Traveling to Panama was a little crazy. When we got to the boarder we had to all get off the bus and stand in line for customs and then walk across this old train bridge that had open gaps. Then we had to stand and wait on the otherside for the bus. Officials got on and looked around our bus. Finally we got back on and then had to drive to the little port where packed all our backpacks on a boat at night and got in a different boat to drive to the island. We arrived late at night and ate an immediate dinner.
We stayed on the island Boca del Drago in Panama in several houses. At the end of the island by us there was a fancy house that was owned by a banana plantation owner.
The food was really good. I remember fresh fish, coconut rice, fried bread fruit, which kind of tasted like french fries. While in Panama we learned about some island species but did a lot of snorkeling. It was AMAZING. We went to a bird island too. An island where a lot of different sea birds go to nest. That same day we went to a beach that had hundreds of star fish. it was incredible. You looked out of the boat and the water was crystal clear and there's star fish everywhere. It took me a while to feel confident snorkeling and learn to dive down because I've never been a confident swimmer, but it's so different in salt water you float so much easier along the top i could skim over the tops of the reef at close proximity. Of course you never wanted to touch it because that can and will kill the coral.
Something else remarkable but sad that we saw is coral bleaching. It's when the coral turns white because it is dead. Coral are very fragile. they need a certain temperature range to survive. and while they can live through some temperature flux, extended periods of too-warm water temperatures can kill the coral and the coral turns white, coral bleaching. The higher than normal water temperatures are believe to be evidence of climate change and it's impacts. Some of it is quite rapid. The very corals we looked at were fine when the teachers were last there so it happened in less than a year.
We saw so many fish and sea creatures, dolphins, some people saw a nurse shark, only with biologists someone yells "SHARK" and everyone swims toward the person/shark! :)
I also trashed one of my cameras in Panama. I changed out the battery and didn't realize I caught the cord in the battery compartment. I dove in, started taking pictures and it stopped working! (it was a waterproof camera) I hopped out to discover my mistake. It's not water proof if the battery compartment is open, and salt water is corrosive. Boo. Luckily the water didn't damage the memory card so I was still able to have all the pictures I'd taken up to that point.
We went into town one day in Panama where we got to eat lunch, and I bought some jewelry. Panama was gorgeous and relaxing and amazing.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Atlanama Here I Come!
So I just finished a fantabulous trip to the atlantic coast in which i was physically and mentally challenged. We backpacked through the Reserves surrounding Monteverde to the Peñas Blancas valley. Which is around 10 miles of ups and downs, slipping and sliding, river crossings, mudholes, and at the end it was raining. But overall we had a really nice day for the hike, and the guides helped us. We're hands down the fastest group they've ever had.
For lunch on the hike day we stopped shortly after a river crossing and swam in the river and ate lunch on a huge rock on the edge of the river. Scary moment: one of the girls got sucked down river.
She went a pretty good distance before she was able to grab a rock, and one of our guys ran down the rocky bank and was able to get to her and bring her to safety. No serious injuries, just a lot of bumps, bruises, and scratches. It was so hard to watch we were dead silent as the boys chased down the rocky bank. But she's great!
Finally we got to Eladio's (The man who has the cabins) where we bunked in 2 large rooms (girls and guys separate) and Eladio cooked amazing food, and told us the story of his house, which is only accessible by foot or horse, but when we arrived the horse trails were blocked due to recent storms. We also hiked the surrounding forest wading through mud, and water every time we went out. We learned a lot of birds, and spent a lot of time with binoculars in hand birding. We went on an amazing night hike where we saw frogs, snakes, spiders, even a small mammal. It was incredible.
Eladio's stories were the best though. He told us the story of how he came to claim land because there was a mining industry starting so everyone was rushing to claim. He cleared a lot, but eventually the mining crews found nothing and left, after not getting very far. Then he was approached by a man that basically taught him about biodiversity and conservation, and Eladio eventually agreed to sell his land and let it regenerate. But he kept his house, and the man still brings groups of students there to teach them about the woods and just because it is such an incredible place. There are only 3 groups that make the hike to Eladios. Us, EAP(a Cali program), and that gentleman every couple years. No one gets to make that hike. and of those groups, we are the only ones that then hike to Poco Sol which is a research station on the other side of the mountains.
Can you say experience of a lifetime?! this isn't the first time we've done stuff on this program that no other program does. Crazy, I did well when I picked this Program for sure! Eladio has also been bitten by a Fer de lance, the most poisonous snake in Costa Rica. and he wasn't bit just once but almost 20 times in his hand. He made it to the hospital (which was sketchy) and was treated there for quite a while in yucky conditions. Basically he got the anti-venom, but survived because there was only one that was not a "dry bite" in which the snake actually injected a larger amount of venom. At one point he almost lost his finger, but didn't because he disobeyed the doctor, and drained it himself. It's an incredible story.
