Our last night in Costa Rica. It's been more than fun. Words can't even describe what the past few weeks have been like for me. Enlightening, adventurous, informative, scary, uncomfortable, the list could go on. I just want to take a second to thank everyone who gave me the opportunity to come down here. First, my wife and kids, for letting me leave them for a month so I can come down here. I love you and I miss you and I'll see you soon. To the directors at the OIEC and ICLC, you have a great program. Thank you for letting me and my companions experience Costa Rica. To my host mom, thank you. You were like a second mother to me. To Ron and Laurie, who somehow managed to put up with 14 college students for a month. It's been a real treat to know you.
On to the pictures and stories. You can find all the pictures here. There was so much to see and do here, it's hard to pick out any one story. La Selva is a real research station. You can feel it in the air. Our guide told us that La Selva produces 2 scholarly journal articles a day. That's amazing. The campus is beautiful. They have a computer lab, a small little library, washing machines that we can use ourselves (YES!), and lots of housing for residents and scientists. The dorms are nice and clean, and they even have somewhat hot water!
The trails here are all very well maintained concrete paths. There's a massive canopy bridge that separates the two sides of the campus, and I've seen more biodiversity on that bridge than I could describe. A two-toed sloth, fish that are related to piranha, countless birds like toucans and parrots, and a troop of howler monkeys, complete with baby. In the rainforest, we've seen a bunch more birds, white-faced capuchins like in Cabo Blanco, an eyelash pit viper, big spiders, millipedes, peccaries, armadillos, frogs, and I don't even know how many different kinds of trees. It's really beautiful.
Tomorrow is our trip back home, so this is probably the last big post I'll make here, unless I get links from some of the other students to post. I hope you all had fun following along on my adventure.
Pura Vida!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Cabo Blanco
The time at Cabo Blanco seemed to go by so fast, and the events there feel so merged together, that I'm going to just make one big photo set and tell some stories in this post. Here are the pictures.
Our first night in Cabo Blanco was hard. The conditions were much more primitive than UGA, and I don't think anyone was quite prepared for that. Then there was the spider. A big huge spider was perched on the ceiling right above Courtney's bed. Needless to say she never, EVER, slept in that bed. I found two more spiders that night, but didn't say anything to anyone (good idea, T-Fast).
Cabo Blanco is an absolute preserve, which means no tourist will ever visit it. Only students, and only a handful of students at that, ever see the inside of the park. Something like only 12 or 13 groups get in every year, so we were all very honored to be allowed in. The preserve is beautiful. The coast is rocky and has a huge tidal flat that is completely submerged in high tide. The tide pools that appear when the tide is out are filled with creatures unlike what you'd expect. When one thinks tropical anything, they think bright colors. The species living among the rocks in the tide pools here all were very well camouflaged, and very well hidden. Except for the puffer fish. Bright blues and yellows. We got to see one all puffed up. They were fascinating to watch.
The geology is very interesting as well. Lots of volcanic evidence along with some obvious sea floor sediments that have been uplifted to all sorts of crazy angles. I even saw some cross bedded sandstone layers, evidence of the beach that must have been here millions of years ago.
And the hermit crabs! Holy cow, you could sit on the beach and watch them crawl over the sand like a little crab wave. There were big ones and small ones, some with colorful shells and some with boring ones. The funnest thing to do was to let them all get moving, especially crawling up a log or something, and then wave your hand. They'd all stop dead in their tracks, even if it meant falling off the log or down an cliff they spent the last 10 minutes climbing. Mean, I know. We also had a hermit crab Olympics. There was a marathon, and sprint, balance beam, tight rope, and a tractor pull. Our crab won (good find Kat!). We named him El Gringo Furioso.
We saw lots of wildlife. A large troop of white-faced capuchins were common on almost every hike we took. A few howler monkeys and ant eaters dropped by during breakfast. There's even a red crested guan that was domesticated before it was brought to the preserve that hangs around camp. The people there named him Kevin.
On our last full day there we hiked up a stream (literally up a stream, like walking in the stream) to a little waterfall. I didn't get pictures because I didn't want to ruin my camera, which I would have. The only cameras that were of any use were the waterproof ones a few of us had. It was awesome. You could sit in the plunge pool and lean back against the water and it would hold you on your feet. It was just what the group needed after a very long few days of roughing it in the jungle. If I manage to get a hold of some pictures I'll add them to the post.
Here's a really neat shot of the beach I took.
Our first night in Cabo Blanco was hard. The conditions were much more primitive than UGA, and I don't think anyone was quite prepared for that. Then there was the spider. A big huge spider was perched on the ceiling right above Courtney's bed. Needless to say she never, EVER, slept in that bed. I found two more spiders that night, but didn't say anything to anyone (good idea, T-Fast).
Cabo Blanco is an absolute preserve, which means no tourist will ever visit it. Only students, and only a handful of students at that, ever see the inside of the park. Something like only 12 or 13 groups get in every year, so we were all very honored to be allowed in. The preserve is beautiful. The coast is rocky and has a huge tidal flat that is completely submerged in high tide. The tide pools that appear when the tide is out are filled with creatures unlike what you'd expect. When one thinks tropical anything, they think bright colors. The species living among the rocks in the tide pools here all were very well camouflaged, and very well hidden. Except for the puffer fish. Bright blues and yellows. We got to see one all puffed up. They were fascinating to watch.
The geology is very interesting as well. Lots of volcanic evidence along with some obvious sea floor sediments that have been uplifted to all sorts of crazy angles. I even saw some cross bedded sandstone layers, evidence of the beach that must have been here millions of years ago.
And the hermit crabs! Holy cow, you could sit on the beach and watch them crawl over the sand like a little crab wave. There were big ones and small ones, some with colorful shells and some with boring ones. The funnest thing to do was to let them all get moving, especially crawling up a log or something, and then wave your hand. They'd all stop dead in their tracks, even if it meant falling off the log or down an cliff they spent the last 10 minutes climbing. Mean, I know. We also had a hermit crab Olympics. There was a marathon, and sprint, balance beam, tight rope, and a tractor pull. Our crab won (good find Kat!). We named him El Gringo Furioso.
