Ecuador!

Well, it is nearly midnight and I am rather more in the mood for reclining horizontally with my eyes closed at the moment than writing this blog, however I am unexpectedly leaving WiFi tomorrow for at least 7 days. Instead of beginning the next home-stay and service project on Wednesday as planned, we are beginning tomorrow. I will be able to post a full-fledged and over-analyzed blog post when I return and have more time, but here is a summary for now.

We arrived in Quito and over the next 3 days we explored Quito, saw several breathtaking cathedrals, fended of street-peddlers selling Coca leaves, did a jungle trek and canopy tour near a town called Mindo, and stood on some dirt which was apparently more special than other dirt since it was situated directly on the equator. I have settled once and for all that the vortex in draining water spins in opposite directions on either side of the equator, and it falls straight down without spinning when it is directly over the equator! I have a video for proof of this fact, in case there are still skeptics out there. Yesterday we visited Cotopaxi, and hiked up a ways to a "Refuge" on the side of the volcano. This refuge was also at 16000 feet of elevation, making it difficult to get enough oxygen while sitting, let alone while hiking up any type of incline! Unfortunately several of my group got altitude sickness, and spent more of their time evacuating their stomachs than admiring the view...

After Cotopaxi we all had a much-needed reprieve from the altitude in a rather inaptly named town called Banos. Banos is settled in the bowl of a valley and surrounded on all sides by forrest covered mountains. Almost everywhere in the town you can look directly above the buildings and see mountains soaring above. Today was our only full day here, and I explored the area, perused the artisan market, and purchased antibiotics for an ear infection which has stubbornly refused to get better after ear drops. Anyway, I must get some sleep now. I will post pictures and a more thorough blog post when I return! Till next time!

Group Photo in front of Cotopaxi

San Isidro to Uvita

How can a month pass by so quickly? The weeks seem to have flown by, however it also seems like forever ago that I was just meeting my group in Miami and flying to Costa Rica. Shoutout to my friends and family: I miss you all and hope everything is going well! I will catch up with you when I find WiFi and post this blog. 

I am in a campground of sorts which is situated 100 meters from the beach, and about 2 miles from Uvita (Sorry if the rapid switch between metric and imperial measurement muddled your mind). This section of the trip is formally known as "surf camp", and over the past two days we have been shredding the waves and getting thoroughly water-logged. On the first day I upgraded from a floaty soft-board to a small, hard-board that skilled surfers use (not to say that I am a skilled surfer...). The transition was difficult at first, but today I caught numerous unbroken waves and had some terrific surfing runs, which were much more fun on the small board. This surf camp is nostalgic as well, because I am only about 7 miles away from Dominical where I first learned to surf with my dad and brother 6 years ago! When I am not busy getting water-logged, I am helping cook the meals for the group, reading or exploring the area and chasing iguanas. Last night, the trip guide, Franco, and I cooked 15 pounds of chicken plus rice, beans, Platano, and a variety of fruit for a dozen people. 

Mixing concrete for the frog pond

Considering I have only been in Uvita for 2 days, you may be wondering what I did the the prior week. Or,  you may simply be reading raptly without paying attention to chronological order (perfectly okay as well). During the week prior to surf camp I was in a little hacienda situated above a tiny mountain town called San Isidro de Dota. There I spent my days mixing concrete, laying concrete, digging an irrigation system, and creating a frog pond. For the irrigation system, we dug a rut about 700 feet long and 1.5 feet deep, into which we laid piping to carry water. For this project we woke up at 5 AM, ate breakfast and then embarked upon a 3 mile hike down to San Isidro to begin mauling the earth with pick-axes and shovels. At first, the process was mind-numbingly slow, then Brett and I formed a rather efficient pick axe and shovel team, allowing us to scour a trench at a slightly less mind-numbingly slow pace.

Verdant valleys and mountains of jungle

Surrounding the Hacienda where we stayed were an abundance of low-hanging clouds and dense forest. That's doubtless why they call it a cloud-forest. The mornings would be clear, and the sun would shine down on verdant valleys and mountains of jungle. Then, in the afternoons, the clouds would settle in the valleys and creep their way up, enveloping the hacienda in a heavy fog.

