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!

Nicaragua: Part 1

Ometepe Island from the ferry.

Three days on Ometepe Island just wasn't enough. This figure-eight shaped island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua has a lot to offer, but we had way too little time to see it! We got there early Wednesday after driving all morning (we left at 2am!) and after an hour and a half ferry ride across the almost ocean-sized lake, we arrived at our hostel: Hacienda Merida.

A view from Maderas Volcano

Ometepe was named by some of its original discoverers and inhabitants who came from Mexico in search of the legend of the island with 2 mountains (ome = 1 and tepetl = mountains). The 2 mountains are actually volcanos; Concepción (around 1600 mts), an almost perfect cone cutting through the clouds is still active and growing every year, and Maderas (around 1300 mts), its slightly smaller but nonetheless exciting sister. The 2 volcanos split the island in 2 and create its iconic shape.

The crater lagoon at the top of Maderas Volcano.

SFS, with the help of Achim, led us up Maderas as the pioneer SFS group to help map the trail system. The hike took a total of 7 hours with an elevation gain of about 1200 meters in total. Not an easy climb, but super rewarding with the beautiful views and serene crater lagoon at the top where we stopped for lunch. On the way down, we were greeted and cheered through the finish line by a family of 8 howler monkeys!

Even though those who climbed Maderas were exhausted, we did another hike the next day. After group lectures on invasive species (specifically Tilapia in Lake Nicaragua) and emerging diseases from climate change, we hiked another 3 km to a beautiful waterfall on the opposite side of Maderas. The hike was rough, but we made it and were rewarded with a roaring cascade down through the cloud forest. Of course the only reaction is to get right in and feel its awesome power thunder down around you and return it back with a roar of your own.

Anna (one of the interns), Benji,
and I at the waterfall.

The island holds plenty of other secrets too. After living in Costa Rica, Nicaragua is a big contrast, probably because it is the 2nd poorest country in Central America (after Haiti). Ometepe is no exception, but despite this, the people seem relatively happy with their subsistent farming lives. Pigs, oxen, horses, goats, and stray dogs roam the rocky, unpaved streets. The houses are small and unfinished, usually cut from the surrounding trees. Kids try to sell you fruit from their front steps. And yet everyone is eager to share their culture, always with a smile!


A lot of their lives revolve around the lake, one of the biggest in Central America; fishing being a huge part of their industry and culture. I swam everyday while there. At first all afternoon and into the sunset while in the shadow of the 2 towering volcanos, one morning before our breakfast, and even in a naturally purified waterhole on the isthmus between the 2 volcanos. This island is a beautiful escape and reward and I was sad to say goodbye. I would love to someday come back!


Other highlights:

• I completed my first back-flip off a rope swing at the waterhole! It only took me about 20 tries...
• There were some great times spent on the dock of Hacienda Merida. Both swimming by day and philosophizing by night
• Birdwatching with Edgardo one morning:
• red-billed pigeon
• yellow warbler
• osprey
• black vultures
• king bird
• Caracara
• plenty of parrots and parakeets
• Met a cool australian/american couple on their extended 7 month honeymoon. They've pretty much been around the world and I couldn't be more jealous. I just want to travel forever!

"We are swimming in a waterfall, on a volcano, on an island, in a lake, in Nicaragua...!" -Mike

Manuel Antonio National Park

We finally got our first free weekend! And of course, all 31 of us decided to go to Manuel Antonio National Park on the south Pacific coast. We all left together on Saturday morning around 6am which put us in the beach town, Quepos, around 9. A group of 5 of us spent the morning having brunch (where we saw our first sloth!) and walking down the mountain to the public beach of Manuel Antonio town. We finally found the rest of the crew at the house we rented a little while after! This house was amazing! All white, it was named after the white-faced monkey common here (capuchin). The living room was completely open to the weather and had an amazing, little infinity pool! The rest of the house consisted of 3 other floors with bedrooms and bathrooms practically enough for all of us. It was very surreal to get to all hangout and party in the house, kind of like being on the Real World or just being extremely rich!

The beach in Manuel Antonio national park

Of course, the house wasn't the only exciting part of the trip. After checking out the house, we headed down to the public beach and spent the rest of the afternoon bodysurfing, throwing a frisbee around and   exploring the beach. I'm pretty sure everyone got sunburnt.

Fun in the pool

A view of the pool from one
of the upstairs rooms...
this house was amazing...

The next morning, we decided to check out the national park. Manuel Antonio National Park is one of the most visited park in Costa Rica and known for its crazy monkeys and high number of sloths. Even though it was the low season, there were a lot of people on the beaches, granted it is definitely a pretty amazingly, beautiful park. The weather wasn't that great, so instead of hanging out too long on the beach, we decided to do a hike through a peninsula part of the park named La Catedral (The Cathedral). We had some great views of the pacific coast and all the small, rock islands jutting out of the water surrounding Costa Rica.

