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!
Showing posts with label Study Abroad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Study Abroad. Show all posts
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.
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.
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.
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!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Driving in Costa Rica
I have to tell you guys about driving here in Costa Rica. If you think LA rush hour traffic is bad, you should come see Costa Rican's drive. I am no longer afraid to teach my girls to drive, because I have been completely desensitized to crazy driving. Lanes, speed limits, stop signs, street lights, when they exist are merely suggestions to a Costa Rican driver. If they need to pass you, they will, if it takes driving on the sidewalk, the other lane, passing stopped school buses that are letting out kids, whatever. Pedistrians do not have the right of way. In fact, the only right of way they have to to get out of the WAY RIGHT now.
So you'd think that with all the crazy driving, there must be massive death rates, accidents, and rampant road rage. Nope. They are crazy, but careful. They know the limits of their skill, which surpasses most NASCAR drivers, and the limits of their cars. I have yet to see an accident, an angry driver, or anything else. But it is the best e-ticket ride you will ever buy.
I rode in the front seat of a cab the other day, and held on for dear life. Brakes are for stopping RIGHT NOW, not gently coming to a stop. And buses, holy cow, buses. Imagine the same kind of driving attitude, but moving a several ton vehicle. Since they are so big, they have automatic right of way. I was almost ran over by one when my group crossed a street against the light. Es stupido Americano!
There's no maximum occupancy on the buses. The bus was so full coming back from a field trip that this one dude had to stand in the stairwell entrance. And this moring, a guy was sitting on the dashboard. Standing room only is the norm here.
More later, stay tuned!
So you'd think that with all the crazy driving, there must be massive death rates, accidents, and rampant road rage. Nope. They are crazy, but careful. They know the limits of their skill, which surpasses most NASCAR drivers, and the limits of their cars. I have yet to see an accident, an angry driver, or anything else. But it is the best e-ticket ride you will ever buy.
I rode in the front seat of a cab the other day, and held on for dear life. Brakes are for stopping RIGHT NOW, not gently coming to a stop. And buses, holy cow, buses. Imagine the same kind of driving attitude, but moving a several ton vehicle. Since they are so big, they have automatic right of way. I was almost ran over by one when my group crossed a street against the light. Es stupido Americano!
There's no maximum occupancy on the buses. The bus was so full coming back from a field trip that this one dude had to stand in the stairwell entrance. And this moring, a guy was sitting on the dashboard. Standing room only is the norm here.
More later, stay tuned!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Begin at the Beginning
Hola!
Where to start. This place is amazing. Today is my first day at Institute. No English. Only Spanish. Just buying time to write all you people was an experience. But on to some fun stuff.
My host mother is a sweetheart. She´s a retired schoolteacher,and keeps me well fed. She lives in a beautiful home,with a TV nicer than mine. Her home is in a kind of gated community, but she still has a barred gate in front of her house and concertina wire on the wall of her rear courtyard. The difference in wealth is drastic between her home and downtown Alajuela.
My first morning,I think I almost got arrested. I saw some children playing in a park down the street, so walked down there with my camera. As I walked, this guys was giving me the 'I'm watching you' eye. As soon as I got near the kids,their mom called them home, and then then gate guard rode by on his bike. That's when I decided it was a good time to head back. Oops!
It's quiet here at night, well except for last night. Some ugly Americans were partying across the street. "Beer! Vodka! Wiskey!" Seriously. But the night before, it was like camping in the woods. When there was no car driving by, it was silent. No ambient car noise or hum of lights. Just deep quiet.
I watched the Spanish version of American Idol last night, "Nace Una Estralla" or A Star is Born, I think. It was like Idol, minus the drama, which was refreshing. My host mother was on the edge of her seat the whole time. And the talent was amazing.
America is everywhere here, and at the same time not. The airport is surrounded by KFCs, Burger King, and McDonalds. The ads on TV are mostly for American goods. And the mall, Holy Cow the mall, that will have it's own post. But for now, suffice it to say that the International Mall looks like the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford, only PACKED! It's like the place to hang out. Lots of youth, either in packs or hanging all over their 'amores'. But at the same time, the people are still Costa Rican. They may wear Ambercrombie and Finch, but their easy attitude and laid back lifestyle is so counter to American 'consume, conform, concern' manners. It's interesting tojust sit back and people watch.
So, in my infinate ugly American ignorance, I didn't even think about getting pictures from my camera to the computers here. Don't they all come with SD card slots? No, señor. The space bar on this keyboard barely works, and I think the computer it's attached to was new when Bush was in office. The first one. So I'm going to have to find a way to get pictures off my camera and onto the Internet in some other way. I think a few other students have laptops, so maybe we can work something out. Cross your fingers. I already have some pretty neat photos. Sorry Sherri, nothing dead yet. But I do have some cool flowers and trees for Karen. Shiny!
Last night, my host mother and I were trying to figure out dinner, and the conversation completely broke down. We worked it out sort of, but after she left my room, I just started laughing. Like hysterical, can't stop kind of laughing. It was like a nervous break down of sorts with less tears and institutionalization. It's unreal how absoultely disconnected you feel when you can't really even discuss the show your watching on TV together. But at the same time it's very cool, just really, really overwhelming.
