Friday, February 27: Santa Rosa to Monteverde

This morning we packed up camp and headed on the bus the Monteverde.  Sarah and I had to search through the woods for our tent bag, which had probably blown away when our tent blew away.  It was not fun, but we finally found it.  I thought for sure it was gone.  On the way we stopped at Las Pumas cat zoo and did species reports on all the cats. We saw margays, ocelots, pumas, and jaguars!  We got to get so close, we could easily stick our hands in the cages if we wanted too.  It was really cool.  After more time on the bus we stopped outside of Monteverde for pizza.  It was sooooo good!  Then we got ice cream from the Monteverde cheese factory.  It was so good.  I can’t wait to eat that all the time.  A little bit more on the bus and we finally got to Monteverde! It was so exciting!  The bus couldn’t make it up the hill to the station, so we had to walk.  It’s quite the hill, that should be fun.  We got our rooms, I’m with Emy, Val and Sarah Stas.  Then we all grabbed our computers and sat on the internet catching up on our lives for the rest of the night.  

Thursday Feb 26: Last day in Santa Rosa

Today was another “free day” at Rincon de la Vieja National park, aka the volcanoes.  Sarah Stas and I first decided to hike to the waterfall, 5k each way.  The hike was actually really enjoyable.  It was a mix of moist and dry forest, and the difference between the two was really drastic.  One minute we were in a pretty green forest, then suddenly it looked like we were in a desert.  We were pretty high up, so the view was amazing.  The waterfall was absolutely beautiful.  It had a nice pool that the sun was shining on, so the water was a bright aqua blue.  The water was cold, but felt really good.  We only stayed at the waterfall for a little bit because we wanted to hike the 3 k loop around the fumarolas.  We hiked the 5k back, then started the loop.  We had an hour, which we thought was enough time.  The fumarolas weren’t nearly as exciting as we had hoped.  Just a bubbling pool of sulfur, really.  We had to book it back to the bus.  We had to practically run the last 1.5K back.  It was really hot so that really sucked.  My ankles were so swollen.  After Rincon we got back on the bus and headed to Playa Junquillal.  We stopped on the way and the staff got a huge cooler full of beer.  I got orange juice, woohoo.  I was really tired so I sat and talked with Stefa.  The sunset was amazingly beautiful.  Words can’t even describe.  We all sat and watched the sunset, but most pretty were really drunk and I was really annoyed.  The drunkenness continued at dinner, we ate this whole in the wall seafood place.  It was so tired and just wanted to go to bed.  It just made me super cranky.  I went to the payphone with Kim and Sarah to escape the crowd.  Unfortunately we stayed at the restaurant for a while.  Finally we left and on the way home I saw the big dipper and it made me a little bit happier.  Back at camp Sarah and I went to the classroom to use the wireless with Stefa’s PSP.  I only got to read two emails because stupid Wismail requires too much memory.  When we got back to camp we noticed some extra things in our text.  Turns out Brad and Luke had fire ants in their tent so Brad slept with us.  Thank god we had one of the big tents.  

Wednesday Feb 25: Day 4 in Santa Rosa

Today was a nice change of pace with mammal diversity day.  We started off the morning with a reading in the classroom, then had a lecture on mammals from Richard.  It was really basic, I already know the difference between an omnivore and a carnivore.  Then we did species reports until lunch in the classroom, mostly on mammals.  After lunch we had free time from 1-3. It was really nice to have some downtime.  I finished the book I was reading, then did some homework. The rest of the afternoon we did a lot of species reports, but Richard found some bats to show us, so that was really cool.  We even got to sit at camp for some of the reports, which was super nice.  After dinner we had discussion about megafauna and how lots of plants are adapted for dispersal by megafauna, but humans killed them all off.  Overall it was a good discussion.  They even gave us wine! Oh so happy!  The whole group drank 10 huge bottles.  After discussion I stayed up for a bit with some of the group to drink a little, but ended up going to bed fairly early.  

