January 3, 2016
Being the birder that I am (have you noticed a pattern yet?), I got up early because I heard that you could see macaws. AND BOY WERE THERE MACAWS! The scarlet macaw is now one of my favorite birds. They are so social. They don't fly alone, they fly together in pairs, family groups (of 3 to 4), and sometimes flocks of up to 30. Macaws don't look different between genders and mate for life. (I did my individual paper on them, if you were wondering.) I probably saw 10 just walking along the beach. The beach was in such a pretty setting, but there is a big problem, pollution. San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, doesn't have a water filtration system, so all of the sewage and trash ends up in a river that lets out into the river that is only a little ways away from Tarcoles. We weren't allowed in the water because it was so filthy. The beach was covered in trash. A lot of my fellow students asked why the people that live in the town don't clean up the beaches. There were parts of the beach where it was so covered that you couldn't see the sand underneath. The people that live in the area would take all of the time during low tide to pick it up for it to be covered all over again at high tide. But, it seemed like they didn't even care and added to the problem. One of the girls that was taking the journalism credit, interviewed a local and found out that they didn't really want to make the effort to voice their opinion since they felt that nothing would be done about it. I thought that was one of the most crushing things I'd heard in a long time as I watched children play in a park covered in trash, fisherman earning their living in polluted waters, and animals having to live in that type of habitat where they were dealing with the effects of something that they didn't even do.
After breakfast, we went to Carara (which means river of crocodiles) National Park. We had a guided hike and learned that their was a universal trail, it allows for those that are handicapped, such as in a wheelchair or blind, to be able to visit the park and enjoy it. Later, we went on Jose's Crocodile Tour. We had a comparison of both of our activities that day. Some had issues with the spectacle that was made of the animals as they were baited to come up by the boat and how an ecological tour would be better for the class. I think that it is important to show the different sides of ecotourism and how a livelihood is being made in a poorer community out of the surrounding environment.
We went into Tarcoles and walked around the town. Of course, I got local food. We went to a bakery (where I used my limited Spanish and mixed it with Italian) and to a ceviche shop! We also watched a little bit of a high school girl's soccer game. One of my favorite parts of traveling is to see the culture of the country and the ways that people live.
January 4, 2016
We woke up early to bird and then do a little bit of a trash pick-up. I think that we ended up picking up about 25 bags of trash. (Sadly that didn't even seem to make a dent, as I was picking up straws and floss, and plastic, I thought about a video I saw where a sea turtle got a plastic straw stuck in its nasal cavity. I hope I at least improved the quality of life of at least one animal.) After breakfast, we drove to Monteverde.
Once we got to Monteverde, we hiked to the continental divide. Even though it was super cloudy, you could tell a definite difference between the Atlantic and Pacific sides. After the hike, we went to the hummingbird gallery. THREE HUMMINGBIRDS LANDED ON ME!
Monteverde was one of my favorite places of the trip. It is called the cloud rainforest because you are literally in the clouds you are so high up. It looked as though it was straight out of Jurassic Park.
January 5, 2016
I went and tried to see some birds before breakfast, it was kind of hard since it was raining. After breakfast, we went on a guided hike, practically a bird tour (we saw 13 species!), and to a waterfall. Then I worked on data input for our research project. That night, we had our group presentation on water.
January 6, 2016
We started the day off by going over a reading we had on overpopulation. There are a lot of factors, such as controversy over contraceptives, education, and the effects it has, for example, overconsumption, wealth, and politics.
Then, we went ZIPLINING! It was amazing, probably one of my moments of the trip! It was so exhilarating. We flew through and over rainforest canopies. There was a "Tarzan" swing that was frightening and an adrenaline rush all at the same time. The most vivid memory I have from it was the very last line. It was the longest of the course, around 1/2 a mile. I watched some of my friends go before me and you could follow them down the line until they were just a tiny dot. Right before I went, the clouds rolled in. As we went trees and the scenery would zoom by us because the visibility wasn't very far. It was incredible.
After ziplining, we went to a farm that produces bananas and coffee. Recently, they introduced cacao into the mix. The family found a way to compete by making their business tourism based.
Later that night, we had a bat talk! Bats are one of my favorite animals and have a bad rap that they don't deserve.
1. They actually have better vision than humans.
2. Their echolocation comes from their vocal cords.
3. They are pollinators. Without bats, we wouldn't have bananas or agave (tequilla!).
4. Bats can delay their pregnancy.
5. Ladies, the mascara you use every morning is sterilized bat poop. (Hence the term, "bat your eyes.")
6. They don't get stuck in your hair.
7. Bats don't have rabies.
They are really cool and really important to their ecosystems!
