Sloths & Peanut Butter

Sorry I’ve been away for so long!  Its been a crazy past 2 weeks.  The weekend before last I stayed with my host family.  When we were assigned our homestay families I got a big surprise: I was the only students assigned a host family all the way in Cartago, which is a province all the way on the other side of San Jose!  It took over an hour and a half to get there.  Everyone else was assigned homestay families in a neighborhood near the SFS center, such as La Presa, Boyero, or Atenas.  My family turned out to be located so far way because my host father, Marvin, is actually the site manager at the SFS center, and lives with his family in Cartago.

Their house is in a very urban setting in comparison to where my center is located.  Their neighborhood consists of rows of houses all touching each other, with no lawn space, and a gated off garage/front entrance space.  Metal gates and fences seem to be popular at all homes in Costa Rica, whether urban or rural.  They have a 1-year-old dog named Bonnie who is very sweet, and two cages full of canaries and other small colorful birds.  My host mom is a seamstress and there is a son who is in his early twenties.  I shared a room with Marvin’s two daughters, who are in their mid twenties.  It was nice to be with two girls around the same age as me.  Mariela goes to modeling school and Kenia is training to be a language therapist.  She taught me some language.

In the afternoon they took me to the shopping district in San Jose.  First we went through the central plaza, a main cultural gathering for people full of crowds and street performers, and then showed me El Teatro Nacional, one of the oldest buildings in San Jose.  The shopping district itself is one long pedestrian street.  There were some stores that were specific companies or brands, such as a two story Payless.  Other stores though were locally run with random assortments of items, with sometimes only one variety of an item available.  There were some cool stores, like a locksmiths with keys set into the concrete sidewalk in front of it.  Every couple of feet there were people selling lottery tickets, yelling their prices at the top of their lungs.  We ended up at the oldest market in San Jose, which was established in 1880.  It’s a buildings crammed with a wide variety of stores and very narrow, crowded hallways.  My host family bought me a “Costa Rica: Pura Vida” shirt from a souvenir store in the market.  It shows how prevalent tourism is in the Costa Rican economy.

On Sunday, the grandparents came to visit.  The grandmother started to cook as soon as she arrived, and stayed in the kitchen all day.  For lunch we had chalupes, which were delicious, and then the grandmother made tamales, which I was given one of.  Kenia walked me through the neighborhood so I could take some pictures before I left.

Right before I left Marvin’s car broke down and we had a suspenseful 15 minutes in the car, but he was able to get it started.

The week after that was full of mid-terms.  This week we found out that unfortunately our week-long trip to Nicaragua was cancelled because of a border dispute between the Nicaragua and Costa Rica.  Basically Nicaragua starts a border dispute every election year to distract from internal issues.  This past Wednesday Nicaragua and Costa Rica made amiable agreements through international court, but SFS has already changed our plans, so we’re still not going.  Instead we are going to Panama, which will hopefully be just as fun!

On the Friday before last we held a huge dinner celebration at the center for our host families, with a lasagna dinner, entertainment, a DJ, and dancing.  We fit 180 in the open classroom area!  We had a lot of guests because extended families still tend to live near each other in Costa Rica, so in some cases 17 family members would arrive for one student.  As part of the entertainment we had a mini-talent show.  I participated in a skit we entitled “A Day in the Life of a Gringo,” which the families found really funny.

The next day was the beginning of our first “Weekend Away,” in which we have all day Saturday and Sunday off instead of just Sunday, allowing time to travel.  I stayed overnight in a hostel with 11 other people in Quepos, allowing access to the beaches and national park in Manuel Antonio.  The name of the hostel was Serena Vista and it had a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean from the reception area.  The first day we stayed the entire day at the public beach in Manuel Antonio.  It was very reminiscent of spending time at the beach at home, except with balm trees, warm water, and very white sand.  I walked along the beach both ways, which ended at mangrove forests at each end.  While I was reading on the beach a big, quiet, beautiful dog walked right past me through our group set up on the beach!  When I began to pet him he sat down and settled right next to me for around 10 minutes, and then he just as suddenly as he stopped got up and sauntered away.  He was so sweet!  I have no idea where he came from but someone must have owned him because he was wearing a harness.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a local dog that had experience with getting attention from random tourists on the beach.  We took the bus back to the hostel as the sun was setting, which was really beautiful to see.  The bus between the hostel and the beach was really cheap: 240 colones, which is about 50 cents in US currency!

