The university has been around for I believe 20 years, and they take about 120 new students every year from countries from all over the world, most on full scholarship. Everyone there is trained in agricultural engineering, and when they graduate from the 5 year program, most return to their home countries with knowledge on how to practice more sustainable agricultural practices. The place was gorgeous - it actually reminded me of Furman a bit because it was so spread out and quiet, with huge green spaces. However, instead of a golf course, they had banana and pineapple plantations.
We spent a full day there, and then headed into town to do some Costa Rican dancing. Doing the Charleston Shag definitely does not cut it here. A few of the Latino students here helped me out a bit, but I was, I'll admit it, pretty bad. Fun experience though.
Friday morning, bright and early, we headed to Tortuguero. How far? Only 37 km. How long did it take? 2 hours. We drove down the bumpiest roads I have ever experienced in my life, and finally arrived at the outpost where we got on boats to be driven on canals to the city. Tortuguero is often called the Venice of Costa Rica, because it is only accessible by boat, with not a car in the city. The boat ride was a solid couple of hours, and our driver made sure to stop along the way to show us all of the wildlife. Before we even arrived at our destination, I had seen some crazy birds, monkeys, and a crocodile.
We stayed at the CCC (Costa Rican Conservation Corporation I think) at their research station. Different interns come in for 3 months stays to assist with research, and our job was to go out with them during the night shifts, when the turtles lay their eggs, and help to count the eggs and measure and tag the turtles. My group went from 12 to 4 am, dressed completely in black (you have to wear dark clothes and leave your flashlights at home so you don't scare them from nesting). I saw 6 turtles, and we got to see one lay its eggs and measure it and everything. We saw only green turtles (sadly we couldn't take pictures, but these are like the one on Finding Nemo), but there are also other species there, like Hawksbills and Leatherbacks. They were so cute! Also, it was neat to see when you saw their tag numbers that some of them would return to the same beach over the years. The researchers also put satellite units on some of them, to track their patterns. A couple of them made it all the way up to Jersey, and all the way down to Brazil! Apparently those flippers are faster in the water than on land!
That morning, since we didn't get done until 4, I just stayed up and watched the sun come up over the island (I guess it's really a peninsula?). The whole stretch of land is probably 300 meters wide, but really long, which is why you have to get there by boat. Therefore, I saw the sun rise over the ocean and the bay. Then, at 6, I went with some of the researchers there to count the turtle tracks and to keep track of the nests and check for poaching (turtle eggs are a hot commodity here). We also got to see a nest excavation, where they dig up the nests that never hatched and try to figure out what went wrong. Not the most pleasant smelling experience, but still pretty interesting, and I got to see more of the beach, which was so untouched.
Then (I still had not slept), one of the guys that worked there took a few of us on a boat ride into the national park there through the canals, where we saw a lot more wildlife. Here is also where I fell asleep. I was going to go kayaking, but alas, I went back and crashed.
This was probably my favorite weekend so far here - I seem to be saying that a lot though haha. I learned so much, and got to see so much of the country. Because it is on the east coast, there is a strong Carribean influence. It was a little bit like what it would be like to be in Jamaica, but with a lot of Spanish.
On Wednesday, a few of us are taking perhaps our biggest adventure yet - we are going down south to the Osa Peninsula, which is known to be the most out of the way, and perhaps the most beautiful and untouched, area of the country. Not a place you can really do if you are just here for a week unless you pay for a small plane to get down there. We are taking a bus and then another boat (3 weeks in a row and counting), and won't get there until midday Thursday.
I was going to include pictures, but my computer is acting up a little, so check out the Tortuguero album - there are some winners (and some weird bugs).
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