Spoon and Boat Bills

Everything about this place is beautiful and the best part is it never gets old! This is now the third day in a row I have woken up at 5:30am and had to be ready for a days work by 6 and I have yet to find it hard to get up and go. Even though don't have an alarm clock it is easy to determine the time to wake up because like clock-work, the howler monkeys are out and howling at 5:20 every morning.
Its exciting to get up with the rain forest, you never know what you'll see though out the day and that is why I'm always sure to have the camera ready to fire. It is an amazing feeling of integration when the animals and birds allow you to see them in action. Although it has already happened many times, whenever the monkeys cross over head or a bird lands just in site it is an exciting experience. Everyday is different and everyday is an adventure. Two days ago we walked right under a pack of spider monkey and the day before that a pack of white faced monkeys. Today we were ambushed from a bird throwing fruit down on the trail. You just never know what will happen on the trails of Carara. We have only been here eight days and i can see now that we have only begun to scratch the surface of the amazing life of the rain forest.
The only Cararian animal that is not an experience to see are the flies that have decided to call our deck, home. Although i don't really blame the flies, as we have our laundry out and our smelly shoes on the deck along with our sweaty, and stinky selves out on the deck, i find it really annoying that they NEVER go away. Why can't the flies be more like the monkeys and just pass over head and disappear into the jungle?

The Monkeys Fling Poo

The number one reason I wanted to come to Costa Rica was to see monkeys in the wild. The first day everyone found out that the only Spanish I learned in preparing for this trip was "Donde esta los monos?" (Where are the monkeys?). At our first location in Monteverde we saw white-faced monkeys in the trees before we even had lunch. Even the cafeteria workers somehow found out I was the monkey fan and pulled me aside to show me more white-faced in the trees behind the building. After a few days of staying at our station in Carara National Park it seemed like every study team had seen monkeys in the jungle but ours. I went out with part of the biogeography team yesterday afternoon out of boredom and the desire to see some jungle creatures. We got far enough into the jungle to see a full and digesting bird-eating snake but the ominous thunder forced us out before our equipment got soaked by a tropical downpour (nothing like the rain in Bellingham). I've taken two showers in the rain so far but that's another story. We were no more that 30 feet from the trail exit when Sam called out "hey spider monkeys!" I was ecstatic! There were 4 or 5 skinny-limbed brown monkeys swinging from the trees right above our heads; it was like something off Planet Earth but it was real and right there! I started taking pictures and quickly learned that the flash couldn't reach them so I took a couple of videos of them stretching from tree to tree. I started to follow them down another path when I heard Louis behind me call out "AHH they pooped on me!!" and he came running and gagging with poop on the shoulder of his shirt and on the screen of the YUMA satellite monitor he was trying to take pictures with. "Ohh it smells so bad!" he screamed between gags. He then ran off down the trail to our station for a shower and Sam followed him back to make sure he was ok. I continued to follow the spider monkeys a few more feet down the path until a large stick fell through the trees and vines at an alarming rate, nearly hit my head as I screamed and landed right in front of me. The monkeys were throwing things at me! I decided that those two clues meant they did not want to be followed and I headed back to the station. I guess the moral of this story is that you may want to approach wild animals in the rainforest but they don't always want you around and they will let you know it.

Andrea Magnuson

Carara Character

It is june 30th and its our first day entirely dedicated to field work and research. Mustering up the energy to be in the field for hours at a time is difficult, more difficult for some than others. I myself am on the botany team in which we focus on forest composition differences between Carara and Corcovado NP. It is definitely exhausting crawling over leonas and constantly being attentive to what is on the ground in front and around you. The understory is thick and houses a ridiculous amount of spider webs and insects. I have never had so much difficulty trying to identify a tree since the leaves of the tree are hidden and intertwined with five other species of trees and numerous epiphytic species. A new technique to me for obtaining leaves is to throw sticks and hope to knock off a branch containing the leaves of interest. It is interesting however, to see the huge diversity of tree species within such close proximity to one another. Yesterday we got to experience the mangroves first hand with a boat tour into the mangrove estuary. As it was my first crocodile experience i couldn't get enough of it, they were everywhere, babies to 16 footers! The variety of birds was also amazing, macaws to vultures to pink spoon-billed sifters. At the start of trip the insects were obnoxious, scary, and occupied a majority of our attention, nowadays they are an everyday occurrence which we deal with and dont worry about, even the tarantulas are becoming less noticeable and the giant creepy crawly crickets and maysids have gone from creepy to cool. The most exciting thing everyone is looking forward to now is laundry day, a washing machine and a drier! It turns out that high humidity doesnt add pleasant smells to boxers and socks! But since nobody smells good anymore we have turned into one big happy smelly family! The wildlife is extravagant! Just an hr ago before i came to blog i was walking back from my plot site and ran into a family of white faced capuchin monkeys. There was about four little ones and one parent figure no more than five feet above me in all directions. I decided to take a seat right there in the trail to observe their behavior, i saw them eating and playing among the swinging leona vines and various trees. It was my favorite and best wildlife experience of the trip so far, once they realized i was not a threat they went along with their mid day activities every so often checking back in with me to make sure i was still there observing and admiring. Walking around Carara you would never think that the scarlet macaw population was under 500 worldwide. Just this morning a group went out around 5 am and saw over 120 in just over an hr making their daily journey from the mangroves to the rainforest. Sitting in this ranger station room in front of a computer and air-conditioner i am reminded of home and civilization, and i do indeed miss it. But then i remember that i am surrounded by a rainforest, i am immersed in the most biologically diverse ecosystem on the entire planet and it makes all the negative feelings disappear.

