Field Trip Fun

The past few days have been exciting. During our stay at Punta Morales we toured a thermal energy facility and hung out at the beach that was only a five minute walk from where we were staying.

spheres at the archaeological site

After Punta Morales we traveled to Sierpe, stopping on the way to visit an archaeological site, which contained spheres that were made by indigenous peoples millions of years ago.

The next day we learned about the Diquís Hydroelectric Project, which is expected to be the biggest dam in the country, doubling the total production power of Costa Rica and causing the displacement of 11 different communities. After learning about the project from a representative of ICE (the national electricity production company in Costa Rica), we went to visit a school in a community that would be inundated by the project. It was interesting, and very sad, to hear the students and teachers talk about the uncertainty of their future if the dam is constructed. After the chat, we played soccer with them out on their field. It was so wonderful to finally play soccer in Costa Rica!

After soccer we went back for dinner. After dinner, while we were practicing for our presentations on the environmental impacts of different types of energy, I heard John yelling about a GIANT beetle! We all came running, and Karen and Matt told us that it was an elephant beetle. We all got to hold it, which was crazy because it was bigger than my hands (which isn’t much because I have tiny hands) but was the size of most people’s hand. It had a cool snout-like feature, which, along with its gigantic size, explains why it’s called an elephant beetle. After our presentations we hung out for a while before retiring to bed.

basilisk

breakfast on a boat!

The next morning we ate breakfast on a riverboat while looking for wildlife by the river’s edge. At first we didn’t see much, but then we spotted bats, monkeys, a turtle, a crocodiles, and many birds. When we got back to shore, we saw a basilisk, which is the kind of lizard that runs on water!

After our lovely floating breakfast, we went Playa Hermosa, a beautiful black sand beach! We spent the day hanging out on the beach and swimming in the ocean. It was beautiful! That evening Matt gave us a lecture about sea turtles and then later that night we went to a sea turtle refuge to help patrol the beach. We had to walk single file in the dark behind our guide—we were looking for turtles that come up on the beach at night to lay their eggs, and also for people who come to steel the eggs. Unfortunately we didn’t see any turtles nesting, but when we got back to the refuge we were lucky enough to see nests that were relocated to protect the eggs from predators. One of the nests was hatching, and we each got to hold a baby turtle that fit into the palm of my hand!

The next day we headed home, but not before heading out for another birding adventure. We saw a variety of cool birds (little blue herons, green herons, great blue herons, snow egrets, great egrets, mangrove swallow, etc.) and a giant crocodile up close! Afterwards we headed back to Monteverde to reunite with our host families.

giant crocodile hanging out on the banks of the river

Today we tried to go play soccer, but the field was closed, so we walked around Santa Elena and Monteverde looking in the different shops, getting good idea for gifts. If you have anything specific (or general) that you want me to get you in Costa Rica let me know J I’d be more than happy to pick it up for you!

Tomorrow we start our internships! I look forward to learning all about solar thermal energy production. 

Adventuras!

Hydroelectric dam

Quite a bit has happened since my last blog entry. It’s been a little over a week since I last updated. Monday, our first full field trip day, was fairly boring. We visited a dam and listened to people talk about hydroelectric power for most of the day. The night was fun, though, because a bunch of people gathered in my room and we watched friends!

Natural geothermal vents (bubbling mud)

Tuesday, however, was one of the best days I’ve had in Costa Rica so far! After breakfast, we went to Rincón de la Vieja National Park, where we hiked through the rainforest and visited natural geothermal vents, which were holes filled with bubbling mud. Karen actually took some of the mud for later use for facials J

me in front of the waterfall!

Then we had a quick lunch at the National Park and walked “at a clip,” as Karen put it (which is to say we booked it) to a beautiful waterfall! We spent an hour or so swimming in the pool under the waterfall. It was absolutely incredible—one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to! There was also a small trickle of warm water that was caused by the geothermal activity under the earth.

