First Few Days at Cabo Blanco

Initially we thought that we would not be able to start snorkeling until our 3rd day, but luckily the tides were in our favor and we were able to start on the 8th. We slept extremely well our first night on the sleeping porch, and had breakfast at 7 am. After breakfast Milton gave us a lecture on fish. We learned some extremely interesting things. Did you know that our closest invertebrate relative is the star fish? We we kind of let loose after our first lecture and were able to explore the beach. The beach has an extremely large tide level. Most of the coast is very rocky when it is at low tide and little tide pools are exposed. When it is high tide there is barely any beach. One day we were almost trapped during high tide when we decided to explore the beach, let's just say we ended up getting very wet.

We went snorkeling that evening around 4 or 5, right before dinner. I was a little nervous because I had never been snorkeling before, but it is extremely easy. All you have to do is breath. During certain tide levels there is a lagoon right off the beach. In the lagoon there are the most beautiful fish. Our first time we were able to see a large sea turtle and we followed all around the lagoon. We also saw the barber fish, which is bright yellow and black. We also saw a lot of puffer fish, and also live conchs. It was amazing to see the different kinds of fish so close to the beach. 

After snorkeling we cleaned up and had dinner. It is amazing how tired you can be after spending all day in the heat and sun, and we went to sleep extremely early every night we were at Cabo Blanco. 

The next morning we were up really early in order to catch the tide. We went snorkeling for over an hour and were able to find the sea turtle again! We also saw the barber fish again, and we got to see something truly amazing. We saw the barber fish cleaning the grey grunts. The barber fish would swim towards the grunt and the grunt would open there mouths and the barber fish would pick out bacteria. Diana said this was truly special and that she had never seen it before. We usually had free time from about 1030 until about 1 or 2. I think this was because it was extremely sunny and hot during these hours and they wanted us to be as hydrated as possible. That afternoon Diana gave us a lecture on Marine Ecology, and then we had dinner and slept on our porch.

The next day we got up early and had breakfast. After breakfast we went to a specific part of the beach where there are a lot of shells. We did an exercise where we collected as many differeny types of shells as possible in 6 minutes. After shell collecting we had another amazing morning of snorkeling. After lunch we had a shell identification lab where we learned about the different types of shells. 

The first day we went snorkeling I actually cut the bottom of my foot on one of the rocks. After ignoring it for a few days I managed to get a rock stuck in the cut. It hurt very badly. After dinner, Pick, or as I know call him, Dr. Pick, attended to my wound. He was very attentive, sterilized the tweezers, and cleaned out my cut, and bandaged me up. 

Our next day at Cabo Blanco was equally exciting. We snorkeled for our last time! We snorkeled for around an hour, and then we just decided to swim around in the lagoon. David and I swam back and forth across the lagoon and it ended in a relay race with kate and I on one team and Wyatt and David on the other. Kate and I won by a landslide. 

After lunch we got to do a cool exercise. All 8 of us found an isolated spot on the beach, where we couldn't see or hear anyone. We sat there for an hour and observed everything around us, asked questions, drew in our nature journals and took pictures. It was very interesting.

Can you believe all of this only happened in the first part of our trip!

Me Encanta Cabo Blanco!!

This trip just keeps getting better and better! I thought rafting the Pacuare was going to be my favorite thing about the program, but Cabo Blanco has taken the number one spot! I was extremely nervous that we were spending 8 days at Cabo Blanco, but now I feel like we should have stayed for 14! I really could stay at Cabo Blanco for my entire life! There is so much I have to say about this amazing place, let's hope I can get it all out!

We left San Luis early on the morning of the 7th. Diana and Milton Lieberman accompanied us on our trip. They actually started the Eco Lodge in San Luis, and are the current Directors of Cabo Blanco. It was really fun to have them there with us because between the two of them they seriously know everything there is to know about Costa Rica. We drove for about two hours on the bus until we arrived in the city of Punatrenas. Once we arrived there we had a little over an hour to chill before we boarded the ferry. We walked around the town a little bit and decided we should buy some sunscreen. It was $12!!! But we really needed it! We got on the 12 o'clock ferry. The ferry took us from Puntarenas and across the gulf of Nicoya. It was a beautiful ride that was a little over an hour. Once on the other side we got back on the bus and drove for about another hour and a half until we made it to Malpais. Once in Malpais we left the bus behind, loaded our belongings into the pack of a pick up, and hiked for about 45 minutes into Cabo Blanco. 