Off to lunch. More hopefully tomorrow. ¡Pura Vida!
Where to start. This place is amazing. Today is my first day at Institute. No English. Only Spanish. Just buying time to write all you people was an experience. But on to some fun stuff.
My host mother is a sweetheart. She´s a retired schoolteacher,and keeps me well fed. She lives in a beautiful home,with a TV nicer than mine. Her home is in a kind of gated community, but she still has a barred gate in front of her house and concertina wire on the wall of her rear courtyard. The difference in wealth is drastic between her home and downtown Alajuela.
My first morning,I think I almost got arrested. I saw some children playing in a park down the street, so walked down there with my camera. As I walked, this guys was giving me the 'I'm watching you' eye. As soon as I got near the kids,their mom called them home, and then then gate guard rode by on his bike. That's when I decided it was a good time to head back. Oops!
It's quiet here at night, well except for last night. Some ugly Americans were partying across the street. "Beer! Vodka! Wiskey!" Seriously. But the night before, it was like camping in the woods. When there was no car driving by, it was silent. No ambient car noise or hum of lights. Just deep quiet.
I watched the Spanish version of American Idol last night, "Nace Una Estralla" or A Star is Born, I think. It was like Idol, minus the drama, which was refreshing. My host mother was on the edge of her seat the whole time. And the talent was amazing.
America is everywhere here, and at the same time not. The airport is surrounded by KFCs, Burger King, and McDonalds. The ads on TV are mostly for American goods. And the mall, Holy Cow the mall, that will have it's own post. But for now, suffice it to say that the International Mall looks like the Rogue Valley Mall in Medford, only PACKED! It's like the place to hang out. Lots of youth, either in packs or hanging all over their 'amores'. But at the same time, the people are still Costa Rican. They may wear Ambercrombie and Finch, but their easy attitude and laid back lifestyle is so counter to American 'consume, conform, concern' manners. It's interesting tojust sit back and people watch.
So, in my infinate ugly American ignorance, I didn't even think about getting pictures from my camera to the computers here. Don't they all come with SD card slots? No, señor. The space bar on this keyboard barely works, and I think the computer it's attached to was new when Bush was in office. The first one. So I'm going to have to find a way to get pictures off my camera and onto the Internet in some other way. I think a few other students have laptops, so maybe we can work something out. Cross your fingers. I already have some pretty neat photos. Sorry Sherri, nothing dead yet. But I do have some cool flowers and trees for Karen. Shiny!
Last night, my host mother and I were trying to figure out dinner, and the conversation completely broke down. We worked it out sort of, but after she left my room, I just started laughing. Like hysterical, can't stop kind of laughing. It was like a nervous break down of sorts with less tears and institutionalization. It's unreal how absoultely disconnected you feel when you can't really even discuss the show your watching on TV together. But at the same time it's very cool, just really, really overwhelming.
Off to lunch. More hopefully tomorrow. ¡Pura Vida!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
I made it!
Well, I´m in Costa Rica! I was the first one off the plane, so I get points for that. As I write this, the spellchecker is saying that every word I write is spelled wrong because it´s English, not Spanish. Culture shock much? When we landed, the first thing we noticed was that everything was in Spanish first, English second. That was our first signal that we weren´t in Kansas anymore. No pictures right now, just a quick note back to the family to say that I´m alright and already missing them! More later!
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Welcome!
Hello friends and family! If you're here, that means you either received my email or someone conned you into following a link here. Surprise!
For those of you that don't know the details, I am a part of Rogue Community College's Study Abroad program here in Grants Pass, Oregon. Myself and 14 other students are headed to Costa Rica for a month. Two weeks of Spanish language immersion, and two weeks of field biology and ecology. For the first two weeks, we stay with a local Costa Rican family. For the last two weeks, we stay at three different research stations. The first is in Monteverde, a non-profit reserve in the cloud forest mountains in the northern part of the country. The next is Cabo Blanco, a private nature reserve on the western Nicoya Peninsula only open to students. Our last stop is the La Selva Biological Station, a research station in the rain forest near the eastern Caribbean Coast.
Time and Internet access allowing, I am planning on updating this blog with witty stories, beautiful pictures, and enlightening commentary on my travels in Costa Rica. So be sure to follow me to keep updated on all the awesome details that will be coming! I leave on June 25th!
Pura vida!
For those of you that don't know the details, I am a part of Rogue Community College's Study Abroad program here in Grants Pass, Oregon. Myself and 14 other students are headed to Costa Rica for a month. Two weeks of Spanish language immersion, and two weeks of field biology and ecology. For the first two weeks, we stay with a local Costa Rican family. For the last two weeks, we stay at three different research stations. The first is in Monteverde, a non-profit reserve in the cloud forest mountains in the northern part of the country. The next is Cabo Blanco, a private nature reserve on the western Nicoya Peninsula only open to students. Our last stop is the La Selva Biological Station, a research station in the rain forest near the eastern Caribbean Coast.
Time and Internet access allowing, I am planning on updating this blog with witty stories, beautiful pictures, and enlightening commentary on my travels in Costa Rica. So be sure to follow me to keep updated on all the awesome details that will be coming! I leave on June 25th!
Pura vida!
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