The gang hanging out by the water fall

some sort of racoon-like Costa Rican mammal

A cool tree at Rincón de la Vieja

After breakfast the next day, we went to a rice paddy to learn about the difference between organic and conventional rice production and about the water footprint of rice. After sweating in the rice field for a while, we were rewarded with a short mid-morning trip to a hotel where we got to swim in their pool! There was a sweet water slide that led into the pool, and I spent the entire time playing on it. We also used the mud that Karen had gathered from the natural geothermal vents to do facials. It was funny to all be hanging out with mud masks (including Matt, John, and Rolo). After swimming, we got a tour of a geothermal energy facility.

The water slide!                                                          Carrie, Julia, Libba, and John getting their facials on

the Independence Day parade in Cañas

When we got back to the hotel, we went to the center of Cañas, the town we were staying at, to see a parade because the next day was Independence Day. They bought us a few luminares (or lanterns) so we could join the parade. The luminares represented the passing of the message that the country was free.  I asked for a Whinnie the Pooh lantern! Later that night, as Matt was lecturing about birds, the Whinnie the Pooh lantern caught on fire, and we had to pour our beers on it to keep it from burning down the hotel. Okay I’m exaggerating, it was just a small fire, but it was quite an exciting distraction.

A pair of macaws (probably husband and wife since macaws are monogamous

The next morning we loaded into the van and headed to Isla Chira, an island in the Gulfo de Nicoyo on the Pacific Coast. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a place where they breed Macaws, and we saw several of the beautifully colored birds in the trees above us.

When we got to the coast, we boarded a boat that took us to Isla Chira. Once on shore, we loaded into a covered truck that was lined with two rows of beches. On the way to our cabins, the truck got a flat tire, so we all got out and watched as the men replaced the tire. Once we arrived, we set up our mosquito nets and went to dinner, which was followed by a lecture on overexploitation. 

flat tire...whoops!

a bunch of cows running down the road on our way to our cabins

the girl's cabin on Isla de Chira

After breakfast the next morning, we went to visit the Isla Chira Fishing Association, where we learned about responsible fishing practices. The Fishing Association has delineated boundaries for a protected area where fishing can only be done with a hook and line (rather than with nets or with several hooks) and fish caught must be larger than a certain minimum size. These regulations allow fish to grow to a reproductive age and facilitate the reestablishment of populations that had been in decline. This benefits the entire community because it replenishes fish stocks for everyone. After visiting with the Fishing Association, we went back to the cabins and a few of us went to the beach, which was covered in beautiful shells. I collected a few for good looks and for making necklaces later!

After breakfast on Saturday, we walked around and learned about the territoriality and mobbing behavior of birds. Matt had speakers through which he played a variety of bird sounds, which attracted local birds and elicited a territorial response from several. After our birding lesson, we went to the Women’s Association of Clammers and learned about their attempts to harvest clams by planting them in the ground and allowing them to reproduce for future harvesting. Unfortunately they have been unsuccessful in their mission due to a lack of institutional support, lack of law enforcement, and overharvesting. However, the Association has turned to tourism for much of their livelihood, and we had the opportunity to get down and dirty in the muddy mangroves to search for clams. Though it was super fun squishing around in the deep mud, it was backbreaking work, which gave me a deeper appreciation for the women who do this work on a daily basis.

look! We were in Las Vegas!

After enjoying a lunch of, what else, clams, we went back to the cabins and everyone spent the afternoon hanging out and catching up on reading. That night we had a lecture on mangroves. The next morning after breakfast we set off to go birding by the mangroves. We split into three teams and had a scavenger hunt to look for different animals. The team that spotted something on the list (a bird, mammal, or type of plant) first and was able to identify it got the point. After a day on the boat, we went back to the cabins and hung out and read until dinner. That night we discussed the pollution problem in the Gulfo de Nicoyo and learned about owls. After our owl talk, we went searching for owls, and found a pair of owls right by our cabins.

This morning we woke up, packed up all our stuff, ate breakfast, and left Isla Chira for Punta Morales, which is right on the Carribean coast near Isla Chira. It was just a short boat ride to get from the island to the coast. Once we arrived at Punta Morales, we learned a little about the inner workings of a women’s association that harvests oysters. Then we unpacked our stuff in our bunk room at a biological center, where we will be staying for the next two nights. We are about to head to lunch. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for us for the rest of the trip!

