long day of travelling we set the alarm for 4:30am, but we kept waking up the whole night and just got out of bed at 4:15 am. we went to check out so we would be ready when Henry came, but no one was on the front desk. we put our bags down and went on the computers. when the guy came out, i asked if we could "sign out" instead of "check out" (i´ve been on the internet too much lately). Henry is meeting us at 5:15 am to take us to Los Caribenos, the bus station that is only 5 minutes away from the hostel. we are going through Parque Braulio Carrillo. this is the biggest national park in Costa Rica. the bus will stop in Limon after about 3 hours for drinks, food and a washroom break. another 2 hours to Sixaola. from here we will take a shuttle bus to Gandoca. it should take around 20 minutes.
in Gandoca, i´m not sure what the internet situation will be. i have read that there is an internet cafe in the closest town of walkable distance. however, Henry told us we would have to take a hour and a half bus to get to a town with internet. i hope that is not the case. anyway, if i don´t update in the next few days, keep checking because i will be sure to.
taxi to the station we loaded our bags into a taxi Henry called when we got to the bus station. the taxi driver held my orange backpack in the air so i could put it on. that was so thoughtful of him! henry gave us each a packed lunch with an apple, banana, plum, juice and baked sesame sticks. the bus was scheduled for 6 am. we sat in seat 13 and 14. Sixaola is the last stop on the route. we had an apple while we waited to get on the bus.
bus trouble the bus driver got off the bus without saying anything and just walked down the road. the bus was broken and i think he went to find reception to call for help. there are vines growing on the mountain with leaves bigger than a bus driver´s steering wheel. some are shaped like a lily pad. we left the bus to take pictures of the scenery. i put pengin on the drivers seat and took a picture of him.
breakfast we had our baguette with humus while we waited for another bus to come pick us up. this new bus was more cramped. the bus driver also went a lot faster. the delay put us 1.25 hours behind schedule. Henry called to let Maria know. i hope the shuttle comes to pick us up.
Limon we took a washroom break at a restaurant. i saw a street vendor bike down the road. i had a banana and talked to Henry. he told me to keep an eye out for a chinese cemetery on the left as we went back on the road. soon after the bus took off again, a man climbed aboard to check our tickets.
sights on route banana plantation with blue bags around the bananas, a huge bunch of coconuts in a tree, big waves in the ocean, islands and fishing boats, my first Costa Rican butterfly.
taxi jeep we paid c1600 each for the ride. the road was bumpy the whole way. we stopped two times to move the wire bars for the banana plantation (picture below). Henry was dropped off at Maria´s house. Marvin, Maria´s son, hopped on and the taxi and it drove us to the playa (beach).
project site we unloaded the luggage. Marvin carried both our big bags. one on his back and another on his shoulder. we walked on a sandy path through a forest grove until we hit the project site. on the way, i saw my first salamander. i also saw pieces of leaf the size of my thumbnail moving along the ground. i couldn't see what was moving it, but i´m guessing ants. i got 3 mosquito bites right away. i couldn't put on bug repellent fast enough. we filled out our volunteer forms, paid our $35 inscription fee and took a tour around the site. Judith, the project coordinator, showed us the tubs to do our laundry in, the boys´ washroom, girls´ washroom, boys´ shower stall and girls´ shower stall, training space, kitchen, store, garbage, recycling and compost. we had a quick lunch of rice, beans, and a drumstick with juice. we washed the dishes and put them away. i went to pee in the boys´washroom because val said there was a huge spider in the girls´.
our room we set up the mosquito nets, unpacked stuff we needed, but kept most of it in our bags. there is a bunk and a single bed. i took the single and val took the top bunk. my grandma brought two mosquito nets from china for val and i. mine is blue and hers is purple. val didn't bring her tent poles so we had to rig it with string. we share a key to the room. our important stuff and valuables can be put in a locker on the floor above us. i´m glad i brought my lock from when i was in JHS and high school.
phone call after settling in, we took our phone cards in search of a public telephone. i called home to tell them i got here safe. the walk was really interesting. there are animals and insects everywhere. i saw four different colours of crabs: red, orange, yellow, and grey. we saw an iguana and tons of salamanders. i saw one with a blue tail. we also saw a purple grasshopper the size of my thumb. all the creatures move super fast and you can only catch glimpses. when you walk through the forest, you can hear the waves splashing in the ocean, insects in the greenery and rustling from the crabs scuttling across fallen palm leaves and coconut shells.
beach back at camp, everyone was at the hatchery. i took my camera and we walked to the beach. the waves were gigantic, you can hear them roaring from the project site. the sand is black and it just goes on forever. i saw a little island off the point.
crangrejo grando while i updated my journal, the cook was in a hammock crocheting a bag out of strips of old plastic bags. she went ¨psst¨to catch my attention. she wanted to show me a crab that came out of his hiding place. he was the size of both my hands together. the cook didn´t speak english so it was hard to understand what she meant. we spent an hour talking to Stav. she told us what to expect during our time here, what we could do with our days off or if we have a morning free. dinner was spaghetti with celery, corn and peas.
training while she ate her dinner, Jenny told us the rules of the project, what to expect and the history of Gandoca and the leatherback turtles. she also covered some other endangered turtles in the area, the green and the hawksbill.
patrol our first night patrol was scheduled for 8pm to midnight. all patrols are 4 hours long, but it takes time to get to the sector. tonight, we had to meet at 7:40 at the training tent. we didn´t see a mommy turtle, but the stars were out. none of them looked familiar to me. the sky constantly flashed with lightning because of the humidity. the sand would light up when we kicked it up because of the phosphorus, it looks liked fireflies around my feet. there were fireflies around, but they stuck to the forest beside the beach. most of the walk was on the beach, but on occasion, the sand was too eroded and we switched on our flashlights to look out for scorpions and snakes on the forest path. it was very dark but we weren´t allowed to use our flashlights and our patrol leader, Holly, barely used hers. my vision was failing and i couldn´t even see the logs or rocks when people said ¨watch out¨. we walked in single file and i followed val in her grey sweater which dimly reflected light. at times, our feet got wet, but mostly, we walked in mucky sand. it was cooler on the beach than on site, but we had to wear long sleeve shirts and pants. tonight, we patrolled sector A. we had to cross a creek (middle creek) that went knee deep when the waves hit. after that, we walked the beach from one end to another, back and forth. it takes around an hour and a half one way. halfway through is hatchery A. the first time we passed by, there was a batch of babies that just hatched. the two on duty were measuring their dimensions and weighing them for the record sheet. the walk was tiring, i stumbled a lot and stubbed my toes, but i didn´t fall. Holly decided to have an easy night and gave us an hour break at the hatchery. there were no more seats, so i crouched in the sand. as soon as i rested my weight on my heels, i felt sharp pains in my feet and hands. i thought there was something wrong with my blood circulation, but it ended up being ants. the bites were were small and red and made my whole leg itchy and burn. i sat down on some dry sand bags and brushed the sand off my feet. i constantly ran my hand down my legs, i was afraid of more bug bites. towards the end of our break, i got a bite on my left eye lid. i could not be protected by bug repellent because the chemicals could harm and denature the eggs. the creek was proving difficult to cross tonight, so we waited until midnight to bring the next shift of hatchery workers across and the ones done their shift back to the project site.
shower we changed into swimsuits and took our flashlights to the bathroom. we need to wash our feet outside because the sand is hard to get out of the shower stalls. there is no hot water to shower with. the cold water is a shock, but refreshing afterward. to save water, we turn off the tap when we lather.
good night i changed, put on my contacts and got into bed with my hair still wet. it was past 1am by the time we fell asleep.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
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