Costa Rica (15 Nov - 15 Dec)

A months worth of photos and events to update on. It's not possible.
My life here in Turrialba has been beautiful. I look very forward to the day I return.

Here are a few highlights from the last 30 days.

Views from where I live in Verbena (up the mountain from the town of Turrialba)

double rainbow over the cafe farm -- early morning

Sunrise over the Talamancas

November's full moon from my apartment

Annual cheese festival/fiesta in Santa Cruz/La Pastura, CR. Dancing, lots of singing, and good times. Santa Cruz is located above Verbena on the flanks of Volcan Turrialba -- where the country's famous cheeses are made.

Geri and Fernando

Xinia (Ger's sister) and her boyfriend

Friends from my spanish language school

Nate and Todd

Jenny, Denis, Stephani, and Laura

Piret

Stephani

We had massive flooding in early December on the east side of the Talamancas. Many landslides, bridges out, and some people in the lowlands had flooding in their homes. The rivers raged and I loved it. Apparently we received 1/2 of the months average rain fall in just a couple of days.
This inspired a trek out to my study site on the Rio Pacuare two day after the flood waters started to recede ..... I wanted to see the changes that the flood created first thing. These rivers are wild and dynamic.

Me - hopping across the new boulder deposits on my study bar at CRRios site on the Pacuare.
While GPSing in the head of the bar a boat of rafters went by with a friend from Oregon that spotted me sitting on the banks (small world).

Once vegetated back channel -- with massive veg disturbance and new layer of sands at CRRios site.

Bug on the banks of the river (apple for scale) -- gotta love the tropics!

Clouds moving in over the jungle and the Rio Pacuare below on my hike out from the site

Aunt Jo and Sue came for a visit. It was such fun to have them here. We went up to Santa Cruz to buy cheese from a local cheese maker, visited the Guayabo National Monument, quickly visited the CAITE Botanical Garden, tooled around Turrialba and had a lovely lunch with my Tico family in Verbena.

Aunt Jo and Sue at the Guayabo Monument (archeological site of the indigenous peoples of the Talamancas)

Monument from viewing point in the jungle

I then traveled with Jo and Sue back to Cahuita for a few days of rain, clouds, yoga, good food, and fantastic company.

Uncle Jim on the deck/kitchen table

Jo and Jim's beautiful Cahuita home

Sue in her yard with her new puppy

Playa Grande, Cahuita ..... after a storm.

Returned home from the Cahuita to a household of family and friends for an early cena de Navidad.

Me and Nico -- Dec 2010

Brett and Nico -- Brian and Samuel: Dec 2010

Life abounds here! everywhere you look

Tiny eggs in a hummingbird nest

CATIE main campus building

Caribe a Pacuare (Nov 5-15)

Off to the Caribe for what turned into a seaside luxury spa for me. Jim and Jo and Momma Sue took such crazy good care of me. I was fed lots of yummy yummy food, slept well, laughed a lot, chilled, walked/ran the beach and quiet Cahuita road; danced; did yoga; and enjoyed their fabulous company. I am feeling blessed and ever so grateful for such love. THANK YOU.

Arrived in Cahuita in the evening - Nov 5th: after three bus transfers and a lovely walk just after dusk along the Caribe Sea. Everyone there seems to be doing so well -- healthy, happy, and moving forward in their days. Refreshing.

Nov 6th: Attended a friend's b-day party in Cahuita ..... dressed up with flowers in our hair and ready to dance!

Me and Jo -- party ready!

Beautiful Momma Sue

Andrea -- the birthday girl

Jim and Jo -- cutting it up on the dance floor.

Nov 7-8th: yoga, food, secluded beach, daily visits to the property at the end of the road .... ahhhh

Cahuita Lind property -- from on top of the new foundation

Tranquilo Cahuita beaches

Caribe ease in Cahuita.

Nov 9th: made my way back to the mountains via 4 bus transfers on a warm beautiful day.

Nov 10-11th: PACUARE!!!!!! Traveled with my friend Brian (co-owner of river lodge) via 4x4 vehicle to his camp on the banks of the Pacuare. The camp is incredible. If you are ever in the country -- I highly recommend time on the Rio Pacuare and a night at this camp (Costa Rica Rios Lodge). It provides separate netted rooms with beds (all with great views of the river); showers, self generated hydro-electricity from a small creek next to the lodge; and a solar heated freshwater, self-flushing hot tub. It is located in the middle of the steep jungle with a massive forest reserve on the other side of the river and a beautiful waterfall just 15 minutes walk from the lodge.

Rio Pacuare from my cabin at the Costa Rica Rios Lodge

The camp is located directly above a "perfect" boulder bar research site. And I spent the day GPSing and mapping out the bar. It's massive and offers a floodwater backchannel with sand deposits. PERFECT!

Boulder Bar study site (left bank) upstream end.