Anthony Sutter
June 30th 2010 from Carara N.P. Costa Rica

"A Squawking Sunrise" by Lisa Karsen

Rise and shine students! It's 4:50am and half of the group is walking around in their headlamps getting ready to embark on a new adventure to count Scarlet Macaws. The Scarlet Macaw count is important because it allows the park to know the current population of Macaws in Carara.
Just down the road from our rugged Carara station lies a resort, Nativa Resort. This, unortunately, is where our Macaw count will take place. Now, you have to realize it is the morning of Day 6 in Carara and we have experienced everything from Tarantula's, smelly clothes (even after they are washed), and a sudden stop of our water flow (no showers?! for how long?! [this problem is now fixed!]). I say "unfortunately" because seeing a glimpse of luxury so close to home is a tease to our soul.
Behind the guarded gates of Nativa's entrance is a curvy, inclining road that gives us a perfect opportunity to spot an infinity pool complete with an open bar and even a volleyball court. The condos and hotels are nestled comfortingly into the trees and it is quite obvious that only the very rich could afford.
The van continued to climb past all these luxuries and up to the top of the ridge where the most beautiful view of the rainforest canopy appeared. Beside the rainforest wall lies the Pacific Ocean which goes as far as the eye can see beyond the horizon, behind where we stand the sun is rising quickly above the hills.
This is a sunrise that I will never forget, and this is where we spent just over an hour counting Scarlet Macaws as they sqauwked (Raaak, Raaak) and flew for miles over the canopy to some new destination. I believe our final count was 136 Scarlet Macaws, including 13 babies. Many of these exotic birds will fly in pairs (they mate for life) while others will fly as families in groups of 4 or 5.
I am forever thankful that I was able to spend such a glorious morning on this ridge feeling the warmth of a new days sun on my skin and watching the most beautiful birds in the world including Storks, Parrots, and flocks of bright green parakeets soar elegantly over the green canopy.

WAHOO!!!

!!! It is exactly one week in Costa Rica and it seems like we’ve been here either a day or a whole month at the same time! WHAT an adventure- everyday is cram packed with new experiences, both small and large, amazing and terrifying. Tarantula would come under the combined category of large AND terrifying. However, there is a good side to everything. The sighting of the gargantuum spider in our room has put quite the perspective on the “smaller ones” that line the wall next to my bed. I now look on them with friendly appreciation, and just hope that nothing ELSE will arrive that will give me perspective on the TARANTULA!!! Although many Costa Ricans do speak English very well, I am making an honest effort to learn some Spanish- practicing on the porch the other day my friend inquired, “Como esta usted?” to which I very enthusiastically replied- “SE LLAMMO WHITNEY!!!” which loosley translated means, “THEY NAMED WHITNEY!!!” fail. Let’s hope my talents lie in other areas.
I have only a short amount of time to write. The wildlife is incredible, biodiversity staggering, people awesome, new friends, new sunburns- but the thing that hits me the most about Costa Rica are the people. Costa Rica is scientifically named the “happiest country in the world” and while this seems cheesy- it is actually very much so true. The atmosphere here is so- relaxed. No one is in a rush or hurry, and every moment of the day- good or bad- is enjoyed. The locals are constantly joking- a teasing sense of humor that I got the best of me the other day while we were at the ziplining place. Observing my terrorized face as the guide attached my harness to the cords that strung over 100 feet high over the canopy, he asked me seriously, “Would you mind telling the guide on the other side that this link is broken? You should be fine for a couple rides more- but just let him know. “
WHAT?!?!?!!? I eventually figured out he WAS joking- but I did spend at least one zipline clutching my harness fearfully, making sure my helmet was on tight, and trying to spot a branch belowthat I could possibly catch onto while I fell to my death.
As many who know me can attest- I would sooner jump off a cliff then wake up in the morning before 10am- but as a ditiful member of the bird team I am actually EXCITED to wake up at the barbaric hour of FIVE THIRTY AM!!! The rainforest wakes up early and the best viewing hours for wildlife and birds is- well in the morning! The possibility of seeing endangered species like the scarlet makaw and spider monkeys is more then enough to get me out of my slightly damp bed. I don’t even need my alarm clock- the local howler monkeys do the job for me :D
BAH have to get back to the station before the snakes come out- hope everyone out there is doing as amazing as I am!

pura vida!

whitney

You don’t know what dirty is until you’ve hand washed your clothing in the rainforest

Love is a dangerous thing. Today is the first day I think I’ve ever really heard “love” used in a negative way. When I think of love, I think that I love this rainforest, I love this experience, I love these people and I love this journey we are on. As we arrived to the dock where a boat would take us down the Tarcoles River to view crocodiles and birds, a naturalist named Ray, who is the VP for LAPPA (a parrot-type bird conservation team) explained to us how humans are separated from animals because of our power and need for love. When asked if we own or have ever owned an animal, most students eagerly rose their hand. It soon dawned on us how love and companionship can become a sort of possession. This is a huge factor of why so many people own not only cats and dogs, but go through the black market in order to find the rarest animal companions such as the beloved Scarlet Macaws.
With everything in life and in this jungle, there must be a balance. Like the balance between a bird who eats the pests of a tree and in return the tree provides a safe home for the bird’s family. “Save the rainforest” is slowly becoming not only a phrase, but a way of balancing the need for love and a respect of nature. We’re learning so much!!

Here are some reasons we’ve fallen in love with the Costa Rican rainforest:

Standing in the middle of Carara park rainforest, there is never a still moment. Movement is a constant and viewing new life forms is always endless. Often branches fall that sound like pouncing panthers.
There are places that look like they stepped straight out of time. Today we passed a man riding a cart pulled by oxen.
Torrential rain downpours on the Carara station’s tin roof… so loud you cannot hear someone sitting next to you speak.
Feeling like we’re living in an episode of Planet Earth and thinking that an episode couldn’t show us anything more then we could walk out into the jungle and see for ourselves.
Helping citizens with conservation (my team, biogeography, is creating a map template for the Carara national park, birds and botany are taking well-needed species counts, and the educational team will teach young children the importance of wildlife conservation.
Falling asleep to rain on tin roofs and crickets chirping literally on the roof above my bed.
Eating fresh fruit everyday. Today our guide picked a starfruit off of a tree and handed it to us to eat right there!
Seeing 31 crocodiles in one boat ride. They were only a few feet away and mostly around 12 feet long!
Taking a shower with the TOAD that lives in our bathroom drain.
Hiking in the most beautiful setting in the world every day for hours.
Watching rare birds, like Macaws, play in the back of our rainforest “yard” and knowing what they are based off their squawk.
Being with the people who actually out their saving rainforest wildlife. Roy, the naturalist, has helped the population of Scarlet Macaws in Carara go from 220 in 1990 to 440 today. Also, we have first hand knowledge of their lifestyle patterns… such as the fact that macaws are monogamous and if one dies they never move on to another mate. (Although some of them cheat on their hubbies/ wifies!!)
Having absolutely no idea what time it is, but living life the Costa Rican way.. based off experiences not time covered.
Watching white-faced capuchin monkeys and spider monkeys play and waking up to a Howler monkey’s roar.
Attempting to shower by standing in the pouring rain.
The passion and love of nature by the Costa Ricans here (and knowledge of real dancing too!)
Dancing tango in the discothèque. (And being jealous we didn’t learn to do this as kids)
Seeing big one-foot tall mice called Guatamundes, more often then seeing deer in the Northwest.
If you walked off the porch looked into the rainforest, it TOTALLY wouldn’t look out of place if a Tyrannosaurus Rex stomped out.


