I spent Friday and Saturday nights in the Meri Ngabe cabina on Isla Popa. It only cost 15$ which is a very good bargain. The cabina has running water and a flush toliet! Things have really improved in my little community! So the bueno there is now a collegio on isla popa, at least there are 2 professors who teach collegio. Collegio is like junior high and high school in the US. This means the kids boys and girls can go to school instead of having to stop once they get to 6th grade. I can´t tell you how excited I [View Full Entry]

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Nantore! This is hello in Ngabe. I spent 8 days hiking and talking for 8 hours straight in the Conte Burica Reserva in Punta Burica Costa Rica. This is a pennisula that is divided in half, part in Panama and part in Costa Rica. To get there you must wait for low tide, walk 1.5 on the beach, then an 1.5 straight up a mountain. It was lots of fun with my backpack! I was helping translate for a girl named Katie who is trying to organize a mono arana conservation project in the park. Many people seemed interested and I [View Full Entry]

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Katie and I met Griselda at 1pm to walk to the Reserve. It is 3 hours along the beach and up a STEEP hill. We had to wait for low tide, walked 1.5 along a beautiful deserted beach, then up the Rio Coco for 1.5. It is quite steep and a wise one would take up the offer to ride a horse up the hill! [View Full Entry]

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I made to the Don Carlos in San Jose, exactly an hour after I arrived which is great. Unfortunetly I cant figure out how to use exclamation marks on this key board so add one at the end of that sent. The cab driver said I should get to the bus station at 5AM tommorrow. That s 2hours before it leaves and the bus station is in a so=so area. So Im going to go at 6 and cross my fingers there is a ticket to Golfito. I ll be back on-line next week, until them I will be in the [View Full Entry]

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I'm wrapping up my visit to Queensland and will fly out to Sydney today. I stayed last night and the Thursday before at Gilligan's Backpackers. It is really nice and both the dorm rooms and the single rooms are clean and the nicest I've stayed in. Cairns is the capital city and has a busy downtown. There are a ton of Japanese visitors and all the shops have japanese signs and descriptions. I went to a "zoo" on top of a Casino yesterday. Some of the keepers were at the conference. It's pretty small and located in a dome on top [View Full Entry]

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Happy Birthday Dad! I am ready for my last day of the IC-Zed in Surfer's. Yesterday I presented my paper. Quickly discovered I had the WRONG CD and did not have my powerpoint presentation. I only had photos. It was horrible! Tons of people said it was okay (whatever!!!). At least they grasped the destructive nature of the Aye-Aye. Will be in Cains tonight. Cant wait for the heat! [View Full Entry]

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Went to the Sydney Opera House to see a production of the shympony. It was a jazz show. It was okay, apparently [View Full Entry]

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Wow, one month until Australia! I'm excited and a bit nervous. I won't be able to stop in Tahiti and found out Mission Beach was heavily damaged by the storm. I'm planning to fly to Cairns after the conference and am still deciding on a hotel. Maybe a trip to Cape Trib and Crocodylus (?). HB [View Full Entry]

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I went to Isla Popa 2 today after being gone nearly 4 years. It is diffrent yet completely the same. The teacher I knew is still there and all the same families. But there is a new bigger school, a new library, a functioning restaurant and hotel with FLUSH TOLIETS! The ADEPESCO office is there too. My house was taken apart and is gone. My friend who had left the isla to go to Costa Rica is back living with her children. Her name is Clementina. I had not seen her in a very long time, she was always a close [View Full Entry]

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We went to visit San Cristobal where my friend Julie worked and lived. A boat driver, Sabedro (sorry if it´s spelled wrong) nickname America Central, took us to visit and stay at his house. He has a room set aside for tourists that has 2 beds and a door that locks. I forgot to mention to Elaine that there are few latrines in San Cristobal. She was a bit shocked but more on that later. We arrived at 5pm after a day in Bocas and at Red fRog Beach. When we arrived we sat and visited with the family and learned [View Full Entry]

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