Bios on the Hill

What do spider webs, stilts and goats have in common? You wouldn't think much, but they are all part of the eclectic awesomeness that makes up Bios on the Hill. Bios is basically a nature reserve that has a bunch of other random fun things thrown in as well. Like many places in Okinawa, it was pretty difficult to find. We apparently ended up on the wrong Route 6, driving back and forth trying to find a sign - ANY sign! After searching for this place for almost 30 minutes, I was starting to think we were going to go home without ever finding it at all. Thanks to the life-saver that is the GPS on our Iphones, we eventually found the correct Route 6 and were there within ten minutes.

The "driveway" (I guess you would call if) up to Bios on the Hill is a gorgeous road, beautifully landscaped, that winds back and forth up a large, well, hill! The views from the top are awesome, and you can really get a sense of how thin the island actually is as you are able to view both oceans on either side of the land from the top.

Orchids lining the entrance

These topiary dragons were spraying mist every so often for us to cool off in

Ox cart rides

Giant swings for us big kids

Up close and personal with one of the Oxes

Another really unique thing we found at Bios are the goats. When you hear me say "goats", you probably picture a pen full of goats nibbling corn out of your hand through chicken wire. No, these goats are more like dogs. They have leashes, water dishes, and like to go for walks. The goats are basically grazing in an open field, and you simply walk right up to the one you'd like to take on a walk, grab his (or her) leash and go! In all honesty though, it was more like the goats were walking us than the other way around.

A goat taking Matt for a walk

One goat that was in a pen - begging for some food

We then proceeded to take a nature walk through the jungle areas that were marked off with paths throughout the park. I don't think I've ever seen so many full-blown spider webs in my life, and we also got to see a few other neat things along the way...

Really cool fruit(?) hanging from a tree - this was about the size of a small melon!

One of the MANY Banana Spiders that live in the park

Beetle

My favorite polka-dot trees;)

Lotus

Hornet

And just when you thought Bios on the Hill couldn't get any more random... lets throw some stilts and hula hoops into the mix, shall we? Here's Matt balancing on a set of stilts...

Why are there no photos of ME on the stilts you ask? Well, that would require me to actually be on the stilts, which wasn't happening - we have a lot of video footage of me falling off the stilts, though if anyone is interested. I've always had amazing balance;)

The last adventure of the day was a quick ride around a lake on one of their pontoon-type boats. The ride was relaxing after such a hot day in the sun, but the guide spoke all in Japanese, so much of the commentary was lost on us. The only thing Matt and I understood was the phrase "vanilla bean", which sounded more like, "baneeela bean".

Matt and I are getting super excited for next weekend when Matt's parents arrive in Okinawa for a visit - they will be our first official visitors from the States and we can't wait to show them around! More stories and updates to come!

-C