Things I, and mostly we, wouldn’t mind leaving behind in Costa Rica:
Never taking our eyes off the trail when walking in case we walk into a Fur de Lance snake (one of the most deadliest snakes). There was already on our station’s porch!
Not having a clothing dryer in total humidity… our clothes will never be the same.
Aragog, a huge black hairy tarantula the size of my hand that lives in our bedroom wall and used to poke his legs out.
Constantly itching bug bites and sounding crazy when we swear at the buzzing bugs.
Not being able to brush through my hair. Dr. Bronners does weird, weird things.
Rice and beans at EVERY meal.
Spiders with big, knobby knees.
Whatever weird things DEET is doing to our skin.


But all in all, I’d take the bad things in order to have the good things anyday! This place is amazing and an incredible journey we will never forget. We are all being pushed to an almost-breaking point and we will never be the same… in a very good way.

More than the Green Republic

Connor Harron

Costa Rica. A name that to many is synonymous with “green republic,” “the last country the god’s made,” and many others that describe the eco friendly nature of this beautiful land. Since landing here and meeting the people as well as seeing many of the forests and animals which call this place home it is easy to see why. However, the picture portrayed by many of these descriptions is incomplete. Costa Rica, like the rest of Central and South America has been subject to the cruel hands of fate as colonizers from the west claimed much of its territory and economies, harnessing them for comfort goods that by now we accept as natural. Costa Rica has been one of the luckiest, preserving 25% of their land as protected areas with the help of international organizations and countries around the world through their “debt for nature” program. Even so, Costa Rica is experiencing faster rates of deforestation than any other country in Central America as banana and coffee plantations fill the countryside in order to fulfill the increasing demand from developed nations. As with many developing countries, a disconnect exists here between the raw goods produced as export commodities and the people who eventually consume them in their home or mug. The farmers who till the land here receive less than 1 cent for every dollar made for the goods they produce, and trade agreements with the IMF and World Bank have constricted these countries economies in a vice grip so that only the most highly valued exports can be grown in order that international debts can be paid. In order to do so social spending has largely been cut and the large expansive forests that are “protected” in many ways can only be described so on paper.

Please do not take me the wrong way, Costa Rica is very much the tropical paradise that many envision when they here the word. But there is a complex dynamic between the people here and the forests/animals travelers from around the world come to see. We have heard that humans need to love and be loved, but one of the most moving individuals I have met so far claimed that we need to learn to “love with respect.” An example of this can easily be found in one of Costa Rica’s most famous birds, the scarlet Macaw. Many people love this bird, so much so that a huge black market exists for poachers to sell them as pets to wealthy individuals globally. This depicts the lack of respect for the Macaw as well as many animals around the globe. If we truly love these animals, then we should show them the respect they deserve by allowing them to be free. The same is true for our environment and ourselves, for while we seek to love and be loved, it is imperative that we ensure the same is possible for all others. Just as many of the people and animals in Latin America have been marginalized by our need to seek fulfillment and happiness, so have we marginalized our own lives by creating a society dependent on material satisfaction. If we do not love ourselves responsibly, then we cannot share that love with others, and thus we will continue to ignore the suffering of others so that we can ignore our own. However, if we seek to bear each other up then we can reverse our status as consumers, and be providers of the most amazing gift of all; life.

We Need a Bigger Boat

Erin Murray
Tuesday June 29, 2010
First Blog

I am a little intimidated to be returning back to the States after this trip. I will most likely be deemed a schizophrenic will all my twitching, swatting and swearing at various insect trying to eat me. This trip has definitely been an experience for me. I have become a lot braver and have overcome most of my fear of large-ish spiders. Now spiders about the size of silver dollars don’t phase me as much, thanks to the Aragog the Tarantula that lives in our room. We also have huge frog that lives in the shower I have named Fabio. You never know when he might hop out and join you in the shower.
Everyday I wake up and am overcome with complete disbelief that I am here in the Jungle. There is never a dull moment, or any event that doesn’t strike you a purely spectacular. The best part is the excitement and surprise you feel when you encounter something new. You may be sitting around, enjoying your lunch when all of a sudden crashing and rustling erupts from the trees and there they are—rare Spider Monkeys! Or you hear a strangled squawk and rush out to see pairs of macaws flying above. Or you may stumble back from the disco and have to drunkenly deal with tarantula under your bed and attempt to recruit one of the boys to handle it. I am also reminded daily of how unique our trip to Costa Rica is in comparison to other tourist experiences. We occasionally see American tourists emerging from the hiking trails right outside our station and realize that they are only seeing a brief glimpse of what Carara Park has to offer. They are not there every evening, or spend the majority of their day looking for wildlife. Even booking the station at Carara requires a friendship with a park ranger. We are truly the more fortunate students who travel to Costa Rica.
Today we took a boat trip down to Taracoles river in order to see the Mangroves where many of the Macaws nest. This large river is the second most polluted river in Central America, yet it is home to some of the rarest birds in Costa Rica. This river also happens to be filled with Crocodiles! At one point we were less than 10 feet away from a 13 foot crocodile. I felt like I was in an episode of the Crocodile Hunter. I just kept on waiting for the biggest crocodile (named Tornado) to come and tip over our boat and have us for lunch. It didn’t help that the boat swayed whenever people stood up or leaned to the other side to take pictures. On our boat ride we saw the endangered boat billed heron and the beautiful rosette spoon billed. In the mangrove forest, we witnesses two pairs of Macaws fighting over a nest. Overall, today was exciting as usual and I look forward to whatever new surprises we will experience today.

