Goodbyes

Benji and I on Masaya Volcano.

Its very hard to explain the feelings I'm having right now. One of the most interesting experiences in my  life is about to be over. You would think that I would be used to this by now...but nope, it still sucks!

The rafting crew

We came together as 31 strangers, not really sure what to expect out of each other and this semester. Costa Rica was new to all of us not like anything we'd ever experienced before.
Now, there's only 3 of us, and I'm stuck in some weird emotional limbo. I've said goodbye to everyone else. But I'm still here on campus, waiting as if they're just in town and will be back any minute.

Chirripó summit!

Our first hike with Achim

Prom pic!

The rest of the group left at 4:30am for their flights home. We said our goodbyes that didn't seem quite real yet. "This is weird," I kept telling myself. "This is really weird." We stood at the gate, and down the line they went, wishing us each a safe flight home and good next semester, many of us blatantly ignoring the fact that we might not be seeing each other for a very long time. The goodbyes were rushed and unreal. Before I knew it, they were on the bus and we weren't. I couldn't stand it any more and the emotions finally caught up with me.

on Maderas volca

A final wave and the bus was out of sight. We stood there in silence as we let it all sink in. This was the end.

But now I'm still on campus, making this goodbye even more surreal. We had a great semester. Not what I was expecting, but exactly how I wanted it to go. I have a new family of 30 people and I'm sure we can all say that this was a life changing semester.

I'm going to miss them a lot these next couple weeks. But that's life and things will get easier. Its important to remember: without a sad goodbye, the hello wouldn't have been worth it.


Pura Vida, mae.
SFS Costa Rica Fall 2012

Into the Puma's Den: Directed Research

The semester is coming to an end and we are starting the final segment of academic studies. The last three weeks are completely dedicated to our directed research project. The 31 of us broke up into 4 groups, each with one of the professors, to develop a project, collect data, and write a paper.

Ellie tagging and measuring the
diameter of the trees!

I chose to study with Achim, our Natural Resource Management professor and one of the most interesting guys I've ever met. Our project was to study the overall biodiversity and carbon storage capacity of a forest fragment in the Atenas area. We were a group of 8 students and we delved into topics ranging from aboveground carbon storage and soil organic carbon storage to the influence of surrounding forests on certain coffee farms. The overall project is a continuation of a study started in 2008 that has been exploring conventional and organic coffee farms and forest fragments. We were lucky enough to get to spend the week collecting data in a beautiful secondary forest located near a huge coffee plantation.

Before heading out for our first visit of the study site, Achim warned us to be careful of all the usual things: steep terrain, snakes, spiders, etc. We were'nt expecting what he was about to say next! Apparently the forest was home to a large cat that had been bothering the surrounding community for a few years. The puma was rumored to have killed an eaten a few dogs as well as a horse! Naturally, we were even more excited to get into the forest and start our work!

Leslie and I measurin diameter and height

Unlike the other groups who traveled to different parts of Costa Rica for their DR, we got to stay on campus! Hot food and a comfortable bed were perfect after the long days hiking through the thick jungle that was our study site. Each day we would leave by 7:30am and get to work tagging, measuring and identifying trees as well as taking soil and leaf litter samples. We got to know the forest better than any forest I've been in before.

After the field work, we spend a week analyzing our data and writing our papers. I can confidently say I've used more statistics in that week than in my whole academic life. Our papers are due 4 days after the end of data collection and a presentation and poster are due only a couple days after that. Stressful and busy, we powered through our last days of work this semester.
But as we finish, we are also getting closer to the time we have to say goodbye and leave the center and Costa Rica!

Chirripó: The Summit

Up at 2am we were greeted by an awesome display of stars, we were off on the last 5km hike to the summit of Cerro Chirripó! Thankfully, the clouds from the day before had blown away and we were hoping to watch the sunrise from the summit. Still groggy and very cold, we passed over rolling hills and valleys for a few km until we arrived at the Valle de los Conejos (valley of rabbits). At every break we would stop, turn off our headlamps, and stare in silence at the amazing view above us. This far away from civilization, the stars were brighter and more spectacular than I've ever seen. The milky way cut across us and left us dumbfounded as we counted one shooting star after another.

The last few km entered the rocky peak that led to the summit. It was cold now, and the clouds were starting to roll in, but there was no stopping us. We had to scramble up the art 500m, but it was more than worth it as the summit sign came into view!

Although we were completely clouded in, it was a great feeling knowing we had climber 12, 500 feet above sea level. There is something majestic knowing you are the highest point for miles around. I can literally say now that on Chirripó I was the highest I've ever been!

After a half hour and some fun pictures later, we decided to head down and get out of the freezing cold cloud that had blanketed us in. Little did we know that the walk down was going to be equally impressive. The sun had risen and the clouds were breaking up lower down, so we were able to see the beautiful valleys and mountains surrounding us that we missed on the hike up. 

