Ryan Noe's 2007 Costa Rica Log
Day 1
Traveled from Rock Island to San Jose and Stayed at Francisco's Lodge.
Day 2
Left San Jose and drove through the cloud forest. We arrived at on obscure butterfly garden/wildlife preserve. The man who ran it was very dedicated to conservation. Of the many animals that we saw the ones that come to mind are the sloth, poison dart frog, and the peccary (a hog like animal). We then went to a rural elementary school where the children performed two native dances. We gave a brief description of Rock Island and then went to play football (soccer) with them. The game was very well organized, one of the students was the designated referee. Unfortunately we had to leave for the turtle station. Several hours later we arrived at a dock where we all piled into two boats. Another 15 minutes of maneuvering through narrow canals was required before we could reach the turtle station. It was a wonderfully remote place. That night we went on the 8-12 patrol to deter poachers and move eggs to the hatchery. Without light pollution the stars were incredible. Off the coast lightening flashed regularly, but it was never accompanied by thunder. At the end of the patrol we had not come across any turtles that decided to lay. Two had come up but they found the sand to wet to lay eggs in. Jerry and I measured one of these turtles and found it to be 152 cm long and 114 cm wide. Another patrol radioed that a turtle was laying 400 meters down from our position. Most of us decided to go to bed, but myself, Jerry, Emily Young and Mia and Mrs. Wolber decided to go check it out. Because the patrol had arrived after she started laying they had to wait for her to finish and then dig up her nest as opposed to just putting a bag in the nest as she laid. The five of us and the non-English speaking guard who found the turtle sat in a circle and silently dug with our hands. The nest was approximately 1 meter deep. When we reached the eggs we had to put our torsos in order to get them out. We took turns passing them up. When we got to the bottom of the nest the person digging had to have their ankles held in order to reach the last of the eggs. When we reburied them in the hatchery we found that there were 126 fertile and infertile eggs total. The turtle that laid them was 163 cm long and 121 cm wide.
Day 3
Stamie, one of the researchers, gave us a lesson on sea turtles. We learned of the 7 species; Leatherback, Green, Hawksbill, Loggerhead, Olive Ridley, Kemps Ridley, and Flatback. We covered all of the natural and human threats to turtles which explain why 1 in 1000 eggs develop into full grown turtles. Afterwards we went to the education center to prepare a brief presentation on different aspects of sea turtles. I was assigned turtle reproduction. It was very enlightening because prior to that I must admit I had no idea how they manged to mate while swimming in the ocean. Apparently the male turtle's penis is located on the end of his tail. This allows him to reach around the massive shells while drifting in the ocean. Everyone had difficultly maintaining a straight face when I described how the mating process can be rough and include clawing and biting. That night was the 12am to the 4am turtle patrol. We went from sector 4 to 0 then to sector 18 then back to 0. Due to the lack of turtles we had the option to return early or continue another round. I was happy when out of our group of 5 boys, 4 decided to go on. We came across another turtle who was 149 cm long and 108 cm wide. We collected her eggs and found 91 fertile and 128 total.
Day 4
Began with a hike through the surrounding forest. We saw how termites build their nest in trees and build tunnels on branches because the ground is too moist. There was also sleeping holler monkeys as well as hundreds of plants. That afternoon we went through the surrounding canals and observed several endangered species such as spider monies and the great Potoo. In the evening we played more football, and lost to more 8 year olds. That evening was our last patrol; we encountered 1 turtle. She was 164 cm long and 118 cm wide. I held her rear flipper as she laid her eggs.
Day 5
On the way out we rescued a box turtle that was hit by a car. Humberto performed first aid while lurching around on the bumpy gravel road. Today was rafting day, we learned the basics of rafting and observed various forms of wildlife on the slow part of the river. That evening we arrived at the legendary Don Juan's.
Day 6
Visited Fortuna Falls and a small city. The waterfall was magnificent. That afternoon Don Juan gave a lesson on organic faming. We tasted various leaves from his farm including, ginger, mint, basil, black pepper, and lemon grass. We processed sugar cane by and harvested yucca. He taught us how grass clippings feed the cow that produces milk and cheese and the manure is then anaerobically digested to produce methane which is used in cooking. He demonstrated how the careful combination of plants can act as a a natural pesticide and fertilizer, thus allowing farming without any chemicals.
Day 7
The
dreaded
home stay. I had been dreading this day because of my absence of any
knowledge of Spanish. This however turned out to not be a problem.
After we arrived at the farming town we hiked through some rough
terrain on a rain forest preserve there. We saw plants and animals in
their natural habitat. In the middle there was a very old and very
tall walnut tree. We learned how this one species of tree impacts
nearly all species in the forest. Next the school children performed
some dances as well as sing the national anthem. The second dance
involved grabbing unsuspecting observers and bringing them into the
dance. Jerry, Mia, myself, and Amanda were the unsuspecting
observers. Despite the surprise it still turned out to be highlight
of the trip. Then they asked us to sing our national anthem, but they
didn't have the music. Unfortunately, only Jerry knew it in its
entirety. However he was able to teach us fast enough that we pulled
off a quite good accappla version of the Star Spangled Banner. Not
surprisingly, up next was as town wide game of football. People of
all ages joined in from 5 year old girls to 50 year old men. Football
truly is the universal language. Now we split up and went to our
individual houses. I was with Emily Marzolph, Amanda, Mrs. Wolber,
Minor (our driver) and our translator was Humberto. Unfortunately
Minor got lost and Humberto went looking for him leaving us in
awkward silence. Thankfully Emily stepped up with some excellent
Spanish skills. The rest of the night we laughed and talked to the
teenager of the house. We compared the schools and found many
similarities. Unfortunately they lack the resources that make the
things that high school students in the States take for granted -or
even disregard- impossible. In the morning we discussed the
corruption of their government and found that some things are the
same in all cultures. Then we went to the reforestation project were
we planted countless trees in the side of a very steep hill. Then
sadly we had to leave our family. The part of the trip that I was
dreading turned into one of the highlights.
Day 8
Woke up at 4:30 to join the LAPPA project for a Macaw count. We counted an unusually high 96 Macaws in 2 hours. They were usually in pairs because Macaws mate for life. The rest of the day we spent at the beach. We saw several giant sea turtles in the waves and while sea kayaking.
Day 9
The canopy zipline tour through primary growth forest was impressive. The trees were massive but the wildlife was reclusive. Later we left for Francisco's. There we played our final game of football and said heartfelt goodbyes.
Day 10
Traveled from San Jose to Rock Island.