MY FIRST SLOTH! (even though he was kind of hidden)

The weekend was fantastic. It was really nice to get off campus and see more of this country! I'm excited for where our next free weekend will take us, but for now Nicaragua will do! We leave Wednesday at 2am and won't be back until the following week. The first few days will be on an island in Lake Nicaragua, Ometepe Island, where we will be working to map the trail system up one of two volcanos for the national park there. Then we head to Granada and Managua for the rest of the time!

The past week has been pretty intense. Here are the highlights:

• Monday: we went to San José for a lecture at the University of Costa Rica on genetically modified foods. Of course, its sparked a pretty heated discussion later that day, but still interesting to see everyone's take on GMOs. After the lecture, we also had to conduct surveys for our Economics class. It just created a lot of awkwardness for pretty much everyone. 

• The rest of the week we spent working on our Field Exercises for Tropical Ecology and Natural Resource Management (NRM). Benji, Matt and I worked together in Monteverde collecting data on the abundance of mining larvae and its relation to other herbivory damage on leaves. We had two days to analyze that data and write a scientific paper. It was a lot of work, but we thankfully finished on time.

• And just to make things worse, wednesday morning we had to collect data on the farm for our NRM field exercise. It was due by Friday night, and Lina and I spent all day Thursday trying to get it finished! We had to monitor the pests and diseases of the orange trees on our orange and mango farm on campus. All sorts of stuff afflict the trees here because the farm only made the transition to organic and sustainable management two years ago. All out data and the paper we wrote are going to be used to help the Integrated Pest Management system so chemical pesticides, herbicides and fungicides and synthetic fertilizers aren't used.

• Everyone was completely exhausted from the two field exercise this week and needed to get off campus friday night. We went out, but only to realize it was a bad idea because the next morning we were going to stay with a local tico family for the weekend! The homestay was awesome! My family had hosted kids before and lived right in the centro! A girl from my program was with my host mom's brother and his family, who lived right next door in an attached house. It is very common in Costa Rica for whole families to live on the same property and be super close! We had a really nice birthday party for Liz (the girl from my program) and they even taught us how to salsa!

Liz's birthday party with our host families!

It was a good week even though we were super busy! We have mid-term exams this week and plenty of time to study! This coming weekend we have both days off and most of us are going to travel somewhere close by! And after that we are going to Nicaragua for a week!

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

A 3-hour drive north, through the rolling hills of rainforest and pastures, led us to Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Our longest field trip so far, we spend 3 days hiking, having lectures and animal workshops, and conducting research in one of the most interesting ecosystems in Costa Rica! The cloud forest, named for the almost constant cloud cover, sits on the Tilarán Mountain Range and the continental divide. The high humidity makes the forest very green and fast growing, covering everything with a layer of fuzzy moss.

On a trail through the cloud forest,
taken with flash! (the other picture is
the same path,  without flash)

Our first hike, with Edgardo as our guide, was to the continental divide via the Sendero Bosque Nuboso (the cloudy forest trail).  One of the prominent bird species here, the Black-faced Solitaire, has a creepy, almost metallic call like the sound of a rusty seesaw or old door. The whole forest feels haunted when the clouds roll in and the solitaire sings its eerie song. The divide itself was exciting, as both the Pacific and Caribbean could be seen when the clouds that hugged the peak allowed.

Friends on the continental divide!

The Pacific side of the continental divide.

The Caribbean side of the continental divide.

Over the rest of the day and the next few days, we were allowed to explore and develop our research project in pairs for our Tropical Ecology Field Exercise.  (Our project is about the relationship and affect of mining larvae of leaves on additional herbivore damage…it doesn’t sound exciting, but it actually is pretty cool, I promise!)

The black-faced solitaire.

A fallen strangler fig.

Our first morning started with an animal workshop with Edgardo. He has spent a lot of time at Monteverde doing research and getting his doctorate and set up mist-nets to catch birds and 6am. We caught 6 birds in total: a hermit hummingbird, a black-faced solitaire (with its eerie call), a black-headed nightingale thrush, a chestnut-capped finch, and another from the robin family. Edgardo knows plenty about birds, but the highlight was getting to release the nightingale thrush when we were done!

Other highlights and events:

·      We hiked through part of the Children’s Eternal Rainforest called Bajo del Tigre (Jaguar’s Canyon), that only 20 years earlier was a cattle pasture. Now on its way back, it is a perfect example of a Tropical Montane Forest.

·      During our research collection, Matt, Benji and I saw a barred forest-falcon!

·      A hummingbird exhibit with a bunch of feeders was close to our lodge, and one even landed on my wrist and tried to drink from my watch! (Apparently they like the color red!)

·      Saturday was my friend, Matt’s birthday! We all went out and had a great night! Looks like everyone is getting along really well and its going to be a great semester!

This little guy landed on my wrist!