Life in Costa Rica

2010-04-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

One of the world's smallest orchids.

Really cool spider orchids.

Stu was able to get a nice shot of this male Quetzal.

Can you see the very poisonous pit viper?

2010-04-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

Another crazy bug we found in our house.

This is the underside of the bug.

This is a Mottled Owl that we saw here in Monteverde.

This is a very tiny frog who was also found in our house.

2009-12-03T16:25:00.000-08:00

My students have no fear of creepy crawly bugs...including this huge tarantula that we found on a hike in the forest. They all stayed calm and handled the tarantula the right way.

This is a hercules beetle that one of my students found down the road from his house. The students took turns posing with it.

tortugas

2009-12-03T16:09:00.001-08:00

Aren't they the cutest things ever. These little sea turtles just hatched and are heading to the ocean (one looks a little lost). Stu and I tried to help them along their way and protect them from the various predators.

"Which way guys?"

This turtle is digging his way out.

We haven't seen the mother turtles yet, but the beach in Tortuguero was lined with their tracks.

2009-12-03T15:56:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, this is the aftermath when turtles hatch...part of the food chain. All of the white specks you see in the sand our turtle egg shells.

2009-10-13T16:53:00.000-07:00

In the past week we have had two tarantulas come to visit us inside our house.
This one was in our bedroom...look closely at the picture frame on the left.

This is a cute little skunk that hangs out in the hostel at the beach.

These are crazy caterpillars that creep us out on our hiking trail.

2009-07-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

Stu putting in some stone steps to the house at the farm.

Some of the animals at the farm...our house is in the background

The biggest cockroach I have ever seen...found in our bedroom!

Teenage scorpion or big spider... who would win the battle?

2009-07-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

The baby sloth that our friend Benito is taking care of.

Toucan Sam outside of the house

2009-07-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

Do you see the snake?

A beautiful canyon in Nicaragua we swam/waded through

moo

Really cool golden beetle that one of my students found on the way to school

A lizard we found in my sleeping bag

2009-07-09T13:32:00.000-07:00

Pretty spectacular place to get engaged huh?

Stu proposed on top of this volcano - Volcan Concepcion

Just a little excited...can you tell?

Another view of the volcano

In lake Nicaragua with Concepcion in the background

arenal

2009-07-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

Hiking 25 kilometers from Monteverde to the Arenal volcano

We made it to camp!

Orependulas eating fruit

Deb enjoying the view of Arenal after our 4 hour horseback trek through the jungle - she's a trooper

Deb and Liz coming out of the jungle

2009-04-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Spinner dolphins

Stu deep sea fishing with Wahoo Willy

Holy tuna! Wahoo Willy is the local supplier of fish to restaurant a couple restaurants in Drake Bay.

In the back of a truck after our week long adventure through the Osa Peninsula. A bumpy ride that crossed the same river 23 times.

Liz trying to tame a wild snake :)

Ahhhhhh

Stu with Mr. Caiman

Lick my back and you'll see crazy things

Hike to Arenal

2009-02-02T14:59:00.000-08:00

Hola, friends! Stu has come to join me here in Monteverde. Here are some pictures of our hike to the Arenal volcano. More text and stories will come shortly!

On our way back from hiking to the volcano. Lost in an abandoned farm/jungle? Spirits still high. (Only six hours into the hike)

Bushwacking through unknown territory. After the farm, the trail disappeared and the boys took out the machetes. At times, we were standing a foot of the ground because of the crazy, thick vegetation.

After Benito almost stepped on a green and brown "stick" he realized "oh, that's a poisonous one." Liz was quick to identify we had found an Eyelash Viper. Luckily it wanted nothing to do with us.....

Lizard in the wake of the machete path.

This MUST be the last bend in the river? (~ one hour of time had been spent in the river bed. it would be some time until we found anything that looked like a trail.)

Well that just a small portion of this story and our adventures in Costa Rica. Soon to come...our run in with fellow ultra runners, surfing in Mal Pais, trails and projects at the school, housesitting for the Botanists and the first documented case of "hustle" with service in CR!!

