June 16th
- Departed from San Jose at 8 am- Stopped in Cartago at a cathedral
- Stopped in Cerro de la Muerte, or "Hill of Death" - called this because many people died trying to cross it due to high elevation and cold temperatures (Yea, I know...cold? I'm in the freakin' tropics!)
- Due to the torrential downpour of cold rain, we briefly took in the oak forest
- The restaurant we ate lunch at had lots of hummingbirds clustered around hanging
feeders
- Stopped at a pineapple plantation - who knew baby pineapples could be so cute! yet so environmentally degrading...
- Stopped again just down the street to eat the freshest pineapple I've ever tasted (that's right, Mom! Fresher than the one you buy off the shelf and cut up yourself!) Pineapples are as ripe as they are ever going to get when they are cut from the plant, therefore, they must be refrigerated along their entire journey from farm to fork! That's a lot of energy inputs for your tasty pineapple! That's one fruit I would have a hard time giving up though. The core of pineapple contains an enzyme that can be used as a meat tenderizer. If you eat too much of it, your mouth will become sore. I believe the enzyme is stronger in even fresher pineapple. Let's just say, my tongue and gums were sore after two big pieces of pineapple, as if I had just drank scalding hot tea. Very strange!
- Finally, we arrived at our hotel in Sierpe. We had a powerpoint lecture on a boat that night. Oh, technology! Always providing me with education wherever I am!
June 17th
- Breakfast at the Sierpe hotel - normally I won't mention meals too much, but this was the first one with the green lizano salsa! Mi favorito!
- Took a boat down the Rio Sierpe
- Here's some of what we saw: common potoo (bird), mangrove trees, crocodiles, green
heron, howler monkeys, tiny bats, and the invasive water hyacinth!
- Got off boat and climbed through super dense mangrove forests to where the boat circled to on the other side - this is an experience extremely hard to describe with sufficient details... I was barefoot climbing on top of the slippery, sometimes mud-covered prop roots of mangrove trees. I had to weave over and under branches and hang on the best I could to keep myself from falling into the deep mud below! It was something that I never would have thought to do, but it was so much fun!
- After getting out of the mangroves, I jumped into "crocodile-infested waters!" - well there were crocs in the area, but apparently not where we were swimming...at least I hope!
- Got back on the boat and the guide handed me a crab which immediately latched on to my finger! It hurt, but it was really funny because he wouldn't let go.
- Once back at hotel, we packed our bags, loaded them onto the boats, and headed down river and out to the Pacific ocean! - I don't like small boats in choppy waters.
- Beautiful scenery - green hills and rocky coasts
- Arrived at the beach of Corcovado National Park and set up our tents
- The view from my tent...
- Went swimming - I believe this was my first time in the Pacific? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think so...
- Explored the beaches and rocky tidal area - saw tons of hermit crabs and crabs. All the way in Costa Rica and I'm still collecting shells and beach glass!
- There was also a lagoon where the ocean met a river - apparently it is filled with crocodiles...of course they told us this after people had already gone swimming. I however did not go swimming in it (it looked croc-infested from the get-go!)
- Witnessed one of the most gorgeous sunsets I've ever seen - pink sky, purple clouds and palm trees!
- Lecture on venomous snakes and how we should not touch them...
June 18th
- Went hiking in the forest and saw anoles, basilisk, and lots of interesting plants. I presented my first species report on Nasutitermes (termites).
- Went for walk on beach and learned about coconut palms, beach almonds, brown pelicans, scarlet macaws, magnificent frigatebirds, and hermit crabs.
- Went for a second walk on the beach and further explored the tidal pools - I saw so many things that I only see preserved in jars in the Zoology lab! - sea hairs, barnacles, limpets, brittle stars, chitons, sea anemones, and lots of colorful fish. We also saw six scarlet macaws eating from a beach almond tree!
- Went on a hike through the forest to a waterfall - held a snake (not venomous obviously!) and saw a crocodile in the lagoon. We mostly took the trail there, but at one point we were definitely doing some bushwhacking! Pablo (one of our teachers who acts more like a 5 year old than anyone) played a mean joke on us. He was teaching us about a fruit he had found and told us to smell it. It smelled terrible! Turns out he had put it in his armpit...gross! But we'll get him back... We swam in the waterfall, which was very cold but very pretty.
- Back at camp we had lecture about fruit...it mostly turned into us tasting different fruits of Costa Rica and Alex making guacamole...
June 19th
- We're going on a hike today - 5 miles in and 5 miles out - my boots managed too dry after the wet hike the day before, but then I slipped down a hill into the "croc-lagoon" getting into the boat... Great way to start the day!
- We took the boat across the lagoon to the trail because all the rain from the previous night had made the water really high
- We hiked the forest trail for 5 miles!!! The middle section of the trail intersected a beach and then the end of the trail led to a beach. My boots were continually soaked as we crossed streams and gave up on escaping the waves while hiking the beach section. We saw lots of cool things! - spider monkeys, white-faced monkeys, large brown treefrog eating a bug, salamanders, little brown/black frogs, blue morphos butterflies and black and yellow butterflies, agouti, cool huge trees, and large vines. We also heard howler monkeys.
