Bocas del Toro & Monteverde

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Well to say a lot has happened since the last time I posted is an understatement. The internet here in Palo Verde National Park unfortunately isn't that great so I am going to keep it brief.

First, Bocas del Toro. I suppose one good thing about flying home unexpectadly and returning late to the program was the fact that I got to ride in a little tiny plane, or a puddle-jumper I think some people call them. From San Jose to Bocas by plane was only about an hour. And there were some pretty neat views. The field station was not one of the nicer ones we have stayed at. Apparently we were the last guests there before they opened a new facility. Oh well. The carribean side is definitely different than the Pacific - in some ways good in some ways not. I am glad that mosquitoes tend to avoid my blood for some reason, because some of my friends got eaten alive.

After crossing the Panama-Costa Rica border on foot, we stayed the night in San Jose before heading up to Monteverde. We hiked into the field station in the rain. It was raining the entire time, but luckily it was downhill. It rained everday except the last day in Monteverde, when we got some pretty cool views. The rain also limited our chances to see any wildlife, which was limited to a couple frogs, some birds, and the typical butterfly. We had a guest lecturer for a couple days, named Mark Wainwright. He's a pretty well known guy in the world of science, the illustrator of The Mammals of Costa Rica, and the President of the Monteverde Conservation League. The hike out of Monteverde was completely different than the hike in. All up hill and a clear day. It only took around an hour for most of us but it was a tough one. Especially with a backpack.

So now we are in Palo Verde for our last stop. After living out of a single backpack for two weeks, I can say I am glad to live out of two suitcases now. And I can't even express how excited I am to live out of an actual closet - where I can actually hang clothes and put things in drawers. I have already seen some cool animals here so I am sure I will have some neat pictures to share in the coming days. If I can find time between all the work we have to do for school.

Hasta luego

Kelsey

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Comments

[Tia T]

awesome
Hey there.....once again you make me miss C.A. so beautiful. Sounds like you are having an amazing time, keep up the blogs. I am so sorry about your grandmother. Love you, T