Mind blowing

Suzan Nasona
June 27, 2010

Hallelujah, praise the lord for he is truly marvelous and all mighty! That was the first thought that came to mind as soon as I laid my eyes on Costa Rica and its bountiful wonders. Costa Rica’s plant and animal biodiversity is mind blowing. Furthermore, the fact that I feel at home while I am walking through the rainforest is crazy. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would see the day! Yet I am here and I love it! Today, during the start of our first field work as a part of the bird team we were able to perform some test runs, recording bird sounds in areas of low, medium and high density, and bird counts as well in these areas. Along the way, we saw the rainforest come to life. White faced monkeys, Toucans, hummingbirds, ants, lizards, wood-peckers and much more were among us left, right, down and up and in all and every corner. What is amazing is that although we might not be able to see all of the animals around us, they are nonetheless amongst us. We notice this biodiversity because although we might not see these animals we were sometimes fortunate enough to hear them.

There is never a dull moment in Costa Rica. That goes both ways in terms of being in the rainforest and out and about Costa Rica learning about it and having a great time.

Adios,
Suzan Nasona

Brooke's Blog

Wow, so much to say. We have only been in the country for close to a week but it feels like much longer because the days are so jampacked. Costa Rica is such a beautiful, happy, laid back place. I have never been so immersed in wildlife before and every day is full of new exciting animal sightings. So far we have visited the University of Georgia in Monteverde where we saw white faced capuchin monkeys, agoutis, and other forms of wildlife. The campus was very beautiful and the guided hike was very informative. Visiting the Monteverde National Park was also exciting, our group was lucky enough to spot a quetzal, one of the endangered birds of Costa Rica, and it was truly the most beautiful bird I’ve ever seen. Its feathers are very shiny, almost luminescent and the hues of its body are so diverse and powerful. Our group was also lucky enough to have our guide allow us to go off schedule and take a quick trip over to the continental divide, which had breathtaking views. Yesterday was a very fun, exciting and eventful day. On the tranopy over the jungle we spotted 2 two-toed sloths, a toucan, bats, and golden orb spiders. The ziplining was absolutely amazing, it is the closest feeling to flying I have ever felt, I did not ever want it to end. We also were take on a serpentarium tour and learned a lot about the various snakes of Costa Rica which was extremely interesting. All of the guides we have had have been extremely knowledgable and I have learned a lot from them. The people of Costa Rica have all been so friendly and welcoming, they even gave us salsa lessons which was a real treat and very fun. Last night we visited a nearby club that seemed like it did not see too many gringos, but they were all very nice and the drinks were shockingly cheap! Transitioning into the Carara station has been an interesting experience, but after 4 days it is beginning to feel a little bit more like home. We have discovered an interesting roommate living in the girls room, a large fuzzy tarantula that lives in a duct taped hole in the wall. On the first day Louis discovered a tarantula in the boys room and when confronted it put its front legs in the air in an attack position, it was very strange to see a spider act in that manner and definitely gave me the heebie jeebies. Its really fun having lizards, toads and frogs as occasional roommates as well and they can often be seen crawling up the walls or making kissy noises at you when you sleep. The diversity of the wildlife here is so broad and often confronting you with every turn, already today from the station we have seen monkeys and macaws. I am very interested and excited to see all the new wildlife and experiences we will have on the rest of the trip. It was has been absolutely amazing so far and I know there a lot of good more times ahead.

BeeGees

Louie Brothers

Stepping off the plane into the San Jose airport at 6 in the morning, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Costa Rica. My Spanish had never been tested before in a foreign country and I was determined to use it. I stepped up to the man at the counter with a bright smile despite my lack of sleep with a cheerful “Hola!” I received a terse “paspaporte” and a swift stamp. Almost a week later and I can say I’ve been able to have far more scintillating conversations with the locals: at Monteverde where we took guided tours from some hilarious and informative locals, at a restaurant where we watched a bit of futbol, and even at a discoteca last night in Carara. We’ve been on 4-5 hikes so far, each one starting bright and early and lasting several hours. I could not even come close to describing the beauty had I not been snapping pictures every 5 minutes. Around every turn is a new encounter that blows your mind. The flora and fauna are so much more diverse and colorful than in the States. We arrived at Carara National Park 4 days ago and have been basically camping with the bare essentials in a standalone building where we can’t trust the water, but it’s been a blast. I’m uploading my pictures to Facebook (cliché but meh) in addition to the ones here, so take a look if you’re reading this (that means you Tara! XO). Yesterday we went ziplining in Jaco, which will probably the highlight of the trip for me, as it combined a ridiculous amount of adrenaline with heart-stopping views of the coast. I even managed to tie my camera to my waist and take a video during zipline #5 which was almost 1000 yards according to our guide. Everybody was tentative on the first zipline but by the tenth we were spinning 720s and busting out inverted airs 1500 feet in the air. The only thing that can top that now is our surfing lessons. Hopefully I can summon my snowboarding and wakeboarding experience and manage to catch a wave. For the next week at Carara, we’ve split up into 4 teams: Biogeography, Botany, Birds, and Environmental Education. My group, Biogeography (aka the BeeGees) is in the process of deciding what our final project will be. Most likely it will involve making a new map of the trails since we have a Yuma GPS that tracks wherever we walk using as many satellites as it can pick up. We can also take pictures with it and it will pinpoint the place on the trail that we took them. We also will probably do some trail maintenance and hopefully repair part of one bridge that is covered with 2x6s. I’m looking forward to having some modern conveniences but I also love the time spent here. Amor a mi familia y mi novia lindisima, les extraño mucho!

