NICARAGUA

the truck parade on our way to Los Chiles

So much has happened on this second field trip. On Sunday we left for Los Chiles, a town on the border of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. On the way we got caught in some trucker traffic. Apparently it is a Sunday tradition to have a truck parade, and all trucks in town drive down the highway “dancing.” It was quite an adventure.

Once we arrived at Los Chiles, Julia and I went for a run. The two of us made a pact to run (nearly) every day this trip. After our run we had dinner and then Karen gave a lecture outlining the history of Nicaragua.

The next morning, Monday, we checked out of Costa Rica and boarded a boat to Nicaragua. We had to stop a few times to check in to immigration and change the flag on our boat from the Costa Rican flag to the Nicaraguan flag. We stopped in a Nicaraguan town called Sabalos, where we learned about Fundación del Rio, an Environmental Service Payment (ESP) program. ESP’s are payments given to landowners who conserve land and biodiversity. In the case of Nicaragua, the overarching goal of the ESP program is to save the Green Macaw, which is a flagship species and an umbrella species.

El Castillo

The view from the balcony

After learning about ESP’s, we re-boarded the boat for a few hours until we arrived in El Castillo, a beautiful, cute little village in Nicaragua. There were lots of Nicaraguan army men hanging around because we were near the border. Once we got settled into our hotel, Julia and I went for a run around the village and some of the group went to visit a castle that was in town. The hotel was right next to the river, and all our rooms opened to a balcony where there was a picturesque view of the river. We watched the sunset every night from the upper balcony.

The next morning (Tuesday) after breakfast we interviewed migrant workers from Nicaragua who worked in Costa Rica as illegal immigrants. They had traveled across the border several times, working at different agricultural plantations and construction jobs. It was very interesting getting a first-hand account of their working conditions and experiences as migrant workers in Costa Rica. Their experiences are representative of millions of Nicaraguans who illegally cross the border into Costa Rica to work and improve their living conditions.

The castle

After the interview we had lunch and then went down river a little to visit a farmer who was a member of the Fundación del Rio, the Nicaraguan ESP program. We interviewed the farmer about his experiences in the program. When we got back to El Castillo, a bunch of us went to visit the castle. It was incredible being at one of the highest points in town and overlooking the town and the river. After visiting the castle Julia and I went for another run. We then had dinner and talked about what our plans for the next day. 

The view of the village from the castle

The next day (Wednesday) we went to Indio Maiz, a national reserve in Nicaragua. When we arrived, we were greeted by a spider monkey names Danielia, who lives at the reserve. Apparently she was rescued from abusive owners. Then we went on a hike through a muddy trail to learn about the reserve and the biodiversity within it. We saw a variety of flora and fauna species, including brightly colored frogs, an agouti, and a variety of medicinal plant species. One such species contained seeds that made your mouth turn numb when you eat it. We all tried it. It was wild!

 After our muddy hike, we boarded the boat for lunch and went to a place on the river to swim. On our way we saw a little caiman, which was somewhat disturbing since it was hanging out in the same river we swam in.

Daniellia in her tree

When we got back to the hotel we were all wicked tired so we settled down to take a nap and do some reading. I woke up to someone calling my name, and it turned out that one of the women who worked in the hotel was a part of a female soccer league and she invited me to play. It was incredible! I got to play soccer on a dirt field with the local members of the village. My team won 3-1 (I got two assists and scored)!

The field was pretty muddy and there were horses that we had to play around. It was such a fun experience. One girl lent me a jersey, and the girl who invited me to play lent me some soccer socks. I didn’t have cleats, so one girl from another team lent me her cleats for the second half. Everyone was super friendly!

Ze next day, Thursday, we were woken up at 5:30am by the sounds of loud drumming down by the water. We all emerged from our rooms onto the balcony groggy and confused. We later found out that the president or the vice president was on his way, so the town was preparing for his arrival. Because we were up, and breakfast wasn’t until 7, Julia and I decided to go on a morning run.

While we were eating breakfast, we heard a loud thud on the window. We walked outside and realized that a little bird had run into the window. Matt picked it up and put it on the balcony so it could re-orient itself, and it eventually flew off. We then took off to return to Costa Rica. The whole day was spent traveling to Giovanni’s, which is an open-air cabin in the rain forest.

Twee fwogs :)

When we arrived to Giovanni’s, we unpacked, had dinner, listened to a lecture about pineapple production, and then ventured into the woods a little to see tree frogs. That night we fell asleep to the sound of howler monkeys in the distance. 

