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Published: June 17th 2012
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HOLA!! i cannot believe how fast my two weeks on project just flew by. I am having an incredible time. Here is the low down on my project: there were 16 of us, and two project leaders Aundrey and Christine who are married and 27 and 28. We stayed a family´s property in cabins. There were 10 and 6 in two cabins, but did not spend anytime in there other than sleeping so that worked out fine. everything was outdoors, the kitchen was in a nice open area where we all ate and hung out. Rice and beans everyday yet again! But i cant complain because the food was good. There was also a little shop around the corner were we went to get our chocolate fix. We worked for 8 days and had 3 free days. We were split into three groups. One group would go out on the boat and set up nets in turtle feeding groups. The turtles would be brought back to the research center where another group would take blood and dna samples, tag, and measure the turtle. The other group would be working in the mangrove nursery to promote reforestation because mangroves are extremely important to the ecosystems. We switched off everyday and we all got to go out on the boat on the last day because that was everyone´s favorite. I got to tag a turtle! We found 11 turtles total, 10 of them were green trutles and one was a hawksbill which are the 3 most endangered of the turtle species. We found one that was missing a flipper, and we only got one male. Interestingly, global warming is impacting the number of male and female turtles. The gender of the nest is determined by temperatures during incubation, so since it is getting warmer, there are currently 3 females to a male and that number is predicted to reach 9 females for every male!
We were staying right on the coast so we got to go in the ocean everyday! I cannot believe how warm it was. I felt like I was swimming in a bathtub. It was very humid at first but we adjusted to that fairly well. It rained everyday but it was warm so I did not mind. We loved swimming in the rain too. There was also lots of thunder and lightning. The tropical storms on the coast are incredible. I also go up to watch 4 sunrises. We went on a sunrise kayak and I did sunrise yoga one day. What a life! I do not know how to put it all into one post. I loved the people on my project and I have been making some incredible friends. I do not think I have EVER laughed so much in two weeks in my entire life. Costa Rica is such a happy place to be, and even the places known as touristy are still very underdeveloped and relaxed. There is a saying called ¨tico time¨ here. The ticos or ticas are what the Costa Ricans call themselves. Tico time is referring to the layed back lifestyle...if they say be somewhere at 8 nothing will really happen until 8:30. On two of our free days we went into Puerto Jimenez which is a bigger city in Costa Rica, yet it was tiny! we actually ended up getting bored because we were there for so long with nothing to do. One afternoon we went to Finca Kobo which is a chocolate plantation. I learned how chocolate was made. I cannot believe how much work it is! There was also a lot of fruit on the plantation. It was all organic and beautiful. I got some starfruit and mango jam. I am saving the star fruit but I opened the mango cause I could not resist. I have discovered my love for mangos here. I also learned how to husk and open a coconut so now it I am ever stranded in a tropical climate I will still be able to eat! I love the coconut meat! Anyways....after the chocolate tour we had a chocolate buffet with the pure cacoa bean, a bit of sugar and water. It was so good! I could taste how pure and rich it was....nothing like hersheys!
Golfo Dulce and the Osa Penninsula is known for its diverse wildlife. There are scarlett mcaws flying around which is a type of parrot. I ate a termite in the jungle. There were ants everywhere. There apparently were crocidles in the mangroves we were kayaking in but I am glad I did not find that out until after. We also saw squirrel monkeys and howler monkeys. There are pelicans and vultures flying around. It is so amazing. Unfortunately the coral reef died about 50 years ago so there wasnt anything to see snorkeling.
Other than the laughter and the awesome new friends my favorite part was the family we stayed with. I got pretty close with one little girl named Maria Celeste who is nine. I have the most spanish experience of the group so I got to interact with the people more. It was so great to be able to practice my spanish and grow closer with people of a different culture. Andrea is Celeste´s cousin who is 10 and they were just the cutest girls. There was also Pablo 22, Minor 29, David 34 and DonaChristina who owned the property. David is the head of the project. We were volunterring with an organization called WIDECAST. David has been working with turtles for 12 years in costa rica. We got to play soccer on the beach almost everyday and we watched movies together at night. Everyone got along and it was just a great place to be full of happiness!
I tried to attach some pictures but I could only get one which is of me tagging the turtle. I will try for more next time.
Now the adventure tour has begun! I am in samara beach. This morning I got up and got to go for a run on the beach. Then we went sea kayaking out to an island which is hard work. This afternoon we have a two hour surf lesson. Tomorrow is a free day to hang out and then we are off to our next location! I will update more soon. I hope everyone is doing awesome, I really do miss you all. Happy fathers day I am so glad that you all are in my life. lots of love.
this is really long so I got lazy and did not feel like proof reading...sorry
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mama
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sounds amazing
Hi honey, Thanks for the detailed update. It all sounds wonderful, we miss you. I will have rice and beans for you when you get home. xoxo