We saw lots of wildlife. A large troop of white-faced capuchins were common on almost every hike we took. A few howler monkeys and ant eaters dropped by during breakfast. There's even a red crested guan that was domesticated before it was brought to the preserve that hangs around camp. The people there named him Kevin.
On our last full day there we hiked up a stream (literally up a stream, like walking in the stream) to a little waterfall. I didn't get pictures because I didn't want to ruin my camera, which I would have. The only cameras that were of any use were the waterproof ones a few of us had. It was awesome. You could sit in the plunge pool and lean back against the water and it would hold you on your feet. It was just what the group needed after a very long few days of roughing it in the jungle. If I manage to get a hold of some pictures I'll add them to the post.
Here's a really neat shot of the beach I took.
The Ferry
I took a lot of photos while on the ferry, and a lot are duplicates, but I'm too tired to weed through them. I'm just going to dump them for your enjoyment. I will say that the ferry ride across the bay to Cabo Blanco was unlike the ride across Puget Sound. Much less orderly and organized like we're used to in the states, but miracles of miracles, it all got done and everyone was safe. I'm really beginning to realize how risk adverse we are in America, and unfortunately it has little to do with risk of injury but risk of losing money because of injury.
I'll step off my soap box now. Enjoy some pretty pictures.
I'll step off my soap box now. Enjoy some pretty pictures.
Best. Bus. Ride. Ever
So the bus ride from Monte Verde to Cabo Blanco was...interesting. We loaded all our bags on the roof, piled in the bus, and our driver starts tearing down the roads of Monte Verde. I don't think I've mentioned the road conditions or the taxi drivers here yet, so I'll take a quick bunny trail. (inside joke)
The roads around Monte Verde are odd. In Santa Elaina, they are mostly paved, and in about as good a condition as Alajuela. Just outside the city, however, they are all dirt. Even up to many of the tourist hot spots, they're all dirt. And rough. Think about what happens when you have all that water coming down onto dirt roads, collecting into potholes that never get filled. Very primitive. So the taxis all have to be 4 wheel drive. And diesel, because there's no gas station in Santa Elaina, which is on top of a mountain. The nearest gas station is at the bottom of the mountain. And yes, there's taxi service in the mountians, mostly to service the tourists. Anyway, they drive about as crazy as the one's in town, but they're in 4x4 mode so they can take these massive potholes at whatever speed they dang well please.
Apparently our bus driver must have been a former cab driver, because he literally raced down the mountain, flinging us all over the back seat. But he was really cool. He stopped and let us get out and take pictures of a troop of howler monkeys that were hanging out above the road. But the best part was his iPod. There is this song that somehow before the bus ride became our group's song. Well, it just happened to be the first song on our cool bus drivers iPod. We rocked all the way down the mountain, to the ferry, and then from the ferry to Cabo Blanco. At one point, he was letting Alex play other people's iPods on his stereo. Here's some photos of our dance party in the back of the bus.
The roads around Monte Verde are odd. In Santa Elaina, they are mostly paved, and in about as good a condition as Alajuela. Just outside the city, however, they are all dirt. Even up to many of the tourist hot spots, they're all dirt. And rough. Think about what happens when you have all that water coming down onto dirt roads, collecting into potholes that never get filled. Very primitive. So the taxis all have to be 4 wheel drive. And diesel, because there's no gas station in Santa Elaina, which is on top of a mountain. The nearest gas station is at the bottom of the mountain. And yes, there's taxi service in the mountians, mostly to service the tourists. Anyway, they drive about as crazy as the one's in town, but they're in 4x4 mode so they can take these massive potholes at whatever speed they dang well please.
Apparently our bus driver must have been a former cab driver, because he literally raced down the mountain, flinging us all over the back seat. But he was really cool. He stopped and let us get out and take pictures of a troop of howler monkeys that were hanging out above the road. But the best part was his iPod. There is this song that somehow before the bus ride became our group's song. Well, it just happened to be the first song on our cool bus drivers iPod. We rocked all the way down the mountain, to the ferry, and then from the ferry to Cabo Blanco. At one point, he was letting Alex play other people's iPods on his stereo. Here's some photos of our dance party in the back of the bus.
Monte Verde! Updated!
I'm going to make the research stations one post with lots of links to galleries and maybe a few great pictures thrown in to save myself some time. First up is the University of Georgia's campus in Monte Verde. I have some pictures of it here. As you'll be able to see in the pictures, it's like a resort. A beautiful hardwood deck, waiters that dish your plates for dinner, lots of great food, a small little library, a computer lab with WiFi, a lab, a herbarium, and lots of trails. It's really more of a tourist resort than a research station, much different than La Selva, now that I'm here and I can compare the two.
Almost as soon as we got there, Julie, Courtney, Rebecca and I took off on one of the many trails here. We took some great photos, which you can see here. We were so excited to be hiking after two weeks of being stuck in the city. At one point we got really lost and ended up in some farm with some locals looking at us like we were, well, dumb lost American tourists, which was kinda what we were. The best part was when it started to rain. We were under the dense canopy, so no water hit us, but it was shaking flowers loose from the trees. It was literally raining flowers! Some got in Courtney's hair, and I think she decided where she's going to be getting married pretty much on the spot.
The next morning Rebecca and I hiked another trail on our own, which was really beautiful. What was funny was later that morning a resident naturalist took us on the same hike, only backwards. We saw lots of really neat trees and flowers, and a awesome view of a river that I can't remember the name of. At one point, one of the naturalists stomped on a leafcutter ant hill and we watched a bunch of soldiers swarm out looking for a fight. We promptly left. Check out the pictures here.
