Monteverde

So I have little to do at this point. My paper is nearly complete, pending only a few changes from the research paper/statistics guru hired by the ACM, Mike McCoy. I haven't really been up to a whole lot of interesting stuff since the last blog post. I spent a weekend with the host family in San Jose and then went to Monteverde, which was one of the highlights of the past 4 months.

Though Monteverde is relatively close to San Jose, the bus ride there is pretty long (about 5 hours or longer depending on traffic). 2 buses a day leave for Monteverde from San Jose. As our bus left on a Friday afternoon, you can imagine that it was pretty packed, but hey, it wouldn't be Costa Rica without the sweaty buses.

The first day in Monteverde, Kelsey and I went to the Selvatura Reserve to walk on the bridges they have in the canopy. Although there were no Resplendent Quetzales (see below) on this walk, we did manage to see a Coati Mundi foraging for insects about 150 feet above the forest floor. How it got there, we are not quite sure.

After that, we took a taxi straight to the Bat Museum. It's a place that was opened by one of the world's foremost bat scientists to educate the public about what I have come to realize are the most important mammals on the planet (and the most diverse). A single bat colony can eat 250 million tons of insects in a single night. Bats are also crucial pollinators for a large diversity of plants that humans rely on for agricultural and medicinal purposes. Their poop (guano) is also rich in phosphorus, the most important building block for DNA.

After that, we walked backed into town (Santa Elena) and went to an ice cream shop. There we met up with another Macalester student who is on a different study abroad program based in Santa Elena (OTS - owners of La Selva). She asked us if we wanted to climb a tree. No person in their right mind would ever refuse such an intriguing proposal so we followed her to the most impressive strangler fig I've ever seen. After climbing at least 100 feet up the inside of the tree's "trunk" we emerged at the top for a breathtaking view of the valley below. I wouldn't recommend this for people with a fear of heights.

The local supermarket had bratwurst. Kelsey and I ate 6 for dinner.

The next morning we woke up early and went to the Monteverde Reserve in search of the quetzal. After 4 hours of hiking, we had not seen a single quetzal despite hearing his melancholic call many times. It wasn't a huge letdown as the forest itself was one of the more beautiful I had ever seen. I'd been to Monteverde about 10 years earlier but we never made it to the reserve. For anyone thinking about visiting Monteverde, this park is the one attraction you must be sure to see!

Anyway, back to the story. We walked around for 4 hours but saw no quetzal. After the hike, we found a seat in the plaza in front of the reserve to wait for a taxi to swing by and pick us up. We had been seated for about 15 minutes when a woman began to scream in delight. She finally came to her senses and told us that a quetzal had landed in one of the only trees bordering the plaza. We raced over to see it. I caught a 2-second glimpse of his front before a clumsy Tico, obviously in awe, backed up into a trash can (knocking it over), trying to get a good view. The bird took flight and its long tail feathers followed its red belly and then it landed on a branch further away. We got to admire his backside for a few minutes and then he flew away in search of a more private piece of cloud forest canopy. It was really cool.

We took the taxi back to the hotel in Santa Elena, ate a quick lunch, and boarded the bus back to San Jose. All in all it was an excellent trip and I'd say that Kelsey and I were very efficient with the time we had in Monteverde. It is a place I'd say that every visitor (and resident) to Costa Rica must see.

Anyway, that's all for now. This Friday we are off to the Nicoya for the last trip in Costa Rica. I will be returning to the US on May 28th.

Rounding out Sarapiqui

The two months are up. I'm back from Sarapiqui, quite tanned, speaking fluent Spanish, and missing it already. I've come to realize that I rather don't like San Jose. As a young adult it's probably a fascinating place to be but to me it is a place of chaos (fueled chiefly by the total anarchy on the city's roads).

Currently I am in what you'd call "crunch time." I have only 2.5 remaining weeks to analyze the mountain of data I collected over the past 2 months, and then the idea is that I write something. I actually put off writing this blog for so long for that very reason. There is so much I'd love to do with the spiders that currently sit on my desk in my San Pedro house, but unfortunately I won't have time (and so for now on they are not spiders, but rather numbers and dates). My young host brothers take an inordinate amount of joy from pulling a random spider from my bag and asking me (the spider "expert") if it is venomous. To their disappointment, most aren't.

