DAY 143
1st June 2010
June already...
I have the morning off as I think there was provision for me to be to be in San Jose for an extra night if need be.
Afternoon finds me doing some walking along the muddy boundary trail with a couple of vols. There are quite a few lizards around and I manage to find a new tiny frog species which coincidentally Andres also found earlier that day along the Mammal Transect. It's really difficult to identify.
DAY 144
2nd June 2010
Bird Survey in morning to Sierpe Viejo. We see an uncommon Purple Gallinule and lots of logs provide some navigational issues. Good fun though.
Afternoon off.
DAY 145
3rd June 2010
Nest check this morning. The walk is a lot easier and I seem to have recovered my fitness.
DAY 146
4th June 2010
I have the day off again – I think they are resting me for the Jag Walk.
It's the end of phase party tonight, as some of the volunteers are leaving early to travel around a bit. They could have done this after finishing with GVI, but this seems to be the pattern this phase. The party itself seems to go OK, we cook some burgers and sausage and put on a good spread for everyone.
DAY 147
5th June 2010
Surprisingly, everyone manages to get up early for their surveys today. I'm not doing anything this morning again – I've had it pretty easy this week. I've got some hard labour this afternoon putting new mile markers in the beach ready for next phase. It's quite good fun actually, digging holes and finding nice bits of driftwood that will act as posts.
DAY 148
6th June 2010
We awake today around 03:00am to an almighty thunderstorm directly over base. It's so loud that it shakes my bed. Various surveys are supposed to be going out around 05:00 but it's still going on so we have to wait until it passes over. Thankfully it does and it stops raining so we still manage to go out. I'm leading a walk up into the forest, where it's pretty dark and gloomy. It's unfortunately pretty quiet as well. Until I nearly stand on a Fer-de-lance. Again. This is getting to be a regular habit that I need to break. Quickly. It's only a small one and remains coiled in the middle of the trail under a leafy plant. Ben behind me sees it after I step right over it. Gets the ol' heart racing a bit, I have to say. Believe it or not. A little while after this another one slithers away from my foot off the trail. Where have they all come from????
We spend the afternoon prepping for tomorrow's Jag Walk – making pancakes and getting the equipment together. This afternoon is also notable for a mass eruption of winged termites – much like the flying ants in the British summer but on a vaster scale. The sky is full of them. Unfortunately, they also get into the kitchen and soon the sink and the hob is full of their discarded wings and crawling bodies. They are not built to last – they fly and look for somewhere to land and nest. Once they land they lose their wings quickly. A lot of them haven't made it too far. It's quite an memorable sight.
DAY 149
7th June 2010
Jag walk today. It's a much better walk when you are fit enough to enjoy it. Sightings are very interesting. There are several fresh turtles tracks today including four sets of Hawksbill tracks including two probably nests. It's a shame the CCC have stopped doing the night walks in between Leatherback and Green season as this looks like it might by peak Hawksbill time. There's also quite a lot of Jag tracks in one area – where a mother and cub have clearly been playing around. There's also another larger set of tracks too – like a large male – on the same stretch of beach. We also find a a couple of dead turtles, one of which is fresh killed from last night. It's very interesting to examine it and is almost completely intact letting us admire the exquisite patterning on the shell that you just can't appreciate during they night. Other animals seen include a total of 11 handsome Common Black Hawks, a Laughing Falcon, lots of vultures, some Capuchin monkeys foraging in the trees and best of all a small shark (probably a Black-tip Reef Shark) in the surf. That's my first wild shark!
When we are picked up in Tort at the end of our trek we learn that Molly had her very own encounter with a fer-de-lance today on a forest walk. Apparently, she walked over it (just like I did) and it struck at her foot. She didn't see it but Isaac who was walking behind certainly did. She's fine though – no psychological damage!
