June 9

It is hard to believe this incredible trip is almost over...today was our last full day in Costa Rica.
This morning many of us went ziplining.
We say goodbye to Arenal Springs.

On our way back to San Jose we stop in Sarchi to see the largest ox cart in the world.

Tonight we had our last circle time.  While we are excited to get home and see family it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to Adrian and Rodolfo. 

Tomorrow we head for home.

June 8

   Today was an amazing day! We started off with a visit to Arenal Volcano. To get there, we took a small drive to the trail we would use to climb up. When we arrived at the base, we begain the 1.6 km walk up. The trail was grassy, and had many tall plants. As we advanced along the trail, the ground got rockier because it was covered with volcanic rock. After walking over some uneven ground, we made it to the end of the trail and the beginning of our beautiful view! The sky was a bit overcast, but that didn't prevent us from enjoying the grand view we had of Arenal! All of us took pictures in front of the volcano, making sure this moment was well documented. After all, not many people have the chance to be so close to an active volcano! With heavy hearts, we left our spot and view of Arenal. As soon as we began our way back down the trail, it began to sprinkle.

   We then drove on to the city of La Fortuna. Many people come to Costa Rica to visit Arenal, and La Fortuna is the city by the volcano. It is a tourist-like location with many shops and restaurants to enjoy. It was here that we split up to explore, shop and, eat. After looking at a few places, we had lunch. I ate at, and would recommend, Restaurante La Parada. They have excellent pizza and a chill environment. The food is reasonably priced and very filling. I would also recommend the icecream from Pops. Pops is an icecream chain here in Costa Rica, and they have a variety of helado and nieve (icecream and sherbet) flavors. Chocolate lovers will enjoy a scoop of the choco-almendras!

  Our last adventure was a trip to Don Juan's farm. (Yes, that is his name!) Don Juan owns a two acre organic farm. He believes in and practices sustainable farming, and we were honored to take a tour of the grounds. He told us that with just these two acres, forty people can feed off of the land everyday. After one visit, we could see why! He has a pond where he harvests tilapia, a place for three pigs and a cow and, a variety of plants that will blow you away. Mimbre is an edible plant with an interesting flavor. It has the texture of grape, but the flavor of a lemon and pickle crossed together. It was was very savory, and would make a great add-on to salads. Tattoo fern has a white powder that, when pressed on skin or fabric, leaves an impression of the plant! Impatience is a type of pod that pops open when pressure is applied to it. We got to sample some of the fruits and herbs as well, like Don Juan's pineapple, which is sweet and juicy. We also tried this leaf called malba. When blended into a drink, it is actually sweet and refreshing.

   Along the whole tour, we collected plants for the dinner we would have at the end of our visit. Before dinner, we got to experience sugar cane. A few of us got to help squeeze out the sugar cane juice that we eventually got to drink. We also tried raw sugar cane and sugar cane candy. We headed over to the kitchen to help prepare dinner. Some of us helped with the salad, others made tortillas. The end product of everyone's work was a delicious, all natural, all organic meal. What made it even more enjoyable was that we helped prepare the meal we consumed. Don Juan showed us how an individual could change how we perceive and work the land we depend on. The farm also showed us an example of good people, good deeds and most importantly, good food!

June 7

   Today was our last day at Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure Park. Before leaving, we were able to participate in a very special project for the park. The park is one of very few places to study amphibians (mainly frogs) in situ. This means that instead of taking the frogs out of their habitats to study, the scientists go out into the field to study frogs. In order to do this, though, the conditions have to be just right so that frogs will come out in a clear enough space that is natural for them. So, today we got to help with the construction of one of the in situ observation sites in the rain forest. The location was already picked out when we started, but the site needed to be prepared for the frogs. First, we dug up a hole and evened out the side of this hole. This hole would eventually be turned into a pond. The rain would fill it up, but we had to make sure it was big enough and deep enough. While some of us were digging the hole, others were out looking for and digging up plants to place around the would-be pond. We then replanted the species that were collected for us. This process may seem simple, but the area was rocky and the ground was uneven, so the whole job took a few hours to complete. We were all so proud of our work because this in situ site would help adavance the frog research of the park and its partnering universities.