We did a night hike later that day, which turned out to be a real treat. We saw a cockroach that had to be 5 inches long and 3 inches wide. All the girls screamed like, well, girls. It was pretty funny. We also got to see an opossum. Looking for animals is tricky - you basically shine your flashlight up into the canopy, under leaves, and along the ground looking for a reflection of the light in their beady, malevolent eyes. You can even see a gleam in spider's eyes, provided the spider is big enough (eek!). No pictures, sadly, but a good time nonetheless.
The next day we went to the 'real' Monte Verde preserve, a cloud forest. UGA is sort of a separate preserve that backs up to the national park. We had a local guide who had been working in the park for 16 years! Best. Job. Ever. I took lots of great pictures. The guide was able to make bird calls so well that I had to look at him every time I heard a bird call to see if he was making the noise. We didn't see a lot of wildlife except for insects, which our guide could spot almost casually as he walked along the trail. Then he would set up his $2,000 scope and let us see what he saw. At the end of the trip, I noticed that a bird had pooped on my shoulder, it was so recent a loose feather was still on my shirt. To top it all off, I had a hummingbird land on my finger. There was a little hummingbird garden with planters set out so you could watch them feed, and they would land on you if you put your finger up to the feeder (which you weren't actually supposed to do. Oops).
This is just for my Sweetie. A women's co-op, where they hand make goods for sale as supplemental income. They have a sewing room. Check out the pics here.
Up next was the birding trip. We hiked first in the morning, and then again between breakfast and lunch. We were split into 3 groups, and my group alone spotted over 40 different species of birds in about 5 hours. Poor Julie got eaten alive by the flies, but it was really cool. We watched a little bird beat the life out of a frog by grabbing it by the leg and smashing it on a rock in the road. We also watched a big raptor carry around a vine snake from perch to perch, finding a good place to have lunch. Oh, and we saw some dead things! Check out the pictures here.
Our last day at UGA was busy. We first toured some local farms that grew coffee and other crops. I got to work a real sugar cane press, where you could drink the sugary water freshly squeezed, like orange juice. The coolest part for me, though, was one of the farmer's little girls. She went around picking flowers, then, when she had a handful, presented them to our guide from UGA. It was so sweet I teared up a bit, suddenly really missing my two little girls. It was beyond adorable. Some watery-eyed photos here.
We ended our trip with a zip line canopy tour. Yep, I went zip lining. Oh. My. Heck. What a rush. It's totally safe, and the views are fantastic. Your first few runs are just under the canopy to get you used to riding and breaking. Then they drop you out of the canopy and over a valley for something like 1000 meters, or for you Americans over 3000 feet. And that was the short one. You're easily 100 feet above the canopy, which is in turn about 150 feet off the ground. You can see hills in the distance, foot bridges for the other canopy walks, all shrouded in mists. It was raining pretty good that day, and the water made the pulley wheel spit mud and oil all over our faces and clothes each run. I stained my good backpacking pants, and we all looked like coal miners at the end of the trip, but it was so worth it. The last run must have been about 2000 meters, or over 6,000 feet long. They pair you up because you need lots of weight to make it all the way across. I rode with this girl, a total stranger, and it was so long we ran out of things to scream. We were above a bird soaring over the canopy looking for food.
Sadly, I didn't dare take out my camera on this trip. I was afraid of dropping it. Some other people did, however, so if I get their photos I'll share them. I did buy one photo that the tour company takes of you, just like at Splash Mountain at Disneyland. But of course I forgot it in my room, which is a 15 minute hike from here, so I'll post it later.
Edit: Here's me zip lining. Oh yeah, I'm too sexy for my zip line.
Almost as soon as we got there, Julie, Courtney, Rebecca and I took off on one of the many trails here. We took some great photos, which you can see here. We were so excited to be hiking after two weeks of being stuck in the city. At one point we got really lost and ended up in some farm with some locals looking at us like we were, well, dumb lost American tourists, which was kinda what we were. The best part was when it started to rain. We were under the dense canopy, so no water hit us, but it was shaking flowers loose from the trees. It was literally raining flowers! Some got in Courtney's hair, and I think she decided where she's going to be getting married pretty much on the spot.
The next morning Rebecca and I hiked another trail on our own, which was really beautiful. What was funny was later that morning a resident naturalist took us on the same hike, only backwards. We saw lots of really neat trees and flowers, and a awesome view of a river that I can't remember the name of. At one point, one of the naturalists stomped on a leafcutter ant hill and we watched a bunch of soldiers swarm out looking for a fight. We promptly left. Check out the pictures here.
We did a night hike later that day, which turned out to be a real treat. We saw a cockroach that had to be 5 inches long and 3 inches wide. All the girls screamed like, well, girls. It was pretty funny. We also got to see an opossum. Looking for animals is tricky - you basically shine your flashlight up into the canopy, under leaves, and along the ground looking for a reflection of the light in their beady, malevolent eyes. You can even see a gleam in spider's eyes, provided the spider is big enough (eek!). No pictures, sadly, but a good time nonetheless.
The next day we went to the 'real' Monte Verde preserve, a cloud forest. UGA is sort of a separate preserve that backs up to the national park. We had a local guide who had been working in the park for 16 years! Best. Job. Ever. I took lots of great pictures. The guide was able to make bird calls so well that I had to look at him every time I heard a bird call to see if he was making the noise. We didn't see a lot of wildlife except for insects, which our guide could spot almost casually as he walked along the trail. Then he would set up his $2,000 scope and let us see what he saw. At the end of the trip, I noticed that a bird had pooped on my shoulder, it was so recent a loose feather was still on my shirt. To top it all off, I had a hummingbird land on my finger. There was a little hummingbird garden with planters set out so you could watch them feed, and they would land on you if you put your finger up to the feeder (which you weren't actually supposed to do. Oops).
This is just for my Sweetie. A women's co-op, where they hand make goods for sale as supplemental income. They have a sewing room. Check out the pics here.
