Travel --- 1/3/2010 - 1/11/2010 --- Costa Rica
Those trees won't climb themselves!
1/3 Our first day with students we start by free climbing a small Mango. A bit chaotic with the entire class in a single small tree. After lunch we go down to Paradise and play on the king swing. This is my worst day for insects... swarmed by biting ants... but everyone else has a great time. And we see a Pale Billed Woodpecker (Campephilus guatemalensis) on the TFI property. After dinner, Rolando takes everyone for a night hike. We see tons of amphibians -- Casey plays with every single one including a huge Cane Toad (Bufo marinus... never saw one when I was in Australia) which voids all over Casey's hands. We also see snakes and spiders and many Jesus lizards and a pair of scorpions.
1/4 Everyone learns the full circle, then we break into small groups and teach knots, SRT ascension, and getting the rope in trees. During lunch we go swimming and spot a huge Green Iguana (Iguana iguana... no kidding) sunning itself on a rock. After lunch we break into groups and everyone climbs one of the three Guacimo Colorado trees we have set. This is my only fiasco day as everything that can go wrong does. Though finally Hannah, Regie, Brendan and I all manage to get into the tree. Success!
1/5 The class divides up all our climbing gear and we go on a long hike up the hill to our three jungle trees. Regie spots a Howler Monkey (Alouatta palliata) and the whole class sees him and hears his call. Alex, Casey, Drew, Rolando and I have a great time in the Ajillo. We have three swings, a huge limb walk, and a pair of easy chairs for resting.
1/6 At breakfast we are joined by the first of several Giant Red Winged Grasshoppers (Tropidacris cristata). After breakfast, we disperse to some small trees to teach Doubled Rope Technique. After lunch, the students head off on a nature/culture hike with Dave and Rolando while Mark and I rig hammocks. In 2.5 hours I rig my one tree while Mark rigs the two others. Ok, I'm slow, but my tree is perfect... PERFECT! All three hammocks are next to each other at the same elevation high in the tree. All of the anchor lines run straight down to the hammocks. My hammock is a bit higher and off to the side where I can take some decent pictures. On top of all that, I have the full circle in the tree and I can operate it while sitting in my hammock. PERFECT! After dinner, everyone jugs up into a tree. Hannah, Casey and Drew climb up with me and we have a [mostly] restful night.
1/7 Early in the morning everyone wakes and we break down the hammocks and anchor lines. After breakfast everyone is in the mood for a relaxing day. Mike, Brandon, Hannah, Regie, Rolando and I go to a big waterfall down the road. In the afternoon, everyone relaxes with cards and puzzles (hmmm... like most afternoons) and Regie teaches me a game I've never played before. You get 13 cards and have to make three poker hands (3 cards, 5 cards, and 5 cards) such that the 3 card hand is the weakest. Then your hands are sorted by strength and compared with your opponents. The hands which win at least two out of three against all other opponents is the winner. Cool game. Anyhow, after lunch we head back to Paradise and set the Tyrolean Traverse. Back for dinner, and 90 minutes of lock picking for me. My combination lock is being used to secure our food storage room and it is accidentally reset to an unknown combination. Luckily it isn't a high quality lock, because I'm not a very good locksmith. After 90 minutes of feeling the tumblers, I get the new combination and all is good.
1/8 Long hike up to the sugar shack. Rolando finds us many cool animals, including the Red and Green Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates granuliferus). Reaching the sugar shack, we grind sugar cane and cook it to make sugar; meet a 1-day-old calf; play marbles with the kids; pick oranges; and see coffee and vanilla plantations. In the evening we celebrate Drew's birthday. With ice cream. Which he doesn't really like. Sorry about that.