Last week of Internships

the completed solar heater attached to a space,
where you can dry clothes

It’s hard to believe there are only 5 weeks left in the program. This past week was another wet and rainy one. We had visitors from CIEE come to evaluate the program. All CIEE programs are evaluated every 5-10 years or so, and so it was cool being a part of the group that was evaluated. The evaluators attended some classes with us, talked to Matt and Karen, and visited us at work during our internships. On Monday they attended Spanish classes with us. In Spanish we had a reading quiz on the book we are reading, La Loca de Gandoca, which is about a woman fighting to stop a development project in order to save the environment—so overall a pretty relevant book for the program. We also had oral presentations, and everyone in my class presented on their internship. On Tuesday after internships we went to the Common Cup, a café in town, and talked with the evaluators about our thoughts on the program.

This week we finished our internships, although nobody is truly finished. When we get back from the field trip we will have some time to finish up completely. Libba and I met with a science teacher at the “Friends School” in Monteverde to plan a day to come teach students about our solar-powered systems.

the sibs: Esteven & Alina

The Tuesday after the field trip we are going to teach. Libba is going to teach about her solar light tube to 5^th and 6^th graders in the morning, and then I am going to teach about my solar space heater to 7^th and 8^th graders in the afternoon. We are each going to talk about the basic concepts behind our systems and do an activity in which the students build their own system (or part of the system) to see how cheap and simple it is. The idea is to inspire the students to get students thinking about solar solutions to other problems they encounter. 

This week we worked on the educational materials and made “How To” manuals for people to create their own solar thermal systems at home. We also created a website for our projects. It is called Monteverde Innovations, and if you want to see my project, it is the Secadora Solar. http://monteverdeinnovations.blogspot.com/ The website is not yet complete, as we all still have things we need to put up, but it will eventually be home to all of our internship projects. 

My host family! Alba, Roy, Esteven y Elena
the guy with the football in front of his face is
my uncle (Alba's brother, and also John's host dad)

What else happened this week? We wrote essays on the role of the Feria del Agricultor on food security in Monteverde. The Feria is the local farmer’s market that is held every Saturday morning in Monteverde. My argument, if you were wondering, is that although the Feria offers organic products and contributes to the local economy by supporting farmers in the Monteverde Zone, it does not contribute significantly to food security because it is lacking in staples such as grains and cereals, it offers very few options, and it is only held on Saturday mornings, which makes it difficult to access for many people and vulnerable to transitory food insecurity. I won’t elaborate too much, since that would probably lead to me re-writing my entire essay in this blog, which I’m sure is not what anyone wants.

WELL today we head off for our second field trip with an emphasis on agriculture. We will be crossing the border into Nicaragua this afternoon. CRAZY! I will keep you all updated about my adventures away from home...away from home. 

We are certainly in the RAINforest!

Last weekend I didn’t end up going to the bars. Rather, I stayed home and hung out with my family, which was a nice and relaxing change of pace. On Friday, I watched the Costa Rica vs. Brazil game with my host brother (Esteban) my host mom, and a family friend (I think his name was Zorro). Even though Costa Rica lost 1-0, it was super fun staying in and watching the game, eating popcorn, and getting in trouble for playing soccer in the house. OOPS!

Saturday was PERFECT! After breakfast most of the group went to a waterfall near Monteverde. It was absolutely beautiful and the weather was simply splendid! We took a taxi to the entrance and then hiked about 45 minutes in. The water was super cold, but I swam a little anyway. We spent the morning relaxing and hanging out by the water.

When I got home that day I went to the study center to do a little homework and Skype with my parents.  It was wonderful seeing and talking to them. It had been way too long since we last caught up.

On Sunday I slept in a little, did some homework, and played some soccer with my Esteban and my “primo Tico”, Coco.  Afterwards I went for a nice long run, which is when it started raining. It started on Sunday and it hasn’t stopped raining since. It is now Saturday.

So this week has been pretty dark and dreary and wet. Not only has it rained non-stop, but we also had 3 exams this week. On Monday I had a Spanish exam, which was pretty easy. We are reading a book about conservation called La Loca de Gandoca. After the test we all went to the kitchen at CPI and cooked dinner, which was a super fun stress reliever. And I have to admit we are fabulous cooks! We made rice, re-fried beans, salad, plantains, and tortillas. It was delightful!

On Tuesday we had our CRNH exam, which was also fairly easy compared to our SEES exam. Tuesday night we had a cultural night. All the studies and our host families went to the study center to watch a cultural dance and eat food and socialize. It was super fun and a nice change of pace.

Wednesday was somewhat of a normal day. Internships in the morning and then we had the afternoon free to study. I stayed at the study center pretty late (until 8ish, which is when it closes) studying for the TCB exam. Thursday after working on my internship we had our TCB exam, which was okay. Not too hard, but certainly not easy. Also on Thursday there was a mini-disaster in the kitchen. One or more of the sinks was leaking, so the greywater system was backed up and it reeked! I avoided that room for the majority of the day.