Up next was the birding trip. We hiked first in the morning, and then again between breakfast and lunch. We were split into 3 groups, and my group alone spotted over 40 different species of birds in about 5 hours. Poor Julie got eaten alive by the flies, but it was really cool. We watched a little bird beat the life out of a frog by grabbing it by the leg and smashing it on a rock in the road. We also watched a big raptor carry around a vine snake from perch to perch, finding a good place to have lunch. Oh, and we saw some dead things! Check out the pictures here.
Our last day at UGA was busy. We first toured some local farms that grew coffee and other crops. I got to work a real sugar cane press, where you could drink the sugary water freshly squeezed, like orange juice. The coolest part for me, though, was one of the farmer's little girls. She went around picking flowers, then, when she had a handful, presented them to our guide from UGA. It was so sweet I teared up a bit, suddenly really missing my two little girls. It was beyond adorable. Some watery-eyed photos here.
We ended our trip with a zip line canopy tour. Yep, I went zip lining. Oh. My. Heck. What a rush. It's totally safe, and the views are fantastic. Your first few runs are just under the canopy to get you used to riding and breaking. Then they drop you out of the canopy and over a valley for something like 1000 meters, or for you Americans over 3000 feet. And that was the short one. You're easily 100 feet above the canopy, which is in turn about 150 feet off the ground. You can see hills in the distance, foot bridges for the other canopy walks, all shrouded in mists. It was raining pretty good that day, and the water made the pulley wheel spit mud and oil all over our faces and clothes each run. I stained my good backpacking pants, and we all looked like coal miners at the end of the trip, but it was so worth it. The last run must have been about 2000 meters, or over 6,000 feet long. They pair you up because you need lots of weight to make it all the way across. I rode with this girl, a total stranger, and it was so long we ran out of things to scream. We were above a bird soaring over the canopy looking for food.
Sadly, I didn't dare take out my camera on this trip. I was afraid of dropping it. Some other people did, however, so if I get their photos I'll share them. I did buy one photo that the tour company takes of you, just like at Splash Mountain at Disneyland. But of course I forgot it in my room, which is a 15 minute hike from here, so I'll post it later.
Edit: Here's me zip lining. Oh yeah, I'm too sexy for my zip line.
Monday, July 18, 2011
A Word to Prospective Students of Study Abroad Immersion Programs
I might not be very popular with the OIEC staff after this post, but I think it needs to be said for the benefit of the program as a whole.
When I signed up for this program, the last Spanish class I had was as a sophomore in high school, 1992. Yeah, I'm that old. At any rate, I hadn't used my Spanish extensively at all since then. It was somewhere in the back of my head, but I was nowhere near able to carry a conversation. Knowing this, I got a hold of some Spanish audiobooks and brushed up on my skills. It helped a little bit, but it still wasn't a lot.
Here's the point. The program says that you don't need any Spanish to sign up for the immersion program. And that's correct, you don't- if you're okay with making your host family and the instructors at the ICLC very uncomfortable and difficult to do their role\job. This was what happened to me. My poor host mother, I love her to death, had to speak quite a bit of English to me just so we could communicate about meals, what time I needed to be somewhere or come home, and all of the other things that normally come very naturally in your own tongue. At school, I would sit and listen to my instructor speak, and would maybe get a few words that I understood, and really just look around to see what the other students were doing. Some instructors would actually speak some English to me because, if they didn't, there's no way I would have gotten anything out of the lessons.
And that's all my fault. I'm not blaming anyone for the difficulties I've had. It's been a wonderful program and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I just wish I had prepared myself better for the trip so I wouldn't have put my host mother and the instructors at the ICLC in the uncomfortable position of teaching someone well below the level of Spanish they are probably more used to seeing.
Why bring this up now, when I only have 3 days left? I hope that this blog is used by the OIEC staff to show a first hand account of what the immersion program and field biology program is like. I think it would be a wonderful resource for incoming students to prepare themselves for what will easily be a trip of a lifetime. With that in mind, if I could make two recommendations, one to the incoming students, and one to the staff.
To the students, I would suggest that you take even a conversational Spanish course before coming down. You register for this trip usually in mid winter term, so plan to take a Spanish class in Spring term before the trip. It will make your life, and your host, and the instructor's, so much better.
To the OIEC staff, I would suggest making sure that incoming students are prepared for what total immersion will be like, and that they plan to have some formal Spanish education before the trip. I know that you have to get students enrolled to fill the quota so the trip can even go, but I don't think emphasizing the importance of Spanish language training before the trip would have turned off anyone in my group. We would have made the necessary course changes to be prepared to have a great time here.
When I signed up for this program, the last Spanish class I had was as a sophomore in high school, 1992. Yeah, I'm that old. At any rate, I hadn't used my Spanish extensively at all since then. It was somewhere in the back of my head, but I was nowhere near able to carry a conversation. Knowing this, I got a hold of some Spanish audiobooks and brushed up on my skills. It helped a little bit, but it still wasn't a lot.
Here's the point. The program says that you don't need any Spanish to sign up for the immersion program. And that's correct, you don't- if you're okay with making your host family and the instructors at the ICLC very uncomfortable and difficult to do their role\job. This was what happened to me. My poor host mother, I love her to death, had to speak quite a bit of English to me just so we could communicate about meals, what time I needed to be somewhere or come home, and all of the other things that normally come very naturally in your own tongue. At school, I would sit and listen to my instructor speak, and would maybe get a few words that I understood, and really just look around to see what the other students were doing. Some instructors would actually speak some English to me because, if they didn't, there's no way I would have gotten anything out of the lessons.
And that's all my fault. I'm not blaming anyone for the difficulties I've had. It's been a wonderful program and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I just wish I had prepared myself better for the trip so I wouldn't have put my host mother and the instructors at the ICLC in the uncomfortable position of teaching someone well below the level of Spanish they are probably more used to seeing.
