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.