And now to pick up where I left off the last time. My Semana Santa was pretty brilliant. I left Puerto Viejo around 7:30 and met up with Kelsey in San Jose. We boarded the bus to San Isidro and eventually ended up in the hotel around 9 o'clock that night. I'm telling you, the ACM needs to start providing jets to each student - it would really help us get the full Costa Rica experience (actually, I suppose 75% of the authentic Costa Rica experience would involve some form of traveling - a healthy portion of the other 25%, at least for me, would involve fighting monkeys).

Uvita was waaaaaaay different from Dominical (though a GPS would disagree). We came during Semana Santa, Costa Rica's spring break, but Uvita was empty. The hotel was about 2.5 km from the beach, where we headed for the first day. Kelsey and I walked until we decided that the beach was empty enough. Only one person passed the entire day.

The next day we went to a nearby waterfall. This one perhaps not as dramatic as the one I previously described, but much more fun for thrill seekers like myself. I had the chance to slide down the waterfall (something Kelsey also tried after some coaxing). I jumped off a 35 ft. cliff time and time again, and I also had the chance to fly from a rope swing that hung even higher above the water. It was AWESOME. The waterfall was a nice contrast to the beach for it's shady environment (it was also hidden within the forest) and it's refreshingly cool waters. Unfortunately the falls were not as deserted as the beach, but the people there (all of whom were ticos, were very friendly).

On our third and final full day in Uvita, Kelsey and I splurged on a trip to Isla de Caño - a place I had been lucky enough to have seen before. The boat ride out lasts about an hour and a half and we saw plenty of sea turtles (who are actually very conspicous as tired birds fancy them for places to land in the open sea) and even dolphins jumping out of the water. When we arrived at the island we started snorkeling in the surrounding reefs but the water was a bit murkey. That lasted about an hour and then we headed to shore for lunch and relaxation time. After that we went snorkeling again, but this time in a much more vibrant site. Immediately after plunging into the luke warm water, I was confronted with a school of hundreds of enormous fish. I took the liberty of diving down to join them and for a few seconds I knew roughly what it felt like to be one of these fish (though I guess if I am self-conscious enough to make that reflection then I can never really know what it's like to be a fish - but that's more of a philosophical question, isn't it?)

The trip home from Uvita was unconventional. It involved a Mitsubishi Eclipse on the brink of collapse and a lot of water - I'll leave it at that (it's a shame I don't have pictures).

The rest of my time in Sarapiqui was spent working far too much. For a lack of other things to do in the final weeks, I worked about 12 hours a day with my spiders. I did, however, manage to snap a picture of a baby hummingbird seconds before it took its first flight:


I may have accelerated her departure from the nest - oh well, she'll be fine (her brother had already left, anyway).

Over the last few days, this very large insect could be found crawling on the window sills:


On my second to last day in Sarapiqui, I took a heap of photos of my house and the surrounding gardens, here are a few pictures (including: a delicious type of lime used to make a refreshing drink, La Guaria Morada (national flower), the a view of the backyard, the front porch, and one of the organically-grown pineapples in progress in the backyard):






Overall the rural stay was excellent. I was only glad to leave the heat (it rarely got below 90 degrees). On the return to San Jose I felt like a scientifically-inclined relative of Santa; hauling my huge sack of spiders along with all of my other luggage. The best news that came from leaving Sarapiqui was that my host family got me a La Selva t-shirt with a spider on it. It's awesome, I'm wearing it right now.

After a week in San Jose, I went back to Cahuita last weekend with some of the guys in the program. Overall it was very relaxing and I was happy to have had the chance to make it out to the point. The hike out there is about 40 minutes long through a very beautiful trail bordering the beach - I recommend it, though I do warn you that the monkeys are even more numerous out there. I got a good workout chasing those little buggers away from our backpacks, they are fearless, that is until a really big monkey (me) comes charging at them using its fiercest battle cry.

This week is pure work. I was happy to see Manchester United beat Arsenal with outstanding style. After seeing the Barcelona-Chelsea match I came to the conclusion that it would be an injustice if Manchester United is not victorious in the final in Rome - but I don't think I have much to worry about.

This weekend I have no plans but to work a fair amount. The following weekend I will most likely be traveling somewhere (perhaps Monteverde), and for my final week here I already have plans to stay in the country's first natural reserve on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula (in Guanacaste). Should be a blast - I'll keep you updated.

What the heck I'm working on

By popular demand, I shall tell you.

In my room, as I mentioned, I am have about 550 arachnids preserved in 95% ethanol. I have a Nikon stereoscope, and I have a fiber optic light to illuminate stuff.



