First Few Weeks

Over the last few weeks I have already seen some amazing things including snakes, monkeys, jaguar tracks, and seeing Green Turtles hatching from their nests! It is absolutely inspiring to watch these tiny creatures dig their way out of their nest, orient themselves, and make their way into the ocean. As we are in the rainy season and our base even flooded for the better part of a week, a lot of the nests became water logged. This led to the volcanic sand becoming very heavy and caused problems for the turtles. On nest checks we were able to go out (in the pouring rain) and find recently hatched or about to hatch nests. Some of these guys made it out on their own, but others were trapped by the weight of the sand. They were so tired and many did not make it. However, at least 100 that day were still alive and just needed to get out of the nest. We helped them out and sent them on their way. While their chances of surving into adulthood are very slim for the majority of the hatchlings, it still felt so good to know that we gave some of these guys a shot at that life. Sorry, there are no pics of the hatchlings, but I will try to get some in the future.

Some other cool things had to do with snakes! We do have a few venemous species in the area including Fer-de-lances, eyelash vipers (very common here), and coral snakes. We also have many non-venemous species in the area. I was lucky enough to find a non-venemous snake in my room. I walked in the door and looked up on the wall to see a 2 meter long Bird Eating Snake! It had been rainy and was cold out, so the snake probably entered to warm up. It was very cool to see. Luckily, I am not afraid of snakes and neither is my roommate! However, as a few of us were gathering around and watching to see where the snake would go, it slipped behind a rafter causing 3 bats to flush out and fly almost directly into our faces! As much as I love bats, that did get a little scream out of me from pure shock! A few minutes later, a different bat lost its life to the snake... guess it was hungry too.

While the rest of the staff heads home for the Holidays, I will be spending the break on vacation in Costa Rica and also in Nicaragua. Updates to come!

Here are some cool pictures of the Bird Eating Snake in my room, a Brown Vine Snake which caught a Central American Whiptail, and a pretty Green Iguana. Enjoy!

Full Circle

In January of 2005 I set off on my first major international journey for my study abroad program in Tropical Ecology. I had the opportunity to travel all over Costa Rica and learn about the local flora and fauna. Five years later, I am back in CR this time teaching it and continuing to study my passion!

I arrived in San Jose about 3 weeks ago and made my way by bus and boat to the Jalova River mouth on the carribean coast to meet the staff and current volunteers. Our base is located about a 20 minute hike into Tortuguero National Park and consists mainly of two volunteer dorms, our staff dorm, and our kitchen/common area cabin. The cabins were originally used by workers of a coconut plantation, and as such we are surrounded by coconut trees. You have to watch out for falling coconuts!

As I started at the end of a volunteer phase (volunteers stay for 2, 5, or 10 weeks with each phase consisting of 10 weeks), I spent my first days in Jalova absorbing information about the daily life on base and what was to be expected of me. I have a lot of studying and research to do! We are sourrounded by abundant biological diversity. Our specific study areas focus on marine turtles, Jaguars, and birds, while we also record data on additional species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians. On my first walk to base I already saw my first Jaguar tracks! (see profile picture). In my first week alone I identified 27 species on birds just around the base area. Needless to say, there will be a lot of cool things to see and I am really excited to be invloved with this program.