People of Big River Abroad 03

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day 5, 6, & 7

December 17, 2017

on Friday, my group went out while i stayed to learn GIS. it is a simple program, so far from what i learned. made the map of las cruces with the points from pedro's group, their camera traps. that lasted up til 11, after that, i went to catch an aguiti, but they are fast, so fast that they make fast animals look... not fast. when i was tracking one down, i ran into a snake, so i bounced and got one of the people here to help check it out. wish my picture was better. we went out, and the snake bounced. he was curious about what i was doing, so i told him i was trying to catch the rodents, and he suggested a trap. as we walked back, he said i could use it. so i did. i got it set up next to a bush, and now its been almost the end of day 3. im not sure why none of them been caught yet. they might be too smart for it or they are full on the type of bait in there. it just the waiting game. for saturday, i sort of did the same thing, data analysis. kept checking the trap, and nothing. i

tribal day

December 14, 2017

today we went to visit the indigenous tribe of costa rica, no one knew what the name of the tribe is. but it was amazing witnessing their craftsmanship with cotton, dye made from plants, weaving techniques, and wood working. the first thing that happened was we were served coffee or juice, and some sort of fry bread in a roll (cant remember the name of the food). as we ate and drank, the head craft worker gave us a history lesson on their livelihood as a tribe, the corruption of the government, and how their crafts came to be. she had great amount of detail that was lost in translation. she said that the community is strong together, the tribal members knew every member (pretty much). they are only 4 family names within the tribe. they are becoming more advanced, but progress is a double edged sword. the youth are getting educated but are becoming more explorative, and being married to outsiders. the village is local only residential, pretty much only tribal members or married in. she

day 4

December 13, 2017

today was a fun day, Austin, Aaron, and i went out to the river to measure it for a cross section area, Ph levels, oxygen, conductivity, and temp. we went to the Jada river first because it was the most far point we could have manage for the day. after obtaining the data from the river, we went to a couple of creeks for same measurements. we wanted to get information on this part of the river but there was a part of the trail washed out. the trail went from top of the hill, then meandered back and forth like the shape of "N", the trail was just completely gone. we could have jumped to make it down, but coming back up was a different story. after that, we thought we could access the river a different way. so austin did find a way, but was disturbed by a large snake. which we later found out that it was not venomous, but it was at least 7 feet long. we got back to the dining commons just in time for lunch. we lucked out that most of the people was going to be out in the fiel

day 3

December 12, 2017

breakfast time is going to be at 6:30, too early for jet lag. felt like I was weighed down all day. but it was a fine day. we ate, then had a general safety meeting with the man in charge here at los cruces, Rodo talked about the landscapes, animal, insects, and just general safety tips for us. after the meeting, we wondered the garden while discussing the plants and other aspects of the garden, like: history, restoration goals, education, plant taxonomy, and animal interactions (pollination habits, and diet). after the garden tour, he took us to the forest. we got to see more plants, we learned about an asian ginger plant that is invasive to the area, and that this is why we are here. we came here not only for our own science, but to share science with the tribe of panama. the tribal members are strong in numbers, but lack the knowledge of ecology that is available to us in U.S.A that is used in order for successful restoration from climate change. we hiked about a quarter of a mile,

Day 2 POBRA

December 11, 2017

We all met in the lobby at about 7 for breakfast and to prepare belongings for transportation from San Jose to the research location "las Cruces", the trip would of be about 8 hours long. The bus driver drove crazy and fast, but everyone does that around here. Along the way, we got tow stop and gaze upon various creatures, such as: crocadile, birds, and rivers. The thing too was that we were suppose to go the mountain route but due to weather, we got to go the coastal route. One of the professors (terrible with names, sorry) let me borrow a book entitled "birds of Costa Rica", I was able to identify 3 birds... Because that's all I saw really. the black vulture seems to be most abundant. This trip is exciting. Get to research a couple areas of personal interest: hydrology, tropical plants, and animal habit. The only thing is that I get tired after the sun is down so g'night. (P.s my phone is acting up, so I can't upload pictures today. Tomorrow for sure.

Day 1