I guess I should take a little bit of time and explain exactly what Cabo Blanco is. Cabo Blanco was the first Absolute Natural Reserve in Costa Rica. It was formed in 1963 by Nicolas Weissberg, who I believe was from Norway and Karen Mogelson, who I think was from Sweden. The two moved to Costa Rica and lived here for several years and basically started the movement for the creation of the National Park Service in Costa Rica. Once the began living in Malpais they discovered the land that is now Cabo Blanco and decided it needed to be a protected area. They tons of letters to the president of Costa Rica and after a tireless fight finally got rights to establish the land as an Absolute Private reserve which meant it was completely closed to the public. It was closed to the public for 22 years, but eventually opened half of the park to the public solely for day visits. Unfortunately Nicolas was murdered in 1975 when the government asked him to look for more places to make reserves. After Karen's passing the government of Costa Rica asked the Lieberman's to be the directors of Cabo Blanco. At this time they decided to establish the private part of the park as a Biological Research station. Before 1992 no one was allowed in this part of the park and also no research was allowed. Now, they only allow around 14 groups to visit the park each year, and usually the groups are only allowed to stay for about 3 or 4 days. It was a true honor the be able to stay at Cabo Blanco for such a long time. Since it has been opened to groups only about 1,200 people have had the pleasure of staying there. We were truly lucky. 

After we arrived in the park we were able to see why Nicolas and Karen wanted it to be protected. It is breathtaking. We saw Howler monkeys on our walk in and White faced Capuchins. We had small dorms that were basically like screened cabins, and each had three sets of bunk beds, which we never used. Every single night we took our mattresses off of our beds and put them on what we called our sleeping porch. We were only about 30 meters from the ocean and could hear it every night. We lined our mattresses up in a row and it was the most amazing experience sleeping outside every night. Our first night we saw the biggest spider I have ever seen in my entire life! Cabo Blanco made me realize the spiders are not scary, and after living there for 8 days the only thing I'm kind of scared of are crabs, but I'll get to that later...

Back on Campus in San Luis

After Spring Break 09 we all met back at Hotel Aranjuez in San Jose. Before we left for Spring Break we had to say farewell to Sandy and Jim, which was sad. But once we got back we got to meet Pick, who is our Ecology Professor and he is amazing!! He is such a character, I kind of think of him as a cross between crocodile dundee, Steve Irwin, and Chirstopher Lloyd. Basically he is the coolest professor ever. Before heading back to campus we stopped at a place called Inbio. It is a facillity that is trying to document and preserve all of the species in Costa Rica, from plants to animals and insects. They specialize and insects. We got a chance to meet a guy named Jose who is basically the leading scientists that is studying Butterflies in Costa Rica. We got a behind the scences tour of their facillity and were able to see how the document all of their samples and we also got to see their collection of butterflies and beetles, which is not open to the public. It was really really cool. We got to see a sample of one specific butterfly which is the only sample in the entire world! 

After that we headed back to campus, and let me just say it feels amazing to be back on campus. I really do feel at home here. I love all of the staff and the interns and naturalists. Everyone is so nice and I find campus to be extremely comforting. Our first day back on campus we went to to Monteverde and visited the Monteverde Reserve. It is higher in elevation then San Luis and is a protected reserve. We got  guided tour through the reserve. The big draw at the reserve is seeing a katsal. Katsals are beautiful birds that live high in the canopy of the cloud forest. Luckily we were able to see four of them! We also got to see howler monkeys as well as many other birds. I was also extremely excited because we got to see a tarantula! 

We started classes our first monday back. I am taking spanish and Ecology 4110 this semester. Spanish is still going really well. Also, we have a really special opportunity this semester. A friend of Pick's named Nancy Lowe traveled down to San Luis and she is staying with our group the entire time and is working with Pick in his class. She is an artist and she is teaching us Scientific Illustration. 

