8 more days

Completely unrelated to Costa Rica news.
Thanks to my lovely mom, I now have a ticket to go see 'Wicked' at DPAC on May 14. So excited for it! I've only been to DPAC once to see Leonard Cohen and can't wait to return. I've also heard such great things about Wicked.

Not that I've been all up in the news, but because it is getting closer I have been hearing a bit more the presidential election here in Costa Rica. Voting will be held on February 7th. It is between Laura Chinchilla and Otto Guevara (who I believe is Oscar Arias's handpicked choice). Right now the polls show Laura ahead by 4 or 5 percent. The thought I've been hearing is that she is the most likely to win because Ticos seem to vote out the current party at each election.

It sounds as if Maria is going to return just for the weekend. Probably come in tomorrow. Also two new volunteers are arriving tomorrow. A couple from somewhere in North America. Age-wise I'm not sure, but Earl said he thinks 20's. I have no idea of their duration here, but I will likely leave before them. After all, I leave here on the 29th. Right around the corner.

Another item of note. I've found myself thinking in Spanish more and more over maybe the last month or so. Never anything complicated, but a great realization none the less.

Pictures are not uploading for some reason or another...I will upload pictures when I can whether it is editing this post or a totally new one.

Lebowskito

So we have named the little anteater 'Lebowskito'. This came from us informally calling him 'Little Dude' for the past few weeks.

I am sorry to say that there hasn't been much else new to write about. Just kind of ready to move on. Had a good time here, but days are getting monotonous. Also the lack of other volunteers has been a disappointment.

I also feel as if I have exhausted my photos.

Kind of pointless post, but oh well.

Hasta el proximo vez.

Tengo hormigas...Usted quiere?

There are ants inside my computer. This worries me. Slightly. Not exactly sure what to make of it. My first reaction was something along the lines of, "this is really bad". But it might not be. I don't know how deep they are inside. I'm afraid to unscrew the computer in fear that for one reason or another I won't be able to put it back together. I just occasionally see ants climbing out from under keys. I suppose we'll just see where this goes.

Yesterday I went into Golfito to pick up a squirrel monkey. We were told it was little, emaciated, and weak. The boat left the sanctuary at about 4:30. I didn't get back until 7. The water was very rough. We had to go slower than usual and I had to take more ibuprofen than usual afterward. Well...minus the ibuprofen part, but it was quite a bumpy trip. At least it wasn't raining. Got to Golfito and then waited for maybe 15 or so minutes for the person from MINAE to bring the monkey. Pretty good for tico time. The monkey was brought in a cardboard printer box so I transferred him to the dog carrier I brought which had some blankets and a hot water bottle. Poor little guy looked incredibly weak. I got him situated in the boat the best I could to minimize the stress from the wind and bumpy ride. Even with the effort, it had to be hell for this monkey. So the whole trip back was after it was already dark. Very pretty time to travel in the Gulf. Starry sky and cooler air. Again, I was able to see the flourescent zooplankton in the wake of the boat. (Lo siento Senor Pruitt---No tengo fotos. Yo olvide mi camera un otro vez. Y cuando el caucel estuvo afuera de la caja/cama de el ayer, no tuve mi camera tambien. Voy a explicar el caucel en un momento. Por favor no me golpea demasiado duro). I really hope I have the opportunity to snap a picture of this at some point before I leave. It really is pretty amazing. Got him back here at about 7. We got about 5 mL of Pedialyte (for hydration) down him fairly easily. Earl went to go fill another syringe of Pedialyte and while I was holding him he died. Not terribly surprising considering how he looked though unfortunately.
Two days ago Earl went into Golfito to get another Squirrel Monkey. This one was sent to San Jose because it couldn't use it's back legs. After various tests it was concluded that he has a lesion on his spinal cord. He is being given a nerve regeneration drug. We'll just see how that goes for now.

Yesterday during the tour we were very lucky to see our margay (in Spanish, Caucel). They are pretty much an arboreal cat. They look like a long, lanky house cat. Also they are nocturnal so it is pretty rare to see him out of his dark wooden box during the day. I had seen him for only a moment a couple other times, but yesterday he was out and walking around the tree branches in his cage. This is a very pretty cat. Of course I didn't have my camera though.