That night I got ingredients to make cheese quesadillas with Parker in the common kitchen available in the hostel.  Some of us also made cheesy pasta, all of which came out really good.  Later that night a group of us, including some other people who were staying at the hostel, including a couple from Washington DC and an electrician apprentice from Canada, went to a restaurant with a bomber plane added as part of the building.  The bar itself was inside the plane.  The cockpit was still intact and the engines were used for the ceiling fans.  The bar was dimly lit and had blacklights.  I ordered a Pura Vida: a mixed drink that consists of cacique, rum, triple sec, and orange and mango juice.  It was delicious!  On the walk back to the hostel a 3-legged dog joined us and followed me all the way back to the room I was staying in!  He seemed content to stay outside though.

The next morning I had the hostel’s free breakfast: toast and coffee, that was actually delicious.  The bread was a kind of French bread that you could toast in a toaster oven with butter and jelly available.  That day I went to Manuel Antonio Park with Pin, Joana, Kate, James, and Matt.  We got to see a sloth with a baby and a lot of capuchin monkeys.  Manuel Antonio has 4 beaches connected by trails.  I hiked the Peninsula trail, which took about an hour, and then relaxed on Manuel Antonio beach, the most popular beach in the park.  Unlike the public beach from the day before, which had some big waves good for surfing, this beach had gentle rolling waves that were really fun to swim in.  We got back just in time for the rented van to pick us up at 4pm to bring us back to the center.  We got stuck in traffic for an extra 4 hours, and then we arrived back at the center we discovered that the center had no water because a water main had broken in Atenas…which was really unfortunate because I had not showered since going to the beach.  I had to jump into the pool to get the sand out of my bathing suit. 

The water didn’t come fully back until Tuesday.  You never know how important water is until you have to dip into the pool to stay clean at least a little bit, not be able to wash dishes for meals, and having to deal with toilets not being able to flush…it wasn’t very pretty basically.  But we survived.

On Monday, we visited an organic coffee farm.  We got to see how the coffee was grown and processed, and they served us a delicious treat of organic coffee, tamales, and a sweet cake they traditionally make for weddings.  They also showed us 3 puppies that had just been born on the farm last week!  They were adorable.

On Thursday we went to Santa Rosa National Park.  Our trip seemed to be plagued by bad luck though.  As our bus was beginning to drive away from the SFS center to embark on our trip it suddenly stopped.  The bus’ brake had gotten stuck in engaged and the bus driver could not fix it.  As a result, we had to wait for a new bus to arrive, making us over an hour off schedule.  When we got to the park we had lunch, which included a rice with black beans that’s unique to the Guanacaste area and is really good.  We had field lectures in the afternoon.  A troop of spider monkeys that went by near us distracted us from one of the lectures though…I don’t think Edgardo, my Tropical Ecology professor, appreciated their presence.

We also visited La Carosa, the site of a significant (although only 14 minutes long) battle in Costa Rican history.  The original building had been burned down by poachers in 2001 who wanted revenge against park rangers.  It is truly sad that people, who were doing something unethical in the first place, would have the insensitivity to burn down a vital part of their country’s culture and heritage.

That night we went on a hike to look for night life.  We saw spiders, scorpions, frogs, and roaches.  I learned that scorpions glow in UV light.  Scientists still don’t know why they evolved this way!  We also got to star gaze.  The sky was really clear due to our remote location, so the stars looked gorgeous.

The next day we had breakfast at 5am to hike to Naranjo Beach before the peak heat of the day.  It was disconcerting waking up before 5 am because it was still fully nighttime, with the stars shining brightly in the sky.  I got to see the sun rise while eating my oatmeal.  The hike was long, but doable.  When we arrived at the beach though bad luck struck again.  We were informed that the beach was closing down because a tsunami had hit Japan at 8am that was an 8.9 on the Ritcher scale, and large waves had hit Hawaii.  Since the park administration feared large waves would hit the beach around 4pm, they wanted everyone to leave.  At first they told us we could at least have our guest lecture about sea turtles, but that ended up being cancelled, so we spent a mere hour on the beach to take pictures and have an early lunch then we had to turn back.  It meant that we missed camping out on the beach and a planned night hike to a sea turtle nesting beach, which was very disappointing.

