stick with 3 baby birds perched on it. I felt compassion for these babies because it seemed as though they still needed their mom. But our guide assured us that the kids will take good care of these birds because they will in due time sell them so they could earn some money. 

While at the elephant camp, we also saw some of these wonderful birds. If I had time, I would have also perched on a good spot for hours to get a good photo of them.

While kayaking we saw a few beautiful birds but we did not bring with us our camera for safety reasons, so - no photos....

At the elephant camp, I saw a gecko when I entered the toilet. The toilet seems to be a favorite place of some animals. Maybe because the doors and windows are always open and they could easily go in and out. Geckos are beautiful creatures and I love listening to their vocalization, which scientists say differ from species to species.

One interesting thing I read about geckos is this - "Most geckos cannot blink, but they often lick their eyes to keep them clean and moist. They have a fixed lens within each iris that enlarges in darkness to let in more light." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gecko)

There was one flower (see photo below) which looks like a bouquet blooming along the riverbank just below the Kuang Si falls. Is this an orchid? And the next one (see next photo) which looked like a collection of round orange fruits or berries was just beside this flower.

I saw this torch ginger or ginger lily also just within the environs of the waterfalls.

The next photos of plants, flowers, fruits - were taken at the elephant camp and while we were walking along pathways in the mountains and valleys.

I will blog about the big animals some other time, especially about the gentle elephants at the camp. 

I hope that by featuring these small creatures we all realize how diverse our world is. 

What if each of us had to investigate, observe, scrutinize just one square meter of land and all that is in it? What would we find out? How many life forms would we discover? 

In 2012, The Guardian featured an article entitled - "A world of life in a single cubic foot."

This article narrates how David Liittschwager - "primarily a portrait photographer, had the idea of taking a one-cubic-foot metal frame and recording what moved through this habitat over the course of a day and night. He then made portraits of the life that could be seen with the naked eye.

What was found even in fairly nondescript places was wondrous. When the metal frame was dropped in the Duck river in Tennessee, it recorded 32 fish species, and nearly 100 others in the day. "Dig a few handfuls of sediment from the bottom and the river's significance begins to reveal itself. Half of what you hold in your hands is sand and gravel, and the rest is live species – mussels, snails, juvenile crayfish, the larvae of stoneflies and dragonflies. It seems possible that the driving force of planetary life is actually very small and that its intricacies are lost on most of us," author Alan Huffman remarks in an essay accompanying the pictures.

A whole, unknown world was found when the cube was suspended from the branch of a tree in Costa Rica's rainforest. This time, 145 species – birds, mammals, mosses, bromeliads and epiphytes – were recorded. "This is the last biotic frontier, the missing pieces of the phenomenal jigsaw puzzle that is the tropical rainforest. How forest canopy populations become established, grow and disperse to other sites remains wholly unknown," said canopy researcher Nalini Nadkarni." 

(Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/11/world-in-cubic-foot-david-liittschwager)

Yet, in a recent article, written by Isabelle Gerettsen published by CNN on the 7th of May 2019 - the headline read: "One million species threatened with extinction because of humans" 

The article mentioned - "One million of the planet's eight million species are threatened with extinction by humans, scientists warned Monday in what is described as the most comprehensive assessment of global nature loss ever.

Their landmark report paints a bleak picture of a planet ravaged by an ever-growing human population, whose insatiable consumption is destroying the natural  world.

The global rate of species extinction "is already tens to hundreds of times higher than it has been, on average, over the last 10 million years," according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a UN committee, whose report was written by 145 experts from 50 countries. 

Shrinking habitat, exploitation of natural resources, climate change and pollution are the main drivers of species loss and are threatening more than 40% of amphibians, 33% of coral reefs and over a third of all marine mammals with extinction, the IPBES report said." (Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/06/world/one-million-species-threatened-extinction-humans-scn-intl?no-st=1557422113)

I do hope that by sharing with you these photos of small creatures from my Laos adventure, our hearts and minds will welcome the diverse world and we strive to stop being a threat to our own existence by depriving other creatures of their homes and their mere existence.

The divine in me bows down to the divine in you and all other creatures! 

Namaste!

Sunset at the elephant camp.

C. Ariza, written in Can Tho, Vietnam, 10 May 2019

P.S. I highly recommend the Manifa Travel Adventure Tours in Luang Prabang (https://www.manifatravel.com). We were very satisfied with their service and the program in this tour. Our guide, Chit was also very helpful. Excellent service.