Most of what few volunteers we have left are planning to leave early tomorrow as well (this includes the interns). I'm not going to dwell on it but this phase has been the complete opposite of mine in terms of volunteers. On my phase everyone was positive, enthusiastic, motivated, mature and most importantly worked as a great team and enjoyed themselves, even when doing the not-so-fun stuff like Camp Duty. Things have been very different and sometimes frustrating this time and it has made a lot of the staff quite unhappy at times. I just feel sorry that for whatever reason they can't appreciate the opportunity they have been given and the amazing things that they have got to see. Despite this, however, I've still had a great time and I'm looking forward to a fresh start next phase – I just wish that all the staff were staying on with us but we are going to lose Tucker and Sarah unfortunately. I'm sure we'll still keep in touch though – we've been through too much together! ;0)
DAY 150
8th June 2010
Sleep in today. All the rest of the volunteers are leaving early today, except for Elliot who is determined that he can see a Jaguar given that we keep seeing such fresh tracks every morning, and Vanessa who isn't getting on with living in the jungle very well and probably would have left if she could.. I don't bother getting up.
I spend the day packing and cleaning and doing some jobs that need doing before I go.
DAY 151
9th June 2010
I'm on my last survey today - Nest check with Elliot. Again the jag prints come thick and fast around miles 14-13 but we are not lucky enough to see anything. There are some fresh green and Hawksbill tracks though indicating that the turtles are still very active. We have decided to walk back through the forest from mile 13.5ish back to mile 17 where the forest ends near base. It's a long walk but quite interesting. We spot a small snake straight away which turns out to be a juvenile Speckled Racer. I spot a small mystery mammal, most likely an Agouti moving through some dense undergrowth. There are plenty of monkeys around and some cool birds and last of all a cool new frog species, Noble's Rainfrog sat on a trailside leaf near to the end of our walk.
DAY 152
10th June 2010
I'm off Tortuguero today to do a little bit of training with the CCC in preparation for the upcoming Green Turtle season, which promises to be pretty action packed (the season, not the training). News from the nest check team as we are leaving for Tort. Elliot, Tucker and Molly got to see their Jag! A Green turtle was killed and dragged up into the vegetation last night and thought there was nothing there when they found it on the way up, when they returned they decided to sneak up on the area and found the cub, whose prints we've been seeing feeding on the turtle carcass! It was the size of a medium dog apparently and they got a good 20-30 second look at it looking at them before it ran off. No sign of mum, which might have been a good thing in case she felt threatened and defended her cub. I'm happy that they got to see a Jaguar, particularl
If they hadn't seen this, we in the boat would have hands down had the best sighting of the day (maybe the week). We are heading up the main canal to Tort when we see a swimming animal ahead. The first thought is that it is a Caiman but as we get nearer it turns out to be a 2m(ish) gorgeous black and yellow Oriole Snake swimming across the canal. It's a big snake but not venomous and it's amazing to see it swimming along with the greatest of ease. It actually comes up pretty close to the boat allowing me to take some half-decent pictures with Ruth's camera (the model up from my currently out-of-action camera).
The training itself is pretty straightforward. We go over the protocol for our night walks which of course we have already been trained in last phase and we get a bit of practice doing some tagging, though of course putting a tag through cardboard is considerably less difficult than getting it in a moving turtle flipper! We also get to meet all the new research assistants for the coming season that will be replacing Arturo, Alex, Tim and the others. They are a diverse bunch from the US, Poland, Mexico, Argentina, France, Colombia, Spain and even Aruba (a Dutch owned island off the coast of Venezuela – no I didn't know that either!). I get to speak to a few of them and will hopefully meet more of them as the season progresses.
DAY 153
11th June 2010
Travelling to San Jose. Stay at Pangea's. Nice hostel.
DAY 154
12th June
Travelling to the UK via Houston and Newark. My trip back is a nightmare with me getting stuck at Newark overnight thanks to what I consider a fault of the airport. Regrettably its not something I'm likely to be able to get any compensation for. Ah well.
