Mom always said if you make a booboo it's best to 'fess up and get it off your chest right away, then you can get on with life.Even if it's really embarrassing? Particularly if it is.
So here we go with the embarrassing booboo, and it's a hummer. But before I do that, I want to report that the workshop was terrific. The weather was perfect, the workshop attendees were A-one super people, our rooms and the surroundings at El Remanso Wildlife Lodge were awe-inspiring, we were looked after by a great staff with superabundant grace and good humor, and we all had a wonderful time. After the workshop, I gave a mini-workshop for two of the Costa Rican staff (Gerardo and Elyer). Then I took a trip to the Monte Verde Cloud Forest (more later), which went even better than expected. I'd estimate that I took 500-600 absolutely terrific photos. My best ever. It was a great trip.
So what's the problem?
In my defense, (weak, but it's all I have) let's say that the day before catching my plane I traveled five hours in a local bus across Costa Rica (3 of those hours on a dusty, bumpy dirt road), then stayed up later that night than usual. Then I got up at 5:15, still sleepy. I packed up my little carrybag with my sketchbook and pen and watercolor pencils, a couple of things to nibble on, and not much else, then Joel left me, my suitcase, and my pack off at the airport in San José, Costa Rica, for the trip home. I checked both my bags through, so I wouldn't have to carry so much. I was a little
concerned that airport security won't let us lock or seal bags. But hey, what's the choice.And I put my camera, containing the memory card with all those wonderful photos, in my little travel pack, zipped it up and checked it. Duh. Do I really have to finish this, mom????
If I had been smart, or even present inside my skull, I would have at least removed the teensy memory card and tucked it into my wallet. Or I could have transferred the contents of the memory card to a light-weight CD the day before and carried THAT with me -- I had an opportunity to do it.
That way, whoever pilfered the camera (a nice little Canon PowerShot A540 worth about $225 when I bought it a couple of years ago) would have gotten only the camera, not the pictures, too. [Hey, can I get a do-over?]
But still, it really was a perfect trip, and I have a journal full of
sketches, poems, notes and ephemera to prove it, but the photos you see in this these workshop blog entries will be those of Marilyn, Jocelyn and Kathy, my generous students, who have given me permission to use them.And PLEASE, learn from my stupendously addlepated mistake [she sighs and wipes her hands briskly, glad to be finished with the nasty task of confessing her blunder].
[brightening, with a sheepish grin] So now, tomorrow, come back and I will show-and-tell you what transpired during our four-day Nature Sketching/Journaling Workshop (and other related adventures).
See you then!