First Day of Travel

Lyndsay, Carrie, and Libba on the bus looking super cute!

After I left the study center yesterday I went to buy a camera, FINALLY! I can now finally post pictures of my adventures :) I then went back to my casa tica and nobody was home, so I went for a nice long run. It was really nice to finally get some legitimate exercise. When I got home my familia still wasn't there, so I showered, finished packing, and ate dinner. As I was washing my dishes I accidentally broke one so I went to my room to grab some money to pay my family back, which is when I realized my credit card and bank card were missing. I don't remember the last place I had them, but I suspect they may have been lifted at the canopy tour because we had to leave our bags behind the front desk. So I called Karen and she took me to her house where I used her skype phone to call my credit card company and bank to cancel my cards and order new ones. Luckily I had made copies of the cards so this wasn't too difficult, and there were no charges on either card, which was a relief. Anyway...I had plans to go to the bar last night, but I ended up just staying in and finishing the Lion King on my computer and getting some sleep before our big trip.

Some wind turbines in Tilarán

This morning I woke up at my casa tica in Monteverde and had a nice big breakfast of coffee, banana pancakes, and fruit before being picked up. We had to pack ALL our stuff and bring everything to the study center so there aren't any liability issues in case anything goes missing from our houses when we're gone. Once we were all ready to go, we set off to our first stop, which was a wind energy farm in Tilarán where we saw a bunch of wind turbines, which, despite it being the rainy season (and therefore less windy), were in motion. After learning about wind energy, we set off for lunch, where I stuffed my face with chips, arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), ensalada (salad), papas fritas (french fries-they were so crispy!), pan (homemade bread), jugo de sandía (watermelon juice) and some chicken quesadilla (which Carrie ordered accidentally becahse she thought it was vegetarian, but it ended up being passed around the table--she ended up getting her vegetarian quesadilla eventually). After lunch we stopped at one of the hydroelectric facilities that serves much of Costa Rica. It appears that much of this field trip will be focused on alternative energy.

looking over a hydroelectric dam

Next we went to our hotel in Caña, got settled in our rooms, and took a short walk around the town to see where we will be living for the next couple days. We are now taking a rest in our rooms, but we have dinner in about an hour and then we're going to have a lecture on exotic and invasive species (I believe). Depending on how we feel we may try to go out to have a few drinks tonight, but that all depends on everyone's energy level by the time we finish the lecture.

Tomorrow we will wake up at 7am for breakfast and go to Lake Arenal to learn more about hydroelectric. I brought my computer on the trip and got the password for the internet at our hotel, so I will try to make posts more often than before, and now include pictures! HURRAY! :)

A Perfect End to a Long Week

This has been another busy week! Monday was fairly typical, with two SEES classes in the morning and then Spanish class from 2:30-6pm. Tuesday was another normal morning with a Spanish quiz in the afternoon, which I am proud to say I got 100% on. Wednesday we had the day off from morning classes, but we used this time to work on our proposals for our internships. It took most of us the entire day to finish our proposals, so we were all in the Study Center typing away and bonding over the stress of the week. What made it particularly stressful was the fact that we all had oral presentations in Spanish to prepare for Thursday. During Thursday’s Spanish class, we each had to talk for a minimum of 15 minutes on a topic of our choice. I chose to talk about the different sports and active activities that I enjoy doing, and ended up speaking for about 25 minutes! Despite speaking every day in class with my teacher and three other classmates, I was pretty nervous and speaking quite quickly, so hopefully I did an okay job.

On Friday we had a TCB lab on macroinvertebrates (or little bugs) in two different rivers in Monteverde.  We went to two different rivers: one at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and one near the Monteverde Cheese Factory pig farm to sample for macroinvertebrates. We then took our samples back to the “lab” (aka the classroom) to figure out the order and the family of each macroinvertebrate sampled. These macroinvertebrates were supposed to be bioindicators of stream quality (i.e. the absense or presence of certain bugs indicated weather the stream was healthy or not). It was fun frolicking in the river and picking up the bugs!