1st June 2010
June already...
I have the morning off as I think there was provision for me to be to be in San Jose for an extra night if need be.
Afternoon finds me doing some walking along the muddy boundary trail with a couple of vols. There are quite a few lizards around and I manage to find a new tiny frog species which coincidentally Andres also found earlier that day along the Mammal Transect. It's really difficult to identify.
DAY 144
2nd June 2010
Bird Survey in morning to Sierpe Viejo. We see an uncommon Purple Gallinule and lots of logs provide some navigational issues. Good fun though.
Afternoon off.
DAY 145
3rd June 2010
Nest check this morning. The walk is a lot easier and I seem to have recovered my fitness.
DAY 146
4th June 2010
I have the day off again – I think they are resting me for the Jag Walk.
It's the end of phase party tonight, as some of the volunteers are leaving early to travel around a bit. They could have done this after finishing with GVI, but this seems to be the pattern this phase. The party itself seems to go OK, we cook some burgers and sausage and put on a good spread for everyone.
DAY 147
5th June 2010
Surprisingly, everyone manages to get up early for their surveys today. I'm not doing anything this morning again – I've had it pretty easy this week. I've got some hard labour this afternoon putting new mile markers in the beach ready for next phase. It's quite good fun actually, digging holes and finding nice bits of driftwood that will act as posts.
DAY 148
6th June 2010
We awake today around 03:00am to an almighty thunderstorm directly over base. It's so loud that it shakes my bed. Various surveys are supposed to be going out around 05:00 but it's still going on so we have to wait until it passes over. Thankfully it does and it stops raining so we still manage to go out. I'm leading a walk up into the forest, where it's pretty dark and gloomy. It's unfortunately pretty quiet as well. Until I nearly stand on a Fer-de-lance. Again. This is getting to be a regular habit that I need to break. Quickly. It's only a small one and remains coiled in the middle of the trail under a leafy plant. Ben behind me sees it after I step right over it. Gets the ol' heart racing a bit, I have to say. Believe it or not. A little while after this another one slithers away from my foot off the trail. Where have they all come from????
We spend the afternoon prepping for tomorrow's Jag Walk – making pancakes and getting the equipment together. This afternoon is also notable for a mass eruption of winged termites – much like the flying ants in the British summer but on a vaster scale. The sky is full of them. Unfortunately, they also get into the kitchen and soon the sink and the hob is full of their discarded wings and crawling bodies. They are not built to last – they fly and look for somewhere to land and nest. Once they land they lose their wings quickly. A lot of them haven't made it too far. It's quite an memorable sight.
DAY 149
7th June 2010
Jag walk today. It's a much better walk when you are fit enough to enjoy it. Sightings are very interesting. There are several fresh turtles tracks today including four sets of Hawksbill tracks including two probably nests. It's a shame the CCC have stopped doing the night walks in between Leatherback and Green season as this looks like it might by peak Hawksbill time. There's also quite a lot of Jag tracks in one area – where a mother and cub have clearly been playing around. There's also another larger set of tracks too – like a large male – on the same stretch of beach. We also find a a couple of dead turtles, one of which is fresh killed from last night. It's very interesting to examine it and is almost completely intact letting us admire the exquisite patterning on the shell that you just can't appreciate during they night. Other animals seen include a total of 11 handsome Common Black Hawks, a Laughing Falcon, lots of vultures, some Capuchin monkeys foraging in the trees and best of all a small shark (probably a Black-tip Reef Shark) in the surf. That's my first wild shark!
When we are picked up in Tort at the end of our trek we learn that Molly had her very own encounter with a fer-de-lance today on a forest walk. Apparently, she walked over it (just like I did) and it struck at her foot. She didn't see it but Isaac who was walking behind certainly did. She's fine though – no psychological damage!