- At one point I walked through the forest by myself to better take it in - it was very peaceful and beautiful
- At the final beach, I collected lots of shells and went to a big waterfall that you could stand behind.
- Hiked back to camp - my feet were sore, swollen, and wet
- Under the cover of darkness (minus our headlamps...), Alex, Ellie and I collected 14 hermit crabs and put them in Pablo's tent to get him back for the fruit trick! Apparently he found them before he was even close to going to bed...failed joke. Greg put a huge crab in Calli and Alex's tent (we're guessing he wants in on the prank war?) and I had to try to scoop it out with a hat, until J-A picked it up with a shirt. That thing had some huge pinchers!
June 20th
- HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DAD!
- We took the boats to Isla de Cano - saw a flying fish and a pod of maybe 40 dolphins on the way!
- Went into the forest on the islands and saw whiptail lizards, a non-venomous snake, and indigenous tools and burial stones.
- Went to beach to learn about island biogeography
- Went for a short walk on the beach with Alex while we waited for the boat
- Went snorkeling off the coast of the island - saw lots of colorful fish and coral - no sea turtles though :(
- Took the boat back to Corcovado and went to tide pools with Alex, Calli, and Ellie - saw a few colorful pufferfish in the tide pools!
- Hairwraps and friendship bracelets that night
June 21st
- Packed up camp and took the boats back to Sierpe
- Got on the bus
- Briefly stopped at a banana plantation and an African oil palm plantation and processing station
- Stopped in Dominical for lunch and finally got to call Brandon! They played Pink Cadillac at the restaurant.
- Arrived at hotel in Playa Hermosa - a bed at last!
- Went to dinner and had cake for Trevor's birthday!
June 22nd
- Took bus to Carara National Park - got to see a green and black poison dart frog, millipedes, and a plant endemic to Costa Rica. We set the tents out to dry before we went on the short hike through the forest. It poured down rain while we were gone...
- We had PIZZA for lunch! It wasn't good pizza, but still, I was craving it.
- Stopped again in Liberia - called Brandon and went in a few shops
- Arrived at Santa Rosa National Park - a supposedly "dry forest" (it's the rainy season right now, it rained every single day...) - we stayed in the dormitories because the tents were too wet.
A frog outside the dormitory
June 23rd
- There was a white-tailed deer roaming around the campsite during breakfast. Deer here are smaller and perhaps more stupid than those in Maryland. Perhaps its because they aren't overpopulated and therefore there's no deer hunting season so they have no reason to fear humans.
- Hiked through Santa Rosa - presented my species report on the Stinking Toe tree and saw hieroglyphics and a scorpion on the trail. Stopped at La Casona (a fort similar to our Alamo) - built during the war between Costa Rica and William Walker (wikipedia for more info). Saw some large lizards that are related to iguanas.
- We have internet in the classroom near this campsite! I got to talk to Brandon for more than like 10 minutes which was nice, but unfortunately didn't have my own laptop so didn't update the blog (what's a blog without pictures?!)
June 24th
- Worked on a field problem with Pablo - My group looked at epiphytic orchid species growing on Crescentia alata (tree) and the distance relationship between individuals. We were testing the tree as a model for island biogeography. This involved hiking through super swampy areas filled with spiders!
- Made a powerpoint presentation and presented it to the other groups later that evening
- Mac and cheese for dinner!
June 25th
- The first half of the day is Mammal Diversity Day - lecture and then we went hiking. Moncho caught a bat in a cave under the trail.
- We actually got a break today! - I did notecards and took a nap.
- Costa Rica history lecture - learned about the forestry acts in Costa Rica
- The second half of the day is Herp Diversity Day! (yay! herps!!!) (herps = reptiles and amphibians for those of you confused right now) - lecture and then a herp search! - saw frogs, lizards, toads, and weird white worms that retracted into the leave litter when you shined white light on them
- Went to classroom and was video chatting with Brandon when I noticed three owls perched in trees within 15 feet of the classroom! They were very very cool! One swooped in towards the classroom to catch a bug. Also found a huge green caterpillar.
June 26th
- Awoken by crazy loud parrots that sounded like babies crying/being strangled
- Took bus to Rincon de Vieja (Corner of the Witch) - volcanic area
- Hiked around the park - saw a huge temporary waterfall, crazy strangler figs (epiphytic tree with a very interesting lifecycle), bubbling mud pots, volcanito, white-faced monkeys, howler monkeys, and a white hawk.
- Took the bus to a beach...well not quite to the beach. We had to get on an illegal immigrant style truck - the ones covered with blue tarps. It had an exhaust leak...very good for our brain cells! At the beach we drank some palm wine and saw brown pelicans, yellow-lored parrot (I think...), and a bird with pink legs
- Took covered truck to restaurant and then the bus back to the campsite - last night before Monteverde!!! It poured down rain...the tent is wet.
Hasta luego! More updates this week!