Tuesday, February 24: Hike to Playa Naranja

Today was quite a day.  Another “free day” with a hike, only this time it was 26K round trip.  We walked on this really rocky “road” to Playa Naranja.  The walk there wasn’t bad at all, it wasn’t hot and it was downhill the whole way.  We left at 8 and got there at 10:20.  The beach was absolutely beautiful.  It was the beach where the movie “Endless Summer 2” was filmed.  I’ve never seen the movie though.  It’s supposed to be a really big surf spot, famous for the witch’s rock.  Kit, Laura and I walked almost the whole beach, it was a couple miles.  We found a ton of shells, and I found a conch!  It was so windy, and the sand blowing on our bodies felt like sandpaper.  Then the sand stuck to our sunscreen so we all looked really funny.  The water was super cold!  It felt really good after walking in the hot sun, but still was a bit of shock when you first get in.  I wasn’t in the water long because there was a strong rip current.  I mostly just chilled out in the shade for the afternoon.  It was just too hot to be in the sun.  Sarah Stas and I headed back around 2:30.  It was uphill, and super hot.  I got burned on one side of my body on the walk back.  We stopped at the mirador to watch the sunset, but we got there super early. It was such a beautiful view though, we could see all the way down to Play Naranja, and could see the entire stretch of beach.  More and more of the group also came to watch the sunset.  It was so gorgeous.  After sunset we had about 4k left to walk in the dark.  Our headlamps weren’t too helpful.  It took an hour to get back, and it felt like forever because the whole way we had no idea how much we had to left to go.  AT least the stars were beautiful.  I only had a few bites of dinner and now I’m going to bed.  Kit is in the hospital, she was on the hike back and suddenly had terrible kidney pains.  I hope she’s ok.  

Monday, February 23: Day two at Santa Rosa.

Today we did field projects.  Luke, Emy, Sarah H., Sam, Laura and I went to look at bats with Richard.  We went up to the attic of La Casona, which isn’t open to the public.  There were about 60 bats up there.  We sat there for 3 hours taking pictures of them roosting every 10 minutes.  We had to be really quiet.  I got up to go to the bathroom, and I saw the troop of white-face capucins.  They were crossing on the ground from tree to tree, and got really close to me!  One of them had a newborn baby, I wish I had my camera.  After lunch we got together to analyze the data and work on our posters.  We concluding that the bats had a random aggregation of individuals.  They gave us an ice cream break during our poster making, which is much needed since it’s so hot out everyday.  When we got back to camp I learned our tent blew away.  Yes, it was staked down, but it’s just that windy.  Stefa and Sarah got it staked back down though.  Our stuff was a mess.  Our bags are so heavy its crazy how that thing blew away.  After dinner all the groups presented our posters.  Anjali let all hell break lose, I’m pretty sure everyone hates her now, they’re all really mad.  She’s brutal, but her critiques are valid.  It’s not like she’s ripping us apart for no reason.  

Sunday, Feb. 22: Day 1 in Santa Rosa

So far I’m not a huge fan.  It’s so dry hardly anything is green.  At least there’s a breeze so it’s not quite as hot, but at night when the wind blows through the tents it sounds like there’s a tornado outside.  It’s a lot more “roughing it” than Corcovado.  No shelter, only tents and tarps.  We still have cooks, but no kitchen, they have to cook for 35 people over a fire.  That sucks.  At least there’s Marco, one of our cooks who is our age who is really gorgeous and has a really cute butt.  He’s definitely gay, but still good eye candy.  Whenever we get cranky we stare at him to make ourselves cheer up.  This morning was so boring.  We walked around for four hours doing species reports.  We were not happy campers, everyone was soooo cranky.  The only exciting thing was the howler monkeys right above our camp.  The baby was so cute and they were so close.  We have free time from 1-3 because that is the hottest part of the day.  The afternoon was more species reports, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had expected.  The two hour break was good for everyone, we were all a lot less cranky.  We ended up only doing 3 species reports, then heading up to the monument.  Moncho is a dirty liar and told me we were doing species reports all afternoon.  The historical monument was really cool.  It’s a huge Casona, and it used to be a huge cattle ranch.  The Casona is actually a remake of the original, because someone burned down the original building in 2000.  Tania have us a history lesson of Santa Rosa, but I was spacing out the whole time (oops). I just know there was an epic Costa Rican battle here.  Then we walked up to the lookout to see the volcanoes.  It was so pretty!  We even got to climb on top of this structure they have there that you probably aren’t supposed to climb on.  It was really tranquilo.  I even saw Polistes there (my species report)!  After that we had a delicious spaghetti dinner and a discussion of these articles we had to read.  It was kind of boring.  There are these tiny gnats everywhere so I got really bitten up.  It’s awful, they make you bleed when they bite, and then the bite gets really swollen.  We all look like lepers.  What an exciting night, I’m going to bed at 8:30.  

