With our first field trip already behind us, the weeks are flying by. Thursday morning at 7 am we headed out to Braulio Carrillo National Park. It is about 50,000 Ha of protected rainforest, one of the largest strips of continuous preserved parks. This is important because it is so large that it contains altitude gradients that increase the biodiversity in the park. We took our first hike through the trees, stopping every 10 feet to discuss another plant or species. I must say, upon entrance into the forest I felt like I was entering a wall of green, but by the end I could already identify a handful of trees and plants and flowers.
From there we headed to Manu Center to set down our gear. There we had nice cabins but the bugs were must denser since it was in the rainforest. Thank god for mosquito nets! Too bad I forgot mine. In the afternoon we pulled back on our stylish rubber boots and set off for a tour of the sustainability project at a Palmito Plantation (Heart of Palm) nearby. Then it's back to the center just in time for our introduction to our Natural Resource Management class. Whew, what a long and sweaty day. We were all looking forward to a hot shower for once, but such as our luck should have it - a pipe broke and it was no water for us. Even a cold shower would have been better than nothing!
The next day it was early rising for those wanting to go bird watching and bird netting. We caught a few birds, humming birds were the cutest, and got to hold them, look closely at them and then release them. After breakfast we took morning hike through the forests surrounding Manu. Already I feel so much more knowledgeable than I did the day before. On this hike we observed termites, leaf-cutter ants, millipeeds, sloths, toucans, poisonous strawberry dart frogs, and numerous plants.
In the afternoon it was off to the Dole Banana Plantation for another tour in sustainability efforts. Our guide, Carlos, asked us how many Banana trees they have on their plantation, and the answer was - NONE! Apparently Banana's are not trees, they are herbs and are 90% water. My friend Maisie and I got to harvest a banana bunch, or so we thought - really Carlos was just setting us up for a humorous picture. I must say I am glad though, because I'm not sure how I felt about Maisie cutting above me with the machete. I'd like to live to experience at least a few more weeks of this awesome semester.
Returning to Manu we had our first Economics and the Environment class and then dinner. Afterwards we all jumped in the nearby pond to get in some sort of a shower, at the very least. Dinner is followed by some ping pong, pool, swimming, soccer, and of course - very competitive games of Egyptian Ratscrew.
Arriving back to our Center in Atenas Saturday we had our first night off. After dinner we all went into town and rolled into Don Yayo's - a restaurant/bar. We got a few comments about that "bunch of gringos" but besides that, people were friendly and it was fun to talk to the locals and practice some spanish. Ordering was a little difficult for us - I won't name names, but Maisie was eating nachos and ketchup, though she had asked countless times for salsa con tomates. ;)
Now Sunday, our first day off! Finally. After playing catch up on the internet I am going into town to run so errands and then it's homework time! I am so not in the mood for school, I still feel like I should just be on vacation right now. It will be a chore to make the transition today but I guess I don't really have a choice!
Hasta Luego!
Kelly! Sounds like so much fun! How is the rest of the group? Your awesomeness is contagious, so they are probably pretty cool :)
ReplyDeleteI hear such amazing things about the rain forests, and it's hard to imagine that you are actually there. Miss you!