We started to hike back, with Sergio in a van and Edgardo in his 4-wheel drive SUV stopping along the road to shuttle us back as they found us.  Since we were now hiking in the middle of the day, which we specifically were not supposed to do, the experience was grueling despite not having to hike the entire way.  Blisters began to form on the heels of my feet and the soles of my feet were beginning to feel the strain.  Some of us were running out of water and some had to resort to using an inhaler.  I don’t think any of us could have hiked all the way back.  On the road back we discovered a frog that had completely dried up.  I felt like that frog.  It was such a relief when Edgardo finally picked up the group I was with.  It was like being saved!  Since our schedule was now ruined we had free time from when we got back at noon until a tropical ecology lecture at 4pm.  I passed out in my tent.  We also ran out of pasta for everyone at dinnertime, meaning the some unlucky ones had to scrounge up a meal with whatever food was left.  We cut our losses and left early the next morning.  Despite what went wrong I really enjoyed seeing the wildlife at Santa Rosa.

On Sunday I spent a relaxing day.  I walked to downtown Atenas, which took about an hour.  It was a really enjoyable walk, and I got to take some pictures of some interesting or quirky things I saw along the way, including packages of toast I saw being sold at a store.  After going to Atenas, I learned how to make a type of salsa called pinko de gallo, and ate it while lounging by the pool.  It’s really easy to make and it turned out delicious!  Last night I also learned how to make empanadas and tres leche cakes during a cooking class the one of the cooks from the center held.  Both of them are easy to make and are really delicious!

These past 2 days we’ve been getting ready for the trip to Panama.  We’ll be leaving on Thursday and coming back on Wednesday.  I can’t wait to go!

Note: I'm having trouble with my internet connection, so I will add photos tomorrow!

Week 3

This week has been really hectic due to classes and reports being due.  I’ll tell you about my weekend first, which was full of a lot of day trips instead of staying over several nights at one location.  On Friday we visited the Tarcoles River Basin and the Caraca National Park.  It was amazing but also sad to see the large contrast between the level of pollution and the surrounding wildlife.  We took a boat down the river, which was full of birds and crocodiles.  They even have a “Crocodile Man” tour in which you get to see a man feed a crocodile so that it leaps from the water.  We didn’t do that of course because that would be too “touristy.”  I’ve only been here three weeks but I already have an aversion to “tourist trap” type things. 

At the mouth of the river, where we had a Natural Resources Management lecture, there was trash strewn all over the beach.  There was even the torso from a Ken doll!  The effect of the pollution could also be seen where we had lunch.  Although the view from where I sat to eat lunch was gorgeous and looked like the perfect atypical scene from a tropical beach, when you got close to the water you could see discoloration and foam forming on the incoming waves that are a sign of contamination.  The discoloration is known as red tides because of the color.  Afterwards we had another lecture, this time for Tropical Ecology in the mangrove forest.

Next, we went to Carara National Park.  I got to see leaf cutter ants, butterflies, a snake, a basilisk (aka the Jesus Christ lizard, which gets its name from its ability to run across water) and a toucan!  Although scarlet macaws live in the park I unfortunately didn’t get to see any.  At one point of the trail it also felt like it was raining, which was strange because it was sunny.  When we looked up we saw what looked like water spouting from a tree.  We found out later that it was actually cicadas peeing on us!

The next day we went to the Poas Volcano National Park.  We were very lucky to have a clear, perfect view of the crater, the second widest in the world, in the morning.  When we returned later in the afternoon to survey visitors for our Economics FEX the wind had shifted, blowing gas from the crater so the it blocked the lookout view and made the air smell of sulfur (which for those of you who don’t know smells like rotten eggs).

I have found that my favorite type of rain forest is the elfin forest (the type that is at Monteverde), which was also present at this park.  We walked through the elfin forest to visit the lagoon, which is the remains of the original crater of the volcano.

That night we went to a carnival celebration at Sabanca Larga, a neighborhood in the Atenas area.  The carnival lasted until Tuesday, the start of Lent.  It was a great, authentic cultural experience, with Latin American music and dancing, such as cumbia.  There were also booths with games and food, and also a very unique game which involved people crawling into inflated plastic balls and running around in them on the surface of a pool to “fight” each other.