Saturday, Feb. 21: Carara National Park

This morning was bright.  I woke up at the usual Corcovado time (5:30) so I didn’t get much sleep.  I did get to shower in a real shower, which was really nice.  We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, which was literally right on the beach.  I could reach down and touch the sand.  After breakfast we headed on the bus to Carara National Park.  It was ok, really hot, and not nearly as pretty as Corcovado.  We also met Richard, the Costa Rican bat expert who is going to be with us for the rest of the trip (little did we know at the time just how BAMF Richard is).  We had pizza hut for lunch, but it was just ok.  Everyone else seemed more excited than I was.  We weren’t at Carara for very long, only a few hours.  Then we got back on the bus and headed to Santa Rosa National Park.  Shortly after we left we stopped on a bridge to see these HUGE crocodiles.  The biggest ones were 4 or 5 meters long.  It was really cool.  Then back on the bus. I pretty much slept the rest of the ride.  We stopped for a little while in Liberia, a city close to Santa Rosa.  It was nice to have some time in civilization, and check my email.  It was dark when we got to our campsite in Santa Rosa and we couldn’t see a thing.  Other people had gotten there earlier that day to set up the main camp, but we had to set up our tents in the dark.  This is right after we were told there are a lot of snakes around.  Awesome.  From what I can see so far, I’m not too impressed.  It’s super dry, and looks just like Wisconsin, except with more snakes, spiders and cockroaches. Huge cockroaches.  The bathrooms are really far away, and they seem like some man is going to jump out and grab you.  It’s really eerie.  Apparently there’s also fire ants everywhere.  We were told to watch out for them before we set up our tents, but it’s so dark we can’t really tell if our tent is on an ant mound or not.  At least Sarah and I have a big tent this time so we don’t have to sleep on each other and our bags. 

Friday, February 20: Leaving Corcovado

This morning we woke up, packed up camp, and left in boats after breakfast.  We were all sad to leave, but excited for what was yet to come.  I was really happy because I heard the howler monkeys this morning before we leave.  They were really weird sounding.  The boat ride was really nice actually, it was another beautiful day.  We went back through the mangroves to the hotel we stayed at in Sierpe.  We loaded up our stuff on the bus, grabbed some snacks at the supermarket, and hit the road.

Shortly after leaving, we stopped at a banana plantation, to do a species report of course.  It wasn't too exciting, just rows and rows of banana plants.  After a few hours of driving we stopped in Dominical, a surf town, for lunch.  It was kind of weird being back in civilization.  We got to use the phone and internet for the first time since San Jose.  We got to walk down to the beach, but it wasn't nearly as pretty as Corcovado.  There were also a ton a little shops we stopped at.

After a few more hours of driving we reached our hotel.  It was so nice! Right on a black sand beach.  It even had a pool with a swim up bar, but unfortunately it was closed.  Fortunately the other bar was open.  We had two people to a room, which meant we each got our own full bed!  And a real shower (but not a warm shower).  We all went out to the beach to watch the sun set.  I've never been to a black sand beach before.  Brad even got to surf.  