Being the birder that I am (have you noticed a pattern yet?), I got up early because I heard that you could see macaws. AND BOY WERE THERE MACAWS! The scarlet macaw is now one of my favorite birds. They are so social. They don't fly alone, they fly together in pairs, family groups (of 3 to 4), and sometimes flocks of up to 30. Macaws don't look different between genders and mate for life. (I did my individual paper on them, if you were wondering.) I probably saw 10 just walking along the beach. The beach was in such a pretty setting, but there is a big problem, pollution. San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, doesn't have a water filtration system, so all of the sewage and trash ends up in a river that lets out into the river that is only a little ways away from Tarcoles. We weren't allowed in the water because it was so filthy. The beach was covered in trash. A lot of my fellow students asked why the people that live in the town don't clean up the beaches. There were parts of the beach where it was so covered that you couldn't see the sand underneath. The people that live in the area would take all of the time during low tide to pick it up for it to be covered all over again at high tide. But, it seemed like they didn't even care and added to the problem. One of the girls that was taking the journalism credit, interviewed a local and found out that they didn't really want to make the effort to voice their opinion since they felt that nothing would be done about it. I thought that was one of the most crushing things I'd heard in a long time as I watched children play in a park covered in trash, fisherman earning their living in polluted waters, and animals having to live in that type of habitat where they were dealing with the effects of something that they didn't even do.
After breakfast, we went to Carara (which means river of crocodiles) National Park. We had a guided hike and learned that their was a universal trail, it allows for those that are handicapped, such as in a wheelchair or blind, to be able to visit the park and enjoy it. Later, we went on Jose's Crocodile Tour. We had a comparison of both of our activities that day. Some had issues with the spectacle that was made of the animals as they were baited to come up by the boat and how an ecological tour would be better for the class. I think that it is important to show the different sides of ecotourism and how a livelihood is being made in a poorer community out of the surrounding environment.
We went into Tarcoles and walked around the town. Of course, I got local food. We went to a bakery (where I used my limited Spanish and mixed it with Italian) and to a ceviche shop! We also watched a little bit of a high school girl's soccer game. One of my favorite parts of traveling is to see the culture of the country and the ways that people live.
January 4, 2016
We woke up early to bird and then do a little bit of a trash pick-up. I think that we ended up picking up about 25 bags of trash. (Sadly that didn't even seem to make a dent, as I was picking up straws and floss, and plastic, I thought about a video I saw where a sea turtle got a plastic straw stuck in its nasal cavity. I hope I at least improved the quality of life of at least one animal.) After breakfast, we drove to Monteverde.
Once we got to Monteverde, we hiked to the continental divide. Even though it was super cloudy, you could tell a definite difference between the Atlantic and Pacific sides. After the hike, we went to the hummingbird gallery. THREE HUMMINGBIRDS LANDED ON ME!
Monteverde was one of my favorite places of the trip. It is called the cloud rainforest because you are literally in the clouds you are so high up. It looked as though it was straight out of Jurassic Park.
January 5, 2016
I went and tried to see some birds before breakfast, it was kind of hard since it was raining. After breakfast, we went on a guided hike, practically a bird tour (we saw 13 species!), and to a waterfall. Then I worked on data input for our research project. That night, we had our group presentation on water.
January 6, 2016
We started the day off by going over a reading we had on overpopulation. There are a lot of factors, such as controversy over contraceptives, education, and the effects it has, for example, overconsumption, wealth, and politics.
Then, we went ZIPLINING! It was amazing, probably one of my moments of the trip! It was so exhilarating. We flew through and over rainforest canopies. There was a "Tarzan" swing that was frightening and an adrenaline rush all at the same time. The most vivid memory I have from it was the very last line. It was the longest of the course, around 1/2 a mile. I watched some of my friends go before me and you could follow them down the line until they were just a tiny dot. Right before I went, the clouds rolled in. As we went trees and the scenery would zoom by us because the visibility wasn't very far. It was incredible.
After ziplining, we went to a farm that produces bananas and coffee. Recently, they introduced cacao into the mix. The family found a way to compete by making their business tourism based.
Later that night, we had a bat talk! Bats are one of my favorite animals and have a bad rap that they don't deserve.
1. They actually have better vision than humans.
2. Their echolocation comes from their vocal cords.
3. They are pollinators. Without bats, we wouldn't have bananas or agave (tequilla!).
4. Bats can delay their pregnancy.
5. Ladies, the mascara you use every morning is sterilized bat poop. (Hence the term, "bat your eyes.")
6. They don't get stuck in your hair.
7. Bats don't have rabies.
They are really cool and really important to their ecosystems!
More to come soon!
Lots of love,
Kirsten
Lots of love,
Kirsten