Research in Paradise

The past six days were spent in the field as we split into four groups for the Directed Research portion of the program. Since I chose Professor Achim's project on sustainable tourism I got to spend my time doing research in the most popular tourist destination in Costa Rica - Manuel Antonio National Park.

It made for a rough life the past week. Strolling along the beaches, my feet covered in sand thanks to those sneaky waves that swirled around my ankles. Talking with tourists and locals, my surveys practically filled themselves out. Hiking every trail within the park, I am now a pro at using my naked eye as a range finder. Walking in the morning and evenings, my paper complete with the lists of mammals we spotted from the transects. Yeah, life was difficult.

I had to constantly remind myself, amongst the breathtaking viewpoints, the trickling waterfalls, the cute squirrel monkeys, and the turquoise blue water, that I was, in fact, at "school".

All in all, the days flew by. I met some very interesting people - most from the US I can relate to in some way since I've lived and traveled on both coasts. I chatted with Ticos on the weekends and translated for park rangers. We held workshops for the guides and rangers that addressed their (passive aggressive) concerns within the park.

Even the "terrible" (Achim's quote, I think the Germans have much higher sanitary standards) cabinas that we stayed in or the excessive humidity and bug bites couldn't bring us down. Cockroaches in our stuff, mice terds on the beds, frogs in the rooms, ants on the walls, bathrooms that reeked, showers that dripped cold water - it was convenient that we were exhausted each night so we just passed out amongst it all tucked away under our mosquito nets .

The results from our mammal sighting competition are still being calculated (numbers are that high). But we can officially say that Peter won the bug bite contest, though Nell was a close second. And the pounds of baked goods that made the trip down the Pacific Coast from our kitchen in Atenas are all officially gone - having lasted us far longer than anticipated. Suddenly our field research is complete - and thus we are reunited with the other groups for a final two weeks at our center.

Let the graph analyzing and paper writing begin. But not before a trip or two to Yayo's.