  Super proud and muddy, the group left our work to walk over to a nearby river. Here, we rinsed off our tools, our boots and, our hands before walking back. I was super excited to return because we arrived at the site by tram ride. The return meant a second ride on the tram, and a chance to look over the canopy. Marco, our guide, pointed out a few plants as we were riding over the forest, like wild mint. We actually got to see the exiled howler monkey on a tree. We returned for a quick shower and lunch before our departure. The research team was very hospitable to us, so the farewells were a little sad. Nevertheless, we drove on to La Fortuna, our next destination.

On the way, we had some bus troubles. The road we took was very narrow, so when a semi-truck tried to squeeze through, we ended up off the road, during a rainstorm! 

The scene, though slightly dangerous, was quite comical. Everyone piled off the bus except Dr Mo, who stayed on the bus with Rodolfo for moral support....and to not get soaked and muddy!  The rest of us tried to push the bus back on the road (which didn't work) and even had to literally stop traffic while we got help! A truck came along and Rodolfo waved him down to see if he could pull us out of our trap.  Meanwhile, we all piled back onto the tilted bus to get out of the rain only to get back off quickly because all of our weight would make it more difficult for the truck to pull us out and the we were afraid the extra weight distribution would tip the bus.  We piled out of the bus and Dr Mo stayed on the bus to add weight so the tilted bus would not flip over.  We were instructed to make our way to the other side of the road where we lined up and watched as the truck pulled our bus parallel to the road.  Dr Mo was hanging on for dear life and Rodolfo was trying to steer the bus back onto the road.   Eventually the bus wrench forward and the tires made there way onto the road.  Dr. Mo's knuckles where white from hanging on but she was all smiles!  We all climbed back onto the bus dripping wet.  Finally we were off and driving and were also able to make it safely to La Fortuna!

June 6

   Today, we left Cahuita for Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure Park. Before our arrival to our main destination, though, we stopped at Brisas Elementary School. (This is a public school with twelve students, but receives little government funding.) We received a special presentation from the students: a calypso dance with costumes! The dance was highly entertaining and the students' enthusiasm was through the roof. I was amazed that the girls and boys were not shy about performing in front of strangers at all. The students were preparing another dance, this time with what we all thought were props, but were actually gifts of flowers for us. The music started, the students walked up to us in our seats, and then they grabbed us by the hands! We participated in this this dance and we all had a great time just being silly with the kids. We were asked if there was a song/dance we could teach the students, so we taught them the hokey pokey.

Next, we took a tour of the school, going into the classroom and cafeteria. We then cooled off with coconut water straight from coconuts, with the tops cut off by a machete. The visit concluded with a fierce game of soccer, us ASU students against the children. Those kids were so talented, and they clearly kicked our butts, but the winner of the game was the team that scored the last goal. So, we ended up winning but with the sad feeling that the students actually dominated and we just won on a technicality. (It was a win no less!)