We went to a seafood restaurant for dinner.  We sat 6 people to a table, and each table shared a big seafood platter with fish, lobster, shrimp, clams and lots of other things.  Upon returning to the hotel we headed straight to the bar.  Roy was our bartender.  He didn't speak English, but since we knew how to say "mas tequila," everything was ok.  This is when we discovered the deliciousness that is guaro.  Possibly the best mixed drink I've ever had, we are still looking for it in other places, but haven't had any luck.  Guaro is really common, but we don't know what Roy mixed it with.  Pablo and Moncho even joined us at the bar to have "one beer," which turned out to be a 40.  We weren't out too late since we were so used to going to bed early in Corcovado.  

Thursday, February 19: Corcovado

Today was another day filled with learning.  We started off the morning with some beach biology, mostly learning about plants that live right up to the sand.  I got to present my species report on Cocos nucifera, the coconut palm.  We also learned about the scarlet macaw.  After lecture we broke up into groups to do posters on common plant families.  I was in the Bromiliaceae group, which is the pineapple family.  Lunch was the best meal so far, fried whole red snapper.  it was so good.  After lunch we finished up our poster and went for a swim.  It's so hot here, at 10:30 in the morning the grass is too hot to walk on with bear feet.  

They took us into the forest to present our posters because it was so hot.  It was actually really cool having a class in the forest.  We all just sat on logs and the ground.  It felt really nice to be out of the sun.  We even got interrupted by a howler monkey!  I was so happy to finally see one, I haven't even heard any calling yet.  

After presentations we had more free time.  Luke and I went to check out this other path at the end of the beach.  The forest was so different, you could tell the area was recently disturbed and was in a very early stage of recovery.  The short path led to another beach.  We climbed out on the rocks and saw a crocodile! It was so cool! We heard they were in the ocean but hadn't seen any yet.  

After dinner we had a night hike.  We didn't really know what to expect, but we knew that all poisonous snakes are nocturnal.  We all wore long-sleeve shirts and tucked our pants into our socks.  We looked pretty cool.  The hike was ok, we didn't really see much.  Pablo and Moncho led us up the river, so we all got soaked.  

Wednesay, February 18: Isla del Cano

Today we went to Isla del Cano, just off the coast of our campsite in Corcovado.  We stopped off shore of the island to snorkel, and it was so cool.  It's a national park rule that we had to wear life jackets, which was actually really nice because we didn't have fins.  We just got to float around and look at the reef.  There were so many beautiful fish.  I even saw a nurse shark that was 5 or 6 feet long! It was about 10 feet below me, so cool.

After about an hour of snorkeling we headed to shore.  Alan gave us a short lecture on island biodiversity, having us throw rocks on to circles in the sand to show how species become distributed.  After the lecture we went for a short walk on the island to see how it differed from the mainland.  

After lunch we had the rest of the afternoon free.  It was really hot, so I tried to stay out of the sun since I was already burned.  I did go snorkeling again though, but it was just so amazing.  Didn't see anything new, but it was still really cool.  On the boat ride back to the mainland I saw a really big sea turtle, which was also exciting.  We had more free time when we got back, which was mostly used to pick off ticks from the hike to Playa Llorna.   They were everywhere, and I mean everywhere.  That night we had a discussion about what we saw on the island.  

Tuesday, Feb 17: Hike to Playa Llorona

Today was a “free day.” “Free Day” means we aren’t doing anything academic, but they usually plan some sort of vigorous activity for us. Today was a 14K hike round trip to Playa Llorona. Playa Llorona can only be accessed by this single path from San Pedrillo, so even less people go there. They wanted the hike to be the destination and really enjoy the forest. Corcovado is a very healthy forest, and there’s not many places like it. Luke and I hiked together. At the beginning of the path we saw monkeys and coatis. We couldn’t see the monkeys very well though, so I was highly disappointed. We were able to get fairly close to the coatis. They’re so cute, I just want to cuddle with them. I don’t think they’d like that very much though.