Why bring this up now, when I only have 3 days left? I hope that this blog is used by the OIEC staff to show a first hand account of what the immersion program and field biology program is like. I think it would be a wonderful resource for incoming students to prepare themselves for what will easily be a trip of a lifetime. With that in mind, if I could make two recommendations, one to the incoming students, and one to the staff.
To the students, I would suggest that you take even a conversational Spanish course before coming down. You register for this trip usually in mid winter term, so plan to take a Spanish class in Spring term before the trip. It will make your life, and your host, and the instructor's, so much better.
To the OIEC staff, I would suggest making sure that incoming students are prepared for what total immersion will be like, and that they plan to have some formal Spanish education before the trip. I know that you have to get students enrolled to fill the quota so the trip can even go, but I don't think emphasizing the importance of Spanish language training before the trip would have turned off anyone in my group. We would have made the necessary course changes to be prepared to have a great time here.
Update From La Selva Research Station!
Just a quick note that I've finally made it to the last stop on this crazy, wonderful trip, La Selva Research Station. But Clint! you ask, you haven't uploaded any pictures or told us any fanciful tales from Monte Verde or Cabo Blanco! Fear not fellow vicarious travelers, I will be doing some updating in the next day or two with all the events and sights from the first two stops on our tour. Updating this blog and uploading photos has cost me more money than I've spent on food this entire trip, so I hope everyone out there is thoroughly enjoying these updates.
Stay tuned!
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
World of Snakes
Last week we went to the World of Snakes park. I was honestly underwhelmed, mostly because I'm not that into snakes. There were some cool exhibits, I got some decent pictures and some really interesting information, but by far the best part was the bird.
During the first week of classes at the ICLC, one of my instructors said my name really funny. My name here is pronounced Cleeton, basically, and the way she said it this one morning made her sound like a grumpy old teacher catching a student with gum in his mouth. It became a running joke in our group, among the teachers, even my host mom, to belt out CLEEE-TON, every time they saw me.
So we're getting ready to leave the World of Snakes when all of a sudden a parrot from somewhere, and I don't know if this was just cosmic luck or if he heard one of us say it, starts calling out, "CLEEE-TON". It was so funny, everyone was laughing. And he would not stop. CLEE-TON!!! CLEE-TON!!!! CLEEET! I was laughing so hard I was crying, couldn't breath, and had to be helped down the path from the entrance. You could still hear him down the road.
CLEE-TON!
During the first week of classes at the ICLC, one of my instructors said my name really funny. My name here is pronounced Cleeton, basically, and the way she said it this one morning made her sound like a grumpy old teacher catching a student with gum in his mouth. It became a running joke in our group, among the teachers, even my host mom, to belt out CLEEE-TON, every time they saw me.
So we're getting ready to leave the World of Snakes when all of a sudden a parrot from somewhere, and I don't know if this was just cosmic luck or if he heard one of us say it, starts calling out, "CLEEE-TON". It was so funny, everyone was laughing. And he would not stop. CLEE-TON!!! CLEE-TON!!!! CLEEET! I was laughing so hard I was crying, couldn't breath, and had to be helped down the path from the entrance. You could still hear him down the road.
CLEE-TON!
INBio Park
INBio park is part zoo, part research station. It's a very nice park, with some exhibits, but very few cages. Many of the animals roam the park freely, such as iguanas and birds. They have several stations where you can see snakes, insects, and fish. I got some really great photos of some of the animals here.
I may have to turn in my man card by saying this, but my favorite place here was the butterfly garden. It was this big garden enclosed with a net, and hundreds of butterflies were landing on the flowers and the people. It was really neat to watch.
The park does collections of species of insects, fungi and plants or amphibians (I can't remember which) found throughout Costa Rica. They catalog them and make display cases for various organizations and even have an on-line database that I linked in an earlier post. They do some amazing work. They have a three fold mission: education of the Costa Rican public, research of Costa Rican species, and preservation of natural habitat.
Probably the funniest moment in the entire trip was the turtle shells. Pam, Breana, Trevor and I found these fake turtle shells on the ground, basically props that kids can put on and look like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I only have a few pictures, but it will get the picture across as to how absolutely ridiculous it looked. Hopefully I'll get some more from the other three.
I may have to turn in my man card by saying this, but my favorite place here was the butterfly garden. It was this big garden enclosed with a net, and hundreds of butterflies were landing on the flowers and the people. It was really neat to watch.
The park does collections of species of insects, fungi and plants or amphibians (I can't remember which) found throughout Costa Rica. They catalog them and make display cases for various organizations and even have an on-line database that I linked in an earlier post. They do some amazing work. They have a three fold mission: education of the Costa Rican public, research of Costa Rican species, and preservation of natural habitat.
Probably the funniest moment in the entire trip was the turtle shells. Pam, Breana, Trevor and I found these fake turtle shells on the ground, basically props that kids can put on and look like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I only have a few pictures, but it will get the picture across as to how absolutely ridiculous it looked. Hopefully I'll get some more from the other three.
Zoo Ave
No, that's not Zoo Avenue. That's Zoo Ave, Costa Rican slang for an aviary, though it has more than just birds. There were a ton of birds, some freaky spiders (not part of the exhibits), a crocodile that could eat my whole family whole and have room for dessert, monkeys, cougars, and two tortoise "being intimate". No, I didn't get any pictures of the deed, I left that to those with video mode on their cameras. Ew. I plan on having links to other people's photos at some point, so you know, if you're into that sort of thing, just be patient. In the meantime, enjoy these G rated pictures.
I'm not really a big fan of Zoos. The animals are usually lethargic and hard to see. This zoo was a bit different. The animals seemed to be more active, probably because even though they were in a zoo, they were in their natural climate.
I'm not really a big fan of Zoos. The animals are usually lethargic and hard to see. This zoo was a bit different. The animals seemed to be more active, probably because even though they were in a zoo, they were in their natural climate.
Sr Y Sra Ese Factory
You read that as Senor and Senora Ese Factory, where they make fine wood products by hand. They make some truly amazing stuff here, and it's all handcrafted, as you can see by the pictures here. They place the beads they use for jewelry in tumblers like you would use for polishing rocks, and they come out looking awesome.