2008-12-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

Birds soaring in the thermals

eel

2008-12-06T16:47:00.000-08:00

Breaking into my own house when I got locked out

Sloth

2008-12-01T19:47:00.000-08:00

This is a Mot Mot

The newest excitement in Monteverde...a "movie theater"
Zipline through the rainforest

Stu in Manzanillo

2008-11-30T17:42:00.000-08:00

Capuchin (white-faced) monkey

Howler monkey

Mangroves

Cahuita beach

Kayaking through the mangroves in Manzanillo

2008-11-08T11:24:00.000-08:00

Howler Monkey

Big grasshopper on the road

Mangroves

Halloween

2008-10-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of pizotes (I think they're called coaties in English)

2008-09-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

Today was Independence Day in Costa Rica. Each school performs in the parade around town. The following video clips are of our students in the band and the baton girls. The older baton girls in white are in high school and the little ones in red are from the elementary (many of them are from my class). The band sounded really good live, but on the video it sounds pretty bad.

2008-09-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Me, Heidi, Erica, Bethany and Jenn
Cool insect

Two green grasshoppers

Heidi and Jenn
Big toad
Spider in my bedroom
glass wing butterfly

video clips

2008-09-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of small video clips. Sorry about the poor quality.

The first one is a clip of the cloudforest from the bus window. The second is a view of the beginning of the road that my house in on...part of my daily walk to and from school.

This next video is of howler monkeys. My friend is making the nearby sound to get them started.

2008-09-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

I came home for a short visit and was able to update my blog. You'll have to do a lot of scrolling, but hopefully you'll enjoy the pics!

Liz

In front of the entrance to the school

The greenhouse at school
A strangler fig. It starts like a vine coming down from the top of a tree and then surrounds the tree and "eats" it. The hollow part is where a tree used to be.
Our playground at school
A scorpion found in my classroom
White-faced monkey
Santa Elena (the main town by my school)

A hole in the rock island off of "Islas Tortugas" - we took a boat through it

Liz and Heidi sitting on a palm tree off of turtle island
now those are some carrots
View of the Pacific Ocean
sideways picture of an orchid

sunset from my house

Liz, Heidi and Erica in Curu
monkeys
beach to ourselves in Curu
Sand crabs

Arenal volcano

Big leaf!
Rainforest and waterfall near San Rafael
hummingbird

Farmland on the way to Tilaran

pretty flower
view from the rainforest by my house
cool crab

2008-07-27T17:08:00.000-07:00

A nice rainbow.

2008-07-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,
Welcome to my blog. I can’t figure out how to get more than one picture to fit side by side so you’ll have to do some scrolling. Also, I’m attaching part of the first e-mail I sent out so if you have already read it you can move on.
I’m living in a small downstairs apartment with another teacher, Heidi, living upstairs. Our place is like a rustic cabin and although it was supposed to come furnished it’s definitely lacking some things. I have one knife and fork, three spoons, two plates, two pots and a cutting board. I have a mini fridge and a propane stove. Everything in the cabin has been built by the owner Adrian. It has a lot of character, but some things are not very practical, like the “closet” in my bedroom. It’s more of a cupboard with a shelf, which means I have to get used to folding every article of clothing and try to keep the stacks from falling out. There is a pro and a con of where our house is located. The pro is that we are surrounded by jungle and the view is awesome (especially with my new binoculars!) The owner has a huge garden, a compost hole, and space for us to plant veggies. The con is that it’s quite a trek to school. My house and the school are both up steep dirt roads, which means I get to say that I have to walk up hill in both directions J It’s about a 25 minute walk if I keep a good pace.
Some things to get used to….
· bugs-you better love them, because they are all around. Along with the numerous cockroaches and moths, I have come across two scorpions! (luckily they’re not deadly-more like a bee sting)
· a friendly slug that likes my sink
· a shower that is heated by a coil and only becomes warm when the water pressure is super low (in other words, cold showers)
· howler monkeys outside my window that have become my alarm clock at 5:30 or 6
· you can’t throw the toilet paper in the toilets here in Costa Rica…there are small garbage cans next to every toilet (kindof gross)
· you never know what the weather will do…it literally changes every minute. You can wake up with sun and by the time I’m ready for school it’s pouring. A rainjacket, boots, and a backpack cover are always with me.

2008-07-08T10:03:00.001-07:00

This is a view of the house I'm living in.

Entrance to the school's rainforest property

This is the outside of my new classroom :)