I had a fantastic time, but I’ll admit that I’m happy to be out of the jungle.  My bungalow was screened in, but had no glass windows, so I could hear every little sound from the surrounding jungle. The insects were most frightening. I had about all the scary insect experiences I could handle. Tarantulas, flying giant cockroaches, bullet ants, marching ants, gargantuan cicadas, and some insects so strange-looking that you can’t imagine how they came to be. I’d hear creatures crashing through the jungle or falling on my roof. I’m not sure what was dancing on my roof, but it scared the daylights out of me in middle of the night on a few occasions. It was probably just a lizard, but the noise on a tin roof was loud. There are some nocturnal birds that sound just like howling banshees. Needless to say, my nights were not exactly restful. But the days were beautiful, so it all worked out.

Yesterday I went to a sloth rescue center...it was totally awesome. I got to interact with adult and baby sloths. So cute!!  Check out these pictures of the center’s residents. http://www.perezosoproductions.com/gallery.htm

 

I came home last night to find that the bathroom of my bungalow had been invaded by marching ants. Yes, that´s what they’re called. Ants everywhere- big ones. They carried little white eggs. YUCK. It was only about 9 pm , but the whole all the other bunglalows were dark and everyone was asleep. I asked the night guard guy to come take a look. He said not to worry, the ants were just passing through and would be gone by morning. I was skeptical. I imagined they would seep under the bathroom door and come eat me in my sleep. I went to bed. I woke up screaming in middle of the night...jumped clear out of my bed and dashed to the door. I turned on the lights and saw no ants. I realized that I had only dreamed that the ants were marching toward my bed. I went back to sleep. I woke to a glorious sunrise and the roaring of the howler monkeys. I cautiously opened up the bathroom door and sure enough, all the ants had gone. The only ones that were left were the casualties, who had drowned in water spots in the shower. Whew. Off to the beach now

 

I arrived Sunday afternoon at Samasati Nature Retreat. It’s the most amazing place I’ve ever seen! It's near the town of Puerto Viejo. To get there you have to drive miles up a mountain through the rainforest. The hotel has a fantastic view over the rainforest canopy to the Caribbean Sea. They upgraded me to a bungalow....actually it’s the honeymoon suite! It´s set right on the hillside and it has a balcony that overlooks the rainforest. I was supposed to stay in the guest house, which has a shared bathroom, so this is a big treat.

 

I wake up at about 4 to the call of howler monkeys. I drift in and out of sleep until it’s time to go to yoga at 6 am. Breakfast is at 8. The dining room is right in middle of the forest and once again, it has a gorgeous view over the valley. Breakfast is fresh papaya, pineapple, yogurt, eggs, and rice and beans. Everything is fresh and delicious. All the meals are vegetarian and so good!

 

I made friends here right away. At the resort there is one group of about 15 people from Atlanta. There is only one other solo traveler staying at the resort...and strangely she is from Chicago. Not only that, but she lives in my neighborhood! We live about a mile apart. It’s too weird! We get along great and have been hanging out together since I got here. Yesterday we went to a river and a cacao plantation tour. We also hang out with the yoga instructor, Gail, the massage therapist, and another girl who works here. They’re all about my age and from the States.

 

Today I am in the nearby town of Puerto Viejo for the day. It’s a sleepy surf town. Reggae beats can be heard as you walk down the streets. Young hippy backbackers and surfers wander about at slow speed. I’m going to do a little exploring and later I will meet up with Mary from Chicago to rent bikes to go to some nearby beach.

 

Surprisingly it’s not too hot upt at Samasati. it's steamy in the town of Puerto Viejo, but once you head up the mountain to where I'm staying, the temperature drops a few degrees.  It's pleasantly warm. At night it’s cool enough to use a blanket and wear long sleeves. That’s a big change from Parismina, where it felt you were you were sitting in an oven day and night.

 

Journal entry

 

I just arrived in Puerto Limon from Parismina. I stopped in the internet cafe across from the bus station since I have a little time to kill before my next bus arrives.

To get here I took a two hour ride down lush, jungle-lined canals in a small motorboat. I tried to concentrate on wildlife-spotting on the way, but after about an hour the buzz of the boat’s motor made me very sleepy. My head bobbed up and down as I battled against sleep. Between cat naps I did manage to spot a crocodile sunning himself on the shore .

The turtle experience in Parismina was totally amazing! I acted as sort of a midwife to the turtle and then helped relocate the eggs to a nesting spot safe from poachers. It was about the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life. The Leatherback Turtles are giant. They look like dinosaurs.