At the hacienda I also had the opportunity to pick a cacao pod and grind the cacao nuts into powder, help cook with the mother of the family that owned the hacienda, search for glass frogs at night, and milk the cows in the morning. After the tooth-grindingly frustrating job of rounding up two cows into the corral, I happily took to squatting and squeezing. After several thousand repetitions of squeezing, not only had my hand turned into a thoroughly exhausted piece of putty, but I had also gone from a novice ta-ta squeezer to an expert ta-ta squeezer in a remarkably short amount of time! Also, I got to try some of the fresh milk, which tasted like. . . well . . like warm milk.

Anyway, the waves are waving at me and beckoning me to come ride them. So, I ought to be going now. I will be sure to catch a wave for you mom (as requested in your comment). Also, in 2 days I will be flying to Quito, Ecuador where I will struggle like a fish out of water to breath at the 10,000 feet of elevation. Till next time!

Sleeping quarters in the jungle  

Transport vehicle up the mountain

Finished Frog Pond

Photo Cred: Franco

Meredith turning her hand into exhausted putty

"Graduating" from spanish school

Reading The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy




Last night in Costa Rica, having dinner above San Jose (Maya and Brooke being silly)

Turtles and Waves

Nestled along 3 miles of pristine beach, San Miguel is the home of a conservation project aimed at protecting turtle eggs and changing the mindset of locals who poach the eggs for food and money. Before this project was created, 100% of the nests on this beach were poached by locals or destroyed by animals. However, over the past 18 years, the project has reduced this number to less than 8%. Independently owned and privately funded, Turtle Trax relies on donations and volunteer work to run the conservation effort. Every night, the beach is patrolled constantly by shifts of conservationists and volunteers who search the beach for sea turtles.

The last two nights I have taken the 7 till 10PM shift, while tonight I will have the 2AM to 5AM shift in search of turtles and their nests. It has been quite interesting taking part in the conservation effort. Last night I "delivered" or rather caught 119 eggs as they were birthed from a female Olive Ridley turtle. We watched the turtle drag herself out of the water to a suitable nesting spot where she began rhythmically digging with her hind flippers until she had a hole about 38 centimeters deep, at which point she dropped her eggs in. As I caught and placed the eggs in a bag, other members of the team were busy measuring the turtle and placing tags on her flippers. It is interesting that the turtle was not perturbed in the least by our involvement, since they go into a trance-like state once they begin the laying process. After the work with the turtle is finished, and we have gathered her eggs, we walk back to the hatchery, where we place the eggs. Here the eggs mature in a safe, and danger free zone for around 50 days until the eggs hatch and the baby turtles crawl to the surface. A volunteer is also on duty at night to watch for hatchlings. Once they hatch, the babies are placed in a bucket and released on the sand, where they instinctually crawl their way to the sea.

Although slightly sleep deprived, it has been a wonderful experience here so far. It is great to see all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes in the conservation efforts. Also, during the daytime there are plenty of activities. The other day I ran with Brett along the beach for 30 minutes, after which I did several sprints. Unfortunately I sprinted too fast, and although the sand was perfectly flat, I managed to strip the skin off of one of my toes! I won't be running for a few days, but I am still able to go body surfing. The waves here are at times so big that they are quite terrifying; a wall of water ready to crush everything in its path. Several times I have gotten perfect bodysurfing rides, going at least 100 meters with my head out of the water allowing me to breath. Other times I am simply flipped, crushed, and burbled in a bubbling blur of back-breaking bwaves.. Did I say "bwaves"? I meant waves... 

Currently I am sitting under a cabana on the beach watching Spirit surf with varying degrees of success. I just finished getting tumbled in the waves, and I figured I would attempt to gather my thoughts and mangled limbs while working on my blog. The sun is about to set, and if I get a good photo I will be sure to post it directly to the right of this paragraph  ----->. (You can enlarge the photo by clicking on it.) After San Miguel,

Photo Cred to Gabi!

we return to the jungle once again. We arrive in San Isidro on Friday, and take 4-Wheel vehicles deep into the cloud forrest where we will work on several projects. Anyway, stay classy my friends! Hasta la vista!

Excavating a hatched nest

The team ready to relocate sea turtle nests!