Chirripó: Day 1

The Chirripó Crew!
(L-R: Matt, Benji, Ana, Lina, Ellie, Dan)

We have arrived at basecamp, eventhough we are cold, wet and exhausted. The first day’s hike is just over 14km, with an altitude increase of about 7,000 feet. Lets just say it was long and hard, but how could it not be rewarding to climb the tallest peak in Costa Rica!

Awake by 4am and at the trailhead by 5, all 7 of us were loaded with our backpacks full of mostly food and a change of warm clothes. The first km was as rough as we expected, but the sun was rising and the views of San Gerardo and the rolling pastures were worth it. The climb continued up through the cloudforest, along the edge between pasture and forest. We entered Chirripó National Park at the third km with high energy and excitement for the rest of the trip!

By far my favorite part of that first hike was km 6 and 7, where the trail followed along the top of a beautiful ridge that could have came out of a movie like Lord of the Rings or some fairytale. We took a lunch break half way, even though it was only about 8:30 in the morning. In classic SFS style, we had done way too much before 9am! We were advised to not eat a lot before we left because the altitude change could make you sick, so we stopped at an emergency shelter for a lunch of PB+Js. We were happy either way: we had made it half way!

Benji and I took the lead again after lunch and we pounded out 4 more pretty steep and intense kms. The cloudforest broke after that and we entered “Los Quemados” (the burns). A bunch of fires took place between 1991 and 2001, leaving a burnt desert in the place of the cathedral-like cloudforests. After 11 years though, the groundcover was returning and plenty of birds and flowers were now thriving.

Of course, at 10,000 feet, the clouds were always imminent, and clouds also mean rain. The rain started, and hasn’t stopped, since the 11^th km. Only 3 more until base camp, so we powered through. The group decided to split at that point, and Benji and I took off, giving ourselves 1.5 hours to get there!

The rain didn’t stop and the wind picked up when the trail sigh told us we only had 1.5 kms left! Our energy was decreasing and our pace was slowing, but all we had was one final steep leg call “Repentance.” Adequately named, we struggled up the last part (with many stops and few words of how much it sucked and how it felt like our bodies were shutting down)! Finally, the last hill and into a beautiful valley, we saw the camp at last!

Soaked, freezing, exhausted, yet ecstatic we made it, we tumbled into the rangers office to get our beds and get out of our wet clothes and into anything warm and dry we had left! The other 5 showed up not long after, and we settled in for the afternoon. The rain is still going, but at least we have our sleeping bags and hot food! 

San José

This past weekend was our last free weekend. To take advantage, we split the weekend between the beach and San José. Saturday morning we left early, taking the bus to Playa Hermosa. Much less touristy than Jacó and perfectly named (hermosa=beautiful), this small beach town is known for its great surfing conditions. The waves we giant, easily 10-12 feet, with really strong currents and we mainly stayed out of the water except to cool down. We had lunch on the beach at a little bungalow and  watched the semi-finals of a surf competition while waiting for the next bus to take us to San José.

Playa Hermosa

In the market.

In San José, we met the rest of the group at Hostel Pangea. This hostel, located right off the main walking street, was definitely one of the most exciting hostels I’ve ever stayed in. It had a pool, rooftop restaurant and lounge, movie theatre and the best burger in Costa Rica (at least they say).

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San José is an interesting city. Said to not be one of the safest places, it has an interesting mix of colonial and semi-contemporary architecture. We spent Sunday walking around the city, seeing the museums, churches, and the artisans market. It was a fun city to for the weekend, but nothing to spend more than that. It was still a great way to get out of Atenas for the weekend for a nice change of pace.

The National Theatre

Beach, Futbol, Research

Since Nicaragua, life's been pretty great. We're almost finished with the class section of the program (finals are this week!) and the directed research portion starts after our 5-day break next week.
Since Nicaragua I've:

• spent the weekend at the beach. We went to Jacó, one of the closest beaches to Atenas, on Saturday morning. It's a small, surfer town with beautiful beaches and fun waves to play in. Two full days in the sun is a great way to spend the weekend!



The church in El Sur

• explored a small rural town called El Sur. Located on the edge of Carara National Park, this town  is only about 60 people and centered on the ecotourism industry. They live in harmony with the land around them and everyone is really happy to show off their little town (which consists of a church, a community center, a two-room school, a bar/convenience store complete with pool table, a sugar cane mill, and a pasture area used as a soccer field). Getting to meet the locals was especially rewarding. One day we explored the river with the kids of the town for any invertebrates we could find to put under our microscopes. Later that day we all went to the soccer field and played an exciting game while trying to avoid the cow poop. Another day, we got a tour of a traditional sugar cane mill. I even got to help juice the canes as a team of oxen turned a giant juicer! The power went out one night and we all had dinner by candle light in the community center. It definitely helped us understand the rural, small town life they led and helped us fall even more in love with this beautiful country.

