I'm back!

After a 9 month intermission, I'm back in Costa Rica, so I'm back to the blog! This adventure will be a little shorter, but I hope it will bring many memorable moments :) I will be here for three weeks studying a small species of montane lizard, Norops pachypus, which lives near the QERC field station. This is all a part of my senior honors project, and we hope to understand the thermal tolerances of this lizard, and how that relates to potential effects of climate change. More information to come...

Today I got into San Jose around 11:45, took the bus into the city, then took a taxi to my hostel, Pension de la Cuesta. I got some lunch, bought groceries for the trip, and have been reading/napping in my room for a while. I head up to QERC in the morning, and I can't wait to be back in the forest! I am really looking forward to the next few weeks :) I'll update more from QERC...

 My hostel

 Cool statue in a nearby park

The Costa Rican flag :)

PS-I got a DSLR camera recently, so the quality of the pictures should be better (I hope!)

So it begins...

We leave San Jose in the morning for a 2 week trip along the Pacific Coast! It should be an amazing time for seeing some incredible animals. Camping on the beach, hiking through the rainforest, swimming in the ocean...I can't wait for all the adventures ahead! Lots of stories to come...

San Jose

Wow, what an experience so far! Today I walked all around downtown San Jose. I got a couple books and for lunch I went to Mercado Central, a big place with lots of shops.

Neat little park downtown

National Museum that used to be a fortress before

Costa Rica disbanded its army in the 1950s

Arroz con Pollo (Rice and chicken). So incredible!

Too much food for me to finish, all for about 4 bucks :)

I went to the Simon Bolivar Zoo, which was small, but very fun. It was a very peaceful, quiet place, much unlike downtown :)

Cocodrilos (Crocodiles). They look big, but they were

only about 6 feet long...

Chestnut-mandible Toucan

Ocelot

Side-striped Palm Pit Viper. I have a good chance of

seeing one of these in Monteverde! :)

Tortugas Continentales (Land Turtles)

A sneaky little crocodile...

Later in the evening I went to find Taylor’s house. It took about 45 minutes to finally get there, and I asked directions from lots of people along the way, but I made it. It was so nice to see a familiar face! We went out and got some dinner, then he showed me some pictures when we got back. He seems to he seems to be having a good time, and his host family is very nice.

Me and Taylor in his host family's house! So nice to

get to see him :)

I came back to the hostel on a bus, and I finished up some final things before I leave for the farm in the morning. Everything is going well so far. Hasta luego!

The Adventure Begins!

Today began early; 4:30 am to be exact. That's even worse when you are up til 3:00 packing! Needless to say this day has been filled with many emotions: fear, excitement, nervousness, sadness, expectation, joy, and pain to name a few...The trip down went well, and after a long trek through downtown San Jose looking like a very over-packed tourist, I arrived at my hostel. It is a nice place, very clean, safe, and comfortable. I am looking forward to a chance to explore the city tomorrow, and for my Costa Rican experience to begin. I miss everyone back home very much. This is going to be an amazing trip :)