UNAventura-Sea Turtle Rescue Op.

Such and incredible weekend! So many new experiences. I'm going to try to recreate it as best as I can.

There are several different topics that I want to share about my experience this weekend. First is the food. Most people know how I feel about food, and especially nutrition. I think it's fascinating. Anyways, the food part of my trip begins with a sandwich.

We took a 5 or 6 hour drive to playa Junquillal for the volunteer work. When we arrived at the volunteer location the first thing I helped out with was making sandwiches. I was like ok a sandwich, easy, not hard to construct. However, this old man was in charge of the food and had a VERY specific way of making these sandwiches...it was also the worst sandwich I've ever had to make haha. Here is the recipe if anyone is interested:

1. Sesame seed bun
2. Butter both pieces of the bun
3. On the bottom bun put refried beans over the butter
4. On the top bun put a mixture of mayonaise and ketchup over the butter
5. Add strange looking deli meat and packaged cheese
6. lettuce, tomato, and enjoy...if possible haha

It's safe to say the amount of butter that was thrown into our meals this weekend was ridiculous! I wish I hadn't been involved in the cooking...I really shouldn't have known about how much butter they use. They used it for sandwiches, and frying EVERYTHING. Vegetables, bread, eggs, rice, meat, you name it and its got at least a half a stick of butter. I was told to fry regular wonder-like bread on a pan one morning and I put a little but of butter in the pan, let it melt, and added three pieces of bread. Apparently I didn't do it right because one of the girls kept telling me, "Mas mantequilla Sara!! Mas!!" She literally told me to put half a stick of butter in the pan. So crazy...

So besides the gross cooking here's the important part of my trip!
The first day we arrived around 2pm. We had the induction, watched a video about the program, and set up camp. Oh yeah, I didn't mention that I spent three nights in a tent! With just a blanket and a sheet...I really didn't want to buy a sleeping bag (but I slept really well!) also the leader told us no makeup was allowed haha, she was right though, there wasn't time or reason for it. Anyways, we were all assigned to different groups for night patrols. Mine was the first shift and it went from 10pm-1am. It was incredible. I was separated from my gringa friend and put into a group of only ticos. Which was totally cool because I had some great conversations with them. The best part of my first patrol was the beauty of the beach itself. The waves glowed bright blue, and when you walked on the sand, or moved it with your foot, it was like thousands of stars glowing so brightly. It was beautiful. I looked it up and bioluminescent plankton is the cause of this phenomenon. It was so beautiful. Also, this entire trip I've been trying desperately to see some stars. However, it's too cloudy/polluted in the city I live in, and too cloudy on all of our trips too. The stars on this beach were breath taking. The sky had never felt so big until that night. It was so clear, and the stars seemed so close, that finally I understood how people forever ago managed to make constellations. For the longest time I never understood how they managed to find the same patterns in the sky...it seemed like it would be too hard...but if they were experiencing the same sky that I was experiencing, it seemed pretty easy. Everything was just so clear, and so bright. I really miss it already just typing this. So incredible. After my shift I went to bed at 2am, and woke up at 5am to help make breakfast.

We didn't see any sea turtles until the second night. I didn't have patrol that night so I was able to catch up on some sleep. Well kind of, because around 1am someone came running through the camp and opening up tents yelling "BAULA, BAULA, HAY UNA BAULA EN LA PLAYA." Baula is the name in Spanish for a leatherback turtle. I stumbled to the beach with all of the other sleepy ticos and we got to see the most amazing thing. A girl who has lived, and helped with this turtle program her whole life (she's 16) said that we got lucky. It was her first time to see one too. They're becoming very, very endangered. This leatherback was a small one, about the length of a person's arms spread out wide, and a width of maybe 4 feet? I guess they've seen some that are the size of small cars. It still seemed giant to me though. The next night I was on patrol and we got to see a different kind of sea turtle, a lora! This time I got to witness her laying her eggs, and her return to the sea. After this happened the eggs were quickly collected and counted (109 eggs) and transported to the nursery to keep them safe from poachers. I actually got to touch this turtle. She had the coolest feeling skin.

Besides sea turtle patrols I also helped dig a GIANT hole for throwing plant matter into. I didn't know this but you're not supposed to burn plant matter because it adds to the pollution in the air. So this program just digs giant holes, fills them with the collected palm branches ect, and then throws the sand on top for it to decay naturally. A different day I also helped plant trees for the beach. With the climate change the sun is getting hotter and hotter and it actually burns and kills the little sea turtles. The ecosystem here is called the manglar, and it's been slowly disappearing. The program is working to increase the amount of shade on the beach/manglar by planting as many trees as possible from seeds that they collect. It's so fascinating. Everything they do is environmentally friendly and almost free too.

 

The tortugario, the little white baskets are different sets of turtle nests that have been moved to safety! 

 

The giant hole we dug for the plant garbage. It was more giant in person. 

 

la playa!

 

The only photo I was able to take of the actual turtle action. André is putting the recently rescued lora eggs into a new nest! 

 

Alannah and I in our tshirts from the trip after days of sweat, sleeping on the ground, minimal showering, mosquito-bitten bodies. Whew. 