The forest was so beautiful. The trees are huge, and you can hear lots of birds. We didn’t really see much after the monkeys and coatis. The path was quite the hike, very hilly and steep. I definitely enjoyed it none the less. It took us two and a half hours to reach Playa Llorona. It was so beautiful. The beach was huge! There were so many shells. Since it was low tide we were able to hike to a waterfall at the end of the beach. It can only be accessed during low tide because you have to walk through the tide pools, it sucked. So rocky and difficult. Sarah fell and dropped her camera in the water. We saw a bright yellow puffer fish stranded in one of the tide pools, natural selection at its finest. The waterfall was pretty cool, but we didn’t stay long because we wanted to leave plenty of time to hike back before it got dark. It was funny to watch Pablo hide from the sun in his rain boots and a sarong. Such a funny guy. Whitest Costa Rican ever.

The hike back was rough. My legs felt like jello. Sarah and I were dragging, but Luke was kicking our asses. My hands were so swollen. Toward the end of the hike we saw some white-faced capuchins, so that made me really happy. I finally saw monkeys! Finally made it back around 4. I was so dehydrated, even after drinking 4 liters of water. Since most people weren’t back I took a really long shower, it was amazing. My whole body got burned, even after several applications of spf 50. My feet got burned badly also. Those tan lines are going to stick with me for a while. We didn’t have a night lecture, so everyone went to bed right after dinner, around 6:30.

Monday, Feb 16: Corcovado

Hot, hot, hot. It’s so freaking hot. I woke up at 5:30 this morning. Not on purpose, that’s just when I woke up. Luke and I tried to snorkel, but we couldn’t see anything. We gave up on snorkeling and just walked on the beach. I LOVE mornings in Corcovado. It’s so peaceful and the perfect temperature. Down the beach were some tapir and jaguar tracks, which was really cool. They were huge! We also saw hermit crabs eating a lizard. There are hermit crabs everywhere, especially at night when they all come out. Breakfast was so good, French toast and fried plantanes. Fried plantanes are quite possibly the best food every.

After breakfast we divided into 6 groups to do field projects. Luke, Brenna, Scott, Sarah S and I went with Moncho to catch norops (little lizards). We wanted to see if males have more tail regeneration than females. They were kind of hard to catch at first, they’re really small and camoflague with the surroundings really well. Then when you find one they jump away. After some practice it wasn’t too hard. We caught about 50 total. We had a ton of fun. We sang Alanis Morsette and the Backstreet Boys, and were laughing the entire time. It definitely lured in the norops.

After lunch we had to make a poster of our findings. It’s ridiculously hot today. You can’t even walk on the grass barefoot it’s so hot. I definitely burned the bottom of my feet. Before the poster session started we had a little time to swim, which felt so good and much needed. The poster was full of laughs. Our poster was not serious at all. We drew of picture of Scott trying to lure in the norops but putting army ants on his tongue. Our conclusion was that further research needs to be done on the ability of Alanis to mesmorize and lure the norops.

After the posters almost everyone went swimming again. How can you resist, really? We were in the water for almost 2 hours probably. Luke and Danny even threw me up in the air. It was fun. After dinner each group presented their poster. Anjali and Alan tore our group apart because some of my group members commented on our study was poorly designed, which it wasn’t. I went to bed after posters. I go to bed really early (at like 8) but there’s not much to do here at night and I’m usually completely worn out by then anyways.

Sunday, Feb 15: Corcovado

Today was our first full day in Corcovado. I woke up around 6, which is when the sun comes up. I thought it was too early, since breakfast isn’t till 7, but mornings are very beautiful. We faced west, so there was no sunrise, but it’s so peaceful in the morning. It’s great to just walk on the beach. A lot of other people were up too. Nights are really hot and humid, and half the time I wake up in the middle of the night thinking I went the bed because I’m sweating so much. There’s so much dew we all thought it had rained.