Most of what few volunteers we have left are planning to leave early tomorrow as well (this includes the interns). I'm not going to dwell on it but this phase has been the complete opposite of mine in terms of volunteers. On my phase everyone was positive, enthusiastic, motivated, mature and most importantly worked as a great team and enjoyed themselves, even when doing the not-so-fun stuff like Camp Duty. Things have been very different and sometimes frustrating this time and it has made a lot of the staff quite unhappy at times. I just feel sorry that for whatever reason they can't appreciate the opportunity they have been given and the amazing things that they have got to see. Despite this, however, I've still had a great time and I'm looking forward to a fresh start next phase – I just wish that all the staff were staying on with us but we are going to lose Tucker and Sarah unfortunately. I'm sure we'll still keep in touch though – we've been through too much together! ;0)
DAY 150
8th June 2010
Sleep in today. All the rest of the volunteers are leaving early today, except for Elliot who is determined that he can see a Jaguar given that we keep seeing such fresh tracks every morning, and Vanessa who isn't getting on with living in the jungle very well and probably would have left if she could.. I don't bother getting up.
I spend the day packing and cleaning and doing some jobs that need doing before I go.
DAY 151
9th June 2010
I'm on my last survey today - Nest check with Elliot. Again the jag prints come thick and fast around miles 14-13 but we are not lucky enough to see anything. There are some fresh green and Hawksbill tracks though indicating that the turtles are still very active. We have decided to walk back through the forest from mile 13.5ish back to mile 17 where the forest ends near base. It's a long walk but quite interesting. We spot a small snake straight away which turns out to be a juvenile Speckled Racer. I spot a small mystery mammal, most likely an Agouti moving through some dense undergrowth. There are plenty of monkeys around and some cool birds and last of all a cool new frog species, Noble's Rainfrog sat on a trailside leaf near to the end of our walk.
DAY 152
10th June 2010
I'm off Tortuguero today to do a little bit of training with the CCC in preparation for the upcoming Green Turtle season, which promises to be pretty action packed (the season, not the training). News from the nest check team as we are leaving for Tort. Elliot, Tucker and Molly got to see their Jag! A Green turtle was killed and dragged up into the vegetation last night and thought there was nothing there when they found it on the way up, when they returned they decided to sneak up on the area and found the cub, whose prints we've been seeing feeding on the turtle carcass! It was the size of a medium dog apparently and they got a good 20-30 second look at it looking at them before it ran off. No sign of mum, which might have been a good thing in case she felt threatened and defended her cub. I'm happy that they got to see a Jaguar, particularl
If they hadn't seen this, we in the boat would have hands down had the best sighting of the day (maybe the week). We are heading up the main canal to Tort when we see a swimming animal ahead. The first thought is that it is a Caiman but as we get nearer it turns out to be a 2m(ish) gorgeous black and yellow Oriole Snake swimming across the canal. It's a big snake but not venomous and it's amazing to see it swimming along with the greatest of ease. It actually comes up pretty close to the boat allowing me to take some half-decent pictures with Ruth's camera (the model up from my currently out-of-action camera).
The training itself is pretty straightforward. We go over the protocol for our night walks which of course we have already been trained in last phase and we get a bit of practice doing some tagging, though of course putting a tag through cardboard is considerably less difficult than getting it in a moving turtle flipper! We also get to meet all the new research assistants for the coming season that will be replacing Arturo, Alex, Tim and the others. They are a diverse bunch from the US, Poland, Mexico, Argentina, France, Colombia, Spain and even Aruba (a Dutch owned island off the coast of Venezuela – no I didn't know that either!). I get to speak to a few of them and will hopefully meet more of them as the season progresses.
DAY 153
11th June 2010
Travelling to San Jose. Stay at Pangea's. Nice hostel.
DAY 154
12th June
Travelling to the UK via Houston and Newark. My trip back is a nightmare with me getting stuck at Newark overnight thanks to what I consider a fault of the airport. Regrettably its not something I'm likely to be able to get any compensation for. Ah well.
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