Sunday was a very relaxing day, in which I went into Atenas to use the internet café.  Also I had pizza for the first time since arriving here.  The pizza was good but not nearly as good as authentic American pizza. :P

On Monday, we went into San Jose to attend a guest lecture about genetically-modified-organisms (GMOs) at the University of Costa Rica.  For lunch I ate at an Italian restaurant that was delicious and then had some soft serve frozen yogurt at a place that had unique flavors like rose, peanut, and apple.

That’s all the time I have to update on now.  I will write about the rest of this week later.  Tomorrow begins my weekend stay with a host family.  I will be staying in San Jose (the only SFS student staying so far away!) with Marvin, an administrator at the center that speaks only Spanish, and his family.

P.S. Internet is being slow tonight, but I promise I will upload some photos as soon as I can!

Week 2

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” ~André Gide

This past week Sam shared this as her reflection for RAP, and it really struck a chord with me.  Although it was nerve-wracking to plan to study abroad, I believe it is so worth it to “discover new oceans” so to speak.  So lemme give the highlights of what happened to me this past week:

The Sunday before last I ended up hiking to a waterfall with a small group of people, including Ranulfo, a local who we met at the sports bar and has close ties with the SFS center.  The hike was a lot longer than I expected, it was an oppressively hot day, and it included a trek through the woods that I didn’t anticipate, but the destination was definitely worth it!  The waterfall was absolutely gorgeous, and the mist was cooling and refreshing.  I got to dip into the water, and although I got chilled fast it felt fantastic.  The waterfall seemed popular for locals as well, since two other families were there.  One of the families had moved to Costa Rica from Florida because they had fallen in love with the country while on vacation one summer.

Afterwards I went into Atenas and I bought an ice cream sandwich that came in a plastic container with a spoon that was delicious.  Afterwards I watched part of the superbowl at the sports bar, and then heading back to the center to do some homework.

The following day we started pandilla chores, which are chore groups (pandilla means gang in Spanish) that switch out responsibilities each week.  That week I was in dishwashing, and I unfortunately ruined one of my shirts at bleach!

This past week I was finally able to stand completely underneath the cold shower!  I finally managed to do it after playing soccer on a particularly humid afternoon.

I also had my first meal this past week that didn’t involve rice and beans!  The cook at the center made spaghetti with a spicy meat sauce, spaghetti with alfredo and mushrooms, and garlic bread.  It tasted heavenly!  I also had an alfredo and garlic bread dish at Monteverde that I loved.  I feel kind of guilty about being so excited when I get to eat “gringo” food, since I should be enjoying the local food culture as much as possible.  I think though that no matter how much you love the local food culture of a country you visit, there is nothing like food that reminds you of your homeland, your heritage, and your childhood.

I got up early on Wednesday morning to birdwatch with Edgardo, our Tropical Ecology professor, at 6am.  We walked along the road from the Center.  It was very refreshing to be up that early, with the sun rising and the birds singing.  It was like witnessing the world waking up.  It was amazing the variety of species we saw: doves, wrens, woodpeckers, flycatchers, blackbirds, and a yellow-billed toucan.  Dogs are very popular in Costa Rica; they were almost at every house we passed, and most of them barked.

At 8am I participated in my first community outreach project.  I visited the municipal forest in Barrio Jesus (barrio means neighborhood) to learn about tree and plant species, which I will teach in turn to local children in about a month.  I was nervous about signing up for the project because of my lacking Spanish skills, but it will be a great way to finally learn some Spanish!

In the afternoon we had our first sustainability and house meetings.  I signed up to be on the sustainability committee.  I was very surprised to learn that the students had not begun to actively participate in sustainability at the Center until last semester, and then only due to their initiative.  Since it’s a program based on sustainable development I had assumed that students would have been automatically expected by SFS to play an active role in SFS sustainability initiatives.  It shows that the concept of sustainability, the lifestyle that goes with it, and transparency of organizations, are all still relatively new concepts.

On Thursday, we road mostly on the bus for our second field trip.  In the morning we went to the wind farm run by Aero Energia.  It was very strange to see the extensive cattle pastures on the bus ride to the wind farm, in part due to the fact that everyone thinks of rain forest when they think of Costa Rica, and also because the pastures were on very steep land and rolling round hills, which is very different from the flat land associated with ranching and agriculture in the US.  On the bus ride to the wind farm I also saw a flock of scarlet macaws fly by: they looked absolutely beautiful.