After breakfast we set up a makeshift classroom in the shade so Alan could lecture us on plant leaves. It’s really cool to have to stop lecture to watch the scarlet macaques fly overhead, or because there’s a coati (really cute mammal) walking behind us. After lecture we split into three groups to go on hikes in the forest. First I went with Alan and Yemen. We saw some 800 year old trees and boat billed herons. Next was with Anjali and Pablo. We saw a small lizard, a golden orb weaving spider, leaf cutter ants, and termites. After lunch we had a group lecture before the third round of hikes. We learned about some trees, including the mango and wild cashew. Apparently both those plants are toxic, especially if you are allergic to poison ivy, which of course I am. The only reason humans can eat mango is because the poison goes away as the fruit ripens. Lecture was interrupted by a tiger heron this time. Very pretty. After lecture was a hike with Tania and Moncho. Tania kicked our asses up the steps on the path, holy crap. I had trouble keeping up. There were huge ant hills along the path. At the top was this dead, hollow tree. It was really big. Moncho went inside and caught and bat. It had really sharp teeth and tried to bite him. It was really cool though, we even got to pet it.

After the hikes were done we had to the rest of the afternoon free. Almost everyone hiked the the waterfall in one of the path loops. It was kind of a rough hike, but the waterfall was really cool. We could climb up the rocks to the top part and sit under the falls. After the waterfall I ran back to beat everyone to the showers. There were enclosed showers, but they were super sketchy so everyone used the outside ones. The water was cold, but since Corcovado is so hot and humid it felt really good. After dinner we had a really boring reading assignment, then Luke and I went to the lagoon to see the caymens. We shined our flashlights so we could see the eyes reflect back. We were really lucky to see them, but I wish we could see more than two red dots moving in the water. It was still pretty cool though. After that I started making flash cards for all the species I need to memorize. I hate latin nomenclature.

Saturday, Feb 14: Sierpe Mangroves and Corcovado

Today after breakfast we got on to boats and headed out into the mangroves. It was a beautiful, hot, sunny day. The group was split amongst three boats. The mangroves were pretty cool, we saw birds, bats, raccoons, crabs, and two boas. After a couple hours of looking at plants and animals, we got to climb on the mangrove roots, which was pretty cool. They are so strong, just like branches and trunks. We basically went from the roots into the water swimming, which was really fun. The silt at the bottom was really fine, and was kind of like quick sand. If you tried to walk along the bank your leg sank up to your knee. We had some major mud fights. Then some how swimming led to climbing up the trees and jumping into the water. I was too scared, and it wasn’t even that high.
After some jumping we headed back to the hotel for lunch, then loaded up the boats with all our stuff to Corcovado. Corcovado National Park is in the southwest corner of the country, in the Osa Penninsula. It can only be accessed by boat, and getting there is expensive, so most tourists don’t go there. We had about an hour boat ride in the same tiny fiberglass boats down the river and out into the pacific. It was a beautiful afternoon. When we arrived at the beach, it looked like paradise. It was like vacation. The part of park we’re staying in is called San Pedrillo, the northernmost part of the park. Behind the beach was a small grassy clearing where the ranger station is, and that’s where we set up camp. After basically throwing our stuff on the grass we went right into the water. It was so warm and wonderful. Very rocky. We swam for a few hours before dinner. We hired cook staff to come with us and cook every meal for us while in Corcovado, which was awesome. After dinner we had a snake lecture. Basically Moncho (one of the TA’s) showed us pictures of everything we shouldn’t go near, which is pretty much any snake. And yes students have been bitten before, right in the camping area actually. He was in the hospital for 10 days. Everyone was so paranoid after that. And Pablo (another TA) was actually bitten on the last program.