Toe of boulder bar study site -- with me in the photo for scale

The next day I hiked out the 8 km from the river to a tiny pueblo (Santa Marta) to catch the bus back into Turriabla. The jungle dripped from the evening/night rains; countless birds; and magnificent views accompanied me up the road. The first 2km are very steep, muddy, and rutted ..... the rest of the way is definitely up-hill and muddy .... but in better condition.

4x4 road into the river camp

Rio Pacuare and upper drainage as seen from hike along the road to Santa Marta

TOTALLY INSPIRED by being on the river and locating a perfect research site.
Spent the remainder of the week catching up on Spanish homework; doing some geomorph reading; sorting my notes from the Pacuare; and spending some time with my CR family.

Butterflies hatching in the garden at my Turriabla casa

Angela and Nico (baby) left on Tuesday for the US. They are there with Nico's pappa and other family. Gerri (Angela's mom) and I missed them immediately.

My and Nico -- cozy cuteness. Missing him and his momma Angela

Nov 15-19th: back in school at AEC. My Spanish is improving in tiny increments as we slog through the grammar and rules. I continued my morning jogs through the Botanical Gardens of CATIE each day before class. Only three other students here this week and two finished up on Friday.

Nate, me and Todd -- AEC spanish language school students

Met with a watershed hydrologist from CATIE on Thursday afternoon. I will be meeting with other faculty next week (if all goes well -- nothing is ever for-sure in CR) tee hee. I'll need a faculty sponsor before going through the application process to affiliation myself with this institution. From what I have learned thus far, there are many benefits to affiliating my research through CATIE so I will continue to pursue this avenue.

CATIE -- main campus building

Yesterday (Nov 19th) was so beautiful here in the mountains. It was the first hot and totally sunny day I have had here since arriving. Up on the side of the volcano where I live it was even sunny in the afternoon with early evening rains mixed with rainbows, blue sky, thunder, and a view of the fattening moon.

I wake up this Saturday morning contemplating my long list of to-dos against my desire to either take a kayak lesson or go back out to the banks of the Rio Pacuare .... just to be there.

Costa Rica: 24 Oct - 4 Nov

Heavy rains across the Pacific side have resulted in massive flooding. The geomorphologist in me is excited about the quantity of water and sediment that is moving. Footage is amazing. But the loss of life puts a grey shadow on it. In Turriabla where I am living there has been heavy rain, but no flooding.

I left off my last blog by announcing that I was spending the day rafting the Pacuare River.

For those that don't know -- this is the river I hope to do my PhD dissertation research on. The day was fantastic ........ and I was reminded why I want to study these rivers. Their dynamic nature and intense beauty make my soul happy happy happy.

Me -- in the Rio Pacuare

boulder/cobble bar (RB) -- size and composition variety - Rio Pacuare

Waterfall tributary-- Rio Pacuare

Class 2-4+ rapids on the Rio Pacuare (I'm front right .. photo taken by rafting company)

Oct 25-29 -- Spanish language classes. Geomorph reading.

Oct 26 -- zip line and waterfall repelling in the mountains near Turrialba.

Getting my "safety instructions"

Friend Nate coming into the platform on the zip-line

Getting soaked repelling 60 ft waterfall. This was SO FUN!!!!

Oct 31 -- Just a regular day here in CR ..... as they don't celebrate Hallow's Eve.

Nov 1 - Nov 4:
I have found a groove in my weekly routine. Up by 5:15am with the sunshine and the chorus of birds that seems to always greet the day (rain or shine). A quick breakfast with my Tia Gerri because I have to walk to my bus stop to catch a 6am bus into the town of Turrialba. At this time of day there are many school children and workers on the busses -- very enjoyable. Then I walk to my school about 3km south of town, switch into clothes and go for a run through the botanical gardens of CATIE. I take a shower at the school before classes begin (8-12:30). My bus back up the mountain leaves at 3pm -- this gives me time to eat lunch, walk into town, and do a few errands.
Homework and hang time with my tica family is how I generally fill my evenings.
Photos of my Turrialba life:

Housemates:

Angela (madre) and Nico (7 wks) at our casa.

Gerri (gramma) and Nico at our casa

School:

Bench in the botanical garden at CATIE where I do homework.

Turrialba:

Farmer's food market on Friday and Saturday near down town. One the most incredible food markets I have ever seen. This fertile valley with high elevation slopes near the Caribe produce almost everything under the sun.

Logging truck in downtown Turrialba. I have seen more than one of these trucks with huge trees on them.

Sunrise from the balcony of my bedroom -- looking across Turrialba valley towards Volcan Chirripo.

Downtown Turrialba on a clear morning. YES -- that "cloud" attached to the mountain in the background is steam and gas being emitted 24/7 from active Vocan Turrialba. My house is about 10 km up the volcanoe from this stop sign.

I have become quite attached to the town of Turrialba. There are no McDonalds or any such touristy influences here.

Heading to the Caribe coast for the weekend -- visit family. Stay tuned for more pictures soon.