DAY 1 ~ Bienviendos El Jobo

Day 2: Sea Turtles!

Today started bright and early with breakfast at 6 AM. From breakfast we headed to the beach where we got onto boats and headed out for our first snorkeling adventure. We saw tons of awesome fish, some rays, and even a large nurse shark! In addition, we helped the research crew tag and process two sea turtles. We had lunch on the boat and headed back to shore for an afternoon of rest. Before dinner we spent an hour helping count parrots moving from the feeding grounds to nesting grounds. After dinner we swept two beaches looking for sea turtle nests. We learned a lot about sea turtles and how human actions impact their environment. It was another amazing day in Costa Rica!

Day 3 - Sea Rays, Beach, and a BBQ

Today was the third and final day in El Jobo for us, and boy oh boy was it a doozy. It started off fresh with a nice, invigorating 8:00 AM breakfast at the houses of our host families. We then took the bus down a hilly, gnarled gravel road to the beautiful *Insert beach name here*. There, we met with Matilde, her son, and several other local youth who were working with Equipo Tora Carey. They proceeded to teach us the strategy to catch the stingrays that were plentiful on the sandy ocean floor near the beach. Armed with a snorkel kit and a net, we were to dive down to the bottom, entrap the stingray with the net, and bring it to the shore for processing. Turns out stingrays are wicked quick and most of the attempts to catch them were unsuccessful, with a few notable exceptions, mostly from the local kids and staff of the organization. Once caught, the stingrays were placed in plastic bins filled with water to await the data collection. This data collection included identification of the ray’s species, measurements of the body and reproductive organs, and observations of any discolorations in the eyes. While one half of the group was occupied with stingrays, the other half worked on a beach cleanup project, where the amounts of different materials found were recorded for another study. Then, as we hit the midday mark, we returned for lunch.

After another delicious fulfilling lunch, we waited out the midday heat with unscheduled relaxations. Playing cards, taking a nap, and picking mangoes from trees kept everyone entertained for multiple hours. Once the weather cooled down, we took bus to the larger town of La Cruz and had some frozen beverages. We had many flavors to choose from ranging from blackberry to “sour sop.” The restaurant had an amazing view and many kids took photos of each other and the landscape. We then went back to the beach and relaxed on the sand, watching the sunset go down. It was a beautiful view. To top off the night, we went back to our little pueblo and the locals cooked us a barbeque with chicken, fish, and sausage.

Buenos Noches!

Sam and Sharee

Day 4 - On to Monteverde

Today we took the bus to Liberia to the supermarket where we stocked up on interesting Costa Rican snacks. Then we continued on up a windy mountain road to the CIEE where we will be doing our bioinformatics research. We immediately jumped in another bus and went to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve where we went on an amazing guided hike and learned all about the biodiversity in this part of Costa Rica. We've settled into our cabinas and can't wait to start our bioinformatics research tomorrow.!!

Buenos Noches!

Maya and Katya

Day 5 - Zipping through Monteverde and our Research Projects

Today we started off with another delicious breakfast at the lodge and then headed to our first bioinformatics class. We brainstormed ideas for our projects and worked on our proposals with partners. In the afternoon we did an amazing zip line through the cloud forest. We were really lucky and had fantastic, clear weather so we could see Arenal volcano and Lake Arenal in addition to flying above the canopy of the forest! After dinner (and ice cream!) we presented our project proposals wrapping up another fun and productive day in Costa Rica!

Day 7: Coffee, Sugar, and Science

Almost all of the dairy products we eat in the cafeteria at CIEE come from the dairy cows on campus. In the mornings small groups have been getting the chance to help milk the cows. It is really cool to see how sustainable life is at CIEE. Waste from the bathrooms is fed into a biodigester that uses bacteria to break the waste into methane that is piped to the kitchen for cooking fuel, liquid that after 3 months of treatment enters a tilapia pond, and solids that are used to fertilize the crops that in return feed the cows. Food waste from the dining hall is fed to the pigs at the farm.

In addition to spending time on the farm at CIEE, today groups traveled into San Luis to visit small farms that produce coffee and sugar. One group got to see how coffee is processed and roasted and the other got a detailed demonstration on how sugar cane is turned into sugar blocks.

The trip to the farms gave us a great opportunity to explore the local area on foot and we all stopped at the small shop near campus for some snacks on the way home.

We also had time for plenty of science this morning and in the evening. We are all making great progress on our projects and are looking forward to presenting them when we get home.

For our projects we cited all of our sources

And later we galloped on horses

The horse lifts its tail and out comes its farts

This experience is shaping our minds and our hearts

We've eaten lots of Costa Rican treats

And ridden on many bus seats

We love seeing fuzzy farm critters

And even tarantulas who skitter

We've enjoyed exploring the Cloud Forest

And there's still lots of fun left before us

"Write a poem", said Sydney, "it will be fun!"

She'll show up as soon as we're done

We're not very good at writing rhymes

But we're having a really great time!

Today we didn't do anything outside of the campus. This gave us a lot of time to finalize our posters and practice our presentations before we had to give our final presentation tomorrow. During the morning classroom session, everyone finished their poster designs and practiced presenting. Then, in the afternoon, everyone got the opportunity to present in front one of the teachers and receive tips on how to improve their projects. We also had a break in the middle of poster design where we all got to play soccer. There was also some yummy yummy cuisine, including cheese tortillas with breakfast and yucca with lunch. Finally, we worked on our projects some more after dinner, including more presentation practice and peer feedback.

Day 10: Morning Research Presentations and Afternoon at the Bat Jungle and Santa Elena

Our final full day was spent presenting our research projects to the group, our instructors Gabriel and Jose, and a few of the naturalists that are on campus at CIEE. See photos below of the researchers and their project titles! After lunch we headed into nearby Santa Elena to enjoy a presentation and visit to the Bat Jungle. From there we had a few hours to check out Santa Elena, the largest town in the Monteverde region. We had the opportunity to get souvenirs, a latte or ice cream, and see this beautiful little town on our last day together.