Last night after I posted my update, Rhyan decided to give us a Latin dancing lesson. I learned how to do the merengue, salsa, and bachata. I'm looking forward to surprising the kind folks this Saturday at the ANASCOR gala with my newfound Latin dancing skills!
Today was an awesome day. We did things that were relevant to my project (biodiversity and wildlife in Costa Rica).
We got up early and had a quick breakfast. Afterwards, we took a boat ride through the canals and around the island to observe the wildlife. We seriously saw so many species I had a hard time keeping track of what I had seen - yay for the notes app on my phone! Some species that we saw included gerons (not heron, but spelled with a g), three-toed sloths, anteaters, toucans, alligators, and iguanas.
Watching the animals and seeing the plants, I had plenty of time to reflect on how Costa Rica was similar and different than the United States. The region where I spent the majority of my most recent five years was in western New York. There, the trees are primarily evergreens or the type that flowers early but drops their leaves. Honestly, the trees all look alike in the Northeast. Animals are typical - foxes, raccoons, squirrels, the occasional cougar, garter snakes, et cetera. However, in Costa Rica in the Tortuguas area, the rainforest is made up of old growth trees and plants. They are enormous and tower dozens of feet over our heads. There are many animals that I haven't ever seen, let alone heard of (such as the geron or the trogon). It was a truly fascinating and humbling experience.
We got back to the hotel past schedule, so we went ahead and had a quick lunch before some of us (myself included) headed off on a brief hike. We hiked around the island and had a chance to see many varieties of birds including a tiger heron. A con of this was that we were plagued by mosquitoes the entire way. Even after dousing myself in bug spray, I still got about a dozen bites on my legs.
Afterwards, we went to visit Tortuguas City. It is basically one large main street with several smaller roads branching off it. We spent about two hours browsing the town. I got a chance to taste coconut water directly from the coconut, and bought an adorable handmade bracelet. The artist who made my bracelet told us that he crafted the bracelet using only a metal wire. It was only eight dollars, which I thought was a steal.
We came back to the hotel to have a swim and a dinner. Currently, we're resting in the lounge and will be leaving in about an hour and half to go back to Tortuguas to see the sea turtles. I'm quite excited about this! We have to dress all in black like ninjas and not bring anything that could disturb the turtles, like cell phones or flashlights.
Tomorrow, we leave early in the morning to travel to the Arenal region, home of a still-active volcano. We will be relaxing in the natural hot springs and staying in the La Fortuna area.
Today was an awesome day. We did things that were relevant to my project (biodiversity and wildlife in Costa Rica).
We got up early and had a quick breakfast. Afterwards, we took a boat ride through the canals and around the island to observe the wildlife. We seriously saw so many species I had a hard time keeping track of what I had seen - yay for the notes app on my phone! Some species that we saw included gerons (not heron, but spelled with a g), three-toed sloths, anteaters, toucans, alligators, and iguanas.
Watching the animals and seeing the plants, I had plenty of time to reflect on how Costa Rica was similar and different than the United States. The region where I spent the majority of my most recent five years was in western New York. There, the trees are primarily evergreens or the type that flowers early but drops their leaves. Honestly, the trees all look alike in the Northeast. Animals are typical - foxes, raccoons, squirrels, the occasional cougar, garter snakes, et cetera. However, in Costa Rica in the Tortuguas area, the rainforest is made up of old growth trees and plants. They are enormous and tower dozens of feet over our heads. There are many animals that I haven't ever seen, let alone heard of (such as the geron or the trogon). It was a truly fascinating and humbling experience.
We got back to the hotel past schedule, so we went ahead and had a quick lunch before some of us (myself included) headed off on a brief hike. We hiked around the island and had a chance to see many varieties of birds including a tiger heron. A con of this was that we were plagued by mosquitoes the entire way. Even after dousing myself in bug spray, I still got about a dozen bites on my legs.
Afterwards, we went to visit Tortuguas City. It is basically one large main street with several smaller roads branching off it. We spent about two hours browsing the town. I got a chance to taste coconut water directly from the coconut, and bought an adorable handmade bracelet. The artist who made my bracelet told us that he crafted the bracelet using only a metal wire. It was only eight dollars, which I thought was a steal.
We came back to the hotel to have a swim and a dinner. Currently, we're resting in the lounge and will be leaving in about an hour and half to go back to Tortuguas to see the sea turtles. I'm quite excited about this! We have to dress all in black like ninjas and not bring anything that could disturb the turtles, like cell phones or flashlights.
Tomorrow, we leave early in the morning to travel to the Arenal region, home of a still-active volcano. We will be relaxing in the natural hot springs and staying in the La Fortuna area.
0 comments