Matt
Herpetologist extraordinaire a la Steve Irwin, sans the accent... with a little insanity thrown in for good measure.wheresmattnow
Well, I just got back this August from a 3 month long stay in beautiful Costa Rica, so check out my entries/pics because it was amazing!! I've never seen such diversity in such a small area (the station I stayed at wasn't even that big really). Enjoy!!!
****Found out recently that I'm going to be able to go back there this winter to finish up my thesis studies and then spend a week or so travelling with my college bud, Andrew. I'll definetly be taking better notes this time and be out for both adventure and to see as much of the natural flora/fauna that this amazing little country has to offer. Until then, mi amigos.
Travel Blog Posts
July 31st 2005
The hotel was fun. They had a swim up bar and drinks were included. Not much nature wise, besides some good beach time and a lot of Ctenosaurs. It was a great wind-down for my journey in Costa Rica. Got myself some cuban cigars and some local liquors and headed home today. We arrived at Philly International around 11pm EST. And now, let the planning begin for my next adventure... Hopefully this journal gave an idea of what my life was like for the past few months. It was hard and easy at the same time, it was tough and it was worth every moment. I got to do research and have fun in a tropical country. You really can't beat that, when your job is to travel and see amazing things. I'm really glad I ... read more
Long Time No See, Mr. Grew A Beard
Published: September 19th 2005Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » San José
July 28th 2005
Dropped off my friends and met my family today at the airport in San Jose. The last few days at the station were fun, I caught a caiman!!! Casey and John were a big help, thanks a bunch to the both of them for their help in this. I even got to conduct a 6-day predatory study. It isn't the most detailed work in the world, but at least I got data that I can tinker with. My main study ended with 106 observations and about 33 (I think) morphological measurements. Good enough, I hope, especially since this may very well be my only field season (unless some magical thing happens and I get money for like a winter trip or something...). Right now we're heading to the Fiesta Resort, near Jaco, Costa Rica on ... read more
The Two Lines of a Striped Basilisk and Everything In Between...
Published: September 19th 2005Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica » Limón » Cahuita
July 18th 2005
Cahuita was awesome!!! We just got back today, back to the station, and it was a lot of fun. I got over 100 pictures too (i'll post some of the best here). I noticed that my beard is pretty long and my tan is pretty dark now. Coming back, I realized that the great summer adventure is coming to a close. I wish we could have stayed in Cahuita longer (save my many blisters... never go on a trail hike in adidas sandals). Even here longer would be nice. The best part of Cahuita was that the meals were less than 3 dollars in most cases but were full seafood dinners. I was in heaven haha. Thinking back, there were many times I dreaded this stay, for its isolation and overall length. And now, I ... read more
July 15th 2005
Tomorrow we go to Cahuita!!! I can't wait. Dave has been looking at his Lonely Planet guide (get it, it's worth the cost) to plan out our stay. They even have a reserve and beachside trail. Sweet. I'm in a daze though, I guess research-shock is the right phrase. Just because I am so out of it from staring all day everyday at lizards haha. Glad that a change is coming... PS - Don't just write, ACT.... read more
July 13th 2005
My shorts are musty from not wearing them at all and I had to spray AXE on them to cure it but I fear that was to no avail. I got 2 more iguanas last night, and tomorrow I will release and observe them. It's a good system, kinda forced but really all I can do in such short notice (I stop on the 17th after all). Tonight is picture night; Dave and I are going to show off our best shots from the summer to a small class that arrived recently. Now, for a treat (or suffering) I am going to try to write in Spanish for the rest of this entry: Continuaremos? Si. Seguo mi estudies y voy en bosque lluvia. Vivo por ayes y manana, por hoy esta nunca bueno. Es el perro ... read more
And There's Nothing New Under the Sun
Published: September 19th 2005Central America Caribbean » Costa RicaJuly 11th 2005
I hope I can come back here next year, as a Teaching Assistant for my advisor's class. If I can, then I travel for free. And I would only be staying a month or so so it's not as long-term a stay. Maybe I could even get a research assistant (friend basically) to come down and help me out. But what to study? So far in July the downtime has been reading and chatting, and laughing at the toy dogs running around humping and barking at each other. Wasps abound too. I like the idea of doing research for a living. I can plan where I want to go and when I want to go there. It would be great. And I could teach on the side, earn a steady paycheck and such. And see ... read more
July 10th 2005
Two iguanas. That's it so far, I hope to find more though. I started observations on those two. Basically, when a field area came up on my weekly schedule, I took them out and let them go one by one and observed them as the went. One did nothing and sat frozen for the duration. The other was completely nuts. I've never seen so many tongue flicks and feeding attempts. It seems these guys just move through a habitat testing everything green or fruit-like they can find to see if it is palatable. I don't know though how I will go about figuring out what it is that they are eating (lack of botanical knowledge is what you can chalk that one up to). I wish I knew more Spanish. I really have been putting off ... read more
July 9th 2005
So it happened. I finally caught an iguana. Not only that, but it came up to ME!!! Soo sweet. Now more doors have opened for my study. I've been here 2 months and only seen basilisks. With the hope of more iguanas, I might be able to compare the two like I had originally hoped. This is all pending that I find more.... (I hope so). I am really tired of basilisks, they can all go as far as I'm concerned, bring on the iguanas. I saw a cock fight today (not our fault or request, twas a miscommunication). And saw another student behead a chicken. Now that was strange. I know I could never do that myself but I can still eat the resulting soup. Go figure... Started/continued LOTR trilogy, now that Potter is long ... read more
July 7th 2005
I'm finding the snake stuff more interesting. Seriously, I think I might want to do snake studies as well. Maybe a population survey of eyelash vipers on the station property. That could be cool. I've learned a lot down here, and learn more each day. And they still think I love snickers... PS - Hungry? Why wait!?... read more
Excuse Me, but Have You Seen My Quiver?
Published: September 19th 2005Central America Caribbean » Costa Rica
July 5th 2005
I forgot to mention in the last entry that we have formed a band of archers. Well, two, D and I. He wanted to try a bow out so I helped him make a few. They worked ...okay. The best part was talking out of like LOTR or Robin Hood or Potter or anything haha. It was a nice light day, really appreciated in the middle of the rainforest and all, you know?? We had a battle cry... "Bah-gaah!" It was I guess like a rooster call but I actually got it from a robot character from Futurama, Roberto. He always said "hah-hahh!" everytime he stabbed with his knife. It was a good time (no, we weren't drinking... yet). This afternoon I fed the viper and cleaned out its cage. And I strengthened my bow string. ... read more
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