Photos!

I wont be able to post for a little while so I thought I would post some photos! The semester is basically over for me. I have one project to present and one more final to take (which will be super easy) and that's it! My drawing and dance class ended today, and my massage class ended Monday.

 

My host familia realized that I don't have any photos of Luci (my oldest host sister's child) with me. So while I was working on my project they came into my room and plopped her in my arms! Haha it was so cute. She's the cutest little tica baby. This isn't even close to her cutest picture. 

 

Last day of drawing!!! Woo! That's my professor and my friend (gringa) Alexandra. He gave me a 90% in his class! Woo! He told me I should continue practicing to get better and better...I told him I would practice during my boring US classes. He thought that was funny. 

 

The students at my university made these cool structures throughout campus using CDs! They look pretty cool.

 

Final dance presentation....I've got my inagua on!

 

End of my group presentation...

 

The final ENITRE group presentation. 

 

The class! All the small groups represent a different providence in Costa Rica! Also, that's my professor in all black. She's such a sweetheart! She gave me a 99% in her class...haha pretty sure I didn't deserve that but I'll take it! 

I'm off to rescue sea turtles in the morning I'll be back Sunday evening....exhausted I'm sure! 

Buenas Noches mis amigos! 

PS Thank you SO much to everyone that has sent me mail. You don't even know how a bad day could suddenly turn into a great day just by receiving a piece of mail. When ever I felt frustrated or down getting some mail always cheered me up. Just ask my friends, they'll tell you how excited I get. Today, as usual, I waited an hour for my dance group to finally show up, I was so mad. After the meeting I went to the post office to check my mail, and what do you know, MAIL! Completely turned my day around. 

Thanks again, 

Muchisimas Gracias a todos!!  

I will be home soon =)

Sunday Activities

Kind of a slow day today, but nice nonetheless. I went for a run this morning, ate my usual Sunday breakfast of gallo pinto, plantains, eggs, and fruit plate (I still haven't gotten tired of any of it!). However my papa tico and I went to the museum of popular culture by the house! It was so nice. Here's some photos!

 

People wear these all the time for festivals and dance around in them

 

This is Cas, it's used for a beverage that almost all ticos adore

 

the scariest mask I've ever seen. There was a story behind it, a legend of sorts, about this girl who had too many boyfriends and then turned ugly. haha

  

Me awkwardly posing for the forced photo.... 

HAY NAVIDAD EN MI CASA!!!!

 

I came home from my Quetzal trip to a TON of decorations!!!! There's a stocking on my door!!! And on all of the doors haha

 

This is easily my favorite decoration. 

Bathroom decor! 

 

The tree!

 

The lights are so cute!! Also they have two poinsettia bushes (you can see one on the far right_

 

The light in my window!! I love looking at it at night! 

 

The table is so cute =) There's even more decorations too. So fun, so festive.  

Perros y Quetzales!

The most random weekend ever, and it's only Saturday!

Friday morning Alannah and I went to this place called San Gerardo de Dota. A place we had never heard of, but heard from a friend about this amazing deal they were having on viewing quetzales. It's true, this area is supposed to have the largest amount of quetzales. So we took the deal, which was a one night stay at this awesome hotel/cabin area in the mountains called Hotel Suria. The place was absolutely magical. The temperature in this place was pretty frigid though. I didn't have proper clothing, but still loved this place so much. I really could live the rest of my life there, it's amazing. This area hasn't been completely smothered in tourism yet, or hardly at all really. I was talking to one of the family members who owns the hotel about the kind of visitors they get here. Typically they're European, and typically they're over the age of 50. Being 20 year old American girls was a little different for them haha.

The hotel (which is really just three beautiful cabins) was empty except for us. Not that it was an issue, but I would have liked to have talked with some other people too. The scenery made up for it though. This place had nothing like the usual "tourist" spots. There were no souvenir shops, no fast food restaurants,  there were actually only two restaurants in this area and they were a two hour walk from our cabin, and no bars. We were in complete secluded beauty.

My first impression of the hotel area was all of the dogs. Here are some:

 

Cone Dog, he was a riot. Such a stupid, comical dog. 

 

This dog had the biggest head ever.

  

This is his lady friend. 

 

This is the fast dog ever

This is the weird fur dog  

There were a couple of more dogs that hung out with us, but unfortunately were not photographed. The reason these dogs are so great is because Alannah and I went on a three hour hike, and the dogs went with us the whole way!! Literally the entire pack! It was so much fun!! As you can tell, the dogs were enjoying the water. Here's some more photos from the hike (dogs included): 

 

They crossed three swinging bridges with us! Such bravery!

 

We were told that this is the cleanest river in Costa Rica. It seems true too, the water was incredibly clear. 

 

Some even climbed these rocks with me! Take a look!

 

The amazing waterfall 

After our hike we walked around the grounds some more, took a little siesta, watched some telenovelas in the lodge, and had our dinner! The area is known for fresh caught trout, so that's what we had. It was great! After dinner we went to the room, talked, and went to bed early for another exciting day! 

