One of my all time favorite shows is Survivorman. I love Les Stroud. If you read his biographies and autobiographies (yes, I have both) he leads a very fascinating life of survival with nature. If you have never seen his show, he takes a bunch of cameras into a survival type of situation, whether it is a plane crash, getting lost in the woods, or lost at sea. He teaches the viewer how to survive practically within this environment using the resources that are available to him and how to find your way back to civilization.
I have used some of his suggestions before while camping or hiking, but of course I was never in any danger. Well, here is an adventure I had recently where I felt like Survivorwoman! I was never in any danger, but it was one of the most exciting, coolest moments I have ever experienced.
It happened while I was in Puerto Rico. The people I was with liked to sleep in a little and I decided I only had a short time to be on this island and needed to use every moment to my advantage. I woke up one day at 6:30 a.m. and decided I was going to head west on Shacks Beach. So, essentially I was walking towards the Dominican Republic. (this is just fascinating to me that I was so close)
It is a sunny, bright, blue skied day. Not a cloud in the sky. I have my camera,phone, and some water and am enjoying the view and solitude. I fail to notice that behind me to the Southeast there is a rain cloud. It starts to sprinkle and I knew that it tends to downpour in PR. I'm thinking "crap" as I am about 1/2 mile away from the rental. So I begin to look around to see what my environment is. I see palm tree fronds hanging over this tall aluminum fence. There are about 10 palm tree fronds overlapping one another creating a sort of shelter. I climb under there just as it starts to pour.
Picture it.
You are sitting under palm tree fronds in a downpour staying completely dry facing the ocean and seeing the waves while about 6 yards away are two crabs chasing each other around the beach. There is some sun peaking through the clouds. There is no one around in either direction.
I mean, how awesome is that! And you know what? I was so thrilled with it all I forgot to take pictures of my survival.
I start to watch for breaks in the rain and pay attention to how the clouds shaping and what direction they are going. I'm determining when the best time would be to walk back to the rental while the rain is down to a slight sprinkle. The clouds break just a little and I decide it is time to head back. No sooner than I walk in the door, it starts to pour and it poured most of the morning. No one knew I was gone. I snuck back in and got comfy on the couch with my Puerto Rican coffee with my book.
So my survival lasted for about 2 hours. The most peaceful 2 hours of my life.
Puerto Rico offered an abundance of experiences that I never thought I would ever live. To have this survival experience, as silly as it may sound, has helped open my doors to my realization that my life needs to expand.
So, have you been a survivorman or survivorwoman lately?
I have used some of his suggestions before while camping or hiking, but of course I was never in any danger. Well, here is an adventure I had recently where I felt like Survivorwoman! I was never in any danger, but it was one of the most exciting, coolest moments I have ever experienced.
It happened while I was in Puerto Rico. The people I was with liked to sleep in a little and I decided I only had a short time to be on this island and needed to use every moment to my advantage. I woke up one day at 6:30 a.m. and decided I was going to head west on Shacks Beach. So, essentially I was walking towards the Dominican Republic. (this is just fascinating to me that I was so close)
It is a sunny, bright, blue skied day. Not a cloud in the sky. I have my camera,phone, and some water and am enjoying the view and solitude. I fail to notice that behind me to the Southeast there is a rain cloud. It starts to sprinkle and I knew that it tends to downpour in PR. I'm thinking "crap" as I am about 1/2 mile away from the rental. So I begin to look around to see what my environment is. I see palm tree fronds hanging over this tall aluminum fence. There are about 10 palm tree fronds overlapping one another creating a sort of shelter. I climb under there just as it starts to pour.
Picture it.
You are sitting under palm tree fronds in a downpour staying completely dry facing the ocean and seeing the waves while about 6 yards away are two crabs chasing each other around the beach. There is some sun peaking through the clouds. There is no one around in either direction.
I mean, how awesome is that! And you know what? I was so thrilled with it all I forgot to take pictures of my survival.
I start to watch for breaks in the rain and pay attention to how the clouds shaping and what direction they are going. I'm determining when the best time would be to walk back to the rental while the rain is down to a slight sprinkle. The clouds break just a little and I decide it is time to head back. No sooner than I walk in the door, it starts to pour and it poured most of the morning. No one knew I was gone. I snuck back in and got comfy on the couch with my Puerto Rican coffee with my book.
So my survival lasted for about 2 hours. The most peaceful 2 hours of my life.
Puerto Rico offered an abundance of experiences that I never thought I would ever live. To have this survival experience, as silly as it may sound, has helped open my doors to my realization that my life needs to expand.
So, have you been a survivorman or survivorwoman lately?
June 09, 2010
I haven't! I'm more of a creature of comfort :). But watching the rain pour down from the shelter of some palm fronds sounds so exotic!!