During my internship this week I have been making lots of progress on the solar heater. On Thursday I put most of it together and made a good amount of progress towards making the space that it will heat. The space is essentially a bunch of PVC rods connected into a 1x1x2 meter rectangle with black plastic “walls” and a bar across it for hanging clothes. I’m feeling pretty good about my progress. Yesterday (Friday) I finished building the physical structures and painted the solar collector all nice and pretty. The next step is to work on the educational materials, which we will do most of next week. 

the "space" that will be heated for drying clothes

this is what happens when I try to paint

the solar heater: cold air enters through the blue side,
snakes up the black piping and exits as warm air

Last night we had dinner at the biological center and then had a lecture for CRNH on arthropods. Karen is a super fun teacher and made the material really interesting and engaging! After the lecture we went tarantula hunting and I held a giant tarantula! It was WILD! Today we’re headed back to the biological center for part II of our arthropod lesson.

Afterwards Julia and Carrie came over to my house to get ready to go out, and the whole group met at Monte Cañas, where they were selling shots for a dollar as part of some event because they will be   closing for a while. It was tons of fun hanging out and dancing with everyone!

yes, that is a giant tarantula and yes, I did hold it

I can’t believe the internships are almost over. One more week of internships and then we go on our second field trip for two weeks and then there’s three weeks left of the program, one week of fun in the sun, and then I go home. The time here is flying by!

Oh I forgot to mention in my last entry, but last week Karen took us to a local farm where we got to hold chicks, ride horses, milk cows, and see the pigs, bulls, and other fun animals!

Internship Fun Times

Wow! It’s been a super busy two weeks full of work and fun times. The time here is flying by. This past two weeks we have been working on our internships every morning from 8-1ish and then having classes at 2. Last Monday we all went off to meet with our internship supervisors for the first time to begin our work. Libba and I had our first meeting with Ayal, our internship supervisor, during which we made a schedule outline for what we wanted to accomplish during the month-long internship.

solar heater (work in progress!)

We decided we wanted to create solar-powered systems that could be used to teach young children in the Monteverde area about the power of the sun. Last week we contacted schools in Monteverde to try to set up a day to come and teach our materials. We also created and sent out a survey for families in Monteverde to assess the needs of the Monteverde community. Results from the survey indicated that drying clothes is one of the greatest challenges in Monteverde due to high humidity and rainy weather conditions, so I decided to make a solar space heater, which could heat an enclosing in which clothes could be hung to dry. Another common issue is a lack of natural light, so Libba is making a solar light using plastic bottles. We have been working on building our products this past week, and next week we plan to finish building and start working on the educational materials for the products.

 

painting the cans

Jennie working on some seed paper

dominating the power tools! 

The solar heater that I am creating is made of aluminum cans for the piping. I drilled holes in the cans, attached them in a snake-like configuration, and painted them black so that as air flows through the piping it will heat up. I made a wooden box and placed for a frame for the contraption and put the piping inside it with cardboard insulation and a zync absorber plate, which I painted black and put inside the box behind the piping. In the end, I will have two layers of black piping that are connected together at both ends of the system, with a fan at the beginning to force air up and through the piping. I plan on creating attaching the system to an enclosed space in which someone could hang clothes to dry.

Libba's sweet light tube

Other people in my program are also working away at some interesting projects. Similar to my project, Carly and John are working on making a solar dryer to dehydrate coffee beans. Corrie is making a mobile bike-powered blender and Carrie is creating art out of recycled “trash”, called trash art, or Trart! In addition, Jennie is making seed paper products, which she is marketing to hotels and businesses, Julia is working on a cost-benefit analysis for a hydroponic farm, and Lyndsay is working on a project to make one of the conservation institutions in Monteverde more attractive, safe, and kid-friendly. 

In other news, the weekends here have been pretty fun! Last Saturday we went to the Fería, which is the local farmer’s market in Monteverde, for a project on food security. We went to both the Fería and the Supercompro to gather information about the prices, quality, and sources of different foods that are common in the Tican diet.

essentially what it will look like

We’re also in the middle of midterms, which means lots of exams and papers as well! Last Monday we had Spanish class, and my class had two papers on the field trip as well as a reading quiz.  We also spent the majority of our free time last week writing a paper comparing common-pool resource management of two different organizations that we visited at Isla de Chira during our field trip. We also had our first midterm from Karen’s SEES class, which everyone seemed to agree was QUITE difficult. However, the teachers bought us pizza and beer for after the exam to unwind and celebrate the end of the first exam. After a little celebrating we went to dance class to learn to salsa!

On Monday my Spanish class has two quizzes, and then we have our second midterm on Tuesday and then our last one on Thursday. Next week is going to be somewhat stressful, but we’ll get through it. I look forward to completing my solar space heater next week during my internship, and although we have a lot to do next week, it will be nice once it’s all done.

Tonight we are all going to meet at the bar to watch the Costa Rica versus Brazil soccer game. Should be a good match! Tomorrow we are going to visit another waterfall to relax and unwind after this week. It should be a good weekend. 

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! :)