While I was impressed by the workmanship of the pieces, what I was more interested in was documenting the working conditions. They are, compared to the rest of Costa Rica and the world at large, very good. They may not meet OSHA standards (most of Costa Rica's building standards would make U.S. contractors weep), but the workers here are definitely well treated and probably better paid than just about any other factory position in the country. They also spend an enormous amount of time, energy, and money making sure that the wood they use for their goods is from certified sustainable forests.
While I was impressed by the workmanship of the pieces, what I was more interested in was documenting the working conditions. They are, compared to the rest of Costa Rica and the world at large, very good. They may not meet OSHA standards (most of Costa Rica's building standards would make U.S. contractors weep), but the workers here are definitely well treated and probably better paid than just about any other factory position in the country. They also spend an enormous amount of time, energy, and money making sure that the wood they use for their goods is from certified sustainable forests.
Mega Update
Okay, so I have another day here in Monte Verde, and then we're off to Cabo Blanco, where I'll have no Internet or phone service for several days (gasp! ack!). So this is the last all you cool people will hear from me for a while. With that, I'm going to give you a mega update. I'll be posting several new posts with links to photo sets from the past several weeks, as well as updating some older sets with new photos. Enjoy! And I'll talk to you again in a few days!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Some Neat Links
I appear to be having some issues with my Flickr account feeding to my blog, so I'm going to post a link to all my galleries here so you have a place you can bookmark if you haven't already.
We also visited a place called INBioparque, where they document new species found in Costa Rica. Here's a link to their databases.
Also, check out this link to the University of Georgia's campus here at Monteverde. It has a species list of all the flora and fauna they've documented. I've already seen some of these species, but I'll blog more about that later.
We also visited a place called INBioparque, where they document new species found in Costa Rica. Here's a link to their databases.
Also, check out this link to the University of Georgia's campus here at Monteverde. It has a species list of all the flora and fauna they've documented. I've already seen some of these species, but I'll blog more about that later.
Updated! Culture Museum and the Streets of Alajuela
Even though I'm now in Monteverde, I still have tons of stuff to write about from the first two weeks of our trip. Now that I have decent Internet access and a good computer to work with, I'm going to play a little catch-up. First up is the culture museum in downtown Alajuela.
Costa Rica's George Washington is a guy named Juan Santamaria. You can read a bunch about him here, but suffice it to say that he fought against some Imperialist American trying to conquer all of Latin America. The museum has all sorts of artifacts from the war, but what was really cool was what you could see from the roof. There was an elevator that took us up there, and from there I got some really good shots of the streets of Alajuela. Take a look here and take notice of how different things are from the streets you drove down today. Typically, there are 10 times more cars and 100 times more people, but it still gets the point across.
Edit: Must.....sleep....will post.....pictures.....latezzzzzZZZZzzzzz.....
Double Edit: Finally got some pictures up for this post. Follow the link above.
Costa Rica's George Washington is a guy named Juan Santamaria. You can read a bunch about him here, but suffice it to say that he fought against some Imperialist American trying to conquer all of Latin America. The museum has all sorts of artifacts from the war, but what was really cool was what you could see from the roof. There was an elevator that took us up there, and from there I got some really good shots of the streets of Alajuela. Take a look here and take notice of how different things are from the streets you drove down today. Typically, there are 10 times more cars and 100 times more people, but it still gets the point across.
Edit: Must.....sleep....will post.....pictures.....latezzzzzZZZZzzzzz.....
Double Edit: Finally got some pictures up for this post. Follow the link above.
A Quick Note From Monteverde
Just a quick note that we've left Alajuela and arrived at Monteverde today. I'll update more later. For now, it's time to go explore the campus! Expect pictures soon!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Weather in the Tropics
As I sit here eating a massive pizza filled bread thingy, I thought I'd mention what the weather is like here in Costa Rica. Right now it's the beginning of the rainy season, which doesn't mean much in the way of temperature, but a lot in the way of rainfall. Average tempuratures here are mid to high 70's overnight to mid to high 80's during the day. It can occasionally get colder but not usually. It feels a lot hotter than 80's, though, because of the humidity. You kinda just feel sweaty all day.
Then the rains come. Anywhere between 2pm and 5pm, just about every day, it starts to rain. Hard. Then it starts to rain even harder. Then small animals and things not tied down get swept down the streets in a torrent of- okay not that bad. Usually. But seriously, it rains hard here. Think of the worst thunderstorm cloudburst you've ever been in, then stretch that out for an hour straight, at least. It can be really impressive. The gutters on the streets just fill with water, and in some cases there are giant holes in the streets that get hidden under the massive rivers that form. Two of our travellers nearly snapped their ankles stepping off a curb into what they thought was a little stream that ended up hiding a 2 foot wide hole. And if you don't have an unbrella or a rain jacket, you're soaked instantly. I know that one from experience. Not even my awesome hat could keep me dry.
Sun up and sun down are around 6 or 7, pretty much year round, and the people here sort of live by that. They are usually up before dawn, 5am in my house, and are usually in bed early, again, 8 or 9pm at my house. When it rains, the locals duck into any one of a dozen ice cream shops (there are three on the block where I'm typing this), and wait it out if they can, or they hurry through or get a cab. They are all typically prepared for rain, as you would expect because of the regularity of the storms.
The rain and massive sunlight being at this latitude means everything grows here like crazy. The road cuts here are almost always carpeted in green or covered over from vegetation above. It makes it really hard to see what the underlying rock is for most of the area, because the few road cuts that are exposed are made up of nothing but red clay. It's amazing whole hillsides don't wash away with every rainstorm.
The thunder and lightning shows are intense and constant. Almost every day we get treated to a light show, and the thunder literally shakes the windows on the bus. A lot of places, like the institute, will shut down all the technology when the lightning gets bad to keep from frying everything.