After we finished our lab we had some time to go home and shower before dance class at 7. Dance was really fun, and we all improved a lot since last week! The tango is pretty simple, but then they throw in these turns and spins and it gets complicated. After dance class we went to a restaurant and had some pizza before going out to the bars. I was super exhausted from the week so I didn’t stay out long, but it was nice to go out for a bit. I went home and watched the Lion King on my computer haha yeah I know, super cool!

Today has probably been my favorite day so far! My mama tica arranged for us to go on a canopy tour, and it was one of the best experiences of my life! The course consisted of 11 ziplines over the rainforest, a “Superman” zip, and a “Tarzan Swing”! The Superman was a zip in which you are attached by a harness on your back and you fly through the air like superman! There is a built-in break for that one so we didn’t have to worry about stopping or breaking! After the Superman, which was the last zip, there was the Tarzan Swing, which was the scariest and most thrilling part of the whole tour! You walk out onto this bridge, which is suspended in the air, and you are attached to this bunji. Then they open a little gate in front of you and tell you to jump, and you are free falling through the air and swinging back and forth! It was so incredible! It was the perfect end to a long week, and the perfect way to send us off on our next adventure. Tomorrow we leave for our first 2-week trip around Costa Rica, where we will learn about alternative energy and sea turtles and much more! Can’t wait J

For more information on the canopy tours you can visit http://www.monteverdeadventure.com/canopytour.html

Work Hard, Play Hard

This past week has been wicked busy—so much for posting every day! Oh well, I guess I should instead make it a goal to post at least once a week. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings this week we visited different sites around the Monteverde region to see our internship options. A few of the options included creating a native garden in the center of Monteverde, collecting trash and creating “trash art,” working on an organic coffee farm, working on a landscape design and beautification project for an eco-tourism preserve, creating a cost-benefit analysis for a hydroponics garden, and several more. The internship that I chose to do involves creating solar thermal systems and teaching about solar energy to local schoolchildren in Monteverde. My friend Libba and I will both be working on this project during our internship. Fortunately everyone was assigned to either their first or second choice, and everyone seems to be happy with their internship. I am excited for everyone to begin working on our internships and to hear about everyone’s progress as the month progresses. But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves…we still have a few more weeks before the internships begin.

So after spending our mornings learning about different internship options at the beginning of the week, we had a break for lunch and then went to Spanish for the afternoon. My Spanish class is very engaging not only because there are only 4 students in the class, but also because my teacher is very conversational. Rather than just doing grammar or vocab, we often have conversations in Spanish, which incorporates what we have been learning. I have gained a lot more confidence in my Spanish speaking abilities through this class. We are also reading a book in Spanish about a woman who is trying to protect the environment, which is congruous with our other classes and provides us with environmentally related vocabulary words. I’m really enjoying Spanish classes and feel that I am improving a lot.

On Thursday we had two SEES classes with Karen in the morning and then had another three and a half hour Spanish class. After Spanish class we all went to a salsa dancing class, which was taught by a CPI professor. It was really fun/funny learning to salsa dance! We all really enjoyed it, and we were able to practice our moves at the bars on Saturday night. After dance class we all went out to dinner together. It was nice to have a little change of pace and eat as a group rather than splitting up and eating with our families. Yet we all agree that we enjoy the company and the food of our families as well. It appears that everyone is happy with their living situations.

On Friday we had two TCB classes with Matt, then took a break, and then had our first Costa Rican Natural History (CRNH) lecture. Nobody went out on Friday night because we were expected to get up early for class on Saturday. Saturday morning I rolled out of bed, ate breakfast, and tiredly walked up to the study center to wait for our taxi. The taxi brought us to the study center for the other CIEE program, which is more biologically focused. From the study center we went on an incredible hike through the tropical rainforest up towards the continental divide. The rainforest here in Costa Rica is absolutely incredible! Everywhere you look there is green! Vines and mosses hang off of trees that vary tremendously in size and shape. The only downside to the hike was the giant buzzing horse flies that couldn’t seem to leave us alone. But we made sure to watch each other’s backs and kill any of them we saw. On the way back from our hike we split into three groups and each learned about a different type of plant species, which we later taught the rest of the class about. I was in a group with Jenny and Libba, and we talked about pioneer species and understory specialists.

