Today was my first day off since arriving to the station, but it was hardly a day off. The station is always full of activity and there are always chores to be done. Today was our staff meeting and also Kirstin and my patrol leader test. I'm happy to say we both passed with flying colours and are now officially patrol leaders! It's been an intense week of training, but it's been so much fun. We've been tagging fake cardboard turtles and retrieving buried coconuts to practice nest trangulation and relocation. I'm also learning other skills that I didn't think I would pick up here - like how to light a gas stove and how to steer a canoe. I also volunteered one morning to set up the mist nets for bird banding, though I didn't get to stick around long enough to see the birds that were caught.
So far this past week has been very physically demanding, I've had four turtle walks on the beach but still haven't seen any turtles! Our first morning walk we saw the half moon tracks of a leatherback and a loggerhead turtle. A halfmoon means that the turtle came up to the beach to nest but turned around and decided not to nest. Apparently turtles are very indecisive.
I'm amazed at the abundance and diversity of wildlife at the base. It's like BBC's Life in high def with surround sound ALL the time. I wake up to the sound of howler monkeys every morning (which sounds like death metal in my opinion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYtoz-t-bbY) and can be a bit alarming if you're having a nightmare. Just this morning as I left our rancho (cabin) I nearly stepped on a strawberry poison dart frog in the grass. 
It's really hard to concentrate at the station because the wildlife is so distracting and it is EVERYWHERE. Kirstin and I were trying to study for our test on the dock, but I ended up taking these pictures instead:
The station is very basic but comfortable, very different from the luxury tourist accomodations I've had in the past. I have to say I prefer this more authentic Costa Rican experience, with the exception of the bathrooms. At night I lie in bed debating whether I can hold it until morning because our toilets are outside, and I have to walk through the dark to get to them. Once I get there, I can't help but think of that scene from Jurassic Park where the guy gets eaten by the t-rex while on the toilet.
There are some unpleasant things about Cano Palma, like the 3 inch cockroaches or walking though at least one spiderweb a day. I've seen waaay too many scary insects in our room, so I have to sleep with a mosquito net for my physical and mental well being. I'm slowly becoming more used to these things.
All in all, I'm enjoying life at Cano Palma. I'm constantly learning new things and there's always so much to see in and around the compound. Just as I'm writing this one of the girls spotted a beautiful 4 foot boa underneath one of the cabins. The work is tough but the closeness to nature makes it very rewarding in the end. I feel so lucky to be here, this is truly a dream come true for me!
No comments:
Post a Comment