Advertisement
Published: September 20th 2012
Edit Blog Post
truchas
gabe killing a trout for dinner Yesterday we visited the Dole banana plantation. Our guide was Carlos. His job title is Public Relations manager or something in that area, but I would consider him an entertainer. He kind of reminded me of the guy at Disneyland who pulled Hailey out of the crowd to come on stage (haha). His main objective was to put on a show for us gringos, however he was surprisingly knowledgeable as well. Apparently he got a master’s degree at Texas Tech for agricultural economics. He also does marketing research for the company. Our tour was informative to some extent. Carlos had obviously done it many times before, and it was clearly rehearsed. He catered to our group specifically, knowing we were studying biology and concerned about the environment. He also was very articulate in the way he avoided our questions. After he responded everyone was like, Ohhh okay….wait, that wasn’t my question.
We also were able to see the workers that Dole employs. Mostly, if not all, employees who work in the field are men, while men and women work at the packing plant. When I’m at home I always try to avoid buying big brands like Chiquita and Dole, but
I do wish I could support these lower class families trying to make ends meet. We had a group discussion about our visit once we got back to La Selva. I won’t get into the social or environmental impacts, but In terms of sustainability, some argue for smaller locally owned farms. However, arguments can be made that large corporations have the potential to be more sustainable as well. And at the end of our discussions, we never come up with any solutions….whose job is that?
I haven’t seen any spider monkeys yet, but I have had a few encounters with howler monkeys. Often times in the early morning or afternoon, about three howler monkeys will hang out on the bridge cables or in nearby trees. My first interaction with this species was a memorable one. I was so excited to see a howler monkey so close that I stopped about a quarter of the way across the bridge. I was surprised to see that this monkey began approaching me. Once it was about five feet away from me sitting on the bridge cable, it promptly began to pee. This monkey then nonchalantly started using its hands in attempts to
splash me. With his pee. Moral of the story is people, when you see a howler monkey, admire from a distance.
Tomorrow we are collecting data for the FLPs, or faculty lead projects. I’m not writing up anything for the projects here in La Selva, but everyone helps with data collection. Crossing my fingers my project will be in Panama so I can be in the water allllll day.
Started doing some preliminary research for places to visit during our midterm break. Found out that you can surf on the Caribbean coast! The professors always remind us that the Pacific coast has lots of riptides. I asked one professor if she could compare currents here to ones in California, but she didn’t know. I don’t know, I feel like there have been some pretty tough currents in Bolinas some days….and even at Will Rogers. Still got lots of time to figure it out.
Also, got some rice for my camera today so hopefully I will be able to post pics from La Selva soon. For now, heres more from past stations.
Viva la pura vida
Kelsey
Advertisement
Tot: 0.059s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 6; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0381s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Tia T
non-member comment
keeping in touch
It is great reading your blog and keeping in touch with all you are doing down there. You write really well, it is a joy to read. Can't wait to hear more, so happy you are enjoying it so much there. Lots of love Tia T