During Pick's first introductory lecture something exciting happened. I was sitting in the indoor classroom listening to Pick lecture and was resting my hand on the table. I felt something kid of weird on my hand but didn't think anything of it. I felt it again and then looked down to see a gigantic scorpion on the side of the table. I freaked out jumped up and cursed a wee bit as well. One of the resident naturalists Scott came over and removed the scorpion. After that incident Pick has dubbed me with the nick name Twitch...

SB 09 In Manuel Antonio

So I know I have been a little bit behind in my postings, but that is because we have been so busy since we have gotten back from spring break! Let me fill you in on my amazing Spring Break in Manuel Antonio. Our group hired a driver and took a private bus 3 hours to the South West to  city called Quepos. We stayed at a Best Western in Quepos. I know, I know, a Best Western you say? It had the right price and location and we all just felt comfortable there. We got there  on our first day and had lunch at a great restaurant around the corner from our hotel. Quepos is on the water, but does not have any actual beaches that are for public use. But, Quepos is only a 20 minute bus ride from the beautiful Manuel Antonio and it costs about 50 cents to ride the bus. Most tourists stay in Quepos because it is cheaper and then take the bus to Manuel Antonio.

The next day we got up early and made our way to the bus stop which was only a few blocks from our hotel. Manuel Antonio also has a national park that has beautiful beaches and lots of animals and attractions, but because we are broke college students, we decided to save our 12 bucks and go to the public beach. It was breath taking. It is a black sand beach that is full of people and is amazingly beautiful. There are tons of people also roaming the beach and selling souvenirs as well as drinks and food. They also rent out lounges and umbrellas which used every day. It was extremely relaxing and I loved every minute of it. 

We typically got to the beach around 10 or 11 and then stayed until about 4 or so. Our last night of SB09 we decided to stay at the beach and watch the sunset. It was the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen. We also decided to have dinner in Manuel Antonio. We ate at a restaurant that was made out of a old fighter plane. Apparently the plane was shot down in panama and was flown by american rebels who were trying to help the Panamanian rebels...or something like that. It was over looking the ocean and was really cool. Also, in the main cockpit area of the jet was a little bar and night club, which was really cool.

All in all it was an amazing Spring Break. The beaches were beautiful and we all got the relaxation we needed. I think if I were to do it again I would actually try and stay in Manuel Antonio, but other then that it was perfect!

Rafting the Pacuare

I didn't think I would find something that was more fun then zip lining, but rafting totally was! We woke up very early on Thursday to make our way back to San Jose. Before going to San Jose we stopped at Poas. We were supposed to go to Poas our first week in Costa Rica, but the road was blocked due to the earthquake. Unfortunately it was very wet and rainy while we were there. Poas is a dormant volcano that has crater lakes full of sulfur. Apparently seeing the lakes of Poas can be quite difficult. Some people have been many times and have never been able to see the lakes due the mist and clouds. Luckily we got to the lake just as the clouds parted and we were able to see the lake for a short time. It smelled like rotten eggs.

After Poas we did something amazing...ate McDonalds!! I know, this sounds horrible, but if you have been deprived of fast food for a month it tastes sooo good! After that we checked into Hotel Aranjuez, our home way from home. The next morning we got up extremely early to head out on our rafting adventure! The rafting company picked us up and we met one of our river  guides, Daniel. He was a young Costa Rican who called us friends all the time! He was very nice. We drove about three hours to their base and had a delicious breakfast there. After that we packed up our stuff and drove another hour to the Pacuare. Once we got down to the river we got out life jackets, helmet and paddles and divided up into two boats. Daniel was the guide in my boat, and my team consisted of Erin, Wyatt, Kate and Ashley. Daniel gave us a brief introduction to rafting. Basically there are three simple commands, forward, stop, and get down!! These commands are pretty self explanatory. Daniel would call out one of them and we would do as he said! Get down was actually kind of scary, he would yell get down and all of us would have to jump into the bottom of the reft and huddle, and then be ready to get back up on the sides as soon as he said get up. This was for when we were in big rapids or big waves, scary but lots of fun. I felt like I was gonna fall out of the raft a million times, but luckily never did, until Daniel pushed me in! More about that later though.