Friday, Feb 13: Leaving San Jose

Today we left San Jose for our first field trip. We had breakfast at 7, then on the bus at 8. We first stopped about 15 minutes later at a cathedral in Cartago. Cartago used to be the capitol of Costa Rica, and this is the largest Catholic Church. It was really beautiful. The church was built based on a story where a girl found a picture of the virgin under some rocks, so she took it home with her. The next day, she went back to the rocks and found the picture again. She ran home thinking she now had two pictures of the virgin, but when she got home, the first picture was gone. This happened once more before she went to the priest to tell him about it, and they built a church on the spot where the picture was found. Once a year (I think), people from all over walk on foot to the church to celebrate the girl. Some people walk for days. There was a mass going on, so of course we went in and took pictures.
We left the church and headed up the mountains for Cerro de la Muerte (Hill of Death). This place got its name because it is the only passage through this area of the mountains, and it’s really cold. It even gets below zero, so back in the day a lot of travelers weren’t equipped for the cold temperatures and would die. But it wasn’t that cold for us, maybe in the 50’s. We were also there just for a few hours during the day, not at night. The drive up the mountains was beautiful, such a good view down into the valley. We had lunch at this cafeteria in Cerro de la Muerte, and then went into the woods for some species reports. So in San Jose each student was assigned an animal and plant to prepare a 5 minute report on, and when we would see that species during the trip we had to give our report. It was very much like Wisconsin, with lots of oak trees.
After Cerro de la Muerte we headed back down the mountains to the costal town of Sierpe. More gorgeous views. Before hitting the coast we stopped at a pineapple plantation. So many pineapples. Of course we did a species report. We drove miles through the plantation to come to the store, where we had pineapple that was literally just cut off the plant. It was so good, it melted in our mouths. There was a soccer game right next to the pineapple place, so we got to watch that for a few minutes too.
Then we left for Sierpe. It was dark by this time, so no good views. We arrived at our hotel, which is right on the mangrove river. After getting settled, we had a lecture on mangroves by a mangrove expert. He was telling us about mangrove ecology and all the species we were going to see the next day. I’ve come to realize that beer and night lecture go hand-in-hand here in Costa Rica. Too bad for me.

Day 2: More San Jose

Last night we went to dinner at a place in San Jose. I had chicken covered in cheese, served with rice and beans and salsa. It was served on a giant leaf instead of a plate. After dinner we went to the hotel bar with the TAs to watch Costa Rica play Honduras in futbol. We didn't have to pay for our drinks, which was awesome. My TA Pablo, wrapped himself in the Costa Rican flag while watching the game. I wish I could understand what he was saying, he flipped out over everything. Costa Rica ended up winning 3-0.

Today was our first day of class. We had breakfast at 7 AM again, and then class at 8. Our only class today was Humans in the Tropics, and we learned about urbanization. Pablo gave the lecture, but had a hoarse voice from the game last night. We had lecture from about 8-10, and then was thrown out in the city again with our first assignment. We were supposed to go to three different places in San Jose: the university, the mall, and the central market to interview local Costa Ricans about their carbon footprint. Luke and I finished our interviews by 1, so we had a couple hours to wander around the central market and San Jose. We heard stories about bull testicles at the central market, and we were on a mission to find them. We did find them, and they were huge, one is about the length of my palm. It was certainly interesting. After the market Luke and I ate lunch at this little place in the back of a store called Soda Mary. It wasn't on the list of reccommend cafes, so we were hoping we weren't going to get sick (we didn't).

Luke and I then headed back to the hotel to calculate our carbon footprint and compare it to Costa Ricans. My footprint was about 3.5 Earths. The Costa Ricans I interviewed had a footprint of 0.5 Earths. Another interesting thing was if we changed our location to Costa Rica, but kept all our habits the same, our carbon footprint dropped to about 0.8. One man I interviewed misunderstood some of the questions, as he claimed to live in a climate like Moscow, Russia, and made over $120,000 per year. oh well. We then met up to talk about our experiences and findings. We got to drink in class (and didn't have to pay!) which was cool.

After the final class this afternoon we had a little down time before dinner to pack and do some homework. We then headed to a really cute italian place for dinner. I had fettucini alfredo with seafood. We pretty much all had seafood dishes. You could tell we were a bunch of biologists because we all sat there and dissected our mussels and squid. Some girls even knew all of the anatomy.

