If this were a REAL rainforest, we'd be walking THROUGH that river, not on this paved bridge..."

Bridge through La Selva--note the firm
hand rails and extensive width. 

Now La Selva is a pretty big deal. It’s a famous research station located on the Caribbean slope and you can read all about it here. While I’m sure it’s a great place for many people, our group was not enthused by the place. The trails were paved with bridges, there were showers with warm water, and washing machines with dryers. We weren't allowed to touch any of the nature, and our mealtime eating style (loud conversations, excessive laughter) were not appreciated by the other students living there. That’s right, we also had our first exposure to other US college students since arriving here in August...they were weird (their program had so many "safety" rules--like no bike riding and no night hiking. What? Everyone knows nighttime is when you see all the cool creatures. The whole place was so foreign and strange—we were all very overwhelmed and grateful to only be staying for 2 nights. 

Class in La Selva means wearing party
hats to learn about Tree Fall Gaps. I
maintain that the OTHER group of college
kids were the weird ones. 

            I did get to see some pretty cool creatures though, like an eyelash viper and a Montezuma’s Oropendula. But that’s about it for La Selva.

            Our next stop was Tirimbina, another research station slightly closer to the coast and perfectly lovely. It really reminded me of our home in Monteverde with its large patio and hammocks strung between every post. We did a night hike through the pond down the hill from the station and saw caimans, toads, and even a vine snake! Then some horsemen came whooping over the hill and scared the living daylights out of my friend Caitlin and I, so we decided to be done with the pond.

            The next day was filled with learning all about the timber industry in Costa Rica. The industry isn’t really that exciting, but what was exciting was the farm we visited to learn all about it. Half pineapple plantation, a quarter cows and horses, and a quarter tree plantation, I have found where I’m going to live when I grow up. A small river (which is just deep enough for floaties) cut through the rolling pastures, which were filled with cattle and a couple horses (obviously when I live there the silly brama cows will be replaced with jerseys and the horse herd will grow exponentially). The pineapple fields would provide breakfast…and lunch…and life would be just perfect. You are all welcome to visit, of course.

            

Future home of my floaty

After a night dreaming of my future home, I woke up well rested and ready for anything. We took 4 hour hike from our Tirimbina research station through the forest to the Tirmibina resort, stopping along the way to learn about the plants and animals we found along the way, including some bullet ants! Just before we got to the resort we arrived at a bridge—like literally 3 city blocks long—over a river. We went across carefully the first time, being considerate to the height-fearers…and then later we ran back across bouncing the whole way (insert our teachers shaking their heads and calling us silly gringos here). After lunch at the Tirimbina resort our travel mom, Kathy, had a chat with the hotel staff and got us all a pass in to the pool! We threw ourselves in, clothes and all.

           

Later that evening we returned to our research station via vans for dinner and the main event—the CIEE Fall 2011 Talent Show. Now, all of the people in my group are incredible scientists—that has been abundantly clear to me since our first day in Costa Rica. They are all fascinated by nature, intelligent beyond measure, and clearly enamored by science. I love them all so much, but until the Talent Show I had no idea how truly multi-dimensional these people were—we have dancers, huggers, rappers, and comedians. We also have a un professor muy travieso—between every couple of skits, Moncho had a “dare” for volunteers to attempt. If you were successful you were granted a free alcoholic beverage once we got to Panama (the type and quantity varied based on the challenge). For one challenge myself and two other contestants were called up on stage, and then asked to bring our first tentmate from the first field trip. Julia happily sprinted on stage, as did everyone else’s tentmates.

            “Now, para una cerveza y una joamy umbrella drink, jew guys have to lick eachoder’s armpits!” Moncho pronounced with a giggle. Julia and I took one look at each other and, without exchanging any words, stuck our tongues out in the ready position. Two licks and a high five later, we were the proud recipients of Moncho’s drink coupons! Over the rest of the night, saltines were choked down, more tentmates kissed, balls were iced, and free drinks were won by the most daring of us. Never have I ever laughed for so long, or so hard, in my life. My cheeks were still sore the next day! (Come on Kyle, my face cheeks…)

            The next morning our teachers let us sleep in (9am woo!) and after a late breakfast we had a pleasant but ride to the coast. Under pouring rain we climbed aboard some water taxis and motored down the river to Tortuguero. Now, Tortuguero is by no means a big town, in fact it’s downright tiny. But that didn’t make our gringo parade any less obvious as our pack-laden train wound its way from the river side of the town to the beach. Surrounded by sand and palm trees, Tortuguero’s brightly colored cabaña’s and rasta way of life make it seem straight off a postcard. Our motel was a tiny little thing, with hammocks all around and a large grassy area for soccer playing. The tiny little room Hannah and I shared barely fit our two beds when separated, so we pushed the full and the twin together to create superbed. Even though I woke up at an ungodly hour both of the mornings that we were there, some of the best sleep I have ever gotten occurred in superbed.

