3 things I have to share

1) We are currently collecting data on jaguar tracks in the hopes of gaining insight into the size of the Jalova jaguar population and dynamics. We have new software we are using that was originally used to track tigers in India. AWESOME. Already we are getting good data and hope that by the end of this phase we can identify individual jags. Additionally, we have motion detector cameras that we setup around jag hotspots to get pictures (you can also Identify jaguars by their roseate patterns). The very first night we put out our new cameras to be tested, we got an amazing few images of a possibly pregnant female, which was so amazing. Even cooler still is that the pictures were captured at 730 in the morning, and were retrieved by the team at 9am! They were only 1 1/2 hours away from seeing the jag!

2)I drink coffee now. This is a miracle. I have always been repulsed by coffee or anything that tastes remotely like it. However, once I relized how early I would be getting up, and how supposedly good the coffee is in Costa Rica I decided that I would start drinking it. Amazingly, I forced my way through the first cup with less difficulty and gagging than i thought. Since then I may have even begun to enjoy it! Ofcourse loads of sugar and milk are involved, but I am getting there!

3) I was stung by a scorpion. I repeat, stung by a scorpion! But fortunately there are no deadly species in Costa Rica. I made the mistake of picking up a branch during trail clearing without my gloves and I sure paid for it. As I grabbed the branch to move it off the trail, I felt a strong sting on the tip of my finger that felt unlike any bee sting or ant/spider bite I've had. The throbbing/painfully numb sensation quickly spread up my arm and even into my chest while my finger felt as if someone was continuously pricking me with a needle. This carried on for the next 12 hours with some degree of flucutation between bareable and I think my arm is going to fall off! After brainstorming what could have possibly stung me (there was only a pin prick at the site and no swelling, and i have strong reactions to bees) and hearing from other staff who had been stung by scorpions, that is how we made the decision. Always look before you touch!

A scorpion I saw in Nicaragua (Not the dude that stung me)

Life on Base

A few creatures around base






Over the last few weeks, waking up at 4am has gone from something I would normally do anything to avoid, to a daily occurance. Depending on what survey I am leading for the morning, I wakeup somewhere between 400 and 500 a.m. After I get dressed, I struggle to put on my contacts with my headlamp and pack the field kit (first-aid kit, radio, satellite phone, notebooks, measuring tools, etc.) and head over to the kitchen for breakfast. Two volunteers are supervised by a staff memmber to get up and have breakfast ready for the outgoing surveys, and they will also cook lunch and dinner for all 26 staff and volunteers. It is a lot of work, but once you get the hang of how much food you need, it normally goes ok!

At first light, I get my volunteers ready to go out with a brief and by making sure they have their personal equipment. The main surveys are Canal Birds (which I run), Jaguar track check, Jaguar camera setup, biodiversity assessment, and mammal tracks. Staff are trained in leading all surveys and take turns leading them. Depending on the survey you may be spending hours on the beach collecting data on jaguar tracks, paddling a canoe, or hiking through waist deep water in the forest. Needless to say, we get pretty dirty and sweaty. Lunch is at 11, follwed by our staff meeting, then meeting with the volunteers, and then out we go again in the afternoon. Also, we have night walks most days from 6-8pm. So it is possible to work from about 4am until 830 pm!

I spend my free time on the porch, taking in the breeze and either preparing lessons or studying myself. I also run the Biology Btec in which volunteers take a course to be certified in biological survey techniques. This has given me a real taste of teaching as I give assignments and even graded my first test last week on the canal birds! It is really amazing to feel that you are able to teach people what you are passionate about and help them gain skills for the future.

Also, life on base is currently even a bit more challenging than usual as our generator broke and we are still working on getting it fixed. Volunteers arrived on the 7th of January and got the full taste of living rustic! Normally the generator is only put on for a few hours each afternoon and early evening to fill the water tank and to charge our computers for data entry, radios, etc. However, since we don't even have that, we are hauling our own water from the well and bucket bathing! But I honestly do not miss the electricity at all and even prefer not having it. Luckily our coconut harvester neighbor (our one and only neighbor) has graciously been allowing us to charge our equipment at his house nightly. Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to give all our presentations, enter data, or have communication.

Holiday Travels Part 2: Nicaragua

After making it across the border with little difficulty, we spent the night in Rivas which had a distinct feel from Costa Rican cities. It was a little more laid back and less touristy. Next morning we took the ferry from San Jorge to cross to the Isla de Ometepe, which is an island formed by 2 volcanoes in Lake Nicaragua. It is really beautiful. We stayed at an old farm house which is now a cooperative of coffee farmers. They produce organic shade grown coffee and run the hostel. The building is huge and somewhat dilapitated, but really cool. This is where we spent Christmas with good views and lots of gallo pinto (rice and beans). We also took a tour of the coffee plantation and the petroglyphs (rock carvings done my the mayans and incans).

Next we headed to the colonial city of Granada. I really loved it there because the buildings had so much character and the colors were so vibrant. It definately has a tourist scene (with everyone carrying the same lonely planet guide), but is still really cool with lots to do, see, and eat (Including tasting a pink coconut sweet). We also took a day trip to Volcan Masaya National Park. We got to the top of a fuming crater and were surprised at how strong the gas was. They suggest you only look for about 15 mintutes (how is this determined?) Not only was there the active volcano but a series of gorgeous inactive volcanoes and panoramic views.

After Granada we headed to Leon, which is rich in Sandanista History. We went to a museum where our guide fought with the Sandinistas and told us all about it. This is also a colonial city with the largest Cathedral in Central America, but is pretty run-down. This is where we spent New Year Eve. The main plaza was filled with families and couples eating at food stands and people watching. Everyone else was getting their eardrums destroyed by blasting music in the discos. The 1st was also when we needed to head back to San Jose via managua. Our bus was at 630 am for the 9 hour ride back. Therefore we had to get up at 330am to get the bus to managua! Needless to say there was no sleep to be had New Years Eve. The trip was amazing but flew by so quickly!

Holiday Travels Part 1: Costa Rica

This Holiday season meant another year out of the country, but I got to travel to some amazing places.I spent the first part of the trip in Alajuela, Costa Rica, which is a small city. It's actually closer to the national airport than San Jose but a lot nicer, so it made a great starting off base. I got to have my favorite "refresco de mora" which is a somewhere in between a juice and a smoothie and my flavor of choice, blackberry. There is a beautiful church there with really interesting architecture.

The next day we headed off to the Los Angeles cloud forest preserve. The views were amazing and we hiked in the protected forest. We saw some pretty birds, coati's, an agouti, and very neat plants. They also had hummingbird feeders near the lodge, and we must have spent 2 hours watching them and trying to take pictures of all the different species. There were so many of them just zipping around.

After that we moved onto La Fortuna which sits right near the Arenal Volcano. While the views are spectacular, the town and atmosphere are so touristy. People there are cut-throat for business and will try to do anything to get you to book an overpriced tour. But we managed to avoid that drama and did our own hikes. We went to a huge waterfall that you had to climb about 15 minutes downhill to reach the base where you could swim in the ice cold water. It made for a refreshing dip after the 2 1/2 km hike uphill we took to get there!

The next day we had to figure out how to get to the border of CR in order to cross into Nicaragua. It was a bit tricky because normally you take a bus all the way from San Jose but we were trying to cross over from the north. After a taxi, bus, taxi again, our taxi driver managed to get us on a international bus which meant we could make it into Nicaragua that day (for a price of ourse). This was worth it because we saved about 5 hours waiting at the border which was swamped with people trying to get home for the holidays.