That weekend we stayed overnight at the biological center in Monteverde.  It was nearly like a hotel stay: we had sheets, blankets, a towel, complementary soaps, and a private bathroom for each room with hot water for the showers!  It was the first and probably the last time I took a shower in Costa Rica.  There was also a stray kitten wandering around the center.  The workers forbade us from feeding it or letting it inside, but it was very fun to play with.

On Friday we hiked through the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, and gathered ideas for our first FEX (Field Excursion Excercise).  It is an elfin forest, which means the canopy is low with a very dense understory.  There are also a lot of epiphytes: plants like bromeliads and moss that grow on the trees.  As a result the trees looked like furry animals from the moss.  At the top of the trail there was a lookout.  It was beautiful to see the clouds drift over the continental divide, with the Carribean on one side and the Pacific on the other (which could be seen in the distance).  Also Monteverde had strong temperature changes: I was very cold in the morning but had to take all my extra layers off while hiking back down the trail midday.

That night we went into the town of Monteverde and had some drinks at bar Amigos.  There was dancing and it was a lot of fun, but it was definitely more expensive than drinks in Atenas due to the high amount of tourism in the area.

On Saturday morning we did our FEX, which involved doing an experiment showing that we know how to use the scientific method.  My partner, Hannah, and I studied a hummingbird called the violet saberwing at the Hummingbird Gallery, and observed their behavior between individuals of the same and different genders.  That afternoon we bought some ice cream because Monteverde is famous for its dairy, due to a tradition in dairy farming that began when a colony of Quakers settled in Costa Rica to avoid participating in World War II.  We then returned to the Center.  That night we had dance classes.  I really enjoyed them although I was completely exhausted.  We learned salsa, meringue, and cumbia.  The first two dances I had done before, but cumbia was completely new to me.  It is a dance that is endemic to Costa Rica, so that was very cool.

On Sunday I went into Atenas to use the internet café.  I also had a delicious treat: a snow cone that consisted of a layer of shaved ice, a layer of powdered milk, another layer of shaved ice, and sweetened condensed milk on top, with strawberry flavoring on the shaved ice.  It was delicious!

On Valentine’s Day (Monday), we celebrated by decorating heart-shaped sugar cookies. They were very good, although the chocolate tasted different than it does at home.

On Tuesday morning, we all worked on the farm to help plant trees, vegetables, and start to build hydroponic beds.  I planted lettuce and chile plants, and helped dig a hole for one of the hydropnic beds, which is a very difficult task!  We also had our first two Spanish classes this week.  I wish we had started having them sooner, since I feel like I have been limping by so far.  The classes are mostly speaking, which is really helpful since I need to speak Spanish as much as possible to improve my conversational skills.  I am getting to the point that I realize that the staff wasn’t kidding when they said what you learn is a lot on your own initiative.  I’m going to try to speak as much as I can now outside of class.

On Wednesday morning we had a language exchange with students our age from the area who are in an English program.  They had been taking English classes for a month.  We did a bunch of activities together with us speaking in Spanish and them speaking in English, including constructing a device to catch a falling egg and creating a commercial for it.  It was a lot of fun.  Hopefully we will be able to meet them again and see them around Atenas.  I noticed that all the English students wore very different clothes from us: they all wore jeans (no exceptions!), whereas we were all wearing shorts or short skirts.  Also the majority of them ironically had shirts from iconic American brands, such as Aeropostle, American Eagle, and Hollister.   At night we drafted up our sustainability “contract” to agree to adopt sustainable practices, from recycling to having two meatless days a week (Monday and Thursday).

Today was mostly classes and working on my FEX report write-up.  I noticed today how much I’ve already become addicted to coffee.  I had a small craving for some in the afternoon, but I’m trying to limit myself to having one cup of coffee a day, usually at breakfast.  It’s a great way to start the day.  I have breakfast tomorrow morning at 5:30 and then we are going to Caracara National Park and some other places, and then returning to the Center at night. Ciao! 

First Weekend in Costa Rica

Sorry for the lack of an update! It is difficult to update the blog with the weak internet connection at the field station, and we also had a field trip to La Tririmbina from Thursday to today, which meant no access to my computer or the internet during those days.

On Day 2 we had orientation, which included a tour of the field station and a visit to Atenas, the town nearby.  There I was able to exchange some money for the local currency colones and purchase some school supplies.  I am nervous about speaking Spanish to the Ticos (locals) because I am not at a proficient level.  So far I am usually forming sentences in my head before I speak to them.  I hope our Spanish classes will start soon.  While in Atenas I also visited the park and the church.  That night a small group of us watched Toy Story 3.  This is the first chance I’ve been able to see it and I enjoyed it a lot!

