Home!

Hello everyone!

Finally home after a long day of travel yesterday from San Jose, Costa Rica, to Dallas, Texas and finally to San Diego! Got in about 7:30 P.M. and was met by my family!

What a wonderful trip, but how much more wonderful to be home again and ready to share all my experiences.

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days - we did not have internet access!! Let's just say you can look forward to some new pictures in the upcoming week of:

Zip-lining 300 feet above the canopy

The Arenal volcano (covered with clouds - sorry)

And MORE!

Thanks for following along on my adventure!

Day 11

La Selva

Today the group travelled about 30 minutes from the hotel to La Selva Biological Research Station, which is a protected reserve of about 4000 acres. Here, scientists from all over the world come to study the plants, animals and ecosystems present in the rainforest.

We were very lucky today, as we got to actually participate in maintaining the rainforest, and helping to preserve its natural state. We had some hands-on experience with eliminating non-native, invasive species in the rainforest to make way for the natural flora to repopulate the area. Specifically, we were pulling out coffee plants that were introduced as a crop many years ago, but have since taken over the ground, light and water spaces of other native plants. Back-breaking, dirty work, but it felt great to give back and help this incredible ecosystem, even if only for one morning.

For my students: What other way do you think we can help the rainforest and these fragile ecosystems, plants and animals in our own lives? We live thousands of miles away, but the fact is that our everyday lives affect the lives of this very rainforest I am standing in today. What do you think?

In the afternoon, we got to go on a walking tour of the La Selva reserve with two naturalists pointing out and giving us information on all the wonders we were able to see. Leaf-cutter ants, toucans, howler monkeys, poison dart frogs, and peccaries, just to name a few!! An amazing time in an incredible place that I will never forget…

Pictures below…

This is called the Owl Butterfly. What patterns of other predators do you see on its wings?



This is, apparently, where the sidewalk ends...



No clue on the species, but what a great looking bird!



This is a howler monkey!!



Iguanas live in trees and eat leaves.



This is a peccary - it's a member of the pig family.




A view from one of the many bridges over the Sarapiqui River.




A Toucan! Finally!




Leaf-cutter ants at work. Amazing stuff.

Day 10

Day 10

Today we were picked up from our host family, and brought back to EARTH Universtity where we picked up the rest of our luggage. 1 ½ hours later, we arrived at the Selva Verde lodge, in Sarapiqui, Costa Rica. It was a bit sad to leave Elias and his family, as they had been so wonderful to us, but I was excited to begin the next part of my adventure.

Finally, we spent some time in the jungle that I had been imagining for so long on this trip. Today I saw monkeys, snakes, frogs, lizards, caimen , hundreds of insects, exotic birds and bats all in about 12 hours! The biodiversity of this place is staggering, and I am just amazed at the amout of species even in this reserve, which accounts for only about 900 hectacres.

The lodge itself is right in the middle of the preserve, and we can walk just a few feet and feel like we are in the middle of the jungle! Last night we went on a night hike with our guides, and were able to encounter all sorts of different animals, a LOT of which I was then able to cross of my lists that the students had prepared for me! Red-eyed leaf frog? CHECK! Pictures are below!

The next morning we were off to the Trimbina Ecological Preserve where we were treated to everything from walking across an 800 ft suspension bridge over a raging river, to seeing how chocolate is made an harvested from the Cocoa tree! Amazing stuff! Pictures are below to help me try to describe the wonders we saw here today.

Finally, we got up close and personal with one of the most important species of mammal is the entire world: bats. We got to see them up close (with the help of the local conservationists who captured a few), and learned how essential bats are to an ecosystems. Of all the mammals in the WORLD, bats make up…what percent? Can you guess? I will tell you tomorrow!!!

White-faced monkey!



This is an anole lizard.



Tree iguana! He was massive!



This suspension bridge we crossed is over 800 ft. - one of the longest in Costa Rica!



Another white-faced monkey.



Look at how this vine twists!



The Costa Rican Caimen!!!!



Poison Dart frog - my students: find out which one it is!



Ahh. Check another one off the list! Not a great picture, but this is the red-eyed leaf (or tree) frog!



Guess what this plant is? The beans inside that fruit are used to make something we all love VERY much...

Day 9 - Homestay!

Day 9

Well, after a long drought of no internet access – I’m back!!

The last few days have been amazing! One of the highlights of this trip so far was the opportunity to spend 24 or so hours with a Costa Rican Family on a sustainable farm. Three of us stayed on a wonderful farm called Finca Chiquita.

On the farm, Elias, his wife and his daughter grew their own crops, had a pond full of tilapia, alongside chickens, rabbits, cows, pigs and assorted other animals. Essentially, what they needed on a daily basis was available on the farm. If it was something they did not have readily available (which was often – one farm can only support so many crops and animals), they were able to either buy at the local market, or trade for with one of the other farms in their local area. Amazing stuff!

There were three of us who stayed with the family that night and the next day, and we were fed well and treated like honored guests! Although their way of life is simple, it was rich in community and family ties, as well as having a direct connection to the land that was worked. We were able to assist Elias in his work on the farm, from feeding the animals to cutting down trees for fence posts with a machete! It was hard work, but worth every second. In the end we were able to see and appreciate the way of live that is lived in rural Costa Rica, and get some wonderful insight into what it takes to actually provide for a family!

On this farm, they also used a very ingenious system called a bio-digester. Essentially, all waste products from animals (in this case, specifically pigs) are collected and allowed to go through the decomposition process naturally. One result of this decomposition is the release of methane gas. Methane gas is flammable, and can be collected to be used in cooking! Amazing!

The dinner we had the first night was a result of squash and other vegetables we picked in their gardens, different fruits for desert, and even some chicken and beef received from the other local farms. I have never had meal more fresh to the table!

Question for my students: what would YOU have to grow to support the things that you eat every day? Is there even one product that you could produce at your own house that would prevent you having to buy it from a store?

Here are some pictures to sum up the experience:

The home we stayed in!

Here are the pigs! They are used for generating the methane gas. Yum.



Here are the bags that collect the methane gas, for use in the house. There is a pipe that leads from this area into the kitchen where it connects to the stove!



Here I am picking the squash that will eventually be part of dinner!



Here is dinner that evening!



As I said, we got to work all morning in the fields. Those big boots are necessary because of the mud (it rains a lot in the rainforest, you know). We were cutting down trees with machetes!

Day 8 - Off to Homestays

Well, this is most likely the last post for a few days as we are leaving for our homestays with local Costa Rican families who run sustainable farms! I have no idea what the availability of internet access, so don't think I am lost in the rainforest - YET!

Here's something for my students to think about today:

If you were going to stay with a Costa Rican family for a night, and were asked to bring them a small gift in appreciation, what would you bring to represent your hometown (San Diego) and California?

Until I post again - be safe all!

Food!

Everyone wanted me to speak a little about the food. Instead of that, I thought I might post some pictures!!

Try to figure out what you are looking at, and for my classes, try to trace a possible path for each one of the main staples on the dish from the field to the plate! Just like our journey of the Apple!!

Picture Time!

Thought I just might throw a few pictures up for everyone to enjoy!



Millipede - not dangerous, kids. Sorry!




Why did the armadillo cross the road? I dunno, but this was a surprise!



These are NOT wild...pigs at the EARTH University sustainable farm. Get this - they use the methane gas produced from the pig's...droppings...as an energy source!



Banana plantation!!



Banana processing plant.

Below is something called the Banana Train. It's how they get the bananas from the field to the processing plant!