Poppy, the pregnant spider monkey, has yet to give birth. We keep saying, "any day now".

Mom and dad. In the background is the little town of Boquete, Panama.

Pictures are uploading very slowly so this will have to suffice for today.

Where do I start?

Sorry, I am way overdue for an entry. I really should have written down some notes every other day or at least once in this past week or so.

So as I mentioned in my last post, my parents were down here. 11 days in Costa Rica and 10 days with me. Yesterday I came back to the sanctuary. I had to catch the launcha out of Jimenez to go to Golfito where I was picked up. My parents had a 12 o'clock flight out of Jimenez back to San Jose. They spent the night there last night and today flew back to the states. Slightly envious of them. The hotel, Casa 69, is just wonderful.

So after we left San Jose after two nights there we flew out to Puerto Jimenez via my new favorite airline, NatureAir.

After arriving in Jimenez we were met by a taxi which took us to Danta Corcovado Lodge. Danta Lodge is an eco-lodge north of  Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula. Danta is another name for the Tapir. A tapir can be said to resemble a large pig or a small cow with a nose that looks (to me) like a very short elephant trunk. They can be hundreds of pounds.They have very endangered and you are lucky to see one. We, sadly, did not see one. My family and I spent 3 nights at that lodge. On the second day there (I think?), we went on a day-long hike into Corcovado National Park. It is the largest chunk of primary forest in Costa Rica. Because of this it also has huge amounts of wildlife, including the largest population of Spider Monkeys. But without a guide it can be hard to spot a lot of the wildlife. We heard plenty of it, but saw very little besides small birds, lizards, and dead agouti. This hike involved crossing the Rio Rincon multiple times. By multiple I mean maybe 20 times. It is a shallow river and it helped to keep a bit cooler. On the other full day we were there we visited the sanctuary so my parents could see where I've been for the past month plus and see all the wildlife. We went on the 9 o'clock tour that Earl gave and then stayed for lunch.

My dad and Sweetie.

White-faced Monkey/Capuchin

Joey, the Kinkajou, after he peed on me.

My mom and Sweetie.

The bathroom at the lodge was beautiful. There are not many times in life when you would like to put a few chairs in your bathroom to kick back and relax.

Our next leg of our adventure was Panama. We might have taken all types of transportation available to man. We caught the 11:30 launcha to Golfito, taxi to the border, bus to David, taxi to Boquete. (Buses are loads cheaper, not too much slower, and a great experience we came to find out. On our way back out of Panama we took almost all the same transportation, but just traded in one taxi for a bus).

Boquete was a very pretty little mountain town. Unfortunately becoming more and more Americanized. It has a gated gringo community and lots of retirees from the states. The temperature was the coldest I had felt since leaving the states. It wasn't unbearable, but I just didn't have the warm wardrobe for it. During dinner on our first night there we got into talking with two women sitting at the table next to us. We then came to find out that one of them lives in Boquete and is a massage therapist. Jackpot. Made an appointment for the next morning and was able cross that off my list. Well, it is always on my list...and I do have a few knots that could use lots of attention. This is beside the point. The next morning we went to her house. I got my massage while my parents sat out on her beautiful back porch and chatted with her husband. After that we went for lunch and then on a hike in the northern part of the town. We had aimed for a trail called the Quetzal Trail, but I don't know how much we were on it. It was very nice to see the many indigenous people who lived up in the mountain. They lived without electricity and definitely didn't own a car.
The following day my dad and I went on a canopy tour. 12 zip lines and 13 platforms in the canopy of the rainforest. It was very exciting. At first I was very worried. More because it was cold and rainy. As soon as we started the zip lines the cold was no problem. Probably all the adrenaline washed the cold away. My dad bought a cd of pictures of our group going through the canopy, but without a disc drive on this computer I wasn't able to put them on it. I have a few my dad took his camera and the others will have to wait until I return to the states.

Not the most attractive picture of me, but it will do.

As we were finishing up and back on the ground.

