As evident from the student posts yesterday was quite busy. It was our last official day in the field, and required finishing up bird counts, doing the final insect surveys, collecting soil and HOBO temperature sensors, and writing up as much as we can here. There is a lot yet to do back in Dallas, but the students had a free day today and were able to get out into the community.
Also evident from our posts is that the geological activity has been significant this trip. This morning we awoke to find another volcano to the southeast undergoing a fairly large eruption. The volcano is Turrialba, and has several craters that are active, making it less symmetric than Arenal, but no less active. The plume of ash was visible through a spotting scope even though the volcano itself is 80 miles away:
The free day took us in different directions, with the girls heading to go zip lining in La Fortuna,. They have amazing photos of their experience, and I'm sure will be talking all about it in their last post from Costa Rica. Hector, Chris, my husband Richard and myself went to Proyecto Asis. This is a very wonderful place that combines wildlife rehabilitation and public education on species conservation with Spanish language classes and volunteer opportunities. The director, Alvaro del Castillo, gave an excellent overview of the location and the animals, and is highly dedicated to the job of education. The staff includes his father as veterinarian and founder, and a fantastic group of men and women who keep the place running through donations and volunteer help. We were particularly happy to work with Carlos and Rigoberto both in helping with some cage construction, clearing trails, and feeding the animals. It is clear from looking at men like Rigoberto (shown below) how much they love and respect the animals under their care:
The student field assistant from last year, Katheryn Miller, spent five days working at Proyecto Asis, and enjoyed it immensely. They also remembered her, and it's clear that placing students here makes for an ideal opportunity. For much of the day we were volunteering, with Hector helping build a frame for a concrete edge around a cage for water drainage, and the rest of us helping to mix and pour concrete:
The raccoon cage was just behind this worksite, and Richard found that either the raccoons were looking to help, or wanting a shovel to tunnel out of their cage:
Hector and Chris later had the arduous task of clearing grass and wood from a pen to be used for a future caiman rehabilitation site:
I was fortunate to spend some time with Rigoberto feeding the animals, including spider monkeys, parrots, toucans, a capuchin, the raccoons, and a kinkajou. The kinkajou was able to be held while he ate his bananas. I can say without reservation that he was one of the most beautiful animals that I have ever had the opportunity to work with, and it was such a privilege to have met him:
Hector eventually had the chance to work with the raccoons that had been watching us all day, and even they had a good time outside the cage:
Although our free day still meant work, it did not feel as much like work to be helping out with this program. Proyecto Asis is a magnificent place to volunteer, and if there's any opportunity you might have to visit it in Costa Rica, please do. If not, please visit and support their work at the Proyecto Asis website.
Also evident from our posts is that the geological activity has been significant this trip. This morning we awoke to find another volcano to the southeast undergoing a fairly large eruption. The volcano is Turrialba, and has several craters that are active, making it less symmetric than Arenal, but no less active. The plume of ash was visible through a spotting scope even though the volcano itself is 80 miles away:
The free day took us in different directions, with the girls heading to go zip lining in La Fortuna,. They have amazing photos of their experience, and I'm sure will be talking all about it in their last post from Costa Rica. Hector, Chris, my husband Richard and myself went to Proyecto Asis. This is a very wonderful place that combines wildlife rehabilitation and public education on species conservation with Spanish language classes and volunteer opportunities. The director, Alvaro del Castillo, gave an excellent overview of the location and the animals, and is highly dedicated to the job of education. The staff includes his father as veterinarian and founder, and a fantastic group of men and women who keep the place running through donations and volunteer help. We were particularly happy to work with Carlos and Rigoberto both in helping with some cage construction, clearing trails, and feeding the animals. It is clear from looking at men like Rigoberto (shown below) how much they love and respect the animals under their care:
The student field assistant from last year, Katheryn Miller, spent five days working at Proyecto Asis, and enjoyed it immensely. They also remembered her, and it's clear that placing students here makes for an ideal opportunity. For much of the day we were volunteering, with Hector helping build a frame for a concrete edge around a cage for water drainage, and the rest of us helping to mix and pour concrete:
The raccoon cage was just behind this worksite, and Richard found that either the raccoons were looking to help, or wanting a shovel to tunnel out of their cage:
Hector and Chris later had the arduous task of clearing grass and wood from a pen to be used for a future caiman rehabilitation site:
I was fortunate to spend some time with Rigoberto feeding the animals, including spider monkeys, parrots, toucans, a capuchin, the raccoons, and a kinkajou. The kinkajou was able to be held while he ate his bananas. I can say without reservation that he was one of the most beautiful animals that I have ever had the opportunity to work with, and it was such a privilege to have met him:
Hector eventually had the chance to work with the raccoons that had been watching us all day, and even they had a good time outside the cage:
Although our free day still meant work, it did not feel as much like work to be helping out with this program. Proyecto Asis is a magnificent place to volunteer, and if there's any opportunity you might have to visit it in Costa Rica, please do. If not, please visit and support their work at the Proyecto Asis website.
For me nothing really replaces the work in the outdoor life, meeting people, having the time in exploring different places. With all the pictures that you posted even there is hard work round it seems that you are still enjoying every bit of nature.
Ramona from escalier hélicoïdal