From the clouds to Carara immersion

Hilary Cosentino
Sunday June 27th 2010

There is so much to write about I don’t even know where to start. Story after story comes to mind. I want to share all I’ve learned about Costa Rican culture, I want to tell you about their politics, and of course about their spectacular rain forest. Since our arrival in the early a.m. of June 22nd in San Jose Costa Rica (less than a week ago) I have already experienced more diversity than I had to date. The Costa Rican rainforest is tirelessly teaming and humming with life as the forest is thickened with the invisible cloud of constant transpiration. When I mention diversity I am referring to the rain forest yes, but this fascinating countries cities, culture, and politics are just as riddled with unexpected twists and turns and little cultural treasures (that to the unobservant visitor may go unnoticed) as the rainforest itself. Costa Rica’s diversity reaches to all corners of the continent with transformations of rainforest to agriculture and to urban sprawl. Only here have I seen a white faced monkey, Jesus Christ lizard, stopped the bus to wait for domestic cows to cross, removed multiple cockroaches from the bathroom, shared a room with a tarantula the size of my palm, and had a horse get run over by a car right outside the station at three o’clock in the morning. My experience so far has been just that… an experience, but I’m loving every second of it!
Costa Rica is extremely unique. Its topography is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Giant tropical mountains formed by tectonic movement surrounded by varying degrees of valleys are coated with every color green in the spectrum. The combination of rapid changes in elevation, differences in annual rainfall, and light availability are only few of the major forces driving the flood of biodiversity in Costa Rica. Monteverde, nicknamed “the cloud mountain,” was our first real introduction to the rainforest. We were stationed at the University of Georgia’s Costa Rican location. We stayed in quaint little huts with four rooms, all with their own bathroom, and each sleeping four students. Each hut was equipped with a gorgeous hard wood floor wrap around porch; from which I saw my first coatamundi and a toad the size of both my feet put together.
The easy road we were traveling quickly changed to one more like the 900 grade, heavily eroded, gravel road like the one we scaled to Monteverde. We left the comfort of our Americanized Costa Rica and I suppose you could say we began the true immersion process. We are now living in Carara National Park Research Station. The station’s 10 years old but it hasn’t aged well. Some of the windows have screens, some of the rooms have light bulbs, some of the toilets work, and all of the rooms have bugs. There’s a roof, but it’s disconnected form the walls and leaves about a ft gap for airflow and easy access to our insect friends. The girls’ room is packed with 11 girls, a resident tarantula, countless spiders and other insects, and no door (it somehow disappeared between last year and now). Our kitchen floor is now layered with cardboard as a result of a water dispenser mishap. It’s rustic, to say the least, but it’s actually starting to feel comfortable. The first night came with a constant chorus of screaming and “OH MY GOD”s but now a creature is only worthy of attention if it’s a new species or bigger than your fist. It’s safe to say this station’s just another niche to be filled by the jungle, not our home. The first monsoon brought an army of tree frogs taking refuge and our professor shares a desk with a brown hairy spider.
I have been assigned to the biogeography research team. I’m trying to learn how to use a $3000 dollar piece of military GPS equipment that will chart our tracts, take pictures, and post them onto Google earth as attachments. Today was our first research expedition. Following a trail from our station for three hours the trip was littered with sightings. We were blessed with two agoutis, a lime green parrot, 6 to 10 white faced monkeys, two Jesus Christ lizards (the ones that run on water), a non flight native bird, 6 toucans, a 4-5ft long snake we haven’t identified yet, and many other native bird and insect species.
Last night our group made it’s first trip to the Disco. Our group seems like a small one, with only 18 students and three profesores, until you enter a small Costa Rican town as a heard of young white outsiders. It is very interesting feeling like ALL the eyes in the room are pointed at you. In the beginning the bar awkwardly resembled a middle school dance, us on one side and all the locals on the other. However, alcohol does funny things and by the end of the night we were all practicing our salsa. One girl was even given a necklace and paper flower.
It’s different, but good different. Costa Rica’s amazing. They have a 97% literacy rate, are one of the leads in conservation efforts, and are statistically the happiest country in the world, and I’m happy we’re here.

Biodiversidad Botánica en Costa Rica

It is our fourth day here and it already feels like it has been weeks.
It is unbelievable how much slower time seems to travel here.
Everything is laid back and the people are unbelievably friendly and nice. Being in this rainforest almost feels like you are on another planet. It is so different from the Pacific Northwest in every way.
The levels of plant and animal biodiversity here is just phenomenal. A hike through the forest is a field day for anyone with the slightest interest in the natural world. The plants here are especially fascinating. Brightly colored epiphytes and other flowering plants are extremely abundant and diverse. I am on the RICA Botany team and I am very excited to start our work here in Carara National Park and then Corcovado. Here is a photo of just a small bit of the kind of botanical biodiversity here in Costa Rica. This was from the University of Georgia Biological Station in San Luis near Monteverde, right outside our door. There were also banana trees very close, and Whitney was VERY excited :] The third photo is of Suzan and I on the zip line today in Jaco, a much-needed break after coming to the station at Carara. Hasta luego!