For two nights I patrolled the beach of Parismina searching for mama Leatherback turtles. There were two other volunteers, plus a guide. The first night we walked for about 3 hours in the darkness (flashlights might scare off the turtles)  before we finally found a turtle. She had already dug a hole and it was half-full of large eggs, about the size of a tennis ball! The guide handed me a pair of rubber gloves and told me to quickly start getting the eggs out. Me? I hadn’t been given any instructions, so this command came as quite a surprise! You have to understand that this turtle was nearly 6 feet long. The two back flippers, which rested next to the hole, were each as long as one of my arms.

I did as I was told. I got down on my stomach in the sand and reached my arm into the hole. The turtle was still laying eggs, so some were dropping right on my hand. I was up to my armpit in the hole. The eggs are wet and rubbery and emit of strong smell of well,  egg yolk. The turtle somehow didn’t get scared off by the presence of us and just kept on dropping those eggs. She makes sounds while she’s s laying the eggs- sort of like a snorting horse. I never imagine sea turtles make sounds! The hole is only about a foot wide, and is partially obstructed by the turtles backside. It’s very unnerving to have your face, literally inches from the back flippers! The guide urged me to hurry, because I had to get out of the way as soon as the laying was done, or else I’d get smacked in the face as the turtle began to bury the eggs. Again, somehow she doesn’t realize that the eggs have been removed from the hole by us. She’s on auto-pilot. Once she starts laying, instinct kicks in and she goes through the motions from start to finisht. Our presence did not slow her down at all.

After she finished laying the eggs, I quickly got out of the way. She started moving around in circles in an attempt to mess up her tracks- to throw off the predators. The track fo the turtle is about 6- 8 feet wide, which is easily visible to anyone walking down the beach. That’s why it’s important to relocate the eggs right away. Otherwise the poachers will gather them up and sell them on the black market for about $3-5 a piece.

After collecting the eggs, we measured the turtle and recorded her tag numbers. After that we said goodbye to her and headed to the turtle egg nursery to bury the eggs safely. The nursery is surrounded by a fence to protect the eggs from dogs and hungry crabs. There is a guard who watches the eggs to make sure poachers don’t dig them up. Once they hatch, the baby turtles are released, and make their way to the ocean. Only about 1 in a 1000 make it to adulthood!

On the second night of beach patrol, after about 2 hours of walking,  we spotted a turtle coming right onto the beach. How exciting! We’d get to watch the process from the beginning. We stood back as she slowly made her way up the beach to her spot. We noticed a lone figure approaching the turtle from the other side of the beach. The guide instructed the volunteers (2 teen girls from Holland and me) not to move. He told us to wait while he went to investigate. We observed the two men talking and gesturing. Finally the lone man left. The guide came back and told us that the man had come for the eggs. The guide told him to get going because the coast guard was coming (not true). Luckily the poacher man left believed that and left. Did I mention it was pitch black and about 1 am? We were about 5 miles from the village. Yeah, a little scary! If we hadn’t been there, this poacher guy would have taken the eggs. She layed 86 eggs. I helped with the “birth” again. Very awesome experience!

Here is the link to the Parismina turtle project.  Check out the photo gallery.  You can see photos of the leatherback turtles...they’re so big!! On the right you can see pictures of the village of Parismina.

http://www.parisminaturtles.org/

My bus leaves in a few minutes. Going to Puerto Viejo.

Bye!

11:15 am journal

 

Waiting for the bus in Siquirres, the final of three buses in my journey to the Caribbean coastal island of Parismina. Siquirres is a hot, dusty town with not much to offer, from what I could tell.  Everyone seems hot and cranky. People aren't smiling or chatting. Everyone just absorbs the collective misery of the brutal heat and humidity. We sit quietly, and all wait for the bus. All the benches are taken, so I lean my back against a wall to relieve some of the weight of my backpack. I'm happy to say that I'm the only tourist I've seen all day. I must be going in the right direction.

 

On the bus...now it's really hot. Sweaty. I'm drenched all the way through my clothes. A baby is crying somewhere in the front of the bus. A couple of puppies in a cardboard box, just a couple seats behind me, are whining and whimpering. We drive through miles and miles of banana plantations. Dole. Del Monte. Chiquita. They're all here. The road is bumpy and narrow. If a car comes from the other direction the bus has to pull over so they can squeeze past each other. So many bananas. It blows my mind that these are the same bananas we buy at the grocery store for less than a dollar a pound all year round. How can they possibly get them to us for that price? This place where they grow is so remote. What misery it must be to be to work in these banana plantations. So hot. Bananas as far as the eye can see. An occasional shack punctuates the scenery ...then the bananas continue.

 

 

 

 

 

I was pleased to see that there appeared to be no other buses or cars pulling into the park. Oh yeah, not too many visitors today. It'll be nice and quiet, I thought to myself. The bus took a turn and there they were... about ten buses in a hidden parking lot.