1/9 Everyone piles into the fruit truck for a ride to Gringo Mike's house. We make the short but steep hike to the giant Ceiba. Then the students and Rolando go off to the waterfall while Dave and I set the tree with Mark providing ground support. The Fruta Dorada (Virola koschnyi) used to access the Ceiba still has p-cord and we easily get up it. From here we have to do some actual tree climbing. The previous class had left a p-cord and static line from the Fruta to the Ceiba. The p-cord has been destroyed by a falling limb or something. The trashed remains are still attached to the Fruta. The static line is aged beyond use. It is moldy and has stuff growing from it. After many trials and tribulations; much laughter; the failure of my newly invented "big branch getter upper oner"; and one motion lanyard swap we finally get our anchor points high in the Ceiba. Now we can set two elevators and nine perfectly organized anchor ropes. The students come up and we take pictures of our grand success high in this amazing tree. Dave and I spend about eight hours total in the Ceiba with no food or water. And I get to spend a bit of extra time being swung through the air to retrieve dropped anchor ropes which are stuck in trees. Once down, we get a tour of Gringo Mike's house then back to Tres Piedras where the community is throwing a party which involves much music and alcohol. I'd say that the Cornell Greeks feel right at home, but that would be rude.
1/10 Bonus day. We lost zero days to weather and epics, so our bonus day is an opportunity for the students to do whatever they want. We all head to the Bengali Tiger Trap tree. People set hammocks, swim, learn about photography, and try their hand at climbing a big Ceiba which we haven't already set for them. In the evening, we sort all the group gear then head to Lingo's house for our final dinner in Tres Piedras.
1/11 A private bus takes us from Tres Piedras to Quepos where we get rooms for the whole class in Ramu's Hotel (₡6000/person). It is fine, but nothing spectacular. We take the cheap bus to Manuel Antonio National Park only to learn that it is closed every Monday. Oops! Oh well, the class has fun playing on the beach and swimming in the ocean. We see several Black Ctenosaurs (Ctenosaura similis) and a troop of Capuchin monkeys (Cebus capucinus). So even though Manuel Antonio is closed, the day is a success. And it beats the heck out of spending the day in San Isidro, which is our other exit option. In the evening we meet up with Jess, who has just arrived in Costa Rica. Everyone goes for a walk around Quepos and we have one final dinner together at a pizza parlor. We finish the class with a graduation ceremony back at Ramu's.
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Moooooo???? Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/3/2010 |
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I can haz tree climbing skillz? Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/3/2010 |
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Please? I pay attention in class! See? Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/3/2010 |
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Yea! I'm a tree climber! Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/3/2010 |
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Brandon on the king swing. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/3/2010 |
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Mike on the king swing. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/3/2010 |
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Casey on the king swing. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/3/2010 |
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Joe on the king swing. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/3/2010 |
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Regie and Casey Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/3/2010 |
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Green Iguana Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/4/2010 |
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Alex taking a picture of the Iguana. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/4/2010 |
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Having an awesome time swimming! Mike, Casey, Brandon, Alex, Colin, Drew and Joe. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/4/2010 |
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Hannah Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/4/2010 |
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Hannah Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/4/2010 |
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Gringo Mark Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/4/2010 |
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Hiking up to the jungle trees. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Drew with a Black and Green Poison Dart Frog. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Alex with a Black and Green Poison Dart Frog. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Hannah with a Black and Green Poison Dart Frog. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Hannah with a Black and Green Poison Dart Frog. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Black and Green Poison Dart Frog Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Alex jugging into the Ajillo. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Casey, Drew and Alex. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Typical... Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Alex branch walking high up in the Ajillo. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Alex Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Casey and me Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Alex Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Drew Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Alex, Casey and Drew Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Alex, Casey and Drew Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Alex, Casey and Drew Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Lunch... wrapped in a banana leaf. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/5/2010 |
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Giant Red Winged Grasshopper Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/6/2010 |
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Giant Red Winged Grasshopper Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/6/2010 |
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Giant Red Winged Grasshopper Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/6/2010 |
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Drew, Casey and Hannah in their hammocks, 50 feet above the ground in a large Guacimo Colorado. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/6/2010 |
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Hannah and her genuine smile! Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/6/2010 |
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Seventy feet up in a Guacimo Colorado, ready to spend the night in my hammock. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/6/2010 |
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Dawn in the tree. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Waking up. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Nothing like waking up 50' above the ground. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Alex and Dave in the next tree over. It sort of looks like they are standing on the ground... Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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...until you look at a wider angle photo. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Everyone resting in the dance hall. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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The big waterfall. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Gorgeous damselfly! Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Hannah and Casey Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Brandon and Casey Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Hannah spot lit in the one patch of sunshine. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Casey's typical pose... Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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...but with a little coaxing you can get something more classical. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Hannah followed her patch of sunlight. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Normally I would only include one version of this photo, but I can't decide which I like best. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Most of the time this one is my favorite, but sometimes the previous photo looks better. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Mike doing the tyrolean traverse. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Did I mention that it was releasable? Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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That part was fun! Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Colin taking a ride. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Colin taking a swim. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Alex Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Alex Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Brandon Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Casey Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/7/2010 |