So the first day we were only in Class 1 and 2 rapids. We rafted about 6 or 8 miles, so about an hour or so. We started off and rafted for about 20 minutes or so and then we stopped at a side river. We hiked up (and in) the small river to a small pool where we were able to swim and relax. We got back in our rafts and then rafted for another 30 minutes or so till we got to camp. I guess I should mention that the Pacuare is one of the top 5 rivers to raft in the world. It is perfect for rafting because it has great rapids, but after each rapid there is a calm pool area that makes it very safe. The camp was really cool! It was just off the river up a high hill. The camp had 12 little cabins that had two beds in each. The Cabins were basically like screened porches that all had amazing views of the river. There was also an outdoor common area that had an outdoor kitchen, tables, and hammocks! It was amazingly beautiful. We had about 4 or 5 guides with us on the trip, each were young and adventurous. They made us a wonderful lunch, basically build your own burrito. After lunch, we thought we would be tired, but we weren't! One do the guides, Michael, asked us if we wanted to hike to a near by waterfall, and of course we did! What we thought was gonna be a short hike turned out to be a crazy river hike! basically we had to ford a small but deep river, before we knew it we were up to our chests in the river! It was sooo much fun. Unfortunately all the girls who went, (Kate, Ashley, Erin, Allison and myself) ended up falling except Allison. I had the worst fall though. I was climbing up a large rock and slipped and wacked myself pretty hard on the knee and under my arm, got the bruises to prove it! The waterfall was small but gorgeous and there was a small pool we all got to swim in. 

Dinner that night was also amazing, fresh fish and veggies. We also got to have ourselves quite a fun time dancing late into the night. Oh and I forgot, Wyatt got stung by a scorpion! It was in his bed. He was a trooper though. 

The next morning we started out on the river at 9am. It was rainy the second day, but you get soaked rafting regardless so it wasnt too bad. We had class 3 and 4 rapids that day, and it was pretty crazy! A lot of getting down and screaming! We stopped at one point and hiked to a beautiful waterfall. We went through several calm parts of the river as well. At one point we were going through a canyon and Daniel was telling us about an earthquake when he suddenly pushed me into the river. He then proceeded to push everyone else in. We all floated down the river for awhile, and it was amazing.  We got done rafting about 1pm and had lunch back at the base camp. This truly was one of the most exciting and amazing parts of my time in Costa Rica. I was extremely scared, but I loved every minute of it. I can't wait to go rafting again, next stop, the grand canyon!

 

It's been awhile

I don't even know where to begin! We lost internet on campus about two weeks ago. We were having windy and rainy weather for several days, and then one night the power went out and the satellite was knocked over! It takes awhile to get someone from San Jose to come all the way out here, so we didn't have internet until we left for spring break a week later. I'm gonna be honest It was the longest week of my life! But now we finally have it back, and I am also back from spring break. But let me fill you in on what happened before spring break...

Two or three Saturdays ago, right before our finals, we took a trip up to Santa Elena to go zip lining! This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! Unfortunately we were still experiencing bad weather, so it was lightly raining the entire time, but it was so much fun I didn't really care. I was a little nervous, I'll admit it. I don't really have a fear of heights, but I kind of have a fear of situations that I cannot control. But this trip has taught me that I love all of the things I am initially terrified of! We went on a series of 12 zip lines through the cloud forest of Monteverde. It was absolutely beautiful even though it was raining. The lines were different lengths and also different speeds. Some were short and extremely fast while others were very long and slow. We also got to do something called the Tarzan Swing. This really was terrifying, and let me tell you, I screamed my head off! You go up on a very high platform and they attach your harness to a long rope that is tied around a tree branch. The guides then proceed to push you off of the platform and you go swinging through the air like you are tarzan (or in my case jane) on a vine! It was so scary and sooo much fun! 