Happy belated 4th of July!
Then the rains come. Anywhere between 2pm and 5pm, just about every day, it starts to rain. Hard. Then it starts to rain even harder. Then small animals and things not tied down get swept down the streets in a torrent of- okay not that bad. Usually. But seriously, it rains hard here. Think of the worst thunderstorm cloudburst you've ever been in, then stretch that out for an hour straight, at least. It can be really impressive. The gutters on the streets just fill with water, and in some cases there are giant holes in the streets that get hidden under the massive rivers that form. Two of our travellers nearly snapped their ankles stepping off a curb into what they thought was a little stream that ended up hiding a 2 foot wide hole. And if you don't have an unbrella or a rain jacket, you're soaked instantly. I know that one from experience. Not even my awesome hat could keep me dry.
Sun up and sun down are around 6 or 7, pretty much year round, and the people here sort of live by that. They are usually up before dawn, 5am in my house, and are usually in bed early, again, 8 or 9pm at my house. When it rains, the locals duck into any one of a dozen ice cream shops (there are three on the block where I'm typing this), and wait it out if they can, or they hurry through or get a cab. They are all typically prepared for rain, as you would expect because of the regularity of the storms.
The rain and massive sunlight being at this latitude means everything grows here like crazy. The road cuts here are almost always carpeted in green or covered over from vegetation above. It makes it really hard to see what the underlying rock is for most of the area, because the few road cuts that are exposed are made up of nothing but red clay. It's amazing whole hillsides don't wash away with every rainstorm.
The thunder and lightning shows are intense and constant. Almost every day we get treated to a light show, and the thunder literally shakes the windows on the bus. A lot of places, like the institute, will shut down all the technology when the lightning gets bad to keep from frying everything.
Happy belated 4th of July!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Doka Coffee Plantation, Poaz Volcano, and the La Paz Waterfall Garden
On Sunday, we took a private tour to three places; the Doka coffee plantation, the Poaz Volcano (a lot of coffee plantations are on the slopes of volanoes because of the fertile volcanic soils), and the La Paz Waerfall Garden (see the awesome waterfall picture post for what the La Paz garden was like.
The Doka plantation was neat (it's a real, in operation plantation), and I have some pictures here, but what was really interesting was the story behind coffee farming in Costa Rica. The Ticos (Costa Ricans), don't pick coffee- migrant Nicaraguans do. Think migrant farm workers in the Southwest. They are paid $1.50 for each laundry basket of coffee beans they pick. That's ~ 750 colones. For reference, my lunch today was 2,000 colones, bus fare was 250, and a cab ride was 1450. If you're a good picker, you can make $10 a day, or 5,000 colones. The Doka plantation sells 65% of their coffee to, guess who, Starbucks, who proceed to burn the crap out of it, slather it in sugar, and call it good. So think about that the next time you order your half double decaf decaffinated half caff.
Poaz was awesome. It's at about 2500 meters, or 8000 feet (I think the math is right there). The main crater is flooded with rainwater, so when it erupts, it's in the form of a geyser. And it erupts a lot. While we were there we saw what looking like massive steam clouds coming off the lake, as the water is superheated from beneath. The soil just beneath the thick vegetation is white volcanic ash, and you can see dozens of layers of ash all around the crater. See the pictures here.
The La Paz Garden was great as well. It's part zoo, part garden, part waterfall veiwing platform. They have a butterfly garden, where butterflies will literally land on you as you walk through, an aviary, and the biggest pair of jaguars you will ever see without being eaten by one. Lots of pics here. By the time we got to the waterfalls, it was pouring rain, but it was still awesome. And I was absolutely estatic about getting my awesome waterfall shot.
The Doka plantation was neat (it's a real, in operation plantation), and I have some pictures here, but what was really interesting was the story behind coffee farming in Costa Rica. The Ticos (Costa Ricans), don't pick coffee- migrant Nicaraguans do. Think migrant farm workers in the Southwest. They are paid $1.50 for each laundry basket of coffee beans they pick. That's ~ 750 colones. For reference, my lunch today was 2,000 colones, bus fare was 250, and a cab ride was 1450. If you're a good picker, you can make $10 a day, or 5,000 colones. The Doka plantation sells 65% of their coffee to, guess who, Starbucks, who proceed to burn the crap out of it, slather it in sugar, and call it good. So think about that the next time you order your half double decaf decaffinated half caff.
Poaz was awesome. It's at about 2500 meters, or 8000 feet (I think the math is right there). The main crater is flooded with rainwater, so when it erupts, it's in the form of a geyser. And it erupts a lot. While we were there we saw what looking like massive steam clouds coming off the lake, as the water is superheated from beneath. The soil just beneath the thick vegetation is white volcanic ash, and you can see dozens of layers of ash all around the crater. See the pictures here.
The La Paz Garden was great as well. It's part zoo, part garden, part waterfall veiwing platform. They have a butterfly garden, where butterflies will literally land on you as you walk through, an aviary, and the biggest pair of jaguars you will ever see without being eaten by one. Lots of pics here. By the time we got to the waterfalls, it was pouring rain, but it was still awesome. And I was absolutely estatic about getting my awesome waterfall shot.
Best. Waterfall. Picture. Ever
This one's for you, Karen, since you showed me how to use my camera.
This shot is better than the one they use to sell the tours. I rock!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
The ICLC Institute - Updated!
Had the most amazing trip today with a group of students, but I don't have a way to upload pictures at the moment so that story will have to wait.
Instead, I'll take a moment to describe the ICLC institute where we're learning Spanish. If you remember the old TV show "Fantasy Island", that's what it makes me think of. I've posted some pictures of the place here and here. It's like a garden with a classroom inside it. Many of the classrooms are out in the open, some in hammocks. They have a little auditorium for audio video presentations beneath the computer room where there's Internet access. A little cafe serves lunch and drinks all day. There's even a library with lots of Spanish language aides.