At the sugar cane mill

Helping milk one morning in El Sur

• gone to my first Costa Rican soccer match! Our secretary here at school, Yendry, called me earlier in the week, excited to invite me and whoever wanted to go to see the two most important teams in Costa Rica play. LDA, "La Liga," from our neighboring city Alajuela was playing the (often hated) purple team from San Jose, Saprissa. We were told to only cheer for La Liga because the game was in Alajuela and to definitely not wear purple! La Liga was in the lead in Costa Rica, but Saprissa was only one point behind, so this game was really important and judging from the amount of police they had waiting, it was going to be a crazy game. Fights were breaking out before the game even started! The first half was really exciting and ended with a 2-2 tie, which only made the fans even more passionate. Unfortunately, Saprissa won. But we got to see an exciting game!



Coffee beans out to dry

• learned a lot about what it takes to be an organic coffee farmer in Costa Rica. We visited a local farm in the hills surrounding Atenas and got a personal tour from the owner of his organic coffee farm. With the use of agroforestry (using trees on your farm for added shade, biodiversity, erosion protection, etc.), they had converted their farm 15 years ago. We also learned how to make coffee from scratch, from the seed on the coffee plant to the roasted beans. Since we have a few coffee plants scattered around our campus, a couple friends and I decided we wanted to try it for ourselves! As I write this, the beans are drying on the porch, waiting to be de-shelled so we can roast them! Eventually we should have a cup of our own organic coffee!

The three of us got to pick some coffee berries!

• chosen my research project for the remainder of the time here! A group of eight of us are working with Achim and a forest fragment. We're continuing a project that was started in 2008, that compares the carbon storage and diversity between organic and conventional farms and forests. Our group is focused on a forest in the Atenas area and my specific topic is the relationship between species diversity of trees and the amount of stored carbon in the forest. It sounds like a lot of work, but I'm very excited for it!

Now, I'm just sitting here on the porch in one of the hammocks, an arcoiris (rainbow) is pocking out of the clouds and mountains on the horizon, and the birds are singing. We only have about 4 weeks left in Atenas and I'm definitely going to miss this different pace of life! Tomorrow we are going to the beach for the day and then off to San Jose for the night. By next Thursday we will be off on our adventure of climbing Mt. Chirripó!

Nicaragua, part 2

Our week in Nicaragua continued after leaving Ometepe Island in the colonial city of Granada. Built by the Spanish, the city is very reminiscent of traditional spanish towns with high walls, arched doorways, ornate designs and beautiful colors. Granada acted as our base camp for the remaining time in Nicaragua, with trips to two more volcanos, Mombacho and Masaya, and the capital city, Managua.

On the ridge between the non-active crater and the active crater (far left you can see the smoke!)

Our second volcano hike was on Masaya Volcano near Granada. This volcano is one of the most active in the world with a very large crater that spews smoke and rocks into the sky all day, everyday. Because of the high likely hood of a larger eruption, visitors are only allowed to stay at the main crater for 5 minutes before forced to leave by the park staff. The park also held 3 other smaller, non-active craters and a lagoon with ancient, native carvings on the rocks around its shore. We were fortunate enough to hike the ridge between the active and largest non-active craters for some amazing views of Lake Nicaragua, Granada, Volcano Mombacho and the surrounding areas.

The main crater of Masaya Volcano!

on the edge of the crater

Unfortunately for me, I got super sick later that day, the second night in Granada, and had to remain in the hotel for 2 days. But don't worry! I'm totally fine now. Its always a part of traveling to experience their germs as well! A 102 degree fever and annoying stomach pains kept me grounded and I sadly had to miss the trip to the capital city of Managua and the last volcano, Mombacho. Thankfully however, Managua is not known to be a very exciting city, especially after an earthquake destroyed most of the city in the 1930s and again in the 1970s. The Nicaraguans I got to talk to while stuck sick in the hotel told me that they didn't care for the city at all and it was probably best I didn't go. As for the last volcano trip, I missed out on a foggy hike through a tropical cloud forest.

The second day I was thankfully not the only student sick, as many of the others got stomach bugs. Benji, a good friend of mine, and I were the only two to stay back that last day, but Yendry, our amazing administrator, and Anna, one of the interns, stayed to take care of us.

Other highlights:

Entrance to the market in Rivas

• We got to see two very interesting markets in Granada and another smaller town, Rivas. The markets were very large, dark, and loud and like nothing I've seen before. Thankfully though, the Rivas market had plenty of opportunities to shop for souvenirs.
• Granada's bell tower had one of the most amazing views of the city and sunset I've ever seen. It was a great break from my sickness!