            Why was I waking up at the buttcrack of dawn you are wondering? Well to go find baby turtles of course! Tortuguero is famous for being one of the primary green sea turtle nesting sites in the world. If you go there in early August you a guaranteed to see momma turtles laying their eggs on shore at night, as well as little babies crawling out to sea in the wee hours of the morning. Because we were there on the 11^th of October, we didn’t get to see any mommas, but we did get to see a baby! 

You wouldn't think so, but these guys can move!

The first morning we were there Hannah, several of our other friends, and I made a loooooong trek down the beach to where we could see a crowd of people gathered. With the sun rising over our right shoulders, after an hour of walking we made it to the group just in time to see the last baby turtle paddling his way down the sand. It was one of the most magical things I’ve ever seen. Even the cranky old French lady that scolded me for reaching to help the turtle when he got stuck in a massive footprint couldn’t ruin the moment (especially because while she was distracted clucking her tongue at me, the large rastaman behind her took care of the turtle).

            We went on what our director likes to call an “orientation hike” that morning. We do one every place we go—basically it involves walking around the place we’re staying and stopping every 5 minutes to get a mini lecture about the species he has found. Generally they’re full of griping and complaining (“ugh god, another one?!” “cripes I’m so hot” etc.), but in retrospect, it’s still a really cool way to learn. No giant lectures, no powerpoints with photos, just you and the professor (and 21 other kids) walking around and finding organisms in nature. And learning about them right then and there. Before lunch I got to see a baby sea turtle, a basilisk, a baby monkey, and a pregnant monkey (who kindly left her perch directly above us, where she’d been watching us learn about zyngiberoid growth forms, to relieve herself several yards away).

Pre-thunderstorm --note the excited smiles!

            That afternoon we headed back to the river and filled up about 6 large canoes. The trip started on a high note—Kathy had filled giant snack bags and placed them under the seats of the canoes (chips and salsa in a canoe? Great idea in science) and quickly took a nosedive. The idea was to go bird watching, but it being the rainy season and all, it rained the entire time. And by “rained” I mean Niagra Falls relocated to the Caribbean sky and dumped freezing water on us for three hours. We did see some roseate spoonbills and some snowy egrets, but mostly we just played “pass the paddle” to stay warm. One of the things I have learned about this place—when you are at your most cold/wet/miserable you are always about to get the best meal of your life. Grilled cheese in Santa Rosa, pesto and garlic bread in Monteverde, mac and cheese and rice pudding at Eladio’s, and Tortuguero held its own with mini shrimp alfredo! Hannah and I set the alarm for even earlier that night, and collapsed in superbed full and content.

            At 4:20am my watch rudely awakened Hannah and I. It was still pitch black outside (you’re not allowed to be on the beach without a certified guide when it’s dark) and superbed was so comfortable that Hannah and I decided to give ourselves another half an hour of supersleep. Not 5 minutes passed before I felt Hannah nudging me awake.

            “We’re going to see something cool.”

            “Excuse me?” I said groggily

            “I just feel it. We are going to see something fricken awesome. Let’s go!” I rolled myself out of bed and down to the beach. Now before you get excited we didn’t see any creatures, but we did get to watch the moon set and the sun rise at the same time! 

After breakfast we disbanded superbed, got back into our boats, and went back down the river to our bus. For the next 5 hours we played Wizard (our card game of choice), snacked, and slept our way down the Costa Rican coast. Around 5 we arrived at the Costa Rica-Panamanian border. With all games of ninja banned and strict instructions to “act normal” all the sleepy gringos tumbled out of the bus. We passed through customs, and carefully crossed a massive bridge spanning a river between the two countries. Once we’d made it through Panamanian customs (not as friendly as Costa Rican customs) we waited for the bus. They took a long time going through all the underbelly compartments, we failed miserably at being inconspicuous, and in several miles we made it to the Panamanian coast.