Peace,
Leah White

Primero Blog

Philip Jackson- Blog #1

I arrived to Costa Rica on the 22nd of June, and I am loving every second of it. The first day we stayed in the Hampton Inn near the airport while we waited for everyone to arrive. My first Costa Rican dish, Casado, was amazing. It consists of rice, beans, salad, vegetable, meat and a starch. To this date I have not eaten anything I did not like and assume it will be like that the whole trip. The weather here is like nothing I have ever experienced; the heat begins around 5 am and does not let off till around 10 or 11. By let off I mean a drop in about 5 degrees. The humidity is unreal and unrelenting, I am getting used to sweating almost all day.
After our short stay at the hotel we packed on a bus and drove to San Luis to stay a night at the Universidad de Georgia. A gorgeous extension of the University of Georgia in the states, it is located right at the base of the Monteverde private park. The picture with the red roofed bungalows is the university. The fist day we saw some white-faced capuchins, monkeys, and lots of vultures. There was also a codimundi right outside my bungalow munching on some fallen plantains, got a good picture of him as well. The next day we traveled up to the Monteverde private park and had an amazing tour around the area. Our guide was great, calling to different birds and monkeys and having them respond, he was very informative. After another great lunch of Casado Pollo we got back on the bus and headed to our first place of extended stay, Carara National Park. This place is going to be character builder for all of us. Giant sized bugs are a common occurrence as are toads and frogs. Tarantulas have also been spotted, a small one in the boy’s room and a bigger one that was found in the girl’s room. The greenish building is the one we are all staying in. The rain forest is literally right behind us.
The hikes here are amazing and full of wildlife. The first hike we spotted a woodpecker, poison dart frog, agouti, and lots and lots of insects. Fortunately we have not been caught in any rainstorms yet but they are very common. The rain is warm and it cools off everything, including those of us who elect to take rain showers rather than cold ones, as we have no hot water. Today was the best day so far which included an early morning Tranopy tour with lots of zip lines. Flying high above the canopy on lines as long as three football fields is something I will never forget. Tonight we are headed to a disco to show off our salsa dancing skills that the park rangers here in Carara have helped us learn. We are here for nine days total and then it is off to surf lessons in Dominical. After that we head to Corcovado National Park for a 10 day stay and a 18 km hike. Our field research will start soon as well as our service work. Being part of the Bio geography team it is my job to map out all the points and trail systems we travel on. Mammal identification will follow as well as geo tagging everything we take a picture of. Enjoy the pictures and until next time, Pura Vida!
- Philip Jackson
June 26, 2010

Livin’ La Carara Vida Loca,

I have been in Costa Rica now for four days after a surprisingly easy day of travel. I am currently at the Parque Nacional Carara at a service station that I am pretty sure is only used and taken care of by these annual Western Rica trips. So as you can guess when we arrived it was a bit shocking, we had to clear the rooms of the compound of tarantulas, frog, geckos, lizards, and other creatures before we could set up our cots, and beat the bugs and dust out of our overused under cared for mattresses. We have electricity and a few fans to combat the heat which at times can feel overwhelming, but it seems now I am starting to acclimate. We lack hot water, but we can take showers, but the rain preferable because it’s quite a bit warmer. It has rained everyday but it usually last no more than an hour probably less time, but when it does rain it pours. We are surrounded by the jungle where you can hear the bellow of howler monkeys, the buzz of cicadas, the call of frogs, and so many different bird sounds you cannot classify them with anyone noise. The bugs are everywhere they definitely own the forest, but I feel like we are living in harmony as long as we give up a little blood everyday. We have made many treks into the jungles and I have already seen many plants, insects, mammals, and birds of Costa Rica, but I know it is only the tip of the Iceberg. In the jungle you cannot help but be astounded almost every inch is covered by some sort of vegetation and the trees shoot into the sky harboring a whole new world of life. It’s a world full of niches and all of them are filled. The trees are covered with epiphytes (plants that grow on other trees), many of which are orchids, vines also hang everywhere it’s truly a spectacular place. It’s not only the naturaleza that is great about Costa Rica, but also the people everyone has been wonderful and even the Spanish they speak is more polite than the Spanish I learned in school referring to everyone with the reverence of Usted, disregarding the informal tu. We have not only been in Carara though we spent a day in a Hotel at San Jose which is what you would expect, but we spent a day at the University of Georgia campus near Monteverde. Here were excellent facilities compared to our compound, it seemed like high class safari lodging. The area is beautiful I saw some giant toads, a coatimundi, some white faced capuchin, and many birds, as well as the complex behavior of leaf cutter ants. I spend most days with at least one hike through the forest identifying birds, trees, plants, and whatever else we can find. After UGA we went the Monteverde private reserve an excellent park, where our wonderful guide Giovanni led us on a three hour hike introducing us to all of his “bebes” which were insects and birds he studied with a real love for the forest and animals, here you see the difference of a native guide compared to our gringo guide at UGA. We were lucky enough to see two Resplendent Quetzals, an endangered bird that is brilliantly colored (you should google it). There were also many humming birds buzzing around, and saw all kinds of bugs. This is a cloud forest so at times the clouds come down and touch the mountains creating a fog so thick you cannot see 8 feet in front of you according to Giovanni. This allows epiphytes to dominate this forest almost every inch of trees are covered; reminding me of the Hoh rainforest. After this we headed for Carara where I am now. Last night we had Salsa lessons that turned into an informal party on the veranda with pouring rain and thunder and lightning in the background. Today we went to the Tranopy where we rode a tram to the top of hill sighting toucans and sloth, then coming down the hill on series of 10 ziplines one of which reaches 30mph. At the bottom we had a wonderful meal and went to the serpentarium. That leads me to where I am now at the Carara Ranger station using their internet to blog, and resting before going to the Disco and putting my Salsa skills, or lack thereof, to use.

Con Mucho Gusto,
Atticus

(There are more photos on my facebook if you have such privileges)

An Eventful Change of Pace..

Jaime Liljegren Blog




We arrived in San Jose on the 22nd at 530 in the morning and shuttled to the hotel where we got breakfast and waited for our rooms. Basically we sat out by the pool and read while waiting for the other people to come. The next day we woke up and traveled to the University of Peace at Monteverde where we drove up some sketch mountain roads while our bus driver fought to get our bus up the mountain. Once we pulled into the campus we unloaded our stuff into bungalows and went on a hike throughout the surrounding nature. There were so many frogs hanging out and hopping around our campus it was awesome!! After hanging out there for a night and doing some lecture we traveled to the private reserve of Monteverde for a guided tour. Our guide was so cool he could do so many bird calls that I didn’t even know existed. Howler monkeys began ‘howling’ throughout our hike and responding to our guide so much we wondered if the guides were just calling to each other. It was too hot for the forest to be covered in clouds but it was still definitely cool to see the upper clouds moving incredibly fast and all the animals. After our hike we ate lunch and headed over to our station and Parque Nacional Carara. Our facility was definitely different compared to the comfortable bungalows at University of Georgia. Taking out our mattresses and beating them to get some of the dust and stuff I don’t even really want to know what it is off of them we put our mosquito nets up (Leah and I basically are experts now, just saying..) and cleaned up the facility that hadn’t been used in a year. The bugs and creatures that have been found since arriving here has definitely created for an eventful stay. Cockroaches, tarantulas, mosquitos and termites are some visitors that have been less welcome; however we have had encounters with many frogs, iguanas, leaf cutter ants and awesome birds too!
Here we began to understand our research equipment for recording the morning songs of the birds and got to play Frisbee in the middle of a downpour in the rainforest, where we lost it in the jungle and had to retrieve it (using rubber boots of course) Today we went on a ‘tranopy’ and ziplined through the middle of the forest! An ok way to spend an afternoon. Starting research soon. Miss ya fam and Michael!