   We left the school for the research park after the soccer match, where upon arrival, we had a delicious lunch. We were then whisked  off to explore the park with our guide, Marco. We toured through a few of the exhibits. The snake exhibit was really interesting because we got to see some of Costa Rica's deadliest snakes, including members of the viper family. Here, I learned that one of the snakes we really have to be careful about is the fer-de-lance. Not only is this snake  poisonous, but it is quick and aggressive. Luckily for us, this guy was behind glass! We moved on to the frog exhibit, and again came across some deadly creatures. Some of the frogs we saw were also poisonous; in fact, most pooisonous frogs are diurnal! One can tell if a frog is poisonous if it has pretty, bright colors. Be careful because the colorful frogs release neuro-toxins! The next exhibit we saw was the butterfly garden. This place was absolutely beautiful, with all of the vibrant plants and species of butterflies. Attached to the garden was a lab, where the chrysalises are kept until the butterflies emerge. Here, we put on rain boots and walked out to the trail to help check the butterfly traps and catch butterflies. For the butterfly traps, we helped stir the bananas on the plate and change the string holding up the the net. We caught a couple of butterflies in the hanging nets, and Kirsti caught one with the hand net! Afterwards, we walked back to the butterfly lab to help. Some of us put pins in the cacoons so they could be pinned up, some cleaned the glass windows of the glass cases used for storing the cacoons, and others cleaned out the chrysalises of already emerged butterflies. One of the highlights of helping out with the lab work is that we each got to set butterflies free into the butterfly garden.

   The night concluded with a Night Walk after dinner, where we encountered several animals. As soon as we started, we came across a male frog who was trying to find a female to mate with. We learned that frogs mate externally, and the female chooses whether she'll let a male frog fertilize her eggs or not. We also came across a small type of lizard that can be worn as jewelry. The male will gently bite onto the ear lobe and stay there for a few hours. The walk was full of amphibians, cicadas and, laughter. Overall, it was a pretty amazing day!

June 5

Today we went on an adventure to visit the Bri Bri, an indigenous tribe located on the border of Costa Rica and Panama.  Our journey began with a bus ride, then we took a small boat, then a public bus, then crossed two rivers on foot, and after a short hike, we finally made it.

Once we were in the village we made some new friends and learned a little about the way they live; where they go to school and work, how their houses are built, medicinal plants they have, their food, what they do with their free time, and some of their cultural and religious beliefs.

At one point we were talking to Ivan and Ronal about the house we were visiting.  It was a small house completely made of wood and thatched with palm fronds and raised up on stilts.  It was broken into 3 separate rooms, but the entire thing was about the same size as my kitchen at home.  I asked a question about how many people usually live in a house and was told that in a house as big as that one, there would usually be about four or five FAMILIES living there.  That’s about 20 people, living in a space the size of my kitchen.  I was amazed and astounded.  There is so much that we take for granted in our own lives.  The next time I think that my house is crowded, I’ll just think of having 20 people living all in one room.

What I really enjoyed of visiting this community was how open they were to share their culture with all of us and how interested they were to learn about us too. After they showed us how to do a traditional dance the Bri Bri do, they asked us to do something that we do back home.  We had to think quickly, so we did the pledge of allegiance and explained its significance. Ivan, Tomateo, and Ronal really taught us a lot and answered all the questions we had. Although the children were a bit shy they still played soccer (futbol) with us! I must say it was so much fun playing soccer in the mud with 40-50 barefooted kids that were yelling all sorts of things we couldn’t understand!  

Our trip back was just as adventurous. We headed back up the same trail we took in.  When we got to the river, we sat down in the water and rode the current downstream and across to the other side.  It was so much fun that we did it three times.  All though we were all soaked, muddy, tired, and covered in bug bites, we all had a great day and learned a lot about the Bri Bri.  

June 4

Breakfast was early as we are leaving the Turtle Station today. Sad times. We will miss the turtles, but will not miss all the critters that were trying to eat us alive. The mosquitos are so big and there are so many of them!! We loaded our stuff and ourselves back on the boat for the 15 minute ride.
 Once we saw Rodolfo and the bus, it was like heaven with air conditioning. We traveled for a few hours and then went to the beach to enjoy the Caribbean Sea. It felt good to get wet without getting sticky. The Caribean Sea is very salty.  For lunch, we had a little picnic.  Adrian, Dr. Mo and Rodolfo fixed up the table and prepared all the food.  Peanut butter and jelly, ham, and turkey sandwiches along with chips. Soon after lunch it was back in the water for everyone. A few girl's went back to the beach and created sand turtles.

