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! :)