Zane's Carara Vida

Hola,

5 days ago I arrived in Costa Rica not quite sure what to expect. I expected to see a lot of organisms and ecology that I had never seen before but I never envisioned seeing all of this. I have seen more already than I expected to see all 5 weeks. Today alone I saw 3 toucans, 3 poison dart frogs, an entire gallery of snakes, and a coati. The lowlands of Carara are far different from the mountainous cloud forests of Monteverde. The views alone are enough to fall in love with the country, but throw in the hospitality of the locals, the delicious food, and the immense biodiversity and Costa Rica is the most beautiful place I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. However, with all of the positives do come negatives, its hot, and I don't mean Washington August hot, or even East Coast muggy hot. This is a completely different term, you sweat day and night. It has been a challenging adjustment but its nice to know I have 19 other people going through it as well.

Hasta Luego!

Zane

From the cloud forest to the station

All our students arrived safely two days ago. We've already been to Monteverde and back and now settled into the biological station at Carara. They've seen the resplendent quetzal, a blue-crowned mot-mot, dozens of hummingbirds, the glass-winged butterfly below, and the amazing forest in the clouds. The mosquito nets are up, and we'll be exploring the Carara trails for the first time manana. Zip-line and canopy Saturday. The students will start blogging soon. Buenas noches.

De-wilding?

Back in December and January, my brother and I completed a 10 day photography safari here in Costa Rica. We captured some beautiful images thanks mostly to my brother's experience and skill, and a lot of dumb luck. But in my journal those days, I wrote the following. "A pair of scarlet macaws glided across the sky. A trio followed. Another pair. They were streaks of red, yellow, and blue in the morning glow. We hoped to capture such a moment with a battery of photography equipment. But a crisp photo was elusive. Maybe capturing such a wild thing makes it less wild?"

A blog titled "Too many lenses, too few eyes" in today's New York Times digs into this question.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/essay-18/

In the juxtaposition of the two photos above and below, I think one can see this tension.



I would write more on what unfolded that morning at the Sirena station. "Called the most beautiful bird in the world by some, Lapa Roja symbolizes the exotic beauty and wildness of the tropics. One day, a pair unexpectedly flew directly towards our porch. As one bird flew over the building, the other looped back and perched on the roof above us. Then, like a leaf, the Macaw fluttered onto the railing right in front of us. I was face to face with the bird the Park Rangers called Lapa Poncho.

This was a bird connected on the one hand to the wilderness and his or her mate in the trees. But Lapa Poncho also remained connected to the station and its rangers who had rescued it after falling out of the nest as a young macaw. This bird has one wing in our world and the other in the tropical wilderness surrounding Sirena Station. That bird also could symbolize the challenges we face in conserving biodiversity.

Costa Rica is one of the world’s leaders in the share of land protected from human disturbances. But their reserves are islands surrounded by development and managing species like the Scarlet Macaw no longer occurs just inside the parks. Conservation is managing people as much as it’s about managing wildlife and their habitats. This is one of the many lessons I bring students to Costa Rica to learn."

Back in the Carara

I've returned again to the place of my first tropical rainforest immersion. Luck brought me to Costa Rica for the first time in 2001. I was a second year assistant professor of political science and a faculty member of our small environmental science and policy graduate program. The latter part was enough to warrant an offer from a business instructor I had never met. She asked if I would be interested in joining a study abroad trip to Costa Rica? I doubt I hesitated. I could do policy stuff, another professor the environmental science, and she’ll handle the economics. She knew a Park in Costa Rica we could do volunteer work for. We attracted more than 25 undergraduates and off we went.

We traveled to Carara, a central Pacific National Park encompassing nearly twelve thousand acres of rainforest ranging from sea level to the foothills of Turrialba mountain and the beginning of the Talamanca range. It’s located south of the Rio Tarcoles and a population of endangered crocs and like Costa Rica bridging North and South America, this transitional forest was an intersection of the tropical wet ecosystems of the south with the tropical dry habitats in the northwest. Therefore, it hosts a great concentration of biodiversity, a kind of microcosm of Costa Rica itself, and includes one of the country’s last habitats for scarlet macaws. The Carara name derives from an indigenous language that would translate as “river of crocodiles”, and many guide books describe the Park as a wildlife oasis. But in reality this park is an ecological island.

On Carara’s eastern borders, agriculture dominates the rural highlands with pasture fences marking the Park’s edges. To the south, the real estate bubble went global and luxury housing developments have sprung up like an invasive species. But the most significant border is on Carara’s western edge. Highway 34 cuts this terrestrial ecosystem off from the coastal plain to the west. A new road brings even more traffic from the central valley to the Pacific coast.