Loads of American teenages, no doubt from Spanish-exchange programs, headed up the road, towards the volcano crater. I tried to escape them by walking fast. No luck. The teens were walking fast too. I resisted the temptaion to break into a jog. I just don't tolerate loarge groups of teens very well. Why do they have to be so darn loud and obnoxious? A few professors spoke Spanish in American-accented English to the large group of English-speaking kids. From time to time the teens would throw in a Spanish word or two. "Did you see her novio? Totally guapo!" Ugh. Teens.

After a mile hike up a paved road, we arrived at the look-out point. I rushed to the fence to see the view to the crater. Oh no. A wall of white clouds. It was like looking out to the end of the earth. Nothingness. Crap. I came all this way to see this crater and this is what I get? I decided to make the best of it. I took a turn down a trail, which led into the forest. I ambled down the flower and fern-lined trail in hopes of seeing something exciting. Suddenly, I was all by myself. The teens rushed off to wherever teens rush to...and there I was- alone...aah. Saphire-blue hummingbirds hovered along the trail, sucking nectar from the pink, tube-shaped flowers that lined the trail. A squirrel greeted me cheerfully. He hopped onto the trail besides me and chattered to me. It started to drizzle. By the time I made it back to my starting point, I realized I had over 2 hours before the bus would come back to pick me up. What to do? I went to the cafe and ordered a latte and some sort of cheese pastry. I wrote in my journal and sketched scenes of the green jungle view, just outside the window.

I got bored. One more hour to go. I had already sat in the cafe long enough. Time to move. I decided to go down to the tiny volcano exhibit downstairs. It was not very exciting, as I had expected. I ran into one of the people who had arrived on my bus- a middle-aged Dutchman. He asked, "Did you see the crater? It's really phenominal!" What? I asked- What crater? The clouds cleared up and now you can see it, he replied. I had only about a half hour before my bus was scheduled to arrive. I shot out the door and hiked back up the road as fast as I could. From a distance I could still see the wall of white clouds. As I neared the lookout point-....alleluja! The clouds lifted. The view was amazing. YAY! I met a nice missionary couple who took my picture. We chatted. It started to pour rain and suddenly the view started to disappear. I had made it just in time.

I walked back down the mile-long trail, while rain poured down on me. Soon I was soaked through my clothes, despite my raincoat. I had a huge smile on my face. I walked slowly, enjoying the view of the hyper-green jungle view all around me. The rain continued to pour. Towards the end of the road I spotted the missionaries standing under the cafeteria's awning. The husband called to me, 'You look so calm. That's great!'. I told him that I was happy that I had seen what I came to see...a little rain...or a lot...wasn't going to hurt me.

But I froze on the bus ride home. Cold, wet feet. All I could think about was getting into dry clothes. I made it back to the hotel, and after changing clothes, felt much better.

I'll be heading to bed early...ummm...since I really have nothing to do on my own at night. Tomorrow is my big travel adventure to the Caribbean island of Parismina. 3 buses and 1 boat will get me there. If all works out well, by this time tomorrow I'll be patrolling the beach looking for sea turtles laying eggs. Can't wait!

Ciao.

Ariana

 

 

I arrived safely in Costa Rica. The flight from Miami to San Jose was not long, but it seemed to take forever. I got bored because there was no one sitting next to me. It was much more fun on the flight from Chicago to a Miami. I had a father and his 13 month old baby boy, Noah, next to me. My little baby friend kept me entertained the whole time. He laughed and giggled...a real little flirt.

I'm staying at a little guest house in a residential area in Alajuela, a town near the international aiport. The hotel is very cute - has a little courtyard with a tiny pool. My room is just big enough to fit the bed, but that's ok. It is clean and safe and that's the most important thing.

Tomorrow I head to Volcan Poas for a day trip. It's just a little over an hour away. I'll get back to my hotel in the afternoon. I'll probably spend the rest of the day checking this little town of Alajuela. I might go visit a neighboring town to have dinner. Depends on how tired I am from my volcano excursion.

Thursday morning I head towards the Caribbean coast, to the town of Parismina, where I'll be participating in a sea turtle conservation project. I'm not sure what the internet situation will be from here on out. It's not too hot so far- about 77 degrees I'd say. Very comfortable. I thought it'd be an oven. Very pleasant.

 

I forgot to mention...my internet connection opportunities while on my trip were few and painfully slow. That's why I waited to post my travel journals until I got home.

 

I am home from my fantastic adventure in Costa Rica. I would definitely say it was one of my best trips EVER. It certainly surpassed my expectations.

 

Today I've been taking it easy...downloading my pictures (will post soon) and well, not doing much of anything.  I'm allowing myself a few days to get back into the swing of things. No need to rush back into city living, I am still on summer vacation after all. My mind is still far away ....thinking about all the amazing things I experienced on my trip.

 

I will post my journals and emails above so you can get a taste of my travels.