With this scope I can look at small details of the spiders in high-resolution and this helps me group individuals of the same species. I spend a lot of time in front of this apparatus. After plenty of separation I quickly estimate I have about 70 species of arachnids (and when I say arachnids, I limit this to the true spiders, Opiliones (daddy-long legs), and Ricinulei - google them, they're cool - I am not including mites etc. because they are simply TOO diverse).

Every other morning I walk about 2.5 km to a nearby forest to collect leaf litter. I am taking litter samples from three different types of forest: and abandoned cacao plantation, secondary forest, and primary forest. My goal: to determine whether species diversity increases between these different successional stages. The results of this study will have conservational implications in addition to the fact that I imagine I have a few undiscovered species in my collection (as the leaf litter of the hyper-diverse tropics is sort of a final frontier for taxonomists). I will donate my specimens to the UCR for identification when the project is over and they will keep me updated as to what they find.

I owe much of the current success of this project to the practical expertise of my biologist host father and the equipment he has provided me. I finally feel like a real biologist and I'm happy to spend 12-13 hours per day working with the leaf litter (and that which I pull out).

If all goes well, I will be looking to publish the findings of this project in a smaller journal for tropical studies. This would be an ultimate success but I don't see it as an impossibility.

It's been awhile

And that, readers, is precisely why I imagine the following will be one of my more substantial entries. These past 30 days have provided enough sights and sounds (and smells) new to my experience that the way I understand our place and responsibility (as proud, sapient beings) on this planet has completely changed.

I don't remember what I've told you previously about my host site but I am going to start from scratch (and do it right) My house in Sarapiqui is wonderful - the nicest-looking in the neighborhood. It's built upon one of three adjoined lots that are the property of my host father, Danilo Brenes. With the other land the family has chosen to develop an enviable garden where one can find a diverse assortment of fruits I wouldn't expect you to know (some are heavenly, some not for me).

I sleep at night, like the rest of the family, with a mosquito net draped around the bed posts. There are plenty of mosquitos (zancudos) around, but more than anything I'd say it's for peace of mind. I yucca almost every day, and never has it been out of the ground more than a few hours beforehand. Of course, rice and beans are served with every meal. Combine them with a strong cup of Costa Rican coffee and a plate of fried plantains and you've got a real Costa Rican breakfast. I can see the travel slogans now - Costa Rica: come for the beautiful beaches, stay for the sensational, jaw-dropping bowel movements.

My average day consists of about 3-4 hours of walking during the morning to collect leaf litter samples. 5-6 hours of separating leaf litter in search of three families of arachnids, and about 2 hours of separating "spiders" into groups of the same species under a Nikon stereoscope. It is nirvana for the Scott of many years past (and the agenda is more than agreeable for the current Scott, too). At times I find quite sizeable arachnids which is always a treat (see below). Currently I have about 550 individuals and hope to gather about 700 more before the project is up. Anyone who has more than a passing interest to know what I intend to do with these arachnids is more than free to shoot me an e-mail.



I also went to Dominical a few weeks ago. I suppose this could also be considered part of my agreeable agenda. The beach is kind of out of the way but the destination more than justifies the schlep (sp? - sorry Jews). From my house to Dominical, one takes 4 different buses and a taxi. A private aircraft would get you there in 20 minutes but, alas, I had lent mine out for the day (HAHA!).

Though weary from the long trip, the scenery on the last leg of the trip was enough to re-stimulate my interest in remaining conscious for at least a few more hours. We got to Dominical just in time to bear witness to one of the majestic Pacific sunsets advertised on Hawaiian postcards. Proof (needless to say the picture does not do justice):


Dominical is a good beach. I'd recommend it to anyone over the more crowded (and more expensive) beaches in Guanacaste. The waves are excellent for body surfing (and the kind with the board). I'm beginning to realize that when guide books tell you beaches are not good for swimming, it really just means that the waves are bigger and more fun. With this sunset on my back, I body-surfed a wave nearly three times higher than my head and felt a flying sensation (if only for a brief moment before the monster crashed and sent me tumbling and bending like a wet noodle).

What's better than the beach, however, are the waterfalls hidden far from the road, deep within the forest. We were lucky enough to be traveling with a tico who knew how to get to these cataratas and on our last morning in Costa Rica's south Pacific we drove his car as close to the waterfalls as possible and walked the rest of the way in the hot sun (it was about a 40 minute walk). After huffing and puffing our way through farmland we reached the edge of the forest and descended for about 10 minutes. This awaited us at the end:


You won't get a good idea of the size of this waterfall from the picture, but I would say that it was a good forty feet high. The water was crisp and refreshing and it's a shame that we could only stay for about 30 minutes before having to turn around so people could catch their respective buses home.