The instructors here are very nice and very helpful. I am in the absolute lowest level of Spanish (SO glad I took those 2 years back in high school...), but our instructor is super patient and helpful. She's funny too, and let's the class somewhat direct what we learn about, even if it's about underwear (funny story).
The garden is beautiful. I've taken several pictures and uploaded them, so be sure to check them out. As for wildlife, I saw an iguana about a foot long not including tail, but I didn't have my camera on me that day. Still pretty cool. Leaf cutter ants are everywhere, like little green sailboats sailing across the paths of the campus.
I forgot to mention that, here at the institute, they are not supposed to speak to you in English at all. There's a little orientation in English at the beginning, but after that, it's all Spanish baby. Since I'm in the beginning Spanish class, our teachers do speak a little English when we are totally lost. But ordering lunch, buying Internet time, or phone cards, it's all Spanish baby. It's a bit overwhelming when you're sitting in class and the teacher rattles off something in Spanish and then looks at you to respond, and you realize that there was a question in there somewhere, but you have no idea what the question was. But the instructors know that a lot of students are beginners, and they go slow when they need to, and are very understanding. But it is definitely total immursion.
More later.
Instead, I'll take a moment to describe the ICLC institute where we're learning Spanish. If you remember the old TV show "Fantasy Island", that's what it makes me think of. I've posted some pictures of the place here and here. It's like a garden with a classroom inside it. Many of the classrooms are out in the open, some in hammocks. They have a little auditorium for audio video presentations beneath the computer room where there's Internet access. A little cafe serves lunch and drinks all day. There's even a library with lots of Spanish language aides.
The instructors here are very nice and very helpful. I am in the absolute lowest level of Spanish (SO glad I took those 2 years back in high school...), but our instructor is super patient and helpful. She's funny too, and let's the class somewhat direct what we learn about, even if it's about underwear (funny story).
The garden is beautiful. I've taken several pictures and uploaded them, so be sure to check them out. As for wildlife, I saw an iguana about a foot long not including tail, but I didn't have my camera on me that day. Still pretty cool. Leaf cutter ants are everywhere, like little green sailboats sailing across the paths of the campus.
I forgot to mention that, here at the institute, they are not supposed to speak to you in English at all. There's a little orientation in English at the beginning, but after that, it's all Spanish baby. Since I'm in the beginning Spanish class, our teachers do speak a little English when we are totally lost. But ordering lunch, buying Internet time, or phone cards, it's all Spanish baby. It's a bit overwhelming when you're sitting in class and the teacher rattles off something in Spanish and then looks at you to respond, and you realize that there was a question in there somewhere, but you have no idea what the question was. But the instructors know that a lot of students are beginners, and they go slow when they need to, and are very understanding. But it is definitely total immursion.
More later.
Friday, July 1, 2011
My Host Mom
I have a few minutes, so I'll write a bit about my host mom. Her name is Yolanda, and she is a sweetheart. She's a retired schoolteacher who taught in both Costa Rica and the U.S. She's been like a second mother to me. She cooks my breakfast and dinner, does my laundry, and puts up with my horrible Spanish.
For breakfast, she usually serves eggs, cereal, toast, and coffee. Believe it or not, I actually eat the eggs. When in Costa Rica.... It's odd because she doesn't eat with me. I never see her eat except when we share dessert, which is rare. She basically sets the table for me, plates my food, then does my dishes and won't let me help. It's a little uncomfortable, but she doesn't seem to mind. My professor says that it comes from a very formal, traditional background. I'm one of the rew students who take meals like that. Dinners are huge. My first dinner was chicken, potatos, rice and beans (the staple of Costa Rica), salsa, and dessert of fried bananas. It's awesome, but it's a lot of food, even for me.
Her home is very nice compared to some I've driven by. It's simple and small, but very clean. Her neighborhood is in a kind of gated community, very upscale (again, for Costa Rica). She has two birds, a parrot named Ricky that walks all over the house, and Christy, a parakeet that stays in her cage. Ricky doesn't like me much. He bites me when I try to give him sunflower seeds. Yolanda talks to Ricky and he talks back a bit. It's really cute.
Yolanda has a son in the Army in the states. I saw a photo of him on the wall in her home. He's a decorated soldier by the photo. She has other kids as well, but I think they all live in the States. We watch television in the evenings, either the American Idol clone or a game show called Minuto Para Ganar, or Minute to Win It. We watch a lot of news together, so I get to see a bit of what's going on in the world, when I can understand what the anchor is says. She's such a sweetheart for putting up with me.
More later.
For breakfast, she usually serves eggs, cereal, toast, and coffee. Believe it or not, I actually eat the eggs. When in Costa Rica.... It's odd because she doesn't eat with me. I never see her eat except when we share dessert, which is rare. She basically sets the table for me, plates my food, then does my dishes and won't let me help. It's a little uncomfortable, but she doesn't seem to mind. My professor says that it comes from a very formal, traditional background. I'm one of the rew students who take meals like that. Dinners are huge. My first dinner was chicken, potatos, rice and beans (the staple of Costa Rica), salsa, and dessert of fried bananas. It's awesome, but it's a lot of food, even for me.
Her home is very nice compared to some I've driven by. It's simple and small, but very clean. Her neighborhood is in a kind of gated community, very upscale (again, for Costa Rica). She has two birds, a parrot named Ricky that walks all over the house, and Christy, a parakeet that stays in her cage. Ricky doesn't like me much. He bites me when I try to give him sunflower seeds. Yolanda talks to Ricky and he talks back a bit. It's really cute.
Yolanda has a son in the Army in the states. I saw a photo of him on the wall in her home. He's a decorated soldier by the photo. She has other kids as well, but I think they all live in the States. We watch television in the evenings, either the American Idol clone or a game show called Minuto Para Ganar, or Minute to Win It. We watch a lot of news together, so I get to see a bit of what's going on in the world, when I can understand what the anchor is says. She's such a sweetheart for putting up with me.
More later.
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