In case you were curious:

à Pioneer species are adapted to grow well in an abundance of light, and so they quickly germinate and take root in gaps after the occurrence of a large disturbance, such as a fallen tree or a landslide. Because gaps are so unpredictable, the reproductive strategy of pioneer species is to be everywhere; they have small seeds that are dispersed by wind, birds, and bats. Once they germinate, they grow quite quickly, taking advantage of the abundance of light. Because they invest most of their energy in their leaves, their stems and branches are much less dense than canopy species. They are also much shorter and they have a shorter life span than canopy species. They have minimal branching and branch in a monolayer to prevent self-shading.

à Understory species are adapted to grow under very low light conditions. Their only sources of light energy are occasional, fleeting sunflecks or small disturbances. They are therefore very efficient at gathering and storing light energy. Many understory species are actually unable to grow in the presence of too much light, a phenomenon known as photo inhibition. They are often very small, and because they take a long time to grow, are often much older than pioneer species or canopy species.

After we got back from our walk we had a delicious lunch of chicken, salad, and mashed potatoes that was made by the chefs at the study center. After filling ourselves with a delicious meal, we did a lab where we observed a variety of different plant flowers and different seeds and tried to guess based on their structure, color, scent, etc. what animal pollinates or disperses them. Most were fairly obvious based on the lecture we had the previous day. For example, flowers that are pollinated by hummingbirds are usually bright and tubular, whereas flowers that are pollinated by butterflies require a landing pad. After the lab we broke into our earlier groups and taught the class about the plant species we had studied during our hike.

When I got home I showered, took a long nap, ate dinner, and then went out to the bars with my friends. It was nice to get out and take a break from work for a night. This program is extremely academically intensive and we get a lot of work, but it is absolutely worth it. Work hard, play hard!

Yesterday (Sunday) a few of us went to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve to hike through the rainforest. I was somewhat hesitant to go at first because I had a lot of work to do, but we were told that we would get reimbursed for the entry fee and that if we went we could opt out of answering one of the questions on the exam, so I was sold on that prospect. However, the rewards of going were much greater than I had anticipated. Just as we were starting to walk, John spotted an arboreal mammal frolicking in the trees, which Lindsay later found out was a White Faced Coati. It was so cool seeing this little furry creature frolicking about high in the trees! The rest of the walk was just as wonderful. We saw (and heard) a variety of other little creatures: a millipede, several birds, a squirrel (which, unlike at home, are actually quite rare and special in the tropics of Costa Rica), and a GIANT bug-type thing that looked like a little fairy. It was such an incredible experience walking through the Cloud Forest Reserve. We hiked up the continental divide and the view was breathtaking! Overall, it was a very successful day, and I am extremely glad I went.

After our hiked we went out to lunch. I had a hamburger and a milkshake for the first time in a long time—comfort food! Afterwards we all went home to do some homework and eat dinner with our families. Today we have a regular day (two CIEE classes in the morning followed by Spanish class in the afternoon). Next Sunday we will leave for our first two-week field trip! I can’t wait!

Oh a few more tidbits…

-On our walk home from studying the other night Carrie and I saw an armadillo meander across the road! This was the first time I had ever seen an armadillo, and I thought it was the coolest thing!

-In Costa Rica they do not use the “tú” form in Spanish. You always used the “usted” form, no matter who you are talking to.

-You are not supposed to put your used toiler paper in the toilet. Instead there are wastebaskets in every bathroom next to the toilet to deposit your used toilet paper.

-this morning on our walk to the study center Libba and I saw a bunch of monkeys playing in a tree

-the stray dogs in the town LOVE to follow the tourists around. We accumulate dogs everywhere we walk!