Millipede

Midway uphill a few mornings ago, our human chanced to see this little friendly creature.

Using the shoe for comparison, the phone was quickly taken out to record it.

As there were no hikers in sight, our human waited until it moved out of sight.

This is not the biggest our human has seen; there were bigger millipedes and centipedes while walking deep in our country's jungle.

Airborne Leg First!

Few weeks later another interesting incident happened.
At the very same hiking rest stop, our human walked to the other side of the stream turned man-made pool where a small flat area had been cemented with a few benches. 
To go there, one has to walk on a narrow man-made concrete mini-bridge above the small waterfall that separates the upper and lower level of the stream.
On the return walk, our human slipped on a small patch of green moss/algae and went airborne leg first.

The next instant, our human felt something cold and soft.
Our human quickly stood up and realised that the murky water filled with mud and decaying leaves was almost waist high.
Water in the upper level 'pool' dropped due to the previous few days of dry weather.
To be honest, our human could not recollect how the climb up out of that murky water was.
Soaked and very dirty with decaying leaves in the hair, a fellow hiker helped our human pick it out; another hiker gave our human a clean dry T-shirt to change.
Our human then went to the lower stream to clean up before heading downhill.
Now our human is extra careful at that area, moving slower and sure-footed.
Without even a scratch, one hiker commented that the 'mountain spirits' must have protected our human. They said it could have been dangerous if landed on any part of the cemented area or rocks.
PS: Cell phone, keys and money in the waist pouch were wet and had to be cleaned and dried.

Sinkhole

This frequently visited rest stop beside a small stream is a favourite among hikers. Few years ago someone cemented the sides of the stream creating a small pool on the upper level. This stream flows down some big rocks to the lower level and was cemented to resemble a small waterfall.

When it rains (usually heavy), water will gush down the hill slopes beside it making its way to the stream.

With normal quick steps, our human walked beside the stream when suddenly the ground beneath gave way and our human fell forward onto the soft sand.

Since our human never uttered a sound, other hikers resting on the lower level did not know about the incident. Though the sand had the full imprint of our human's body (knee, hip, shoulder and face), our human just brushed the sand off and then walked downhill home.

At home, while taking the bath, our human checked and did not sustain any injuries.

That evening, there was a long heavy downpour.

Next morning, our human went back to the same spot but this time our human walked nearer the hill slope and with a long fallen branch prodded that sunken spot which now looked normal with no indication of a sinkhole.

Our human was shocked to discover that it was almost two feet deep. This time this potential sinkhole had to be make known to other hikers. Our human then drove in more twigs and branches, and placed an orange plastic lid to indicate danger.

Spunky Spiny Turtle

On the way downhill, our human met this lone spiny turtle. Its spines were not yet thoroughly worn down through age and rummaging years for food among the abrasive undergrowth.

Our human slowly placed one foot beside it as size comparison before snapping a photo.

This chap, did a sudden little hop and turned 180 degrees around to face the foot.

Surprised at its agility and speed, our human stayed still.

When it climbed up with its neck stretched out aiming for our human's ankle, our human felt a little uneasy and moved.

Our human gently prodded and guided that spunky chap to the side of the path into the thick undergrowth.

PS: Could not blog earlier weeks due to thunderstorm electricity trip.

I Will Survive 2026!

Our human loves going for morning walks as the surroundings, especially the plants are encouraging and do not give up.

This plant, off the path, was bent; it grew a branch straight up. The bent plant now almost touching the ground grew leaves.

Off the path and chopped off, this plant grew new leaves.

Our human absolutely loves this plant for showing its resilience.
Also off the path, it was chopped off; it grew sideways to the left. When it was also broken, it grew up straight up with leaves sprouting.

PS: When the internet router was upgraded to higher speed plus data lately; and
having retired 20 years ago with no one to ask, our human had a little trouble comprehending the fast evolving internet jargon.