 The next morning we woke up at 5:30am to go birdwatching at 6am. One of the guy who works at the hotel took us and it was awesome. We spent about two hours searching for Quetzals when we were finally rewarded for our efforts! Check it out: 

 

I have more photos, but these two photos were a couple of the best. I love this bird so much!! It's so fun. Also, it's favorite food is avocado, and I'm currently battling an avocado addiction. So we both have a grand appreciation for this wonderful fruit. 

 

I forgot to mention that before we found the Quetzal there was this weird stampede of horses that ran through the road haha. That's how deserted this place is....It was awesome though

 

Saturday morning Quetzal hunt landscape 

After the long hunt we headed back to the hotel for our free breakfast. It was soo good. Some of the best gallo pinto I've ever had here, needless to say I've had my fair share from various places haha. Our breakfast also came with a fried egg, over easy, Alannah and I plopped it over the gallo pinto and let the yoke juices just soak right in. Tasty. Haha. There was also two pieces of bread with homemade strawberry jam and a cup of perfectly hot coffee. Mmm how I love the food here.  

Here's some photos of the hotel/cabins! 

 

I took a photo of these because we sell them at Bennett's greenhouse! But I different variety. I believe these are a form of Hens and Chicks! They were growing everywhere at the hotel and were beautiful!

 

We also sell these daisies at Bennett's too! (Shasta's!)

 

Just look at that landscaping... 

 

Calla lillies!! Plus our cabin!

 

Our fellow, loyal, doggy friends. Oh look in the background, here comes cone dog!  

After I took some photos of the hotel it was time to go. Our bird guide/hotel worker drove us the half hour to the nearest bus stop we we waited. And waited. And waited, for two hours for a bus to come. Three buses just passed us and didn't stop. We called the hotel and asked what was going on but they weren't much help...they just said one would stop eventually. Oh brother. Plus, this bus stop was in the middle of nowhere, just like everything else. And it was cold. I found this photo on my camera, apparently Alannah had my camera. It shows the situation perfectly: 

 

That's me. Freezing. That's the nothingness we waited in for two hours. Haha. 

I made it home obviously, so, Pura Vida!!!  

Con Amor, 

Sara 

Otro Día con Amigos

Another great day! Today Oscar, Alannah, and I visited the Irazú volcano. I've seen three of Costa Rica's volcanoes now! With pictures to prove it of course. This was another mini-trip that was such a good deal (especially for Oscar). We just had to pay for a roundtrip bus ticket (8$) for an hour and a half bus ride (3hours in total, there and back) and the entrance fee to the Volcano. For me, it was 10$ to see it...for Oscar, $2....It sure is great being a Tico in Costa Rica. I even had on my Tico scarf to prove to the guy that I belonged here and therefore deserved the Tico discount. He didn't buy it. I even said I had a student visa....he still didn't care haha. Pura Vida, I'm glad the country makes money off of the tourists. It was kind of funny though, since Oscar was speaking English with Alannah and I prior to buying the ticket, the ticket guy didn't believe that Oscar was a real Tico (even though he spoke Spanish to him, and used Costa Rican words like "Tuanis" and "Mae"). He was the only Tico that had to show his ID to the ticket guy, that's how good his English is I guess. Yesterday an American thought Oscar was a gringo, thanks to his great English abilities. If only I would be mistaken for a Tica. I try so hard.

Anyways, here's what's really important: Photos!

 

The entrance to the park! With a complimentary dog of course (all places in Costa Rica come with complimentary dogs). I swear this dog was part wolf, I still think it is. It's fur seemed just like a wolf. I spoke to it in Spanish tell it how pretty it's white fur was. It turns out the dogs name is Blanco...(white) so I had actually been saying it's name the whole time. I told the dog "Venga mi amor" (come my love) and it was meant to be a joke but the dog followed me all the way back to the bus and came into the bus with me! I was a little embarrassed haha. 

 

The crater!!! So cool!!

 

I think the scarf really asserts my Tico-ness. 

    

The climate at the volcano was super chilly (which explains the scarf) and the whole area seems so strange and nothing like the normal Costa Rica. There was fog EVERYWHERE and the soil was all black with hardly any animal life. I looked it up online and few species of animals actually can survive living there. The place just seems eerie really, even the people visiting talked in hushed tones. 

 

We brought our lunches with us to the Volcano. We went to Subway the night before because they were handing out free sub coupons, and then brought them with us! The sandwiches weren't complete without an avocado of course, but naturally none of us remembered a knife. Desperate times, call for desperate measures. A Costa Rican student ID doubles as a knife, who knew? MacGyver would be so proud. 

 

It's not Costa Rica without a little rain!  

We took the bus back to San Jose and made it back by 3pm. We walked around San Jose for awhile, and saw this awesome guy on the street painting with just his fingers and acrylic paint. The guy was so funny. He's been painting on the street for over 30 years...Crazy. After that we went back to Heredia and to our homes. Buut there's more! 

Alannah and I met back up at 6:45pm for Karen's choir concert at the university! It was great. I was so glad we went, and Karen was so happy too. A great day!