From Eladio's we hiked about another 10 miles out to Poco Sol. We stayed there and birded, we also celebrated Moncho's (TA)birthday by tasting and rating different brands of rum. It was pretty fun. They tricked us into thinking we had class and that's what our class was :) From Poco Sol we went to La Selva which is well known biological research station. We did our classes there and were able to hike around the trails and witness other research projects in progress. One of the highlights was getting to see white tent bats. they make a tent out of the leaves and sleep in it during the day.
After La Selva we went out to the Caribbean Coast- Tortuguero. Known for it's sea turtle nesting. in the area we canoed around and birded, identified plants both from the boat and on the beach. We had time to shop and took a night hike where we saw a turtle trying to lay it's eggs. Unfortunately I think we might have disturbed it and it didn't finish. In the mornings we got up early (of our own accord) to walk the beach in the hopes of seeing a baby turtle scuttling to the sea. I wasn't fortunate enough to see a live one, but others did and I got to see their pictures. After Tortuguero we took a long bus ride to Panama we stopped on the coast to eat lunch at a really pretty beach. We were headed to Panama because we were reaching our 90 day limit in Costa Rica. You're allowed to stay in the country for 60? days with out a Visa but then you need to be out for a minimum of 3 days to come back in and have another 60? days in the country. So we went to the Bocas del Toro region of Panama and stayed on the Island Boca del Drago.
She went a pretty good distance before she was able to grab a rock, and one of our guys ran down the rocky bank and was able to get to her and bring her to safety. No serious injuries, just a lot of bumps, bruises, and scratches. It was so hard to watch we were dead silent as the boys chased down the rocky bank. But she's great!
Finally we got to Eladio's (The man who has the cabins) where we bunked in 2 large rooms (girls and guys separate) and Eladio cooked amazing food, and told us the story of his house, which is only accessible by foot or horse, but when we arrived the horse trails were blocked due to recent storms. We also hiked the surrounding forest wading through mud, and water every time we went out. We learned a lot of birds, and spent a lot of time with binoculars in hand birding. We went on an amazing night hike where we saw frogs, snakes, spiders, even a small mammal. It was incredible.
Eladio's stories were the best though. He told us the story of how he came to claim land because there was a mining industry starting so everyone was rushing to claim. He cleared a lot, but eventually the mining crews found nothing and left, after not getting very far. Then he was approached by a man that basically taught him about biodiversity and conservation, and Eladio eventually agreed to sell his land and let it regenerate. But he kept his house, and the man still brings groups of students there to teach them about the woods and just because it is such an incredible place. There are only 3 groups that make the hike to Eladios. Us, EAP(a Cali program), and that gentleman every couple years. No one gets to make that hike. and of those groups, we are the only ones that then hike to Poco Sol which is a research station on the other side of the mountains.
Can you say experience of a lifetime?! this isn't the first time we've done stuff on this program that no other program does. Crazy, I did well when I picked this Program for sure! Eladio has also been bitten by a Fer de lance, the most poisonous snake in Costa Rica. and he wasn't bit just once but almost 20 times in his hand. He made it to the hospital (which was sketchy) and was treated there for quite a while in yucky conditions. Basically he got the anti-venom, but survived because there was only one that was not a "dry bite" in which the snake actually injected a larger amount of venom. At one point he almost lost his finger, but didn't because he disobeyed the doctor, and drained it himself. It's an incredible story.
From Eladio's we hiked about another 10 miles out to Poco Sol. We stayed there and birded, we also celebrated Moncho's (TA)birthday by tasting and rating different brands of rum. It was pretty fun. They tricked us into thinking we had class and that's what our class was :) From Poco Sol we went to La Selva which is well known biological research station. We did our classes there and were able to hike around the trails and witness other research projects in progress. One of the highlights was getting to see white tent bats. they make a tent out of the leaves and sleep in it during the day.
After La Selva we went out to the Caribbean Coast- Tortuguero. Known for it's sea turtle nesting. in the area we canoed around and birded, identified plants both from the boat and on the beach. We had time to shop and took a night hike where we saw a turtle trying to lay it's eggs. Unfortunately I think we might have disturbed it and it didn't finish. In the mornings we got up early (of our own accord) to walk the beach in the hopes of seeing a baby turtle scuttling to the sea. I wasn't fortunate enough to see a live one, but others did and I got to see their pictures. After Tortuguero we took a long bus ride to Panama we stopped on the coast to eat lunch at a really pretty beach. We were headed to Panama because we were reaching our 90 day limit in Costa Rica. You're allowed to stay in the country for 60? days with out a Visa but then you need to be out for a minimum of 3 days to come back in and have another 60? days in the country. So we went to the Bocas del Toro region of Panama and stayed on the Island Boca del Drago.
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