After zip lining we were all completely drenched. This was actually our first free day in Santa Elena so we took advantage of it. We went to a grocery store and stocked up on junk food and cosmetics, and then went out to lunch. We were planning on staying longer, but we were so wet and cold we headed back to campus. The next day was reading day so we were pretty lazy. WE had our last day of classes on the following monday, and then we worked on our exams Tuesday and Wednesday....leading up to our departure on Thursday for SB09!!!

Rest of Arenal/Homestay

Our last day in Arenal was extremely wet. As I believed I mentioned earlier, we hiked to see an old lava flow in the rain. This actually was really cool. We got to see that hardened magma from an eruption that occurred in 1992. Again, we were all pretty petrified. We were especially scared due to the signs every so often that said something along the lines of, Caution! You are entering a High Risk Volcanic Area! After we got to the lava flow we looked around for awhile and then headed back down the trail in the rain. We got back to the parking lot and our driver was no where to be found, so we had to walk down the road and find him, which luckily we did! After the hike we went back to the Hotel to change since we were all soaked to the bone. Of course I decided to wear jeans on the one day that it decided to rain!

We headed to Baldi Hot Springs around noon. We had lunch there, which was amazing. I got Sea Bass, sooo good. Then we were let loose for hours of relaxation. I didn't really know what to expect from the hot springs, but it was really pretty damn cool. As most people may know I am not the biggest fan of anything related to swimming, so I was a little skeptical. After the cold and wet weekend we had, Baldi was a special treat. It was raining while we were there, but it actually worked perfectly. There are 20 pools spread around and all of varying temperatures. The coolest is 93 degrees and the hottest is 152!!! We tried as many as possible, but also managed to stay in a key few that were just right. I prefered the large jacuzzi that was 112 degrees or so. There was another much larger pool that was quite shallow. It was 109 degrees and in the middle of it there was another smaller pool that was much cooler, so it was nice to be able to rotate between the two. I highly recommend looking for a Hot Spring near you. 

We reluctantly left the Hot Springs and drove to the nearby town of La Fortuna. This was our first chance to do some tourist shopping. I was determined to get a sweatshirt. One thing I have learned, there are no sweatshirts in Costa Rica!!! Not a one!! But I did get a pretty cool Imperial shirt that also says Costa Rica and Pura Vida on the back. 

After that we had dinner at our hotel, and once again as the professors went to bed, we stayed up at the restaurant/bar and had ourselves some fun. The next morning we had breakfast and departed at 8 am. It was still very rainy so we couldn't take the boat back across, so we made the four hour drive back around the lake and to San Luis. Oh I guess I should mention that during my first day in Arenal my digital camera decided to stop working. I was freaking out, but luckily, thanks to my amazing father (and mother and sister and brother) I will be getting a new one tomorrow. I also cam to find out that once I got back to San Luis that my computer decided to break as well. I was pretty upset yesterday, but I'm trying to get over it and just look forward to the new computer I'll be buying once I am back in the states...if I have any money left!

Once we were back we started packing for our homestays. We were all very excited, but also a little sad. We all have become so close that it is weird not being together all the time. Around 315, Lyndsay took Wyatt, Amy, Ashley and I to meet our families. My Family lives about a 15 to 20 minute walk from campus. Ashley is about 5 or 10 minutes away from me, so we walk to and from school together. My family is very nice. I'm not gonna lie, I think I'm still in the awkward phase, but I am enjoying it. It is forcing me to us my spanish even more! I have a 14 year old sister Jossette, who does speak english, but only Spanish to me! I also have three year old sister named Joanna, who I can understand very well. I think she talks about me sometimes, one time I heard her say, "Caitlin's madre..." and then I didn't understand the rest, but I guess she was talking about my mom! I also have a one year old brother named Kevin. My host mom is Edith, she is quite, but sweet. My host father is Milton, he is very nice and speaks slowly to me. My House a little further up the mountain and I have an amazing view, I can even see the ocean, although it is extremely far away. I'll be sure to take pictures once I have my camera.

All in all things are going well. It's been a hard couple of days, but I'm getting used to my new routine. Can't wait to see what other surprises Costa Rica has in store!