The place we stayed at was felt very cushy and Americanized. Not what we were aiming for. Don't get me wrong--it was beautiful, but just not the usual kind of place we stay.

I never want to cross the border between Costa Rica and Panama ever again. Although everything is a lot cheaper there.

After we left Boquete we went back to Puerto Jimenez and stayed the night at Cabinas Jimenez. I definitely could have spent more than one night there. I really like Puerto Jimenez as well.
So now I'm back here at the sanctuary. I will be here until the 29 of this month, thus making it 2 months at this sanctuary and approximately 2 months, 3 weeks in Costa Rica.

Lots of good sinks at the places we stayed.

I really will pick up my posting rate given that there is worthwhile things to post about.

Gracias a mis padres por los fotos.

Saludos

Sorry it has been a while since I last posted.
My parents got in on the first. I flew into San Jose and took a cab to the hotel where they were already. Quite nice to finally see them again. Their trip was fairly smooth as well.
Our hotel was called Casa 69. Really a nice hotel. An oasis in the middle of busy, dirty, unattractive San Jose. The barbed wire around it could be a bit misleading, but inside it was very pretty and cozy. The owner, Kurt, always loves a good laugh. The breakfast as delicious as well. Fresh bread, fresh fruit, good coffee, fruit juice (mango or papaya and pineapple), and if you so chose you could pay and get some eggs or bacon, and such.
San Jose was a lot colder than I remembered it. Very windy as well. There is very little wind in the rainforest.

One view of our hotel room in San Jose.

Waiting on our food at a Lebanese restaurant in San Jose.

Currently we are at Danta Lodge which is on the Osa Peninsula just north of Puerto Jimenez, where we go into to get food and supplies for the sanctuary. It is very nice here. We have a little bungalow to ourselves. There are private trails to walk, activities such as canopy tour or kayaking, or just lounging around. Tomorrow, though, we are going to the sanctuary so my parents can see it and get a tour. We will also have lunch with Earl and Carol.

On a bit of a sadder note. I think I may be pregnant. I puked in the new year. Nothing at all happening to celebrate at the sanctuary so I just went to sleep and set with an alarm set for 11 p.m. I woke up twice before midnight to throw up and once after. But by morning, I felt completely normal and it hasn't happened since. Quite strange.

I was not on this plane. Long story short, my bag was though. (I knew fully it was and this wasn't a problem.) I was reunited with my bag. This seemingly flat wheel survived take-off and landing. Planes don't spend a long time on the ground, but just enough to make me slightly concerned.

I meant to post this picture in the last blog, but I forgot. This is Raja, our Jaguarundi. I don't remember this one's story, but I will have to get it again.

Hasta pronto!

A bit delayed, but as promised here are some pictures of Marco.

"Tengo hambre!"

Almuerzo

Que rico!

Woke up this morning feeling a bit off kilter. Came down to the kitchen and very quickly felt sick to my stomach. I went back up to my cabin and made it to the bathroom just in time to vomit. TMI? Well, I came back down and tried to eat a banana, but couldn't keep it down. I went back to my bed and laid down. Fell asleep for maybe an hour or so. When I woke up I felt better, but not great. Carol insisted I drink some Pedialyte. I did, but very slowly to be sure it stayed down. Afterwards I tried another banana. This time it stayed down, but still made my stomach cramp up. As the day has progressed I've felt better and better. Not great right now, but ambulatory and not terribly painful.

Gringo illness strikes again? Quien sabe...

Very much looking forward to Friday. My parents will be getting in on that day. I will go into town with David when he goes in for food and supplies. I have a flight out on NatureAir at 4:15. I fly into San Jose, Pavas. From there I am taking a taxi to our hotel, Casa 69. I was reading reviews on TripAdvisor and I'm very excited for this hotel. The owner, Kurt, seems like a fun and nice guy.

We had two 'volunteers' who arrived here yesterday afternoon. It was a mother and daughter. They only stayed one night and left today at around noon. People do not usually stay for only one night, but the mom is friends of a large donor. Politics.

Here is an aerial view of the beach out front of the sanctuary.