We are now back at the hotel for the night to pack and do homework. We leave at 8 AM tomorrow for a 2.5 week field trip up the Pacific Coast. We are travelling by bus, and the roads are really bad so it should be interesting. We are first heading to a high point up in the mountains where it will be really cold, and then down to the lowlands where it will be hot and humid. Our desination is Corcovado, a national park in the far southwest corner of the country. We then go to an island in the park too. I'm really excited. It's the most preserved rainforst in the country, and I hear it's absolutely beautiful. There's even monkeys there!!! YAY! On a less academic note, I made my first alcohol purchase tonight! It was very exciting. I bought a little bottle of vodka to bring on the trip. I didn't want vodka, but I wanted something plastic so it wouldn't break.

Well I think that's it for now. I won't be blogging for the next two and a half weeks, or have any sort of communication. Should be a great time!

Day 1: Orientation in San Jose

First and foremost, I made it here safely and with all my luggage despite American Airlines switching planes on us three time, resulting in a two hour delay. There were 3 other girls on my flight, so luckily I wasn't the last one in. We finally got to the hotel around 1 AM. The best part was our taxi driver playing "Sandstorm" during the ride to the hotel. I didn't get much sleep (Costa Ricans are obsessed with honking their car horns), and was up at 6:15 to shower before going to get breakfast at 7 AM. I had a breakfast of fruit, but not enough to fill me up for the day. Oh and LOTS of coffee.

Orientation started at 8 AM. We basically just got an introduction to the country and what our trip itinerary is. Turns out our first camping trip is going to quite luxurious--they hired people to carry around our luggage AND cook for us so we can "focus on the biology." Excellent. My Professor and TAs are all really nice. On Friday we leave for a 2.5 week pacific coastal trip, ALL the way up the entire coast. should be interesting. Then we head back to the station in Monteverde for 2.5 weeks. And then I can't remember what happens. Homestay maybe? Atlantic coastal trip and Panama? They're both in there somewhere.

After orientation we got our first homework assignment. We were each given 1,000 colones (about $2) to go to the market and buy and assigned fruit. It was really hard talking in Spanish, but Costa Ricans are really understanding of tourists and love Americans. We had to find out from the vendors about the item we bought, such as when it's in season, where it's grown, how it's prepared, etc. We got a little time to walk around San Jose too, but none of the streets have street signs so we didn't venture too far.

After the market we all met up back at the hotel to head to the botanical gardens. We had a lunch of empanadas, roast chicken, and salad. After lunch, we started "class." We are starting some basic botany stuff, which was all review to me thanks to Bot 130 (who would have thought that class would come in handy?!). After some introductions, we got a little time to walk around the gardens. There were some really pretty orchids, and it felt like we were walking through the rainforest. We then met up as a group, and shared our knowledge of the fruit we learned about in the market. Some fruits need to be cooked before eaten, weird! And Cashews are actually fruit. And if you're allergic to poison ivy, you might be allergic to the fleshy covering of the cashew. Of course they told me this after I picked it up. We then split up into groups and got to cut into a bunch of fruit and ate it. We were supposed to be learning about the different types of fruit and how they're classified, but we mostly just ate. It was delicious.

We are now back at the hotel for some downtime before dinner at 6:45. Later tonight our TAs are taking us out to the bar. Yes, this is mandatory, ha. Costa Rica plays the Honduras in soccer tonight, and we're all hoping we can watch the game. We remain in San Jose until Friday morning, when we leave sharply at 8 AM for our first field trip. I'll have internet while in San Jose, but not during the field trip. Ok, that's enough for now. I'll write at least once more before leaving for the fieldtrip. Miss everyone!

The beginning

Hey everyone,

I thought I would start a blog while I'm in Costa Rica since the limited internet connection will probably prevent me from keeping in touch with everyone. I'll try to update it as much as I can. I leave on Tuesday, February 10 and return on May 26. My program starts out with a long field trip, so my first real blog won't be for two or three weeks. I can still be reached by email or facebook, but no guarantees when I will be able to reply back. My mailing address is:

Liz Feit
c/o CIEE
APDO 43-5655
Monteverde
Costa Rica

I would love to get mail (snail mail or email) to hear from you, but due to customs, please to do send care packages. I can't wait to leave, but I know I'll miss everyone. Alright, time to finish packing!