While we were enjoying the water, little capuchin monkeys and raccoons were terrorizing our camp.  They really wanted our food and were being very aggressive to get it.  Dr. Mo was working hard to protect our bags of goodies. However, one monkey was very quick and reached into Kylie's bag and took her bag of chips before Dr Mo could save them.  The monkey was back up into the tree, off to another branch safe from Adrian and Dr Mo's reached before ripping into that bag. The culprit called Alfred tore into the bag sending chips in all directions.  The other monkeys gathered around quickly because they wanted some chops too.  We laughed as we watched them eat and share the chips.

After we left the beach, we got to the hotel and had a few hours to be ready for dinner. It felt great to shower with hot water!! We went into town for dinner, then a little shopping, then back to the hotel. Busy day ahead of us. Hopefully everyone got a good night's sleep.

June 3

Many group members slept in today.  Our late night shifts are catching up to us.  Adrian and Dr. Mo were alone on their bird hike this morning!   A somewhat easy day was planned for today. After two days of turtle patrol and our service project, we were ready for down time.  Breakfast was served at 9am.  After breakfast we retreated to the hammocks while catching up on our journals as well as falling asleep to the sounds of the ocean. For those who wished a short term tattoo, Adrian found the fruit that produced a dye and Adrian completed the chosen picture on our legs or arms.  These tattoo's will last for about eight days, but they look really cool! After lunch we had a little group activity/ competition.  We were split into two research/presentation groups.   Each group was given
two topics that they had to research.  Then they had to put the information in a creative format to share / teach it to the rest of the group.  We then presented in front of 5 judges. The group that won wrote a poem about the different threats to the turtles, including poachers and pollution.

After lunch, we took a boat around the lagoon looking for more animals.  We found more monkeys and a lot of different birds.  After a while, we took a break to have pineapple and watermelon. Adrian handed us sanitizer- or so we thought. It actually was aloe. He grabbed the wrong bottle! He showed us that we can skip the watermelon rinds across the lagoon (well some of us can, others... not so much). We were out on the boat for another half hour.

After getting back  to the station, we watched another set of hatchlings being released, those little guys are adorable!!!

After dinner we once again prepared for our Turtle Patrol.  Again we set out to watch these huge creates make the trek out of the ocean to drop their eggs.  The moon was full and the beach was aglow.  Soon, clouds covered the moon and thunder could be heard.  It didn't take long for us to receive a call that a turtle had been spotted at station 16 coming out of the water.  The group picked up the pace to reach the location.  It started to sprinkle......then rain.  The rain packed the sand making it easier to move across the shoreline.  At station 16 the Leatherback was preparing the area to deposit her eggs.  Everyone in our group has assisted in the birthing process except Dr. Mo.  This was going to be her turtle.  As the turtle began the digging process the rain increased drenching all of those who stood and waited.  Rain jakets and ponchos did little to keep the group dry.  The Patrol leader checked on the turtles progress.  The hole was filling up with water making her efforts challenging.  At times turtles  return to the sea only to come back later when the conditions are better.  This young turtle kept digging and the rain kept falling.  Finally the rain started to subside.  Still sprinkling the Patrol Leader and Dr. Mo moved into position.  Laying face down next to the turtle and covered in mud Dr. Mo held the turtle's fin.  The eggs filled the plastic bag.  Before we knew it she was done.  Looking for the tags the Patrol Leader confirmed she had none.  Quickly the Leader tagged the two back fins and Dr. Mo name the turtle.  We stood back as the young turtle, Molina, headed for the sea.   It started to sprinkle again and we quickly headed back for the Turtle station, eggs in hand.
Because we were leaving early the next morning, our patrol ended before midnight.  Soaked to the bone, covered in mud we all headed to the shower and to bed!

Good Night Moon........Goodbye Turtles.

Most of us packed up our stuff as we left the next morning. After dinner, we went out on our last patrol. We were only out 2 hours. We saw more turtles and were able to name a few! Got back to the camp, showered and went to sleep.