Ten years ago, there were an estimated 200 Scarlet Macaws. Today, their numbers have doubled and I'm proud that my students have had a small part in this conservation success. But there are new challenges. While the Scarlet Macaws fly effortlessly through the surrounding human developments, mammals, amphibians and snakes don’t fare so well. The tragic pictures below are from last week as an ocelot mother and her juvenile didn’t make their dash off the island. The linked article is more bad news. The road takes on average 16 animals a month. This may become our next collaborative project with Carara.



http://www.nacion.com/2010-06-16/AldeaGlobal/NotasSecundarias/AldeaGlobal2410065.aspx

Ecotopia for the tenth time

Greetings from Santiago de Puriscal. I’m back in Costa Rica for my tenth time since 2001. This nation’s name originated from Spanish conquistadors. It means rich coast in English. The colonizers thought the land would be filled with gold. Columbus set eyes on a Caribbean coastline in 1502 that stretched for 132 miles (212 km). In letter a year after his travels, Columbus had this recollection. “I arrived in the land of Cariay, where I stopped to mend and provision the ships, and to give some rest to the crew members who were quite ill. . . There I heard tales of the gold mines that I was searching for in the province of Ciamba” (July of 1503). To the west of where Columbus first anchored, nearly 20,000 square miles of land undulates through 23 different ecozones (Holdridge, 1967). Framed on the other three sides by a 192 mile northern border with Nicauragua, a 397 mile border with Panama, and 800 miles of Pacific coast on the western side, many recognize that Costa Rica’s riches are more green than gold.

Countless observers have documented Costa Rica’s natural exceptionalism. In one of the first, an author in 1895 called it the gem of American republics. “A naturalist’s paradise” proclaimed Alexander Skutch. One coffee table book labeled Costa Rica The Last Country the Gods Made. It was one of The Living Edens featured in a PBS television series. An environmental historian labeled it The Green Republic (Evans, 1999). Others would proclaim that Costa Rica was the Switzerland of Central America. In a more infamous reference, conservative radio voice Rush Limbaugh exclaimed that he would move to Costa Rica if the 2010 health care reform legislation passed. Ironically, Costa Rica has universal health care. It also has a longer life expectancy then the U.S. and a larger share of land protected from development. Rush didn’t immigrate nor did he recognize the double serving of contradictions in his statement. But many other journalists and observers have been drawn to this country’s exceptionalism.

One New York Times journalist would celebrate Costa Rica’s recent ban on oil drilling (Friedman, 2009). That was 2004 when the former Present Abel Pachaco overturned the permits a Texas Oil company had acquired. In an ironic twist, George W. Bush was on the board of Harken Energy when they first got permissions to explore oil along Costa Rica’s coast. Imagine President Bush denying BP’s applications for deep well drilling concessions in the Gulf? That never happened and the Gulf of Mexico Oil spill will go down as one of America’s worst environmental disasters. But not in Costa Rica!

You also won’t find an army, something another columnist marveled at because Costa Rica has seven decades without an army (Kristof, 2010). That is impossible to imagine in the US. Costa Rica’s former Minister of Natural Resources, Alvaro Urmana, called his home “a biological superpower.” The accolades could be continued. But surprisingly few have associated Costa Rica with the idea of ecotopia.

Wandering around my college bookstore in 1986, I saw ecotopia for the first time. I was a wide-eyed freshman buying my first college books. I didn’t stumble across a book about Costa Rica. I grabbed calculus, geology, and ecology; texts representing the accumulated knowledge of scientific disciplines. But for English 101, the required book was titled Ecotopia Emerging. This wasn’t going to be your typical text. Ernest Callenbach’s second novel was published in 1981 and served as a prequel for his 1975 book, Ecotopia. Inside each, I would find the fictional stories of a new nation forming when parts of northern California, Oregon, and Washington seceded from the United States. But that was fiction. This blog includes real accounts of my experiences and the reflections of my students.

Since 2003, I’ve taken more than 100 students of environmental studies to explore the landscapes, culture and economy of Costa Rica. Costa Rica’s tourism bureau proudly proclaims “no artificial ingredients” to draw visitors from around the world. Situated at the confluence of two oceans and bridging two continents in the tropical latitudes, this small nation hosts some of the greatest concentration of biodiversity anywhere. Costa Rica is about the size of West Virginia, or, 0.03% of the world’s surface, yet it holds an estimated 5 percent of the world’s biodiversity. Species from North and South America mixed on this continental land bridge for over a millennia leading to new combinations of flora and fauna.

In the south central spine of the nation’s Talamanca mountains, the highest peak of Chirripo reaches over 12,000 feet with a cap of Costa Rica’s rarest life zone—an alpine cloud rain paramo. To the east, an alluvial plain spreads into the Caribbean and north to the Nicaraguan border. On the Pacific side, the geography varies more with clusters of mountains criss-crossing the landscape to create numerous valleys. A second and distinct volcanic range rises up again north of the central valley. This undulating terrain and climate creates the variations of elevation, temperatures, and rainfall that form differentiated cauldrons where the alchemy of speciation led to new life forms. Over 87,000 have been identified and scientists expect they might discover a half million species across Costa Rica (Zamora and Obando, 2001). You can’t really understand biodiversity and how thick nature can get until you are immersed in a tropical rainforest’s flora and fauna.


This blog, and the program I’ve been leading every year (called Rainforest Immersion and Conservation Action), is not only about tropical ecology. We embark on a broad study of the environment. The students will monitor rare Scarlet Macaws, study deforestation from satellite images, and learn about botany. They also take action to conserve the rainforests by building trails and volunteering in the communities outside Costa Rica’s conservation areas. We also learn about globalization and how economic forces can help and harm this nation in studying the tension between profits and people. Students are, for instance, confronted with the inequitable development patterns transforming Costa Rica’s coastlines. Oceanside property is predominately foreign-owned and often very different than typical housing in the interior. As one of my students put it one year, “you can visit Costa Rica, but never be in Costa Rica.” In short distances, you can see opulent clusters of homes and golf courses catering to the super rich near the meager homes of ordinary residents. The former’s wealth can be a hundred or even thousand-fold higher than their neighbors. According to the New Economics Foundation (NEF), nearly ten percent of Costa Ricans live on less than $2.00 per day. Such inequity is an often an underappreciated weakness of any community or country’s aspirations to hit the sustainability sweet spot.

This blog will give you a glimpse of the three-dimensional perspective we use here, and in doing so, illuminate Costa Rica’s lessons in the triple light of the ecological, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainability. These complicated webs will make or break Costa Rica’s environmental achievements.

Pura vida amigos, 14 June 2010.