At Starfish Beach
Our journey Saturday from Cerro Punta down the Pacific slope to David, back up the Pacific slope along a lower pass (~4,000’) down to the Atlantic slope to Almirante all went smoothly. At the actual continental divide we could see windswept elfin forest. The Pacific side of the divide has a significant dry season, and as consequence, it is easier land in which to settle. At lower and mid elevations land it is mostly cleared for pastures, agricultural land or houses. The land in the Atlantic drainage has considerably more intact forest. When we reached In Almirante we had to wait half an hour so for our water taxi to arrive and then we were then whisked away to for the half hour ride to the ITEC dock. After an hour or so, students were settled into their new quarter. Electricity is by generator only and it is on for an hour in the morning, and for the evening hours until about 11 pm. While this is rustic compared to what they have had to this point, overall, they seem to be adapting well. It certainly has the feel of remote tropical field station and there is some charm to that.
Click on “ITEC day 1” to see some photos. To follow the track we took Saturday to get to ITEC paste the following link into your browser:
http://gps.motionx.com/maps/079597a5007af50662f7272f5ef5f4f2
Yesterday morning, led by Pete Lahanas, the director of ITEC, we hiked in the rainforest by the field station. We learned much about basic of rainforest structure, as well as about many specific creatures or plants. We saw poison dart frogs, leafcutter ants, big trees, a turtle, a non-venomous snake, lianas, etc. The students then came back and were asked to write in their journals, both reflections, as wells as observations and questions. In the afternoon we went by boat to nearby Starfish Beach to get acclimated to our snorkeling gear. Because of a heavy rain and wind the first night were here the water was pretty murky and we didn’t get to the reef.
Today, most of the group went to “La Gruta,” a cave with creek running through it in the middle of the island. They saw whip scorpions 2 species of fruit eat bats, a species of nectar feeding bats and Vampire Bats. They also took a walk with Pete Lahanas in the forest outside the cave. We are currently eating lunch at Yarisnori Restaurant, the nearest Internet spot. The wind and rain is dying down and we expect to get out to the reef this afternoon. We will seek a sheltered spot, and while the water won’t be optimally clear, we expect to be able to see most of the reef life.
Soon, they will be asked to move from observations and question about either the forest or the reef (or some other sub-ecosystems) to set-up small studies to try to answer specific questions.
My phone got salt water damage this morning, and is not longer functional. I expect to get a new on e tomorrow. You can reach Nick at 011-507-6601-4954 and Chessie at 011-507-6834-9825.
Steve