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Red and Green Poison Dart Frog Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Paparazzi surrounding the Red and Green Poison Dart Frog. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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That is one patient frog. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Alex holding the Red and Green Poison Dart Frog. By the way, none of the poison dart frogs are actually poisonous unless you boil them. Just in case you were worried. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Black and Green Poison Dart Frog Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Golden Orb-Weaver Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Hiking to the sugar shack. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Lone student, lone tree. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Regie, Alex, Hannah, Drew, Casey, Rolando, Joe. Thanks for ruining the picture, Drew! :-) Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Overlooking the Pacific, we found a great location for butterflies. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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This might be a Julia (Dryas julia). Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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This might be a Tiger (Tithorea harmonia). I'm not very good at identifying butterflies. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Wolverine! Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Regie, Rolando and Mark cooking sugar. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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This foamy, sweet liquid is one of the intermediate stages of sugar production. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Mike gives it a try. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Colin is not impressed. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Everyone gives it a try. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Drew has issues with the small spoon. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Brandon solves that problem. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Now who is hungry for lunch? Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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One day old calf. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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One day old calf. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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A giant press crushes the sugar cane. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Raw juice comes out of the press. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Drew is the first draft animal to operate the press. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Hannah Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Dave Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Hannah Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Alex Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Colin Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Brandon Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Lots of kids were there to eat sugar and play marbles with us. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Dave explaining sugar making to the class. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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The sugar is cooked in this huge cauldron. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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Fire! After crushing and drying the cane, it can fuel the fire to cook the sugar. A very sustainable process. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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The reduced sugar cane juice is stirred until it begins to crystallize. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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The result is very sweet sugar! Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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It is completely cooled in molds, then packaged. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/8/2010 |
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The extremely sketch fixed rope in Gringo Mike's tree. It was several years old and had jungle stuff growing from it. We didn't use it. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/9/2010 |
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The entire class 100' up in Gringo Mike's tree. Hannah, Regie, Casey, Mike, Colin, Drew, Joe, Alex, Brandon. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/9/2010 |
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The entire class 100' up in Gringo Mike's tree. Hannah, Regie, Casey, Mike, Colin, Drew, Joe, Alex, Brandon. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/9/2010 |
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Dave trying to remove the old static line. He has unthreaded the girth hitch and is putting body weight on the rope. It won't move. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/9/2010 |
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This is the class plan that Dave and I brought up into Gringo Mike's tree. Step three is where we were screwed by the loss of ropes going from the Fruta to the Ceiba. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/9/2010 |
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Mark walking across a rickety old foot bridge. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Rolando Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Regie Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Alex Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Colin Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Joe and Dave Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Rolando and Brandon Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Hannah Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Alex giving me the supermodel pose. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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This is a really beautiful area. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Perfect place to sit and read a book. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Found this on the river bank. No idea what it is, but it looks cool. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Drew and Mark high up in the Ceiba. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Mike jugging. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Drew jugging. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Casey jugging. It is really hard to get a sense of scale in pictures of someone climbing a 200' tall tree. Maybe this helps. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Alex's hammock swing. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Dinner at casa de Linga. Tres Piedras, Costa Rica -- 1/10/2010 |
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Playing in the ocean. Quepos, Costa Rica -- 1/11/2010 |
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It is amazing how many photos like this are on my camera. Quepos, Costa Rica -- 1/11/2010 |
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Pelican Quepos, Costa Rica -- 1/11/2010 |
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Making a sand castle. Quepos, Costa Rica -- 1/11/2010 |
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The sand castle. Quepos, Costa Rica -- 1/11/2010 |
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Juvenile Black Ctenosaur (I think) Quepos, Costa Rica -- 1/11/2010 |
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Black Ctenosaur Quepos, Costa Rica -- 1/11/2010 |
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Black Ctenosaur Quepos, Costa Rica -- 1/11/2010 |
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Black Ctenosaur Quepos, Costa Rica -- 1/11/2010 |
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Mark didn't bring 40 bottles of soda this year, so he was really craving it by the time we went out for pizza in Quepos. Quepos, Costa Rica -- 1/11/2010 |