Every morning we now we have breakfast at 7am and then RAP at 8am. RAP means Reflection, Announcements, and Physicality. The student of the day must find something reflective to share with the group plus an activity or exercise.  The only days we do not have RAP is when we are on a field trip or on our day off, Sunday.

On Day 3 we had our first classes and swim test, which was two laps in the small pool at the field station.  While a group of us were relaxing on the hammocks, a stranger came up to us and began to ask questions about the field station, which was very strange because visitors are not allowed and anyone who enters the center must come through the gate and past the guard post.  He was an American tourist who was genuinely curious about the center, but we informed the office after he left that the gate was unlocked. 

We have also begun to make use of our soccer field.  I have not played soccer since middle school so I’m enjoying playing it again.

The weather at the field station is gorgeous. Although it is hot during the day, it is dry and often breezy, with the temperature becoming cool at night.

Day 4, 5, & 6:

                On these days we had our excursion to La Tirimbina, which is in the Limon Province of Costa Rica.  We got up at 5am to have an early breakfast and get onto the bus by 6.  We toured the Chiquita banana plantation, and learned the process from planting to harvest to packaging.  At lunchtime one of the women working on the plantation showed me a puppy that was just born on Monday!  It fit perfectly into the palm of her hand.  After lunch we watched a presentation on the corporate responsibility practices of Chiquita, including social and environmental efforts made on the plantation.  Although their efforts were admirable, including teaching women micro-business practices, planting forest corridors to connect rainforest habitats on Chiquita property, and obtaining certifications, such as the Rainforest Alliance, the speaker was clearly biased to speak highly of Chiquita.  Also the monetary contribution by Chiquita to these efforts is only a tiny percentage of their profits.  They donated around $100,000, and that included contributions from partners, such as gtz.  In comparison, Chiquita makes an annual income of several billion dollars.  Chiquita has discussed building schools for local communities, but only with the help of government aid.  It is good though to see that large corporations are at least beginning to feel the pressure to make social and environmental improvements.   

After visiting to Chiquita we went to our overnight stay, which included the bus going over the bumpiest roads I have ever been on and a tiny rickety bridge to cross a stream.  Also, all the showers here are freezing cold water, which I have yet to get used to; I mostly just stand outside of the stream of water and splash myself.

The next morning I got up at 6am to learn how to mist net birds, which is a method that has been used to catch birds since ancient times.  Mist nettings was first inventing in ancient Japan in order to collect birds for the King’s amusement.  Today mist netting is used to conduct research on birds by drawing samples, writing down observations, and/or banding them for future recapture.

Afterwards we had classes and hiked through the rainforest of La Tirimbina. There we crossed the longest hanging bridge in Central America, and saw howler monkeys, bullet ants, a lizard, and a bird called the Roufus Motmot.

 Later, we had another hike at night to find frogs.

The last day it rained, which delayed the bus so we only had a short time to spend on our last destination: a heart of palm plantation owned by DEMASA.  Unfortunately we did not have time to go out into the field to see how the palms were harvested, but the agricultural manager did tell us about their sustainable practices, including composting using palm debris and microorganisms.

Today I'm planning on relaxing in Atenas, and trying to watch the superbowl tonight in a sports bar.

Day 1 and 2: Traveling into Costa Rica and Visiting Atenas

Welcome to my blog! I decided to name my blog "Pura Vida" because it is the motto of Costa Rica, and it roughly translates to "plenty of life" or "full of life" and is often used as a positive affirmation about one's life. During my stay in Costa Rica I hope to learn to live my daily life according to this sentiment and to expand my knowledge about sustainable lifestyles.

Day 1 was a very hectic and tiring day, including several hours of plane travel.  Going through immigation was difficult because the woman behind the counter was speaking only Spanish, but other than that the travel went smoothly. 

The bus ride to Atenas was truly breathtaking.  I would have taken some photos but I was so exhausted that I merely stared stupified out the window. The geography is truly amazing, with mountains and sheer cliffs everywhere, and abundant wildlife.

Today is orientation. This morning I got a tour of the field station and visited Atenas, the town nearby, where I could exchange for the local curreny, colones, and purchase some school supplies.

I will add some photos hopefully later today!