So that was Dominical. The next weekend I went with my host family to the grandparent's papaya/cattle farm. The farmhouse is old and rustic and built completely out of wood. There is no electricity. Despite the heat, it was the most peaceful home I'd ever seen in my life. Here it is below:


Food there is prepared on a wood burning stove and the flavor of smoke from the hard, tropical wood is out of this world. First thing when we got there, they hung strips of pork over the stove and we ate it later that night. It was, needless to say, the best pork I'd ever had.


After chopping wood to earn our keep at the farm, we rested for a while and then I went for a walk around with my host father and brother. We explored the surrounding banana plantations and I learned a lot about the way they operate. It's a tough, dangerous job to harvest bananas, trust me.

The farm is also located next to a river with a wide, sandy beach. It was nice to walk along the bank, cooling off our feet and looking for wildlife.

The next weekend I met up with the program director, Scott, and a small ACM-related posse to take a cacao tour at a plush nature reserve not far from my house. We got to sample plenty of chocolate and it was delicious (and I understand this tour was something of a religious experience for one of my female predecessors). In stores one can find dark chocolate with about 75-80% cacao (for steep prices). I got to try 100% cacao which hardly tastes like the chocolate to which we are accustomed.

The next day I woke up early to accompany my Dad to his place of work at La Selva (the fancy OTS base in the middle of primary forest). I imagine there is nothing else like it in the world. Inside I was surrounded by dense forest and expensive German microscopes, a winning combination in my book. It was a great day. Here is a picture of the lab in which I parked myself for the day:



After that I returned home and I've been working pretty intensely on my project since. Next week I am returning to the Dominical-vicinity for a few more days to enjoy Semana Santa. It's going to be sweet. More to follow.

What´s to Come

In a week I will update this blog hardcore. Posts will be about: my trip to Dominical, my trip to a papaya farm, my project, and general life in Sarapiqui. Many pictures. Get pumped.

Scott

Bienvenido a Sarapiqui

Okay, so I am actually at an internet cafe in San Isidro on the way to the beach (Dominical). I am typing on a Spanish-adapted keyboard and I don´t have the time or the patience to locate certain buttons so excuse typos and the like.

The last week was splendid. A bus from San Jose to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui takes 90 short minutes and cuts through the heart of the thickest rainforest you could fathom. When I got to Puerto Viejo (town and surrounding area pop. 40,000) my host Dad was waiting to pick me up in his small and nimble Suzuki SUV. We drove around and he showed me the sites, recounting perfectly all of the times the Rio Sarapiqui had flooded the area in the past few years. Then we returned back the house I visited a week earlier and I dropped my luggage in my room and enjoyed a fabulous lunch made by new host mother, Levinia. I have a prodigal 12 year old brother who is dominant among his peers in Uno, Dominoes, and, less important to him, academics (he is a real smart cookie).

Later that day I went for a walk in the rainforest with my host Dad Danilo and we saw hundreds of poison arrow frogs, howler monkeys, bullet ants, and tons of plants of which my dad new the latin name for every one. I fell in a swamp crossing a narrow bamboo bridge and flooded my rubber boots with water but it only added to the experience, the squish squosh of me eagerly following my host dad through previously unexplored forest.

We did a lot more and I would love to tell you about it but my time here at the internet cafe is up and I must scurry. Never fear, I will tell you about falling Caimitos and other adventures ASAP.

Scott

Going to the field

Tomorrow I am headed to my rural site for a month. I will come back to San Pedro for a few days after that and then it will be another 4 weeks in the field to finish with data collection. It is my intention to update this blog regularly from an internet cafe in town but we will have to see how that goes.

Not much to report from this week really. Tomorrow I am waking up early to catch the 7:30 bus to Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui and my host Dad is going to pick me up there. I managed to get everything that I anticipate myself using over the next two months (including all equipment I will need for my project) in my school backpack and a 70L backpacking pack. It was a tight squeeze but I'm almost proud of myself for packing so light.

Next weekend I am going to Dominical with 5 other students. It's a beach on the south Pacific side of Costa Rica where the water will be exceedingly blue and warm. I will be sure to let you know how that goes.

Scott