This is Pincho (one of the workers) and our two coatis (coatimundi, pisote).

This is Poppy. She is our 8 year-old spider monkey. Very exciting news. She is pregnant. We have suspected it, but a few days ago Carol saw her lactating a bit and she is definitely swelled up. I'm going to be very unhappy if I'm gone when she delivers.

I can't seem to make some of the pictures center in the page. I apologize for the loss of some aesthetic value.

Gracias a Santuario Silvestre de Osa por los fotos.

Feliz Navidad

Low key Christmas here. Works for me. Kind of the opposite of a white Christmas. The beach isn't even white! It's black sand!
I'm just up listening to an Eric Burdon and the Animals concert from 1983. I say I'm just up like it's late. It is only about a quarter to 8 here. I'm already yawning. I don't really feel like going up to my cabin now though. The internet is also moving at a reasonable speed now. All day it has been ridiculously slow. My guess is from all the people talking on cell phones and using the internet due to the holiday.

Today's tour numbered into the upper twenties I believe. Carol and Earl split them. I went along with Earl and his group. Nothing terrible noteworthy throughout the tour until the end. At the end of the tour there are some wooden benches in the shade of a large water apple tree that is used to answer questions and for the tourists to get more monkey time complete with raisins to feed them. Sweetie didn't want to come to work today. Around breakfast time she hid and we couldn't find her when it was time for the tour. Winkie and Poppy were slow to arrive at the other side for the tour, but they did come. At the water apple tree Winkie only wanted to play in the tree and not be terribly social. Poppy was getting all the attention. At one point Poppy just snapped and let out a cry. When this happens she usually bites. Earl jumped in between Poppy and the others expecting to be bit, but to not have anyone else bit. Luckily she didn't bit him, but she then retreated away from everyone. I think she was just saying I've had enough for now. Also she is a bit hormonal and moody now possibly due to being pregnant. She then came over and hopped in my lap. She knows me and probably felt a bit reassured. The only thing with her in your lap is you can't really get up. If you get up she may bite. Kind of like saying "how dare you get up when I'm not ready?" So I was stuck there for a while until Carol lured her away after everyone left.
I have gotten bit by Poppy before. I was laying out on the hammock and she came and joined me. I had my legs propped up a bit and she had gotten comfortable under them. All of a sudden she freaks out. I have no idea why. She bit me three times. Only one broke the skin on my right middle finger. The other two bites didn't break the skin but left two bruises on my leg.
I guess monkey bites have potential to be quite bad, but thus far I've only had minor ones. Winkie sometimes gets a bit too playful and nips at ankles. Once I think I scared Winkie and she let out a yelp. Her big sister (not really sisters), Sweetie, jumped in and they both were biting at my ankles. Nothing too bad from that. Only a few small cuts.

Another regular duty has been added to my list in the past couple of days. I now have to feed Marco, the anteater, three times a day. This is not the baby one we got recently. Marco is not old, but he isn't a baby. I need to get pictures tomorrow. He is very sweet.

We had Christmas burritos last night. Que rico! They were very tasty. A game of dominos went along with the dinner.

Today has not felt like Christmas. I've been conditioned to be cold around Christmas...

There are yet to be other volunteers. The next one I know of is coming while I'm gone. He will be here for about a week. We will overlap for a few days I believe though. We got word today that one of the worker's sons got hit by a car while at the bus stop. She, her son, and another worker were waiting for the bus in which the two workers would take to where David would pick them up to bring them over to the sanctuary. Apparently a car spun out of control and plowed into the bus stop. I think Jeanette's son, Davis, got the majority of the damage. If I understood correctly, he broke his leg in two places and his face got pretty banged up. He was going to be transferred to a different hospital I believe from the one he was at in Gulfito.

Abogado had been gone for the past few days. Today a boat pulled up and they had him! Apparently he had flown to the next beach over and was flying into their house and attacking them. I think they were a bit shocked when they handed him to Earl and Earl tossed him up to fly.

Sweetie joined me on the hammock yesterday.

Another of Sweetie.

A view of the beach from the hammock.